Belgium Shows New Seriousness in Fighting Terrorism at Home and Abroad

By Victor Comras

The Belgium Government has just brought its first criminal action under new anti-terrorism legislation that makes it a criminal offense to be a member of a terrorist or terrorist support group. Formal charges were lodged August 29th against 13 Islamic extremists suspected of being members of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM). Trial has been scheduled for November before the Tribunal Correctional of Brussels. This will be the first test in criminal court of Belgium�s new Anti-Terrorism legislation.

The GICM emerged in the late 1990s as an important salafist terrorist group spread widely across Europe. Its membership draws from Moroccan recruits, many of whom trained along side al qaeda in armed camps in Afghanistan. They have reported established a number of cells in Europe and, at least until recently, considered Belgium as �safe harbor.� They are also believed to operate in the UK, Denmark, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Spain and France, and to deal in the trafficking of falsified documents and arms smuggling. The group was designated as an Al Qaeda support group by the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee following its implication in the March 11, 2004 Madrid bombings. The Group is also believed responsible for the May 19, 2003 bombings in Casablanca. But there is no indication that the 13 GICM members now under arrest were involved in either of these previous attacks. Belgian investigator had previously extradited Youssef Belhadj to Spain, where he was wanted on suspicion of being the al Qaeda spokesman who claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings on a videotape in 2004.

Belgium had traditionally adopted a tolerant attitude toward the growing number of radical Islamic movements established there. The Belgian authorities sought to keep close tabs on these groups, but choose not to interfere with their activities so long as no Belgian laws were broken. In fact, Belgium only passed its first specific anti terrorism legislation in December 2003 to bring it in line with EU rules and standards. Following Madrid, and growing indications that GICM members in Belgium were directly implicated in the terrorist attack, the Belgian Prosecutors Office began to use this new legislation to tighten restrictions and oversight over these groups. These measures were further strengthened following the July 7, 2005 London bombings.

A Final Thought on Diamonds

By Douglas Farah

I agree that Dennis and I, from our different prespectives, will continue to disagree on this matter, while agreeing that commodities like diamonds presented and present and ongoing area of vulnerability that needs greater attention. I hope it has been an informative debate, and I learned some things.

I will only reiterate my belief that the investigations of the FBI were trying to answer a question that was not asked: whether al Qaeda funded itself through diamonds. The central contention, however, was that al Qaeda moved its money into diamonds to avoid possible freezing actions. Therefore, the primary purpose was not to make money, but to hide it, even if it entailed taking a small loss on transactions. Starting with a different question, one can get a different answer.

The history of al Qaeda's involvement in gemstones (including opening two diamond businesses in East Africa in the mid-1990s, the statements of bin Laden's closest aides on al Qaeda's diamond businesses, bin Laden's personal secretary's globe-trotting on diamond and other gemstone deals, bin Laden's personal interest in Liberia, and the court statements of al Qaeda operatives on buying and selling diamonds) seems to me to give a logical and historical framework to the development of the al Qaeda invovlement in the diamond trade as I described it. The FBI investigations seemed to me to view the diamond-buying activities in a historical and contextual vacuum.

Finally, I reiterate the different conclusions reached by people who spent considerable time--months and years at a time--on the ground, meeting with people directly involved, and investigations that, out of necessity, relied on more formal channels and could not spend time on the ground. It was not just media that came up with the allegations, but other serious law enforcement investigators coming from several different angles. The two types of investigations reached two very different conclusions. And, for the time being, that is where we are. I will leave it at that.

Technology Transfer and Terrorism: Growing Lethality in Southeast Asia

By Zachary Abuza

There has been a lot of press in the past few weeks about the growing terrorist threat in Southeast Asia. The region is clearly jittery. In May Philippine authorities seized a cache of more ton of ammonium nitrate in a Manila warehouse. Earlier this month, two bombs wounded 30 people in Zamboanga city. On 28 August the ASG detonated another bomb on a ferry that had 300 passengers. Last year a similar bomb killed 116 people, the most lethal attack in Southeast Asia since the Bali blast. Though no one was killed in last Sunday�s bombing, more than 30 were wounded and inter-island transport, the impoverished archipelago's prime means of transit, slowed. The situation is as tense in Indonesia, where President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has recently warned that terrorist attacks are imminent. Earlier this week, a bomb-scare shut down the British Embassy in Jakarta. Indeed, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), though degraded, has the capability to execute one major attack a year (Bali October 2002, JW Mariott August 2003, and the Australian embassy September 2004). As the last bombing was one year ago, we are due for a major attack. Indonesian police recently intercepted a letter from one cell leader to the JI leadership that they are ready and able: Explosives had been procured and 12 martyrs (shaheeds) readied.

But the real reason for concern is that there is a significant degree of technology transfer going on. Simply put, more people have more sophisticated and lethal bomb technology.

CT Blog to Join Bloggers' Effort to Aid Hurricane Katrina Victims

By Andrew Cochran

Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster ever to hit the United States. The victims need our money and prayers in abundance. So we're joining with other bloggers, organized by Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, and others, in urging our readers to give to a number of fine organizations. On Thursday, we'll join them in a special "Bloggers' Beg" by posting a list of organizations recommended by our Contributing Experts. Of course, as in other disasters, the Red Cross is a great place to start, but other organizations have additional distribution channels and outstanding records of providing disaster assistance. We know you'll want to help.

I thought diamonds were supposed to be clear? Then why are they so gray?

By Dennis Lormel

There is one thing that Doug and I are clear about concerning this subject. We will continue to agree to disagree on the issue of Al Qaeda�s involvement in the diamond trade. There are a number of factors that contribute to the inconsistency concerning this subject. Doug noted the number of witnesses who provided information to him and others supporting his case. I can point to similar numbers contradicting it. We can go back and forth and make compelling arguments for our respective positions concerning this debate. I don�t argue Al Qaeda�s presence in the region or that certain individuals have Al Qaeda affiliations. My focus was specific to Al Qaeda�s alleged involvement in the diamond trade. Whether or not Al Qaeda�s name was mentioned anywhere is secondary to the diamond issue. Experts in the diamond business have advised that characteristics of the trade argue against the possibility that Al Qaeda could enter the industry or make a great deal of profit from it.

Allegations articulated by Doug and others in various media were placed in a matrix by the FBI. Each was investigated. They were vetted with the CIA, the interagency community and international counterparts. In conjunction with other investigative steps, extensive Al Qaeda detainee interviews were also conducted. The allegations could not be substantiated. In the aftermath of the FBI investigation, the Department of Justice referred this matter to the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for an independent review. An Assistant United States Attorney, SDNY, determined that no further investigation was warranted. Subsequently, the 9/11 Commission assessed the allegations that Al Qaeda used the trade of conflict diamonds to fund itself. The 9/11 Commission reviewed the full scope of the allegations in reaching the conclusion that Al Qaeda did not fund itself through diamonds. With specific respect to diamond trafficking, no other country in the world investigated or presented the United States with evidence that Al Qaeda was involved in conflict diamonds. One final point, in response to an inquiry by Representative Frank Wolf, then National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice commented by letter that the interagency community possessed no credible evidence of Al Qaeda�s involvement in diamond trafficking.

Conflict diamonds are an area of vulnerability which clearly warranted investigation. For my part, I am satisfied that the appropriate investigation was conducted. I�m sure Doug does not share that view. If diamonds are supposed to be clear, why were they so gray when it came to Al Qaeda?

Walid Phares: LEBANON SECURITY ARRESTS COULD LEAD TO SYRIA AND HIZBOLLAH

By Walid Phares

Today, the Lebanese Government accepted a UN investigation commission request to have a number of former security chiefs brought in for interrogation in the Hariri assassination. The three directors detained were:  Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, the former chief of General Security; Maj. Gen. Ali Hajj, the former director general of the Internal Security Forces; and Brig. Gen. Raymond Azar, the former director general of military intelligence. The commander of the Presidential Guards, Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, also appeared before the U.N. investigation in response to a summons. The Commission ordered former pro-Syrian MP Nasser Kandil to appear as well. But according to official sources, he has taken refuge in the Syrian capital. The four former security officials are considered as the strategic arm of the Lebanese regime and the umbrella that protected Hizbollah under Syrian Baathist supervision. Jamil Sayyed, according to well-informed Lebanese sources was the highest Syrian Mukhabarat �man� inside the Lebanese apparatus since the early 1990s. Mustafa Hamdan, commander of the Harass al Jamhuri, Lebanon�s version of the �Republican Guards,� is accused of masterminding many assassinations, and potentially part of the conspiracy to kill Hariri. Sources in Lebanon believe that the UN investigation may well link the Lebanese regime, Assad�s agencies and Hizbollah to the assassination.

British Request Extradition of Terror Suspect Detained in Thailand

By Zachary Abuza

The British government has formally requested the extradition of the Algerian man arrested by Thai authorities who is wanted in conjunction with the 7/7 attacks in London. A Thai court will soon rule on the extradition request.

Atamnia Yachine (33) was arrested in Bangkok last week in possession of some 186 fake French and Spanish passports. Authorites tracked him down in the ongoing investigation of another ethnic Algerian (though British citizen), Mahiededine Daikh, who was arrested on 2 August at Bangkok�s airport in possession of 452 fake passports.

Yachine has long been a suspect in the sale of forged documents. According to press reports, British authorities issued a warrant for Atamnia Yachine�s arrest in 1995 when his fingerprints were found on a parcel that contained 200 passports. British police believe that Yachine supplied fake travel documents to the London bombers.

That Thai authorities have made two recent seizures of 638 passports is commendable, but it highlights the fact that Thailand remains an important back office � especially for forged documents � for trans-national criminal organization and terrorist organizations. Yet, Thai authorities deserve significant credit for substantially tightening their border controls at the Don Muang airport in Bangkok. Documents receive far greater scrutiny while all foreigners are digitally photographed on arrival and departure.

Who is the New Saudi Ambassador and Why Don't We Care?

By Douglas Farah

I have waited in vain for someone in the major media to run something telling the American people who the new Saudi ambassador to the United States--Prince Turki al-Faisal--really is. Yet his naming has passed almost unnoticed and uncommented since it was made last month.

It is important to understand that Prince Turki not only has ties to U.S. intelligence dating back to the BCCI scandal of the 1980s. But more importantly, he was was head of Saudi intelligence for 24 years, and as such one of the chief propagators of the spread of wahhabism around the world. He also supported radical Islamic and wahhabist causes without hesitation or reserve. He resigned his intelligence position a month before 9-11, and, since 2002 was Saudi ambassador to Great Britain.

He was one of the primary architects and bagmen for the Saudi funding of the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan. He supervised the purchase of some 400 pickup trucks for the Taliban's final push to victory in 1996, and worked closely with Pakistani intelligence to arm, train and supply the Taliban long after the Taliban took in Osama bin Laden as a special guest. He has helped spread around the world the wildly anti-Jewish hate literature that the Saudi government prints and Saudi intelligence helps distribute. This includes calls to kill all Jews, along with calls to wage war against Christianity. These are not passing references, but the heart of wahhabi teachings, which Prince Turki has overseen and spread.

While Prince Turki denies any sympathy for bin Laden, and states that he only met bin Laden in the 1990s on visits to Afghanistan, his support for the Taliban, his support for the Saudi diplomatic recognition and funding for the Taliban and the deep involvement of his intelligence operatives is forming and shaping the Taliban place him in very close proximity to al Qaeda. According to published accounts, Prince Turki's enthusiasm for the Taliban faded after a 1998 visit to Kandahar, Afghanistan, when Taliban leader Mullah Omar, insulted him and refused to discuss handing bin Laden over to the Saudis.

I find it hard to imagine why the Bush administration, despite the ties of the Bush family to Prince Turki (he worked with Bush I when Bush I was head of the CIA) accepting this appointment. Why would you accept a hate-spewing architect of one of your worst enemies as ambassador to your country? I find it even more interesting that no one is questioning this at all in the major media or in public forums. Even in a slow August no one seems to care. To continue reading, please go here.

Debate Continues Here on Al Qaeda's Involvement With African Diamond Trade

By Andrew Cochran

One of my original goals for this site was to hold the definitive debate on the issue of Al Qaeda's possible involvement with the diamond trade in West Africa. The world had heard from Douglas Farah, former award-winning Washington Post reporter, whose investigative work in Africa led him to write "Blood From Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror.� Released in 2004, the book laid out the evidence for his thesis that Al Qaeda "moved tens of millions of dollars from banks into diamonds, gold, tanzanite, emeralds, and sapphires" to finance its operations. But that thesis was always discounted by law enforcement and the intelligence community, and the 9/11 Commission staff agreed with that side in its Monograph on Terrorist Financing: "No persuasive evidence exists that al Qaeda relied on the drug trade as an important source of revenue, had any substantial involvement with conflict diamonds, or was financially sponsored by any foreign government." The most knowledgeable former law enforcement official in the world who can discuss the issue openly is Dennis Lormel, former Director of the FBI�s Terrorist Financing Operations Section, from where he directed the FBI's investigation into Doug's thesis.

Doug and Dennis touched on the issue periodically prior to this month, when they engaged in a full point-counterpoint debate. I've decided to compile all of their CT Blog posts on this issue for our readers in a single document. I invite you to download it (I'll also save it in the Counterterrorism Library), and I'll update the file as needed:
Download debate_on_alqaeda_african_diamonds.doc

Links Added to Buy Contributing Experts' Books & Other Changes

By Andrew Cochran

Some site changes today: I've added a new section in the left sidebar with links to other sites where you can buy books written by our Contributing Experts. I've removed the "Oil-for-Food Collection" (although I still have the files), because it appears that the links between the OFF program to terrorism have been developed, and I want to use that space for the book links and the Counterterrorism Library. And I've added Rachel Sullivan, my co-worker at our Washington government relations firm, as Assistant Editor to help with a wide range of blog issues.

Security Concerns as Afghanistan Elections Approach

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Afghanistan's parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 18.  Just as security concerns were paramount for both Iraq's National Assembly elections and for the coming vote on its constitution, so too is this a large issue for the Afghanistan elections.  The UN's Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) provides an excellent overview (reprinted at the Reuters website) of the security concerns.  There are three major levels of threat:  national and international forces and electoral bodies, candidates and voters.

Thus far, most of the recent violence by extremist groups in Afghanistan has targeted pro-government and international forces.  Aside from escalating attacks on military forces, at least four election workers have been killed since preparations for the upcoming elections began this spring.  There have also been attacks on candidates.  This Saturday, for example, parliamentary candidate Haji Atiqullah was killed in the Uruzgan province.  The Afghan-UN Joint Electoral Management Body has said that at least three other candidates have been killed since preparations for the elections began.  IRIN reports that there have also been other attacks on candidates and attempts at intimidation:

In the run-up to the polls, candidates have been attacked when out electioneering. In one case, a woman from the southern city of Kandahar was shot at after receiving threatening phone calls warning her not to make remarks against the Mujahideen, or holy fighters.  In another incident, the home and car of a candidate who edits a secular newspaper known for being critical of Jihadi fighters, were firebombed.

Although the Taliban has condemned the election and warned citizens not to take part, a spokesman purporting to represent the group announced this month that the Taliban doesn't plan to attack polling stations on election day.  Not everybody takes the Taliban at their word.  Lt. Col. Cristoni Riccardo, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, commented, "We don't trust this [Taliban statement] because they have lied about several other issues in the past."

In an attempt to ensure the polls' security, American forces have stepped up their offensive against the Taliban in recent weeks.  The U.S. military claims to have killed over 100 militants in recent weeks, including today's killing of a suspected Taliban commander and nine other rebels.

While the Taliban almost certainly won't be able to cause a major disruption to the country's elections, this situation deserves our attention.

Algerian "Junior Osama Bin Laden" Resurfaces in Bosnia-Herzegovina

By Evan Kohlmann

An Algerian terrorist commander once thought to head a transnational sleeper cell network that included would-be Al-Qaida Millenium bomber Ahmed Ressam has resurfaced in Bosnia-Herzegovina, vehemently denying allegations recently presented to the Bosnian Supreme Court in Sarajevo that his foreign mujahideen unit committed war crimes during the Bosnian civil conflict of the 1990s.  Algerian militant commander Abu el-Maali--the former chief of the foreign mujahideen unit in Bosnia--granted an exclusive interview to a mujahideen-affiliated magazine in Bosnia in order to respond to charges leveled during the recent trial of Iraqi-born Abduladhim Maktouf--convicted in early July of aiding in the 1993 kidnapping of three Croat civilians subsequently held prisoner in a mujahideen-run torture camp.

Click to view exclusive report c/o Globalterroralert.com

NOTE: In the interests of full disclosure, I should add that I appeared as an expert witness on behalf of international prosecutors during the recent Bosnian Supreme Court case against Abduladhim Maktouf to testify about Abu el-Ma`ali and the foreign mujahideen detachment in the Balkans.  I challenge Abu el-Ma`ali to abandon his ridiculous rhetoric and respond to a single substantive point of my testimony--including my discussion of his petty blood feud with fellow terror recruiter Abu Hamza al-Masri.  For more, see my book Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: the Afghan-Bosnian Network.

Context in Perspective

By Douglas Farah

I think we are straying from the real issue of debate: Did al Qaeda enter the gemstone trade in West Africa to hide its assets and move its resources. However, I will respond to some of what Dennis has said.

I am a little puzzled by the references to context. The context of the Belgian police report was that it was prepared by three Belgian investigators and given to the FBI in its Detroit office, as a powerpoint presentation, in 2003. It is marked "For Police Use Only." The names of the authors are on the cover sheet. It was a summary of a much longer Belgian police report, translated so the FBI could read it, and speaks for itself. It can be viewed on my website. Perhaps the Washington office never saw it.

It is also not true, and I have provided the quotes and citations, that al Qaeda was not mentioned in the Belgian police court case. It was, multiple times. There are transcripts on this, which I am happy to provide. But the context of that is that it is the official prosecutor/police report place before a judge in the trials, outlining the official state findings.

While it is true that Osaillly and Nassour were tried on illegal diamond charges, it is not a strategy unknown to U.S. law enforcement officials, who have routinely failed to win convictions on terrorism charges. Rather, they ask, as in the case of Abdulrahman Alamoudi, for terrorism enhancements to the sentences because they could not prove the terrorism allegations in court in a satisfactory way. The federal government, including the FBI, chose not to prosecute Enaam Arnout on terrorism charges, despite the fact Arnout was present at the founding of al Qaeda and was photographed carrying an AK-47 beside Osama bin Laden. Instead, there was a plea bargain on much lesser charges. And of course Al Capone was never tried as a mobster, but for tax evasion. I think it is amply clear in the post-9/11 world that laws have not caught up with the new reality. The Belgian prosecutors told me they wanted to go for a sure conviction on what they knew they could get, rather than going the more risky route of terror prosecutions. A choice the FBI has made many times, despite evidence those involved in many different cases were linked to terrorism.

Finally, it is not in dispute that the FBI investigated the allegations. But it seems to me that, had anyone known beforehand that al Qaeda was involved in diamonds, that police or intelligence service would have moved to cut it out. Going back to legal attaches in countries that obviously had no information, confirming they have no information and taking that as evidence confirming something did not happen is hardly a surprising outcome.

The FBI may not have relied on hearsay, but that strongly implies that everyone else who came to separate conclusions did, and that is not true and insulting. Several people, myself included, risked their lives investigating the story on the ground. My pregnant wife and 2-year-old son had to be evacuated because Charles Taylor wanted to kill us, an unlikely reaction if everything we said was not true. Al White of the Special Court was almost killed numerous times during his investigations.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone found 12 witnesses to events, told separately. These investigations were carried out by people with 30 years experience in U.S. law enforcement. It was not a fly-by-night, in-and-out deal talking to people through official channels. I had four witnesses when I wrote the first story, most of whom were different from the Court sources. In most cases, 15 witness describing seeing the same people, during the same time frame, in the same place, meeting the same people, is not considered hearsay.

There is documentary evidence, including the calls to Afghanistan, a country that had no known jewelry business under the Taliban that would merit long discussions of diamond purchases. And no one but the Taliban and al Qaeda had satellite phones with Afghan prefixes at that time. The market for diamonds in Sierra Leone was sufficiently skewed in the summer of 2001, when the purchasing was going on, that the U.S. Ambassador there, Joseph Melrose, wrote a cable to the State Department saying there were mysterious Arab buyers who were purchasing the vast bulk of diamonds from the RUF rebels, causing fears that the diamonds were being purchased by criminals. Unfortunately, terrorism did not enter into the the thoughts at the time.

Finally, it is not true that no other country found evidence of al Qaeda's ties to the diamond trade. The Israelis, Indonesians and British all did, and wrote cables to the State Department and intelligence community on it. The Israelis identified Ibrahim Bah, one of those interviewed extensively by the FBI teams in West Africa, as an al Qaeda operative. Bah's name was found in the al Qaeda rolls in Afghanistan. However, he produced a passport (one of at least five he holds, including diplomatic passports from Gambia and Burkina Faso) to the FBI showing he was born in 1969. Despite the fact that his real birth date was 1957, the FBI accepted this as evidence he was too young to have been in Afghanistan. Dennis acknowledged in the Dateline NBC interview that the the FBI "didn't have any
leverage on him (Bah). He certainly adamantly denied al-Qaeda being involved with him and we--we couldn't find any information to discredit what he said." One has to ask how likely it would be for a person to admit to FBI officials they were involved with al Qaeda, while residing in a country that has given them a diplomatic passport?

I will be happy to get back to issues of more substance as the debate continues.

Diamonds...Counterpoint....II

By Dennis Lormel

With respect to Doug�s last post, I again question the context. I have not seen the Belgian Police Report that is referred to. The case that is referred to was not a terrorism case. Ossailly and Nassour were prosecuted on criminal charges. My understanding is that there was no mention of Al Qaeda or terrorism in either the report or the trial. The FBI dealt directly with Belgian investigators who were involved in that case. Again, they stated they had no evidence concerning Al Qaeda and diamonds. Others having information to the contrary just points to the number of inconsistencies this case presented.

No other country in the world has linked Al Qaeda to diamonds. During the FBI investigation, FBI Legal Attaches were tasked to query their law enforcement and intelligence contacts about this matter. All responses were negative concerning the conflict diamond issue. During the time frame of the investigation, while still with the Bureau, I traveled to a number of countries and held meetings with a variety of law enforcement and intelligence executives. In every meeting, the conflict diamond matter was discussed. My counterparts were always dumbfounded by and had no information concerning the diamond allegations.

The FBI reports demonstrate that the FBI did not rely on hearsay. Wherever possible, an investigation was conducted to attempt to corroborate statements. At the end of the process, the allegations could not be substantiated.

I�m not going to comment about the information flow in other agencies other than to say, at the time this investigation was conducted, no other agency presented information to support the allegations. This matter rose to the National Security Counsel level in attempting to determine if any agency had information to support the diamond allegations.

Suspect in London Attacks Arrested in Thailand

By Zachary Abuza

Thai immigration authorities announced today that they have apprehended an Algerian wanted by British authorities in conjunction with the 7/7 attacks. A report in Thailand�s English-language daily, The Nation, states that Atamnia Yachine (33) was arrested in Thailand after a tip off regarding fake travel documents. He was arrested with some 180 fake French and Spanish passports. Thai authorities are currently debating whether to hold him for further questioning or quickly deport him to the UK.

A Final Point

By Douglas Farah

I think the Belgian police report, which is available to all on my website, speaks for itself. It is an official document. The same is true for the formal police statement to the judge in the trials of Samih Osailly and Aziz Nassour, and I would be happy to provide the full transcript to anyone who requests it, or post it on my site or this site. The Belgians told me and numerous other investigators that their official report shows of the belief of a connection to al Qaeda and terrorism. Why they told the FBI something different is an interesting question. It is clearly not what they said in their reports or to others.

Gen. Wald, as sitting deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, speaking on the Voice of America, likewise, was not speaking as an individual or out of synch with his command. Nor was the DIA report.

Perhaps this is another instance where information gathered by different agencies simply was not shared across institutional bounderies. It is a difficult and complex investigation. There are no signed checks going to al Qaeda, nor invoices for diamonds for them. And so the debate continues.

Conflict Diamonds....Counterpoint

By Dennis Lormel

In response to Doug�s rebuttal I�d like to reiterate my closing comment in my last posting. Based on a number of dynamics, including cultural considerations, this is a gray area. There is a considerable amount of �he said, he said� which is quite inconsistent. I could easily list a number of individuals and officials who concur with my position. In the interest of brevity, I would ask Doug to legally stipulate on this issue.

The FBI traveled to Belgium and met directly with the Belgian Police on one of the deployments to West Africa to investigate the conflict diamond issue. The Belgians specifically advised that they did not state that Al Qaeda was involved in the diamond trade and had no such information. The results of the FBI investigations were reported in trip reports.

All of the allegations that were known at the time of the FBI investigation were placed in a matrix and thoroughly investigated. None of the allegations could be substantiated.

Interestingly, the US officials identified in Doug�s post appear to have acted/commented unilaterally and not in conjunction with their agency headquarter components in Washington, DC. The interagency community in Washington was all in agreement on this issue. Had other information been available it would have been investigated.

Conflict diamonds are clearly an area of vulnerability. As such they were closely scrutinized. The subject is also extremely confusing and contradictory. Hence the debate continues.

A Slight Clarification on Diamonds

By Douglas Farah

I would only clarify that it is simply not true that no other police or intelligence service in the world found ties between al Qaeda and the diamond trade.

On my website is a copy of a Belgian police report prepared for the FBI that has a section called "Indications of Terrorism," showing the calls of the al Qaeda-linked diamond dealers to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Lebanon, as well as other evidence gathered. It can be viewed in its entirety here. The terrorism section begins on page 26, but it is all interesting.

The more complete internal Belgian police report--carried out because the diamonds were arriving in Antwerp, Belgium, the diamond capital of the world-- gave even fuller information, and police investigators there said they were satisfied "at the level of very good intelligence" that al Qaeda was involved in the diamond purchases they investigated.

The same police, when filing diamond trafficking charges against the individuals, wrote in their court brief that "�When we compare the allegations in the Washington Post (where they were first published in November 2001) about conflict diamonds serving to lock al Qaeda�s assets, with the chronology and combination of the above mentioned conclusions, they appear to be coincide remarkably.�

It is not just Europeans who found the story at least credible. Several U.S. agencies and officials have as well, and said so publicly.

The DIA has also written a highly classified report on the diamond ties to al Qaeda in 2003 and concluded it was "likely" that such ties existed, something Gen. Charles Wald, deputy commander of the U.S. European Command, then publicly stated the ties I and others outlined were "a fact."

Dateline NBC got a former CIA station chief for Liberia to appear on camera last month to use remarkably similar language: �They (al Qaeda operatives) were there during the period in question,� said Mike Shanklin, referring to the period of 1998-2001. �And clearly they were involved in some sort of a diamond business. That�s a fact.�

Finally, U.S. investigators on behalf of the United Nations have written extensively and publicly on the ties that exist. So, while the FBI may not agree with these conclusions, it is incorrect to state no one else, looking at the same evidence, came to very different conclusions.

My only point is, one can disagree about where the evidence leads. But those that arrived at conclusions starkly different from the FBI's are many and public.

Conflict Diamonds....Round 3

By Dennis Lormel

In response to Doug Farah�s posting earlier today, I concur with his argument about the Al Qaeda presence in West Africa and the significance of the potential future threat. It is a very alarming situation. The potential volatility of the region is well articulated, and I absolutely concur with the content on every point up to the Al Qaeda diamond trading.

The last two paragraphs of the article are a bit out of context. The FBI teams that were sent to West Africa were there to specifically look at the diamond trading allegations. The two trips, as pointed out, spanned a matter of weeks. What was not mentioned was the fact that the investigation was conducted for well over a year. There were pre and post deployment investigative activities to address all aspects of this matter ranging from planning to coverage of outstanding leads. The FBI and CIA were not alone in their assessments. No other law enforcement or intelligence service in the world developed evidence of Al-Qaeda trafficking in diamonds. In addition, the FBI and CIA conducted extensive interviews of detainees in venues to include Guantanimo Bay, Pakistan and Afghanistan. There was not one instance where an interview developed any positive information about diamond trade. There were numerous instances where rationale was provided as to why Al Qaeda was not involved in diamond trade.

The FBI took the allegations very seriously. If there was a funding mechanism that was viable, the FBI wanted to disrupt or eliminate such a threat. The FBI, in conjunction with the US interagency community and international counterparts could not substantiate the allegations that Al Qaeda was involved in the conflict diamond trade.

If anyone, especially an individual with on-the-ground experience in the region can provide evidence that can be substantiated; I encourage them to do so. I�m confident the FBI would conduct additional investigation of any allegation that was open ended. The dynamic of the situation in West Africa is not one that is black and white. It is extremely gray. As such, the standard of evidence is extremely challenging and the debate will likely continue.

John Byrne Leaves the American Bankers Association

By Dennis Lormel

In a press release dated August 25, 2005, Bank of America announced the appointment of John Byrne to the position of Anti-Money Laundering Strategy Executive in the bank�s Compliance Risk Management Division. Prior to accepting this position, John served with the American Bankers Association (ABA). He joined the ABA in 1983. I first met John in the early 1990�s when I was a Supervisor at the FBI in the Financial Institution Fraud Unit. Subsequently, when I was Chief of the Financial Crimes Section, in 2000, our association became more focused in dealing with issues germane to the banking industry with regulatory and investigative agencies. Following 9/11, when I formed the Terrorist Financing Operations Section at the FBI, John offered his assistance and counsel on issues critical to our ability to better interact with the banking community.

Since December, 2003, John has been the Director of the ABA Center for Regulatory Compliance. In that time, he was always a major contributor to industry conferences and forums promoting training and addressing sensitive banking issues. In every encounter I�ve had with John, he has displayed the utmost professionalism and concern for bridging gaps between the government and industry.

There are numerous issues involving the benefits and burdens of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). John Byrne and Bill Fox, Director of FinCEN, have been among the most visible leaders in addressing these important issues. Their ability to be sensitive to each others position, while representing the interests of their constituencies has been commendable. In part, they�ve achieved this through the BSA Working Group. One of the central issues they�ve addressed has been the development of methods to most effectively and efficiently address money laundering and terrorist financing. The PATRIOT Act enhanced BSA reporting requirements. John and Bill have worked very closely to ensure that at the end of the day, law enforcement is given the best opportunity to disrupt or prevent terrorist activities through banking facilities. When I was at the FBI, I was a direct beneficiary of industry and government cooperation on such issues as Suspicious Activity Reporting. In this regard, John has been one of the true unsung heroes in combating terrorist financing, as well as money laundering.

On one hand, I�m sorry to see John leave the ABA because of the contributions he has made; on the other hand, I�m excited for the opportunity that awaits him at Bank of America. John, thank you for all you�ve done to advance anti-money laundering and terrorist financing compliance.

Taylor, Africa and Thoughts on the Diamond Debate

By Douglas Farah

There is new evidence that Charles Taylor continues to meddle in West African affairs, this time presented by a Liberians United for Transparent Elections. The group went public with the information, including airplane tail numbers, travel tickets and other information on Taylor's movements out of his guilded exile in Nigeria, and the movement of those rebel leaders in the region who Taylor supports. The full story from Allafrica.com can be found here.

In a nutshell, this shows that a man who dealt extensively with al Qaeda and international criminal syndicates has spent considerable time meeting with rebel leaders from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Gambia. Yet the Nigerian government, (president Obasanjo and foreign minister Oluyemi Adeniji) refuse to take action. One of the few viable explanations left is the conclusion of the investigating organization: "the presence of Charles Taylor in Nigeria is reduced to personal and business interests between president Obasanjo and his foreign minister Adeniji."

These developments--the willingness to protect mass murderers and terrorists--make it all the more likely that the recent prediction by a senior U.S. military official will come true sooner rather than later. Maj. Gen. Douglas Lute, director of operations for the U.S. Central Command, said earlier this week that al Qaeda fighters in Iraq will fan out to the "vast ungoverned spaces" of Africa when (and if) the situation in Iraq stabilizes. Lute predicted that Zarqawi and his followers would take the "path of least resistence" if forced to leave Iraq, and that would be to resettle in the stateless regions of Africa. The full story from the Guardian of London can be found here.

Unfortunately, Nigeria's handling of Taylor is an open invitation for not only terrorists but criminals of all stripes to move in. If Taylor will not be turned over for trial after his atrocities and terrorist ties, then anyone else will be safe there too, if the price is right.

It is interesting to note that while some, like my friend Dennis Lormel, continue to dispute the reality of al Qaeda's ties to the diamond trade, there is near-unanimous consensus that the "vast ungoverned spaces" of Africa are and have long been attractive to al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. There is also a growing recognition that the intelligence community does not and did not have any idea what was happening in those areas, especially ones wracked by violence like Liberia and Sierra Leone. There was simply no one but a few U.S. military attaches providing any intelligence at all on the conflicts.

It would be extremely challenging, in the best of circumstances, to "thoroughly investigate" anything in the region in two trips taken more than two years after events occured, each lasting a few weeks, with teams made up of people with no regional experience, and assume one can gather the "facts." This is not due to incompetence, political agendas or anything else. It is simply not possible to go into countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burkina Faso, trace a story as one would in the United States, and assume the case is closed based on that information.

The biggest divide in the diamond debate is between people who spent considerable time on the ground in the region dealing with those directly involved in the diamond transactions (the Special Court for Sierra Leone investigators, intelligence officials from the U.S. European Command, myself, Global Witness, European intelligence investigators), who came to one conclusion, and those (the FBI and some in the CIA), who spent minimal time there, relied of formal channels for information and came to a very different conclusion. Maybe the thorough investigations by the FBI found more in a few days on the ground than the rest of did in years, but I remain unconvinced.

Changes in DHS Border Security Are Just a Bandage, Not a Strategy

By Michael Cutler

Radical Indoctrination in the U.S. Prisons

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The investigation of a recent alleged terrorism plot that law enforcement officials say was hatched in a California prison has raised fears about radical Islamic indoctrination in the country's prison system.  Law enforcement officials told ABC News that former Oakland gang member Peter Martinez and cellmate Kevin James, both held in the New Folsom State Prison, organized a plot to attack military and Jewish targets in the Los Angeles area this coming September 11.  The plot was discovered when former Folsom Prison inmate Levar Washington (who converted to Islam while in prison) and an accomplice were arrested for a string of gas station robberies.

The San Diego Union Tribune explains the concerns that this incident raises about radical Islamic recruiting in the prison system:

The allegations seem to support comments that FBI Director Robert Mueller made to the Senate Intelligence Committee:  "Prisons continue to be fertile ground for extremists who exploit both a prisoner's conversion to Islam while still in prison, as well as their socio-economic status and placement in the community upon their release."  Fears that Islamic prison groups could foster terrorism have grown since the arrest in 2002 of Jose Padilla, a former Chicago street gang member and former convict who converted to Islam and a few years later allegedly attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.  Padilla is in jail, accused of plotting to create a crude radioactive device, or "dirty bomb."  Similar concerns were raised after a Muslim chaplain for New York's state prison system was dismissed for allegedly using his position to promote Islamic radicalism.  Richard Reid, the British citizen convicted in a failed shoe-bomb attack aboard an American Airlines flight in 2001, reportedly converted to Islam in prison.  At least one of the suspects arrested in the July 21 attempted suicide attacks in London reportedly converted to Islam while behind bars.

However, not everybody is convinced that fears of prison-bred terrorism are warranted.  Maher Hathout, a senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council, commented, "The prisons are a breeding ground for drugs, for violence, for rape, for gangs, for everything.  There should not be hysteria or fear because we're dealing with that ghost named Islam."  And scholar Robert Dannin claimed that the cases that officials and experts cite as proof of Islamic proselytizing in prison are often incorrect.  "People have taken this (tale) of Malcolm X, the one famous example (of a prison conversion to Islam), and built it into a powerful myth," he said.

I would like to shed some light on the kind of material that has been used in recent years to indoctrinate prison inmates by showing selections from two books that were widely distributed in American prisons by the U.S. branch of the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which was designated a sponsor of terrorism by the Treasury Department in September 2004.  The .pdf's that you can dowload below are a Counterterrorism Blog exclusive.

First, the al-Haramain Foundation distributed The Noble Qur'an, translated by Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, to an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 prisoners.  (Download NQ_Title.pdf)  This translation uniquely advances a radical interpretation of the Muslim holy book through the use of footnotes and bracketed material that does not appear in the Arabic text, but rather serves an entirely "explanatory" function.  An early footnote in this translation lays out, at length, the importance of jihad:  "Al-Jihad (holy fighting) in Allah's Cause (with full force of numbers and weaponry) is given the utmost importance in Islam and is one of its pillars (on which it stands).  By Jihad Islam is established, Allah's Word is made superior, . . . and His Religion (Islam) is propagated.  By abandoning Jihad (may Allah protect us from that) Islam is destroyed and the Muslims fall into an inferior position; their honour is lost, their lands are stolen, their rule and authority vanish.  Jihad is an obligatory duty in Islam on every Muslim, and he who tries to escape from this duty, or does not in his innermost heart wish to fulfil this duty, dies with one of the qualities of a hypocrite."  (Download NQ_71.pdf)  Thus, this translation both rules out non-military interpretations of jihad by specifying that it involves "full force of numbers and weaponry) and also states that it is "an obligatory duty on every Muslim."

Netherlands: no distinction between Hezbollah political and terror branches

By Matthew Levitt

The Netherlands just issued the English version of its 2004 annual report on intelligence, a copy of which may be found here.

Note what the report has to say about Hezbollah:

"Investigations have shown that Hezbollah�s terrorist wing, the Hezbollah External Security Organisation, has been directly and indirectly involved in terrorist acts. It can also be concluded that Hezbollah�s political and terrorist wings are controlled by one co-ordinating council. This means that there is indeed a link between these parts of the organisation. The Netherlands has changed its policy and no longer makes a distinction between the political and terrorist Hezbollah branches. The Netherlands informed the relevant EU bodies of its findings."

The Dutch findings are particularly revealing in light of the appointment last month of Hezbollah member Muhammad Fneish as Minister of Energy and Water in the new Lebanese government. For more on Fneish's appointment and Hezbollah activities in Lebanon, see "The New Lebanon: Democratic Reform and State Sponsorship"

Training - An Important Tool for Disrupting Terrorist Financing

By Dennis Lormel

In the United States, there are three distinct areas where training offers the potential to facilitate the disruption of terrorist financing. These areas include training in the government sector, providing training to other governments developing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and terrorist financing regimes, and training in the financial sector. For the most part, training in the government sector is adequate. In the international arena, the State Department, Department of Justice, FBI, IRS and Treasury Department have done an outstanding job of coordinating training for countries in need. In addition, consultants provide selective training to certain countries. The question is�has the financial sector done an adequate job of providing terrorist financing training to its employees? Unfortunately, the answer is�the industry has not provided terrorist financing specific training to the level or threshold that it might make a difference.

Steven Emerson on press coverage of Sami al-Arian case and impact of pre-Patriot Act "wall" on prosecutions (updated 8/24)

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson appeared on Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor" on Monday night to discuss how the "St. Petersburg Times" failed to investigate Prof. Sami al-Arian's alleged activities on behalf of Palestinian Islamic Jihad at the University of South Florida during the 1990s. O'Reilly played a FBI tape of conversations in which Jim Harper, then a reporter for the Times, advised al-Arian on how to rebut investigative stories run by the Tampa Tribune which were critical of al-Arian'a activities. Steve said, "And clearly in the case of Jim Harper, the reporter, he not only bought into Al-Arian's denials that he was a terrorist, but he actually started coaching him. And on top of that, he actually withheld reporting in the paper that would have actually been much more negative about Al-Arian's involvement in the Islamic jihad. This was a wholesale bias that was deliberately perpetrated by The St. Petersburg Times for years."

Steve also addressed the impact on the al-Arian case of the "wall" which barred the sharing of certain intelligence information prior to the passage of the USA Patriot Act in 2001: "I must tell you the wall put a damper on, and tremendously restrained and constrained and prevented people within the agencies from talking to one another within the FBI. The whole reason the investigation Al-Arian got delayed in terms of a prosecution was because they couldn't talk to one another within the FBI, period." The U.S. House and the U.S. Senate have passed different versions of a reauthorization bill, which they must reconcile prior to the end of the year, when 16 Patriot Act provisions expire.

You can see the entire interview here (big Windows Media Player file), and you can download the transcript of the interview below:

Download EmersonOReilly82205.pdf

UPDATE 8/24: "The Palestinian Islamic Jihad planned an attack inside the United States, but it might have been thwarted by federal law enforcement, an FBI agent testified Tuesday afternoon. Agent Kerry Myers said all information about the plot was classified and he could not discuss it."

Zarqawi Claims Attack on U.S. Warships in Jordanian Port of Aqaba

By Evan Kohlmann

[*UPDATED*] Al-Qaida's Committee in Mesopotamia--led by wanted Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has issued two new statements claiming responsibility for a failed August 19 Katyusha rocket attack on two U.S. warships docked in the Jordanian port of Aqaba.   According to the first communiqu�, "the attack was led and monitored by the commanders of Al-Qaida's Jihad Committee in Mesopotamia" (presumably including Zarqawi) and "the reason for the delay in claiming responsibility was due to the need to give sufficient time for our brothers to escape."   A second statement posted later confirmed that "the brothers who executed the Aqaba and Eilat attacks have returned safely to Mesopotamia."

Click to view English translation of communiqu� #1 c/o Globalterroralert.com
Click to view English translation of communique #2 c/o Globalterroralert.com

See also: "Tawheed wal-Jihad" Claims Recent Sinai Bombings

This is the first authentic or credible claim of responsibility that has been issued for last Friday's would-be rocket attack on the U.S.S. Ashland and U.S.S. Kearsarge in the harbor of Aqaba.  The two documents were issued by the same online authority responsible for distributing qualified, authentic videos and statements detailing Zarqawi's operations in Iraq's Sunni Triangle.  They were both also signed by Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi, the head of Zarqawi's Media Wing in Iraq. 

Thus, assuming that the statements are indeed accurate, the Aqaba operation represents compelling proof of a new phase of military operations for Zarqawi that has been hinted at all summer long.  In a posting on the Counterterrorism Blog from early this May, I cautioned:

"...While Iraq's porous borders may have allowed the entry of thousands of foreign militants, the American military must ensure that these would-be terrorists face a much more arduous journey if they try to escape.  The successful exfiltration of even just a few hundred of Zarqawi's operatives from Iraq to a neighboring country like Jordan, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia could result in a major wave of terrorism that would dwarf any comparisons to the 2003 Istanbul bombings or even 3/11 in Madrid."

Aqaba seems to be merely the opening blow in a new campaign by Zarqawi to expand his war against America and its apostate enemies--unifying together regional Al-Qaida affiliates in Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt into a single, amorphous terrorist network with a menacing transnational reach.  Until the U.S. military is able to fully secure insurgent-dominated northwestern Iraqi cities such as Haditha and Al-Qaim, Zarqawi's footsoldiers will continue to possess an open highway through Syria back to the heart of the Middle East.

Why Did it Take the UN Two Years to Designate Al Akhtar Trust as an Al Qaeda Supporting Organization?

By Victor Comras

On October 14, 2003 the US Treasury Department designated Al Akhtar Trust as a terrorist support organization linked with Al Qaeda. Treasury Secretary Snow indicated that the US would immediately request that Al Akhtar Trust be designated also by the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee and added to the UN consolidated list which obligates all countries to freeze their assets and deny their access to economic resources. And now, almost two years later, the UN Committee has finally granted the US request. Al Akhtar Trust was added to the UN list on August 17, 2005. What happened? And why did it take the UN so long to act?

The charges against Al Akhtar Trust were certainly serious. According to the Treasury Department designation, �Al Akhtar Trust is a Pakistani based charity known to have provided support to al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan. Al Akhtar is carrying on the activities of the previously designated Al Rashid Trust. The organization is also suspected of raising money for jihad in Iraq and is connected to an individual with ties to the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl." The Al Qaeda Committee�s own Monitoring Group, in its December 2, 2003 report warned the Security Council that Al Akhtar Trust was continuing the operations of Al-Rashid Trust, which had already been identified as supporting al Qaeda. That report also indicated that �It has continued to be active in funding Al Qaida related activities��

Despite having directed that the State Bank of Pakistan freeze Al-Akhtar Trust's assets, Islamabad blocked Washington's move at the UN to declare the charity an organisation supporting and financing terrorism. The UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, like all Security Council Committees works on a consensus basis. Any member of the committee can hold up the designation of an individual or entity associated with al Qaeda, and prevent having them added to the UN Consolidated List. And the Committee�s deliberations concerning additions to the UN list are held behind closed doors. In other words, such actions are not open to public scrutiny and remain unknown until and unless another member country feels strong enough about the hold to complain about it in other channels.

Iraq Constitution Deadline Today

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Last Monday, the Iraqi National Assembly voted unanimously to extend the deadline for negotiators to agree on a draft of the country's new constitution to today.  Although last Monday was the original deadline, negotiators were unable to reach a compromise on two reported sticking points:  federalism and the role of Islam in the new constitution.

Now another deadline looms for negotiators, as they have until midnight tonight to agree on a draft.  Senior Iraqi officials have said that another extension may be needed.

There has reportedly been progress on the role of Islam in the new constitution.  Last week, there was an ongoing debate about whether Islam should be inscribed as the main source of Iraq's law (the view of the Shia United Iraqi Alliance, the majority bloc in parliament) or just one source of law.  Journalist Dexter Filkins reports today that there has been compromise on that issue:  The religion will be designated as "a main source of legislation" but not "the main source of legislation."  However, there is still reported disagreement over "whether to allow clerics to sit on the Iraqi Supreme Court, and how much authority clerics will have in resolving family disputes, such as divorce and inheritance."  This was also a sticking point last Monday, as many Shiite delegates have been urging Islamic law (shariah) to be adopted in family law.

The biggest dispute today is over federalism.  Most of Iraq's oil reserves are in the Shiite-majority south and Kurdish-majority north; the Sunnis mostly live in the oil-devoid central region.  Thus, they are leery of a federalist system that would allow regional governments to keep oil profits.  Sunni leaders have been complaining lately of being frozen out of the drafting process.  Yesterday, fifteen Sunni leaders issued a joint statement that said, "There is still no active and serious coordination so far.  This constitution needs to be written by consensus, not simply a majority vote."

Ultimately, even after the National Assembly approves a draft constitution, it must be approved by Iraq's various provinces by October 15.  If three or more provinces vote to reject the constitution, it will not go into force.  In that case, it's back to square one:  If no constitution is approved, the government will be dissolved, and there will be new elections in December and a fresh start to the process.  Insurgents are already gearing up for this new round of voting.  Ansar al-Sunna, a prominent Sunni insurgent movement, said in a statement, "Rejecting the constitution will defeat the American plan in Iraq."  Stating that voting amounts to a "jihad against the Americans," the group has urged its followers to vote against the new constitution.  And Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has instructed his followers to register to vote before the September 1 deadline, but also told them to "wait for our order to come later on whether to vote or not."

Al-Qaida's Network in Iraq Goes (Temporarily) Silent

By Evan Kohlmann

For the first time in weeks (if not months), Al-Qaida's Committee in Mesopotamia--led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has failed to release a single claim of responsibility for ongoing operations in the Sunni Triangle in a given day.  Claims for Al-Qaida attacks in Iraq have undergone a noticeable and sudden decline over the past three days, though it is unclear whether that decline is merely a temporary technical issue or evidence of a larger and more significant operational trend.  It should be noted that popular websites and forums used by Al-Qaida to distribute their material are still online and active, and there has been no similar interruption in daily online digests from other militant groups such as the Ansar al-Sunnah Army and the Army of the Victorious Sect.  Thus, if there is indeed a terrorist technical snafu, it is apparently one limited to Al-Qaida's organization in Iraq.

Al-Qaida sympathizers discussing Zarqawi's sudden silence have dismissed any notion that his organization or media wing in Iraq has been disabled, suggesting instead that this is merely "the calm before the storm."

*(UPDATE: 11am EST)*: Al-Qaida's inexplicable absence appears to be indeed short-lived.  Zarqawi's network in Iraq has broken its sudden silence and has issued its first public statement in almost two days, claiming credit for a suicide bombing operation yesterday targeting American military forces in the Sunni Triangle.

Steven Emerson Cites FBI: Will it Take Another Attack to Really Take the Threat Seriously?

By Andrew Cochran

We're starting the round of 4th-anniversary perspectives on the 9/11 attacks, and we'll see numerous stories about our success or failure and our will to continue. Two stories today are among many that make me wonder whether we have lost "the edge." Today's Sunday Telegraph reports that "A Muslim accused of anti-Semitism is to be appointed to a government role in charge of rooting out extremism in the wake of last month's suicide bombings in London." Inayat Bunglawala has called the British media "Zionist-controlled"; in 1993, he called terrorist Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman "courageous" a month before Rahman bombed the World Trade Center in New York,a nd after Rahman's arrest, Bunglawala said that it was probably duw to his "calling on Muslims to fulfil their duty to Allah and to fight against oppression and oppressors everywhere"; and five months before 9/11, Bunglawala called UBL a "freedom fighter" and circulated his writings to Muslims in Britain. Surely the Blair government will not entrust such an important mission to such a biased and unqualified individual. (Tip to "Sophie" for this story.) I also have to wonder why the Brits would lower the terror threat level when, as today's Sunday Times reports, Al Qaeda's has attempted a gas attack on Parliament. The story reports that "senior officers are worried that security at the houses of parliament remains 'unacceptable'."

But I most worry about Americans going soft - about our taking the lack of attacks here for granted, and forgetting that al Qaeda took 7 years between attacks on the WTC. Today's Orlando Sentinel has a review of the National Geographic Channel's "Inside 9/11," which airs tonight and tomorrow night at 9 pm ET. The Sentinel cites and quotes Steven Emerson's segment in the special on his conversations with FBI agents. "They understood that it would take more blood in order to get the government to react," Emerson says. "And now I'm hearing other FBI and other officials say to me, 'Steve, we're going to need another 9-11.'" That's not a rosy scenario. You can see part of Steve's interview in the special here. We will have much more to say about the issue as we approach the anniversary.

Jordan Missile Attacks: Al Qaeda & Hezbollah Working Together?

By Andrew Cochran

After reading the AP story on the Jordan attacks with some details of the use of Katyusha missiles by Hezbollah, I remembered that James Dunnigan reported the following on "StrategyPage.com" on August 5 (go to the continuation page): "The terrorist bombing in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 23rd was a wake up call for Egyptian counter-terrorism forces. The Egyptians soon discovered that Hezbollah and al Qaeda terrorists had taken up residence in the Sinai Peninsula. This had long been suspected by the Egyptians, but they believed the terrorists were mainly interested in supporting attacks against Israelis, especially in Gaza." True, a missile attack is not the usual MO for the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, or "Al Qaeda Organization in the Levant and Egypt" (tip to Terrorism Unveiled). But perhaps the attack is a sign of such collaboration, with the Brigades buying the missiles from new Hezbollah allies (but not necessarily the expertise in using them). If so, then Doug Farah's post on al Qaeda's cash position is all the more ominous for that region. See also Evan Kohlmann's July 26 post on the Azzam Brigades' ties to Al Zarqawi. Evan will be on MSNBC's "Countdown" tonight to discuss the attack.

Signs that al Qaeda is Flush With Cash

By Douglas Farah

There is growing evidence in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond that al Qaeda and its allies are newly flush with cash, able to buy new weapons, more sophisticated communications equipment and deadlier and more complex explosives. This contradicts the more optimistic public assesments Bush administration officials, who continue to assert that the financial war on Islamic radicals is going well. For one of the best recent assessments of the situation, consistant with what my sources are telling me, can be found in recent Knight-Ridder reporting here. The reporting also outlines the growing links among radical Islamists in the two fronts of their war.

This expansion and procurement takes money, and is taking place against the backdrop of an insurgency in Iraq that has steadily grown more sophisticated in its manufacture of explosive devices and weapons used on the ground. This, too, takes money. Some in the military intelligence community believe there is serious cross-training going on among the combatants in Afghanistan and the Islamist mujahadeen in Iraq, and again this is a considerable cost. Finding the source of that money and slowing it down will be key to keeping the insurgencies in both countries from gaining more ground.

One of the most worrisome factors, according to sources working on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is the role played by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his Hizb-e-Islami party in the protection and arming of the Taliban and al Qaeda. Hekmatyar fled to Iran when the Taliban took over, but returned after their defeat by coalition forces and, in fine Afghani style, allied himself with his erstwhile enemies. Hekmatyar poses a serious problem in addition to his wealth, power and sympathies to the most radical elements of al Qaeda. He remains very close to the regime in Tehran that gave him asylum and now supplies him with weapons, intelligence and money. To continue reading, go here.

Steven Emerson to Appear in National Geographic Channel's "Inside 9/11" Special, August 21 & 22 (updated 8/20 with video segment)

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson will be appearing in the National Geographic Channel's "Inside 9/11," a four-hour mini-series event airing over two nights, on Sunday, August 21, and Monday, August 22, at 9 pm ET. National Geographic Channel describes the series as follows:

Inside 9/11 spans decades and circles the globe to lay bare the roots of al Qaeda, beginning with the 1978 Soviet-Afghan War and the transformation of Osama bin Laden from fundraiser to terrorist mastermind. Viewers will delve into the inner workings of al Qaeda and come to know the architects of the plot as they plan and execute the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

The mini-series follows the footsteps of the terrorists as they formulated their plans, infiltrated our country and executed their suicide missions. Tracing the timeline that led up to the deadly attacks, it deconstructs the events of that fateful day, tracking the movements of all four terrorist teams and patching together the ad hoc response of government. It draws from a wide range of sources, including newly declassified documents from the 9/11 Commission investigation; over 60 original interviews with experts, whistleblowers, investigators and survivors - some speaking out for the first time; eyewitness materials including footage culled from a rarely seen 400-hour archive; and chilling audio recordings from on board the doomed planes and inside air traffic control.

UPDATED 8/20: Here is a segment of his appearance on "Inside 9/11."

Report: Senior Al-Qaida Commander in Saudi Arabia Killed in Clashes with Saudi Security Forces

By Evan Kohlmann

A multi-pronged counterterrorism offensive by Saudi security forces appears to have eliminated the leader of Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia and an active Al-Qaida cell near the Saudi capital Riyadh thought to have been planning imminent attacks on Western targets in the Kingdom.  Though still unconfirmed, supporters of Al-Qaida's Committee in Saudi Arabia are now reporting the "martyrdom" of top Al-Qaida leader Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi--during clashes in Mecca with Saudi security forces.  Al-Aoofi has primarily led Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia since the death of former top Al-Qaida commander Abdelaziz al-Muqrin last summer.  According to sources at the Saudi Interior Ministry, during a series of counterterrorism raids near a mosque in central Mecca, security forces were fired upon by three men holed up in one of the target locations.  Police fired back, wounding one and killing the other two, including the infamous Saleh al-Aoofi.

Simultaneously, Saudi security forces also engaged another cell of Al-Qaida operatives in a residential area north of Riyadh.  After a raucous shootout that injured one police officer, the security forces were able to breach the cell's headquarters and seize weapons, explosives, money, and documents.

Developing...

Jihadists Find Convenient Base in Bosnia

By Evan Kohlmann

While the attention of the world community is locked on Iraq and Afghanistan, an old foe may be once again stirring to life in central Bosnia-Herzegovina.  High-ranking foreign terrorist operatives previously responsible for attempted attacks in the United States (including a failed Millenium bomb plot at Los Angeles International Airport) are now back in the Balkans, active once again in the local network of ex-mujahideen left over from the Bosnian civil war.  For more, read Sherrie Gossett's CNSNews article today, "Jihadists Find Convenient Base in Bosnia."

Treasury Department's OCC Should Release Investigative Report on Arab Bank

By Lee Wolosky

Today federal banking regulators announced one of the highest fines ever, against Arab Bank plc, which allegedly participated in, among other things, an organized program to provide systematic financial payments to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers during the second initfada, including suicide bombers responsible for the deaths of American citizens (see my prior post and Victor Comras's below; see also this compelling report from NBC Nightly News.  Arab Bank continues to deny responsibility for these acts, taking the extraordinary position in pending legal proceedings that the payments to families of shahids (martyrs) are "ordinary bank transactions" and saying today that the U.S. government fine was "unreasonably high" .

Arab Bank's conduct and alleged ties to terrorist organizations have generated recent interest not only in the executive branch but also in the halls of Congress, where Rep. Anthony Wiener (D-NY) has introduced legislation to expel the bank from the United States (HR 3370).  Arab Bank has also been criticized by Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) in recent hearings of the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee, respectively.  Notwithstanding Congressional and public interest, the OCC has thus far refrained from releasing an 80-plus page report of its investigation into transactions of Arab Bank's New York branch, which continues to operate today.  That report presumably served as the basis of today's enforcement action, and the American people have a right to know what's in it.  It should be released without delay.  Disclosure note:  I serve as special counsel to a lawsuit against Arab Bank commenced by Israeli and Americans victims of the second intifada.

Arab Bank Signs Consent Orders with FINCEN and OCC

By Victor Comras

Arab Bank has reached an agreed settlement with FINCEN and OCC concerning allegations of money laundering conducted through its New York Branch. The money laundering allegations relate to the failure of the New York branch of Arab bank to monitor transactions, initiated by correspondent banks or affiliates outside of the U.S. The Comptroller's findings indicate that the New York Branch engaged in substantial funds transfer operations involving transactions that originated in other offices of Arab Bank or by other third party correspondent banks and that it failed to have in place adequate controls to monitor, audit or obtain sufficient information concerning the nature of such transactions. "The inadequacy of the Branch's Bank Secrecy Act controls over its funds transfer operations is especially serious," the Comptroller found, "in light of the high risk characteristics of many of the transactions."

Under the settlement, Arab bank neither admits or denies FINCEN charges that it failed to put in place adequate anti-money laundering procedures. In the press release accompanying announcement of the settlement, Arab Bank states that it had not engaged in any intentional wrong doing. It claims that it had diligently applied AML controls on transactions initiated by direct customers but did not believe that the same controls applied also to wire transfers in which the branch had only an intermediary role.

The Consent order in this case clarifies that all banks doing business in the United States must apply the same AML controls to correspondent banking transactions as they do to their own customer accounts.

Arab Bank has been under investigation for possible violations of provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act and other banking regulation. It entered into a consent decree with the Comptrollers Office on February 8, 2005 submitting the bank to regulatory oversight and requiring it to preserve its assets.

The FBI reportedly opened a criminal investigation into Arab Bank several years ago regarding alleged movement of funds for suspected terrorists. The investigation was triggered after U.S. regulators examining Arab Bank operations in New York City found that the bank had 40 to 60 suspected terrorists and groups as customers. They were allegedly associated with al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah. Officials say all had accounts with the bank or had moved money through the New York office. Based in Jordan, Arab Bank operates in 30 countries worldwide with assets of about $27 billion. See previous Lee Wolosky Blog on this topic

Conflict Diamonds.....Again

By Dennis Lormel

Once again, I strongly disagree with the assertions made by my friend, Doug Farah, concerning Al Qaeda�s involvement in Conflict Diamonds. In his Counterterrorism Blog posting of August 15, 2005, entitled �Able Danger and the 9-11 Commission� Doug raises issues concerning the Commission regarding not only Able Danger but Conflict Diamonds. With respect to the situation concerning information provided to the 9-11 Commission Staff involving Operation Able Danger, we should not jump to conclusions until the facts are known. Washington is a great town for not allowing the facts to get in the way of a good story.

Doug skillfully used the Able Danger story to segue into his area of interest, Conflict Diamonds and Al-Qaeda. He made the argument that the members of the 9-11 Commission Staff ignored the overwhelming evidence presented to them by him, the Special Court and contained in a Belgian Police report and other reports. Doug further noted in a negative tone that the Commission accepted the findings of the CIA and FBI even though it singled out in its Monograph on Terrorist Financing the failure of the CIA and FBI to understand terrorist financing. His obvious inference being that the Commission accepted the wrong conclusion thereby making it fallible.

In short, Doug is wrong. His representation is out of context. In its proper context, the criticism of the Commission concerning the CIA and FBI regarding terrorist financing was in the pre-9/11 period. The Commission, in reality, commended the FBI and CIA for their post-9/11 terrorist financing initiative. It was in the post-9/11 environment that the Commission assessed and concurred with the findings of the FBI, CIA and global intelligence community that Al Qaeda was not involved in the trade of conflict diamonds to fund itself. I encourage you to review the Terrorist Financing Staff Monograph, with specific reference to page 23, which articulates the Commission�s conclusion on this topic. Also out of context was Doug�s reference to the Belgian Police. Their investigation focused on arms dealing. They did not conclude that Al Qaeda was involved with the diamond trade.

Doug mentioned that the Commission Staff ignored overwhelming �evidence� of Al Qaeda�s involvement in the diamond trade. That characterization would have been better stated to read the Commission Staff ignored overwhelming �innuendo� of Al Qaeda�s involvement in the diamond trade. The important distinction here is that there is a significant difference between innuendo and evidence. In matters such as this, witness statements cannot be accepted at face value. They must be fully vetted back to the point of origin. This is, in fact, what the FBI did in conducting their investigation. Part of that process was to work with the international law enforcement and intelligence community. In this matter, no other agencies possessed information that Al Qaeda was involved in the diamond trade. Information reported by Doug, as well as information provided to the FBI by the Special Court was thoroughly investigated and could not be substantiated.

It�s time to let the facts get in the way!

For the record, John Roth and Doug Greenberg, who authored the 9-11 Commission Monograph on Terrorist Financing, did an outstanding job. For the most part, I agreed with their findings. Their objectivity, grasp of the subject matter and sense of responsibility throughout the process was exemplary and undeserving of the biased criticism leveled by Doug in his posting.

Saudi Al-Qaida Members Reported Killed in Iraq

By Evan Kohlmann

Two young Saudi Al-Qaida recruits have been reported killed in recent suicide bomb attacks near the Iraqi capital Baghdad.  Allegedly, one of the men, 20-year old Mansour al-Hameed (a.k.a. "Abul-Hajer", "Abu Azzam") was responsible for a July 27 suicide bombing operation by Al-Qaida's Al-Baraa bin Malik Martyrs Brigade targeting Iraqi National Guard troops in Al-Azamiyah that killed ten people and wounded at least nine others.  Hameed's friend and fellow Saudi national Nasser al-Otaibi was reportedly killed in a second suicide bombing attack a week later targeting three Humvees in Bab Sharqi.

Click to view documents c/o Globalterroralert.com:
- Aug. 9 report of two Saudi Al-Qaida members killed in Iraq
- Aug. 2 video of Al-Qaida suicide bombing in Bab Sharqi

Purported Palestinian Al-Qaida Faction Swears Oath of Allegiance to Taliban Leader Mullah Mohammed Umar

By Evan Kohlmann

A previously unknown group calling itself the "Al-Qaida-Palestine Frontier Jihad Brigades"--responsible for at least one rocket attack on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip--has issued a detailed political platform and has sworn a bayat (oath of allegiance) to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Umar.  According to a statement issued by the group, "we also pledge our allegiance to the leader of the Islamic army and the global jihad Abu Abdullah Usama Bin Laden. Should he order us to join him, then we will and we will not abandon him until we reach the heart of America. Let him order us�the commanders and the soldiers�to do whatever he desires and we shall obey his orders."

Click to view documents c/o Globalterroralert.com:
- Aug. 9 political platform of the Frontier Jihad Brigades
- Aug. 15 oath of allegiance to Mullah Mohammed Umar

UPDATE: The broken links have been fixed, and these files are now available for download.  My apologies for the confusion.

New Statements/Video from Al-Qaida in Iraq

By Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's Jihad Committee in Iraq--led by wanted Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has continued to issue numerous communiques and videos claiming military operations across the Sunni Triangle of Iraq, including Tel Afar, Samarra, Mosul, and the troubled town of Haditha--where Al-Qaida operations are allegedly being run by commander Abu Abdallah al-Shamri.  Al-Qaida's Shariah Council  has also issued repeated warnings to Iraqi Sunnis not to participate in the upcoming constitutional referendum planned by the U.S. and its "apostate" allies in Baghdad.  Al-Qaida continues to launch numerous martyrdom operations, including a recent attack in Baghdad by an elderly Iraqi man known as "Shaykh Abu Said al-Iraqi."

Click to view documents c/o Globalterroralert.com :
- Aug. 6 statement concerning military operations in Haditha
- Aug. 6 Shariah Council warning about planned referendum
- Aug. 9 video of IED attacks on U.S. Humvees in Samarra
- Aug. 11 transcript of martyrdom will of Abu Said al-Iraqi
- Aug. 11 martyrdom will of Abu Said al-Iraqi  (video)

UPDATE: Recent Arabic-language Al-Qaida propaganda posters from Iraq (and their corresponding English translations) are also now available for download.

Spanish authorities ignored tip

By Lorenzo Vidino

A few days ago Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that more than a year before the deadly March 11, 2004, train bombings, Spanish police received detailed information about the plans of a group of Islamic fundamentalists to attack Madrid. On February 12, 2003, the wife of Muhannad Almallah entered a Madrid police station and told officers that her husband was planning a car bomb attack in Madrid and that the likely targets were the towers of Plaza de Castilla, a modern and imposing structure located on one of Madrid�s busiest arteries. The woman told officers that her Madrid apartment was often visited by men who watched jihadi tapes and talked about carrying out attacks and identified many of them by name. Spanish authorities did not act.

13 months later they realized the mistake they made. Syrian national Muhannad Almallah, along with his brother Moutaz, is now considered one of the key organizers of the Madrid attacks. Spanish authorities acknowledge that without the "recruiting, indoctrination and direction of the Almallah brothers, the March 11 attacks possibly would not have occurred."
The other men identified by Mrs. Almallah are also key players in the 3/11 plot such as Serhane Abdelmajid Fakhet (the "Tunisian," believed to be one of the operational leaders of the cell) and Basel Ghalyoun (a Syrian accused of having materially put one of the bombs on a train on March 11).

The story, if confirmed, proves two things:

1- Spanish authorities did not pursue Islamist terrorists aggressively enough before 3/11. The Almallah incident is just one of the many "missed opportunities" stories in the Madrid bombings, much as the current "Able Danger" embarassment.
2- While the timing of the bombings might have been masterfully planned to make Spanish voters blame the Aznar government's support of the Iraqi war for the attacks, the carnage in Madrid had little to do with Iraq. In February 2003, when Mrs. Almallah reported her husband's murderous plans for the Spanish capital, the war in Iraq had not even begun.

Able Danger and the 9-11 Commission

By Douglas Farah

When the 9-11 Commission's report first came out, it was viewed as the final word in all things related to the attack. Finally, now, it is losing some of its aura of divine inspiration. It is what it is--an amazing narrative of the events leading up to 9-11, put together in a very short time by very skilled people making choices about what to include and what to exclude. It is clear now that they made some serious mistakes. They chose to omit the information on Operation Able Danger that shows the military, at least, had identified Mohamed Atta and other of the 9-11 hijackers as potential threats a full year before 9-11. News reports said the decision was made because the information from Able Danger was viewed as "unlikely" by the staffers who heard it. In other words, it did not fit with what the rest of the intelligence community was saying. Unfortunately, this is often the case with valid information that does not conform to institutional thinking or conventional wisdom.

It was this type of thinking that led Commission staff to ignore the overwhelming evidence of al Qaeda's involvement in the diamond trade as well. They received information from the prosecutor and investigators for the Special Court for Sierra Leone that they deemed unlikely because it was not fitting with what the Community, either out or ignorance or malice, was telling them. They requested information in writing from me, and said they had read the book. But they did not find me, the Special Court, Belgian police reports or other investigations to fit the conventional wisdom. Worse yet, they specifically declined to interview eye witnesses that the Special Court offered to make available to them, with no conditions or restrictions.

These are serious omissions, as is the omission of the Able Danger information. Not everything could be run down or every lead chased in the time alloted to the Commission for its work. The Bush administation compounded the problem by slowing the release of information and fighting the Commission on many unnecessary issues. But these were not issues where it would have been hard to gather more information and at least weigh in that such information exists.

At the same time, the Commission noted in its Monograph on Terror Financing that "Terrorist financing was not a priority for either domestic or foreign intelligence collection. As a result, intelligence reporting on the issue was episodic, insufficient and often inaccurate" (p. 4). The Monograph added that both the CIA and FBI failed to "comprehend al Qaeda's methods of raising, moving or storing money" (pp. 5-6). Yet the Commission staff chose to use only the information of institutions singled out for failure to understand terror finance in its report.

The lesson should be that there is no infallibility in seeking to understand how al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations operate, structure themselves, adapt, or raise and spend money. The truth is, what is known, even to intelligence officials, is generally out of date and sketchy at best. This does not mean such information is not a good guide to how things will be done or that it should not be gathered. We know far more about al Qaeda and its financial structures than we did pre-9-11. But when we lose the ability to look at things that seem "unlikely" (if the intelligence community and the FBI in particular has ever learned that in the first place), and become enamored of conventional wisdom, mistakes will be made. It should be humbling for everyone involved in these investigations to realize how little we know, how much we get wrong and how much we guess at, rather than know.

Will Discovery of Mosul Chem Weapons Factory Reopen Debate Over Saddam's WMD? (UPDATED 8-14)

By Andrew Cochran

I know it's too early to go out on a limb, but the discovery of a chemical weapons factory in Mosul with 1,500 gallons of chemicals (updated Washington Post link, free registration) might reignite the debate over whether Saddam Hussein possessed a storehouse of chemical weapons ready for use in war. (UPDATE 8-14: DOD press release states, "Early results suggest that some chemicals are accelerants used in explosive devices.") Mosul was Saddam's backyard - his sons were killed there - and the story reports that the military is trying to determine "whether the expertise came from foreign fighters or members of Saddam Hussein's former security apparatus." Although the operation is apparently new and did not exist before the U.S. liberation, I personally find it very hard to believe that those who built the factory were rookies. After all, let's recall the testimony about Saddam's chemical weapons program by Charles Duelfer, leader of the Iraq Survey Group, before Congress on March 30, 2004:

"The ISG has developed new information regarding Iraq�s dual-use facilities and ongoing research suitable for a capability to produce biological or chemical agents on short notice. Iraq did have facilities suitable for the production of biological and chemical agents needed for weapons. It had plans to improve and expand and even build new facilities.

Able Danger?Back to the Future

By Bill West

This past week has seen the revelation by Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon that a formerly secret military intelligence unit called �Able Danger� had identified Mohamed Atta and three other of the 9/11 hijackers as US-linked al-Qaeda operatives as early as 2000, and due to skittishness on the part of Defense Department lawyers, the information was never passed to the FBI or other US law enforcement agencies. Also, it was revealed the 9/11 Commission may have known about this matter, but for reasons still not clear, chose not to include it in their final report.

I have some special personal/professional interest in all this. To explain requires just a bit of extrapolation...but only a bit.

UK Paper: London Investigations Find 7/21 Cell Not Linked to 7/7 Cell

By Andrew Cochran

The UK Independent is reporting that "The suicide cell that killed 52 people on 7 July is not linked to those alleged to be behind the second London attacks on 21 July, according to the initial findings of the biggest anti-terrorist investigation held in Britain. An investigation into the four suicide bombers from the first attacks and the people alleged to be behind the July 21 plot has found no evidence of any al-Qa'ida "mastermind" or senior organiser." The paper cites unnamed sources for the report, adding that the 7/21 cell appears to be a "copycat" cell, with 30-year-old Mohammad Sidique Khan the ringleader and recruiter of the other three younger men. The Independent also reports that Magdi Mahmoud el-Nashar, the chemist who was released in Egypt earlier this month, is still under investigation, pending the results of "forensic tests to discover whether his fingerprints or DNA was among the explosives and equipment found in a Leeds bomb-making factory and in a hire car used by one of the terrorists."

Walid Phares: War of Ideas on al Jazeera

By Walid Phares

In a forum along with two Islamist intellectuals on al Jazeera, I told the audience that Thawahiri's tape in reaction to Dr Rice's speech at the American University in Cairo shows that al Qaida is afraid from the spread of Democracy among the youth in the region. The Jihadists resent the doctrines that oppose their ideology, regardless of liking or disliking America. The forum was a 30 minutes-long debate on al Jazeera on Sunday August 7, 2005 with Radouan al Sayid from Beirut and Muntasir al Zayat from Cairo. For a transcript go to al jazeera "Ma War'a al akhbar" (What's Behind the News).

Read More »

Newly Released NYFD 9-11 Attack Records Remind Us: NEVER FORGET & NEVER AGAIN (updated with links to tapes)

By Andrew Cochran

The NYC Fire Department's release of thousands of pages of oral histories and emergency call logs from the September 11 attacks should remind freedom-loving people around the world of why we fight Islamic extremism worldwide, which groups and leaders constitute that menace, and the stakes if we ignore them, as we did during the 1990s. The tapes and call logs recording the voices of hundreds of firerfighters, paramedics, and EMTs are the "raison d'etre" and should be the inspiration for a sometimes tired and distracted American populace to keep going. MSNBC has posted all of the unedited tapes, and I've posted the link to that site permanently in the Counterterrorism Library in the left sidebar. The New York Times has text files and oral tapes on its website (free registration required). The Washington Post has the audio of the second plane hitting the WTC and the collapse of the South Tower (free registration also), and I will post more permanent links to selected files on this site soon. And if you still need more motivational text to put the conflict in the right context, read Victor Davis Hanson's NRO column, in which he quotes recent declarations of Al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists.

Lodi Imams Allegedly Planned to Open Radical School

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

I've been following the developing terrorism terrorism prosecution in Lodi, California for this blog (see this post for general background).  On Tuesday, the Lodi News-Sentinel reported on explosive new allegations in the case.  Specifically, FBI agent Gary Schaaf alleged that Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan, who had both served as imams at Lodi's mosque, had planned to set up an elementary school near Lodi where young children would be exposed to anti-American indoctrination.  The school would allegedly be modeled after a Pakistani madrasah:

Schaaf said investigators were watching the development of a proposed Islamic elementary school in Lodi, called the Farooqia Islamic Center.  The school would be modeled after a large Pakistani school run by Adil Khan's father.  Government attorney Paul Nishiie on Tuesday pointed to several high-ranking Taliban members who were allegedly students and then teachers at the school.  Once the Lodi school opened, Schaaf testified, students would then "be recruited for acts against the United States."

Schaaf also alleged that Hamid Hayat, who has allegedly admitted to training at a terrorist camp in Pakistan, was to receive orders for carrying out a terrorist attack from Shabbir Ahmed, who would receive orders from Mohammed Adil Khan, "who would in turn receive orders from a man who allegedly had ties to bin Laden."

Comments:  One of the most significant aspects of the Lodi case is that it seems to present another case of the "homegrown terrorist" -- that is, a terrorist who experienced his radicalization in the United States rather than abroad.  Hamid Hayat, age 23, was born in California.  There have been a surprising number of homegrown terrorist cases in the United States, including Asan Akbar, Ryan Anderson, Adam Gadahn, Jose Padilla, and arguably John Walker Lindh (it seems that Lindh was radicalized while living in the United States, but this is not entirely clear).  If Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan did indeed intend for the Farooqia Islamic Center to function as a Pakistani-style radical madrasah, then they obviously intended to accelerate the process of radicalization.  At this point, we don't know what evidence supports this claim, but it's worth keeping an eye on this development.

Former London cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed Arrested in Beirut

By Evan Kohlmann

Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, the eccentric leader of the radical Al-Muhajiroun Islamic movement formerly based in the UK, was arrested and questioned earlier today by Lebanese security forces en route to an interview with an Arab satellite news network in Beirut.  Omar Bakri recently fled his longtime home in London just as British authorities announced an unprecedented crackdown on suspected terrorist recruiters and supporters living on UK soil. 

When I interviewed Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed in London in July 2002, he insisted that so long as he was allowed to live in the United Kingdom, he would restrict his activities to politics and religion--as opposed to, in his words, "blow[ing] up a building."  This naturally begged the question:

[EK]: "So, at what point do you throw your hands up in the air and say, 'I cannot work within politics anymore, something else has to be done'--at what point?"
[OBM]: "According to Islam, that can be done only when the treaty is breached. The moment they arrest me, the [peace] treaty between us is no longer there, after that, I can give my all.  And my all will be it.  Because if you violate [the] sanctity, then God said, 'they have no sanctity'... if they [arrest] me, I become martyred.  If they [arrest] me, I become a fighter."

However, it is also worth noting that Omar Bakri never seriously considered he would be arrested.  In fact, he boasted to me that Western governments "know that I never break the law--though I never respect it--but still I never break it because in Islam, it says there are certain treaties that I have to fill... they come [very] close to breaching it with me, and then they stop and back off.  I do not myself feel threatened by it.  Maybe nothing will happen... but Islamically speaking, after that, there will be no treaties and no sanctity between us."

Steven Emerson on New Al Qaeda "Documentary" (updated with video)

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson discussed the new Al Qaeda "documentary" on Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor" on August 10. In his opinion, the jihadists in the tape are quite clear in wanting to subjugate all of Islam to their view, and to "slit the throats" of all non-Muslims. The Iraq conflict is just another excuse for their jihad, but they hate Americans and Jews for who we are in pursuing freedom for all, including women. Most interesting was the international nature of the group (Australian, French, and Irish and the items they showed on the film from a dead American GI. The tape has "tremendous intelligence value" due to the items taken, the acoustics of the voices, and the backdrops. The tape was made as a "wakeup call" to Muslims, since they haven't successfuuly attacked the U.S. since the 9-11 attacks, to kill Americans and Jews - they're "not taking any prisoners." You can see the video of the segment at the Intelligence Summit site, and the full transcript of the interview is below:
Download Emerson81005OReilly.doc
Update: Clip of new Al Qaeda tape on Evan Kohlmann's website

The Muslim Brotherhood: What Do They Really Want To Teach American Muslim Youth?

By Andrew Cochran

Certain journalists from respected media outlets - most recently Mary Beth Sheridan of the Washington Post - continue to display a certain naivet� in reporting stories on extremist organizations who falsely profess to be mainstream moderates. Merely parroting their words without examination creates articles that are void of fact and nuance. Perhaps it is well intentioned, as it is very appealing to take organizations such as the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) at their word. We want to believe that there are authoritative organizations out there to deflect and ultimately defeat radicalism. However, in an August 8 article titled �Educating Against Extremism; Muslims Reach Out to Youths Who Could Be Susceptible to Radicalism,� Sheridan neglected to mention that MAS is intimately and publicly connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, a secretive society dedicated to the establishment of Islamic rule, who recently issued a public appeal for support of the forces fighting the coalition in Iraq. Unfortunately, Sheridan�s omissions are part of a larger problem of journalists who have wittingly or unwittingly become defacto public relations representatives for extremist Islamist groups. Taking their press releases at face value, journalists have helped effectively to cover up the larger, serious issue of the growing secret network of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US. Tamar Tesler, Assistant Director for Special Projects at The Investigative Project, has written the following response to the Washington Post article:

Michael Cutler on New Intel on Four 9/11 Attackers

By Andrew Cochran

Michael Cutler asked me to post the following on this story:

I am astounded at the foolishness of how our government works, or more often, fails to work! This International Herald Tribune article on the Mohammed Atta cell (a reprint of the original NYT story) glossed over the fact that the information that was obtained by the military apparently was not sent to the State Department to add to the department's watch list! What the article failed to state is that one of the reasons for putting this sort of information on the State Department watch list is to provide guidance to State Department officials who ultimately make the decision whether or not to issue visas to aliens seeking entry into the United States. This is, in effect, the first line of defense for our nation. Any strategist will agree that the best way to deal with a threat, or a potential threat, is to keep it as far away as possible. The visa process is supposed to do precisely that. When it works properly it enables our government to deny those who are a threat to our safety access to our country. This is why I am at a loss to understand why we still have a Visa Waiver Program that enables aliens from 28 countries to obtain a valid passport and then simply hop on an airplane and land at an international airport anywhere in the United States and seek admission into our country.

Jeffrey Imm Joins Us as Research Editor

By Andrew Cochran

I'm very pleased that Jeffrey Imm is permanently joining us as Research Editor. Jeff has 25 years experience performing research and analysis for federal government initiatives, including 5 years as an employee with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He has also provided network infrastructure support planning for DHS and TSA. Jeff's counterterrorism news research has included providing input for JihadWatch.org and this and other sites, including his web site for emergency information and planning -- UnitedStatesAction.com, to which we've included a link in the "Centers & Websites" section since our inception. He has a background in global political science, network engineering, and studies in Islamist extremist terror groups and domestic terror groups. Jeff will help me ensure that we post timely and reliable news links and will assist on other blog matters. I truly appreciate that someone of his expertise and experience can join us.

Madrid!, London!, Will Rome be Next?

By Victor Comras

The attacks in Madrid and London are having extraordinary security reverberations in Italy. Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu has successfully pushed through Italian Parliament a package of new anti-terrorism measures that clamp down hard on illegal immigration and on radical Islamic proselytizing among Italy�s youth. The new measures, approved July 22nd, make it a specific crime to recruit and train people for terrorism. They authorize government detentions of suspects for up to 24 hours without charges and simplify extradition and expulsion procedures. They also increase security measures on Italy's transport system and allow authorities to collect saliva samples from suspects for DNA testing. Italy is also debating whether to join France in suspending aspects of the Schengen Agreement which fosters free movement of citizens within the European Union.

Like Spain and Britain, Italians fear possible retribution for their troops having been engaged in Afghanistan and the Iraq coalition. And following the London bombings, Italian authorities are taking very seriously threats posted on the internet by a group that also claimed responsibility for the London bombings. The group, Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, warned that Rome had only one month to withdraw its troops from Iraq. The al-Masri Brigades had already threatened Italy previously on August 29, 2004, likewise demanding Italy�s withdrawal from Iraq.

Another 9/11 Lesson to be Learned?

By Bill West

The New York Times published a report today claiming, in part, �a small, highly classified military intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta and three other future hijackers as likely members of a cell of Al Qaeda operating in the United States.� This DoD unit supposedly made the identification in 2000. Assuming this is accurate, it is another outrage against "the wall," the Department of Justice (DOJ) driven policy in place at the time that prevented Intelligence agents from easily sharing information with criminal investigators and prosecutors. This policy was one of the key problems identified by the 9/11 Commission in the Government�s failure to �connect the dots� before the 9/11 terror attacks.

Steven Emerson on Mall Attacks and "Inevitable" Suicide Bombings in U.S.

By Andrew Cochran

On NBC's "Today" this morning, Steven Emerson reported that while "there is no specific intelligence suggesting that there is any imminent plot or even planning" for a suicide attack at a mall in the U.S., the FBI believes that "it's inevitable that same type of suicide bombings that we saw in London will ultimately migrate to the United States." Steve added that terrorists "already identified shopping malls and spectator arenas, and major industrial infrastructures as a potential target a long time ago." He recommended more study of the Israeli security model, which has prevented over 100 potential and attempted suicide bombings in Israel against malls in the past four years, as discussed in a Wall Street Journal article yesterday (paid subscription only). Security guards need more training on that model, and mall customers need to recognize potential terrorists in their midst. Steve especially noted that one of the 7/7 London suicide bombers bought and wore perfume, apparently in preparation to meet his "72 virgins" as promised by jihadist propaganda. The entire transcript of the segment is below. Also see my July 27 interview with filmmaker Pierre Rehov about his upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," on that psychopathology.

Download EmersonNBCToday8905.doc

"Washington Post" Details Al Zarqawi's Use of Internet - Evan Kohlmann Featured

By Andrew Cochran

Today's "Washington Post" story, "The Web As Weapon" (free registration) is among the very best articles on the history and current use of the internet by Al Zarqawi. Evan Kohlmann has been featured as one of the premier experts on the matter during the three-day series: "'Zarqawi is a new generation...I don't know how to distinguish the Internet now from the military campaign in general in Iraq.'" The transcript of his online chat yesterday is available on the WP site and linked in the "Media" box on the left sidebar. UPDATE: Evan will appear tonight on MSNBC's "Countdown" at 8:30 pm Eastern time to discuss several terrorism issues.

Finally, Madrid's mastermind (updated 8/9 with new info)

By Lorenzo Vidino

After hundreds of arrests and various investigative hypothesis, it appears that Spanish authorities have finally identified the man who, at least initially, conceived the 3/11 Madrid train bombings. El Pais reported three days ago that a new Spanish police dossier reveals that Youssef Belhadj, a Moroccan who has been arrested in Belgium for his connections to the GICM (Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group), is the man who decided the day for the attacks.
According to the report, Belhadj chose March 11 as the day of the attacks on October 19, 2003, the day after al Jazeerah broadcasted a tape where Bin Laden threatened Spain for its involvement in Iraq. That day Belhadj also bought a new Belgian cellphone, providing a false name and �March 11, 1921� as his date of birth . Knowing that the Spanish elections would have taken place in March, but ignoring the exact day, he decided for the 11, so that the Madrid attacks would have taken place exactly two years and a half after those in the United States.

Border (Non) Control

By Bill West

A newly released report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) titled �Modernizing America�s Welcome Mat: The Implementation of US-VISIT� is a detailed review and analysis of the biometric border control system that was implemented shortly after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. The report indicates the system is underutilized and is far from providing the kind of immigration security protection it was meant to provide and is capable of providing if policymakers allowed it to be fully implemented.

U.S. Complaint Against London-born Al Qaeda Suspect Unsealed

By Andrew Cochran

Aswat Haroon Rashid, a/k/a "Haroon Aswat," the London-born terrorism suspect captured in Zambia, has now been charged with providing material support to terrorism in the United States. The supporting FBI affidavit states that in 1999 and 2000, Aswat attempted to set up a training camp in Oregon to train jihadists abd raise funds to "fight jihad" in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The affidavit, available below, cites information provided by a "cooperating witness" who has already pleaded guilty to a charge - that would be James Ujaama, the American who found the property in Bly, Oregon, on which to train. The affidavit also refers to a "co-conspirator," who would be Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, whose trial has been delayed. See Victor Comras's August 2 post on al-Masri's activities.

Download RashidHaroonAswatComplaint.pdf

Walid Phares: Second Warning: Assad in Tehran

By Walid Phares

Agence France Press. AFP. TEHRAN - Iran's new President Mahmood Ahmadinejad welcomed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Tehran on Sunday, vowing to strengthen ties between the two countries brought together by "shared threats."

"Syria represents the frontline of the Muslim nation, shared threats bring us together and make our cooperation even more necessary," Ahmadinejad said ahead of talks with the leader of Iran's leading Arab ally.

"Reinforcing our bilateral relations will protect the region against the threats of its enemies ... our enemies are trying to undermine this relationship," he said.

WALID PHARES: One week after Hizbollah's leadership visit to Tehran and his meeting with the new President of Iran, the Syrian regime's leader paid the same visit to the regional power seeking nuclear weapons, and reaffirmed the strategic alliance in the region. Back in 1992, I wrote for the periodical Global Affairs a study on the Syrian Iranian Alliance, which I baptized then as a "Axis." After 9/11 and the removal of Saddam Hussein, the Syrian-Iranian axis designed a joint strategy of obstruction to the rise of democracies.

Note that the Iranian and Syrian regimes as well as Hizbollah fear the march of Democracy in their neighborhood. All three are totalitarian in their ideologies. In the regional counter attack against the democratization of Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon, the three players have significant resources and reasons to come together: Iran is the Jihadi superpower, Hizbollah is the Jihadi Terror power and Syria's Baath is the bridge between both. Last week, and in the wake of the selection of Ahmedinijad as head of the Iranian state, Hizbollah's secretary general, Sayid Hassan Nasrallah is received almost as Lebanon's "real" President. Iran's Mullah promised all military and logistical assistance to the world A-team of Terrorism, to use US Senator Bob Graham's lexicon. Tehran since, is part of a "strategic open pact" with Hizbollah. This week, Assad of Syria arrives in Tehran: Same treatment. Read well: Any attack against Syria is an attack against -soon to be nuclear- Iran.

Assad in Tehran is the second warning to the policy planners within the beltway and to the NATO leadership in the Belgian capital: The axis has already formed. Iran, Syria, Hizbollah and their tactical allies in the region, including those in Iraq, have come together. Read their rhetoric: shared threat, frontline of Muslim nation, necessary cooperation, protecting the region against its enemies.. Any Political Scientist, Military Historian or common sense reader would conclude that the "axis" is up and running. Not only our national leaders and strategic planners have some thinking to do, but also our homeland(s) security analysts as well...

Stop Tolerating Intolerance (updated)

By Zeyno Baran

Blair is right in his decision to ban the radical Islamist groups Hizb ut-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun. For far too long, the West has allowed fanaticism to grow and thrive by accepting the active presence of radical Islamist groups within its Muslim communities. Examples of this dangerous tolerance of intolerance are many; yet perhaps none are better than that of Omar Bakri Muhammad, the �spiritual leader� of al-Muhajiroun. (UPDATE: London Times reports that Bakri has fled to Lebanon.)

Born to a wealthy Syrian family in 1958, Bakri was recruited at an early age by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. After participating in a failed coup against President Hafez Assad, he was expelled from Syria. Bakri then fled to Lebanon, where he became a member of the radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT). He moved to Saudi Arabia during the Syrian invasion of Lebanon in 1979, and made his final journey to the UK, where he received asylum in 1985 after being exiled by the Saudi government.

HT thrived in Britain�s open environment, establishing its worldwide propaganda centre in London not long before Bakri�s arrival. However, disenchantment with HT�s tactics led Bakri to split from the group, and to establish the more radical al-Muhajiroun. Abandoning even the pretence of non-violence maintained by HT, Bakri began to play a vital role in inciting and organizing violent actions as part of the jihadist struggle.

Bakri has claimed to be �the eyes of Osama bin Laden� and reports indicate that the two have communicated at least as far back as 1998. That year, bin Laden sent a fax to Bakri from Afghanistan, urging him to �Bring down their airliners. Prevent the safe passage of their ships. Occupy their embassies. Force the closure of their companies and banks.� On July 15, 1999, Bakri published a letter he had written to bin Laden on an al-Muhajiroun website, which called upon the al-Qaeda commander to act against the West. In response to pressure from the US government, the letter was removed from the site, but it was later read aloud in mosques in North London, Bradford, Sheffield and Leicester.

Even after September 11, Bakri spared no effort in celebrating the efforts of al-Qaeda. Arguing that the desire for world domination has made the United States �the head of Satan,� Bakri described the September 11 attacks as �a great achievement by the mujaheddin against the evil superpower.� Bakri�s followers annually celebrate September 11. At the first anniversary they held a conference in London entitled, �A Towering Day in History,� where speeches were made on �the positive outcomes of September 11� and the �US conspiracy against Islam and Muslims�. Al-Muhajiroun was not allowed to hold meetings at the second and third anniversaries, but its members nonetheless hailed �The Magnificent 19� perpetrators of the attacks on their website.

Not content to work only with al-Qaeda, Bakri offered his services to a variety of radical groups. In October 2000 Bakri proudly announced that al-Muhajiroun collects funds, recruits militiamen and �takes care of propaganda requirements in Europe� for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He also stated that �Clinton is a target of the jihad, and American forces are a target of the jihad wherever they are�.

In addition to his work on behalf of others, Bakri has personally recruited, in his words, �hundreds of Britons to fight for Islamic causes,� dispatching jihadists to fight in such hotspots as Kashmir, Chechnya, and Afghanistan. In an interview, Bakri candidly revealed his tactics: �We find young men in university campuses or mosques, invite them for a meal and discuss the situation for on-going attacks being suffered by Muslims in Chechnya, Palestine or Kashmir. We make them understand their duty to support the jihad struggle verbally, financially and, if they can, physically in order to liberate their homeland.� In 2000, Bakri estimated �that between 1,800 and 2,000 go abroad for military training every year. They either go for national service in Pakistan or to �private camps� in South Africa, Nigeria or Afghanistan where they learn of weapons and explosives.�

More recently, in April 2003, British citizens Asif Muhammad Hanif and Omar Khan Sharif were sent by Hamas to carry out suicide bombings at a Tel Aviv seafront bar. There, Hanif blew himself up, killing three Israelis and wounding a dozen more. The explosives-filled vest worn by Sharif failed to detonate, and the would-be suicide bomber fled the scene. It should not at all be surprising that both Hanif and Sharif were students of Bakri.

While many in the UK have until now believed they would buy safety by allowing groups like al-Muhajiroun to operate, it was only a matter of time before followers of such groups struck the homeland. Bakri has never excluded Britain from the scope of his inflammatory rhetoric. Echoing his previous comments about President Clinton, Bakri stated that he �would like to see Prime Minister Tony Blair dead or deposed and an Islamic flag hanging outside 10 Downing Street.� In 2004, Bakri advised, �Muslims living abroad are not under any covenant with the kufir in the West, so it is acceptable for them to attack the non-Muslims in the West.�

Freedom of speech is an essential civil liberty, but this liberty cannot be given to people like Bakri who abuse it to sow discord between Muslims and non-Muslims, distort the image of Islam, and strive to bring about a clash of civilizations.

London 7/21 Suspect Extradited and Another Indicted - and Indication of Saudi Funding (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

Two major developments in the failed London 7/21 attacks: A primary suspect in the attack, Haroon Rashid Aswad, has been extradited from Zambia to London. And one of the 7/21 suspected bombers, Yassin Hassan Omar, has become the first one officially indicted and charged with attempted murder, conspiracy, and possession of explosives. He is the first person to be charged for direct involvement in the attack - others have been charged for failure to provide material information. Also, today's London Observer reports that "Saudi Arabia officially warned Britain of an imminent terrorist attack on London just weeks ahead of the 7 July bombings after calls from one of al-Qaeda's most wanted operatives were traced to an active cell in the United Kingdom." Recall that last week, Italian authorities revealed that they traced a call from Hussain Osman, another 7/21 suspect now held in Rome, to Saudi Arabia. UPDATE: London Telegraph story posted today: "Two senior al-Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia made money transfers and used coded text messages to communicate with suspected terrorists in Britain before last month's attacks in London, according to officials in the kingdom...'The messages and the money transfers were highly professional. They were using SIM cards for six hours and then throwing them away.'" This raises the probability that the London attackers were closely allied with the Saudi-based al-Qaeda group, which is funded from and protected by sympathetic Saudis.

Evan Kohlmann in "Washington Post" video on jihadists' use of internet

By Andrew Cochran

Evan Kohlmann is featured in a video about the jihadists' use oif the internet today on the Washington Post website (free registration required - it's worth it). The video accompanies an outstanding story by Puliltzer Prize-winner Steve Coll & Susan Glasser, "Jihadists Turn the Web Into Base of Operations," posted today on the topic, which will be published in the Sunday editions and is the first in a series. The story is full of important details on al Qaeda's and other jihadists' transfer of their base from physical locations to cyberspace and is a "must read" for all. Evan will also be available to take your questions in an online chat on this subject on Monday, August 8, at 3 pm Eastern time on the WP website.

Key Militant Websites Temporarily Disabled by Hacker

By Evan Kohlmann

At least two popular websites used by Middle Eastern terrorist groups to disseminate video, communiques, and other propaganda were temporarily disabled early Saturday by a hacker calling him/herself "The Ghost XXXV."  Visitors to the two militant forums were greeted with the image of a vampire, the signature and e-mail address of "Ghost XXXV", and the following message: "yOuR sItE hAs bEeN hAcKeD... You Can Run But You Can't Hide.  Astalavista Baby!"

By 10am eastern, the claim of responsibility left by "Ghost XXXV" on one victim had been erased and replaced with a message from a site administrator known as "Terrorist007" explaining that the forum was temporarily closed for maintenance.

Al-Qaida Faction Claims Rocket Attack in Gaza Strip, Releases Video

By Andrew Cochran

A previously unknown group calling itself the "Al-Qaida-Palestine Frontier Jihad Brigades"  has released a video allegedly depicting an August 1 Sajil rocket attack on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.   According to a statement read by a masked militant, "we confirm that this operation comes as a part of the global Islamic Jihad that has been initiated by our brothers from Al-Qaida�s Committee against the Jews and the crusaders... these brigades [have]... a faithful spirit pushing forward the mujahideen in Palestine to be decisive and unite behind faithful commanders who do not negotiate or surrender... It is a spirit that saves the mujahideen from falling for the tricks of some of our politicians� who seek status and prestige under the banner of kufr [disbelief], treason, and corruption.�

Click to view English translation of communiqu� c/o Globalterroralert.com
Click to view video released by "Al-Qaida-Palestine"

When it Comes to Putting Terrorist Financiers Out of Business We have Just "Lost another one to ditech!"

By Victor Comras

I don�t mean to be flippant in using that commercial advertising phrase, but it captures the sense of frustration associated with our apparent inability to hold known terrorist financiers criminally accountable. The latest setback is in a case in Oregon involving Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Inc. Unable to locate or apprehend the charity�s two principals, Perouz Sedaghaty and Soliman Al-But'he, the US Attorney for the District of Oregon decided to dismiss the charges. This was a tactical decision, given that it would have little meaning to try the shell charity without those that acted under its cover. The criminal charges can be re-instituted if and when the two principal�s are located. Despite pending arrest warrants, Perouz Sedaghaty and Soliman Al-But'he, remain-at-large. They join a significant number of other known al Qaeda financiers � Youssef Nada, Ahmed Nasreddin, Yasin Al-Kadi, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, and Wael Hamza Julaidan, to name just a few, that are still free to roam the world and conduct their business. And this list seems to be growing longer all the time. A few months back, Switzerland was forced to drop charges against Youssef Nada because it could not use intelligence collected information as court evidence. The Turks also dropped charges against Yasin al-Kadi. NBC recently did an expose on Nasreddin�s continued business dealings with a hotel in Italy and a large business conglomerate in Nigeria
And back at home no charges have yet been filed against the SAFA Group which has been under investigation for terrorism financing since March 2002.

Michael Cutler on the Border Patrol agent arrested for alleged immigrant smuggling

By Andrew Cochran

Michael Cutler asked me to post his comments on the news that a Border Patrol agent, who is now suspected of being an illegal immigrant himself, has been arrested for allegedly smuggling other illegal immigrants into the United States:

Clearly there are three disturbing components to this article that need to be considered. First of all, it is always troubling when corruption rears its ugly head in any profession. The fact that a sworn federal law enforcement officer would "sell" his badge and thereby compromise our security is infuriating. Secondly, the article shows just how prevalent the issue of fraudulent identity documents is. The fact is that the altered birth certificate came from Ohio and not from a "border state." I put the term border state in parenthesis because the President made the point during the debates conducted during the last presidential campaign that because he was the governor of a border state, he understands the issue of immigration better than his opponent who did not come from a border state. During a recent appearance on Fox News I made the point that any state that possesses an international airport is a border state. Furthermore, once an illegal alien succeeds in entering the United States, either by running the border or by concealing his/her true intentions and enters through an airport, they often head for the interior of the United States. The fact that a birth certificate from Ohio was the document proffered by this agent in an apparent effort to conceal his true identity and true nationality offers additional evidence that illegal immigration is a national crisis and no state or part of the country is immune. Finally, it is absolutely outrageous that the agency that is charged with securing our borders and enforcing the laws that deal with the enforcement of the critical immigration laws would not only hire an employee without completing the vetting process, but would allow such an individual to stand watch on our nation's border before the vetting process is completed belies a level of incompetence that is not acceptable!

THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION AND AL QAEDA

By Dennis Lormel

Ask yourself, could actions taken by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) facilitate a future Al Qaeda attack in the United States?

Steven Emerson on new Al Qaeda tape & new arest

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson appeared on NBC's "Today" this morning to discuss the new tape with Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's No. 2, and the arrest of Mahmud Faruq Brent in New Jersey. Steve said that the tape is more of "a rallying cry" for jihadists to strike against the UK and US as we approach the 4th anniversary, not a claim of responsibility for the bombings. It's also a plausible theory that Al Qaeda leaders want to remain relevant when other groups, inspired but not actually directed, are actually conducting the attacks. He added that trained observers will look for signs of the venue, the language in the tape, his clothes and the "props" in the tape, looking for consistencies with previous films. If intel agencies can determine that the tapes are in one location, it would be easier to catch al-Zawahiri. On the new arrest, Steve said that the accused, Mahmud Faruq Brent, is a member of LeT, the Kashmir-based group with sympathies for Al Qaeda. He also said that a federal prosecutor last night told him that Brent as a "ticking time bomb" who could have carried out attacks here in U.S.

Walid Phares: Thawahiri Goal: 'Blame Blair for bombs'

By Andrew Cochran

Walid Phares asked me to post his comments on the Al Qaeda tape:

In my two MSNBC interviews yesterday, I summarized Ayman al Thawahiri�s tapes as follows. One, he is affirming al Qaida�s world leadership of the Jihadi movement: British Jihadists could strike but the deputy zaim (leader) of A.Q takes international credit. Did he claim responsibility? He doesn�t have to, since two �regional� releases did so after the two London raids. (We believed them or not isn�t his business, but apparently our legal business). Two, timing: Note that the deputy-zaim didn�t appear after July the 7th bombings, but after the second failed wave. What does that tell us? That somewhat al Qaida was waiting for a second strike to do the �big� claim by the organization. Analytically it means that the old man with the black turban, whose tape appeared on al Jazeera today knew that there was to be a second (maybe more) strike. It also tells us that at some point the �central command� decided to �do� the tape and use it after the second failed attempt in London. Obviously, some in London and across the Atlantic are still building the case against al Qaida�s responsibility for July 7th, but the latter group is not waiting for Western judiciary delicacy: al Thawahiri said it openly: �You will get more if..� Unless I don�t understand both Arabic and English, this basically means that indeed al Qaida is the higher command, and the British Jihadis are regional war boots.

More on the Thai Passport Scandal

By Zachary Abuza

The arrest of the Algerian-born Britain with 452 forged European passports at Bangkok's Don Muang airport is only the latest in incidences of document forging in Thailand. In January 2005, Thai authorites arrested a Bangladeshi man for providing JI-AQ leader Hambali with forged travel documents. Likewise, one of the most important arrests that Thailand made in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 was a cell of 13 document forgers with ties to Al Qaeda and other groups in March 2002. British Embassy officials have described the UK passports as very high quality. He purchased them for roughly 3000 British pounds from a Pakistani national whose name he cannot remember.

But here's the rub: The suspect, 35 year old Mahieddine Daikh, may not be charged with any crime. To date none of the government's whose forged passports he possessed has filed charges. According to a senior Thai police official, quoted in the Guardian and Sydney Morning Herald, "We will not prosecute him unless one of the embassies [of the countries whose passports were forged] files a formal complaint. If they do not, we will revoke his visa and return him [to Britain]."

And currently under British law, Daikh has not committed a crime. A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said he "could not be prosecuted in Britain for this offence." Whether the passports were going to go into the hands of terrorists or people smugglers or criminals is almost besides the point. Counter-terrorism begins with border control. Moreover, if government's such as the UK, do not treat the traficking in documents as a serious crime, what incentive do countries like Thailand have in cracking down on the practice?

Update on Thai Passport Caper

By Bill West

Yesterday's arrest of an Algerian-born Brit in Bangkok while allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 450 forged European passports out of Thailand and into Scotland is raising the investigative interests of Scotland Yard. A Daily Mail report today indicates Thai police have learned the suspect, Mahieddine Daikh, was paid 15,000 pounds to deliver the false passports to "a contact" in Glasgow. He also allegedly told Thai investigators he paid a Pakistani man 3,000 pounds for the documents on the Thai resort island of Samui.

Daikh reportedly was granted asylum in Britain seven years ago and became a British citizen two years ago, meaning he could travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver program.

To date, we know several suspects in the 7/7 and 7/21 London terror attacks were second-generation Muslim British citizens, naturalized British citizens, or resident aliens in Britain who had been granted asylum there. At least one is reported to have originally entered the UK on false documents prior to being granted asylum as a fraudulently claimed Somali refugee. The London attacks have again demonstrated the linkage among immigration violations, false documents and terrorism. It remains to be seen if this Thai passport case has any connection to terrorism, but the elements that have surfaced so far are notably disturbing.

Maryland Man Arrested for Conspiring to Support Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) (updated with DOJ complaint & press release)

By Andrew Cochran

WBAL in Baltimore & AP: "Federal authorities have arrested a west Baltimore man for allegedly providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. attorney's office in New York announced Thursday. Mahmud Faruq Brent of Gwynn Oak is accused in a criminal complaint of conspiring to support the Lashkar-e-Taiba between 2001 through May 2005 by attending a terrorist training camp the group ran in Pakistan." For a profile on LeT, see Evan Kohlmann's May 6 post on the group, including a link to his extended profile of the group. In that post, Evan wrote, "Over the past two decades, the virulently anti-American founders of LET--including a well-known Saudi Al-Qaida member--have allowed their organization to serve as a recruiting and training mechanism for foreign terrorists based in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Kashmir--including several American, British, and Australian Muslim converts." UPDATE: LeT is the group which the "Virginia paintball gang" joined and with which they were undergoing terror training in Pakistan. Brent's phone records apparently include a phone number at an address known to have been used by Seifullah Chapman, one of the convicted paintballers. Also recall that Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the young wannabe jihadist arrested in northern Virginia in February, knew members of the paintball gang.

UPDATE 2: Here are the Justice Department complaint and press release (Acrobat files)

Download brent_84_press_release.pdf
Download brent_84_complaint.pdf

Terrorist Toadies Ken Livingstone & George Galloway Strike Again

By Andrew Cochran

Following in the footsteps of Neville Chamberlain as World Champion Appeasers, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and British Member of Parliament George Galloway continue to react to the London bombings by blaming Tony Blair, blaming the U.S., and puckering up to the terrorists. Here is what Livingstone wrote in today's "Guardian" about admitting radical Islamic cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi: "But if supporters of the Palestinians should be banned on the grounds that Palestinians kill civilians, then consistency would require banning Israeli leaders, who have been responsible for killing several times more Palestinian civilians...Whatever his individual views, he is seen as a moderate and is fiercely opposed to al-Qaida." Oh, really?! Qaradawi has been banned from entering the U.S. since 1999, and in March 2003 delivered a sermon instructing his mind-numbed robots as follows: �O God, destroy the Zionist, the American, and the British aggressors.� But don't bother Mayor Ken with the truth.

Then there's Galloway, whom I've already called "an apologist for Islamic terrorists and a liar." He's at it again, calling the Iraqi terrorists who kill Iraqi children and British soldiers "martyrs" and adding, "It's Bush and Blair and Berlusconi who are sick."

Don't think these two loonies are speaking just for themselves - they reflect the views of millions of wackos (Muslim and non-Muslim) who see the terrorists and their radical clerics as "freedom fighters" inspired by God.

Al-Zawahiri's Latest: Al-Qaeda's Attempted Deception Continues

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Today, Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new videotape in which he blames Tony Blair for the recent attacks on London, and warns that there are more to come.  He also has a message for the American people, which CNN describes:

Zawahiri reminded the United States and its allies of the "hudna" (truce) that bin Laden offered last year in return for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Muslim lands.  "Didn't Osama bin Laden tell you that you would never dream of peace until we actually live it in Palestine and before all foreign forces withdraw from the Land of Mohammed?  Instead (of accepting the truce), you spilled rivers of blood in our countries, and we exploded volcanoes of anger in your countries."

Zawahiri's reference to the offered hudna is part of a sustained effort by al-Qaeda to deceive Westerners into believing that the terrorist group can be bargained with, and that perhaps its demands can be satisfied.  Bin Laden first put forward the possibility of peace with the West in April 2004, when in the wake of the 3/11 atrocities in Spain he offered a truce to countries that withdrew their forces from Iraq.  Then in the dramatic videotape that bin Laden released just before the 2004 election, he further implied that peace with al-Qaeda was possible.  He argued, "We fight you because we are free men who don't sleep under oppression.  We want to restore freedom to our Nation and just as you lay waste to our Nation, so shall we lay waste to yours."  In telling Americans that the way out of the conflict with al-Qaeda was to "look for its [9/11's] causes in order to prevent it from happening again," bin Laden put his finger on some issues that he believed would have traction in the West -- specifically, the notion that selling Israel up the river and adopting a policy of non-intervention in the Middle East would guarantee us security.  This attempted deception continued in a November 29, 2004 videotape that al-Zawahiri released to al-Jazeera and in another videotape released on February 20, 2005.  And now, al-Qaeda has taken another step along the same path today.

Nigeria Moves to Protect Taylor

By Douglas Farah

Well, Nigerian president Obasanjo has come up with an interesting way of dealing with legitimate, recognized human rights workers who are peacefully campaigning to have former Liberian president Charles Taylor turned over to face justice: he has them summarily arrested, has their offices ransacked and defends Taylor. The crime of the groups lobbying for Taylor to be turned over to international justice was printing posters that simply replicated INTERPOL's "Wanted" poster of Taylor. It is available on the net. Supposedly, one can speak freely and protest in Nigeria. That is what Obasanjo has repeatedly told the world. Yet Taylor, a wanted fugitive indicted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity, cannot be disturbed.

I have become somewhat cynical on Nigeria's much-touted road to democracy and Obasajo's role in that. But this is over the top for a country that wants to be admitted as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has aspirations to be taken seriously on the world stage. Ironically, Obasanjo dennounced the military coup in Mauritania by saying Africa would no longer tolerate any retreat from democracy. And then, of course, he routed democratic activists.

It is a sad day for Nigeria when, to protect an international fugitive who brought death and destruction to hundreds of thousands of people and aided and abetted terrorists, human rights workers are thrown in prison without charges and without having committed a crime. The three lawyers have already spent more time in jail than Taylor. For printing posters! It would be nice if the Bush administration at least went through the pretext of pretending to care about this, but it does not seem to be. One small step for Taylor, one huge setback for human rights in Nigeria.

For articles on the arrests, you can go here and for the statement by Amensty International and the Open Society Justice Initiative, go here.

The Coup in Mauritania and Lessons on Fighting Terrorists

By Douglas Farah

The recent military coup in the largely-desert West African nation of Mauritania should be wakeup call for EUCOM and others trying to forge a cohesive counter-terror strategy in the region. While deposed president Maouya Sidi Ahmed Taya was pro-American and led one of only two Islamic countries that recognize Israel, he was a totalitarian despot who brooked no dissent, allowed the slave trade to continue unabated and had used recent and real threats by radical Muslims to crack down on a broad range of opponents. The International Crisis Group, in its May report on the spread of radical Isalm in the Sahel region accurately predicted that Taya's over-reaching on the terror threat could prove to be a "very costly mistake." It was. No one knows if the new military junta plans to radically change policy, whether the new leaders are more supportive of Islamic activism, or whether the new leaders are any more democratic than the fallen regime. One thing is a relatively safe bet: the military regime will last longer than the two years it promises to transition to a democratic government. Power is seldom yielded in the region without the use of force.

The same dilema will be facing U.S. policymakers and counterterror strategists in many other countries in West Africa. How much support to give wretched regimes who support and embrace U.S. counter-terror efforts? Chad under Deby is similar, as are Guinea, Togo, and Burkina Faso. Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon pose some similar problems, but with the added complication of having vast oil reserves that has sparked a bidding war among countries seeking to exploit the wealth, including the United States and China. While Nigeria has an elected government it remains one of the most corrupt in Africa, and that is saying quite a bit.

The United States deperately needs to develop a working relationship on counter-terror efforts in all of those countries, all of which are close to becoming failed states, or are already partially failed. How to do that without fully embracing the current power structure that has led to rampant oppression and corruption is one of the bigger challenges facing the counter-terror efforts. Any aid bolsters the legitimacy of governments that are not legitimate. Failure to engage at all leaves wide and growing swaths of the globe open to terrorist and criminal organizations to flourish and exploit. To read more, go here.

GSPC Leader Reflects on Murder of Algerian Diplomats in Iraq

By Evan Kohlmann

The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa--has released a new statement from its top commander Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud concerning the execution of two Algerian diplomats in Iraq by Al-Qaida fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.  In his communiqu�, the GSPC leader explained, "the American-Algerian relationship is extremely coordinated and strong...  The only difference between the oppressors Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Abdelaziz Bouteflika is that the former was transported into Iraq by American tanks whereas the latter was the one who transported American tanks into Algeria... Anyone who chooses the path of treason and oppression should know that his blood will become less valuable than the blood of dogs in the eyes of the mujahideen."

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

Ansar al-Sunnah Claims Killing of 8 U.S. Marines

By Evan Kohlmann

The Ansar al-Sunnah Army in Iraq has claimed responsibility for an ambush leading to the murders of at least eight U.S. Marines in the northern surburbs of the western Iraqi city of Haditha.  According to published communiqu�s, the attack took place "in the Al-Jazirah region, which is a vast, desert-like area that is commonly used by the mujahideen to launch their rockets and Hawn mortar shells targeting the American base at the Haditha dam.  The courageous mujahideen lingered in that area for nine days waiting for the American forces to arrive there."  Ansar al-Sunnah further claimed that it had attempted to capture the Marines alive--however, after they encountered resistance, the mujahideen responded  "with their own heavy fire backed up with Hawn mortar shells" killing eight American soldiers.

Click to view English translation of communiqu�s c/o Globalterroralert.com
Click to view video of Ansar al-Sunnah battle in Haditha c/o Globalterroralert.com
Click to view Pentagon statement concerning Ansar al-Sunnah video from Haditha

Thai Passport Arrest Another Reminder Why US Visa Waiver Program Should Be Scrapped

By Bill West

My fellow CT Blogger and former INS colleague Mike Cutler and I have frequently discussed how the US Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of some 27 mostly European nations to enter the United States as temporary visitors without applying for a visa, is a threat to our national security. Removing the overseas visa application and in-person consular officer interview process from the border security equation, particularly in the post-9/11 world in which we now exist, makes no sense.

The 7/7 and 7/21 London terror attacks, and the investigative efforts revealing most of the suspects are long-term Islamic British resident aliens or native-born British citizen Muslims, should remind those of us in America that violent Euro-Jihadists are very real and very dangerous. As though shoe bomber Richard Reid (British citizen), likely 9/11 20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui (French citizen of Algerian descent) and the Madrid 3/11 bombing suspects (mostly Moroccans who had lived as long-term residents of Spain) were not reminder enough. Such Euro-Jihadists need only obtain a European passport, sans US visa, to effect entry into the US; especially if the identity in such a passport is a �clean� identity unknown to any Intelligence or Law Enforcement organization and not posted in a lookout system.

Maintaining Momentum Against the Abu Sayyaf

By Zachary Abuza

Yesterday the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) announced that they had captured an Abu Sayyaf bomber, Alex Kahal, who was implicated in a string of bombings in Zamboanga City in October 2002. A US Special forces personnel was a victim of one of those blasts. He was also responsible for a string of kidnappings, including one American citizen.

In other news on the ASG front, there is an intense military operation in the hills southeast of Cotabato city currently underway. Signals intercepts have located the ASG chieftan, Khadaffy Janjalani and his two lieutenants, Abu Solaiman and Ismail Hapilon in the hills of Taliyan. There are believed to be roughly 30 ASG fighters. 4-6 have been killed.

Walid Phares: Danger at the Horizon: Hizbollah in Tehran

By Walid Phares

"Hezbollah has shown it is skillful and wise in politics as it is powerful and displays initiative in the field of Jihad and resistance," Khamenei told Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah, the student agency ISNA reported

"Today, the United States has really become weak in the region," Khamenei said. "This is proved by its failure in Iraq and defeat of its plans in Lebanon and Iran."

AFP: August 2, 2005

Michael Cutler: "Secure Borders - In Whose Lifetime?"

By Andrew Cochran

Michael Cutler asked me to post his comments:

I read the article, "DHS touts success of anti-gang operation," with interest, because I have often made the point that each year more Americans lose their lives, either directly or indirectly as a result of the crimes committed by criminal aliens who are operating within our borders. The arrest of nearly one thousand violent aliens is a welcome bit of news in the otherwise bleak immigration story, where the enforcement of these critical laws is concerned. I am encouraged that the leadership of DHS has seen fit to make these violent gangs a priority. However, I have also read that there are more gang members in the United States than there are sworn police officers throughout the United States. A significant percentage of the gangs are comprised of aliens. With only 2,000 special agents employed by the DHS for the entire country it is obvious that if we had more agents more of these violent criminals as well as terrorists could be more effectively pursued. Certainly there would be no shortage of meaningful work for additional agents.

The last sentence of this report was particularly disturbing. To quote,

"He (Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary) added that DHS officials have been working with members of Congress during the past few weeks "to develop our full set of measures with respect to border control."

We are rapidly approaching the fourth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack ever committed in the United States and Mr. Chertoff touts the fact that within the past few weeks DHS has been working with Congress to develop a a strategy to confront border control?!

Bus Scare in London Over (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

On Fox News/Sky News site & MSNBC: Area around double-decker bus near King's Cross station, scene of a 7/7/ attack, was sealed off after smoke and a "suspicious package" seen. Scotland Yard has investigated and given "all clear" - no explosives on bus

The Road Through Syria to Jihad in Iraq

By Evan Kohlmann

In a new guide published on the Internet, an alleged former resident of the Iraqi-Syrian border region has explained in detail for potential foreign fighter recruits how they can enter Iraq and join in the jihad by traveling through neighboring Syria.  According to "Al-Muhajir al-Islami", foreign jihadists should travel to the eastern Syrian city of Dayr al-Zawr: "it is recommended to enter the city using a car and do not carry large sums of money. If anyone asks, say you are here on a vacation and have come to go fishing in the Euphrates�therefore, bring some fishing equipment and another person with you so you won�t look suspicious."  Recruits are also advised to avoid consulting government-sponsored Muslim clerics in local mosques and only to "approach the Salafist youths" outside of mosques and beyond the prying eyes of Syrian intelligence.

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

Abu Hamza al-Masri UK Trial Delayed

By Victor Comras

The Trial of Shiek Abu Hamza al-Masri, the fiery Finsbury Park Mosque imam, for instigating terrorism and soliciting the murder of non-Muslims has been delayed until January 9, 2006. The Trial was to have begun July 5, 2005, just two days before the London Metro Bombings. No reasons for the delay have yet been published.

At least two of the suspected 7/21 London bombers. Muktar Said Ibrahim and Yasin Hassan Omar have been linked to the Finsbury Park Mosque. According to a Washington Post story suspect Leeds bomber, Mohammed Sidique Khan, also frequented the mosque before it was taken over by UK authorities. Newsweek reports that UK and American investigators are also looking into additional ties between Abu Hamza's followers and the bombings.

Is Saddam Money Still Funding Iraqi Terrorism?

By Victor Comras

Congress held two hearings this last week aimed at learning more about the flow of money into Iraqi insurgency hands. One dealt with Syria and the oil for food program (where I had the opportunity to testify). The other was entitled "Who Pays the Iraqi Insurgents?� The presentations at both these hearings made it clear that substantial funds were available and being used by Iraqi insurgents, and possibly for other terrorism activities outside Iraq. According to US military assessments, funds now available to Iraqi insurgents are sufficient to sustain the insurgency indefinitely. Cutting off this funding has, therefore, become a critical element in our counter-insurgency strategy. This funding, according to Caleb Temple, a senior DIA intelligence officer DIA Senior Analyst testifying at the latter hearing, comes principally from wealthy private donors in the Middle East and elsewhere, as well as former elements of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime. Many of Saddam�s cronies fled to Syria, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, he said, where they have established financial bases to support the insurgency. The funds are transferred back to Iraq via cash couriers. They also use certain charities as collection and distribution fronts by mixing money for the insurgency with funds for legitimate humanitarian projects.

This writer also believes that Saddam's hidden money continues to fund many of the diverse groups engaged in terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. This includes Jihadi groups, as well as Baathist insurgents in Iraq. Some experts speculated at the time of the first Gulf War that Saddam had over $5 billion stashed away in addition to the $5 billion Iraqi assets located at that time. Since then, Saddam and his cronies may have raked in more than $7-10 billion through various schemes, kickbacks, extortions, and other illicit methods. The oil for food scams were only one such source of Saddam�s money. And very little of this money has yet been accounted for. Some $1.9 billion has been returned to Iraq. The State Department estimates that there is still some $1 billion in known Iraqi deposits that have not been returned to Iraq. Most of this is in bank accounts in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Syria. The Commercial Bank of Syria still holds a reported $262 million dollars in SOMO-related accounts.

These figures leave a considerable amount of funds and other assets unaccounted for. How much was spent by Saddam and his agents during the last decade remains a matter of speculation. Some may still be locked up in business and other investments around the world, and some in as yet unidentified numbered bank accounts. A good part of the funds may also have been dissipated by those who believe they are no longer be beholden to Saddam and the Baathist regime. But, one way or another there remains a nice kitty upon which those favoring the insurgency and terrorism against the United States, Great Britain and other members of the Operation Iraqi Freedom coalition can draw.
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