Behind the GAO Report on Problems in fighting Terrorism Funding

By Michael B. Kraft

Hold on folks. Unfortunately there is more to the US Government�s inter-agency problems in countering financing terrorism than Doug Farah and Zachary Abuza commented on posts earlier today or even the GAO said in its report issued Tuesday.

The process was described as suffering from severe turf fights in the just-released GAO report with the typically Washington title � Better Strategic Planning needed to Coordinate U.S. Efforts to Deliver Counterterrorism Financial Training and Technical Assistance Abroad.http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0619.pdf

The New York Times, which obtained an advance copy of the report, headlined it �Turf Wars Hinder U.S. Attack on Terror Cash.�

In a nut shell, the GAO said the Treasury Department �does not accept the State Department�s leadership or the procedures of the State-led interagency group, the Terrorist Financing Working group, for providing training and technical assistance to other countries. (Under a long standing US law, the State Department is given the task of coordinating U.S. counterterrorism assistance to other countries). However a Treasury Department official is quoted anonymously in the report as saying the process is broken and State �creates obstacles rather than coordinates the efforts.� Treasury was miffed that State Department had held up granting country clearance for a team it wanted to send to another country.

Designating the Abu Sayyaf: A Case Study in a Broken Inter-Agency Process

By Zachary Abuza

The US Government�s effort to block of terrorist assets is �broken� according to the forthcoming GAO report, leaked to the New York Times. The turf wars between the relevant agencies, Treasury, State, the FBI, the Intel Community, military commands, and the NSC are legion. Each has their own bureaucratic interest in the issue and their missions tend to be at odds with one another especially when it comes to terrorist financing. The State Department�s official response, as quoted in the November 29, 2005, New York Times, denied the lack of inter-agency coordination: "No interagency process is without flaws," but continued: �there is much evidence� that the inter-agency working group on terrorist financing �is one of the most successful examples of interagency cooperation.�

The State Department�s position is laughable. One only has to look to today�s announcement by the Department of the Treasury that three of the top Abu Sayyaf group (ASG) leaders, Jainal Antel Sali, Jr., Radulan Sahiron, and Isnilon Totoni Hapilon, were �designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224,� to understand the inter-agency gridlock that �creates obstacles rather than coordinates efforts.�

Why has it taken all these years to get these three men designated? This case is appalling because unlike other, more politically and diplomatically sensitive cases, it is so uncontroversial. The ASG has been on the US Government�s FTO list for years. Since early-2002, US military personnel have been sporadically based in the southern Philippines to train their Philippine counterparts. The ASG featured prominently in the White House�s 2003 National Strategy to Counter Terrorism. The ASG has no state sponsors, or even defenders in Riyadh. Other ASG members have been successfully designated before. Several ASG leaders have been indicted in US courts, and the US government has issued rewards for their capture in their Rewards for Justice Program. Moreover, the Philippine government is fully on board the War on Terror. While they resist pressure for the US Government to act on the MILF, Manila is more than happy to see us move on the ASG or JI.

And yet, these three designations took well over half a year to go through. These designations were as cut and dry, politically and diplomatically indifferent, as can be. One understands the political realities when dealing with very sensitive cases � such as politically protected Islamic charities in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world and the victim of 4 major terrorist attacks since October 2002. But none of those sensitivities was present in this case, and none of those vested bureaucratic interests should have been either. The wheels of the government turn slowly, but this slowly on a downhill slope?

Saudi TV Program Televises Terrorists' Confessions, Discusses Recruitment Techniques

By Andrew Cochran

I highlighted the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on Saudi Arabia's role in the dissemination of extremist propaganda. And this summer, I posted an interview with French filmmaker Pierre Rehov about his interviews of suicide bombers and their motivations (here is a recent FrontPage column by Mr. Rehov on the subject). So I'm somewhat encouraged by this news report that last night, Saudi TV broadcast the first in a series titled, "Jihad Experiences, the Deceit." According to the news report, the show "featured the testimonies of three repentant terrorists who reveal how al-Qaeda recruits young people and convinces them to blow themselves up in the name of Islam." Moreover, quoting the news report,

Saudi TV also spoke to religious experts who explain how al-Qaeda's reasoning differs from Islamic Sharia law. They also explained the social and emotional situations that lead these young people to fall into the terror group's trap, the fact that the recruiters use their passion and predisposition to extremism, as well as their desire to change the world through quick, radical solutions. The programme highlighted how the recruitment activities and brainwashing of the fundamentalist cells lead the young person to distance themselves from their own families and the world around them.

This is the type of program that the Saudi government must sponsor, inside and outside the Kingdom, to prove that it will no longer allow or tolerate the export of hateful propaganda, and to dissuade suicide bombers from finding an alibi in a twisted form of Islam. I'm wary that this will be a singular event without followthrough, like past Saudi commitments on this issue, but it is a worthy start.

The More Things Change...

By Douglas Farah

A soon to be released GAO report, leaked to the New York Times and others, finds that, four years after 9-11 the U.S. government "lacks and intergrated strategy" to help other countries cut off the flow of funds to terrorists. What is most disturbing is that all the old turf wars, somewhat eased in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, have resurfaced with all their destructive energy. The Treasury, Justice and State departments are fighting over who gets to do what where, and in the process spend a great deal of time battling each other rather than going after the money flows of al Qaeda, Hamas and others.

One exchange described in the report has a Treasury Department official complaining that the process for deterring terrorist financing abroad is "broken" and that the State Department "creates obstacles rather than coordinates efforts." A State Department official responded that the real problem is Treasury's unwillingness to accept State's lead role in the program.

While the report focuses on the U.S. efforts to train other countries in ways to combat terror finance, it confirms a larger problem within the administration, as described to me by people in government and those who served there for many years. There is simply little interest on following up on issues raised on terror finance, and almost no leadership provided by those who sit in the principals' meeting in funding, attacking or seriously focusing on the issue. The CIA, according to one source, still has noone dedicated to tracing terror finance issues, never mind a special unit.

The wind has gone out of the sails, as one former official recently told me (and the source is a Bush fan). Go here to read complete blog.

Villepin LIED on CNN

By Olivier Guitta

Indeed, in an interview given to Christiane Amanpour, French Prime Minister Dominique Marie Francois Rene Galouzeau de Villepin- that's his real full name- when asked about the recent riots in France answered: "I am not sure you can call them riots. It's very different from the situation you have known in 1992 in L.A. for example. You had at that time 54 people that died, and you had 2,000 people wounded. In France during the 2 weeks period of unrest, nobody died in France. So, I think you can't compare this social unrest with any kind of riots."
And he LIED.
Because without counting the 56-year-old man that was savagely murdered by three Muslim thugs because he was taking a picture a few hours before the start of the riots, two people died during the month of what Villepin coldly calls "social unrest". In fact, a man was murdered by rioters in the lobby of his building while protecting the entrance; a second man died of a heart attack while protecting a school and running after some thugs who wanted to vandalize it. So if three dead law-abiding citizens count for none, then obviously Villepin has no regard for his fellow countrymen.
This should come as no surprise knowing the personality of the obnoxious French PM. If you want to read more on Villepin, see here.
The rest of the interview was pretty much brushing aside the social/immigration/integration of the Muslim community in France. A positive note though, Villepin clearly threatened Iran of a UN Security Council referral if the Iranians refused the latest offer re their nuclear program.

"In Lebanon, Arab fighters are ready to die in Iraq"

By Evan Kohlmann

(care of Reuters)

"On a quiet autumn night,  a mosque loudspeaker shatters the silence in this poor  Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.  'With all pride and grace, we announce to you the martyrdom of our mujahideen brothers Mohamed Ahmed al-Kurdi and Nidal Hussein Mustafa in the battlefields of jihad in Iraq,' the speaker blares across the narrow streets of Ain el-Hilweh.  The deaths brought to three the number of residents from the camp killed in Iraq in November alone, making a total of five in the past four months.  Arab fighters have played a key role in Iraq's insurgency since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.  Militants led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been blamed for a relentless series of attacks, suicide bombings and beheadings.  The U.S. military has said that Zarqawi is trying to bring more foreign fighters into the country because many of his Iraqi associates have been rounded up or killed... Usbat al-Ansar, which was founded by a Palestinian but now includes many Lebanese as members, follows the same strict version of Sunni Islam as bin Laden.  The group, which has a base in Ain el-Hilweh and openly admits links to bin Laden, says dozens of its members have joined the insurgency since the U.S.-led invasion. 'Usbat al-Ansar is offering military and logistical support to al Qaeda in all the battlegrounds of jihad including Iraq,' said the group's spokesman, who called himself Abu Shareef... There are few tears in Ain el-Hilweh for the latest local men to die in Iraq. The relatives of Nidal Hussein Mustafa, a Palestinian who sold his falafel stand to pay for the trip to Iraq, welcome visitors with dates to celebrate his martyrdom.  His mother is not wearing the traditional black of  mourning.  'I could not tell him to stay, I would have angered God. So I told him go,' said Umm Mohamed, whose two other sons are also members of Usbat al-Ansar.  One went to Iraq last month.  'I don't know whether I am happy or sad.  I guess both, I am sad because I lost him and will never see him again and happy because he is in heaven,' she said."

A Puzzling Response to "The Freedoms We Fight For"

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

A reader, Peter Murray, has a truly bizarre response to "The Freedoms We Fight For" (see my article here and my blog entry about it here):

Dear Sir,

And in the same week that a whistle-blowing civil-servant was legally gagged for spilling the beans that Bush was planning to silence the free and independent TV station, Al Jazeera.

Ouch!

best regards (and keep the irony coming)

Peter Murray.

This is perhaps the most puzzling criticism yet of one of my articles (although Aryan Nations leader August Kreis provides stiff competition).  To refer to Murray's argument as a logical fallacy would give it too much credit.  Murray is actually attempting to put forward a logical fallacy, the tu quoque fallacy.  Tu quoque literally means "you're another," and refers to the argument that an advocate cannot attack another's actions because the advocate has acted in a similar fashion.  In their book Arguments and Arguing, Thomas A. Hollihan and Kevin T. Baaske provide an example of this fallacy:

We know an individual who frequently leaves newspapers scattered all over the house.  When criticized by this behavior by his wife, he responded that she too left things scattered around the house.  We could not help but notice this use of an irrelevant reason.  Maybe both individuals are messy, but accusing the accuser of similar behavior does not invalidate the initial claim.

Thus, Murray's argument aspires to be a logical fallacy, but falls short even of that.  Instead, his position seems to be that because the Bush Administration allegedly strangled speech, I cannot criticize Islamists for threatening free speech with death.  In his incoherent response, Murray typifies many Westerners' sadly tepid response to these threats from Islamists.  He is so absorbed with his hatred of the Bush administration that he cannot bring himself to acknowledge, let alone stand up to, the Islamist assault on free speech.

President Bush Can't Simultaneously Remove and Reward Illegal Aliens

By Michael Cutler

The President is attempting to do something that is physically impossible - he appears to want to be, or at least appear to be, in two places at one time. On the one hand, he claims he want to see the immigration laws enforced and talks about the need to remove illegal aliens who are caught near the border. He noted that the administration wants to implement "expedited removal" for aliens caught anywhere on the border. He also talked about the effort to repatriate illegal Mexican aliens to the interior of Mexico to make it more difficult for those aliens to attempt to try to run the border. Yet, his guest worker program would reward those illegal aliens who succeed in getting to the interior of the United States. These illegal aliens would be eligible to participate in his guest worker program.

We are waging a "War on Terror." The President and his administration remind us of this constantly. He stated that the guest workers would receive secure identity documents to help employers know who they are hiring. This is simply wrong! With the crush of millions of illegal aliens showing up at immigration offices around the country, it is to be expected that many of them will be undocumented aliens. Think, for a moment, what that term means. These individuals have no identity documents. Absolutely nothing would stop terrorists from showing up at an immigration office and apply for a guest worker permit under a false name. If they managed to stay 'under the radar' so that their fingerprints are not on file, it would be absolutely impossible for the immigration employees to really know the identity of the alien standing in front of him/her. Even if the person had been arrested for a minor charge the name relating to the fingerprints might still not be that person's true name. Whenever you look at an arrest record, or "rap sheet" it is not uncommon for the bad guys to have multiple identities. In fact, according to the 9/11 Commission, the 19 terrorists who attacked our nation used a total of 364 different identities. The only thing worse than no security is false security. These documents may be tamper-resistant, but if the process by which they are issued is so terribly flawed, they will not enhance our security, only provide the false illusion that they provide secure and accurate identification of the bearer of these documents.

Update on Militants' Efforts in Kashmir & Pakistan Earthquake Zones

By Andrew Cochran

Victor Comras posted last week about the Kashmir militants' use of earthquake relief as a recruitment tool. I just heard from a U.S. government official who recently traveled to the region (and liked Victor's post) and provided this feedback:

I was able to travel briefly to the earthquake-affected areas--Muzaffarabad (in Pakistani Kashmir) and Mansehra and Shinkiari (in the Northwest Frontier Province). The Pakistani religious parties (namely the Jamaat-I-islami) and extremist groups (Jamaat ul-dawa--formerly the Lashkar-eTayyiba) have definitely taken advantage of the situation to try to win support from the population. They were the first to get into the affected areas and are experienced in social work, whereas the political parties in the area are not and have bearly been visible. Although the Pakistani military was slow off the mark, they are very much there now and apparently working pretty well with the NGO community. Most are doubtful that the religious groups can translate their earned good will with the people into votes at the scheduled July 2006 polls in Pakistani Kashmir. The question is whether these groups will be able to take advantage of the situation to renew support for militancy in Indian Kashmir. This is a question that no one can answer yet, but all should be focused on.

On the positive side of the ledger, the U.S. Embassy and military are doing a terrific job in providing relief and logistical support to the Pakistanis, and our humanitarian gesture is paying off with the Pakistani people. Everyone I met --including people traditionally hostile toward U.S. policy--commented that the U.S. relief efforts were really appreciated and had helped improve the Amercia's image with the average Pakistani. I think our Ambassador is doing a fantastic job and making a difference. We just need to sustain the momentum.

Insurgent Cross-Pollination A Serious Threat

By Douglas Farah

It is now clear that the phenomenon much feared by the intelligence community and military in fighting global terrorism is now well-advanced--the cross-pollination of techniques and strategies of different groups, able to share lethal technological innovations across national boundries to comrades battling elsewhere. The Washington Post on Monday carried a lengthy story on how tactics from Iraqi jihadists are showing up in Afghanistan. It is not just the suicide bombing themselves, it is the technology of building the bombs, the use of more sophisticated, harder to detect detonators and the accumulated knowledge that now moves back and forth across much of the jihadi world.

U.S. military and intelligence officials have long believed that this spread of knowledge, communication and networking in the jihad world was one of the biggest dangers of the Iraq invasion and the resulting, fragmented insurgency. It created a crucible where jihadists could meet, train, study and fight together, greatly strengthening the network's trust and knowledge of each other and facilitating communication after one's stint in Iraq finished.

It is now clear they were right to be concerned. Even more worrisome is the almost-inevitable spread of these techniques and startegies around the globe where the jihadists are active--from the Philippines to Africa to Southeast Asia. Being in combat with someone, and having a shared set of experiences greatly strengthens the bonds of individuals and groups engaged in clandestine activities. Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sudan and other places have offered this to a lesser degree than Iraq in the past. But in Iraq there is the added advantage of fighting American soldiers, not other proxy armies.

As I have mentioned in the past, the Post article also highlights the seeming financial resurgence of the Taliban and the sharing of resources--military and financial--with al Qaeda foreign fighters there. The tempo of Taliban activities in Afghanistan has greatly increased, and Taliban units now occassionally include Arab fighters in their ranks. The equipment and technology they now have is new and very good. This could be a sign of involvement in the booming opium trade, of renewed external financial assistance or a mixture of both.

There is little I read or hear to suggest either the Salafist combatants in Iraq or Afghanistan are increasing their public appeal. But, as in every insurgent war, if the goverment forces are not in control of an area the people will go with the flow and work with whoever wields the most power. Survival is paramount, not ideology, among the civilians trying to eke out a living. Not winning is dangerously akin to losing.

Gauging Progress in Combating Terrorism

By Victor Comras

How do we measure the progress being made in the War on Terrorism? That is the theme of a recent Congressional Research Service report prepared by CRS terrorism expert Raphael Perl. The report reflects concerns that we really have not developed the criteria necessary to judge the effectiveness of our anti-terrorism actions. Perl holds that in the absence of such criteria the Administration has simply measured progress retrospectively against what it has done. �And of course since we've done some stuff, we've made progress�.� Rather than measure progress against agreed benchmarks, he says, the administration has cited statistics on kills, captures, and funds frozen. But, this does not mean that we actually know just how much damage has really been done to terrorism infrastructure, recruitment or financial support.

Charles Pena of the Cato Institute made similar point lasts year. He noted President Bush State of the Union claim that �nearly two-thirds of [al Qaeda's] known leadership have been captured or killed.� But, according to Pena, this is a misleading metric for gauging progress. Pena points out that �al Qaeda is not a centralized network that depends on its leaders.� Rather its cells or largely �organic� and can operate independently. Leaders are replaced as needed, and recruitment continues to rebuild its ranks. The fact is that each year, since 9/11 has seen an increase in terrorist violence, not a diminuation.

The same can be said for judging our progress in dealing with terrorism financing. The freezing of $150 � $200 million in bank accounts around the world really tells us quite little about the effect we are having on terrorism financing. Most of this money was frozen just after 9/11 and about 2/3rds of it had nothing really to do with al Qaeda. It was Afghan money subsequently returned to the Karsai government. These freezing actions had little effect in putting Al Qaeda�s identified financiers out of business. Youssef Nada, Ahmed Nasreddin, Yasin al-Kadi, Hamza Julaidan (to name only a few) are still managing their portfolio investments. Nor have we effectively closed down the charities identified as channeling funds to al Qaeda. Many have simply reorganized under new names to accomplish the same ends. See for example by blogs on al Haramain and Lashka e Taiba.

Our success in dealing with terrorism has to be measured in inches, not miles. And we must be very cautious when claiming progress or success, least we begin to let down our guard. We have to recognize that the war on terrorism will be around for some time to come; and, to win, that we must place an even greater emphasis on countering and dismantleing the structures that finance and support the indoctrination and recruitment of new militant jihadi�s willing to sacrifice innocent lives in ways no legitimate religion should preach.

Reuven Paz, JC Brisard Weigh in on Iraq's Foreign Fighters

By Evan Kohlmann

My blog posts last week on Iraq's foreign fighters have generated very positive and thoughtful responses from other colleagues in this field, including Dr. Reuven Paz and Jean-Charles Brisard.  Dr. Paz is the author of an academic report earlier this year on foreign fighters in Iraq and JCB is, of course, the author of Zarqawi: The New Face of Al-Qaeda.  For the benefit of researchers and others interested in the foreign fighters phemonenon, I'm posting both of their comments below.  In the meantime, despite efforts to downplay their role in the Iraqi insurgency, Al-Qaida supporters have announced the deaths of two more "mythical" Saudi Arabian nationals hailing from Riyadh who were reportedly killed in recent clashes with U.S. forces near the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

Dr. Reuven Paz:

"I read your comments on the WP and Cordesman as to the numbers of foreign insurgents in Iraq, posted in 23 November in your blog. I agree with you, but would like to add one more element... We should look not only at the numbers but also at the quality of the Saudis' contribution to the insurgency, at least to the Islamist one. They bring with them more radicalism. Saudis were among those who influenced Zarqawi to adopt Takfiri ideas, and significally increase the massive attacks (which remind us of Algeria) against Shi'is, Sufis, and Muslim "infidel" Sunnis. It led to the harsh and open criticism against him by his spiritual mentor Abu Muhammad al-Maqdesi the Jordanian/ Palestinian, and to the public criticism of the Syrian Sheikh Abu Baseer, who resides in exile in London,  and is still one of the leading teachers of the most radical Salafism in our generation. These elements are very important too in understanding the Saudi radical contribution to the insurgency in Iraq, which is very dangerous to the Saudi government too. The affect of the "Iraq veterans" and "returnees from Iraq" will be more threatening than that of the "Afghan alumni."  Furthermore, they wrote  that "the paper concludes, that they were �radicalized almost exclusively by the Coalition invasion.� I agree with that, and I think that the U.S. administration is not yet aware of the huge effect of the invasion to Iraq upon large segments of the Arab world. (Wait and see what is going to happen when Saddam's trial starts. They are going to view him in human eyes as persecuted by the U.S., rather than his past horrible image). But, we should also remember that in October 2004, about a year ago, 26 senior Saudi clerics signed a statement, which could be interpreted by ignorant yet zealout youngsters as a Fatwa, in support of Jihad against "the occupiers = the Americans" in Iraq. No one in the Saudi government reacted to the declaration publically.  To sum up, we should look at the involvement of Saudis in Iraq not only through numbers, but also through their significant influence as Salafi radicals, even though they misinterpret some of the basics of Islam (but they don't think so, or don't know that out of ignorance of true Islam, or out of running after slogans of Jihad which are easy to adapt to)."

Jean Charles Brisard:

"You're right to challenge the WP assessment on foreign fighters. According to the latest figures I've obtained from a European intel agency, as of September 2005, 150 European fighters had been located, arrested or killed in Iraq... 90% of the terrorist attacks in Iraq were carried out or led by foreign fighters.  Adding to that the fact that the CIA, as quoted in my Zarqawi book, assesses that Iraq is the scene of a major shift from charities and various religious organizations previously identified for their support to terrorist networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it's an obvious mistake to downplay the foreign influence and presence in the Iraqi insurgency."

New Daily Standard Article: "The Freedoms We Fight For"

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

I previously blogged about the threat to Omar Sharif that was posted on a jihadist website after the actor spoke glowingly about playing St. Peter in an Italian TV film.  I've also noted on this blog that Sharif isn't alone in being threatened for allegedly offending Islamic sensitivities; rather, there is a disturbing trend of people being threatened, and sometimes killed, when radical Muslims take umbrage at their speech.  Now "The Freedoms We Fight For," an article I wrote for the Daily Standard that documents and analyzes this trend, has been posted.  An excerpt:

The van Gogh murder further extended this battle against free speech.  Shortly before his death, van Gogh directed a film called Submission, which was designed to dramatize the mistreatment of women born into Muslim families.  In response, Islamic radical Mohammed Bouyeri murdered van Gogh on November 2, 2004, shooting him six times before slitting van Gogh's throat with a kitchen knife and then using the knife to impale a five-page note to his chest.

While the Rushdie and van Gogh incidents are the two most prominent attacks on critics of Islam in the last two decades, they are only part of a broader trend.  The note that Bouyeri gruesomely tacked to Theo van Gogh's chest also threatened Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Dutch MP from a Somali Muslim background.  By that time, however, death threats were old hat to Hirsi Ali.  She has said in an interview that she was living underground just weeks before her 2003 election to the Dutch parliament because of comments she had made in a televised debate.

According to Hirsi Ali, she was provoked during that debate and ended up blurting out, "It's my religion, and my culture, and I can call it backward if I want."  But the real problem, insofar as the radical Muslims who threatened Hirsi Ali were concerned, wasn't her criticism of Islam, but her admission that she had left the faith.  Many Muslims believe that apostasy from Islam is punishable by death, and the threats that Hirsi Ali received drove her into hiding.

Read the whole article here.

Apparent Zarqawi Clone in Morocco Threatens Suicide Attacks on "Infidel Colonizers" and "Apostate Rulers"

By Evan Kohlmann

A previously unknown group calling itself the "Tawheed wal-Jihad Islamic Movement"  has issued a new communiqu� threatening to wage jihad against the King of Morocco and his secular, pro-Western government.  According to the statement, "Let the perverted king know that there are many young Moroccan men who are seeking martyrdom and we have no fear of him or his followers.  Let the criminals know that, if Allah wills it, we will set the ground underneath their feet ablaze... We inform you that your day has come and soon the first flames of our holy jihad shall burst forth."  Prior to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi swearing bayat (an oath of allegiance) to Usama Bin Laden in November 2004, his terrorist affiliate organization in Iraq was likewise known as the "Tawheed wal-Jihad Movement."

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

EU May Stop Providing US-Bound Air Passenger Information

By Victor Comras

The European Court of Justice's Advocate General Philippe Leger, has just issued an Advisory Opinion favoring a EU Parliament challenge to a May 2004 agreement under which EU countries provide the US Bureau of Customs advance data on all air passengers traveling to the United States. Information provided under the agreement includes the name, address, form of payment and contact phone numbers for each passenger. It also includes other background information that may be available to airline and airport officials. The Advocate General Opinion found that the agreement, while authorized by the EU Council , lacked a sufficient legal basis and was contrary to existing EU law. His Opinion called for the agreement to be annulled. The EU Commission had previously held that the agreement fully met European privacy restrictions criteria. The Advocate General�s finding bolsters a previously existing court challenge to the agreement initiated by the EU Parliament several months ago. The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice is expected to rule on the case in early 2006. While the Advocate General�s Opinion is not binding on the court it has been followed in a majority of cases before the court.

Since May 2004, the EU has given U.S. authorities 34 categories of information on passengers flying to the United States, including name, address, all forms of payment and contact phone numbers. The agreement followed US Congressional action requiring each air carrier operating passenger flights in foreign air transportation to or from the United States to provide the Department of Homeland Security with electronic access to passenger name record data to the extent it is collected and contained in the air carrier�s automated reservation/departure control system.

An EU court ruling abrogating the agreement would throw a major wrench into the existing US aviation control system and would represent a major set-back for the G-8�s anti-terrorism Secure and Facilitated Travel (SAFTI) initiative.

Religious "Charities" Fund Terror Operations by Iraqi Insurgents

By Evan Kohlmann

(MNF-IRAQ.COM): "Acting on multiple intelligence sources and tips from concerned citizens, Coalition forces raided a suspected Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorist safe house in Abu Ghurayb, west of Baghdad, Oct. 23.  Captured during the raid was Ahmad Ni�mah Khudayyir Abbas (aka. Abu Shihab), a recently identified Jaysh al-Mujahideen lieutenant who oversaw the propaganda cell and who commanded several mortar and improvised explosive device cells.  Abu Shihab, as the propaganda chief for the Jaysh al-Mujahideen media cell operating in the Baghdad area, initially recorded videos and digitized them to compact disc for distribution to various Jaysh al-Mujahideen and al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist groups... the videos would be used to recruit terrorists and foreign fighters, as well as to provide information on potential targets for other terrorists... Abu Shihab admitted to being involved in the swindling of money from Iraqi citizens. He, as well as other Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorists, would represent a local Baghdad charity they set up specifically to funnel donations to Jaysh al-Mujahideen.  One method of garnering donations from local citizens, according to Abu Shihab, was to stage pictures with children and young adults highlighting the 'charity�s' name and logo in the background. The pictures would be shown to the Iraqis to solicit money supposedly in support of youth education and religious study; these donations would then be used to support terrorist operations in the Baghdad area."

See also: "Terrorist-Linked Islamic Charities Responsible for Funneling More than $1 million in Aid to Central Iraq"

Pakistani Convicted of Aiding Post-9/11 Al-Qaida Terror Plot in U.S.

By Evan Kohlmann

Several weeks ago, I testified as an expert witness in my capacity as an independent counterterrorism analyst on behalf of federal prosecutors in the Uzair Paracha case.  My expert testimony largely focused on the history, ideology, and leadership of Al-Qaida -- and particularly the role of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) as Al-Qaida's chief "operational planner" behind major terrorist operations, including the September 11 suicide hijackings.  For those interested further, I'm making available the transcript of Judge Sidney Stein's November 3 Daubert ruling validating me as an expert witness and qualifying me to testify in federal court.

(Associated Press): "A Pakistani man who claimed he was pressured into a false confession was convicted Wednesday of trying to help an al-Qaida operative slip past U.S. immigration officials.  A federal jury deliberated for about five hours before finding Uzair Paracha, 25, guilty of providing material support to terrorists and of other related charges. He could face up to 75 years in prison.  The government accused Paracha of trying to help Majid Khan, an alleged al-Qaida member, sneak into the country using fake travel documents.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Metzner told the jury Paracha wanted to help Khan and "did so knowing that a terrorist was coming here for one purpose: to kill Americans."  Paracha testified he was pressured into confession and only told investigators "what I thought they wanted to hear." His defense attorney Edward Wilford said the FBI denied his client food and sleep during hours of questioning -- "the ideal conditions to create a false confession."  The man Paracha is accused of trying to help, Khan, is presumed to be in overseas jails.  Paracha's father, Saifullah Paracha, is also being held as an enemy combatant in the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He has not been charged with a crime, but documents indicate he is suspected of laundering money for terrorists and associating with al-Qaida figures. He has repeatedly denied any knowing involvement in terrorism.  Uzair Paracha grew up in Pakistan, but has lived off and on for many years in New York, where his family has several business ventures.  After his detention in 2003, he told agents that Khan had tried to recruit him to al-Qaida and made clear that he wanted to come to the United States as part of a plot to attack Americans."

Al-Qaida Denies Death of Zarqawi, Narrates Battle in Mosul

By Evan Kohlmann

This morning--after days of silence on the issue--Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq has issued a communique vigorously denying that its Jordanian commander Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a raid by U.S. military forces last week on a house in Mosul.  According to the statement, the house did contain a number of Al-Qaida operatives and at least one of their wives.  When the group realized that they were being surrounded by coalition troops, they allegedly telephoned local Al-Qaida commanders and prepared to lay a trap -- allegedly resulting in numerous casualties among their enemies.

Separately, I have also made available on Globalterroralert.com a complete transcript of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's November 18 audio recording on the subject of the recent Al-Qaida suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan.  In his recording, Zarqawi took pains to warn Muslims to stay away from regional airports, military bases, embassies, and other potential terrorist targets in Jordan in the coming days -- suggesting that additional Al-Qaida suicide bomb attacks are quite likely.

Lastly, I also want to draw attention to a recent blog entry by Aaron Weisburd over at Internet Haganah on the issue of foreign fighters in Iraq.  Aaron's discovery should serve as a reminder of the diverse range of foreign militants who are arriving in Iraq seeking to join Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Al-Qaida.

More Mistakes by the Washington Post on the Foreign Fighters "Debate"

By Evan Kohlmann

As much as I am fatigued by the seemingly endless "fisking" of misinformed articles on Iraq's foreign fighters, I cannot resist drawing attention to yet another recent Washington Post article which twists the research and conclusions of Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).  Snuck into a long WP article on the sinking political prospects of Vice President Dick Cheney, journalists Michael Fletcher and James VandeHei also included this wandering snippet:

"Some observers called into question Cheney's repeated description of the enemy in Iraq as 'terrorists' who are seeking to control that country to establish a base from which they can 'launch attacks and to wage war against governments that do not meet their demands.'  U.S. intelligence agencies say foreign terrorists represent a minority of the insurgent forces; the vast majority are Iraqis.  Classified findings by U.S. intelligence agencies are reflected in a study by Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, released yesterday, which estimates that at least 90 percent of the fighters are Iraqi."

OK, so what's wrong with this passage?  Well, first off, Cordesman doesn't base his study on "classified findings" by "U.S. intelligence agencies."  Quite to the contrary, Cordesman bases his research almost exclusively on foreign intelligence reports produced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia--not the United States government.  In fact, a number of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement sources I have spoken with have expressed *strong* dismay that Cordesman's research is being used to imply that there is no significant presence of foreign fighters in Iraq.  One will recall my previous post on this subject when one such highly credible source compared those who complain of the U.S. government allegedly overinflating the presence of foreign fighters in Iraq to UFO conspiracy theorists.

Besides mischaracterizing Cordesman's sources, they have also flubbed on his actual conclusions.  Contrary to the tone of the Washington Post article, Cordesman has been rightly hesitant to offer any specific numbers as to the total number of foreign fighters present in Iraq.  In another recent interview, Cordesman conceded he was not sure as to the total population of foreign fighters, but added, "If there are anything like 3,000 foreign fighters in Iraq, this poses a serious threat... In any case, the exact numbers are largely irrelevant.  All it takes is enough volunteers to continue to support suicide attacks and violent bombings, and to seek to drive Iraqi Sunnis towards a major and intense civil war... many [foreign fighters] are likely to survive and be the source of violence and extremism in other countries."  Though I often disagree with Tony on his research, I wholeheartedly concur on this point.  The numbers are largely irrelevant, and only a small number of foreign fighters are necessary to upset regional geopolitical stability.  Thus, no informed sources--not even Cordesman himself--seem to agree with the misbegotten conclusions formulated by the Washington Post's Fletcher and VandeHei.

Nor should anyone take this post as some abstract defense of Dick Cheney on my part.  Besides my general distaste for partisan politics, in the recent past, I've referred to V.P. Cheney's views on the Iraqi insurgency as self-delusional and "stunningly obtuse."  I have also characterized the decision by the Bush administration to invade Iraq in 2003 as a "colossal strategic error."  But, from an objective standpoint, it is fair to say that George Bush and Dick Cheney are not the only ones pushing a dubious agenda for Iraq through the mass media.

*UPDATE* [11/23/05, 10:45am]: My respected colleague in Europe, Jean-Charles Brisard, has weighed in on the issue of foreign fighters in response to my recent posts.  I asked JCB for permission to repost some of his comments, which I regard as highly relevant:

"You're right to challenge the WP assessment on foreign fighters. According to the latest figures I've obtained from a European intel agency, as of September 2005, 150 European fighters had been located, arrested or killed in Iraq... 90% of the terrorist attacks in Iraq were carried out or led by foreign fighters.  Adding to that the fact that the CIA, as quoted in my Zarqawi book, assesses that Iraq is the scene of a major shift from charities and various religious organizations previously identified for their support to terrorist networks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it's an obvious mistake to downplay the foreign influence and presence in the Iraqi insurgency."

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali Convicted in Northern Virginia

By Andrew Cochran

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was convicted today in northern Virginia of joining Al Qaeda and plotting to assassinate President Bush. We covered the case from its start, including his ties to other cases and members of the LeT terrorist group:

February 22: "Bush Assassination Plot by al Qaeda suspect?" - with the indictment - and "Defendant Ahmed Omar Abu Ali: Some Interesting Details" and "Ahmed Omar Abu Ali and the Visa Waiver Program"

February 24: "Justice Department's Newest Abu Ali Filing" and "Clues to Abu Ali's Al-Qaida Contacts in Saudi Arabia"

August 4: "Maryland Man Arrested for Conspiring to Support Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) (updated with DOJ complaint & press release)"

September 16: "More Terrorism Indictments Linked to "Virginia Jihad" Gang in Washington, DC, Area (Updated 9/17)"

Jose Padilla's New Indictment Based, in Part, on USA PATRIOT Act (updated link to indictment)

By Andrew Cochran

Alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla was indicted on new charges that he conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas, along with 4 others. The indictment links Padilla to another pre-existing indictment of an alleged terrorist cell, marking the first time that Padilla has been charged in connection with terrorism activities and not just as an "enemy combatant." The indictment alleges that Padilla traveled overseas filled out a terrorist training camp application and went to Afghanistan to so train. Another important development in this case is that it cites declassified foreign intelligence intercepts as a basis for the case, an action not available to terrorism case prosecutors until the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001. So this indictment provides the Bush Administration and PATRIOT Act supporters with additional justification for the reauthorization of the Act - see Dennis Lormel's and Michael Kraft's posts on that issue. The new indictment renders irrelevant a pending Supreme Court showdown over the enemy combatant issue, as Padilla will now be under the custody of the Justice Department for this case.

You can read the full indictment here courtesy of the AP (Acrobat file), and you can read the DOJ press release on the indictment below. The indictment cites the defendants' support of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, leader of the Egyptian-based Islamic Jihad, who was convicted for his role in the 1993 WTC bombings (in a case led by current CIA leak case prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald). Daveed Gartenstein-Ross posted about Rahman's attorney, Lynne Stewart, who was convicted for smuggling messages from him to his followers. I posted on October 3 about the Treasury Department's designation of seven of his followers, and I gave a brief history of the group.

Download usdojpressreleasejose_padilla112205

Terrorism Tainted Lashkar-e-Taiba Continues As A Major Player in Kashmir Earthquake Relief Effort

By Victor Comras

Numerous press and other reports from Kashmir indicate that Lashkar-e-Taiba, and its successor organization, the Jamaat-ul-Dawa charity have become major players in relief and reconstruction efforts for earthquake torn Kashmir. Both entities were founded, and are run by, Hafiz Sayeed. Lashkar-e-Taiba has been designated by the US Treasury and the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee as an al Qaeda support organization. Neither Treasury nor the UN have yet got around to designating Hafiz Sayeed or Jamaat-ul-Dawa.

During the first days after the earthquake priority had to be given to moving relief and assistance quickly to quake victims. American and European soldiers and civilians worked side by side with Taiba members in this effort. But this situation is beginning to change as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ul-Dawa, along with other Jihadi groups in Kashmir increasingly turn their efforts again toward �jihad� and radical Islamic indoctrination and recruitment. Despite US and allied country contributions and efforts to win hearts and minds, Jamaat-ul-Dawa appears to be winning the highest praise and allegiance from local inhabitants. Ostensibly outlawed by the Pakistan government, Dawa has remained very active in the Kashmir region. The organization maintains well established social and humanitarian civilian support structures and is using them quite effectively to channel both assistance and their radical message. Their social centers, employment centers, madrassas and orphanages are reportedly again being used as Jihadi recruitment centers. And the Indian government is again complaining of a sharp rise in cross border terrorist incidents. Lashkar-e-Taiba�s was recently blamed for last month�s bombings in New Delhi.

Jamaat-ul Dawa reportedly has the best organized and disciplined setup in several areas of Kashmir including Muzaffarabad and Bagh. By one account they run a network in Muzaffarabad of some �350 of its jihadis members connected with wireless phones; 16 ambulances and mobile X-ray machines/operation theatres; kitchens to feed 3,000 people daily; motorboats to rescue people from inaccessible areas; an orthopedic unit under the supervision of Dr. Amir Aziz (who was arrested after the 9/11 for treating bin Laden and later acquitted by the Supreme Court).�

Jamaat-ul Dawa claims to be straining its financial resources to provide funding for its numerous earthquake related projects. But, the organization has also been successful in raising needed additional funds from outside sources. These funds reportedly come from local solicitation throughout Pakistan and in the Gulf and other Islamic countries. International organizations such as ICRC, WHO, UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, Khalsa Aid, and Singapore Relief Agency are also reportedly working with Dawa. Jamaat leaders claim to have canvassed every town in Pakistan for funds to rebuild houses and mosques. They also have sought and received considerable aid from other countries. Dawa's Director told one interviewer that his organization had received aid from Singapore, Indonesia and Turkey. Indonesian and Turkish doctors are also working as volunteers at several Jamaat sponsored hospitals and clinics.

The situation in Kashmir once again demonstrates the dilemma we face in dealing with active, but terrorism tainted, Islamic charities when they constitute an important part of humanitarian crisis relief efforts. This problem arises regularly as with the Southeast Asia Tsunami crisis and in places like Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon and Gaza where terrorist groups have established and maintain essential local humanitarian and social support structures. Dismantling these groups and building new structures to replace them still remains a remote option. Yet efforts are necessary to contain these groups and to restrict them from using their resources for terrorism related activities. The first step is to hold the leaders of these international charities responsible for their actions when they allow their charities and charitable structures to be used for the promotion of terrorism. Why is it that Hafiz Sayeed has not been designated? Holding these leaders responsible, and penalizing them, might be an even more important and effective tool then seeking to close down the charities they run. Another step is put increased pressure on their major contributors, including governments and other deep pocket donors that continue to draw false distinctions between their support for non tolerant extremist theology and funding terrorism itself. These steps alone could accomplish much in rationalizing an irrational situation.

Morocco actively fighting Al Qaeda

By Olivier Guitta

While two of its citizens are currently held prisoners by the Zarqawi network in Iraq, Morocco is responding in kind to the terror master. Indeed, just today, Moroccan authorities revealed they have dismantled an Al Qaeda linked terrorist cell. Seventeen people were arrested at the beginning of the month. In a related case, three Moroccan citizens which were detained in Guantanamo and returned to Morocco in August 2004 were rearrested because they had helped a very dangerous Al Qaeda member enter the country. Morocco has been one of the most helpful Arab countries when it comes to intelligence information sharing with Western secret services. It is then no surprise that Al Qaeda targeted Casablanca in May 2003 with multiple suicide bombings against Western and Jewish targets killing 45, and now kidnapped two Moroccan diplomats.

Al-Qaida Takes Casualties in Iraq -- But Apparently Not Zarqawi

By Evan Kohlmann

Despite recent reports to the contrary, Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq has suffered numerous casualties during recent combat operations in northern and western Iraq -- including both native and foreign fighters.  As I hinted at in my previous post on Iraq's foreign fighters, at least four commanders from the designated foreign terrorist organization Asbat al-Ansar in southern Lebanon have been killed during intense fighting near the western towns of Al-Qaim and Al-Karabilah.  Another Yemeni national -- a veteran of multiple trips to Afghanistan -- was also slain before he could participate in an intended suicide bombing mission.

Other, highly dubious reports have also surfaced in the media today suggesting that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been himself killed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul during a U.S. military raid on a suspected Al-Qaida hideout.  Needless to say, such "tips" are often posted on fringe Arabic-language message forums on the Internet and are subsequently picked up by overeager news agencies -- but ultimately, most prove to be nothing more than unfounded rumor.  Certainly, Al-Qaida doesn't seem to have been at all fazed by the reported Mosul raid.  Not only has Al-Qaida issued nearly twenty new communiques in the last twenty four hours, but it also claimed credit for additional insurgent attacks on U.S. forces in Mosul.  Apparently, the raid that "might have killed" Zarqawi did not even succeed in decapitating Al-Qaida's military command structure in the Mosul area.  This Zarqawi report ultimately will be proven or disproven by the only sure way possible: forensic evidence collected on scene.  But, at least for the moment--given what we do know--it seems fair to classify Zarqawi's would-be passing as extremely unlikely.

See: (UPI) Reports of Zarqawi's death played down

UPDATE: I've fixed the broken link to the Asbat al-Ansar PDF file

UPDATE II [11/21/05, 9:30am EST]: An Al-Qaida supporter who claims to know the identities of those inside the destroyed house in Mosul has emphatically denied that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was present in the structure or was killed during the raid.  According to the source, a total of eight individuals were hiding in the residence at the time, including seven male insurgents and one of their wives.  This group had not yet been involved in significant insurgent operations, but rather was preparing to carry out a "terrorist martyrdom mission."  Furthermore, according to the source, the raid that led to the deaths of the would-be "suicide squad" was executed exclusively by U.S. military forces--and not Iraqi soldiers or policemen.

New Zarqawi Translations/Video Available from Globalterroralert.com

By Evan Kohlmann

Despite a few delays due to ongoing projects I've been working on, I finally got a chance to post a round-up of recent significant statements and video clips released by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaida faction in central Iraq.  As I go through and clear out the growing backlog, I will also endeavor to make available other items of recent interest, including English excerpts from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's audio recording released on Friday.

Click to view files c/o Globalterroralert.com:
- Oct. 10 video of Al-Qaida suicide bombing in Tel Afar
- Oct. 12 video of Al-Qaida suicide bombing in Tel Afar
- Nov. 2 video of attack on Iraqi army base in Tel Afar
- Nov. 6 statement on Al-Qaim and Operation "Steel Curtain"
- Nov. 7 threat to retaliate for the campaign against Al-Qaim
- Nov. 8 declaration of the Sunni revenge battles in Al-Qaim
- Nov. 10 claim for the bombing of three hotels in Amman
- Nov. 10 second statement on the Amman hotel bombings
- Nov. 11 third statement on the Amman hotel bombings

See also: [CHART] "Zarqawi's Leadership Network in Iraq"

Impediments to Counterterrorism Efforts in the United States

By Dennis Lormel

Why was the PATRIOT Act enacted? Why does the CIA operate secret detention and intelligence facilities? Why has the number of National Security Letters issued by the FBI increased significantly? The answer is simple�to preserve national security and prevent another 9/11.

Apparently, select interest groups in the United States have either lost sight of this undisputable fact or have chosen to disregard it in deference to their parochial agendas. Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, considerable public attention focused on the PATRIOT Act, CIA secret facilities and FBI National Security Letters�dangerously casting each in the wrong light and threatening their continuity.

Thousands Rally Against Zarqawi in Jordan

By Evan Kohlmann

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have miscalculated in his recent bid to attack Western hotels in Amman, Jordan.  The suicide bombings--which killed many innocent Arab bystanders, including guests at a wedding party--have generated an ugly reaction among many ordinary Jordanians.  This afternoon, a crowd of an estimated 100,000 people loudly demonstrated in downtown Amman against Zarqawi:

"...Thousands of flag-waving Jordanians thronged downtown Amman in the 'March of the Nation,' a noisy, emphatic demonstration against the hotel attacks.  'Al-Zarqawi, you coward, what brought you here?' the angry crowd shouted.  'Cease, cease, al-Zarqawi, you are a villain!' the throng chanted.  'Cease, Cease, you terrorist, you are a coward!'  ...'I came specifically to say to those terrorists and al-Zarqawi that we are all united against them.  We do not want them on our land,' said Ghazi al-Hajjaj, 43, who traveled from Tafila, 115 miles south of Amman, to attend the rally.  Palestinians from Jordan's 13 refugee camps also took part in the protest... Some men brought their families with them. Aya Abu-Ghosh, 9, came with her father and siblings. 'I came here to say to terror: Get out of our home.  We don't want you.  You scare us.'  Many demonstrators lifted photos of King Abdullah II and carried banners denouncing the attacks in general and al-Zarqawi in particular.  'Al-Zarqawi, you are the enemy of God,' one read.  The two-hour march concluded with a rally at a downtown square, where many dignitaries and Muslim and Christian clergymen addressed the crowd... One speaker, who did not give his name but told the audience that he was a member of Bani Hassan, al-Zarqawi's tribe, recited a poem condemning terrorism.  'You terrorist, you are a traitor and whoever follows your ideology is also a traitor, too.  Go to hell, you son of Satan,' he read."

Washington Post Misses the Mark on Foreign Fighters in Iraq

By Evan Kohlmann

In yesterday's Washington Post, Jonathan Finer authored an article examining the role of foreign fighters in ongoing military operations in western Iraq.  Throughout the piece, Finer implies that few foreign fighters have been actually involved in the Iraqi conflict, and that their existence is merely a propaganda smokescreen to cover a bloody war that is growing increasingly unpopular with the American public.  His conclusions are buttressed by comments from Anthony Cordesman of CSIS:

"'Both Iraqis and coalition people often exaggerate the role of foreign infiltrators and downplay the role of Iraqi resentment in the insurgency,'" said Anthony H. Cordesman... 'It makes the government's counterinsurgency efforts seem more legitimate, and it links what's going on in Iraq to the war on terrorism.  When people go out into battle, they often characterize enemies in the most negative way possible.  Obviously there are all kinds of interacting political prejudices they can bring out by blaming outsiders.'"

Cordesman neglects to mention that -- rather than rely on sources in the U.S. or Iraqi government -- he bases his own research largely on intelligence reports from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  Needless to say, it is a sad day when a former U.S. Defense Department official finds the Saudis more trustworthy than his own government, not to mention our new Iraqi allies.  Indeed, according to Iraq's National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaie, there is not "the least doubt that nine out of 10 of the suicide bombers who carry out suicide bombing operations among Iraqi citizens ... are Arabs who have crossed the border with Syria... Most of those that blow themselves up in Iraq are Saudi nationals."  Well-placed sources have scoffed to me at Finer's conclusions and went on to compare those who claim that the U.S. government has manufactured evidence of foreign fighters in Iraq to UFO conspiracy theorists. 

Note that this would-be "debate" has absolutely nothing to do with politics, whether from the left or the right.  President Bush and his advisors made a colossal strategic error in attempting to remove Saddam Hussein without an appropriate and credible replacement.  Beyond a tiny Kurdish enclave in far northern Iraq, there was no significant Al-Qaida presence within Iraq prior to 2003.  However--and this should be doubted by no one--the fall of Saddam and the resulting regional power vacuum allowed Al-Qaida operatives to infiltrate Iraq and establish a hardcore faction of mixed insurgents dedicated to fighting America at any cost.  If we withdraw from Iraq without first destroying Zarqawi's prolific Al-Qaida network, that failure will dog America for many years to come.

What is the percentage of foreign fighters out of the total number of insurgents?  What are the major bases of foreign fighter activity?  How well integrated are foreign fighters and native Iraqi insurgents?  These are all questions with indefinite answers at the moment -- nobody can say for sure.  Estimates range wildly and are, at best, (un)educated guesses.  However, what *can* stated with absolute certainty is that foreign fighters have dramatically changed the face of the Iraqi insurgency and have escalated it to a level that is far beyond the control of the nascent Iraqi government.  The most destructive terrorist attacks in central Iraq have been almost entirely the work of outsiders.  Both suicide car bombing attacks on the United Nations compound in Baghdad during 2003 were the work of North Africans in the employ of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.  Scores of Saudis have blown themselves up in a horrific crescendo of attacks, including targeting Shiite mosques, foreign embassies, civilian hotels, and schools.  In fact, Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq--led by Zarqawi--claims responsibility for all but a handful of the suicide bombing attacks carried out in Iraq.  While there is no doubt that it is native Iraqi insurgents who are behind the lionshare of more traditional roadside bombings and artillery attacks, they generally stray from the catastrophic "soft target" operations favored by foreign fighters under Zarqawi's command.  Clearly, U.S. troops would not be quite as susceptible to IEDs and basic insurgent warfare if they were not forced to continuously hunt for networks of Al-Qaida suicide bombers and arms smugglers hiding in the restive western Al-Anbar province.  Just as in previous Muslim conflict zones such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Caucasus, Al-Qaida fighters in Iraq serve as the insurgent spearhead -- a ruthless mafia of religious fanatics willing to carry out dangerous, high-value missions aimed at terrifying a superior adversary and forcing it on the defensive.

It is appropriate here to look to the prior "Afghan" model for the purposes of comparative analysis.  During the Afghan jihad of the 1980s, foreign fighters comprised only a diminutive portion of the total Afghan mujahideen battling the Soviet Union.  Until 1987--nearly eight years after the Russians first landed their paratroopers in Kabul--Arab emigres did not even have their own exclusive military training camp.  Nonetheless, a small, elite cadre of these foreign fighters persisted on and succeeded in founding the world's most deadly terrorist organization, Al-Qaida.  This historical pattern alone should demonstrate that underestimating the prodigal expansion of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers in Iraq -- whether native or foreign -- is a deadly mistake.

Meanwhile, despite the wave of disinformation in the media, foreign fighters nonetheless continue to arrive in Iraq and die there as insurgents and suicide bombers.  On November 17, the Beirut Daily Star--hardly a mouthpiece of the American government--published an interview with an official from a prominent Al-Qaida faction based in Lebanon known as Asbat al-Ansar:

"Abu Sharif, the spokesperson of Esbat al-Ansar group based in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, told The Daily Star that 'a group of very well-trained mujahideen from Esbat al-Ansar managed to enter Iraq and carried out several attacks against the Crusaders' forces and did very well.'  The 'martyrs,' Ahmad Yassin and Saleh Shayeb, were killed one week ago.  Nidal Mustafa, the brother of an official from the Esbat al-Ansar, along with Mohammad al-Kurdi, the only Lebanese among them, were killed on Tuesday.  'Our only comfort in the martyrs is that they killed and wounded the enemies of God,' said the father of Mustafa.  Abu Sharif said that 'it is our duty to help any Muslim in the world.'  He said Muslim scholars agree that when an Islamic country is attacked or invaded by 'the enemies of our religion,' jihad becomes a responsibility.  'This is a duty that has been fulfilled by the members of the Islamic Esbat al-Ansar group in response to the words of the Holy Koran that calls for fighting enemies and being rewarded,' Abu Sharif said.  'This is a duty for the rescue of those who are inside prisons and in defense of our holy lands, our Holy book (Koran) that they have desecrated by tearing them and stamping on them, and in defense of our mosques that they have destroyed,' said Abu Sharif  'For all those reasons, a group of mujahideen from the Esbat al-Ansar group went to wage jihad in Iraq after they were unable to do so in Palestine,' he said.  Abu Sharif refused to estimate how many members left Lebanon for Iraq, nor would he suggest how they made their way.  He only said that 'they arrived in Iraq, carried out the attacks and some were killed.'  He also affirmed 'they were killed in Iraq.'  When asked whether Esbat al-Ansar fears any U.S. operation in Lebanon, Abu Sharif said: 'We don't fear them.'"

In the coming days, I will publish photos and short biographies of Saleh Shayeb, Ahmad Yassin, and other Palestinians from the Ain el-Hilweh Refugee camp who have recently been reported killed fighting U.S. forces in central Iraq.

Terror Finances, Foreign Fighters and Claims of Victory

By Douglas Farah

Senior counter-terrorism officials seem to be falling into the unhealthy habit of badly underestimating the new shapes al Qaeda is taking, and the resources it has access to to continue to grow. The Treasury Department's Stuart Levey recently said al Qaeda was hurting for money, something European and other U.S. officials dispute. His comments can be found here. There are also public statements about the waning influence of foreign fighters in Iraq and containing al Qaeda and weakening it.

Al Qaeda and the Salafist Islamic structure intent on establishing a radical Muslim world order by force, political infiltration, revolution, indoctrination, theological reasonings have spread in ways we do not understand yet. There are divisions, personality clashes and tactical and strategic disagreements petty and profound. All of that does not mean the overall goals are changed or that there is not a high degree of unity against the Great Satan.

Like the fighting the drug cartels in Colombia, the successes against a highly adaptable enemy lead to unexpected consequences, some of them not helpful. The Salafist structures are more difuse, more independent, more financially compartmentalized and much less leader-centric. While that may mean the specific influence of Osama bin Laden, Zawahiri and others is less, it does not mean the overall effort is weakened. In fact, in may mean the opposite.

There are also shifts that are hard to quantify in terms of importance. In his letter to Zarqawi, Zarwahiri said: "We need a payment while new (financial supply) lines are being opened. So, if you are capable of sending a payment of approximately one hundred thousand (dollars), we'll be very grateful to you." Sounds like a temporary cash flow problem, rather than a finanancial crisis.

The newly armed and engaged Taliban and al Qaeda fighers in Afghanistan an Pakistan show the problem was overcome in fairly short order. It also shows that Zarqawi may have enough surplus cash to help out other people. Not unlike bin Laden in his hey day, able to send money to Abu Sayyaf, JI and others.

In fact, as I and other have written about, the financial chain of charities, offshore companies and private donations from the leaders of the international Muslim Brotherhood, active across Europe and elswhere, continues to operate unabated. The money that the Brotherhood, operating through a series of shell structures across Europe, is almost unlimited. Any claim of financial success that does not entail the demise of at least part of that structure is, I think, wishful thinking. To read my complete blog, go here.

George Galloway Lauds Syria's Dictator, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Terrorists

By Andrew Cochran

British MP George Galloway is nothing if not explicit in his support for and work with terrorists and killer dictators, including taking Oil-for-Food funds from Saddam Hussein for his favorite "charity." MEMRI has caught him at it again, this time traveling to Damascus to praise the dictator of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad (maybe Georgie is looking for new sources of cash in case he gets prosecuted for lying to the U.S. Congress about his OFF income). He called Assad "the last Arab ruler, and Syria is the last Arab country..." Galloway praised Syria for "the good which she is doing," called the Hezbollah terrorists who kill innocent civilians "the Palestinian resistance," and described the Iraqi terrorists who also bombed three Amman hotels as "the Iraqi resistance." At least now his own countrymen are starting to catch on - there's a new UK blog dedicated to his prosecution.

THE PATRIOT ACT DISPUTE?REMEMBER THE BIG PICTURE

By Michael B. Kraft

The threat by a group of Senators to filibuster renewal of the Patriot Act may be a bargaining tactic but let�s hope it doesn�t result in the search for the perfect helping kill the good.

The roving wiretaps provision that originally passed in 2001 is extremely important in this age of cell phones and multiple phones. It is modeled after earlier laws that provided authority for investigations in miafia-type crimes Surely that tool is just as important if not more so in dealing with terrorists who may use a variety of cell phones or pay phones.

The provision actually was drafted during the Clinton Administration. I remember taking part in meetings in the 1990�s when Justice Department officials discussed and advocated it in the 1990�s.

The library records feature, which has generated so much emotion, was intended to help determine if a suspect was obtaining material on making bombs or other terrorist weapons/techniques, not to find out a person's taste in ordinary literature or political science books.

An important provision in the 2001 Patriot Act that will expire if the pending legislation is not renewed, broke down the barriers between sharing terrorism-related information between the intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Justice Department officials say this provision has been extremely important in some terrorism-related cases.

Clearly there has been a trend of terrorists inside a country forming ad hoc groups to strike in urban areas � London, Madrid, Casablanca, Jakarta, etc., to say nothing of 9/11. The United States is not immune, maybe just lucky since 9/11. This makes it even more important to maintain investigative tools that can be used on short notice, such as the roving wire taps provision.

We are all concerned about civil liberties and safeguards can be crafted. But those who want to kill the entire bill should keep in mind that getting on a plane, train or working in an office building without being blown is also a civil liberty.

We Need the USA PATRIOT Act to Stop Terrorists

By Andrew Cochran

The House-Senate conference agreement on the USA PATRIOT Act is in big trouble this afternoon on Capitol Hill. Six Senators from both sides of the aisle are leading a charge against removal of some Senate-passed provisions, and a senior House aide working to pass the conference report tells me their effort is gathering steam. Former Congressman Bob Barr, who is anti-PATRIOT, says the conference report "It leaves people with impression of checks and balances when there are none," while Sen. Jeff Sessions, pro-PATRIOT, responds that, "We actually have more restrictions on terrorist investigators than on prosecutors and police all over America."

While I'm not opining on the merits and drawbacks of each section, I hope and pray that the filibuster threat is overcome quickly. Congress would send a signal to the terrorists of retreat and failure if it does not ensure that law enforcement can depend on a strong and effective PATRIOT Act before the end of this year, when 16 sections are due to expire. The Patriot Debates website, while not updated since this summer, remains the best site with balanced and reasonable arguments on both sides.

Senior Democrat Calls for Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Today, Rep. John Murtha (D., Pa.) called for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.  From CNN.com:

"U.S. and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq," the senior lawmaker said.  "It's time for a change in direction."  He said he believes all the forces could be redeployed over a six-month period.  Murtha, a former Marine Corps colonel and veteran of the Vietnam war, is the first senior lawmaker to call for an immediate withdrawal.  Other critics of the war have asked President Bush to set up a timetable for withdrawal.

It's significant that Rep. Murtha is the first senior politician to call for immediate withdrawal.  While senior politicans have previously criticized the war (most notably John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign), no senior lawmaker has previously advocated as drastic and irresponsible a course as immediate withdrawal.

Sadly, the way our political system works, once a senior politician proffers an idea that had previously been regarded as taboo, it gains traction and other politicians are asked to position themselves with respect it.  Now that Rep. Murtha has opened this Pandora's Box, immediate withdrawal is simply too popular among the Democratic base for the idea to be shunted to the side the way it deserves.  Some top Democratic politicians, hoping to position themselves for a White House run in 2008, may either endorse immediate withdrawal or else advocate a strong timetable that will cause us to withdraw from Iraq before the Iraqi government is ready to guarantee the country's stability.

As a policy matter, Rep. Murtha's view is ludicrous.  What we should do now in Iraq is a completely separate question from whether we should have invaded the country in the first place, and even critics of the Iraq war (I count myself among this number) should understand how disastrous Rep. Murtha's proposal would be if implemented.  Immediate withdrawal from Iraq would cause the country to descend into chaos that would provide an ideal base of operations for al-Qaeda.  Al-Qaeda's prestige throughout the Muslim world would skyrocket while the U.S.'s reputation would decline.  Al-Qaeda would be able to claim credit for beating the U.S. in Iraq -- in the same way that Osama bin Laden claims to have beaten the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and thus precipitated the Soviet empire's demise.

But sometimes, the advocates of a given policy position are undeterred by how wrong-headed it is.  A proposal's popularity (measured not just by absolute poll numbers but also by its supporters' intensity) can win it advocates even if the idea would laughed out of the room in a sane world.  I expect to see serious political demagoguery on this issue in the coming months.

The war on terror is not the place for politics as usual.  Politicians need to be more responsible with their ideas and rhetoric when our national security is at stake.

Evan Kohlmann to Comment on Wash Post Article on Foreign Fighters in Iraq

By Andrew Cochran

Today's "Washington Post" ran a front-page article titled, "Among Insurgents in Iraq, Few Foreigners Are Found" about the detarmination that none of the terrorists captured at the battle of Tall Afar were from outside Iraq. The article cited the CSIS study by Anthony Cordesman and Nawaf Obeid (Acrobat file) for the proposition that foreign fighters are relatively few in number among the Iraqi terrorists. Evan Kohlman strenuously disagrees with the proposition and has discussed his research here often. You can see this single CT Blog post with links to his other articles on the subject, and he will address the "Washington Post" article later today.

Unprecedented Video Statement from JI Leader Threatens US and Australia

By Zachary Abuza

Today Indonesian TCV broadcast video-footage of a masked man � believed to be one of JI�s top leaders, Noordin Mohammad Top, who explicitly threatened the West:

"As long as you keep your troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and intimidate Muslim people, you will feel our intimidation and our terror. . . America, Australia, England and Italy. You will be the target of our next attack."

That a masked man went on camera and threatened America and her allies for the occupation of Muslim lands is nothing new, except for the fact that it has never before come from Southeast Asia.

The second point is that the figure is believed to be Noordin Mohammad Top, the Malaysian friend and colleague of Dr. Azahari bin Hussin who was killed in a shootout/suicide explosion in East Java last week. Dr. Azahari, a graduate of the Al Qaeda camps, was JI�s leading bomb technician, and his death was certainly a blow to the organization. But Noordin is a more pivotal figure: he is their top fund raisers and recruiter. He is a highly charismatic figure who has been responsible, authorities believe, for the recruitment of the 7 suicide bombers already deployed since 2002, as well as establishing a new suicide wing.

Third, Australia was once again singled out by JI. The man explicitly warned: "Especially for Australia, as long as its troops are in Afghanistan and Iraq and engage in intimidation there, you will also feel our intimidation." JI will continue to focus on Australia, which it sees as the US proxy in the region.

Fourth, evidence surfaced in the past year that JI was going to try to increase the tempo of attacks from more than one a year, its current rate. The three smaller suicide bombings (5-10 kilogram backpack bombs rather than a large truck bomb), that were used on the 1 October 2005 Bali attacks were a further indication. Proof however, came when authorities searched the East Java safehouse where Azahari and 6 accomplices were killed. In it they found some 30 suicide vests, suggesting that JI was in the final stages of planning a massive round of suicide attacks.
Fifth, the video included a video �martyr�s statements� by one of the Bali bombers. Again, this is not unusual in the Middle East, but almost unprecedented in Southeast Asia. The statement is further evidence that JI is trying to develop a cult of martyrdom. "My brother and wife, God willing, when you see this recording I'll already be in heaven." The other two suicide bombers were also shown in the video.
Noordin�s threats should be heeded.

House Committee Adds Anti-Terrorist Financing Provision to Banking Bill

By Andrew Cochran

The House Financial Services Committee (where I served as senior oversight counsel from 2001 through 2003) today added an important anti-terrorist financing provision to a banking regulatory relief bill. The provision, sponsored by Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), requires the Treasury Department, for the first time, to provide an annual report to Congress, financial regulators, and financial institutions on anti-terrorist financing standards of all countries and the extent of enforcement. The Treasury Department report would have to state whether the country is a "country of primary money laundering concern" under the Bank Secrecy Act (as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act) and whether the efforts of that country to combat money laundering and terrorist financing are adequate, improving, or inadequate. In support of her provision, Rep. Kelly said that financial institutions "need a way to judge beforehand which transactions may need extra attention, and which transactions will receive special notice during an exam. Having a consolidated report to give them a full understanding of what foreign jurisdictions are doing will help ensure a secure international financial system." The bill hopefully moves to the full House for consideration; there is no similar bill ready yet on the Senate side. The Kelly-Maloney amendment is available below (Acrobat file).
Download KellyMaloneyAmendment.pdf

Federal Terrorism Insurance Program to be Extended

By Andrew Cochran

Like the USA PATRIOT Act, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) was passed in response to the 9/11 attacks. TRIA provided a federal loan program to back up certain lines of insurance in case of catastrophic losses from additional attacks. TRIA is scheduled to expire at the end of this calendar year, but in the past few weeks, after much wrangling with the industry and White House, Congress has moved towards enacting an amended TRIA. The two relevant committees in the House and Senate, chaired by Rep. Oxley and Sen. Shelby respectively, are meeting separately today to pass their versions of the bill. Treasury Secretary Snow has endorsed the Senate version of the bill, indicating Presidential support. A compromise between them which meets with the President's approval now appears almost certain, and as early as this week.

Stephanides Vindicated by UN Panel Re Oil For Food Probe

By Victor Comras

A UN Joint Disciplinary Committee, comprised of three UN Secretariat members, including one selected by Secretary General Kofi Annan, has unanimously vindicated Stephanides with regard to charges that he �tainted� the competitive bidding process that led to the selection of Lloyd's Register to oversee the humanitarian Oil for Food contracts. The UN panel found that Stephanides was innocent of charges that he violated UN rules by divulging confidential bidding information to the United Kingdom Mission for the benefit of Lloyd's Register. Those charges were based, in turn, on adverse findings in the first interim Volcker Commission report that stated that �... the regular competitive bidding process was tainted by Mr. Stephanides�s contacts with a member state mission and preempted for political reasons dictated by the Iraq Steering Committee.�

Blog readers may recall that back in February 2005 when the Volcker Committee's (IIC) first interim report was issued, I argued that Joseph Stephanides had been given a raw deal. Despite the fact that the Volcker Report made no suggestion that Stephanides had acted for personal benefit, Secretary General Kofi Annan decided to make an example of him and directed that he be summarily fired. But the case against him never really held any water.

Let�s start with the Volcker report inconsistencies: The IIC report never specified exactly what it meant by �tainted,� but claimed that Stephanides had passed confidential bidding information to the British Mission. This allegedly occurred during the first part of August, 1996. According to the IIC report this information provided Lloyd�s an opportunity to lower its bid and win the Contract. But, it is now clear that this charge cannot stand. In fact, the Volcker report itself refutes this finding. Let me explain. Page 67 of the IIC�s first interim report states::

"To ensure an open and competitive bid process, no information of a material nature, such as the number of bids received, the names of bidders or the amount of bids could be revealed to any individual or to the general public prior to the time of the bid opening. Consistent with these principles, the bids or proposals received were required to be "publicly opened at the time and place specified in the invitation to bid, and an immediate record" was to be made." (emphasis added)

On Page 14 that same report indicates that this is exactly what occurred. It says::

"five companies responded with bids that were accepted for consideration, and the procurement department conducted an open reading of the bid prices on July 30, 1996." (Emphasis added)

Let me be clear: The IIC report itself says that the bids for the contract were publicly opened on July 30, 1996. Each bid was read out loud publicly � well before Stephanides is alleged to have divulged that information to the British!

USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Looks Likely - But It's Not Over Yet (updated 11/17)

By Andrew Cochran

Sixteen provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (technically an acronym for the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism") expire at the end of 2005, and the reauthorization process appears to be grinding forward. The latest proposal includes a limit of seven years for most of the controversial provisions, longer than the four years suggested by a non-binding resolution passed by the U.S. House last week, but still shorter than the 10 years proposed by the Administration. Two of the provisions under strenuous debate by Congressional conferees and staff are Section 215, which enables the accessing of business and library records on suspects, and the "lone wolf" provision enacted by the 2004 Intel Reform & Terrorist Prevention Act (availabe in the Counterterrorism Library), which allows monitoring of foreigners who are suspected of terrorism but who may not be directly associated with a terrorist organization. The draft would make it tougher for the FBI to issue "national security letters," which require businesses to provide information about a person without informing that person. The draft also changes the current federal funding formula for first responders; I assume that provision is included to make the bill more attractive to recalcitrant lawmakers and those worried about their vote on this controversial bill.

The reporter in the "Washington Post" article linked above termed the compromise "another significant setback for the weakened Bush administration," but I strenuously disagree based on criticisms of the Act over the past 2 years. A very senior GOP House Member, who was critical to the passage of the first PATRIOT Act in 2001, told me point-blank last year that it would not have passed at all in 2004. So I would consider passage of this bill one of the most impressive legislative accomplishments of the session. UPDATE 11/17: A bipartisan group of 6 Senators is threatening to block enactment of the conference bill, because provisions added by the Senate with respect to search warrants and judicial review of requests to search certain records.

Congress to Explore Iran's Nuclear Program & Terrorism Connections

By Andrew Cochran

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing today at 3 pm ET "to examine the relationship between Iran�s pursuit of nuclear weapons and its status as a state-sponsor of terrorism." Witnesses will include current and former Members of Congress; James Woolsey, former CIA Director and now VP of Booz Allen Hamilton; and three outside experts, including Ilan Berman of the American Foreign Policy Council, who testified on this topic in the U.S. House last month (Acrobat file). You should be able to watch the hearing through this link.

Steven Emerson: Arrested woman bomber a "treasure trove of intelligence"

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson on NBC's "Today Show" this morning and later on MSNBC (links to videos): "(W)e are seeing a rise in the last five years- basically a two to three hundred percent rise- in the number of suicide bombers that are female..." Islamic clerics are issuing fatwas asking women to participate, and more are being actively recruited. One-third of Chechnyan bombers have been female, women have a higher success rate because it's more difficult to inspect their clothing, and Palestinian women bombers have been responsible for 80 deaths. But Iraqi women haven't, to date, participated in high numbers - the arrested woman Amman bomber would have been only the third.

On the woman, Safaa Mohammed Ali: "(S)he probably was recruited personally by Zarqawi and knows exactly where his whereabouts were...I think that she is now a walking treasure trove of intelligence. First of all, they retained the suicide bombing vest so they will be able to look at its signature. Number two, she rented an apartment. They will be able to figure out who arranged the renting. Number three, they will figure out who arranged for her to come over the border. Four, they have her passport now, which is the fake passport created in Iraq. So there is a tremendous amount of intel. I think Zarqawi is probably on the move very quickly right now to avoid any potential capture...I think the most surprising aspect of this entire operation was that it was a husband and wife. That, we have never seen before in suicide bombings. That puts a chill now in counterterrorism minds, because the reality is husband and wives were never really looked at as accomplices, carrying out acts together."

Iraq's National Security Advisor: Most Al-Qaida Suicide Bombers are Saudi Nationals Crossing Through Syria

By Evan Kohlmann

In a meeting with journalists in Cairo, Iraq's National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaie confirmed there is not "the least doubt that nine out of 10 of the suicide bombers who carry out suicide bombing operations among Iraqi citizens ... are Arabs who have crossed the border with Syria... Most of those that blow themselves up in Iraq are Saudi nationals."  Al-Rubaie's comments seem to further undermine the shaky conclusions presented by Anthony Cordesman and Nawaf Obeid in their recent CSIS report on the role of Saudi fighters in Iraq. 

Separately, in a visit to neighboring Jordan, Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi made similar comments to reporters:

�We have more than 450 detainees who came from different Arab and Muslim countries to train in Syria and enter with their booby-trapped vehicles into Iraq to bring destruction and killings... Let me tell the Syrians that if the Iraqi volcano explodes, no neighboring capital will be saved... Iraq is bordering several countries, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, but why is it only the Syrian borders that I have complained more than once about?"

See also:
June 2005: Saudis Dominant Among Foreign Fighters in Iraq
June 2005: Zarqawi Announces "Martyrdom" of Top Saudi Al-Qaida Leader in Al-Qaim, Iraq
July 2005: Profiles of Saudi Islamic Militants Killed in Iraq: 2004-2005
August 2005: Saudi Al-Qaida Members Reported Killed in Iraq
August 2005: The Road Through Syria to Jihad in Iraq

UPDATE (11-14-05, 9:15 am EST): Gulfnews is reporting new comments made today by Saudi Interior Prince Nayif concerning Saudi foreign fighters in Iraq:

"Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz has called on all countries who have forces in Iraq to hand over any Saudis who went there to take part in the insurgency or commit suicide bombings.  In a press conference in Al Baha region, he also called on Iran and Syria to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in this respect...'We will take all matters into consideration and will minimise the number of Saudis leaving for Iraq,' he said.  He added that Saudi Arabia could not control the whole situation as there are some Saudi citizens who leave for other countries and may go from there to Iraq."

Some basic suggestions for Prince Nayif:
1.) Stop allowing young, male Saudi nationals who have never left home before from buying one-way airline tickets to Damascus, Syria without first being questioned by law enforcement.
2.) Urge Saudi Muslim clerics like Salman al-Awdah and Safar al-Hawali to issue a new fatwah reversing their previous ruling that judged the war in Iraq to be an authentic jihad mandating the participation of all able-bodied Muslims from across the Middle East.  Dozens of Saudi foreign fighters in Iraq have cited that fatwah as a prime motivating factor in their decision to join Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
3.) Carefully monitor the flow of money from individual Saudi donors and religious charities like the World Assembly for Muslim Youth (WAMY) to ensure that humanitarian efforts in Iraq are not being used as a cover for extreme Salafists and anti-U.S. militants.
4.) Cease and desist attempts by Saudi intelligence services to cover up the phenomenon of Saudi foreign fighters in Iraq by forcing the families of suicide bombers and other "martyrs" into silence.  Simply hushing up the problem does not make it go away.

Zarqawi's Al-Qaida Faction Offers More Details Behind Amman Suicide Blasts

By Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq--led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has issued a third communique claiming responsibility for Thursday's suicide bombing attacks at three Western hotels in the Jordanian capital Amman.  In its latest message, Al-Qaida identified the four bombers as all Iraqi nationals: terror cell commander Abu Khabib al-Iraqi (responsible for the attack on the Radisson Hotel), Abu Muaz al-Iraqi (responsible for the attack on the Hyatt Hotel), Abu Omaira al-Iraqi, and his wife Umm Omaira (jointly responsible for the attack on the Days Inn).  The statement indicated that suicide vest bombs were chosen over traditional vehicle-borne explosive devices in order to "more precisely strike" the selected targets.  Al-Qaida also renewed its threat to strike directly at neighboring Israel: "�Let the Jews realize that their wall that was built to the east of the Jordan river� is now a target for the lions of al-Tawheed and soon they [the Jews] will be reached by the mujahideen."

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

New Article: "Terrorist Feint"

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Today Front Page Magazine republished "Terrorist Feint," an article that I co-authored with my colleague Jeffrey A. Panehal.  (The article originally ran Wednesday at the Daily Standard, but I declined to post about it on the CT Blog because I didn't want to distract our focus from the Amman bombings.)

The article responds to the repeated instances in October of local authorities stepping up security in response to terrorist threat warnings.  Both New York City and Baltimore officials were criticized in some quarters for their strong response to these warnings, and offered a seemingly unassailable defense:  that mistakenly raising the terror alert only wastes resources, while mistakenly deciding not to raise it can cost lives.  "Terrorist Feint" takes a closer look at this defense, and argues that there are other costs to mistakenly raising the terror alert.  An excerpt:

There is also a security cost to erroneously raising the alert level, since large-scale alerts may provide terrorists with the blueprint for a future attack.  These alerts deploy our police departments and other first responders in specific, detailed ways that can be observed and probed for weaknesses.  If an attack on a highway tunnel or subway system is in the planning stages, what better way to ensure its success than getting an advance look at our defenses when we're at our highest level of vigilance?

Finally, there's a perceptual cost to these alerts, as they serve two seemingly paradoxical terrorist goals.  First, each false threat instills fear in the populace.  The responses to bogus threats are public, spectacular, and frightening.  When the threat passes without a police victory, it generates fear without release.  But in the long term, repeated bogus alerts will desensitize us to the terror threat and erode our vigilance.  In Preventing Surprise Attacks, Richard Posner refers to this as the "boy crying wolf" cost, and writes that false alerts "increase the likelihood that true alarms will be ignored."

Our argument isn't that New York City and Baltimore officials were wrong to raise the October terror alerts.  It's virtually impossible to assail their decisions without having access to the information that these officials considered before choosing to raise the alerts.  Rather, the fact is that there are costs to mistakenly raising terror alerts that aren't being adequately considered.  Read the whole article here.

French Islamists, the winners of the riots

By Olivier Guitta

I just finished an article re the real implications of the French Islamists in the latest wave of violence in French suburbs.
Here is an excerpt:

In fact, the French suburbs where radical Islam is most entrenched have been quiet. As terrorism expert Alain Bauer wisely observed: "The radical Islamists would rather see the return of calm so they can act quietly."
Most radical Islamist Web sites I've browsed are calling on rioters to put down their rocks and molotov cocktails. One exhorts Muslims "not to give ammunition to the Zionist Nicolas Sarkozy scum who has now shown his real face as an Israeli terrorist" -- a reference to the country's hardline Interior Minister.
Obviously, Islamists are not calling for calm out of sheer kindness. Their true motive is that they wish to become indispensable actors on the national political stage. They want to be viewed as an intermediary between the French state and the young Muslims of the banlieues or, ideally, all Muslims.
This is the same strategy that has long been embraced by the Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (UOIF), an offshoot of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, and the second largest Muslim organization in France. Like other Islamist groups, the UOIF has been hard at work in France's Arab suburbs since the mid-1990's, radicalizing young Muslims and spreading the message that Islamic values are incompatible with a secular, multicultural society.

Washington-area Muslim Cleric Condemns Amman Bombings, But Supports Palestinian Suicide Bombers

By Andrew Cochran

Brian Hecht of The Investigative Project has this comment on the reaction to the Amman bombings by one Washington-area Muslim cleric: This morning�s Washington Post ("Bombing Victims Mourned in D.C. Area") reports on a sermon at Dar al-Hijrah Mosque in Northern Virginia, in which their Imam, Shaker Elsayed, condemns the horrific, multiple suicide bombing attacks in Amman, Jordan. The Post�s Tara Bahrampour describes the scene:

"Addressing more than 200 worshipers last night at the Falls Church mosque, Sheikh Shaker Elsayed said: "Brother Al-Alami and Brother Hwail lost 17 members of their family through . . . this senseless act -- people who did nothing but go about celebrating the wedding of their son and daughter."

While Mr. Elsayed�s sentiments, in this instance, are appreciated, it should be noted that he has built a career justifying, and applauding, similar attacks, as long as the victims were non-Muslims. Before Elsayed was a preacher at Dar al-Hijrah, he was the Secretary General of the Muslim American Society (MAS). At a December 2002 conference sponsored by MAS and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Elsayed had the following to say, in Arabic, about Palestinian suicide bombers:

�� about the subject unfairly named suicide bomber, homicide bomber, murderers, or killers. Our answer to this issue is simple�The Islamic scholars said whenever there is an attack on an Islamic state or occupation, or the honor of the Muslims has been violated, the Jihad is a must for everyone, a child, a lady and a man. They have to make Jihad with every tool that they can get in their hand. Anything that they can get in their hand and if they don�t have anything in their hand then they can fight with their hand without weapons.�

How Does He Do It?

By Douglas Farah

Well, my friends on the ground in Sarjah and elsewhere tell me that Viktor Bout's aircraft are back in action yet again in Iraq and Afghanistan, working for Americans. I know, sometimes I sound like a broken record. I feel like a broken record. But is is apparently the U.S. government and its civilian contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan that are really broken. Bout's company names change, but the aircraft remain the same. Some old Bout craft have reportedly moved back to Sarjah after having been taken out for a while. The Bout companies seem to be using Moldovan registrations again. Does this all have a vaguely familiar ring to it? Can it be that hard to track? Others there do it with ease.

Of course, now that dealing with Bout and any of his affiliate companies, either through contractors or subcontractors is illegal for any U.S. company or government entity, his clients could be prosecuted, although Viktor himself remains beyond reach, in the comfortable protective swaddling of the Russian intelligence agencies. Anyone who does business with him or allows it to happen can and should face criminal charges. Of course, this administration has not been known to hold people accountable for their actions, and going after Bout's friends and protectors is probably not very high on many people's list. And yes, there were times when, with limited options available, using Bout may have been a necessary evil. But no longer. There are American companies lining up to fly the routes his companie fly. He is often not the lowest bidder, and he seldom carries insurance on the planes his companies fly. Yet you and I pay for those flights almost every day.

A brief recap may be in order. Bout flew for the most radical Muslim extremists in Bosnia. He betrayed the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan to begin flying weapons and ammunition for the Taliban. Go here to read the complete blog.

Where is the OUTRAGE in the Arab Press Over the Jordan Bombings?

By Andrew Cochran

I received an e-mail from a reader in an Arab country (name & location withheld) about the initial non-coverage of the bombings in the Arab press. I quote from the e-mail (spelling out "KSA") with deep appreciation and an invitation for more such e-mails:

"Always questioning the moral fiber of Gulf Arab governments in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack, I checked today�s Gulf News and then the online Arab News from the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The front page of the GN featured Prez Bashar�s ho-hum speech in Syria with a smaller story on the Jordan tragedy. Pictures and the major Jordan story were discreetly tucked inside the paper � so un-GN-like. We viewed the murdered and abused daily when Jeneen was under siege. Conspicuously absent was any editorial condemning the attack. The online Arab News was similarly plain vanilla.

The silence on this attack is frightening and western analysts should be all ears and asking, �why?� Editors are silent because both the imams and sheikhs are silent. The monarch of Jordan is out in the cold and while regional buddies will �make nice� in the coming days, he took a pro-western stand and is now paying for it. The folks here and in the KSA appear to have made other choices with today�s lack of condemnation silently screaming those choices. Having listened for years to the vitriolic ranting of the imams with regard to western issues, I fully understand the meaning of their silence. Listen up Langley: AQ is the region�s high roller and venture capitalist.

Over the next few days, a few leaders will comment. Let's see who's first and what's said. Then, let's see who remains silent...the truth is often in what isn't said and who doesn't speak. I would love to have been in Riyadh today for the noon prayer and listened to the imams at the smaller less significant mosques."

French interests possible targets of Zarqawi and GSPC

By Olivier Guitta

After the attacks on Jordan by the Zarqawi network, France is even more on a higher alert than last month. Already at that time Nicolas Sarkozy, Interior Minister had declared that the risk of a terrorist attack against France was 4 on a scale of 5. In light of Zarqawi's deal with the Algerian GSPC and their view as France as their number 1 enemy, Sarkozy does not sound paranoid. Also since July, preoccupying signs have emerged: for instance the discovery of 100 kgs of explosives in one suburb of Paris destined to French-Morroccan Islamist who had planned attacks in France. Then in August, an Al Qaeda attack on French researchers in Afghanistan was foiled thanks to French special forces on the ground. Then in September, thanks to US info gathered in Iraq, an Islamist network was arrested on the island of La Reunion while they were planning to bomb public buildings. And then the much publicized dismantling of the Safe Bourrada cell which had planned to bomb the Paris metro, the Orly aiport and the DST headquarters.
Also, terrorists might take the opportunity to to attack now on French soil while the focus for French authorities have been so much on the violent riots occuring in the past two weeks.

Contributing Experts Media Appearances on Jordan Bombings (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson was on MSNBC, Fox and CNBC between 5 and 6 pm (Larry Kudlow) and again between 6 and 7 pm (Dan Abrams). Daveed Gartenstein-Ross was on Fox News's "Studio B with Shepard Smith" (Intelligence Summit video) and on "Dateline: Washington" on Radio America at 6 pm (link to webcast). Olivier Guitta was on CBN's Newswatch today and will be on the Voice of America tomorrow at 9 am to discuss the bombings and French riots.

Evan Kohlmann on MSNBC today (Intelligence Summit video and see transcript): Jordanians an AZ target because of their cooperation with U.S. and peaceful relations with Israel - their embassy in Baghdad has already been targeted - don't be surprised to see AZ spread his cells into PNA, Lebanon, & Syria in coming weeks to continue strikes - AZ has fans in Jordan who will celebrate the bombings, raising conflicts for King Abdullah.

Zarqawi's Al-Qaida Faction Claims Amman Blasts, Promises More Attacks in Jordan

By Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's Committee in Mesopotamia--led by wanted Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly suicide bombing attacks yesterday in the Jordanian capital Amman.  In an initial statement posted early this morning, Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq announced that members of its Al-Baraa bin Malik "Martyrs" Brigade had carried out the attacks on "hotels used by the Jordanian tyrants as a garden for the Jews and Christians�the enemies of Islam... and as a secure base for infidel intelligence forces who are conspiring against the Muslims."  Al-Qaida further warned that "the wall protecting the Jews that was built in eastern Jordan�along with the secret training camp for the crusader army and the government of Iraq�have become targets for the mujahideen."  A second statement released by Al-Qaida later in the day expanded on the rationale behind the hotel bombings:

"They had become the preferred locations for intelligence forces�especially the Americans, the Israelis, and some Western European nations�where they fight their secret campaign in the so-called war against terrorism.  These [forces] are joined by the secret services of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, and Saudi intelligence�in addition to the intelligence department of the Jordanian tyrant.  It is where they conspire how to destroy the mujahideen in Palestine, Mesopotamia, and the Arabian Peninsula... The hotels] have also become secure secret bases for� meetings of the apostate government, including [Shiites] and... the apostate Iyad Allawi�who the Crusaders are preparing for the new �Dayton� conspiracy by forming an alliance with the fools amongst the Sunnis."

Al-Qaida further threatened that regional Arab rulers "will witness in the coming days events that will make their current problems seem trivial in comparison."

(Click to view English translations - Statement #1 - Statement #2 - c/o Globalterroralert.com)

TSA's mistaken move in easing security delays for frequent fliers

By Michael Cutler

We are still allegedly engaged in a "War on Terror" yet our borders are anything but secure. We have a Visa Waiver Program that permits aliens from 27 countries plus Canada to enter the United States without first applying for visas. And now our government is implementing a program for frequent fliers that would enable passengers to pay a fee, subject themselves to a cursory background check and be able to by-pass the security measures that were implemented after the attacks of 9/11 that killed three thousand innocent victims.

I am at a loss of words to understand the strategy behind this madness. Any terrorist would simply have to keep a low profile, not be identified with a terrorist organization, possibly by assuming a false identity and pay a small feel. In exchange for this, they would given a document that would enable them to avoid the scrutiny other passengers would still subject themselves to. I would remind you that according to the "9/11 Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel," which is available in the Counterterrorism Library on the left sidebar of this site, the 19 terrorists who attacked our nation on September 11, 2001, in the aggregate, had provided themselves with 364 identities. So, while a 90 year old grandmother who travels infrequently is thoroughly searched as she prepares to visit her grandchildren a terrorist who has established a track-record of frequent travel and pays a relatively small fee will be able to sidestep the security process!

Hitting the balance on CT Laws

By Michael B. Kraft

By Michael Kraft

By one of those coincidences of legislative schedules, three major English speaking democracies have been grappling during the same week with how far to go in strengthening counterterrorism laws.

The stunning defeat of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in yesterday�s parliamentary debate over his proposed new counterterrorism bill came as U.S. Congressional conferees considered curbing some of the investigative authorities granted under the PATRIOT Act. And in Australia, the Parliament is engaging in a debate over new counterterrorism legislation amid well publicized investigations of a possible major terrorist plot in that country involving jihadists. The three uncoordinated debates came against the backdrop of the nearly simultaneous attacks against three hotels in Amman Jordan that killed more than 55 persons, among them guests at a wedding reception.

Zarqawi A Threat to Europe?

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

I just received an interesting Reuters article by Mark Trevelyan which describes the analysis of the head of German foreign intelligence about Zarqawi's network in Europe.  An excerpt:

Islamist militants in Europe as well as the Middle East are increasingly identifying with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, and looking to emulate him by carrying out attacks, the head of German foreign intelligence said on Thursday.  "We see the Zarqawi network is becoming increasingly active.  We also see a growing threat for Europe," said August Hanning, head of Germany's BND intelligence service. . . .  Hanning said Zarqawi was increasingly acting as a magnet for militants who admire him as the most effective leader of the Iraq insurgency.  The suspected ringleader of the July 7 London suicide bombings, Mohammed Sidique Khan, described Zarqawi as one of "today's heroes" in a statement taped before his death.  "There are groups that are attempting to make contact with Zarqawi and take part in his struggle," [Hanning] said, adding it was sometimes hard to distinguish between activity directed by Zarqawi and that carried out by militants trying to associate themselves with him.

In declining to state what European countries faced the greatest risk, Hanning described the continent as "a threat zone with open borders."  Europe's situation will be worth following since Zarqawi's network appears to have now successfully struck beyond Iraq's borders.

Matthew Levitt to Assume Senior Treasury Department Counter Terrorism Position

By Andrew Cochran

Matthew Levitt has been appointed the deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury Department for intelligence and analysis in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime, effective on Monday, November 14. Matthew turned the Terrorism Research Program at The Washington Institute into a top-flight center for private intelligence gathering and the analysis of Islamic terrorism. Matthew had to cut back here recently while he was under consideration for the job, but his posts throughout his tenure were imporant and enlightening on subjects such as the major Hamas office in Saudi Arabia; the need to compete with Hamas in providing social sevices to Palestinians; the Hezbollah drug ring captured in Ecuador; the capture of top Al Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al-Libbi in Pakistan; and many more. I sincerely appreciate his wise counsel in developing this site, and we will miss his contributions here. The President and Treasury Secretary Snow have picked a terrific man for this critical position in the fight to block terrorist financing, and we confidently look forward to Matthew's success there. And we look forward to his return here on the day after he leaves the Treasury Department.

Steven Emerson: "One or Two" Bombers Possibly Identified; "Jordan's 9/11" Might Backfire on Al-Zarqawi (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

Steven Emerson on NBC "Today" this morning: The Amman bombings are Jordan's 9/11. Video tapes from a hotel and the wedding party, and info from an eyewitness, enable Jordanian security to tentatively identify 1 or 2 bombers. Eyewitness spoke to one of the bombers ahead of the blast and reported that the bomber spoke "with an Iraqi accent." Also, the website on which Al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility will probably name the bombers eventually. But the bombings might backfire, since almost all of the victims are Muslim - the bombing at the Muslim wedding will especially cause a backlash. Jordan has stopped almost all prior attacks, starting with the millenium attempt in 1999, but a "walk-in" terrorist was not anticipated. The bombings might dry up terrorism funds flowing from Jordan, which has been a major funnel, but will also hurt Jordanian contacts with the West. This is Al-Zarqawi's first major operation outside of Iraq - if he is moving operations beyond Iraq, he might try to more directly U.S. targets and maybe the U.S. itself. You can see Steve's interview on CNBC on Wednesday night about the bombings, and the "Today" Show interview here. UPDATE: MSNBC reported at 2 pm that intel indicates that Iraqi-based terrorists came across the border one or two days ago to conduct the attack.

Day 2 of Closing Arguments at Al Arian trial in Tampa

By Lorenzo Vidino

Brian Hecht of The Investigative Project on Terrorism has been in Tampa, FL, to cover the trial of former University of South Florida Professor Sami al-Arian and has written the following summary:

Sami al-Arian�s attorneys got their first crack to defend their client after refusing to call any witnesses during the trial, having rested their case immediately after the prosecution on November 1st. Linda Moreno summed up the defense strategy before a packed courtroom, telling the jury that �this is not a criminal case, this is a political case,� signaling that she was not going to spend much time arguing the law, the facts, or even the charges, but rather the political context in which the case arose.

Moreno frequently referred to the Israeli military occupation that �began in 1948,� and said that �the prosecution against Sami al-Arian is built entirely on his words, built on his beliefs, and that is un-American.� She compared the Palestinian struggle against the Israelis to the American Revolution, quoting Patrick Henry who said, �[i]f we wish to be free, we must fight.� Moreno also implored the jurors to "reject the government's cruel and cynical interpretation" of incriminating speeches and wiretapped phone conversations.

Al-Arian�s other attorney, Bill Moffitt, further wrapped his client in the American flag, giving an impassioned speech about the First Amendment and weaving in American themes such as he Declaration of Independence and Emma Lazarus� famous poem about the Statue of Liberty. Moffitt told the jury his modified version of the Declaration of Independence, saying, �[w]e hold these truths to be self evident, that all people are created equal � even Palestinians.� He continued with a passage that he felt applied to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, telling the jury, �[w]henever any form of government should be come destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to abolish it.�

Earlier in the morning, Cherie Krigsman finished up her closing argument, anticipating the defense�s First Amendment strategy. She told the jury that the First Amendment does not provide a shield for criminal activity. �When Tony Soprano calls his associates to talk about his �waste disposal� business,� said Krigsman, �that is not protected by the First Amendment.� She told the jury that words can fuel a criminal conspiracy and that conspiracies do not operate by pantomime. She called the defendants� actions �calculated and venal.� She said, �When you run with a pack as lethal as PIJ, it doesn�t matter if you�re in the rear guard of the vanguard.� Krigsman concluded, telling the jury that the defendants are entitled to their day in court, that they have been given it for five months now and that they are entitled to nothing else. �We are confident you will return a verdict of guilty.�

Moffitt has about one hour of time remaining for his closing argument, and he will be followed by the attorneys for the remaining three co-defendants. Each defense attorney has said they will take roughly two hours for their closing argument. After they are finished, prosecutor Terry Zitek will give a three hour rebuttal before the jury receives its instructions and begins its delibrerations.

For a full account of Tuesday�s events, click here: http://www.investigativeproject.org/closing_day2/

Jordan Suicide Bombings at Hotels (updated 11/10)

By Andrew Cochran

LAST UPDATE AT 10:00 am ET on 11/10. Three near-simultaneous suicide bombings at three Western hotels in Amman with no prior warning of threat - first suicide bombings in Jordan - death toll numbers still differ on news sites - 11/10 AP story cites Jordanian spokesman: at least 56 dead and over 115 wounded, apparently most of them Jordanians. UPDATE 11/10: At least one American dead. - suicide bomber walked into wedding party at Radisson and set off bomb and other bombs also set off inside hotels - all Jordanian borders are shut down. CNBC report: Security guards found car with explosives at fourth hotel. Fox News cites Al-Arabiya that 3 Iraq national arrested, but no corroboration. Steven Emerson on MSNBC: Hyatt Hotel had 24/7 camera coverage and they might have already identified the Hyatt suicide bomber with help of witness. Past failed plot targeted hotel there; Jordan has best intel and working relationship with US of Arab countries in area - Steve will be on NBC "Today" Show Thursday at 7 am ET - Walid Phares on MSNBC: suicide bombers use enticements offered by jihadists - Jordanian security services are good but can't stop Al Qaeda and affiliated jihadists; jihadists used Jordan as "safe haven" but apparently concluded Jordan should now be target; this tarnishes Jordan's image of stability and begins "difficult time" for Jordan. Al-Zarqawi the primary suspect; a native Jordanian and already sentenced to death in absentia there - police already detaining possible suspects. Evan Kohlmann among the premier experts in the world on Al-Zarqawi; see his Iraq leadership chart, his post on Al Qaeda's attempted rocket attack on U.S. warships in Aqaba on August 19, and other information on his site - Matthew Levitt and associate Julie Sawyer wrote last year on "Zarqawi's Jordanian Agenda" on AZ's leading role in terrorism in Jordan. CNN cites U.S. CT officials saying recent turnover of Jordanian officials might have given terrorists room to attack. Mirrors the timed multiple bombings in Bali, New Delhi, and Sharm-el-Sheikh, but 2 of 3 Amman bombings were "walk-ins" and not by auto. If you need information about loved ones who were possibly there, call the State Department line at 888-407-4747.

Pictures from news sites & MSNBC map of area:

France's lost territories

By Olivier Guitta

I just wrote a piece for New York Press re the French riots and the misperceptions carried by the MSM. I also touched on the potential transformation from rioter to jihadi. Here is an excerpt:

Some commentators have been quick to accuse Islamists of organizing the riots. This is not accurate. While it is true that in some isolated cases, some rioters were heard yelling Allah Ahukbar while torching cars and throwing Molotov cocktails at the anti-riot police, this has not been the general pattern. When asked about it on November 7, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin answered that the Islamists were not the essential force between the riots. A much better source, the Renseignements G�n�raux�a unit of the police, which closely monitors the Islamists, the mosques and the exurban slums called banlieues, which are popualted mostly by poor Africans and Muslims�have found no Islamist hand in the latest violence.
France, though, has been undergoing a fast Islamization in the past ten years, most notably in schools. This prevents integration.

Most of the rioters and especially the gang leaders are for now secular and very materialistic, but they will most probably join the rank of jihadis within three to five years if nothing is done.
The usual scenario goes like this: either the rioters end up in jail and are easily converted right there to Radical Islam or an imam from the banlieue convinces them to join the Jihad. At first, family, friends and cops find the transformation almost miraculous. From a drug trafficker, alcohol-drinking, girl-chasing individual, the thug becomes religious, even reserved, adopts a quieter lifestyle and no longer gets in trouble with the police. But this is a transfer of violence: instead of burning cars, the youngster focuses his hatred on the West and becomes a jihadi.
It is no coincidence that scores of French citizens are in Iraq fighting coalition troops (at least half a dozen Frenchmen have died in this fashion).

JI Bomb-Maker Killed

By Zachary Abuza

Indonesian police are reporting that JI's top bomb-maker and most wanted individual was killed in East Java last night. Dr. Azahari bin Hussin, the mastermind of the 2002 Bali, 2003 JW Marriott, 2004 Australian Embassy and the 2005 Bali attacks, was in a safehouse in the city of Malang when members of the elite counter-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, surrounded his house. Azahari apparently blew himself and two colleagues up rather than be taken alive.

He and his partner and compatriot, Noordin Mohammad Top, have been Indonesia's most wanted individuals and avoided police dragnets for over three years. Their frequent escapes have led to allegations of corruption in certain departments of Indonesia's police. Azahari had a psychotic penchant for watching his own handiwork, and slipped through a police dragnet following the 2003 bombing of the JW Marriott in Jakarta in which 15 people were killed.

Dr. Azahari, a 48-year old Malaysian , joined JI when the group was based out of southern Malaysia in the early 1990s. He had a secular upbringing and was a university lecturer at the University of Technology of Malaya. He received his education in Adelaide, Australia, the University of Technology of Malaya and completed his PhD at the University of Reading in the UK. After joining JI, he was trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He left his wife at her bedside when she was undergoing treatment for throat cancer to commit his life to the jihad in Indonesia.

Indonesian police stated that he was killed as part of investigations into the 1 October 2005 triple bombings in Bali that killed over 20 people. Seven people were killed in the shootout. Police officials would not provide more details. Detachment 88 is an elite unit founded in 2002 and supported by US and Australia.

While this is a major accomplishment, and a serious blow to JI, we should not over-estimate the implications.

First, there are approximately 20 known JI leaders still at large, and an unknown number of members. Many of these leaders, including Dulmatin and Umar Patek have significant bomb-making expertise. Still at large is Noordin Mohammad Top, JI's top recruiter and money man.

Second, Dr. Azahari was a university lecturer. He enjoyed conveying information. I have have seen his bomb-making manuals and they are written in a language that is straightforward and easy enough to be understood by anyone, including people with nothing so much as a Koranic education.

Third, JI has shifted its emphasis away from large bombings of western interests and is redoubled in its efforts to provoke sectarian conflict in the outer islands. It will continue to focus on this in the coming years to build up its pool of talent.

Fourth, JI's training is still going on in the southern Philippines. Until that is stopped, we will have a terrorist problem in Southeast Asia.

Steven Emerson & Anthony Cordesman Debate Saudi Arabia's Cooperation at Senate Hearing (updated for CSPAN link)

By Andrew Cochran

Today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing evolved into a debate between Steven Emerson and Nina Shea on one side, and Anthony Cordesman on the other, over the extent of the Kingdom's counterterrorism cooperation with the U.S. (or lack thereof), and the extent of official Saudi complicity in the dissemination of hateful propaganda. You can see CSPAN's coverage of it here (RealPlayer needed). Steve's testimony includes a 1994 quote from then-Crown Prince (now King) Abdullah, following an Al Qaeda attack in the Saudi port city of Yanbu, in which he said, "It became clear to us now that Zionism is behind terrorist actions in the kingdom. I can say that I am 95% sure of that." The testimony also discusses an audiotape, obtained by NBC earlier this year, of the chief justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council heard exhorting young Muslims to go to Iraq to kill Americans. When NBC asked Saudi officials for their reaction, Saudi officials falsely claimed that the tape was a fabrication. NBC then contacted the Sheik directly in Saudi Arabia, who admitted that he made the recording. When asked about these and specific instances of propaganda cited by Shea, Cordesman replied that Saudi officials had never expressed warlike sentiments to him during his numerous visits there over 30 years, and that we are seeing real, though incomplete, progress by the Saudis in excising hateful propaganda from textbooks. See also Bill West's post with his angle on the hearing.

The Saudis refused to testify and have not assured committee chairman Sen. Specter that they have excised their textbooks, but they did mount a PR offensive today. They announced that they have a fugitive Al Qaeda suspect in custody; they used another Washington event to deny the committee's bipartisan criticism; and the new Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. "vowed" that his government would show terrorists "no mercy." His words are ironic considering that he personally assisted the Taliban after they took in UBL and also oversaw the spread of the hateful literature that was the subject of the hearing. But the Ambassaador couldn't stop the State Department today from releasing its report citing Saudi Arabia as one of 8 countries "of particular concern" for failing to safeguard religious freedom.

Full text of Steve's testimony below, with footnotes:
Download EmersonSenJudiciary110805Testimony.pdf
And see his comments on the issue before the hearing in a MSNBC interview.

Saudis Are Officially Religious Persecutors ? So Why Don?t Our Feds Officially Prosecute Saudi Officials?

By Bill West

The United States Department of State issues an annual report concerning religious freedom in countries around the world. The report for 2004, issued in September of last year, designated eight countries as countries of �particular concern.� Saudi Arabia was one of those countries because, according to the official State Department report, there is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. In fact, the government of Saudi Arabia engages in particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

That information is notably disturbing. It is especially so in view of the recent Freedom House report identifying significant infiltration of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabi religious hate literature in US mosques.

These issues, among many others, were discussed today at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled �Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror.� Terrorism expert and fellow CT Blog contributor Steve Emerson testified at that hearing. In Steve�s submitted written testimony, he noted in detail issues related to religious persecution within Saudi Arabia.

Prosecutor Begins Closing Arguments in Sami Al-Arian Trial

By Andrew Cochran

Brian Hecht of The Investigative Project on Terrorism has been in Tampa, FL, to cover the trial of former University of South Florida Professor Sami al-Arian and has written the following summary of the beginning of the prosecutor's closing argument yesterday:

Former University of South Florida Professor Sami al-Arian was the North American leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an �organized crime gang run from Syria and the Gaza Strip,� prosecutor Cherie Krigsman told the jury in her closing argument on Monday, marking the near end of a trial which has gone on for more than six months. Krigsman painstakingly detailed al-Arian�s web of deception, constructed so that the PIJ leadership could �hide in plain sight� in the U.S. while furthering the goals of the violent terrorist group. She said that, �Al-Arian was a professor by day and a terrorist at night,� explaining how al-Arian lied to his employers, to the media, to his own Muslim community and, most importantly, to the federal government, about his position in PIJ. Krigsman used al-Arian�s own words against him, contrasting videos of al-Arian speaking in front of a friendly crowd extolling the virtues of martyrdom and jihad while calling Jews �monkeys and pigs� with an interview in which he proclaims to have no connections to PIJ and does not promote hatred or violence.

The second video, excerpted from a longer interview conducted in the summer of 1994 by Steven Emerson (and originally entered into evidence as Exhibit 191A), demonstrated the relative ease with which al-Arian could lie. Krigsman credited Emerson�s interview, shot as part of his PBS documentary �Jihad in America,� with �publicly expos[ing] al-Arian�s treachery.� Krigsman said that al-Arian �learned the price of fame,� after agreeing to participate �in a provocative interview� with Emerson. Incidentally, on June 6th, during the opening statements of the trial, lead prosecutor Terry Furr called �Jihad in America� the �triggering event� that led to the investigation into al-Arian�s dealings.

Krigsman is expected to finish up Tuesday morning, at which point the defendants will begin their closing arguments. Terry Zitek is expected to give the government�s rebuttal on Wednesday or Thursday and the jury could begin deliberations as early the end of the week. You can see a full accounting of Krigsman�s closing argument here

State Department to Issue Report Critical of Saudi Government, But Won't Testify at Congressional Hearing (updated 11/8)

By Andrew Cochran

Late on Monday, the State Department informed the press that it will issue the annual report on states which restrict religious freedom tomorrow, and the report will again name Saudi Arabia as one of the eight countries of particular concern. The citation of the Saudi government in the 2004 report was cited in a bipartisan letter sent to Secretary Rice in March, in which 15 Senators urged Sec. Rice to persuade the Saudi government to stop the distribution of such material and to implement other measures to curtail Saudi-based extremism (see this post on that letter). The news of the issuance of the State Department report comes on the eve of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Saudis' role in disseminating anti-American and anti-Israeli propaganda, at which Steven Emerson will testify. UPDATE: The State Department will not testify at the hearing (NY Post 11/8 - free reg required); a senior Treasury Department official shall testify. We hope you watch on CSPAN, which will provide live hearing coverage on CSPAN3 and on its internet site. I'll report on the hearing and post Steve's testimony afterwards.

IICO Continues to Function Despite Designations

By Douglas Farah

A review of public records of the Geneva branch of the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) show the charity has at least two Specially Designated terrorist financiers on its board, yet continues to function. As of Oct. 26, 2005, the IICO's lists both Youssef al Qardawi and Galeb Himmat as directors of its Geneva branch, according to a search of corporate documents on the group by the NEFA Foundation. Qardawi is not a run-of-the-mill terrorist financier. He has been a fountain of public statements against the United States, Israel and in favor of Islamic radicalism for many years.

The functioning of IICO shows how ineffective and toothless the international sanctions regime has become. Those on the U.N. list continue to operate freely, presiding over businesses and charities that give them continued access to millions of dollars. The organizations that hire them are not penalized and, in the end, neither are the individuals.

For example, Idriss Nasreddin, also a designated individual tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshore banks, continues to operate an enormous business empire, often in partnership with another designated individual, Yousef Nada. Nasreddin now lives in Nigeria, having violated the international travel ban by leaving Italy for presumably more hospitable climes. If Nigeria can take a butcher like Charles Taylor, why not a white collar terrorist financier like Nasreddin?

The IICO is interesting for several other reasons. Several of the directors, including Himmat and al Qardawi were also major players in the Nassau-based Bank al Taqwa, the main Muslim Brotherhood bank, also designated as a terrorist-financing institution. The bank was also run by Nada and Nassredin.

And, NEFA investigation found, the IICO also operated as part of the Safa Group in Northern Virginia. For more on this relationship go here.

Lorenzo Vidino's New Book on Al-Qaeda in Europe Timely in Light of French Riots

By Andrew Cochran

The Investigative Project's Lorenzo Vidino is the author of the book, "Al-Qaeda in Europe: The New Battleground of International Jihad," to be released next week, with a foreword by Steven Emerson. Media reports, French officials (French story), and our experts are debating the role played by Islamic fundamentalism in the riots plaguing various French cities over the last two weeks. Investigations will reveal whether some fundamentalists have fomented the riots or just hijacked them to further their own agenda. What is crystal clear is that the French suburbs are the ideal environment for the spread of various violent movements and ideologies. Lorenzo's book includes the story of the 1995 race riots that plagued the French suburbs after the death of an Algerian-born terrorist. An excerpt from the book (with permission):

"....Particularly telling is the story of Khaled Kelkal. Born in Algeria in 1971, at age 2 Kelkal came to France with his family, as part of a wave of North Africans looking for menial jobs in the industries based in the country�s urban areas The Kelkals settled in a depressing slum at the doors of Lyon, France�s second-largest city. Vaulx-en-Velin was the quintessential French immigrant suburb: ugly, poor, and ridden with violence � and Kelkal grew up as its typical product."

Not Just Omar Sharif: Numerous Fatwas Threaten Free Speech with Death

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

I recently wrote about how actor Omar Sharif was threatened with death by Islamic radicals after he played St. Peter in an Italian TV film and spoke glowingly of the role.  In response to Sharif's comments, a message on a web forum used by al-Qaeda in the past linked to a website that threatened Sharif's life.  "Omar Sharif has stated that he has embraced the crusader idolatry," the website said.  "He is a crusader who is offending Islam and Muslims and receiving applause from the Italian people.  I give you this advice, brothers, you must kill him."

In the blog entry, I stated that while this is a minor incident in the grand scheme of things, it provides a glimpse of our enemies' single-minded fanaticism, and is part of a disturbing trend of people being threatened, and sometimes even killed, because radical Muslims found their speech offensive.  Here, I'd like to document this trend:

• Probably the best known example is the fatwa issued against author Salman Rushdie in 1989.  After Rushdie published The Satanic Verses, Ayatollah Khomeini read a fatwa on Radio Tehran calling the book "blasphemous against Islam" and declaring Rushdie to be an apostate -- which is punishable by death.  Khomeini called on "zealous Muslims" to execute Rushdie and the book's publishers.  Not only did Iran place a $3 million bounty on Rushdie's head, but there were also many actual acts of violence following the book's publication.  The Wikipedia entry on Salman Rushdie explains:  "At the University of California at Berkeley, bookstores carrying the book were firebombed. . . .  Muslim communities throughout the world held public rallies in which copies of the book were burned.  In 1991, Rushdie's Japanese translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed and killed in Tokyo, and his Italian translator was beaten and stabbed in Milan.  In 1993, Rushdie's Norwegian publisher William Nygaard was shot and severely injured in an attack outside his house in Oslo.  Thirty-seven guests died when their hotel in Sivas, Turkey was burnt down by locals protesting against Aziz Nesin, Rushdie's Turkish translator."
• A little over a year ago, Dutch film-maker Theo Van Gogh was murdered after directing the film Submission, which was designed to dramatize the mistreatment of women born into Muslim families.  On November 2, 2004, van Gogh was shot six times by Mohammed Bouyeri while riding his bicycle to work, and Bouyeri then "slit his throat with a kitchen knife, severing Mr van Gogh's neck down to the backbone before impaling to his chest with the knife a five-page note threatening other public figures."  At his trial, Bouyeri stated, "I take complete responsibility for my actions.  I acted purely in the name of my religion.  I can assure you that one day, should I be set free, I would do the same, exactly the same."
• One of the public figures threatened in the note stuck to van Gogh's body was Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, van Gogh's collaborator on Submission.  Following these threats, Hirsi Ali had to go into a period of extended hiding.  While she has now emerged, she lives under heavy guard.
• Also in the Netherlands, in January 2005 Moroccan-Dutch painter Rachid Ben Ali went into hiding after he received death threats for satirical work criticizing violence by Islamic militants.

Arrests of naturalized Chinese more proof of DHS problems

By Michael Cutler

This is the second time in the last couple of months that we have seen a news story about naturalized United States citizens who have spied on our country. The linked article reports on a spy ring that consisted of at least two naturalized United States citizens who apparently ran the spy ring, and at least two aliens who were involved in espionage and had secured resident alien status. Once again I am concerned as to whether the naturalized citizens were able to become a United States citizens because of flaws in the naturalization process that is supposed to uncover aliens who are, for one reason or another, unfit or ineligible to naturalized. For example, many aliens were naturalized through the program known as Citizenship USA which was created by the Clinton administration to naturalize as many citizens as possible and was terribly flawed. According to the GAO thousands of criminal aliens were naturalized. Many of these criminal aliens not only should not have been naturalized, they should have been deported from the United States. Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. Many of those aliens who were naturalized did, indeed, meet all of the requirement for becoming United States citizens. The problem is that we all know that there is an inverse relationship between quantity vs quality. In order to achieve greater speed from the same number of employees, quality has to suffer. In this case, this can lead to aliens being improperly being accorded the highest privilege our country can bestow on an alien, United States citizenship.

It is entirely possible that Chi Mak and his wife, Rebecca Laiwah Chiu, the leaders of the ring and naturalized citizens were properly naturalized and that no amount of reasonable scrutiny could have uncovered their duplicitous conduct. However, I am concerned that because USCIS is under great pressure to clear up the daunting backlog of applications for immigration benefits, it is possible that the system by which applications for United States citizenship are currently processed missed potential warning signs. The Department of Homeland Security is making much of its efforts to ferret out illegal aliens who work at sensitive venues such as military bases, nuclear power plants, airports and chemical factories. These efforts are not as effective as they would have us believe they are, if we are not carefully screening applicants for resident alien status and especially applicants for United States citizenship.

Intifada in Paris

By Olivier Guitta

For the past week, the suburbs of Paris have been subject to violent riots from mostly young Muslims. This is definetely not a one time occurrence. I just wrote an article for the Weekly Standard on that topic. Here is an excerpt:

One police-union leader, writing to Interior Minister Sarkozy, declared, "A civil war is unfolding in Clichy-sous-Bois. We cannot handle the challenge any longer. Only the Army, trained and equipped for this type of mission, can intervene to stabilize the situation."
Yet despite all the national and international headlines they occasioned, last week's disturbances were no freak occurrence. For at least 15 years, the immigrant and first-generation suburbs around France's large and medium-sized cities have been out of control. Crime rates have gone through the roof: According to the Renseignements G�n�raux, a division of the police, 70,000 violent crimes have been recorded in urban settings since the beginning of the year. They include the torching of more than 28,000 cars and 17,500 trash bins. According to the Interior Ministry, some 9,000 police cars have been stoned by youths this year.
At least as worrisome as such intermittent flare-ups is what happens every day in these ethnic neighborhoods. Most have become a no-man's land where police scarcely venture and the law of the jungle prevails. Honest, law-abiding inhabitants feel abandoned. As Bally Bagayoko, deputy mayor of Saint-Denis, a working-class suburb of Paris, put it: "People have totally lost confidence in the police. In most cases, they don't even file a complaint." Sometimes judges are physically threatened or attacked.

Steven Emerson to Testify on Saudi Arabia's Role in War on Terror

By Andrew Cochran

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Arlen Specter, has announced the witness list for its hearing titled, "Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror?" on Tuesday, November 8, on the role of the Saudis in disseminating anti-American and anti-Israeli propaganda thoughout Islamic schools and mosques in the U.S. The first panel will consist of Daniel Glaser and Alan Misenheimer, senior officials from the Treasury and State Department, respectively. The second panel will consist of Anthony Cordesman of CSIS; Nina Shea of the Center for Religious Freedom; Steven Emerson; and Gulam Bakali of the Islamic Association of North Texas. See my November 2 post on the hearing and related links.

France and Hizbullah: The End of the Affair

By Olivier Guitta

I just wrote a paper for the Brookings Institution on France and Hizbullah.
Here is an excerpt:

The French and American experiences in Lebanon have been quite similar in many ways, particularly when it comes to Hizbullah. The "Party of God" (Hizbullah) is considered a terrorist group by much of the Western world, though not by France or by any Arab country. It was created in 1982, (in part) to expel foreign forces from Lebanon�i.e. the Israeli forces then occupying southern Lebanon and the Italian, French and American forces present in Beirut under a UN peacekeeping mandate.
As a result, relations between France, the U.S. and Hizbullah got off to a very bad start. In April 1983, Hizbullah targeted French soldiers with a rocket attack, although they did not cause any casualties and attacked the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people and injuring more than 120. In October 1983, things got even worse when Hizbullah bombed nearly simultaneously, the French and U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers. In November 1983, in retaliation for the deadly October attack on its soldiers, France sent fighter jets to bomb Hizbullah�s camp in Baalbek. The U.S. response to Hizbullah�s attack was more timid: some shelling from the battleship USS New Jersey at hostile positions beyond Beirut. It appears that then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger scrapped a mission to hit Hizbullah�s positions with more force. In December 1983, Hizbullah attacked French soldiers in South Lebanon, killing ten. This time the French did not retaliate and in 1984 French and U.S. troops left Lebanon for good�undoubtedly to Hizbullah�s great satisfaction.

Al Qaeda-linked Cell Busted in Canada - Three Members Entered From the U.S.!! (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

Any doubts about the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorist attacks from cells in Canada or Mexico, or the persistence of Al Qaeda to attack us, should be put to rest by the disclosure by the "National Post" that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service busted a cell of four men in Toronto. The four were Algerian GSPC members, and one of the men was an explosives expert "who studied bomb-making at Osama bin Laden's Al Farooq and Khaldun training camps in eastern Afghanistan." What is scary is that the men were "refugee claimants who had lived in Canada for as long as six years" - I wonder which Canadian immigration law they used to enter and stay in the country. What is scarier is that three of the men "entered from a U.S. border crossing." (!!!) The explosives expert was forced to leave Canada last year, and the other three were deported to the U.S. just this summer - where are they now??!!. The Reuters story on the case explains that the explosives expert couldn't be prosecuted because Canadian law doesn't "make it a crime to be a member of a terrorist group" (where is he now?). Congratulations to our neighbors up north on the bust, but here's hoping they change their laws to pursue members of terrorist groups.

Olivier Guitta posted on the GSPC's plans to bomb the Paris Metro - Evan Kohlmann has posted often about GSPC, its links to al-Zarqawi, and recently on GSPC's promotion of "the world war between Muslims and Christians" - and The Investigative Project's Lorenzo Vidino testified about GSPC before Congress.

Senate Committee Refers Report on George Galloway to U.S. & U.K. Law Enforcement

By Andrew Cochran

The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has referred its investigatory report on British MP George Galloway (Acrobat file) to numerous law enforcement bodies and regulatory agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. With Chairman Sen. Coleman and ranking Member Sen. Levin in agreement, the subcommittee concluded that "there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of law may have occurred" as a result of Galloway's "false and misleading testimony under oath regarding his role in the solicitation of oil allocations from the Hussein regime." Specifically, the report presents evidence that Oil-for-Food payments of $150,000 were made to Galloway�s wife, with $446,000 paid to his political campaign against U.N. sanctions, called the �Mariam Appeal,� from oil allocations awarded by the Hussein regime to Galloway. Galloway denied all such allegations under oath at the subcommittee hearing on May 17.

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (here) and I (here and here) have discussed this case and Galloway's disgusting alliance with Islamic terrorists. Galloway and his buddies should be very concerned that Sen. Levin joined with Chairman Coleman in the referral - Sen. Levin is a veteran of the PSI, he is highly respected in the CT community as a Senator who knows his stuff, and he would not have agreed to Chairman Coleman's referral request unless he was convinced of its sound basis. Hopefully we'll get to see whether Galloway, a "terrorist toadie" if there ever was one, can survive a pot of legal "hot water."

Congressional Conferees Cut Counterterrorism Programs

By Michael B. Kraft

UPDATE By Michael B. Kraft

Despite the professed concerns about the international counterterrorism threat and the need to fight the terrorists overseas before they can hit us at home, House-Senate Conference figures made available today showed that the Appropriators cut funds for key programs to help strengthen the counterterrorism capacity of friendly foreign governments. See my October 31 posting on this issue.

The Congressional Conferees on the Fiscal Year 2006 Foreign Aid Appropriations bill cut the State Department�s Antiterrorist Training Assistance (ATA program) by 9 per cent and also slashed several related smaller programs. They allocate only $122.5 million for the ATA program although the Senate version had approved the Administration�s full request of $133.5 million.

The Conference Committee Statement of Managers that spells out details of the final version of the bill showed that the Appropriators cut also cut $2 million from the Administration�s $7.5 Million request for the Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP), which provides a sophisticated data base system for detecting terrorist suspects when they cross international boundaries. The Counterterrorism Engagement with Allies program of seminars and workshops to improve cooperation and coordination was cut in half, from $2 million to $1 million. Only the $7.5 million request to help curb terrorism financing abroad was left intact.

Background of Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, Possibly Captured in Pakistan (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

News reports have the Pakistanis killing one Al Qaeda suspect and capturing another, who might be Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, a.k.a. Abu Musab al-Suri, an AQ leader in Europe and suspected mastermind in the March 11, 2004 Madrid bombings. The Investigative Project's Lorenzo Vidino discussed Nasar's collaboration with and influence over Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a "National Review Online" piece in May 2004. Here is Evan Kohlmann's profile of Nasar from earlier this year (Acrobat file), and here is a video of Nasar filmed in 2000 and obtained by Evan. MSNBC has a good article about his activities and contacts inside Al Qaeda. Nasar was an early suspect in the 7/7 London bombings, but it's unclear if he had any role.

Picture of Nasar:

New Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and Compliance Solutions Announced

By Andrew Cochran

This week, I attended one of the most important annual conferences on money laundering prevention and enforcement, at which Dennis Lormel spoke on a panel on credit card use and exploitation by terrorists. Federal financial regulators announced the issuance of new regulations requiring certain U.S. insurance companies to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act. Other regulations governing correspondent banking relationships, long awaited and debated in the international financial community, remain "very close" to issuance, but I understand that the community is still fighting the new burdens that these regulations will impose.

I also examined products offered by WorldCheck, Factiva, RDC, and others (many more than just two years ago) in preventing money laundering and reporting suspicious transactions to regulators and law enforcement. Many are targeting the small- and medium-sized financial institutions which cannot afford to design an in-house solution. Experian, with years of experience in the field and a long history of handlng sensitive data, announced the release of such a product at the conference. SAS, which protects data stored by hundreds of financial institutions and government agencies, announced its own scalable, web-hosted product for smaller financial institutions. The new insurance and pending correspondent banking regulations will create more markets for these vendors.

Senate Judiciary Committee to Hold Hearing, "Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror?" on November 8

By Andrew Cochran

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Arlen Specter, has officially rescheduled its hearing titled, "Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror?" for Tuesday, November 8, to examine the role of Saudis in disseminating hateful anti-American and anti-Israeli propaganda thoughout Islamic schools and mosques in the U.S.. The hearing was originally scheduled to be held on October 25, but it was postponed. I won't post the witness list until the witnesses are officially announced by the Committee. In my post of October 14, I discussed the witnesses scheduled for that hearing and linked to their bios. The propaganda issue has been addressed on this blog often, with a summary post on March 11 linking to the Freedom House report on Saudi-sponsored propaganda and a bipartisan letter to Secretary Rice on Saudi violations of religious freedom and the export of extremist teachings. I'll have more to say about the hearing as it approaches.

DEBUNKING THE PARADIGM OF INEXPENSIVE TERRORISM

By Matthew Levitt

An increasingly accepted argument holds that terrorism has become a cheap enterprise. Louise Richardson, executive dean of the Radcliff Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, made just that case while testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in 2003. "The crucial point to bear in mind about terrorism, of course, is that it is cheap," Richardson said. She went on to argue that although the September 11 attacks cost $500,000, "It takes a great deal less to buy some fertilizer, rent a truck, and use them to bring down a building." If terrorism is cheap, as Richardson contends, then logic follows that financial counterterrorism measures are largely powerless to prevent terrorist attacks.

Regardless of the actual cost of terrorist attacks, a certain amount of money will always be necessary to fund attacks. Whether an attack costs $10,000 or $500,000, terrorists still need money, and will therefore leave a financial trail behind them. And unlike human sources, which can intentionally deceive, Levey notes "The simple fact remains that the money trail generally does not lie." Stemming the flow of funds can delay or prevent attacks -- even when the costs of bullets and explosives remain relatively low.

Clich here to read the full text of Joshua Prober's "ACCOUNTING FOR TERROR: DEBUNKING THE PARADIGM OF INEXPENSIVE TERRORISM."

Omar Sharif Threatened With Death

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The Guardian reports today that radical Muslims have threatened to kill actor Omar Sharif for the grave offense of . . . playing St. Peter in an Italian TV film and then speaking highly of the role.  Sharif played the role for a two-part mini-series called San Pietro.  The Guardian reports:

A message on a website linked to al-Qaida has threatened death to the veteran Egyptian actor Omar Sharif after he played St Peter in an Italian TV film.

In remarks widely reported in Italy earlier this month, the 73-year old actor, a convert to Islam, said he had "seemed to hear voices" during the filming of St Peter, a two-part mini-series shown last week.  Sharif was quoted as saying:  "Playing Peter was so important for me that even now I can only speak about it with difficulty.  It will be difficult for me to play other roles from now on."

The Italian news agency Adnkronos International said that a message on a web forum used in the past by al-Qaida had a link to a site carrying the threat.  "Omar Sharif has stated that he has embraced the crusader idolatry," it said.  "He is a crusader who is offending Islam and Muslims and receiving applause from the Italian people.  I give you this advice, brothers, you must kill him."

While this incident is a minor one in the grand scheme of things, it provides another glimpse of the single-minded fanaticism of our radical Islamic enemies:  It is truly remarkable that Omar Sharif's life would be threatened after he does no more than speak glowingly about his recent role as St. Peter.  This is the same kind of fanaticism that resulted in the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and the murder of Theo van Gogh.  There are many other examples of people being threatened with death -- and in some cases, actually killed -- because their speech was deemed offensive by radical Muslims.  In many cases, as here, the speech that prompted the threats was exceedingly minor.