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IN A LITTLE-NOTICED DECISION in a New York courtroom on September 25, 2003, a man described as Osama bin Laden's "best friend" got some good news. U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts ruled that Mahmdouh Mahmud Salim could not be sentenced to life in prison. Salim--who was present at the founding of al Qaeda in 1989 and who was for years one of bin Laden's most trusted confidants--had been captured in Germany in 1998 and extradited to the United States for prosecution related to his role in the grand conspiracy that resulted in the 1998 bombings at U.S. embassies in...

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran on Monday that it faced more sanctions if it defied a two-week deadline to agree to curb its nuclear program. Rice said Iran was stalling and must give a "serious answer" within the deadline set by six world powers which offered trade and technical incentives if Tehran halts its uranium enrichment. The West fears Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb. "We are in the strongest possible position to demonstrate that if Iran does not act then it is time to go back to that (sanctions) track," Rice said,

The world was well aware of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) stockpiles. Politicians from both parties admitted that Saddam would not disarm voluntarily, and that military force was the only solution. Intelligence sources estimate that Iraq had 100 million tons of munitions, which is an astonishing 60 percent of our own arsenal. According to the House Armed Service Committee, Saddam himself admitted to possessing thousands of tons of WMD. Since we have not found the “smoking gun” proof of a WMD arsenal, they must have gone somewhere else. Prior to our liberation of Iraq, it was clear we...

A court in the Astrakhan Region, south Russia, will consider a criminal case against an Uzbek man accused of trying to smuggle items into Iran used in the production of weapons of mass destruction, Russian prosecutors said. Investigators said that in July 2007 businessman Anar Godzhayev, 39, knowingly failed to declare the metallic substances, made from tantalum, in a customs declaration form in contravention of customs regulations. Godzhayev is currently being held in custody.

7/15/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Military working dogs transitioning through a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are receiving a "bone-a-fide" upgrade to their accommodations, courtesy of the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. The renovations, which included floor stripping and resealing, and the installation of air-conditioning units, floor drains and plumbing, are part of an overall space expansion project for the kennels. Labor for the project is a collaborative effort being handled by different sections of the 386th ECES. "The project is totally in-house from start to finish," said Master Sgt. Gerald Amidon, NCO in charge...

(IsraelNN.com) The Kuwaiti daily al-Siyasa reported today that Hizbullah has acquired the chemicals needed to make chemical weapons such as nerve gas or mustard gas from North Korean suppliers and is allegedly preparing to arm its Katyusha rockets with chemical warheads. The Kuwaiti paper also declared that the assistance of Syria and Iran was crucial for Hizbullah’s efforts. The reports were based on information provided to al-Siyasa by Syrian opposition figures in the United States.

If anyone doubts the need to have ousted Saddam, a news release in the past few days should put such doubts to rest. The report is that the US has sold 550 tons of yellowcake uranium that had been found in Iraq to Cameco, a Canadian company. The uranium will now be used as fuel and poses no severe risk if properly stored and sealed. While the report contains no new information per se, it brings to the forefront pertinent facts that, while widely available, were also widely ignored. But when analyzing military and security matters, we can ill afford...

For years, the media and Democrats have sold the public an understanding that Gerorge W. Bush fabricated a story that Saddam Hussein had a WMD program in order to justify invading Iraq, which invasion then becomes "based on a lie." About 550 metric tons of yellowcake concentrated uranium were recently shipped out of Iraq. It had been part of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. That much was recently reported by the Associated Press . I wrote an article for American Thinker that commented on that story the day it appeared. That yellowcake stockpile pre-dated 1991, and had been under the UN's...

It was on page 6 of my daily newspaper that an important reminder of Saddam’s capacity for WMD was published: the movement in secrecy of 550 tons of ‘yellowcake’ uranium from Iraq to Canada on July 5. 550 tons! Can they really continue their lies about no possibility of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Saddam’s Iraq? I know they will try to spin this, but can any honest person now still maintain that Saddam was not able to reconstitute his nuclear weapons’ capability left to his own devices? Can any honest person continue the nonsense of “Bush lied”? Although U.N....

US Removes Iraq Uranium-MORE EVIDENCE OF SADDAM WMD PROGRAM Its been all over the press for the past few days. 550 METRIC TONS (that's BIGGER than 5 Rosie O'Donnells) were removed from Bagdad by the US Government: The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program — a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium — reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans. The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" — the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment — was a significant...

<p>The media have been telling us for years that Saddam had no WMD, so "Bush's War": was based on a "lie." And those who believed Saddam did have WMD or WMD programs were delusional or worse.</p> <p>And multiple devices that could be used in a nuclear weapon.</p>

US has means to verify North Korea statement -Rice (Adds amount of plutonium, other details) By Susan Cornwell KYOTO, Japan, June 26 (Reuters) - The United States believes it has the means to verify North Korea's estimate of its nuclear programmes, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday. North Korea was expected to declare between 30-50 kg (66-110 lb) of plutonium in the document, given to the Chinese government on Thursday, a senior U.S. administration official said separately, but added that "our estimates are greater". Verification, which meant calculating and resolving differences in estimates, could take "months and...

In this light—that is, in light of what was actually known at the time about Saddam Hussein’s actions and intentions, and in light of what was added to our knowledge through his post-capture interrogations by the FBI—the decision to go to war takes on a very different character. The story that emerges is of a choice not only carefully weighed and deliberately arrived at but, in the circumstances, the one moral choice that any American President could make. Had, moreover, Bush failed to act when he did, the consequences could have been truly disastrous. The next American President would surely...

SARGAT, Iraq, April 4 — Preliminary tests conducted by MSNBC.com indicate that the deadly toxins ricin and botulinum were present on two items found at a camp in a remote mountain region of northern Iraq allegedly used as a terrorist training center by Islamic militants with ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network. The field tests used by MSNBC.com are only a first step in the evidentiary process and are typically followed by more precise laboratory testing that MSNBC.com has not conducted. U.S. intelligence agents were conducting their own tests in the same area and had not yet released their results,...

From: http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1230980&lang=EN N. Korea invites media to nuclear plant blast 24.06.08 11:19 North Korea is to blow up a key part of its controversial Yongbyon nuclear reactor on Friday. The destruction of the plant's cooling tower is part of an agreement with the United States aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula in exchange for loosening some restrictions on the highly secretive Communist country, reported CNN. The North Korean government has invited news organizations, including CNN, to witness the event. Earlier this year, Pyongyang agreed to disable its nuclear reactor and provide a full accounting of its plutonium stockpile, "acknowledge" concerns...

WASHINGTON — American and international investigators say that they have found the electronic blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon on computers that belonged to the nuclear smuggling network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the rogue Pakistani nuclear scientist, but that they have not been able to determine whether they were sold to Iran or the smuggling... --snip-- It was not until 2005 that officials of the I.A.E.A., which is based in Vienna, finally cracked the hard drives on the Khan computers recovered around the world. And as they sifted through files and images on the hard drives, investigators found tons...

Smugglers Had Design For Advanced Warhead By Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 15, 2008; A01 An international smuggling ring that sold bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea also managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, according to a draft report by a former top U.N. arms inspector that suggests the plans could have been shared secretly with any number of countries or rogue groups. The drawings, discovered in 2006 on computers owned by Swiss businessmen, included essential details for building a compact nuclear device that could be fitted on a type of ballistic...

"Our evidence suggests that Baghdad is strengthening a relationship with al-Qaeda that dates back to the mid-1990s, when senior Iraqi intelligence officers established contact with the network in several countries." "We have some evidence that Iraqi Intelligence has been in contact with elements in the northeastern area. And the al-Qaeda operatives there are in regular contact with other operatives located in Baghdad. The Iraqi government has also received information from other sources alerting it to the presence of al-Qaeda operatives in Baghdad.""We have hard evidence that al-Qaeda is operating in several locations in Iraq with the knowledge and acquiescence of...

N Korean ship 'linked to Israel's strike on Syria' By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem Last Updated: 4:52pm BST 17/09/2007 A suspicious North Korean freighter that re-flagged itself as South Korean before off-loading an unknown cargo at the Syrian port of Tartous is at the centre of efforts today to investigate Israel's recent airstrike on Syria. Israel has not given any details on the operation in Syria An Israeli on-line data analyst, Ronen Solomon, found an internet trace for the 1,700-tonne cargo ship, Al Hamed, which showed the vessel started to off-load what Syrian officials categorised as "cement" on Sept 3....

U.S. policymakers were urged Monday to pay close attention to the "growing relationship" -- including reported nuclear links -- between the Stalinist regime in North Korea and the military junta in Burma. Keith Luse, an Asia specialist aide to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), said that the North Korea-Burma issue was a key area of concern to the Foreign Relations Committee chairman. "Is North Korea providing nuclear technology to the Burma military?" he asked during a panel discussion in Washington, hosted by the Heritage Foundation. In 2002, Yangon announced that Russia was helping it to build a 10-megawat nuclear reactor which...

If you're going to accuse a president of lying and committing crimes, it might be nice to provide some particulars. But Frank Rich sees no need for any such niceties in his New York Times column of today. The column's putative topic is the McClellan book, but the real subject is Rich's abject Bush hatred. After referring to Pres. Bush as "the loathed lame duck," Rich writes: Americans don’t like being lied to by their leaders, especially if there are casualties involved and especially if there’s no accountability. We view it as a crime story, and we won’t be satisfied...

LONDON - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff downplayed the threat of a nuclear terror attack Friday despite recent postings on al-Qaida-affiliated Web sites exhorting militants to pursue weapons of mass destruction for use against the U.S. Speaking at London's Oxford Union, Chertoff said that while officials acknowledge al-Qaida's interest in developing such capability, the U.S. was more concerned about terrorists' use of conventional arms. "The short answer is the intent is there. Its probability, particularly in the short term, is lower than conventional weapons," he told the students and journalists in attendance at the famed debating society.

Several Texas Tech researchers and graduate students will leave for Ukraine on Sunday to begin their collaboration and training programs with the Iraqi government. Earlier this year, scientists at the Center of Environmental Radiation Studies received $948,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of State and $363,500 from the United Kingdom to train Iraqis on how to dismantle nuclear facilities in a manner consistent with international standards. Ron Chesser, director for the Center of Environmental Radiation Studies, said the goal of this program is to assist the Iraqi government in several different ways. "They want to get back into international...

Brett Winterble is joined by Bill Roggio from Long War Journal.Org and from Threats Watch.Org : Nick Grace. The three of us discuss the latest from Al Qaeda: a new threat to use WMD, plus is Iran talking to Al Qaeda?

"I took a trip by myself in January of 2002 to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, and I told each of the heads of state that it was my view that George Bush had already made up his mind to go to war against Iraq — that that was a predetermined set course which had taken shape shortly after 9/11." So spoke Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) on “Fox Sunday” on November 14, 2005, who at the time of his trip was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and is now its vice chairman.

The FBI issued a bulletin to 18,000 law enforcement agencies this week warning that al-Qaida has made new threats to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. targets. ABC News reported late Tuesday that intelligence sources have confirmed that al-Qaida plans to release a new video on the web sometime tomorrow. U.S. intelligence believes the terror group will advise its "jihadists to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to attack the West." An FBI spokesman confirmed the threat "calling for the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against civilians." The U.S. has no "intelligence of any specific plot or...

By DOUGLAS J. FEITH May 27, 2008; Page A21 In the fall of 2003, a few months after Saddam Hussein's overthrow, U.S. officials began to despair of finding stockpiles of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The resulting embarrassment caused a radical shift in administration rhetoric about the war in Iraq. President Bush no longer stressed Saddam's record or the threats from the Baathist regime as reasons for going to war. Rather, from that point forward, he focused almost exclusively on the larger aim of promoting democracy. This new focus compounded the damage to the president's credibility that had already been...

As the war in Iraq grows more unpopular with increasing number of Americans, Democrats in collusion with the liberal mainstream media, continue to politicize the war by distorting the facts. Claim that President Bush lied about WMD in order to implement a grand strategy by neo-cons well before he took office supposedly aimed at using military force to install democratic regimes friendly to the U.S. throughout the Middle East. However, the left has never adequately answered the following question. If Bush knew there was no WMD, why would he send 150,000 troops into Iraq since his “lie” would be immediately...

The government ordered the destruction of documents on an alleged international nuclear smuggling network involving three Swiss engineers, it has been confirmed. The head of a parliamentary control committee said the material was shredded last November. The father and sons – Friedrich, Marco and Urs Tinner - are suspected of helping to supply parts for Libya's nuclear weapons programme between 2001 and 2003 through a trafficking ring run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atom bomb. Reports say the three worked as undercover agents for the United States intelligence service. There is widespread media speculation that Washington asked...

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday he was disappointed in "flawed intelligence" before the Iraq war and was concerned that if a Democrat wins the presidency in November and withdrew troops prematurely it could "eventually lead to another attack on the United States. In an interview with Politico magazine and Yahoo News, Bush also said he gave up golf in 2003 out of respect for U.S. soldiers killed in the war, which has now lasted more than five years. "I didn't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said....

Munitions pose no danger FORT KNOX — World War I-era munitions found at a construction site at Fort Knox pose no danger, Army ordnance experts determined. Construction workers at the site of the future Human Resources Center of Excellence discovered the mortar shells Friday while moving soil for a sewer system. As an additional safety measure, an expert from the Army Corps of Engineers was brought in to inspect the site and present the post with options for proper site clean up and disposal. Based on inspection findings, Col. Mark Needham, garrison commander, directed an ordnance expert be hired to...

NEW DELHI: In a move to somewhat bridge the stark strategic imbalance with China in terms of nuclear and missile arsenals, India is all set to test its most ambitious missile Agni-III on Wednesday. The countdown for the launch of Agni-III, designed to hit high-value targets deep inside China with a strike range of 3,500-km, has begun at the integrated test range on Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa. "The test will be conducted on Wednesday morning if there are no last-minute hitches. The final checks for all the sub-systems in the complex 16.7-metre tall missile, with a lift-off...

When Yasser Arafat first addressed the U.N. General Assembly in November 1974, he told the world body he came bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. "Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand," stated the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, at that time still considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. Today, the odds have increased. The gun has been replaced by nuclear warheads. Despite a mysterious air raid by the Israeli air force last Sept. 6 on what it said was a nuclear processing facility in the Syrian desert, Damascus...

MEDIA ADVISORY, April 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- The trial of Scooter Libbey proved one thing: Bush and Cheney were right -- along with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, John Kerry, and every other Democrat and responsible world leader. Saddam Hussein WAS indeed actively working to develop and build a nuclear bomb, and posed a threat of a nuclear holocaust against American famlies. An internal memo from the U.S. State Department was declassified at the insistence of Scooter Libbey's defense attorneys (against Foggy Bottom's wishes). The memo has been posted by the ASSOCIATED PRESS at -- http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/jan23/DX71.pdf And the memo is fully...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday released photographs of what it said was a Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help, in an effort to pressure Pyongyang to fully disclose its nuclear activities. The reactor was destroyed by Israel in a September 6 air strike that was initially shrouded in secrecy out of what the Bush administration said was fear that public discussion could prompt Syria, which has long supported militant Palestinian groups, to retaliate. "We are convinced, based on a variety of information, that North Korea assisted Syria's covert nuclear activities," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino...

The CIA will tell Congress today that the North Koreans had begun to build a nuclear reactor at a site in Syria bombed by the Israelis last year. The timing of the briefing appears related to the expected resolution of the six-nation plan to disarm the DPRK in the next few weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times. It may create new political difficulties for the Bush administration, but more likely it is intended to fulfill a Congressional demand for information to clear hurdles for ratification of the agreement with North Korea: CIA officials will tell Congress on Thursday that...

Today I had a private conversation with Douglas Feith and Frank Gaffney Jr. It came about due to a conference call that was arranged by the Center for Security Policy of which the latter is the President. The subject of the call was Feith's recent book War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism. Feith as you may recall was the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy on 911. As such he was in the thick of things. Of all the players in the planning of the Bush administration’s war on terrorism, few were...

On Friday, the government filed this statement of the facts in its memorandum in support of its motion for summary judgment in a civil rights and Privacy Act lawsuit brought by Dr. Steve Hatfill. “The anthrax attacks occurred in October 2001. Public officials, prominent members of the media, and ordinary citizens were targeted by this first bio-terrorist attack on American soil. Twenty-two persons were infected with anthrax; five died. At least 17 public buildings were contaminated. The attacks wreaked havoc on the U.S. postal system and disrupted government and commerce, resulting in economic losses estimated to exceed one billion dollars....

The Prime Minister of Niger reported to the U.S. State Department in early 2002 that Iraq tried to buy uranium "yellow cake" (ore) -- a June 2003 Memo reveals. A declassified court exhibit introduced in the 2007 trial of Scooter Libbey proved that Saddam Hussein tried to get uranium ore from Niger -- covertly and under the table. This is clear evidence that Saddam Hussein was actively developing nuclear weapons. Iraq already had stockpiles of uranium "yellow cake" that it was not using -- but that uranium was being watched by UN inspectors. Iraq could have no reason for wanting...

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday.

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday.

Two Palestinian employees detained mere days before they planned to lace food at Ramat Gan grill bar with tasteless, odorless toxin Efrat Weiss Published: 04.10.08, 16:38 / Israel News The thwarting of an alarming terror plot was cleared for publication on Thursday, almost three weeks after a joint Shin Bet and police operation led to the arrest of two Palestinian employees of the 'Grill Express' restaurant in Ramat Gan. The men, Eihab Abu Rial and Anas Salum, both 21-year-old residents of the West Bank city of Nablus, had planned to lace dishes served at the establishment with a powerful toxin...

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday

An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday. Furthermore, according to a report leaked to the TV channel, Syria has arrested 10 intelligence officials following the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh.

NEWPORT, Ind. (AP) - Army contractors halted operations Saturday at a western Indiana complex built to destroy a deadly nerve agent after nearly 500 gallons of caustic wastewater spilled in a contained area. No workers were injured or exposed to the hydrolysate, a byproduct of the destruction of the agent, when it leaked onto the floor of a sealed area at the Newport Chemical Depot, depot spokesman Dennis Lindsey said. The facility was to be shut down until the spill was cleaned up and its cause determined, Lindsey said. The western Indiana facility destroys the Cold War-era chemical weapon VX...

    Nerve agent destruction wraped up at incinerator       Written by by Mark Watson    Tuesday, 02 August 2005 The U.S. Army wants Tooele County residents to know there is no longer a threat for a chemical nerve agent leak at Deseret Chemical Depot south of Tooele. Weapons containing those agents no longer exist. The U.S. Army wants Tooele County residents to know there is no longer a threat for a chemical nerve agent leak at Deseret Chemical Depot south of Tooele. Weapons containing those agents no longer exist. After nine years of hard work from 1,500 employees,...

Dorset man smuggling parts to Iran, says US By Patrick Sawer A British pensioner is at the centre of a worldwide police hunt after being accused by United States authorities of smuggling military parts to Iran. Brian Woodford, 77, who owns a 17th century manor house and 100-acre estate in Dorset, has been charged in his absence with selling millions of pounds worth of US military and civilian aircraft parts to the Islamic regime in Tehran. His wife Laura was arrested after arriving at San Francisco on a flight from Hong Kong with two catalogues from a Chinese company that...

Syria got N. Korea help for N-facility 03/31/2008 BY NANAE KURASHIGE THE ASAHI SHIMBUN An Israeli airstrike against Syria last September targeted a nuclear-related facility that was under construction with technical assistance from North Korea, according to Israel's prime minister. Japanese government sources said over the weekend that the Israeli leader, Ehud Olmert, briefed Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda about the attack during summit talks in Tokyo on Feb. 27. It is apparently the first time that the intended target had been disclosed to the head of a foreign government. Previously, Jerusalem had only acknowledged it carried out the Sept. 6,...

WASHINGTON — The FBI has narrowed its focus to "about four" suspects in the 6 1/2-year investigation of the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, and at least three of those suspects are linked to the Army’s bioweapons research facility at Fort Detrick in Maryland, FOX News has learned.Among the pool of suspects are three scientists — a former deputy commander, a leading anthrax scientist and a microbiologist — linked to the research facility, known as USAMRIID.

FBI Focusing on 'About Four' Suspects in 2001 Anthrax Attacks Friday , March 28, 2008 By Catherine Herridge and Ian McCaleb WASHINGTON — The FBI has narrowed its focus to "about four" suspects in the 6 1/2-year investigation of the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, and at least three of those suspects are linked to the Army’s bioweapons research facility at Fort Detrick in Maryland, FOX News has learned. Among the pool of suspects are three scientists — a former deputy commander, a leading anthrax scientist and a microbiologist — linked to the research facility, known as USAMRIID. The FBI...