A Chilling Final Threat from Abu Musab al-Suri: "O' Sleeper Cells, Wake Up Now!"

By Evan Kohlmann

Abu al-Tawab al-Shami--the official spokesman of most wanted Al-Qaida terrorist training camp manager Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Omar Abdel Hakim, Mustafa Setmariam Nasar)--has confirmed the latter's capture by coalition forces sometime in September 2005.  Abu al-Tawab has also made available a final audio message from Abu Musab al-Suri responding to the July 2005 London bombings.  During the recording, Abu Musab adamantly denied having played any significant role in the 1995 Paris Metro bombings, the March 2004 Madrid commuter train bombings, nor the most recent London attacks--but conceded to having specifically trained American and British nationals at Al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan to carry out catastrophic terrorist strikes.  He further admitted:

"I advised the commander of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Abu Abdullah Ahmad and his superiors�may Allah have mercy on their souls�to strike deep inside the French mainland in order to punish her and deter her from supporting the dictatorial military government [in Algeria]... I explained that this would unite the Islamic nation around the jihad in Algeria, just as it had united the Islamic nation around the Afghan jihad against the Soviets.  I added that we had a right to strike France and that we were at war�[we were not] just playing around.  It was about time for our enemies to understand that.  This is why I hereby call all the mujahideen�regardless of whether they are from Syria, Lebanon or any other place�to strike France immediately.  The mujahideen should target French interests wherever they may be�including the French mainland itself... I hereby call upon the mujahideen in Europe, the mujahideen in other enemy countries�as well as all those who are able to get to these countries�to act quickly and strike Britain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Australia, Russia, France, and all other countries that have a military presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the Arabian Peninsula.  They must either strike the territory of these countries or targets that are outside of their borders.  O� sleeper cells, wake up now!"

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

See also:
- Globalterroralert.com profile on Abu Musab al-Suri
- Video of Abu Musab al-Suri filmed in August 2000

Southeast Asian Wrap-up

By Zachary Abuza

While there was some progress in combating terrorism in Southeast Asia in 2005, a number of low intensity conflicts continued to flare, and have the potential to escalate in 2006. Core grievances have gone unaddressed while the governments continued to focus their efforts on decapitating organizations.

In Indonesia, a bomb was detonated in Palu, the troubled province of Central Sulawesi�s capital, on 31 December. The bomb, which targeted Christians in a crowded market, killed 6 and wounded 45. It was the latest in a string of sectarian attacks in 2005, that Islamist militias affiliated with Jemaah Islamiyah staged to provoke a return to all out sectarian conflict. The attacks have become more sophisticated and bloody and they have often at times been very sophisticated in their targeting, for example, the assassinations of witnesses in criminal trials against Islamic militants, or events to terrify a community � such as the beheadings of three schoolgirls. There has also been a range of violence employed: from assassinations to six bombings that killed 28 and wounded over 100. A spate of arson attacks killed six, while well-coordinated raids on police outposts that killed five police and three civilians. Some 120 IEDs seized in raids.

Indonesian authorities have been bracing for a spate of attacks. Some 35 suicide vests and documents recovered following the death of JI�s top bomb-maker Dr. Azahari bin Hussin in October 2005, provided evidence that the group was planning on launching a number of attacks during the busy holiday season. Indonesian authorities believe that Noordin Mohammad Top is planning retaliatory attacks to avenge Azahari�s death. Indonesian authorities have also warned that JI may be taking a page out of the Iraqi playbook and may begin a campaign of kidnapping westerners.

In Thailand, the insurgency in the troubled Muslim south has continued. Since January 2004, some 2004 people have been killed. In 2005, alone, 91 police were killed and 151 wounded. Although the government is taking credit for a sharp decline in attacks in December, torrential rains and floods in the troubled region appear to be the key factor. A paucity of arrest of mid and senior-level insurgency have frustrated Thai officials who still have very little understanding of the situation and the organizations involved.

Though unreported in the press, in November 2005, Thai authorities arrested three Muslims from Yala who were in Bangkok conducting surveillance on some 40 potential targets including hotels, malls, the Ministry of Defense, and other locations. While the insurgents have yet to move significantly beyond their home provinces (though recently martial law was declared in two districts of a fourth province), there are indications that they are at the very least considering the option of hitting soft targets in Bangkok or other tourist areas.

In the Philippines, the security situation remained mixed. The Abu Sayyaf continued their path set in 2004, eschewing kidnappings in favor of bonafide terrorist attacks. While the ASG remains a small group, their radicalism and ability to tap into networks of Islamic converts has given Manila cause for concern. While hostilities between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) all but ceased and significant progress was made in the peace talks, the MILF continued to give JI and ASG members sanctuary.

Finally, in Malaysia, the United States shut their embassy on 29 December citing only an unspecific but credible threat.

Indonesia Bombing: Jemaah Islamiyah's Christmastime 2005 Attack? (Updated)

By Andrew Cochran

The casualties from a bomb attack outside a shop selling pork in Palu, Indonesia has risen to 7 deaths and 47 injured, according to the Jakarta Post's latest report. Quoting: "Witnesses said the bomb exploded inside the kiosk which was crowded with Christians shopping for the New Year�s dinner...Opposite the kiosk is the Bethel Church." That is consistent with warnings by Indonesian police and military that Jemaah Islamiyah and other terrorists might target Christians and their churches in Christmastime attacks. The Australian and U.S. embassies issued specific warnings to its citizens against traveling to Indonesia during the holidays. JI terrorists were behind the bombing of at least nine locations across Indonesia on Christmas Eve in 2000, leaving 19 people dead and scores wounded. Here is the AP wire story on the bombing. You can read a FrontPage Magazine online symposium on the jihadists' activities in Indonesia, in which Walid Phares and I participated along with Dr. Rohan Gunaratna and Badrus Sholeh. You can also read expert commentary on JI by Zachary Abuza linked in the Media box and in the Counterterrorim Library, both in the left sidebar.

AP Picture of Bomb Victim (click to enlarge):

DOJ Should Appoint Patrick Fitzgerald to Investigate Two Leaks of Classified Information

By Andrew Cochran

The Justice Department is initiating a second investigation into the leak of classified, terrorism-related information to a news source, this time over the NSA intercept program as initially divulged by the New York Times. DOJ already initiated an investigation into the leak of classified information about a network of secret CIA prisons for suspected terrorists. The disclosures alone could be extremely damaging to the pursuit of terrorists, compromising sensitive sources and methods of investigation without a substantial benefit. DOJ should appoint a special investigator who knows the legal issues surrounding the release of classified information, has an outstanding track record in terrorism investigations, and is respected for his objectivity and integrity. Patrick Fitzgerald fits that description perfectly as a veteran and successful prosecutor in terrorism cases and the investigator of the release of information about ex-CIA spy Valerie Plame, earning recent acclaim from the National Law Journal and other legal scholars (politics aside). EDIT: Kathryn Jean Lopez of NRO deserves credit for suggesting this before I did, although I hadn't read her one-liner on it when I wrote this post.

Steven Emerson: "Split Round" in War on Terrorism in 2005 (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

Appearing on NBC's "Today" program today, Steven Emerson said that the lack of terrorist attacks in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks is due to a combination of factors, including the investigative and law enforcement activities; plain luck; and the lack of terrorist infrastructure in the U.S. But "U.S. wars" over issues such as the Patriot Act, alleged torture of detainees, the NSA intercept program, and other legal issues, while worthy for debate, are distracting us from the focus on Islamist terrorists, and instead focusing us on perceived threats to our civil liberties. Europe is the new front and will be so in the near future. Once Iraq is dealt with, we will see even more attacks there, and there is no real terrorist command structure there to attack. Self-annointed terrorist "franchise operations" in Europe are the most worrisome development in 2005. In his opinion, this year's final grade is a "split round" - we took out major terrorists leaders, but lost momentum and haven't seized more terrorists' assets.

UPDATE: You can see a clip of his appearance at the Investigative Project website (4.8 MB Windows Media file) and read a full transcript of his appearance below. Steve also appeared on MSNBC today to discuss our effectiveness against terrorism this year (Intelligence Summit video).

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Zarqawi Fulfills Promise, Launches Rockets at Northern Israel

By Evan Kohlmann

In an apparent bid to fulfill a previous vow to strike directly at the "Jewish state", Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq--led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has claimed responsibility for a Grad rocket attack on civilian communities in northern Israel.  According to a statement released today, after "careful planning and intelligence gathering, a group of al-Tawheed lions and Al-Qaida operatives put their faith in Allah and launched a new attack on the Jewish state� [with] ten Grad rockets from Muslim territory of Lebanon toward selected targets in the northern part of the Jewish state.  After successfully completing their mission, they left the scene unharmed... This blessed attack was carried out by the mujahideen in the name of Mujahid Shaykh Usama Bin Laden, the commander of Al-Qaida�may Allah protect him... With the help of Allah, what is yet to come will be far worse."

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

See also:
(11/20/05) - "Al-Qaida Takes Casualties in Iraq -- But Apparently Not Zarqawi"

...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." [In January 2005, the United States Treasury Department announced that a member of Zarqawi's Shura Council in Iraq "was assigned by Zarqawi to train members of Asbat al-Ansar in preparing forged documents" and "also brought $10,000 for Abu Muhjin, the leader of Asbat al-Ansar, from Zarqawi."]

(11/11/05) - "Zarqawi's Al-Qaida Faction Offers More Details Behind Amman Suicide Blasts"

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... 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."

Secret Wiretaps Damaging, Worrisome

By Evan Kohlmann

Adding on the comments of my colleague Victor Comras below, I've also had a chance to weigh in on the issue of secret NSA wiretaps authorized by the Bush administration, care of MSNBC's Hardblogger website.  Bypassing the authority of the FISA court requires a weighty and specific justification -- one that has not yet been offered by anyone at the White House.  More importantly, this action has politically jeopardized the extension of the critical 2001 USA Patriot Act and -- worse still -- is giving a host of various imprisoned terrorists a narrow shot at challenging their convictions.  Bottom line: the sentiment behind the secret wiretaps may have been noble, but the execution was arrogant and bumbling.

The President?s NSA Wiretaps: Unnecessary Problems in the War on Terrorism

By Victor Comras

The New York Times revelation that the NSA has been eavesdropping on US-overseas telephone conversations, without FISA�s special oversight procedures, is certain to stir up a legal mess that may take years to straighten out in the courts. FISA created a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (the "FISA Court") made up of federal district judges, to review just such types of surveillance. My colleague Daveed Gartenstein-Ross has pointed out several of the legal arguments the courts are likely to hear regarding this matter. These arguments will not be heard in the abstract. They will be raised, countered, considered and appealed in the context of numerous past, on-going and future terrorism-related cases. The same issues will be aired publicly, in the media and in Congressional hearings. And these issues, and the arguments in these cases, won�t go away anytime soon. In fact, they are likely to cause considerable complications and delays in prosecuting and winning these cases. So, the question must be asked: Was the President�s decision to authorize such NSA wiretaps on his own, arguably on the basis of his own constitutional authority, and without regard to FISA, a mistake? The answer to this question follows, in large part from the answer to another question. Was such unilateral action really necessary?

The President maintains that it was. He argues that the urgent and severe security threat terrorism poses for America requires immediate and close monitoring of those linked with international terrorism. But he has not explained why using the procedures laid out in FISA would have posed any increased risks to our national security. The procedures under FISA allow for such wiretaps. They can begin immediately, when necessary and authorized by the President or his Attorney-General. FISA procedures allow the Administration a grace period of 72 hours (3 days) to report such actions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a special judicial tribunal established by FISA. Each of the justices on that court holds the highest levels of security clearances. The courts only function in such matters is to determine whether there is any basis for carrying on such surveillance. There is no burden of proof on the government. It needs only to explain why it believes there is reasonable cause of suspicion to support the surveillance. The presumptions are in the governments favor. And, even then, if the court ruled against the surveillance the government can continue the surveillance pending an appeal to a special FISA appeals panel that can review the decisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. These are ex-parte proceedings. There is no one arguing the other side: only the justices, whose job is to ensure that the government is acting responsibly. The President has indicated that such surveillance has only been directed against persons known to be in contact with terrorist groups. Certainly that would qualify as sufficient justification for the FISA Court.

Some pundits have questioned the effacacy of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. But their suggestions that this court might delay or otherwise unduly encumber such national security surveillance is without merit. In fact, the record seems to indicate that the government has, on several ocassions provided the court with "erroneous" information. There is also some confusion over different types of circumstances and warrants that the court is empowered to grant. For a discussion of some of these issues click here.

I refer Blog readers to an interesting essay written for FindLaw by Sherry Colb entitled Why Get A Warrant?: The President's Admission that He Authorized Warrantless Domestic Surveillance. Excerpts are included below:
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Defense Challenges to NSA Wiretaps: Legal Issues

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Yesterday I noted that defense lawyers in some of the country's most important terrorism cases are going to mount challenges based on the recently uncovered NSA warrantless surveillance.  In this post, I'm going to provide an overview of the legal issues involved.

The defense lawyers are going to argue that the NSA wiretaps were illegal.  When an illegal search takes place, the evidence secured by illegal means cannot be introduced at trial.  More important to the defense attorneys, though, is a doctrine known as the "fruit of the poisonous tree," which was first introduced in Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States (Supreme Court 1920).  This doctrine holds that evidence uncovered as a result of obtaining other evidence illegally will be excluded.  Thus, for example, if an illegal wiretap reveals the location of the bomb that a suspect intends to use to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge, then the bomb will also be excluded.  The defense attorneys' obvious hope is that a large amount of the evidence against their clients was uncovered as a result of the NSA wiretaps, and thus could be excluded.  Defense attorneys can also use this argument to challenge convictions by arguing that illegal evidence was used to obtain the conviction.

The government will have several responses to this argument.  First of all, the government will challenge the various defendants' right to make the argument in the first place.  Many of the people currently imprisoned for terrorism-related offenses were sentenced pursuant to plea deals in which they waived various rights of appeal.  But beyond that, many defendants will not have standing to challenge the NSA wiretaps.  The Supreme Court held in Alderman v. United States (1969) that "suppression of the product of a Fourth Amendment violation can be successfully urged only by those whose rights were violated by the search itself, not by those who are aggrieved solely by the introduction of damaging evidence."  Thus, only the targets of the NSA wiretaps may challenge them.  If an NSA wiretap was directed at Ali Timimi but turned up evidence against his follower Seifullah Chapman, only Timimi -- and not Chapman -- would have standing to challenge it.

The government can also employ the doctrines of independent source and inevitable discovery.  Under the doctrine of independent source, evidence won't be excluded when the government learned of the evidence from a source independent of the illegal search.  Under the doctrine of inevitable discovery, which the Supreme Court accepted in Nix v. Williams (1984), evidence won't be excluded when the government would have probably discovered it lawfully absent the illegal search.

Ultimately, though, the government's strongest argument is that the NSA wiretaps were legal.  While this isn't a settled issue of law, there's a strong argument that because of the president's constitutional authority in the area of foreign affairs, the president may authorize surveillance to obtain foreign intelligence information without obtaining a warrant.  United States v. Truong (Fourth Circuit 1980), which was based on a pre-FISA set of facts, held that the president did have this power to conduct warrantless surveillance.  Thereafter, in In re Sealed Case (2002), a special court convened to hear FISA appeals noted that Truong and all other courts to decide the issue "held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information."  Further, In re Sealed Case stated, "We take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President's constitutional power."  This is a basic point of constitutional law:  If a power is derived from the Constitution itself, that power cannot be abridged by statute.

Thus, while the NSA wiretapping controversy has created legal uncertainty in a number of terrorism cases, the government can put forward several powerful responses.

UPDATE, DECEMBER 29, 2005:  This area of law can be difficult to penetrate.  Thus, I thought two further points regarding the Administration's legal position with respect to Truong could help to clarify matters:

1. The Administration will argue that because Truong recognized the president's inherent authority to conduct warrantless surveillance for the purposes of foreign intelligence-gathering, it remains good law even after FISA's enactment because constutitional authority trumps statutory restrictions.  (The only way to abridge a power granted to a branch of government by the Constitution is through a constitutional amendment.)
2. In re Sealed Case (2002) cites Truong as authority.  Since Truong is based on a pre-FISA set of facts, the Administration will argue that In re Sealed Case demonstrates the continuing vitality of this presidential power even after the adoption of FISA.

John Schmidt, who served as the associate attorney general under President Clinton, states that all four appellate courts to consider this issue since 1972 (i.e. three more beside Truong) have recognized the president's inherent authority to conduct warrantless surveillance for the purposes of foreign intelligence-gathering.  You can read a description of these cases in Section I of the brief that the DOJ submitted in In re Sealed Case.

(Hat tip for this update to Adam White.)

Defense Lawyers in Terrorism Cases to Challenge NSA Wiretaps

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The December 28 New York Times has an interesting article that adds a new wrinkle to the NSA wiretap controversy:  Defense lawyers in some of the most important terrorism cases in the country are going to argue that the NSA used illegal wiretaps against their clients.  The Times reports:

The lawyers said in interviews that they wanted to learn whether the men were monitored by the agency and, if so, whether the government withheld critical information or misled judges and defense lawyers about how and why the men were singled out.  The expected legal challenges, in cases from Florida, Ohio, Oregon and Virginia, add another dimension to the growing controversy over the agency's domestic surveillance program and could jeopardize some of the Bush administration's most important courtroom victories in terror cases, legal analysts say.

The first challenge to the NSA wiretaps is likely to come in Florida as early as next week.  The lawyers for two men charged with Jose Padilla are planning to file a motion "to determine if the N.S.A. program was used to gain incriminating information on their clients and their suspected ties to Al Qaeda."  And the Times reports that there may also be challenges to the convictions of Ali al-Timimi and some of his followers:

In a Virginia case, Edward B. MacMahon Jr., a lawyer for Ali al-Timimi, a Muslim scholar in Alexandria who is serving a life sentence for inciting his young followers to wage war against the United States overseas, said the government's explanation of how it came to suspect Mr. Timimi of terrorism ties never added up in his view.  F.B.I. agents were at Mr. Timimi's door days after the Sept. 11 attacks to question him about possible links to terrorism, Mr. MacMahon said, yet the government did not obtain a warrant through the foreign intelligence court to eavesdrop on his conversations until many months later.  Mr. MacMahon said he was so skeptical about the timing of the investigation that he questioned the Justice Department about whether some sort of unknown wiretap operation had been conducted on the scholar or his young followers, who were tied to what prosecutors described as a "Virginia jihad" cell. . . .  John Zwerling, a lawyer for one of Mr. Timimi's followers, Seifullah Chapman, who is serving a 65-year sentence in federal prison in the case, said he and lawyers for two of the other defendants in the case planned to send a letter to the Justice Department to find out if N.S.A. wiretaps were used against their clients.  If the Justice Department declines to give an answer, Mr. Zwerling said, they plan to file a motion in court demanding access to the information.

A federal prosecutor, speaking to the Times anonymously, stated:  "If I'm a defense attorney, the first thing I'm going to say in court is, 'This was an illegal wiretap.'"  And from the account in the Times, it seems that a large number of defense attorneys -- including in cases that were believed to have been resolved in the government's favor -- are going to say just that.  Thus, this latest development adds greater urgency to the question of the NSA wiretaps' legality.

Why Aircraft Matter for Terrorist and Organized Crime

By Douglas Farah

One of the most overlooked elements in combatting terrorism, organize crime and non-state armed groups is the vital role that aircraft play. An AFP story on the use of aircraft by the FARC, AUC and drug traffickers in Colombia illustrate this point. Without aircraft, it would be impossible for these groups to arm themselves and function as they do. The same is true for the wars that have torn apart sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Sudan and elsewhere. If weapons are the lifeblood of these groups, the aircraft are the arteries through which the blood flows.

That is what makes it so dangerous to patronize people like Viktor Bout and allow him to stay in businesss. He may be useful for some things the intelligence communities and militaries of the world increasingly want, as wars and armies-even their core functions-become more privatized. But his planes are also the lifeline of groups, from the Taliban to the FARC and many groups in between, that make the world a more dangerous and less secure place. That is why Peter Hain, the senior British official who chased Bout for years was right when he dubbed Bout "the Merchant of Death." That is what is aircraft routinely carry.

Bout did not rise to prominence because of access to weapons--those connections are relatively easy to come by. He rose to prominence because he has a air fleet bigger than those of many countries, and is willing to rent them to the highest bidder. Go here to read the rest of the blog.

Senior Al-Qaida Operative Reportedly Captured in Saudi Arabia

By Evan Kohlmann

In yet another blow to the floundering Al-Qaida military apparatus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, local security forces have captured Mohammed al-Suwailmi--a most wanted terrorist operative who was incorrectly reported killed in clashes in the eastern Saudi city of Dammam during early September 2005.  Following the September battles in Dammam, al-Suwailmi released a defiant audio recording on the Internet--taking pains to thank Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for his ongoing support of Al-Qaida's activities in the Saudi kingdom:

�We have witnessed how all our enemies have united together against this small fighting unit and only a small minority amongst the Muslims have stood alongside the mujahideen... The mujahideen will never forget the group of the faithful who stood beside them and supported them. They will always remember that favor and will ask Allah to grant them forgiveness. Among those is my mujahid brother Abu Musab al-Zarqawi�may Allah protect him and use him to spread frustration amongst his enemies. [Abu Musab] did not hesitate even for a second to support and assist the mujahideen in [Saudi Arabia]. I ask Allah to grant victory upon him and his brothers in Mesopotamia and to grant honor and dignity upon Islam.�

See also: [CT BLOG] Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia Responds to Counterterrorism Raids in Dammam (9/16/05)

GSPC Claims Bomb Attack on Algerian Naval Vessels

By Evan Kohlmann

The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida affiliate group active in North Africa--has released a new communique claiming credit for a December 22 twin bombing attack on Algerian naval vessels in the port of Dellys east of the capital Algiers.  According to the statement, "[t]hanks to precise intelligence that was gathered on a coast guard ship�and despite the heightened security measures that were put in place in the vicinity of the port�the courageous mujahideen succeeded in sneaking into the port using their own special means, no doubt with the blessing of Allah.  The mujahideen proceeded to plant two bombs inside the port.  The mujahideen quickly set off the first device against the evil tyrants as soon as the warship approached it.  When a second group [of infidels] neared the scene in order to help the wounded and recover the victims, the mujahideen set off their second device."

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

Yemeni Al-Qaida Operative "Martyred" in Iraq After Failed Effort to Travel to Afghanistan

By Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq--led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has released yet a new edition in its ongoing "Distinguished Martyrs" propaganda series, this time paying homage to "Abu Tarek al-Yemeni" (originally from Yemen).  Allegedly, Abu Tarek attended several Al-Qaida terrorist training camps setup inside Iraq, including one facility known as the "Rawa base."  Yet, according to Al-Qaida, Abu Tarek eagerly sought to continue his jihad beyond the mere borders of Mesopotamia:

"[W]hile [Abu Tarek]'s body was physically in Iraq, his heart was in Afghanistan. Along with several other brothers, al-Yemeni constantly insisted on going there. The necessary arrangements and preparations were made and they began their long and strenuous journey. There was a point on the border between Iran and Kurdistan where we had no other choice but to run across at night. With the exception of an overweight Kuwaiti brother, all members of the group quickly made their way across the border. Our friend [Abu Tarek al-Yemeni] rushed back to help the [Kuwaiti] brother and push him along as he ran. However, it was Allah�s desire for them both to be captured by the [Kurdish] Peshmerga scum."

According to Al-Qaida, Abu Tarek was able to escape from enemy custody on two separate occasions before his eventual death--first, by violently attacking his Kurdish Peshmerga guards, and then later by deceiving American military interrogators into believing that he was a native Iraqi national and not actually a foreign fighter.  Nonetheless, Abu Tarek was reportedly killed in a subsequent U.S. airstrike after he helped lead a major Al-Qaida military operation in the restive Iraqi city of Baqubah.

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

*UPDATE*: A respected colleague has directed my attention to the following June 2003 New York Times report that further discusses the Rawa training camp attended by Abu Tarek al-Yemeni, and the early role of the camp in mobilizing foreign fighters in Iraq. (Thanks, J.L.!)

"New evidence about the role of foreign fighters, including passports and other documents, was gathered after the American air and ground attack last week on a militant camp at Rawa, about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad.  According to American military commanders, two wounded foreigners were also captured--a Saudi and a Syrian.  American officials said the two captives had told them that they were offered money to come to Iraq and kill American soldiers... The strike on the Rawa camp... appears to have been a site where foreign and Iraqi fighters trained for attacks on Americans.  American officials estimated that there were almost 70 fighters at the camp before the attack.  Some foreigners were trying to get there from Syria when the raid occurred, an official said... The camp was pummeled by satellite-guided bombs and attacked by an AC-130 gunship.  Most of the fighters were literally ripped apart by the blasts, American military officials say, making it difficult to determine how many were there in the first place.  An Army Ranger was wounded in the attack, the only American casualty in the raid.  An American Apache helicopter was also shot down, an indication of the ferocity of the resistance."

Target: White House

By Evan Kohlmann

My colleague James Meek at the New York Daily News has published an interesting piece on senior Al-Qaida leader Abu Faraj al-Libi (described by some as the successor to 9/11-mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) who was captured in Pakistan last spring.  According to two law enforcement sources interviewed in Pakistan and the United States, Abu Faraj was actively endeavoring to assassinate President George Bush "in the White House, preferably."  A "senior U.S. counterterrorism official" confirmed to Meek, "It was clearly something they wanted to do. There's no question about that. It's the holy grail of jihad."

Indeed, Abu Faraj is by no means the only Al-Qaida commander who has coveted President Bush and the White House as a primary target.  During his 2003 interrogation by Saudi security forces, convicted American Al-Qaida operative Ahmed Omar Abu Ali admitted that top Saudi Al-Qaida leaders �talk[ed] to me about killing Bush one time and another time about [suicide hijacking] operations by planes that take off from Britain and Australia that transit America.  This way, the passenger will not need an American visa. The plane would then crash in America.�  Specifically, in order to kill President Bush, Abu Ali would use either snipers or "martyrdom" volunteers dispatched to him by Ali al-Faqasi.

More recently, Zarqawi's Al-Qaida faction in Iraq celebrated the "martyrdom" of a Saudi Arabian suicide bomber in Iraq who was encouraged by specific religious "visions" he had experienced: "Abu Naim [al-Najdi]�the first martyr�envisioned himself leaving his house, with his sister asking, �Where are you going.�  [In his vision, Abu Naim] replied, �I�m going to teach America a lesson that it will never forget.�  He then boarded an airplane and when he observed the World Trade Center, he said to himself [in his vision], �I will crash this plane straight into the White House.�"

Patriot Act Extended by Congress (updated with title change)

By Andrew Cochran

The U.S. House approved an extension of the current USA Patriot Act only through February 3, 2006, not to July, as the U.S. Senate approved yesterday. The Senate approved the one-month extension tonight, and President Bush will sign it. Here is the statement issued by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Sensenbrenner tonight upon passage by the House:

"Eight days ago, a bipartisan majority of the House, including 44 Democrats, voted for the PATRIOT Act conference report. Last night, the Senate ignored the will of the bipartisan majority of the House, a majority of the PATRIOT Act House-Senate conferees, and a clear majority of Senators by failing to consider the PATRIOT Act conference report. Instead, the Senate chose to punt the issue to next year by passing a six-month extension of the PATRIOT Act that contains none of the important civil liberties safeguards carefully negotiated by House and Senate conferees and included in the PATRIOT Act conference report.

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LEBANON: CANDIDATE FOR TERRORIST LIST?

By Michael B. Kraft

by Michael Kraft
The Lebanese Government�s stonewalling attitude in protecting the Lebanese convicted murderer of an American sailor during the TWA 847 hijacking should prompt the U.S. Government to consider placing Lebanon on the State Department�s list of state supporters of terrorism.

This is the time of the year that the State Department traditionally reviews the terrorist list while preparing its annual international terrorism report to Congress at the end of April.

Lebanon provides sanctuary to a number of terrorists sought by the United States, as well as allowing terrorist groups to operate from its soil.

Mohammad Ali Hamadi, who was released last week from a German jail after serving nearly 19 years for the killing of Robert Stethem during 1985 airline hijacking, flew back to Lebanon last week. According to press reports, he was briefly detained in Lebanon and then released.

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GSPC in Algeria Mourns Death of Saudi Arabian Al-Qaida Commander in Chechnya

By Evan Kohlmann

The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida-affiliate group active in North Africa--has issued a statement on behalf of its leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud mourning the loss of slain Saudi Arabian Al-Qaida commander Abu Omar al-Saif during combat operations with Russian forces in the Caucasus.  According to Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud:

"We are sorry to hear that such a great mujahid and distinguished personality has been lost.  It is unfortunate that, precisely during these times of hardship, the Islamic nation has lost a distinguished leader of dawah and jihad...  There are few like Abu Omar al-Saif, and we will definitely miss him... Our movement would like to point out that killing our commanders and leaders will only make us more determined to continue waging our blessed jihad... With Allah�s blessing, the Islamic nation that has already produced such great commanders as Ibn-ul-Khattab, Abu al-Walid [al-Ghamdi], Abu Omar al-Saif, and others will also give rise to their successors."

See also:
- Sawt al-Qoqaz confirms death of commander Abu Omar al-Saif
- CT Blog - Senior Saudi Al-Qaida Member Sets Off Suicide Blast in Dagestan
- CT Blog - Interview with top GSPC commander in Algeria
- US News - "The Mutating Threat: Why U.S. officials worry about a group you've never heard of."

The Media, the NSA and the PATRIOT Act

By Dennis Lormel

A former FBI collegue of mine, Clint Van Zandt, wrote the commentary set forth below. It offers a thoughtful, well articulated perspective about the PATRIOT Act and issues concerning our civil liberties and national security.

The media, the NSA and the Patriot Act
Former FBI Profiler Van Zandt shares his thoughts on privacy and security
COMMENTARY
By Clint Van Zandt
MSNBC analyst & former FBI profiler
Updated: 4:28 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2005

Does the National Security Agency (NSA), also known as "No Such Agency," listen in on your every telephone call and track you every time you use the Internet? Does the FBI use the Patriot Act to find out what library books you check out? Both of these allegations could not be further from the truth. But were you to get your news from only certain elements of the media, you might believe them.

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An Islamist at Johns Hopkins and then US Congress

By Olivier Guitta

I just wrote an article for Front Page Magazine about a Moroccan Islamist currently studying at John Hopkins on his way to training at the US Congress and the Canadian Parliament.
Here is an excerpt:

A 32-YEAR-OLD MOROCCAN INTELLECTUAL has been selected by John Hopkins University to study political science for one year at the university's prestigious School of Advanced International Studies, after which he will receive further training at the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament. Mustafa El Khalfi was chosen from a pool of hundreds of candidates from more than 20 countries and, interestingly enough, he is the first Moroccan so honored since Hopkins began this program in 1953. (He is also a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.)

El Khalfi's background is colorful. At the age of 15 he joined the Islamist party Jama Islamiya. He was a brilliant student, earning an undergraduate degree in physics and a masters in political science. In 2003 he attended a program in Oxford similar to the one he is now part of at Hopkins. Before being chosen by the Hopkins program, he was the editor-in-chief of the main Islamist Moroccan publication At-Tajdid � which means �renewal.� At-Tajdid is the paper of the largest Moroccan Islamist party, the PJD (Parti de la Justice et du Developement) and has a certain measure of notoriety. For instance, At-Tajdid was among the first papers in the world to explain last year's horrific tsunami by pointing out that the affected Asian countries were corrupt and that the tsunami was a consequence not following the true course of Islam. Later in the piece, At-Tajdid implied that the same punishment might be in the works Morocco because of the lack of respect Islam was shown by Moroccan society. When later pressed about this line of analysis, El Khalfi answered, �Regarding the tsunami, only God knows the truth.�

GERMAN RELEASE OF TERRORIST REVIVES MEMORIES OF GERMAN AND MEDIA WEAKNESSES

By Michael B. Kraft

by Michael Kraft

Germany�s secret release of a Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist convicted of killing a U.S. Navy diver during the 1985 hijacking of TWA 847 revives memories of past German deals with terrorist and their supporters. The 17- day hijacking ordeal also had touched off a great deal of teeth gnashing about the role of the media in dealing with ongoing terrorist situations.

The long sorry saga, which I saw evolve while working in the State Department Counterterrorism Office, is a forerunner of some of the terrorist-related problems we still face today.

On Tuesday, German court officials confirmed that they had released Mohammed Ali Hamadi, who had been given a life sentence for killing Robert Stethem, a Navy diver from Maryland's Eastern Shore. The young Navy man had been beaten and then shot and dumped on the Beirut airport runway after TWA 847 was hijacked by a group of terrorists on JUne 14 while it was flying from Athens to Rome.

German government officials denied that the release�which took place Thursday�had anything to with the release this weekend of a German archeologist, Susanne Osthoff, who was taken captive in Iraq three weeks ago.

But as the German press agency, DPA said in its story yesterday, �the timing �has raised uncomfortable questions.�

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Beware of the other Jihadi blitzkrieg..

By Walid Phares

Walid Phares

"Hezbollah successfully recruits computer scientists and is very effective in telecommunications and in encrypting their messages in order to defeat national security agents in Canada and the U.S.," he said." Globe and Mail (Canada). December 20, 2005

Well, as US media struggles with the so-called "affair" of monitoring-the-Terrorists turned (thanks to politics) into spying-against-Americans, another "real" affair with Jihadi technological superiority, thrusts from the northern borders. According to an article titled "Hezbollah highly skilled at infiltrating technology, experts say" the Canadian daily Globe and Mail announces real bad news about the Jihadi organization capabilities (article) . The article is informative: it reminds the reader that the "other" Jihadi threat is out there preparing its own tools for its day to come. And that day is at the corner of few streets in Beirut and Tehran. With Ahmedi Nijad rushing to put the nuclear apparatus between his regime and the infidel world, a not so cold war is building up rapidly in the region. And with Hassan Nasrallah leading Hizbollah into confrontation with the international community, to obstruct the implementation of UNSCR 1559 in Lebanon (which calls for disarming the terror group) the collision course is traced.

But if that is the case, should Washington -and especially its politicians- worry about the "other" terrorist threat? Logically they should. Nothing can guarantee Americans that the next Jihadi blitz on American soil or against US interests may not be Hezbollah's. The 9/11 Commission showered current and former officials with blame for not "projecting" al Qaida's attacks. Are we projecting a Hizbollah potential adventure or aren't we? The question is warranted, especially in nowadays surreal debate about the "spying fantazy." Read this from the Globe and Mail article:

"Hezbollah has become technologically more sophisticated to avoid detection. It's an ironic spinoff of having Western agencies monitor their communications."

Well, well, well. The question is this: should we "monitor" this almost-undetected Hizbollahi technology in communications to learn about its future Jihad book, or should we mobilize the lawyers for a future spying affair on "US citizens" who just happen to be Hizbollahi members? This is not hindsight. This is the future happening now. Let's see how the new Rome will play its games after being warned.

Another Revelation of Lack of Immigration Enforcement

By Michael Cutler

I have often made the point that in order to protect our nation from terrorists and criminals our nation needs to do more than hire more Border Patrol agents and fortify our nation's borders. While the borders most certainly do need to be better secured, our nation needs to address all immigration issues and see immigration as a system in which the borders are but a component.

An article in yesterday's "Washington Times" shows how by not pursuing visa fraud and naturalization fraud, Iraqi-born Neeran Hakim Zaia, a naturalized citizen who has been charged with smuggling 200 aliens (primarily citizens of Iraq), could have been stripped of her citizenship before she became involved in the current case. This is because in December 1992, Mrs. Zaia was convicted by a federal court in Michigan on seven counts of visa fraud, three counts of bribery, and one charge of alien smuggling. The article was written by an excellent reporter who works for United Press International, Shaun Waterman. The Washington Times, however, did not publish his entire article. I would urge you to read the article in its entirety.

The part of the article that was not included in the Washington Times article dealt with a perspective provided by Janice Kephart, Counsel to the Presidential Commission on the Attacks of September 11, 2001. She made the point that the service side of the former INS often did not work in coordination with the enforcement side. Having been an INS special agent for more than a quarter of a century, I can certainly attest to this critical issue and, in fact, it is this concern that prompted me to recommend to members of Congress before the creation of DHS that the enforcement of the immigration laws needed to be handled by an agency dedicated to law enforcement.

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My Challenge to Patriot Act Opponents: Show Me the Victims! (UPDATED with news)

By Andrew Cochran

As a senior counsel to a congressional committee for almost three years, I planned numerous public hearings and investigations on issues affecting the housing, accounting, securities, and financial industries and the federal government agencies charged with overseeing those industries. I always looked for actual victims of egregious waste, fraud, or illegal action. And it was easy to find victims of decrepit public housing in New Orleans, victims of mortgage "flipping" schemes, and elderly investors left destitute by stockbroker fraud. We remember how millions of Americans found their pension and personal investment accounts reduced by the accounting fraud at Enron and WorldCom. Victims came out of the woodwork to offer their stories to Congress.

So what strikes me about the Patriot Act debate is that, after 4 years, the opponents can't show us actual victims of all that "abuse." You don't see the weeping and crying, the class action lawsuits, and aggrieved parties with lives shattered by the junkyard-dog tactics of overzealous prosecutors and law enforcement. They weren't at congressional oversight hearings, they aren't at the press conferences, and they aren't cited in op-eds. The DOJ Inspector General hasn't found any. We've had four years of experience, and that's long enough - where are they?

So instead of talking about "the potential for abuse," as Victor Comras posted again below, I challenge Patriot Act opponents to show me the victims. Show me the real, actual, proven, damaged, victims - the dozens, scores, hundreds, or thousands - of all that Patriot Act "abuse." No more platitudes, cliches, or claims by advocacy groups, please. EDIT: Lorenzo Vidino reminds me that Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked the ACLU this year to detail the abuses, and she concluded that "And while I understand the concerns raised by the ACLU, it does not appear that these charges rose to the level of �abuse� of the Patriot Act." Makes you wonder why she is backing the filibuster, doesn't it?

UPDATE: Sen. Arlen Spector, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on the floor of the Senate this afternoon: There are no options left - the Senate either has to pass the final conference report on the Act or the 16 provisions will expire.

More on Balancing Security and Civil Liberty Protections: A Response to a Colleague

By Victor Comras

The debate over the appropriate balance between security and civil liberty protection to which I referred in my previous posting goes well beyond the Patriot Act issues still under review in Congress. It touches on broader issues that effect our system of justice, the way we defend ourselves, and the values we keep. And, there is also the question of the precedents we set for ourselves and for others. The Patriot Act is a small, but essential part, of this critical debate.

I agree with my dear colleague Andrew Cochran that the Patriot Act is complex and misunderstood. Its provisions have strengthened law enforcement's ability to protect us from terrorist attacks and to investigate terrorism-related activities and it has served us well. But, congress and the public recognized from the beginning, when the Patriot Act was first enacted, that it contained several controversial measures including expanded investigative powers unfettered by traditional controls that could cause concern. A sunset provision was attached to the act precisely for this reason. Congress is now engaged in a debate over the acts strengths and weaknesses. I believe this is a necessary and healthy debate, while Andy and some of my other colleagues apparently believe this is a debate we cannot now afford. I do not, and cannot say that the provisions of the Patriot Act have been abused. How could I know? It is the potential for abuse that raises the concern. And if this potential can be reduced without sacrificing security shouldn't this be done?

Like it or not there is a wide public perception here and abroad that the powers being exercised by our government are too intrusive and that the absence of effective oversight and control is leading to abuses. This debate is likely to intensify during the coming year and we will have to engage these public perceptions. That debate goes well beyond the Patriot Act provisions and includes the issues of rendition, acceptable interrogation techniques, secret prisons and "spying on your own citizens." Some of these measures may be acceptable some of the time -- but that decision must be subject to oversight and accountability . And our system of checks and balances has always entailed judicial and congressional oversight of executive actions.

Zarqawi's European network

By Lorenzo Vidino

The waves of arrests that have taken place throughout Europe over the last few weeks have once again showed the extent of the presence of radical Islamist networks on the Old Continent. More disturbingly, they have highlighted how Abu Musab al Zarqawi and his Iraqi-based organization have become the main engine of the jihadi machine, attracting European-based networks that had referred to �traditional� al Qaeda in the past. Most recent operations include:

England: Raids
carried out in October in Derby, Croydon and Wolverhampton uncovered a network of mostly Iraqi refugees that were recruiting for Zarqawi�s group in Iraq. According to Scotland Yard, the ten were also planning attacks inside the UK, possibly using cars packed with explosives.

Bosnia/Scandinavia: In November, Mishad Becktasivic, a Swedish citizen of Bosnian descent was arrested in Sarajevo. Authorities accuse Becktasivic, who was found in possession of bomb-making materials and a suicide vest, of running a website that recruited for Zarqawi. Following leads developed from his arrest Danish authorities arrested a group of teenagers in the Copenhagen suburb of Glostrup. Authorities believe the group was planning a suicide attack against a Western embassy in Sarajevo.

France: On December 15, French authorities arrested more than a dozen men believed to be in �indirect contact� with Zarqawi. The cell, which was in possession of a kg of TNT, was made up of North African men tied to the Algerian GSPC. Recently the GSPC publicly expressed its support for Zarqawi, de facto providing the Jordanian terror mastermind with an extensive network with dozens of cells in France and other European countries.

Belgium: After the death of Muriel Degaque, the first Western female suicide bomber, and her husband in Iraq, Belgian authorities dismantled the network that had recruited them. Also in this case the link to Zarqawi�s organization has been established. Among the individual arrested there is another Belgian convert to Islam, further evidence of a growing trend. Reportedly 30-year-old Pascal Cruypeninck attempted to convince his fiance, a young Rwandan convert, to follow Muriel Degaque�s example and carry out a suicide operation.

Spain: On Monday Spanish authorities dismantled a large cell that was recruiting volunteers for Iraq. The leader of the group, a 25-year-old Iraqi, is believed to have been �very close� to Zarqawi. Interestingly, also the Spanish cell had some converts among its members. One of them was a 47-year-old Spanish man, Jos� Antonio D.M., who reportedly financed the activities of the group. The other was a 30-year-old man from Belarus named Andrey M., a.k.a. Amin Al Ansari, an expert in chemical weapons who had received his training in Chechnya and Pakistan.

Dozens of European Muslims have participated in the �Iraqi jihad.� A few of them died in operations against US forces, but others might be coming home and their intentions are easy to imagine. Movements in the direction of Europe have already been noticed. For example, American military intelligence recently informed European authorities about the death of Mohammed al Tounsi, a top lieutenant of Zarqawi. Allegedly, al Tounsi, who was killed at the Iraqi-Syrian border, was in charge of organizing the passage from Iraq to Europe of operatives trained in suicide operations. The returnees from Iraq will inevitably team up with the already well-established networks operating in Europe. The presence of such a massive and sophisticated network spanning to almost every European country should be considered the continent�s number one security threat.

Patriot Act Facts: There is "Judicial Oversight" and No Proven "Abuse"

By Andrew Cochran

I've said in various public fora that the USA Patriot Act is the most "slandered" and most misunderstood law in America today, and that the public understands the dreaded Internal Revenue Code better that the Patriot Act. That level of misunderstanding is apparently true even of our own Victor Comras, who complains of a lack of "judicial oversight" and a perception of "abuse." First of all, as I wrote last week, there has been no proven abuse of Patriot Act powers, as reported to the Congress repeatedly by the Justice Department Inspector General. And the editors of "National Review" wrote a rebuttal to part of Victor's post even before Victor posted, so here are pertinent excerpts:

The government cannot get a search warrant without showing a judge probable cause either that a crime has been committed or that the subject of the warrant is an agent of a foreign power (such as a terrorist organization). When people are accused or wrongfully convicted, they fully maintain their rights to confrontation and appeal; but those rights come into play only after a person has been formally accused. They have always been irrelevant while the government is conducting an investigation, even of an ordinary crime. Why should things be any different in the case of a threat to national security, which is what the Patriot Act covers?...(F)ederal prosecutors have for decades been fully empowered, in investigations of run-of-the-mill crimes like gambling and minor frauds, to issue grand-jury subpoenas, which can compel all the same evidence with absolutely no court supervision. There was no widespread abuse of these tactics prior to Patriot, just as there is no record of their being abused in the four years since Patriot sensibly extended them to national-security investigations...The Justice Department has long taken the position that Section 215 orders can be appealed. The proposed Patriot Act reauthorization not only formally creates a judicial-review process allowing a judge to modify or set aside flawed Section 215 orders or NSLs, but adds other protections as well: It loosens the nondisclosure requirements to facilitate court challenges; calls for �minimization procedures� that will limit the government�s ability to retain and disseminate the intelligence collected; and provides for monitoring by an inspector general to make certain the authorities are being used properly.

The NR editors, advised on this issue by former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, wrote a comprehensive review and endorsement of the Act before the Senate vote, and I commend it to our readers and experts.

Finally, Victor's comments on the NSA intercept program, Abu Ghraib, and the Gitmo detainees are interesting but irrelevant to the Patriot Act debate, and it's certainly unfair to tar the President and the Patriot Act debate with the actions of a few idiots at Abu Ghraib.

It Really Is Necessary to Balance Security and Civil Liberty Protections in The War On Terrorism

By Victor Comras

As 2005 draws to a close, a great public debate has opened here and in Europe over the powers we have placed in our governments' hands to combat terrorism. There is a growing public perception that some of these measures are being abused and that, if left unchecked, they could have a nefarious impact on our civil liberties and rights to privacy. Revelations of renditions and secret prisons, questionable interrogation techniques, and non judicially mandated phone taps have served to heighten these concerns. The debate isn�t so much about whether certain special measures are needed to fight terrorism � of course some are needed -- it is about the appropriateness and effectiveness of the measures actually being used and about the need to subject such special measures to special oversight, control, and accountability.

My distinguished colleague and fellow expert Dennis Lormel worries below that the Senate�s hesitations over certain Patriot Act provisions sends the wrong signal to the terrorists and inhibits our ability to fight terrorism. I disagree. Current Patriot Act authorities will remain in place, in any event, with regard to on-going investigations and for new investigations linked to alleged past terrorism-related activities. That gives us sufficient leeway for a true debate on the correct balance between security, civil liberties and privacy. And why should our law enforcement officials ever fear the usual judicial oversight and accountability requirements to which they are so used to in other areas of law enforcement?

I, like a growing number of other Americans, am concerned that the lack of oversight and control, and the absence of judicial involvement and review is having an international stigmatizing effect on our efforts to deal effectively with terrorists and terrorism. President Bush maintains that such judicial oversight would place unwarranted constraints on the Executive branch's ability to safeguard Americans and that they are unnecessary. But he has not substantiated that such is the case. It is precisely because such oversight and control is lacking that we are forced to explain away questionable interrogation techniques in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and elsewhere; why questions have arisen about our practice of rendition; and why secret monitoring of American phone conversations by the NSA doesn�t merit special judicial authorization. (and what�s the downside of using the special measures envisaged by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that provide for special judicial panels for such review purposes).

The lessons of history should make us all wary of claims to unfettered executive investigative authority. Congressional and Judicial oversight has always provided us with the protections that are essential to preserving our cherished liberty. That explains the stubborn opposition in the Senate to renewing several Patriot Act provisions, and to increased public insistence in Europe that the new EU counter-terrorism measures be accompanied by adequate oversight and control procedures.

The Senate?The USA PATRIOT Act?Terrorists

By Dennis Lormel

Has the Senate succeeded? Are they on the verge of handing terrorism a victory? That may well be the case, should the Senate allow provisions of the PATRIOT Act to expire on December 31, 2005, as it appears they will. I find it absolutely appalling that the Senate cannot reach agreement to extend the PATRIOT Act. A group of Senators purport concern for civil liberties as justification. In reality, what they are stating is they do not trust law enforcement to exercise their sworn responsibility to ensure protection of civil liberties, while discharging their duties to protect innocent citizens from terrorism. The chilling message these Senators sent suggests law enforcement is a greater threat to our society then terrorists are. What�s wrong with this picture? Looking forward, should terrorists seize the opportunity to exploit the intelligence and investigative gaps created by Senate inaction, will the culpable Senators accept responsibility for their failure or will they hypocritically blame law enforcement and intelligence agencies for shortcomings? Judging by their performance, sound bites on the evening news are more important than standing up and doing the right thing. In that context, it�s hard to believe this group of Senators would act responsibly and stand up to their failure. How disappointing!

Catch them, but do not watch them!..

By Walid Phares

Spying on al Qaida in America by

Walid Phares

"Use their systems, passports, citizenship, laws, traditions, books and media, create internal divisions among them, and inflict defeat on the kuffars [infidels], for in the current balance of power, all we need to do is to use their weaknesses as our strength."

� Abul ala� - Al-Ansar chat room, September 2005.

Opening the first salvo in the newly launched "battle of the terrorist surveillance," the Associated Press wrote: "President Bush said Saturday he personally has authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. more than 30 times since the Sept. 11 attacks and he lashed out at those involved in publicly revealing the program." When I read this far in the report, I thought the article was about finding who in America is helping al-Qaeda.

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The Tamil Tigers racket Sri Lankans in Paris

By Olivier Guitta

� 70,000 Sri Lankans residing in France are subject to a �revolutionary tax� collected by the terrorist organization the Tamil Tigers to finance their guerilla war against the Colombo government.
� According to French Police, 1,000 Tigers are collecting 1 Euro � around $1.20- per day per person.
� Most pay and respect the law of the silence because of fears and threats against them or their families back home.
� In the last few years, French intelligence services estimated the Tamil Tigers collected up to 100 million Euros (about $ 120 million), then sent the loot to Swiss banks.
� Different French services confirmed this information.
� The Tamil Tigers are listed as a terrorist organization in the US, the UK and Canada but not in France or in the European Union. Sri Lankans authorities are lobbying French president Chirac to add the Tigers to the list of terrorist organizations and also ban a satellite channel broadcasting the Tigers� propaganda in France.

Al-Qaida and Iran: Friends or Foes?

By Evan Kohlmann

Recently, a number of commentators and politicians have accused the Iranian government of cooperating with Al-Qaida and helping to support its international terrorist network.  One such notable example is Congressman Curt Weldon who, on pages 94-95 of his newly-released book Countdown to Terror, drops the apparent bombshell that, "From Iran�s coordination committee, Al Qaeda has got a green light for a terrorist attack on the United States, bigger than 9/11."  The wild accusations of Weldon and others concerning Iran's supposed "cooperation" with Al-Qaida have been difficult to dispute, especially at a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in the midst of a personal public crusade against Jews and the Holocaust.

Needless to say, the recent poisoned banter between Iran and the United States over Israel and WMDs is really nothing new, and begs to be treated largely as political posturing--especially at a time when Ahmadinejad is increasingly desperate to prove himself on the world stage to an ocean of critics back home.  Moreover, even if relations between Iran and the United States were to eventually devolve into violence, Iran is a *vastly* different adversary than Al-Qaida--and these two conflicting poles of radical Islam should not be confused or lumped together.  In April 1995, the Arabic-language publication Nashrat al-Ansar published an interview with Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) leader Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri--who by then had already assumed the position of top deputy to Usama Bin Laden.  Excerpts from the interview as follows:

[Nashrat al-Ansar]: "The media persistently claims that the Islamic movements receive support and guidance from Iran.  In this same context, the Egyptian media alleges that the Egyptian organizations are tools of the Shiites.  What is your opinion?� 

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U.S. Treasury Department Announces Final Correspondent Banking Regs

By Andrew Cochran

Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has finalized the rules for correspondent banking accounts, in accordance with Section 312 of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act. In February 2001, a Senate subcommittee released a landmark investigative report (Acrobat file) on the abuse of correspondent banking accounts, stating, "U.S. banks, through the correspondent accounts they provide to foreign banks, have become conduits for dirty money flowing into the American financial system and have, as a result, facilitated illicit enterprises, including drug trafficking and financial frauds." The final rules require U.S. financial institutions to establish risk-based procedures to assess the money laundering risks posed by these accounts, including a periodic review of the activity. The rules also require U.S. financial institutions to closely scrutinize accounts held by "senior foreign political officials," their family members, and close associates. Those types of accounts were at the heart of the Riggs Bank scandal, which resulted in a major fine for lack of anti-money laundering controls and the forced sale of Washington's oldest bank.

The final rules differ from the interim in force since 2002, in that the final rules do not explictly exclude certain foreign banks operating under an offshore banking license as a branch of a U.S. bank. That change will increase compliance costs at major banks over those resulting from the interim rule, but a general risk-based rule is more equitable and easier to enforce. You can read a fact sheet on the new regs from the FinCEN website (Acrobat file). The final rules will be issued in January 2006.

This announcement ends a long, complicated, and politically sensitive process over the past four years. I reported and commented on the process here and here (and in other posts), and Victor Comras commented here. The Treasury Department, particularly the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, Stuart Levey and FinCEN Director Bill Fox, deserve kudos for finally completing the final rules.

Al-Qaida Identifies Suicide Bomber in Iraq as Saudi Trained in Afghanistan, Chechnya

By Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq (led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi) has released a new edition of its "Distinguished Martyrs" series commemorating a Saudi Arabian Al-Qaida operative known as "Saif al-Ummah"--the veteran of mujahideen combat tours in both Afghanistan and Chechnya--who carried out a Feb. 10, 2004 truck bomb attack on an Iraqi police station south of Baghdad in Iskandiriya that killed nearly 60 people.  According to Al-Qaida, Saif al-Ummah "was impressed by the sheer extent of the havoc successfully inflicted on the enemy through martyrdom operations" and concluded, "'the success of our martyrdom operations resonates across the world.  The whole world hears the echoes of these attacks, and no one is capable of escaping their far-reaching ripples.  These operations have overwhelmed our enemy in Iraq.'"

Researchers interested in the Arab-Afghan network of the Caucasus should particularly note Saif al-Ummah's reported cameo appearance in the notorious Arab-Afghan mujahideen propaganda video "Russian Hell in Chechnya 2000", which also includes footage of Saudi Al-Qaida operatives executing wounded Russian prisoners.  This example certainly brings to mind French counterterrorism magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere's description of the conflict in Chechnya as a virtual "aircraft carrier" for launching terrorist cells into Europe and the Middle East.  Saif al-Ummah is at least the second senior Saudi Arabian mujahideen commander from Chechnya known to have met his doom fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.  Unfortunately for those who are working towards a new democracy in Baghdad, Iraq has long since won the dubious distinction of becoming the latest stop in Al-Qaida's global jihad safari.

Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

Iraq and Drugs - Opening A New Front in War on Terror

By Robert Charles

Iraq and Drugs: Opening a New Front ... Insurgents on Drugs?
Odd? Maybe. Predictable? Probably. Worrisome? Definitely. Word is trickling back from Iraq, through official and unofficial channels, that �opiates� (likely of Afghan origin) may be showing up in dead Iraqi insurgents. Five questions flow from that trickle.

First, is it true? Is there a possibility that, consistent with anecdotal reports of heroin and methamphetamines being discovered more often (especially in the southern Iraqis cites of Basrah and Najaf), insurgents are getting a dose of mind-numbing from heroin prior to suicide attacks? There are ways to find out. First, add that question to standing and future interrogations. Second, do basic testing where possible on remains. Third, do a drug test on those apprehended within a short period of apprehension, as we often do after arrest in this country. What we might discover would be worth the outlay in time.

Second question: If insurgents are getting �juiced� to commit horrific, suicidal acts � largely condemned by the Koran � what would adherents to so-called Radical Islam make of that? What would fence-sitters who count themselves Islamic fundamentalists say? Is that even vaguely Islamic? The word should spread, if these reports are true.

Third question: Where is the heroin coming from, if it is heroin or a similar potent opiate? One guess.

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We Regret the Loss of Service Due to Typepad's Technical Problems

By Andrew Cochran

We regret the loss of service; all Typepad blogs suffered from technical problems, beginning just after midnight Eastern time. We have resumed full operations.

Iraqi elections usher in democracy over there, but nag us here (again) about dual-citizenship?

By Bill West

The celebration of newly established democracy in Iraq with their national (some might call them international) elections is certainly a good thing. We can all hope this new democracy succeeds and we can all hope the cost in US lives and money was worth it. At least the election process itself initially appears to have been a success.

As reported in yesterday�s Washington Times, Iraqis within the United States were able to vote in seven sites around the country. As noted in that report, even Iraqis who are now US citizens, who meet certain other conditions, were allowed to vote. This report prompted me to resurface an article I wrote for FrontPage magazine this past February during the last Iraqi national elections when this issue first presented itself. While perhaps relatively small compared to the larger importance of new democracy in the Arab world, the issue of dual or multiple loyalties among some American citizens and how those loyalties are exhibited, especially during a time when we are at war with radical Islamic terrorists, may be something worthy of further review and analysis.

New Osama Bin Laden Video Reportedly Released (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

IntelCenter, one of the groups which searches for and translates terrorists' videos, is announcing the reported release of a new Osama Bin Laden video, which would be the first such sighting in over a year. The problem is that no reliable media source has the video as of this posting. Evan Kohlmann told me that there has been no prior announcement by Al Qaeda of the release of this video, as has been Al Qaeda's standard practice. (UPDATE at 4:45 pm ET: Anonymous U.S. counterterrorism official says U.S. authorities are viewing it skeptically. UPDATE 5:40 pn ET: "A CIA official told ABC News the report was seen this morning, but have no idea if it is credible. He said nobody in the U.S. intelligence community has seen the tape.") With IntelCenter's permission (which I appreciate), I am reprinting the entire text of their e-mail release on the video, as follows:

A new video has reportedly been released showing Osama bin Laden sitting with Taliban Commander Mullah Dadollah. The video was obtained by the Pajhwok news agency in Kandahar Province on 13 Dec. On the video, which is at least 30 minutes long, Dadollah is seen sitting next to Osama bin Laden. A masked fighter is also present who translates Dadollah's comments into Arabic. On the video Dadollah speaks for about 30 minutes. Osama bin Laden also speaks but it is unclear for how long. The video also reportedly shows operational footage from Afghanistan.

On the video Dadollah says, "We have unwavering faith in God. Now that we have acquired new weapons, we will defeat the enemy the way we defeated the Russians." He adds, "Only Muslims have the courage to carry out suicide attacks. Infidels neither have the ability nor the courage to stop this. Our young people are ready to sacrifice their lives to establish a divine order." He says their fighters have executed suicide attacks in Kandahar, Jalalabad, Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, Herat and Khost.

Osama bin Laden reportedly calls on Muslims to wage jihad and says they will continue fighting until they achieve their objectives. He says the objectives are to establish an Islamic order in the world, eliminate injustice and liberate occupied Islamic land. He calls on the Muslim youth to launch suicide attacks.

IntelCenter has not yet obtained the video and is working to do so. However, based upon our initial analysis of the video description by the Pajhwok news agency, IntelCenter is working under the assumption that the video exists and is new. Final confirmation can only be provided once we obtain the actual video itself.

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One of France's main Counter Terrorism experts tells it all

By Olivier Guitta

In a rare interview given to the French daily Le Monde on November 25, Renseignements Generaux [special branch of the French police dealing with domestic terrorism, Radical Islam...] Director, Pascal Mailhos, focused on Counter terrorism.
Since only one or two sentences of this interview has been picked up by news agencies and US media, I provide here the full translation (mine) of this very important interview.

Le Monde: This year, several Islamist militants who were condemned in the 1990s were released from jail. Does that worry you?
RG Director: The release from prison of these militants obviously tremendously preoccupies all the intelligence services. About ten individuals, condemned for the 1995-1996 terrorist attacks or the network dismantled before the 1998 soccer World cup, are now free. Some immediately left France, because of the territory ban included in their jail sentence. Others went back to their [Islamist] activities.

So, prison rather reinforced their convictions...
It is there, in detention, that a minority of Islamist activists, about a hundred prisoners, bonds with other hardcore outlaws, who discover or go back to religion, in its most fundamental aspect. We witnessed the effects of this through a strong proselytism and acts of provocation: prayers during walk out time, deteriorations of bibles in the libraries or of the fir trees at Christmas time. The example of Saf� Bourada, released from prison in February 2003 and leader of a cell dismantled just a few weeks ago, is telling.

Which concrete advantages brings you the antiterrorist bill currently under discussion in the French National Assembly [the bill just passed], which in particular plans for the criminalization and the lengthening of sentences for criminal conspiracy if it aims at killing?
This text gives us a range of essential tools to counter the terrorists, who are borders-free, travel constantly and heavily use the modern means of communication. I have four aspects in mind: video surveillance, travel monitoring thanks to the air traffic data, telephone data and Internet browsing and, finally, an easier access to the files of the Interior ministry.

Which files are you talking about?
Until now, to check information in the driver�s licenses, passports or foreigners files, our civil servants either had to go around it, through other police force services, or had to go through administrative services like city halls. It was a heavy, time-consuming and unreliable administrative process. However, very often, as was revealed in the London attacks investigation, the passage to violence occurs in a brutal way. It is unthinkable for us to be one step behind our enemies. That is why this access will be invaluable, while preserving personal freedoms: the civil servants for instance need a personal authorization and each of their requests will be traced.

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"USA Today" Story on Meth: More Support for PATRIOT Act Passage

By Andrew Cochran

On December 13, I posted my support of a provision in revised PATRIOT Act which raises penalties for meth possession. Today's "USA Today" cover story, "Meth addicts' other habit: Online theft," includes details about the use of meth profits for criminal enterprises, buttressing my point. "Internet Relay Chat channels, private areas on the Internet where real-time text messaging takes place, are rife with communications between organized cybercrime groups and meth users and traffickers discussing how they can assist each other." As I said two days ago, that type of criminal enterprise is exactly what terrorists use to finance their operations, and the PATRIOT Act is an appropriate vehicle within which to implement measures to prevent terrorists from taking advantage of any "hot" means of generating cash. In the past and present, they've used baby formula, coupon fraud, and cigarette smuggling - today and tomorrow, it's meth production and sales. And anybody who thinks they won't try (or haven't already tried) doesn't know anything about terrorists.

Bipartisan Support For Taylor Standing Trial Conveyed to Liberia's President Elect

By Douglas Farah

A bipartisan group of Congressional leaders has requested that the Bush administration make it clear to Liberia's president-elect, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, that Taylor's extradition to stand trial for crimes against humanity of of uttmost importance to the United States.

The group was led by Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif, and long-time leader on this issue. He was joined by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and others in the demand that the new government in Liberia, already reeling from riots, inhertited graft, abject poverty and countless other problems, make getting Taylor out of the picture an absolute priority. And rightly so. As long as he remains undeterred, and has access to his cash and international criminal and terrorist ties, not only will Liberia not rest easy, but West Africa and the interests of U.S. and Europe remain in danger. Given Nigeria's unwillingness to turn him over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and, even more worrisome, to exercise no control over his activities or financial transactions, getting him to trial is even more important.

The letter to Secretary of State Rice said in part that, "On the occasion of Liberian President-Elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's visit to Washington, we write to respectfully request that you make the status of former Liberian President Charles Taylor a paramount concern of the United States in your conversations with the President-Elect...The treatment of Taylor is a matter of security and justice for the West African people."

"Mr. Taylor must be held accountable. Achieving this end will require decisive and quick action by President-Elect Johnson-Sirleaf, backed by the United States. While some will argue that the 'timing is not right,' we believe that the present situation provides a unique window of opportunity. Delay only works to Mr. Taylor's advantage. The time for action is now."

While it is heartening to see such a broad swath of Congress, from conservatives to liberals, agree on this issue, it remains to be seen whether the Bush administration is willing to press for resolution. In the past, mixed messges from different parts of the diplomatic and intelligence communities, including mixed messages at from very senior people in different offices, have given Nigerian president Obasanjo the impression, and perhaps it is correct, that the Bush administration is still indifferent to the fate of Taylor. In contrast Congress, so often unwilling or unable to exercise oversight on matters of foreign affairs, has done a remarkable job of sending a consistent message and pursuing the issue of Taylor's extradition. If the executive branch had shown half the willingness to press the issue as Mssrs. Royce, Wolf, Obama and others, the issue would have been resolved long ago.

Prince Alwaleed's Georgetown Donation: A Sign of the Expanding Saudi PR Machine

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal recently garnered attention by donating $20 million each to Georgetown and Harvard to promote the study of Islam and the Muslim world.  Georgetown officials told the Washington Post that the gift is the second largest that the school ever received.  The money will be used to expand the activities of Georgetown's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU), which will be renamed the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

Although Prince Alwaleed was previously best known for having a $10 million donation that he made in the wake of 9/11 refused by Mayor Giuliani after Alwaleed issued a statement linking 9/11 to U.S. support for Israel, Prince Alwaleed has more carefully tended to his public image since then.

This donation occurs in the context of what is clearly an effort to expand the Saudi PR machine in the United States.  Prince Alwaleed stands at the center of much of this effort.  I previously wrote about how some observers were concerned that Fox's coverage of the war on terror could change after Prince Alwaleed became the fourth largest voting shareholder in the News Corporation, which owns the Fox News Network.  Middle East Online reports that Prince Alwaleed has already boasted about changing Fox's coverage in at least one instance:

He said that during last month's street protests in France, the US television network Fox -- owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in which Al-Walid himself has shares -- ran a banner saying: "Muslim riots."

"I picked up the phone and called Murdoch . . . (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty," he said.

"Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots."

There are other signs of the Saudi PR machine gearing up.  Qorvis Communications has expanded and made some significant personnel additions in recent months.  There are slick ads for Saudi Arabia in such glossy magazines as The New Republic.  Interestingly, the December 12 cover story by Spencer Ackerman explaining why Islam in the United States is moderate is sandwiched around a 6-page special advertising section paid for by the Saudi Arabian embassy.  And the donation to Georgetown will serve more of a PR function than most people probably realize at first glance.  John Esposito, CMCU's director, has for years been one of the U.S.'s foremost apologists for radical Islam, and he's already stated that a large part of Prince Alwaleed's donation "will be used to beef up the think tank part of what the center does."  Esposito's explanation of the "think tank part" of the Center shows that he has a heavy PR component in mind:

Up to now, he said, the center has not had enough resources "to respond to the tremendous demand that is out there, from the government, church and religious groups, the media and corporations to address and answer issues like, 'What is the actual relationship between the West and the Muslim world?  Is Islam compatible with modernization?'  Now we can run workshops and conferences [on these subjects] both here and overseas."

The Freedom House released a report entitled "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques" (which I blogged about here) earlier this year.  This study has garnered enormous attention.  The true test of the beefed-up Saudi PR machine will come the next time someone releases a report exposing the effect that the Saudis have had on Islam's development in the United States and throughout the world.

The Bottom Line?The USA PATRIOT Act Saves Lives

By Dennis Lormel

As a former senior executive of the FBI, responsible for terrorist financing, the investigative initiatives I oversaw were direct beneficiaries of the USA PATRIOT Act. Make no mistake about it; the PATRIOT Act facilitates investigative success. The ultimate beneficiaries of such success are the American people. Why is it that certain members of the House and Senate choose to overlook this basic fact? After all, isn�t ensuring our safety and security a paramount responsibility of our elected officials? It�s disheartening that select legislators continuously cast skepticism toward the integrity of the FBI, CIA and other agencies in respecting our civil liberties in deference to the desire of terrorists, who seek to exploit our very freedom by attempting to conduct heinous acts of terrorism against us. One can only hope that our representatives will set aside their seeming parochial agenda for the greater good and vote in favor of the PATRIOT ACT

Interview with Top GSPC Commander in Algeria

By Evan Kohlmann

The Algerian Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC)--a known Al-Qaida-affiliate group active in North Africa--has released a recent interview with the GSPC's top commander Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud.  During the interview, Wadoud declared, "we congratulate all the beloved courageous brothers from Al-Qaida�s Committee in Mesopotamia along with their commander Abu Musab al-Zarqawi�  May Allah protect the prodigal mujahideen in Iraq and around the world�especially our commander Abu Abdallah Usama Bin Laden.�  Separately, the GSPC has also announced the death of "Abu Ubaidah", a veteran Algerian mujahideen commander who died of natural causes at age 70.   
:
Click to view translations c/o Globalterroralert.com
- Interview with GSPC leader Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud
- GSPC biography of former commander "Abu Ubaidah"

Deportation of MWL Director Proves Importance of Immigration Enforcement in Terrorism Fight

By Michael Cutler

I came across this article in today's Washington Times, which clearly shows how critical the enforcement of immigration laws can be to the "War on Terror." I find it interesting and perhaps a bit flattering that a spokesperson for ICE has resorted to using an expression I have stressed for quite some time, "...the need to restore integrity to the nation's immigration system." Now if only our nation would take that concept really seriously.

The President has consistently repeated the mantra that we are fighting the terrorists in the Middle East so that we will not have to fight them over here. According to this article and many, many other like it, we are fighting them here. Thankfully we have not engaged in violent confrontations with them within our borders since the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, but make no mistake, the terrorists are indeed operating within our borders. They are engaging in fund raising, which includes criminal activities that range from the sale of narcotics, to the commission of mail fraud and identity theft to all sorts of criminal activities to fund the activities and objectives of terrorist organizations. They are also using supposedly legitimate activities to conceal fund raising for terrorist organizations. Charitable organizations have been another favorer method of raising money to enable them to carry out terrorist operations. Terrorists and their cohorts are, no doubt, engaged in conducting surveillances within our country as well, to be prepared for the next attack they may well attempt to carry out here.

The arrest of the two individuals that are detailed in the Washington Times article makes it clear how useful the enforcement of immigration laws can be to thwarting these heinous activities. Immigration law enforcement can be thought of as taking two forms. Administrative law enforcement for which the ultimate goal of the effort is the removal of an alien from the United States and the criminal component of immigration law enforcement which has as its goal, the criminal conviction of an individual who is guilty of violating immigration laws. Often when aliens are convicted of violating criminal statutes they may well be sentenced to serve jail time and then face removal from the United States upon the completion of their criminal sentence. This dual perspective can enable our law enforcement officials to remove aliens from our nation who are a threat to our security and well being.

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Cigarette Smuggling & Meth Possession Provisions Certainly Belong in USA PATRIOT Act

By Andrew Cochran

Yesterday, Declan McCullough, a highly respected expert on the tech industry, criticized provisions in the PATRIOT Act conference report which would increase federal prosecutions for cigarette smuggling and increase penalties for possession of methamphetamine. He termed those and several other provisions "bizarre." Actually, cigarette smuggling and meth possession have a lot to do with terrorist methods, and the provisions addressing them certainly belong in the PATRIOT Act conference report.

Smuggling of various commodities, including cigarettes, has been an important means of terrorist funding around the world, as testified to before a Senate committee this summer by former Contributing Expert Matthew Levitt, now a senior official in the U.S. Treasury Department. One of the most important terrrorism prosecutions ever in the U.S. occurred in Charlotte, NC, over a Hezbollah interstate smuggling ring. Quoting from Matthew's Senate testimony:

In June 2002, the Hamoud brothers were convicted of a variety of charges including funding the activities of Hezbollah from the proceeds of an interstate cigarette smuggling ring. Seven other defendants pled guilty to a variety of charges stemming from this case, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, cigarette smuggling, money laundering and immigration violations.47 Mohammed Hassan Dbouk and his brother-in-law, Ali Adham Amhaz, ran the Canadian portion of this network under the command of Haj Hasan Hilu Laqis (Hezbollah's chief military procurement officer).

As testified to at that hearing and elsewhere, terrorists are involved in smuggling anything that makes money, including drugs such as pseudoepedrine and meth. A story today in the Venezuelan press reports the destruction of a huge cocaine lab in Columbia jointly operated by the FARC and AUC terrorist groups. As a former Administrator of the DEA testified in 2002,

Terrorism and drug trafficking organizations are often linked in a mutually beneficial relationship by money, geography, and tactical lawlessness. Drug trafficking provides terrorists with a steady revenue source to finance their operations. Twelve of the 28 organizations the Department of State has identified as "foreign terrorist organizations" have benefited from the illegal drug trade, including the Al Qaeda, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Lebanon-based Hizballah.

Considering the near-epidemic of meth addiction in parts of the U.S., a provision increasing penalties for possession is relevant to the PATRIOT Act in order to stop terrorist funding.

U.S. House Should Pass Border Protection Act

By Michael Cutler

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. Here is a link to the act from the House Rules Committee website (Acrobat file). I hope that it passes. While admittedly it does not deal with all of the issues that need to be dealt with to secure our nation against illegal immigration and vulnerabilities in the immigration system that will still remain, this legislation represents a very good first step in the right direction.

According to the Minority Counsel for the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, the Ranking Democrat of that subcommittee, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, proposed an amendment to that act that would create a task force to deal with fraudulent documents. The counsel further informed me that Rep. Jackson Lee was motivated to add that amendment by a GAO report on the fraudulent documents and by testimony that I provided at a couple of hearings at which I testified before that subcommittee. I was invited to testify at one of those hearings by Rep. Jackson Lee and by Rep. John Hostettler, the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, as well as by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee at another hearing. The bipartisan cooperation displayed by these leaders from both sides of the political aisle is extremely encouraging. This is as it should be. The security of our nation should be the goal of both politcal parties. The amendment, has been included in the Act to be voted on and is listed as Section 210 of the proposed legislation. I have included the text of that amendment below.

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Congress Continues to Voice Concern Over Saudi Oversight of Charities

By Andrew Cochran

Rep. Sue Kelly, who chairs the oversight subcommittee on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and a special congressional task force on terrorist financing, wrote last week to President Bush with her continuing concerns over the oversight exercised by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over charities operating within and beyond Saudi Arabia. She raised instances of possible terrorist financing through accounts at Saudi banks (see my post on a pitch on Saudi TV for aid to suicide bombers' families) and through charities, despite governmental assurances of new controls. This letter follows and complements the November 8 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the role of Saudi Arabia in the dissemination of anti-American and anti-Semitic propaganda. I've been told that at least one senior Member of Congress will use the specifics in Rep. Kelly's letter during upcoming discussions with the Saudi government. You can see Rep. Kelly's letter to the President below (large Acrobat file) - the first time that this letter has been published in full.
Download saudi_letter_to_gwb.pdf

P.S. The Treasury Department still hasn't released final regulations mandated four years ago under Section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act to govern correspondent banking. I was privately told by senior Treasury officials two months ago that they would be released "very, very soon." It's safe to assume that political pressure on the Bush Administration by financial institutions and/or a select group of countries is responsible for the continued delays.

Showdown Coming on USA PATRIOT Act and Expiration Is a Victory for Terrorists

By Andrew Cochran

Sixteen provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act expire at the end of this month, and Congress has been debating, drafting, and voting on the future of the provisions for months. The two top Republican lawmakers, Rep. James Sensenbrenner and Sen. Arlen Specter, have agreed to a conference report, and the House will vote on the measure on Wednesday. Here are highlights in the report from the House Judiciary Committee website, where you can see the text of the report and more highlights:

� Permanently tears down �the wall� that had prevented information sharing between law enforcement and the intelligence community
� Makes permanent 14 of the 16 expiring PATRIOT Act provisions
� Places a 4-year sunset on Sections 206 and 215 of PATRIOT Act and the �lone wolf�
terrorist provision
� Expands and make permanent the law prohibiting material support to terrorists
� Enhances penalties for attacks against railroad and mass transit
� Makes certain air piracy crimes subject to the death penalty
� Establishes a judicial review process for a search of records under Section 215 that authorizes the judge to set aside, modify, or affirm a search order that has been challenged

Although the House has made dozens of changes in its draft to move towards the Senate (i.e., the 4-year sunset on controversial sections), a number of Republican Senators and Sen. Leahy, the leading Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, have threatened a filibuster, which could lead to expiration of the all 16 provisions.

We can't risk sending a message of retreat and defeat to the terrorists or to our allies by resurrecting the "wall" between intel and law enforcement and reducing the tools which have been available to law enforcement for 4 years. I don't pretend that the compromise is perfect, and Congress can and should continue its oversight of the actual results. But to date, the Inspector General of the Justice Department has reported no abuses of the Act; indeed, FBI agents are compaining that DOJ supervisors don't allow them to fully employ the Act. The time for final action is here, and Congress needs to pass the conference report on the USA PATRIOT Act.

Al-Qaida Celebrates Oct. 2005 Hotel Bombings in Iraq as the "Battle of Badr al-Baghdad"

By Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq (led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi) has released new documents and a video recording commemorating the October 24, 2005 suicide car bombings in Baghdad targeting the Sheraton Ishtar and Meridian Palestine Hotels--an attack known by Al-Qaida as "the Battle of Badr al-Baghdad."   According to Al-Qaida, "Shaykh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi�s guidance... played a pivotal role in the successful execution of this attack. The Shaykh laid out explicit orders saying that we must execute an attack aimed at shaking the ground beneath the feet of our enemies�an attack that would leave him exhausted and confused... He was insistent about continuing the wave of spectacular operations." 

Al-Qaida also claimed that one of the suicide bombers responsible for the Oct. 2005 Baghdad hotel attack--Abu Naim al-Najdi (apparently from Saudi Arabia)--was encouraged on his mission by certain religious "visions" that he was experiencing:

"Abu Naim [al-Najdi]�the first martyr�envisioned himself leaving his house, with his sister asking, �Where are you going.�  [In his vision, Abu Naim] replied, �I�m going to teach America a lesson that it will never forget.�  He then boarded an airplane and when he observed the World Trade Center, he said to himself [in his vision], �I will crash this plane straight into the White House.�"

Needless to say, the consequences of pairing up a ruthless Al-Qaida commander like Zarqawi--who "insists" upon "spectacular operations" aimed at "shaking the ground beneath the feet of the infidels"--with equally fanatical footsoldiers who longingly dream of the day when they will have a chance to plow a commercial airliner into the White House are terrifying indeed.

Click to view documents c/o Globalterroralert.com:
- Al-Qaida's "Battle Series": The "Badr al-Baghdad" Battle
- Al-Qaida video of the "Badr al-Baghdad" Battle

Dallas Morning News: "Extremists Among Us?"

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

I have an essay in today's Dallas Morning News that discusses the anti-terror campaign that the Muslim American Society launched this summer.  (See my original blog post on the subject here.)  The essay warns that the pleasing rhetoric offered by Muslim groups after Islamic terror attacks cannot always be taken at face value.  An excerpt:

Unfortunately, a look beneath MAS' current rhetoric into the organization's connections, teachings and prior public statements reveals that extremists founded MAS and that, despite efforts to clean up its public image, the core of its teachings remains unchanged.

A 2004 Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that, after a contentious debate, U.S. leaders of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood decided in 1993 to begin calling themselves the Muslim American Society.  The Muslim Brotherhood is an international Islamist group that largely operates underground.  The Brotherhood's goal is to spread the rule of Islamic law throughout the world.  Key Muslim Brotherhood ideologues, including founder Hassan al-Banna, have endorsed violence as a means of doing so.

Today, MAS' leaders admit that the group was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood, but claim that MAS has evolved since then.  For example, former MAS Secretary General Shaker Elsayed told the Tribune, "Ikhwan [Brotherhood] members founded MAS, but MAS went way beyond that point of conception."  If true, perhaps MAS could help counter extremism, despite its radical origins.

However, the available evidence suggests that MAS has not moved away from the Brotherhood's extremist principles.  MAS has an internal educational curriculum consisting of literature that Muslims must read in order to advance to a higher membership class � a syllabus that gives the group's game away.

Read the whole essay here.  Mahdi Bray, executive director of MAS's Freedom Foundation, was given the opportunity to write a response to my piece, but declined.  Instead, the Dallas Morning News ran my piece alongside a counterpoint by Spencer Ackerman, which is a shorter version of his recent New Republic cover story on Islam in America that has garnered considerable attention.  Ackerman's Dallas Morning News piece can be read here.

UPDATE, DECEMBER 20, 2005:  Mahdi Bray finally wrote a response that ran in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday, December 18.

Tampa PIJ (Mis)Trial

By Bill West

As virtually all readers of this Blog know by now, the federal trial jury in Tampa, Florida last week stunningly returned not guilty verdicts on nearly half the counts against Sami Al-Arian, fully acquitted two of his co-defendants and acquitted another of his co-defendants, Hatem Fariz, on most of the counts against him. The remaining counts were deadlocked. In post-trial jury interviews, it appears most jurors wanted to acquit on all but one count, with only two or three jurors holding out for conviction and that resulted in the deadlock and mistrial.

The one count where there was a near-conviction, according to at least one juror interview, was the naturalization fraud charge wherein Al-Arian was accused of lying on his naturalization petition about his affiliation with his alleged Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) front �think-tank� the World Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE) and other organizations. On that count, it seems there was a ten to two juror split to convict. Ironically, that charge was the original violation that spawned the initial criminal investigation against Al-Arian more than a decade ago.

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MSNBC: "Trail of Terror: The Jihad in Iraq"

By Evan Kohlmann

On Sunday, December 11 at 9pm EST, MSNBC will be premiering a new documentary by NBC's Lisa Myers, "Trail of Terror: The Jihad in Iraq."  The documentary focuses on foreign fighters who have joined the Iraqi jihad from as far away as Western Europe--and includes some pretty incredible first-hand narratives.  I had the pleasure of working with producer Steve McCarthy on this project, and for those interested in the documentary, his "Trail of Terror" MSNBC blog provides a worthy prologue.

"They told us their story. They watched the U.S. invasion of Iraq on TV and heard the call for help from their Iraqi brothers. The four, all in their early 20s, decided to go to Iraq.  They hired a driver to take them to the Syrian border. Once there they persuaded the driver to abandon his car and come with them.  They took a bus across Syria to the Iraqi border and then ran across the border.  They claimed Syrian soldiers fired their weapons in the air to stop them. Once in Iraq they say they were greeted by some Iraqi people and jeered at by others.  Eventually they made their way to Baghdad, then Al Kut and finally Mosul.  They were given old weapons.  Before they could even fire a shot, however, they were strafed by U.S. airplanes and received minor wounds.  They were then captured by Kurdish forces and sold to American soldiers for, they claim, $100 a piece."

Part I: "'The Boys from Berkayel'" (Lebanon)
Part II: "Inside Syria"
Part III: "Paris to Iraq"

Al-Qaida in Iraq's "Distinguished Martyrs" Series

By Evan Kohlmann

Rather than allow us to squabble needlessly over the importance and origins of slain Al-Qaida terrorist operatives in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's media representatives have begun issuing "official" biographies of such men, featuring detailed personal narratives.  The eulogized "martyrs" include the following: (English translations provided by Globalterroralert.com)

• "Abu Harira al-Hijazi": A foreign-born suicide bomber from the Hijaz region (in western Saudi Arabia and Yemen) who insisted to his Al-Qaida commanders, "I want to launch a martyrdom operation against the apostates.  I don�t want to launch one against the Americans.  Indeed, there are those who would like to see an operation carried out against the Americans, but it is the apostates who are the true scum.  I have a priority and I cannot help but notice how others are refraining from seeking revenge on the apostates."
• "Abu Umair al-Suri al-Halabi": A foreign-born suicide bomber from "Greater Syria" (i.e. Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories) who was part of a devastating twin suicide attack on "the headquarters of the Polish forces in the city of Karbala" with another Kuwaiti Al-Qaida operative.
• "Al-Hajji" Thamer Mubarak Atrous: A former Iraqi military officer who abandoned the Baath Party and became one of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's top terrorist operatives, judged "directly responsible�serving as deputy commander�for carrying out two of the greatest operations that were launched in Iraq": "the killing of the enemy of Allah, servant of the Jews, and leader of the infidels, Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, [and] the first attack against the United Nations headquarters that wiped out many infidel leaders, including their top leader Sergio de Mello." Al-Hajji Thamer's sister, Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, was the failed female Al-Qaida suicide bomber who targeted the Radisson Hotel in Amman, Jordan on Nov. 9, 2005.
• "Abu Hamza al-Urdani" (a.k.a. Nidal Mohammed Arabiyat): A hardened Jordanian Al-Qaida operative trained in Afghanistan as an expert in the manufacture of VBIEDs (car bombs) who "played a role in most of the martyrdom operations that were carried out [in Iraq] prior to his death", including "but not limited to�the killing of [Mohammed Bakr] al-Hakim, as well as the killing of [Sergio] De Mello from the United Nations... the attacks against the Italian forces, and the assaults on the al-Shahin Hotel and the Nabil restaurant."

Tim Spicer, Aegis and Iraq

By Douglas Farah

Well, it looks like Aegis, the company run by British mercenary and profiteer Tim Spicer, who managed to get a $293 million U.S. government contract in Iraq, has run into a spot of trouble. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. military has opened an investigation into whether Aegis employees, responsible for providing close personal protection for diplomats in Iraq, opened fire on civilian vehicles. Videos of the shootings first surfaced on a website maintained by former employees of Agis, and contained a message from Spicer reminding his collegues that their livelihood depends on them maintaining their contract.

Spicer is not an unknown commodity and has a long history of involvement with rogue armed groups. Here is what I have written about him before, along with links to other stories, but here is a brief recap:

One of Spicer's main business partners in the 1990s was Anthony Buckingham, and oil entrepreur with interests in Africa. Together they founded Executive Outcomes, a forerunner of Sandline (see above). One of Buckingham's interests in Africa was Branch Energy in Kenya. On the board of directors of Branch Energy was Sanjivan Ruprah, international arms dealer and frequent partner of Viktor Bout. As Ray O'Hanlon wrote in the the Sept. 29, 2004 issue of Irish Echo, "there is only one degree of separation between Ruprah and Tim Spicer, Buckingham being the connecting dot. This is not to suggest a direct link between Ruprah and Spicer, but suffice it to say, all these individuals have been swimming in the same opaque sea."

Spicer formed Aegis to operate in Iraq. Somehow, despite his open affiliation with a failed, illegal military expedition for which he was to be $36 million (Papua New Guinea) and various mercenary operations in Africa that offered military services in exchange for the right to diamond fields (Sandline, Branch Energy), he not only passed muster, he got a three-year contract at almost $100 million, cost-plus, a year to do his work.

His reviews have not been good. Go here for full blog.

An Al Qaeda big fish threatens France

By Olivier Guitta

The Syrian Abu Musab Al-Siri, one of the main Al Qaeda operatives in Europe, was arrested on October 31 in Quetta, Pakistan. The man left a spiritual will in the form of a one-hour video recorded right after the attacks on London on July 7 and broadcasted on Islamist websites. The DST (French equivalent to the FBI) immediately translated the speech.
"It is our legitimate right to strike France because we are at war with this country. I call all the mujahidins of Syria, of Lebanon, of the Levant and beyond to strike (its) heart and its interests wherever they are." He also invites "the mujahidins (...) to act quickly and take actions against Great Britain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Australia, Russia and France or counters their interests in the Moslem countries and everywhere else". Beyond, the terrorists must "take actions against all the countries which are present militarily in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Arab peninsula". He also invites "all the sleeper cells to awake because the war has reached its climax and the enemy is about to waver". "One should not be deceived by the French trading positions with regard to the Palestinian cause and Iraq".
To attack France is "legitimate" since it started "to interfere with the businesses of Syria and Lebanon" and that it took part in the drafting of the UN resolution 1559 "which constitutes a prelude to the invasion of these two countries". The text then evokes the nine "reasons which legitimate the action" against Paris: attempt to impose "an embargo on Syria with the UN�s help, America and Great Britain", will "to disarm all those which want to resist Israel", "strong support to the Jews for a long time" and supply of the atomic weapon "to the Zionist State ", putting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the list of terrorist organizations, occupation of "certain Moslem countries in Africa", participation "in the genocide against the Moslems of Bosnia", sending troops in Afghanistan, membership of NATO and finally decision to prohibit "the wearing of the hijab for Moslem women in France".

Zarqawi's Anti-Election Pamphlets Hint at Growing Tensions with Mainstream Sunni Iraqis

By Evan Kohlmann

I have obtained copies of pamphlets allegedly being distributed by Al-Qaida's Committee in Iraq--led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--strenuously urging Iraqi Sunnis to abstain from participation in the upcoming national elections scheduled for December 15.  The pamphlets reflect a surprising degree of hysteria on the part of Al-Qaida and growing bitterness towards moderate Sunnis that is not nearly as evident in Zarqawi's other recent publications and communiques.  In one such pamphlet, Al-Qaida propagandists angrily point to the large numbers of Iraqis--including Sunnis--who have participated in either last January's national election or the October 15 constitutional referendum and demand of the Sunnis:

"Do you know what participating in the elections means?  Participating in the elections means that you believe in the leader of the infidels, and what he has called for.  Remember that your mere participation means that you have agreed to do as the Americans have demanded.  In fact, if you participate you are obeying the infidel leaders�Bush, Rice, and Kofi Annan.  Do you want to follow them?  Taking part in the elections means that you do not value the blood of your brother martyrs that has been spilled all across Iraq in order to defend the people, Islam, and the honor of our Muslim nation.  Your participation in elections that are held by the murderous infidels demonstrates utter disregard for the blood of your brothers... Participation in the elections means that you have been tricked by the Americans and the Jews."

Another such Al-Qaida anti-election propaganda pamphlet admonishes Iraqi Sunnis, "�Where is your common sense?  Where is your zealous pursuit of your religion and honor?  Where are they?!  To those of you who deliberate over the solution, or the �alternative� to participation in the elections�as those who have betrayed Allah like to refer to it�we say: the solution is clear� The solution is jihad and fighting the enemies of Islam."

Click to view English translations c/o Globalterroralert.com

Air Marshals Kill Airline Passenger Near Plane at Miami Airport (updated 12/8)

By Andrew Cochran

UPDATE 12/8: ABC News reports that there was serious concern about a possible shoe bombing plot, which partially explains and justifies the air marshals' actions. Passenger shot near American Airlines plane parked at gate at Miami International after originating in Columbia and bound for Orlando. AP, quoting DHS spokesman Brian Doyle: "The passenger indicated there was a bomb in his bag and was confronted by air marshals but ran off the aircraft, Doyle said. The marshals went after him and ordered him to get on the ground, but he did not comply and was shot when he apparently reached into the bag, Doyle said." CNN: Suspect had already deplaned and passed through customs, came back towards the plane to reboard for Orlando flight, approached the air marshals "aggressively" and reached into the bag, at which time the marshals shot him. MSNBC reports that wife trailed suspect trying to tell people that he was bipolar and off his medication.

This would be the first time an air marshal discharged a weapon on or near a flight since the 9/11 attacks (FBI agents shot a man on an Oregon flight in 1983 in similar circumstances). There was no bomb in the bag, and the 44-year-old suspect, a U.S. citizen identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, was killed. But bomb squads looked at every piece of luggage on board and detonated selected pieces.

This doesn't have a terrorism nexus, but we'll learn a lot from this incident for use in airline protection from possible terrorist attack. We've gone from 32 air marshals pre-9/11 to hundreds of them, and they have the toughest shooting accuracy standards to meet among all federal agents. Now we know that the air marshal system worked, and the terrorists have to consider it. I'll also predict that some group or commentator will complain about the use of deadly force when there was no actual threat, but I will not and hope we give the marshals the benefit of the doubt (UPDATE: that didn't take long - one of the trackback sites screams "Federal Airport Nazis execute unarmed citizen"). UPDATE 12/8: I was interviewed this morning by the Cox television affiliate in San Francisco about the event, and one of my points was that law enforcement agents want to capture suspects to obtain their info and possibly prevent a wider plot, not kill them. Anybody who accuses them of first wanting to fire doesn't know any real cops.

ONE MORE COMMENT, 3:40 pm ET, 12/8 (my last one): A wife's protestations are irrelevant to an agent when the suspect appears intent on using deadly force. A related party's claim of mental illness in the middle of a situation should and will be interpreted by the agent as part of the suspect's plan, especially after 9/11, and will be either ignored or considered part of an avoidance scheme.

Al-Zawahiri Calls for Attacks on Gulf Oil Facilities

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

A couple of months back, I argued that in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, we could expect future terrorist targeting of key oil facilities in the Gulf states.  In particular, I fingered Saudi Arabia as a likely target since it's home to a quarter of the world's proven petroleum reserves and critical to world energy prices.

My argument is bolstered by today's release of a video by Ayman al-Zawahiri that calls for attacks against Gulf oil facilities.  Although al-Zawahiri originally issued the video in mid-September, al-Jazeera only broadcast excerpts at the time -- the full version is now available.  The Associated Press reports:

Al-Qaida's deputy leader called for attacks against Gulf oil facilities and urged insurgent groups in Iraq to unite to drive out American forces, according to a videotape posted on the Internet Wednesday.

The posting was a full version of a video by al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri that was issued on Sept. 19, excerpts of which were broadcast by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera at the time.  The network aired more excerpts Wednesday, originally presenting all of the footage as new.  A newscaster later told viewers some of the excerpts had previously been broadcast.

"I call on the holy warriors to concentrate their campaigns on the stolen oil of the Muslims, most of the revenues of which go to the enemies of Islam," al-Zawahri, the Egyptian deputy of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, said in a portion of the tape not previously broadcast. . . .

Al-Zawahri, who was wearing a white robe and black turban and was seated before a pale blue sheet, spoke to an off-camera interviewer.  He said "the enemies of Islam" were exploiting oil with "incomparable greed, and we have to stop that theft with all we can save this fortune for the nation of Islam."

Senate Finance Committee Continues Review of Charities for Terrorist Financing Issues

By Andrew Cochran

In December 2003, the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley and Sen. Max Baucus, respectively, requested federal tax information from the IRS about a number of charities in connection with an investigation into terrorist financing (Acrobat file). The letter stated, "The federal government and the Congress have identified several countries � some of which, ostensibly, are our allies � particularly in the Middle East, as a primary source of funds for charities and foundations that are under investigation or have fallen under suspicion for terrorist financing." The committee is authorized under law to receive and review such information for use in oversight and legislation. The charities included several shut down by federal authorities after the 9/11 attacks, including the Global Relief Foundation and Benevolence International Foundation, and a number of those operating currently, including Kind Hearts and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). After almost two years, committee chairman Sen. Grassley released a statement to the press which was interpreted by the "Washington Post" as "clearing" the charities of any involvement in terrorist financing. The article characterized the committee's conclusion thus: "...it discovered nothing alarming enough to warrant new laws or other measures, officials said" (Word file). ISNA issued a press release crowing that it was "cleared" and accusing the committee of engaging in a "fishing expedition" (an accusation also leveled by CAIR).

Well, Sen. Grassley apparently didn't appreciate the mischaracterizations of his statement in the "Washington Post" and elsewhere, because he issued a statement last night (Acrobat file), asserting,

The fact that the Committee has taken no public action based on the review of these documents does not mean that these groups have been �cleared� by the Committee. The reason for requesting these records was to gather information for the purpose of oversight and possible legislation.

Therefore, the Committee will continue to gather information and examine the operations of the charities that have been designated or listed by the Treasury Department�s Office of Foreign Assets Control and other similar charities that come to the committee�s attention, as well as conduct oversight on the related activities of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as whether the agencies are adequately sharing information that could lead to the policing of inappropriate activity. Terrorism financing, and particularly the use of tax-exempt entities by terrorists, remains a major issue of concern for the Committee.

This has already led to an AP story titled, "Accusations of terror links still follow Toledo Muslim charity," referring specifically to Kind Hearts. But the AP makes the same error as the "Washington Post," this time by mischaracterizing both of Sen. Grassley's statements by reporting, "After initially clearing 25 Islamic charities of funding terrorism, a Senate committee vowed to keep monitoring the nonprofits." A careful reading of both statements makes it clear that the committee never "cleared" any of the named charities and never claimed that it had "finished" investigating the charities. It was, in effect, a status report on its limited review of available federal tax information, and a conclusion that no action would be taken based solely on those records.

The first ISNA press release is still on their website - no word on whether they will remove or amend it in light of Sen. Grassley's new statement.

Federal Jury Rejects Terrorism Case Against Sami Al-Arian & Defendants for Alleged PIJ Activities

By Andrew Cochran

The most important terrorism-related trial in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks has concluded with the jury effectively rejecting the government's entire case against Sami Al-Arian and his co-defendants for their alleged activities on behalf of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Tthe jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight of the 17 counts against him, including the key charge of conspiring to maim and murder people overseas, and deadlocked on the other charges, including that he aided terrorists. Two co-defendants, Sameeh Hammoudeh and Ghassan Zayed Ballut, were also acquitted of all charges; a third, Hatem Naji Fariz, was acquitted on 24 counts, and jurors deadlocked on the remaining eight charges against him. The government called over 80 witnesses during the 5-month-long trial, with evidence from "hundreds of pages of transcripts of wiretapped phone calls and faxes, records of money moving through accounts, documents seized from the defendants' homes and offices, and their own words on video" (quoting the Fox News story). The verdicts are an enormous defeat for the Justice Department and, I predict, will have a chilling effect on all planned terrorism prosecutions, especially in Florida. You can see the 118-page indictment here (Acrobat file). EDIT: Yes, the government can retry Al-Arian on the deadlocked counts, but realistically, that will be very tough.

An A on Terror Finance?

By Douglas Farah

The one bright spot in the final report of the 9-11 Commission is combatting terror finance. While awarding the effort an A-, the Commission wrote:

"The U.S. has won the support of key countries in tackling terrorism finance�though there is still much to do in the
Gulf States and in South Asia. The government has made significant strides in using terrorism finance as an
intelligence tool. However, the State Department and Treasury Department are engaged in unhelpful turf battles,
and the overall effort lacks leadership."

I would beg to differ with the high grade, although, if it is grading on effort, it might be accurate. The truth is, accross the civilian and military terrain, I have not talked to anyone who really believes that we now have a handle on terror finance issues, especially the Zarqawi network, or that we have any real metrics for measuring true progress. It is true that there is broad lip service now paid across the Gulf region to the need to deal with terror finance issues, but charities continue to opereate, designated individuals continue to sit on the boards of the charities, offshore structures continue to function unimpeded. While there appear to have been some cash flow problems for the traditional al Qaeda structure, it does not seem those problems represented anything more than a temporary glitch.

There is also growing evidence of the willingness of al Qaeda and its affiliates to occassionally hook up with organized criminal groups, sometimes blending the two into one operation, as is the case with Dawood Ibrahim, the main subject of the fine U.S. News cover story from last week. So, the money may be generated from different sources and the organizations may not need the amount they once did to keep the Taliban afloat. The change is the funding patterns of Islamic extremist groups does not mean their financial flows are disrupted. It means, rather, that they are adaptable, flexible organizations that know how to move far ahead of where law enforcement and intelligence usually are. Go here to read entire blog.

Proposed New EU Anti-Terrorism Strategy Likely to be Controversial

By Victor Comras

EU Ministers of Justice met in Brussels November 30 � December 1 to finalize a new, beefed-up, counter terrorism strategy. The document is as much a show piece as it is a reflection of the EU�s enhanced concern with terrorism. The EU Justice and Interior Ministers want to show their constituents that they can response effectively to terrorism. The Ministers underscored that the new strategy is intended �... to make Europe's work on Counter Terrorism more comprehensible and transparent for the general public.� Beneath the rhetoric there is a clear sense that EU leaders know that much more needs to be done to (1) get a handle on terrorism indoctrination and recruitment; (2) enhance intra-European counter-terrorism cooperation and information sharing, (3) tighten measures against terrorism financing, (4) better secure and protect Europe's critical infrastructure and other potential terrorist targets, and (5) better coordinate national responses to terrorist attacks. The new measures don�t quite match our own post 9/11 counter-terrorism posture, but they demonstrate that, post Madrid and London bombings, Europe knows that the terrorism threat remains real and imminent. The proposed measures must now be reviewed, and will most likely be adopted, by the European Council during its December 15-16 session.

Few actual details concerning the new measures are yet available. However the general thrust is well known. Among the most important and controversial are stepped-up efforts to monitor and share information concerning individuals and entities whose activities promote terrorism indoctrination and recruitment. The EU Justice and Interior Ministers will be given new authority to disrupt the activities of networks and individuals that seek to draw people into terrorism. This includes increased monitoring, and possible disruption of, internets sites and postings which facilitate access to radical ideas and training associated with terrorism. Coordinated legislation is also being considered to prevent individuals from inciting and legitimizing violence and to inhibit individuals from traveling abroad to obtain terrorist training. This would include regulating and restricting travel to conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Special programs are also being developed to limit the activities of persons engaged in promoting radicalization in prisons, places of education or religious training, and worship. This will include closer monitoring of their visa applications, and entry into, and residence in, the European Union. At the same time steps will be taken by the EU Commission and member countries to address the motivating factors that have lent support to terrorist recruitment and to ensure that mainstream opinion prevails over extremism.

Additional details concerning the new strategy are expected to be released following approval by the European Council. In the meantime, information about the new strategy has already generated considerable debate over the appropriate balance between individual rights and common security. Several European Rights Organizations have already begun to challenge a number of the proposed measures. They argue that the new measures will have a major impact on fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and religion, and coveted rights of privacy. Some European groups have also expressed concern that the new measures will be used to profile and discriminate against religious Muslims, and that they might be used to expel undesirables without recourse to established legal protections.

Treasury Department Releases Updated Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines for Charities

By Andrew Cochran

The U.S. Treasury Department today released updated anti-terrorist financing guidelines and voluntary best practices for U.S.-based charities, and invited public comments on the guidelines. As the "Introduction" state, "Investigations have revealed terrorist abuse of charitable organizations, both in the United States and worldwide, often through the diversion of donations intended for humanitarian purposes but funneled instead to terrorists, their support networks, and their operations." The Holy Land Foundation, Benevolence International, and Global Relief Foundation were among those shut down by federal authorities after 9/11 for providing material support to Islamic extremists. After the 9/11 attacks, when I was senior oversight counsel at the House Financial Services committee during the drafting of the USA PATRIOT Act, I reviewed publicly available federal tax filings of these organizations. I learned from Steven Emerson and his Investigative Project staff that the filings disclosed few details of the sources and uses of funds, because the Internal Revenue Code allows non-profits to so withhold those details (in contrast to for-profit companies). The guidelines (Acrobat file) include a number of measures already required of publicly held companies, including (for charities with groa annual income over $250,000) an annual audit conducted by an independent CPA firm to audit and the issuance of the audited financial statement to the public. The release also comes as the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Charles Grassley, continues to grapple with possible legislative changes to the Internal Revenue Code to mandate more accountability and transparency by all non-profits, and might try to pass some reforms next year.

The Treasury Department has set up a special website to receive public comments on the new guidelines, and I hope knowedgeable CTB readers will provide constructive comments.

Belgian female suicide bomber: not a big surprise

By Lorenzo Vidino

Tuesday media outlets reported that Muriel Degauque, a Belgian female convert to Islam, died in a failed suicide attack against US forces in Iraq. Allegedly, the woman carried out the operation after her husband, a Moroccan-born radical, was killed by US Marines. While this is the first time that a European woman carries out a suicide operation, there have been several cases in the past indicating that many European women (both Muslim-born and converts) intended to follow a similar path. Interestingly, many of these cases are linked to Belgium:

1) Mohammed Reha, a Belgian citizen of Moroccan descent recently arrested in Morocco, revealed that the wives of many GICM members who are currenty on trial in Belgium contacted him seeking his help to carry out suicide attacks. Reha described his meeting with the wife of a detained GICM Belgian operative: "She told me that many Muslim women whose husbands were arrested in Belgium would like to become involved in Jihad, the holy war. She asked me to help them by finding someone to train them and supply them with explosives."

2) Last week Belgian magistrates began questioning Mourad Chabarou, one of the alleged GICM operatives currently on trial in Belgium. Chabarou is accused of having received orders for an attack (possibly against the Paris metro system) from Rabei Osman El Sayed Ahmed, aka Mohammed the Egyptian, one of the alleged masterminds of the March 11 Madrid bombings. Chabarou is also suspected of planning to travel to Iraq to carry out a suicide operation. In May 2004, Italian authorities intercepted a conversation between Ahmed and his young roommate. Ahmed�s words provide a chilling insight into al Qaeda�s future plans involving women:

"Do you remember the woman who I told you about, do you remember? Her name is Hotaf. I have bad news, she was discovered, but there will be the victory of Islam. I am sorry, there are other women, but I am sorry for Hotaf. Do you know how Mouattaf trained her? She already trained her with many medical products. If they throw a stick it blows away an American neighborhood...[inaudible] May peace be upon him [Mouattaf], may his soul rest in peace, but she [Hotaf] is not the first nor will she be the last, there is Fatiha, there is Amal, there is Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Kashmir, Pakistan, and Malaysia�you just have to warn them and they come. There is Amal, Hanan, you just have to warn them; I am sorry the tactic of the first one did not work, she was discovered; now we have Amal, she is ready�God is great"

3) Investigators believe that Mohammed Reha had close ties to Samir Azzouz, the "golden boy" of Holland's Hofstad group. In February 2005, the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant interviewed three women, Naima, Fatima, and Khadisja, who claimed to be members of the Hofstad group. The women were adamant in their determination to carry on the jihad that the men had begun. And as one of them observed�Naima, the wife of Mohammed el Murabit, a key Hofstad member��If [Dutch member of Parliament] Hirsi Ali is murdered by a woman it would have a much larger impact.� �She will not escape her punishment: death,� Naima added. �Even if it takes ten years.� Confirming the important role played by females in the Hofstad group, when leading Hofstad group member Noureddine El Fathni was arrested in June 2005 in Amsterdam, he was accompanied by two women, his wife Soumaya S. and 26-year-old Dutch convert Martine van den Oever. The two women, who are close friends, are accused of being deeply involved in the group�s activities. At the moment of her arrest Martine van den Oever, who had converted to Islam in high school and had progressively radicalized, was found in possession of a farewell letter in which she asked her friend Soumaya S. to inform her mother in case she died or something happened to her.

4) The Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported that Belgian authorities arrested on Wednesday a married couple from Antwerp that intended to follow the example of Muriel Degauque and her husband and was about to leave for Iraq.

Given these premises, it might be just a matter of time before a woman will carry out an attack in Europe.

Reports: Senior Saudi Al-Qaida Member Sets Off Suicide Blast in Dagestan

By Evan Kohlmann

According to various reports from credible mujahideen sources, Abu Omar Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Saif (a.k.a. Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Saif al-Jaber)--a top tier Saudi Arabian Al-Qaida commander in Chechnya and personal military advisor to Shamil Basayev--has been killed during a Russian counterterrorism operation in neighboring Dagestan.  Unable to escape after Russian soldiers backed by helicopters surrounded his temporary hideout, Abu Omar allegedly detonated an explosive device he was carrying and collapsed the building on top of himself.  Known as the "Imam of the Chechen mujahideen", Abu Omar was an original founder of the Arab-Afghan mujahideen movement in Chechnya and was named by Russian officials as a suspect in numerous Caucasus-linked terrorist attacks, including the Moscow theatre siege and the Beslan school hostage massacre.  In January 2000, he was interviewed by Babar Ahmad's Azzam Publications media outlet concerning the ongoing jihad in Chechnya:

"Q. Some Muslims are hoping for a peaceful solution to this conflict, and to give heed to Western proposals and conditions for a cease-fire. How do you see the solution to this conflict?"
"A. Islamic issues can only be solved by Islamic means, namely through abiding by Sharia (Divine Law) and not Western proposals or United Nations conditions. Any resolution through non-Islamic means places the future of Muslims in the hands of tyrants who will never accept the rise of an Islamic state."
"Q. Several Islamic populations are fighting defensive wars against aggressors. Yet some of them raise the banners of nationalism that may incorporate elements of secularism, ethnic nationalism or religion. How would you describe the war in Chechnya?"
"A. The fighting in Chechnya is a Jihad for the sake of Allah, a Jihad that aims to ensure that the word of Allah is supreme in this land. We consider most of the commanders and fighters as Mujahideen whose intentions are sincere and devoted to Allah Most high."
"Q. The Russian military machine is massive and incorporates large numbers of troops and sizeable quantities of modern arms, yet the Russians are being decisively beaten on a daily basis by a small group of Mujahideen What are your comments in this regard?"
"A. All of the Mujahideen's victories are attributed solely to Allah Most High... The jihad in Chechnya should serve as an example to all Muslims throughout the world that any Muslim rights that are forcibly usurped, including land, cannot be restored except through force.  Negotiations only serve to lose one's rights and honour.  Let us consider Palestine as an example. There are a small number of Jews occupying Palestine.  The Arabs outnumber them and have larger military forces, however, instead of fighting for the sake of Allah like their brothers in Chechnya, the Arabs (nationalists and secularists) chose to negotiate with their enemy.  This has resulted in the humiliation of the Arabs, and has failed to restore Arab rights and territories."
"Q. The complete victory of the Mujahideen is now in sight.  What will happen once the war is over.  Will we witness a recurrence of the tragedies that took place in Afghanistan, Bosnia and other Muslim countries that freed themselves from the yoke of crusader invasions?"
"A. Allah Most High has promised that those who glorify and fight for Allah in times of war, and who establish His Sharia in times of peace, will always have victory bestowed upon them... The Mujahideen will strive to ensure that the Muslims of Chechnya will continue to be united, and that the light of Sharia dispels the evil of disunity. It is only through Allah that success is granted."
"Q. Many Muslims around the world have expressed their support and sympathy for their brothers in Chechnya. Most Muslims continue to support the Mujahideen through supplication to Allah, and by spreading awareness about the jihad in Chechnya. Has this support had any impact in Chechnya, if so, please give us some examples?"
"A. The supplications of Muslims and their financial support has played an important role in the victories of the Mujahideen.  This support has helped mitigate the difficulties faced by the Mujahideen who are lacking adequate supplies of food and medicine.  We ask Allah to accept the support given to us by our brothers, and remind the Ummah that coming to the aid of Muslims who are oppressed is a sacred duty that Allah Most High has confirmed..."

See also:
- "A Letter from Shaykh Abu Omar al-Saif to the Iraqi Mujahideen Concerning the Upcoming Elections."  (January 2005)
- Islamic Army of the Caucasus Leadership Chart (January 2005)

Suspected Belgian Terrorists & Suicide Bomber Could Have Entered U.S. Without Visa

By Michael Cutler

On Thursday I saw a report on CNN about a woman who detonated a bomb she was carrying in an attempt to kill American soldiers in Iraq. Fortunately she did not kill anyone but herself. What was particularly disturbing about this story is that the woman was not born in the Middle East but was rather a native and citizen of Belgium. She converted to Islam upon her marriage to a citizen of Morocco who was involved with terrorism. I did a bit of searching on the Internet and came up with several articles not only about her, but about the growing crisis of terror cells sprouting in Europe.

The articles make it clear that radical Islam is on the move, moving into countries that are our allies and consequently countries that are participants in the Visa Waiver Program. As you read these articles and note that the law enforcement officials talk about going after the radical Islamists in their country who were intent on attacking U.S. targets in Iraq, remember this: With Belgian passports that they carried, the terrorists who were arrested, and the woman who blew herself up in Iraq, could have easily boarded an airliner and sought entry into the United States without first obtaining a visa for the United States.

Read More »

The U.N. Finally Sanctions Bout Associates and Companies

By Douglas Farah

Well, after months of delay (mostly on the U.S. part in getting the information to them), the United Nations finally designated two business associates of Viktor Bout and 30 of his companies, obligating member states to freeze all assests related to the people and firms and banning their international travel. The full list can be found here.

OFAC had designated the same people (Richard Chichakli, a U.S. citizen; and Valeriy Naydo, Ukranian), along with two others, and the same companies, in April. That made it illegal for any U.S. company to do any business with any company related to Bout--a legal barrier that has been routinely ignored by some in the Pentagon and some of their civilian contractors.

However, getting the exact same information to the UN so the designations would have a global effect took an inordinate amount of time because the whole thing got bogged down in the inter-agency review swamp for months--months used by Bout to create new companies, buy new aircraft and continue operating. While the Treasury Department gave the list to the State Department immediately after taking its own action, State was unable to move the papers along for almost six months. The UN acted with relative swiftness in getting the list issued once they got the request from the United States. Only two people, Sergei Bout (Viktor's brother and partner, and another Russian citizen) were kept off the global list due to a "technical hold" by the Russians, pending more information from the United States.

While the freezing measures, both in the United States and the UN, were based on Bout's support for Charles Taylor in Liberia, he is also accused by the U.S. government of making $50 million off of arms sales to the Taliban, weapons that were later used against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In addition, Bout and his web of companies, according to U.S., European and U.N. investigators, has supplied an array of of other desiganted terrorist groups with weapons, including the FARC in Colombia.

The strength of the UN action is that it provides a legal basis for other nations to act against Bout and his companies. The UAE, for example, has not taken action against several Bout companies as requested by the United States because the companies were only designated by the Treasury Department. Go here to read the full blog.

Special Report - Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia: 2002-2003

By Evan Kohlmann

An occasional report prepared on behalf of the NEFA Foundation is now available for download analyzing the origins and structure of Al-Qaida's Committee in the Arabian Peninsula during its first two years of operation, 2002-2003.  The report focuses on the cells inspired by senior Saudi Al-Qaida operative Shaykh Yousef al-Ayyiri (a.k.a. "Al-Battar") and includes analysis of the roles played by extremist Saudi Arabian clerics and U.S. national Ahmed Omar Abu Ali--recently convicted of conspiring with Saudi Al-Qaida members to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States, including the assassination of President George Bush.

Click to view report c/o the NEFA Foundation

Police, Not Armies, Stop Terrorism

By Robert Charles

In the final analysis, there is a piece missing from the current debate over Iraq, and for that matter over Afghanistan. As MacArthur and others realized decades ago, police prevent, deter and stop terrorism in any democracy. Armies do not.

Armies -- ours and those we train -- are for combat, immediate post-combat stabilization, and mission completion, where the mission is identifiable and defined by a sound strategy, replete with benchmarks toward mission completion. Yes, benchmarks can shift in response to changes in the security environment, but not indefinitely. That is why we train democracy-stabilizing police forces. Not just armies.

In the wake of a successful effort by a victorious army, building (read: training) or re-building (read: retraining) an indigenous police force is the bell weather of a sustainable, enduring democracy. The occupying army cannot stay forever, and the re-trained or re-acculturated indigenous army can not be expected -- and should not be expected or pre-positioned -- to sustain a viable demcoracy.

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UN Fails Again on Comprehensive Anti-Terrorism Convention

By Victor Comras

Once Again the UN General Assembly has proved unable to come up with an agreement on language for a comprehensive convention to fight terrorism. Key differences remain. These include draft language for a comprehensive definition of terrorism, as well as lack of agreement on whether the activities of regular �armed forces� should be exempted from the convention�s scope of application as they are already covered by international e laws of war and international humanitarian law. The countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) also continue to insist that special exemptions should also cover armed resistance groups involved in so-called �struggles against colonial domination and foreign occupation.� The GA�s Sixth (Legal Committee) has been struggling with issues for several years. But there was some optimism that the General Assembly�s Sixtieth anniversary session would be able to establish a new international consensus on fighting terrorism. International leaders had pledged as much at the Madrid and Riyadh Anti-Terrorism Summit Conferences, and following terrorist bombings in Madrid, London and Amman.

By a draft resolution approved without a vote this afternoon, the Sixth Committee (Legal) decided that the Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism would reconvene February 27 � March 3, 2006 to continue its work. One idea is for them to take up the possibility of convening a new high-level conference under United Nations auspices to formulate a joint organized response on all aspects of terrorism.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has suggested that he may now turn to the Security Council to take �further action� to �deal with the threat of international terrorism, which continues to cause death and suffering to innocent people in many different parts of the world."

Additional details concerning the negotiations for a comprehensive definition of terrorism and anti-terrorism convention can be found in my previous blogs dated October 25, and September 13 .

Designated Terrorist financier Youssef Nada Wins Another Court Round

By Victor Comras

Those who have followed the activities of Youssef Nada and his al Taqwa organization may be interested to learn that Nada, and his attorneys have just won another round in the Swiss Court. The Swiss Federal Court in Bellazone has ordered the Swiss Confederation to pay Nada $120,000 to cover 2/3rds of his legal costs with regard to his intercession to stop a criminal investigation against him. Nada, and his al Taqwa bank were among the first to be designated by the United States and the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee for providing financial support to al Qaeda. According to the US Treasury Department Nada and the al Taqwa bank channeled funds to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. It also provided a clandestine line of credit to one of bin Baden�s lieutenants subsequently implicated in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings.

Shortly after 9/11, the Swiss government opened a criminal dossier against Nada for his alleged terrorism financing, but failed, after four years investigation to put together sufficient evidence for a criminal indictment. Last May the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellizone ordered the Swiss Prosecutors Office to either move forward with their case against Nada or to drop it. They chose the latter. In September the court ordered the Swiss government to pay Nada some 123,125.10 Swiss Francs ($96,000) to cover his legal costs. Nada�s attorney, Counselor Fritz Schiesser appealed that decision asking for an even larger financial award. And the Bellizone court has now held that the award to Nada be increased to $120, 000.

It seems that the Swiss court continues to overlook Switzerland's obligations under UN Security Council resolution 1617 (2002) to �Freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of these individuals�and to ensure that neither these nor any other funds, financial assets or economic resources are made available directly or indirectly, for such person�s benefit, by their nationals or by any persons within their territory.�(emphasis added)� Payment of Nada�s legal fees would appear to fall within this proscription. The Swiss government should, at least submit a request to the Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee for an exception to the UN sanctions measures, if it fact such payment is going to be made. There is no record of their having done so following the earlier September court decision.

U.S. General: "96 percent" of Iraq's Suicide Bombers are Foreigners

By Evan Kohlmann

(care of the Associated Press)

"U.S. and Iraqi operations along the Syrian border have resulted in a significant drop in suicide bombings to only 23 attacks in November, the lowest level in seven months, a U.S. general said.  But Maj. Gen. Mark Lynch warned that al-Qaida in Iraq will likely step up attacks in the next two weeks to try to disrupt parliamentary elections on Dec. 15... Lynch, who is an operations officer as well as a spokesman, said as a result the main entry point for foreign fighters has now been shut down and al-Zarqawi is having a difficult time carrying out attacks.  At least 96 percent of suicide bombers are from outside of Iraq, he added.  'His weapon of choice is suicide bombers,' Lynch said.  'In the month of November: only 23 suicide attacks; the lowest we�ve seen in the last seven months, the direct result of the effectiveness of our operations.'"

Police Training Tightrope in Iraq - Watch Out

By Robert Charles

An objective review of police training in Iraq shows a remarkable flight path, and real gains. But watch out. Weather ahead. Even after a good flight, absence of a landing plan will spoil your day ... The premier training center for Iraqi police was established in Jordan in November 2003, by the State Department's Bureau on International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). Designed to support General Petreaus' effort to build security forces in Iraq, the Jordan-based school, located outside Amman, has been the unheralded "salt mine at the bottom of the sea." As of December 1, 2005, this school - led by an American civilian but boasting 17 nations' participation - has trained 24,742 police and deployed them back on to Iraqi streets. But there is rough water ahead ...

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Robert Charles Joins Us As a Contributing Expert

By Andrew Cochran

We're pleased to welcome Robert Charles as a new Contributing Expert. He was quoted extensively in this week's "U.S. News & World Report" article on the use of criminal gang tactics by terrorists. Mr. Charles served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement under Secretary Powell from 2003 to 2005. His duties ranged from setting up the schools and training Iraqi and Afghan police in Baghdad, Jordan and Kabul, to shepherding anti-drug policy in some 70 nations, from Thailand and Laos to Colombia and Peru. Previously, for nearly five years, he served as top staffer to House Speaker Dennis Hastert�s Task Force on Counter-Narcotics, and staff director and counsel to Speaker Hastert�s National Security and Drug Policy oversight subcommittee, during which he led dozens of oversight investigations. Mr. Charles served in the Reagan and Bush (41) Administrations, has written extensively on narcotics and terrorism, was an award-winning teacher at the Harvard Extension School, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir., and was a practicing litigator. He holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, a M.A. from Oxford, and A.B. from Dartmouth (Phi Beta Kappa). He is a U.S. Navy Reservist and was briefly on active duty after the 9/11 attacks. We look forward to his posts and comments.

Yemen, sponsor of terror again?

By Olivier Guitta

Indeed as the Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al Awsat recently reported citing Yemeni sources along with Western intelligence services, two AK 47 were used during the Al Qaeda�s attack on the US Consulate in Jeddah last December. The Kalashnikov�s serial numbers proved that these weapons belong to the Yemeni Defense Ministry. According to the same sources, US authorities have complained to the Yemeni government about this and asked for further explanation.
After the USS Cole attack in 2000, it seemed like Yemen had become an ally in the war.
Was that just talk?