Free Republic

The US has agreed in principle to release high-ranking Taliban officials from Guantánamo Bay in return for the Afghan insurgents' agreement to open a political office for peace negotiations in Qatar, the Guardian has learned. According to sources familiar with the talks in the US and in Afghanistan, the handful of Taliban figures will include Mullah Khair Khowa, a former interior minister, and Noorullah Noori, a former governor in northern Afghanistan. More controversially, the Taliban are demanding the release of the former army commander Mullah Fazl Akhund. Washington is reported to be considering formally handing him over to the custody...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan to encourage President Hamid Karzai to continue efforts to reconcile with the Taliban. Mr Karzai has expressed frustration at the process after the assassinations of several key Afghan leaders. US officials say Mrs Clinton also wants to convince Afghans that Washington is committed to a long-term relationship with their country. The US is planning to withdraw troops and hand over security to the Afghans. "She wants to signal US support for a secure and stable Afghanistan," a US official told journalists travelling with Mrs Clinton. Her visit to Afghanistan was not...

SNIPPET: "AN EXTREMIST Islamic group suspected of planning a crime spree across Sydney to raise money for the Taliban has been uncovered by counter-terrorism police. The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that NSW Police and national security agencies have been investigating the group members for over a year, with the case currently active. The extremists have been the subject of a top secret operation led by the NSW Police Force, ASIO, Australian Federal Police and the NSW Crime Commission. A group of men, aged between 20 and 30, all Australian citizens of Middle Eastern-descent, have been identified as the core members."...

SNIPPET: "Three Pakistani men pleaded guilty Monday to terrorism-related charges of supporting the Pakistani Taliban, according to a release from the U.S. Justice Department. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge John Bates in the District of Columbia, Irfan Ul Haq, Qasim Ali, and Zahid Yousaf pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to provide material support to the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Ul Haq, Ali, and Yousaf were arrested in Miami on March 13 and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. The three men allegedly ran an alien smuggling operation out...

http://internet-haganah.com/harchives/007413.html "Whither the jihadi forums?" SNIPPET: "There are currently only three jihadi forums that are sufficiently active and well-connected to be of any interest whatsoever. Why we claim to be on the verge of defeating al-Qaida while simultaneously watching passively as they use these forums to regroup and regenerate is beyond me. These are the forums three: • al-Fidaa, a forum created by al-Qaida core. That it is directly linked to al-Qaida by definition moves it to the top of the list. Current membership: 2,462, all of whom can be considered "active" if only because they just joined the forum....

WASHINGTON -- The Associated Press has learned that more than 20 Navy SEALs from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden were among those lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/06/afghan-president-31-americans-killed-in-helicopter-crash/#ixzz1UGZcWiEh

Sources told ABC News a backpack in Melaku's possession contained a package labeled ammonium nitrate as well as spent firearm ammunition. Ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, can be used in explosives. The FBI later said despite the label, the backpack presented no immediate threat. A search of Melaku's nearby car also found no potential devices. Law enforcement sources said Melaku does not appear to have known ties to any terror organization. In addition to his arrest today, Melaku already faces pending charges in Loudoun County, Virginia, for a rash of vehicle break-ins, police said.

SNIPPET: "Al Qaeda commander continues to pose a threat to U.S. and South Asian security as Pakistan’s military and intelligence services look the other way” IPT News June 22, 2010 SNIPPET: “Top Al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri poses a major threat to U.S. interests both at home and abroad. Described by intelligence agencies “as the most effective, dangerous and successful guerrilla leader in the world,” Kashmiri heads Al Qaeda’s military operations wing. He figures prominently in two recent high-profile terrorism indictments issued in Chicago. But Kashmiri remains free in South Asia and in control of a renowned Al Qaeda terror...

Islamabad: Taliban have set up all women suicide squads to carry out deadly terror mission on both sides of the Afghan-Pak border, a captured 12-year-old girl has revealed. Meena Gul, trained to be a 'human bomb' was apprehended from the Munda area, in Dir close to the Afghan border in January, and her disclosures have sent shivers down the spine of Pakistani security establishment. Gul said that women suicide bombers were trained for their deadly task in small cells on both sides of the porous border and were dispatched to their missions with a sermon, "God will reward you with...

The U.S. Attorney's office in South Florida charged six people, including the imam of the oldest mosque in Miami, with supporting and financing the Pakistani Taliban. The men are suspected of giving $50,000 to the terrorist organization, according to the four-count indictment. Authorities claimed that Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan, the leader at the mosque, and his sons Irfan Khan and Izhar Khan were arrested Saturday morning. "Despite being an Imam, or spiritual leader, Hafiz Khan was by no means a man of peace," U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said in a statement. "Instead, as today's charges show, he acted...

SNIPPET: ""If these attacks were aimed at seizing control of Kandahar city, as the Taliban proclaimed, they failed," a senior official from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) told Reuters, on condition of anonymity. Shooting erupted after the first explosion hours earlier and insurgents opened fire from a five-storey shopping mall toward the governor's fortified compound, from where security forces returned fire as black smoke rose over the city."

SNIPPET: "An examination of online activities by binyamine leads to the conclusion that he is likely involved with Dar al-Murabiteen, and that he links multiple terrorist networks together through his work translating, transcribing, and distributing jihadi media content. He is linked, in no particular order, to • Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan • The Pakistan and Afghan Taliban • as-Sahab, al-Emara, and al-Malahem media outfits • al-Shabaab and their al-Qimmah forum This is what Granovetter meant by a bridging weak tie - the kind of "weak" tie that is strong, as he links multiple networks. Among other things, all this...

An Indiana grandmother who married a suspected German jihadist and converted to the Muslim religion is under investigation for possible ties to terrorists, according to FoxNews.com . Kathie Smith, 46, is a U.S. citizen and lives in Indianapolis.

(CNN) -- SNIPPET: "The charge centers around a one-way ticket that authorities allege Abdel Hameed Shehadeh purchased from Queens, New York, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Shehadeh originally told investigators that the purpose of his trip was to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's engagement party. But he later admitted to FBI agents in Hawaii that he bought the ticket in order to join a fighting group such as the Taliban, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in New York Monday."

-excerpt- Finally, the Taliban will never honor any agreement it makes. Like most modern insurgencies, its grievances are all pretexts: What it seeks is absolute power, exercised without restraint. We know how that movie ends. There's one way—and only one way—the U.S. could get the Taliban to come to terms: a series of decisive military blows that give them no other option.

Group is funded by donations in mosques and Muslim community centres around the country. “We are not like a government, we depend on individuals,” a Taliban commander told Sky News. “We get donations from our Muslim brothers in Britain for jihad and they help us. It is the duty of all Muslims to pay towards fighting a jihad. And this is how we get our money and buy our weapons and carry on fighting.” The commander added that an attack on Britain and Europe could happen “at any time”. However, in what was seen as a blow to the insurgents,...

The Obama administration approved the release of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar with the assumption that he would join peace talks with the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai. The TalibanÂ’s supreme commander in Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was captured in Pakistan earlier this year. He was the highest ranking Taliban commander ever arrested. But instead of his extradition to Afghanistan or hand-over to the U.S., he was kept in a cozy house in Islamabad.On Saturday, he was freed.Yes, the man second in command only to Mullah Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Taliban, has reportedly been released and no one...

NATO has provided safe passage for top Taliban leaders to travel to Kabul for face-to-face negotiations with the U.S.-backed Afghan government, a senior alliance official said Wednesday. The official's account was the most detailed yet of the U.S. and NATO role in the clandestine talks, aimed at bringing an end to the 9-year-old war. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to describe the subject publicly. The Afghan government has previously acknowledged that it has been involved in reconciliation talks with the Taliban with some NATO help. But discussions between the two sides have been...

(Oct. 9) -- A British aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan last month was killed by her Taliban captors during a NATO commando raid to rescue her. Linda Norgrove, 36, had spent years working for charities and development projects in Afghanistan, and was on an American project in eastern Kunar province when her convoy was ambushed on Sept. 26. Police fought a gunbattle with the kidnappers before they escaped with Norgrove and three of her Afghan colleagues. The Afghan men were later released unharmed, but Norgrove was held hostage for nearly two weeks before NATO forces decided to try to rescue...

NOTE The following text is a quote: Travel Alert U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs Europe October 3, 2010 The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe. Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks. European governments have taken action to guard against a terrorist attack and some have spoken publicly about the heightened threat conditions. Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation...

KARACHI, Pakistan – Two suspected suicide bombers have attacked the most beloved Sufi shrine in Pakistan's largest city, killing at least eight people, wounding 65 others, and sending a stark reminder of the threat posed by Islamist militants to this U.S.-allied nation. Angry mobs burned tires and torched buses in the aftermath of the bombings in Karachi late Thursday. The attack came amid tensions between Washington and Islamabad over NATO helicopter incursions that have led Pakistan to close a key border crossing used to ferry supplies to Western troops in Afghanistan. Despite U.S. apologies over the incursions, one of which...

For the second night in a row, The Wall Street Journal has the story on US officials' mounting frustration with Pakistan. According to the WSJ, US defense and intelligence officials and even Taliban commanders are now saying that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate is urging the Taliban to step up the violence in Afghanistan: Members of Pakistan's spy agency are pressing Taliban field commanders to fight the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan, some U.S. officials and Afghan militants say, a development that undercuts a key element of the Pentagon's strategy for ending the war. The explosive accusation is the strongest...

Note: Photos included. SNIPPET: "Iran has allowed an al Qaeda terrorist who served as Osama bin Laden’s spokesman to return to Afghanistan. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti preacher who gained worldwide infamy after the September 11 attacks, had lived in Iran since early 2002, and was reportedly held under a loose form of house arrest beginning in 2003. Abu Ghaith’s departure from Iran was first reported by the Kuwaiti press, which has long tracked the influential cleric because of his following inside Kuwait and beyond. The preacher was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship in late 2001 after promising another al...

Note: Photos included. SNIPPET: "Boys as young as five can barely hold up the machine guns and pistols in their hands as they take aim at imaginary targets in the Pakistan desert. But this is no sick game, it is their first step along the way to becoming al-Qaeda terrorists as they are taught about military combat and how to launch suicide missions. At hidden camps terrorist chiefs also use toys to teach the boys how they can blow up buildings and mount roadside bomb attacks. One chilling image from a video filmed inside one camp shows children, barely old...

SNIPPET: "TOKYO—A Japanese journalist returned home Monday after militants in Afghanistan released him from five months in captivity." SNIPPET: "Tsuneoka had been abducted before. He disappeared in Georgia in 2001 and was held for several months by unidentified individuals, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was freed during a Georgian military operation."

Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 14 04:31 PM Age: 11 hrs By: Urged by a senior al-Qaeda ideologue to take over Pakistan, members of jihadi internet forums have begun to examine the possibility of controlling Pakistan’s nuclear weapons (al-faloja1.com, April 24). At the same time, jihadis continue to collect information on nuclear facilities around the globe, especially Israel’s nuclear projects, waiting for an opportunity to perpetrate successful terrorist attacks against these facilities after massive terrorist attacks using conventional weapons failed to give rise to the global supremacy of Islamic law (al-faloja1.com, April 22). On March 14, al-Fajr Media Center...

"Medical charity: 6 Americans among 10 killed by militants in remote area of N Afghanistan" KABUL, AFGHANISTAN SNIPPET: "KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Six Americans and two other foreigners on a medical mission were shot and killed by the Taliban who ambushed their vehicles in a remote part of northern Afghanistan, a charity said Saturday. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in Pakistan that they killed the foreigners because they were "spying for the Americans" and "preaching Christianity.""

The Taliban can't stop killing the people they supposedly are trying to help. A new directive from leader Mullah Omar instructs Taliban fighters to go easy on Afghan civilians. On Monday, however, five Afghan children fell victim to Taliban suicide bombs. Apparently, Islamist guerrillas believe they have to destroy kids in order to save them. The Taliban "layeha," or rule book, says, "All efforts must be made to avoid harming civilians in attacks." In this battle for hearts and minds, the Taliban are failing miserably. A June Congressional Research Service report showed that from December 2009 to March 2010, 737...

PHOTO CAPTION: "Banner for the Al Qaeda 313 Brigade website/forum. Pictured, from left to right, are Mustafa Abu Yazid, Abu Laith al Libi, and Ilyas Kashmiri." ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A website connected to al Qaeda's military arm in Pakistan has sprung up on the Internet in the past month. The website, called Al Qaeda Brigade 313, at www.aqbrigade313.com, was registered on June 2, 2010, and became active in early July. The site has 86 registered users and five administrators, according to a report at the Open Source Center that was obtained by The Long War Journal. The website contains a forum...

Our cover image this week is powerful, shocking and disturbing. It is a portrait of Aisha, a shy 18-year-old Afghan woman who was sentenced by a Taliban commander to have her nose and ears cut off for fleeing her abusive in-laws. Aisha posed for the picture and says she wants the world to see the effect a Taliban resurgence would have on the women of Afghanistan, many of whom have flourished in the past few years. Her picture is accompanied by a powerful story by our own Aryn Baker on how Afghan women have embraced the freedoms that have come...

Note: Photos included. NOTE The following text is a quote: Wanted Mullah Omar Up to $10 Million Reward Height : Tall Hair : Black Sex : Male Nationality : Afghan Characteristics : Shrapnel wound to the right eye Mullah Omar's Taliban regime in Afghanistan sheltered Osama bin-Laden and his al-Qai'da network in the years prior to the September 11 attacks. Although Operation Enduring Freedom removed the Taliban regime from power, Mullah Omar remains at large and represents a continuing threat to America and her allies.

NOTE The following text is a quote: Pentagon Officials Confirm Sailor’s Death American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 29, 2010 – Defense Department officials today announced the death of a sailor who previously was listed as “duty status whereabouts unknown” while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Wash., died of wounds suffered from an incident in Afghanistan’s Logar province July 23. Coalition forces recovered his body yesterday after an extensive search, officials said. He was assigned to Navy Reserve Force Command. The July 23 incident remains under investigation, officials said.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 665-10 July 27, 2010 DOD Announces Navy Casualty and Identifies Sailor Listed as Whereabouts Unknown The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor and the identity of another sailor listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN). The announcement resulted from a July 23 incident in Logar province, Afghanistan, while the sailors were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, 30, of Wheatridge, Colo., died from wounds sustained from the July 23 incident. Coalition Forces recovered his body July 25 after an extensive search. He was assigned to Assault Craft Unit One...

NOTE The following text is a quote: July 22, 2010 TG-782 Treasury Targets Taliban and Haqqani Network Leadership: Treasury Designates Three Financiers Operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated three key leaders and financiers for the Taliban and its affiliated group the Haqqani Network, for supporting acts of terrorism and for acting for or on behalf of the Taliban or the Haqqani Network. Today's designation, pursuant to Executive Order 13224 targets Gul Agha Ishakzai, the head of the Taliban's financial commission; Amir Abdullah, former treasurer to senior Taliban leader Mullah Berader; and...

The White House is revising its Afghanistan strategy to embrace the idea of negotiating with senior members of the Taliban through third parties – a policy to which it had previously been lukewarm. Negotiating with the Taliban has long been advocated by Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and the British and Pakistani governments, but resisted by Washington. The Guardian has learned that while the American government is still officially resistant to the idea of talks with Taliban leaders, behind the scenes a shift is under way and Washington is encouraging Karzai to take a lead in such negotiations. "There is...

SNIPPET: "Jere Van Dyk, a freelance CBS reporter and author held by the Taliban for 45 days last year, still gets threatening messages from the Islamic militants on his answering machine in New York City. “I am wary,” Van Dyk says. “I have received about 40 to 50 calls since I returned." He also gets threats via e-mail. "I have been threatened. I think most, maybe all, of the calls have come from my interpreter. He has called my family.”"

KABUL: A huge blast was heard in the Afghan capital Saturday as a US military official arrived for meetings to explain the sacking of the US commander of foreign forces in the country, witnesses told AFP. The blast took place in the centre of the city, at 9:55 am, the witnesses said. A spokesman for the interior ministry, Zemarai Bashery, said he had heard the blast, the cause of which was being investigated. It seemed to have taken place near the foreign ministry, he said.

Faisal Shahzad, Jihadi, Explains Terrorism by Daniel Pipes June 25, 2010 Jaw-dropping court testimony by Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, singlehandedly undermines Obama administration efforts to ignore the dangers of Islamism and jihad. Shahzad's forthright statement of purpose stands out because jihadis, when facing legal charges, typically save their skin by pleading not guilty or plea bargaining. Consider a few examples: Naveed Haq, who assaulted the Jewish Federation building in Seattle, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Lee Malvo, one of the Beltway Snipers, explained that "one reason for the shootings was that white people had tried...

INTERNET HAGANAH.com: "MALAYSIAN COMPLICITY IN TALIBAN TERRORISM" SNIPPET: "http://124.217.252.55/~alemarah/" SNIPPET: "That IP address (124.217.252.55) is provided to the Afghan Taliban by Malaysian company piradius.net. Piradius.net has been central to the online activities of al-Qaida and its affiliated organizations for many years." (Posted June 15, 2010)

The White House is clinging to President Obama's ill-conceived pledge to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011, regardless of how the war is going at the time. In dogmatically standing by that pledge, Mr. Obama is virtually guaranteeing he will preside over America's second lost war. The issue arose last week during congressional testimony when Central Command commander Gen. David H. Petraeus said that withdrawing from Afghanistan would be "based on conditions" and that "July 2011 is not the date where we race for the exits." Au contraire, according to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. "The July...

AL-QAEDA’S leadership secretly directed the Islamic militants whose armed revolt at the Red Mosque in Islamabad ended last week with more than 100 deaths after it was stormed by the Pakistan army. According to senior intelligence officials, the troops who finally took control discovered letters from Osama Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz, the brothers who ran the mosque and adjacent madrasah. Government sources said up to 18 foreign fighters � including Uzbeks, Egyptians and several Afghans � had arrived weeks before the final shootout and set up firing ranges to...

Blog: Quote: June 18, 2010 YouTube User Fazalhazswat Doesn’t Suppport Terrorism? YouTube user fazalhazswat, aka Tahreek-e-Taliban Swat, has this on his channel: Click to enlarge “Take this gun and kill an US NATO & ISAF Soldiers” “Put this on your page is you are against terrorism”? Why not go over to Google’s YouTuve and report his profile. BTW, the Tahreek-e-Taliban wwere behind Faisal Shahzad’s failed Times Square bombing. Interesting choice of a YouTube name, wouldn’t you say? fazalhazswat Found him by following “subscription link” from youtube/user/talibjan02. YouTube still doesn’t get, or ignores “what’s in a name” - gawd. Thanks to...

Taliban sympathizer Jodie Evans and President Barack Obama, Oct. 15, 2009 In a wide-ranging interview released this week by MIPtalk, Obama funder, terrorist sympathizer and Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans spoke about her meetings with the Taliban and President Barack Obama. She lauded the Taliban for bringing peace and justice to Afghanistan while saying that the U.S. has failed to deliver either. In a separate interview with Lauren Steiner, Jodie Evans went further in her criticism of the United States saying that we had created “hell on earth” in Afghanistan. Jodie Evans also spoke about being called on by Obama’s...

SNIPPET: "-- The Voice of Truth claims responsibility for attacking the site on March 17, April 7, April 14, May 17, June 4, and June 7 of this year (the dates are based on this Islamic calendar date converter)." SNIPPET: "So, who could be doing this? Earlier this year, someone identifying himself as @th3j35t3r on Twitter bragged about taking sites promoting terrorism, for short periods of time (30-60 minutes). He says he's hit at least some of the Taliban usual suspect sites - for example: www.alemarah.info - official taliban website (Afghan Resistance) - ooops I did it again, down for...

Taliban Executes Boy, 7, Accused Of Spying As Suicide Bomber Kills 40 Children At Wedding 10th June 2010 Boy hanged in Helmand province after being put on trial by militants More than 40 killed and 77 injured after bomb rips through wedding Cameron pledges extra £67m for British troops on first visit to country Taliban militants have executed a seven-year-old boy they accused of being a spy, it emerged today. The child was abducted from his home and taken to a neighbouring village where he was put on trial. His captors found him guilty of working for the government. The...

Lashkargah, 9 June (AKI): Taliban fighters have hanged a seven-year-old boy, claiming he was passing information to foreign soldiers in the volatile southern province of Helmand, the governor's spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, told Pajhwok Afghan News. The child's shocking murder took place in the Sarwan Qala area of Sangin district late on Tuesday. The boy, whose name was not immediately known, was abducted from the village of Heratyan, Ahmadi said.

Note: The following text is a quote: Jury Convicts Pakistani Citizen of Conspiring to Support the Taliban and Unlawful Possession of Firearms HOUSTON—After a three-day trial, a federal jury has convicted Adnan Mirza, 33, of all nine counts in an indictment arising from his efforts to provide support and funds to the Taliban, U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno announced. Mirza, a citizen of Pakistan, had entered the United States on a student visa and was attending a local community college in 2005 and 2006 when he committed the offenses for which he was convicted. The jury returned its verdicts Thursday...

An ICRC statement said the organisation had provided basic training and first aid kits to about 70 members of the "armed opposition" last month.The ICRC spokesman denied that by giving first aid training to the Taliban - rather than merely treating injured insurgents - it was crossing an important dividing line.

GENEVA (AP) -- The international Red Cross said Wednesday it would continue giving first aid training and kits to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, despite drawing angry e-mails from around the world and criticism from an Afghan official after the practice was publicized. The International Committee of the Red Cross trained "over 70 members of the armed opposition" in first aid last month, along with more than 100 Afghan police and civilians, including taxi drivers.

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-assistant-president-homeland-security-and-counterterrorism-john-brennan-csi # Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release May 26, 2010 Remarks by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan at CSIS “Securing the Homeland by Renewing American Strength, Resilience and Values” Thank you very much John, and I would like to take a moment to express my appreciation to CSIS for inviting me back. You invited me here a little after six months after I came into this administration and I greatly appreciate the invitation...