Are the Taliban "The Enemy" or Not?

By Jeffrey Imm

Once again, another national leader of an American "ally" in the "war on terror" has offered to help the Taliban regain political power. AP has reported that Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai offered "to meet personally with Taliban leader Mullah Omar for peace talks and give the militants a high position in a government ministry as a way to end the rising insurgency in Afghanistan." AP reports that Karzai stated: "If a group of Taliban or a number of Taliban come to me and say, 'President, we want a department in this or in that ministry or we want a position as deputy minister ... and we don't want to fight anymore ... If there will be a demand and a request like that to me, I will accept it because I want conflicts and fighting to end in Afghanistan." This echoes comments this week by the UK Defense Minister that "the Taliban will need to be involved in the peace process".

In February 2007, the Afghanistan parliament granted immunity to the Taliban's Mullah Omar and other Mujahideen for 25 years worth of activities. Now Afghan President Karzai wants to meet personally with Taliban leader Mullah Omar for peace talks to allow the Taliban to join the Afghanistan government. (There is no word if the U.S. State Department would continue to offer $10 million for the whereabouts of Mullah Omar, although he is no longer on their main page of wanted terrorists.) Taliban leader Mullah Omar was reputed to have signed last year's Taliban peace truce with Pakistan.

But isn't the Taliban "the enemy" of the United States of America?

If not, what exactly does the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) call for? The AUMF called for war against "those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations", which surely included the Taliban. Furthermore, there are 171 clustered references to the Taliban in the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission. What more exactly does the United States need to view the Taliban as "the enemy"? Based on the AUMF, how can the Taliban be any less of an enemy to the United States, than Al Qaeda itself?

And if the Taliban are "the enemy", how can Americans accept the Taliban or the Taliban ideology in any political organization of an "ally" nation, let alone ones that American taxpayers provide millions of dollars to? Where is the outrage from American political leadership on this? Why is there no outrage among American political leaders at offers to "legitimize" the same Taliban that helped Al Qaeda in its Jihadist camps to kill 3,000 Americans? As previously discussed, the lack of clarity in identifying the enemy in this war is precisely what allows such disturbing realpolitik considerations.

What do such "peace at any cost" negotiations with an enemy of the United States mean to Jihadists in justifying the use of political terrorism? If the Taliban regain political power in Afghanistan, does American leadership agree that we should lose the Afghanistan war to end the fighting? Isn't that what, in other words, we call "surrender"? Or has our ambiguity about the identity of the enemy gotten so dense that American leadership can now rationalize the Taliban itself?

Earlier this month, Karzai called for peace talks with the Taliban, but the Taliban rejected such talks until "foreign troops" leave Afghanistan. This is a demand that Karzai has rejected on the basis: "[i]t should be very clear until all our roads are paved, until we have good electricity and good water, and also until we have a better Afghan national army and national police, I don't want any foreigners to leave Afghanistan". Is Karzai saying that he just doesn't want western aid to stop, as it did for Hamas?

Karzai's offer for political empowerment to the Taliban in Afghanistan comes as UPI and the Daily Telegraph report that the Taliban has publicly released its "Constitution of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan", which provides insight into what the Taliban would do if indeed such political empowerment was realized. The Daily Telegraph reports that the "23-page document envisages a country where women would remain veiled and uneducated, 'un-Islamic thought' would be banned and human rights would be ignored if 'contrary with the teachings of Islam' ", where "violators will be punished according to sharia", and that stipulates that all other constitutions are void. Furthermore, the Taliban constitution has called for "good relations" with those countries supporting Afghanistan "during jihad". I think we can make an educated guess that the Taliban would not consider such countries to include the United States.

Is this the legal system with "its roots in Islamic law" that the UK Defense Minister was stating this week would be a solution to fighting in Afghanistan?

This follows the August offer by Pakistan President Musharraf to help the Taliban become a mainstream political organization. At the August 12 jirga meeting, President Musharraf reflected that as "Taliban are a part of Afghan society", and "all of them are not diehard militants and fanatics", that reaching the Taliban and pro-Taliban population required "a more comprehensive political and development approach". President Bush was reported to have congratulated Pakistan President Musharraf on his efforts at the jirga.

Realpolitik negotiators may believe that there is a "bad Taliban" and a "good Taliban". In Presidents Karzai and Musharraf's views, the "bad Taliban" is violent, and the "good Taliban" is well, just simply "fundamentalist" in their Islamist view of the world. Does America agree with that assessment? Because that is the direction that war in Afghanistan is going based on these outreach efforts to bring the Taliban into the political mainstream. Realpolitik negotiators may believe that bringing the Taliban into a "democratic" political process will end the conflict and fighting in Afghanistan.

Did bringing Hezbollah into the Lebanon government end fighting in Lebanon?
Did Hamas' election to the Palestinian government bring peace to the Palestinian territories?
Did the Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic government in Iran bring peace to Iran and its relations with the world?
Has the growing influence of Islamist political and other groups in Pakistan brought stability and peace to Pakistan?

Yet NATO, UN, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the US are all tolerating the idea of peace talks with the Taliban to bring them back into political power in the Afghanistan government. Americans don't even have to compare this to Islamist Iran as an analogy. We have already seen what the Taliban did when they held political power in Afghanistan. Our national homeland was physically attacked and thousands of Americans died as a result. On this near anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, how could we forget that? What next - will we be negotiating a political "mainstream" party for Al Qaeda?

Moreover, with their latest constitution, the Taliban has told us specifically what they plan to do, if they do get back into power. We know who and what the Taliban are and what they plan to do if they regain power. Yet still, American leadership is not denouncing talks to allow the Taliban to return to Afghanistan government power.

If so, this begs the obvious question, what are we fighting for?

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Fault Line on Jihad: Why the Omeish Reaction is Important

By Jeffrey Imm

On September 28, the Investigative Project on Terrorism's (IPT) Lorenzo Vidino was on FOX news addressing IPT's release of videos regarding Muslim American Society (MAS) president Esam Omeish showing his documented support of Jihad. The interview points out once again the problems with the America government failing to clearly identity the enemy and failing to have a clearly defined policy on Jihad and on political Islamism. Moreover, we need to agree on the definition of "Jihad" and not be misled by apologists, as pointed out by Walid Phares.

America has to come to grips with the question: "What does it mean for Islamists to call for Jihad?" While for IPT and many others, myself included, the answer to this is obvious, without a clear American policy on Jihad, the ambivalence on Jihad will continue to undermine American national security efforts, where the FBI defines its "fight" against terrorists, but cannot address the ideological issues. The reaction of the Washington Post, Alan Colmes, and others to Omeish's resignation once again highlights this massive fault line in American national security.

Last month, Virginia Governor Kaine appointed MAS president Esam Omeish to a Virginia state immigration commission. After the release of the IPT videos of Omeish's comments on Jihad, on September 28, Esam Omeish resigned from the commission, telling the Washington Post that IPT conducted a "smear campaign". On September 29, the Washington Post has a follow-up article on this subject, where it quotes Omeish as stating that in his previous speeches where he called for "the Jihad way", that he meant Jihad as a broad term meaning "struggle".

In a video showing a December 2000 Washington DC area Jerusalem Day rally, Omeish clearly supports Jihad for Palestinians stating "you have learned the way, that you have known that the jihad way is the way to liberate your land." (The complete video is here). Moreover, as IPT reports, Omeish "congratulates Palestinians for giving up their lives for the sake of Allah in another video."

Yet Governor Kaine, the Washington Post, and FOX News Commentator Alan Colmes seem determined to defend Esam Omeish's views. It is as important to ask why they defend Omeish's views, as it is to reveal research on individuals like Omeish, because America continues to face an ongoing problem with its lack of a policy on Jihad and political Islamism, as previously addressed.

The Washington Post publishes without questioning that Esam Omeish's call for "the Jihad way" at rallies in the Washington DC area are nothing more than a call for "struggle" as Omeish says in the September 29 Washington Post. Moreover, the Washington Post provides character references for Omeish, such as well-known Stalinist Brian Becker of A.N.S.W.E.R. organization (and Communist Worker's World Party). The Washington Post report quotes Stalinist Becker on the IPT revelations of Omeish's call for "the Jihad way" in DC rallies as stating: 'we were stunned and shocked that a small group of right-wing anti-Muslim bigots would launch a campaign' against him."

In the September 28 interview of IPT's Lorenzo Vidino, FOX News' Alan Colmes challenges IPT's criticism of Omeish for calling for "the Jihad way". Alan Colmes asks Lorenzo Vidino "isn't this conservative political correctness? lets say he's got radical views, whats wrong with having a commission.. we have all kinds of views, even extreme views.. on a commission." When Lorenzo Vidino replies that Omeish endorsed Jihad in Palestine at the peak of October 2000 intifada, Alan Colmes replies: "is it possible to see his point of view that he feels that the Palestinians have been the victims of violence and he is countering that?" and asks "is he truly a threat to the United States?" It is also enlightening to see comments to the IPT YouTube posting of this interview condemning IPT's research as "propaganda" and saying to IPT that "their day will come".

Here once again, the fault line in American national security regarding Jihad and political Islamism can be seen in stark relief. There is no national hue and cry against Alan Colmes for criticizing IPT's reporting that someone called for "the Jihad way" in a Washington DC rally is nothing more than mere "conservative political correctness", because there is no agreed upon policy on Jihad, on political Islam, and on the war and identity of the enemy that we are fighting today.

In the debate over details, logistics, and tactics, it is vital that such massive national security strategic fault lines are not ignored. This is just another warning sign.

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A Tale of Two Tunisis? Questions About the Latest Al-Qaida Casualty in Iraq

By Evan Kohlmann

This morning, the Pentagon conducted a press briefing with Brigadier General Joseph Anderson, the Chief of Staff of Multinational Corps-Iraq. In a video linkup from Camp Liberty in Baghdad, General Anderson addressed a number of issues--chief among them, the reported killing of a "high level" Al-Qaida commander--Tunisian national Abu Usama al-Tunisi--near Musayyib, Iraq on September 25 in a targeted strike by U.S. warplanes. According to General Anderson:

"Abu Usama al-Tunisi [was] a close associate and part of the inner circle of close advisers to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, or otherwise known as AAM, the overall leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, and his likely successor... Abu Usama al-Tunisi was one of the most senior leaders within al Qaeda in Iraq. He was the emir of foreign terrorists in Iraq, and as I stated, part of the inner leadership circle of al Qaeda in Iraq who had direct contact with Abu Ayyub al-Masri. He was originally from Tunisia, and was a primary facilitator for the movement of foreign terrorists into the country... He operated in Yusufiya, southwest of Baghdad, since the second battle of Fallujah in November '04 and became the overall emir of Yusufiya in the summer of '06. His group was responsible for kidnapping our American soldiers in June '06. He was known to have direct access to the al Qaeda in Iraq senior leader AAM. He facilitated foreign fighters in the Yusufiya area and helped equip them for improvised explosive device, vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and suicide attacks in Baghdad. He took command of the Aisha battalion after its former leader, AAM, was promoted to al Qaeda in Iraq emir status."

Oddly enough, this is not the first time that Abu Usama al-Tunisi has been reported killed. Over a year ago (in May 2006), Al-Qaida supporters posted online announcements declaring the "martyrdom" of Abu Usama al-Tunisi. The news of al-Tunisi's death was distributed on, among other places, the highly credible Al-Hesbah Islamic Network--which has been directly endorsed in past propaganda films produced by Al-Qaida in Iraq. According to that announcement (a translation of which was posted shortly thereafter on Globalterroralert.com):

"The martyrdom of Abu Usama al-Tunisi, the commander of [Al-Qaida’s] Aeisha Brigade... He caused much desperation and anxiety among the Americans and he spread frustration among their soldiers. The Americans knew Abu Usama al-Tunisi very well, because he was one of the commanders who led the Battle of Abu Anas al-Shami during which he served as the military commander responsible for one of the four frontlines of the mission... Abu Usama first entered Iraq two years ago. He used to always smile when talking to his brothers and had a profound faith in Allah. Abu Usama was killed in the area of Al-Yusifiya during an air strike that also killed four other brothers."

This naturally leads us to the problem of addressing this obvious discrepancy. Is it possible that there are two separate Abu Usama al-Tunisis serving as commanders for Al-Qaida in Iraq? Perhaps... but the likelihood of this incredible coincidence rapidly plummets when one considers that both of these men have been identically described as the commander of Al-Qaida's Aeisha Brigade and active in the area of al-Yusifiya. If we put aside this theory, we are left with quite limited possibilities. It would seem that either Al-Qaida supporters were engaged in a deliberate misinformation campaign on their own password-protected chat forums, or else the U.S. military has potentially been the victim of questionable intelligence. It should be further noted that Al-Qaida has prided itself in the past on providing accurate and timely information concerning the "martyrdom" of its military commanders. When former Al-Qaida commander Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in mid-2006, the same Al-Hesbah Network was one of the first sources to correctly confirm the news of his death on behalf of Al-Qaida.

Click to view Biography of an Al-Qaida Operative “Martyred” in Iraq: Abu Usama al-Tunisi (Globalterroralert.com)

IPT Video Sinks Muslim Brotherhood Appointment in Virginia

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Esam Omeish, President of the Muslim American Society and a newly appointed member of the state's Commission of Immigration, resigned Thursday, a few hours after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was informed of online videos, posted by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), showing Omeish railing against Israel and advocating "the jihad way."

For more information, including the videos, click here to go to the IPT's website.

More Schisms Among Jihadists and Muslim Brothers in Iraq

By Douglas Farah

The NEFA Foundation has translated a fascinating document from the main spokesperson for al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

The message of Abu Omar al -Baghdadi is striking because it consists almost entirely of attacks on other Muslim groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. These are not merely passing shots or polite disagreements, fighting words and calls to executions.

There have been vitriolic outbreaks of angry attacks of the old guard al Qaeda against Hamas and the broader Ikhwan, particularly when Hamas chose to participate in elections.

But these attacks accuse the Muslim Brotherhood in general and Hamas in particular of treason to Allah and the _jihadist_ cause, calls for their death and urges a further purging of _jihadist_ ranks of traitors.

While the ultimate objective of the Brotherhood and al Qaeda is the same, there are clearly deep tactical differences over what victory is and how to achieve said victory. It is also clear from the speech that the Brotherhood, in the form of Hamas In Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades, have armed groups in Iraq. My full blog is here.

Removal of Content

By Douglas Farah

In light of the ongoing investigations into allegations that Alexis Debat has fabricated news stories, the Counterterrorism Blog has removed his contributions on the site, pending the outcome of the current controversies.

Similar Threats, Similar Approaches: Improving Transatlantic Counterterrorism Ties

By Michael Jacobson

A piece I wrote on how to improve transatlantic counterterrorism ties, which have been seriously tested over these past several years.

With U.S. government assistance, three "homegrown" terrorist suspects were arrested in Germany several weeks ago. Despite this success story, transatlantic counterterrorism ties have been seriously tested over the past three months: prosecutors in Munich called for the extradition of CIA agents allegedly involved in abducting a German citizen; an Italian trial began against twenty-six CIA employees charged in absentia with kidnapping an imam in Milan; and Britain released a report accusing the United States of ignoring its concerns regarding terrorist "renditions."

These latest developments have undoubtedly reinforced perceptions on both sides of the Atlantic that U.S. and European counterterrorism efforts have been at odds since the September 11 attacks. Unfortunately, significant commonalities have been lost amid the heated rhetoric, both in terms of approach and problems encountered. Shifting these perceptions is critical for future counterterrorism efforts and should be a priority for U.S. and European policymakers.

To read the rest of the piece, click here

As expected, Iran's media edited out criticism of Ahmedinijad

By Walid Phares

Et voila, as expected, the Iranian official media edited out the stories about the Ahmedinijad visit to Columbia University. President Bollinger's "harsh" questions were deleted and the Iranian President's quotes lionized.

As I told Fox News and a number of radio shows, the Columbia fiasco will be mainly about weakening the resolve of the Iranian people, who would be made to believe that their leader was well-received by the largest democracy on earth, and that no one in the international community is critical of the Mullahs' man.

A very bad choice by Columbia University which will help the authoritarians to accentuate the oppression of their civil society.

Find the Iranian media text below, with my emphasis added in certain sentences:

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New Al-Qaida Transcripts, Terrorism Legal Documents Now Available

By Evan Kohlmann

In recent weeks, Al-Qaida-led terrorist franchises based in Afghanistan and Iraq have released several new recordings of speeches by senior Al-Qaida leaders--including both Usama Bin Laden and the commander of Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" known as "Abu Omar al-Baghdadi." English-language transcripts of these various speeches are now available for download care of the NEFA Foundation website. The audio recording released on September 14 from Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was particularly significant--especially to those who follow the very serious internal schisms opening up between Al-Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq. In his address, al-Baghdadi directly attacked other Sunni insurgent groups--such as the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Hamas in Iraq, and the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front (JAAMI)--as "backstabbing" traitors who have abandoned their commitment to jihad. Needless to say, al-Baghdadi also reserved a strong dose of vitriol for the "degenerate crusader nation of Sweden", where cartoons were recently published that were viewed as disrespectful to the Prophet Mohammed. In response, al-Baghdadi promised to launch punitive terrorist attacks by mid-October on Swedish "industrial giants" such as Volvo, Scandia, Ikea, and Ericsson--in addition to killing both the cartoon artist himself and his Swedish editor.

The NEFA website also features a collection of new terrorism-related legal documents, including exhibits filed in the criminal case against Pete Seda, a former official of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Oregon. Earlier this month, I testified as an expert witness on behalf of U.S. federal prosecutors during an initial bond hearing for Seda, and--among other things--I offered comment and analysis regarding several of these exhibits.

These new documents can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation "Featured Documents" website sub-section, or else from the main NEFA homepage.

Another Round of Reform for the FBI-Will it Make a Difference?

By Douglas Farah

There is another long-overdue reform brewing in how the FBI handles terrorism cases. This one, six years after 9/11, would finally bring together analysts and field agents in an effort to spot trends and set investigative strategies.

This has been a crying need for analysts to be elevated above their traditional second-tier status to be given more say in driving counterterrorism. The career paths available, the status within the agency and other factors mitigated against attracting the best and the brightest there.

This is a worthwhile endeavor, but one that is likely to run into entrenched institutional norms and conceptions that have consistently hobbled serious reform efforts in the past, to our detriment.

A new book and depressing book by Amy Zegart, Spying Blind, argues that there were 12 major intelligence reform studies from 1991 and the end of the Cold War, to just before 9/11.

Out of those, she finds 340 terrorism-related reforms, almost all of them the major themes of the 9/11 Commission, where most were recommended again.

Of those 340 recommendations, mostly directed to the CIA and FBI, only 35 were fully implemented. Another 30 were partially implemented and seven were implemented to an unmeasurable extent, meaning that 79 percent of the total-268 recommendations-were not acted on at all. My full blog is here.

Why Is New York's Governor Inviting Terrorists to Get a NY Drivers License?

By Michael Cutler

You cannot control illegal immigration purely at our borders, but must also create an inhospitable environment for illegal aliens who succeed in entering and making their way to the interior of the United States. The immigration laws of our nation are clear that anyone who induces aliens to enter our country illegally or reside in our country in violation of law or conspire to do so are violating our laws. Section 1324 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is quite clear on this issue:

Section 1324. Bringing in and harboring certain aliens

(a) Criminal penalties
(1)(A) Any person who...
(iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or
reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of
the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be
in violation of law; or
(v)(I) engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding
acts, or
(II) aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts,
shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).

The governor of New York State has made it known that he intends to provide drivers licenses to illegal aliens. I find it incredible that the Governor, who had been the Attorney General, would not understand that the promise of providing driver's licenses to illegal aliens provides clear incentives for terrorists to illegally enter our country and to illegally reside in the United States and secure illegal employment. I find it especially disturbing that the Governor of the State that suffered the most casualties and destruction from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 would so blithely ignore the lessons of those attacks, as articulated in the 9/11 Commission Report on the Terrorist Attacks and in the 9/11 Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel.

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The Anatomy of a Betrayal

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

More information has recently emerged about the killing of Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi (also known as Abdul Sattar Abu Risha), who led the Anbar Salvation Front. The Associated Press reported on Saturday:

[Lt. Col. Jubeir] Rashid said Friday that Abu Risha's security chief, Capt. Karim al-Barghothi, confessed al-Qaida in Iraq had offered him $1.5 million for the slaying but that he was arrested before he could collect the money. Two other bodyguards as well as some of Abu Risha's neighbors were also detained, Iraqi police said. The arrests took place two days after the bombing. Al-Qaida front group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the assassination. Abu Risha, who organized 25 Sunni Arab clans into an alliance against al-Qaida, died along with two bodyguards and a driver when a bomb exploded near his walled compound just west of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad.

I spoke with a senior American military intelligence officer yesterday who filled me in on some of the details emerging from the investigation. He said that al-Barghouti had been in debt to some people in the car smuggling racket in Mosul who were affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The men in the car smuggling racket had a deal with AQI: the terror group would allow them to operate, guaranteeing their security, and in return they would pass information to AQI about who was in debt to them. The men in the smuggling racket passed on information about al-Barghouti's debt, and AQI told them to pressure on him to repay the debt immediately -- something he was unable to do.

This put al-Barghouti in a no-win situation. He couldn't go to the authorities because doing so would have exposed his corruption and illegal activities. Then AQI approached him to offer a way out: they would repay his debt in exchange for al-Barghouti admitting al-Rishawi's assassin to the compound, and not asking too many questions while he was on the way in. In this way, AQI created problems for al-Barghouti in order to proffer the solution.

This shows the sophistication of AQI's intelligence network. Being able to selectively apply pressure in this manner is a hallmark of professional intelligence services. Abdul Sattar's probable assassin -- Fallah Khalifa Hiyas Fayyas al-Jumayli, a.k.a. Abu Khamis -- was never part of the Iraqi intelligence services, but was reportedly the student of an AQI leader who was former in Iraqi intelligence. AQI has benefited immensely from former Iraqi intelligence and military personnel entering their ranks. This has helped not only AQI, but the broader al-Qaeda network as well.

Immigration Fraud and National Security Threats - Deja Vu All Over Again

By Bill West

On September 24, the Cybercast News Service ran a story about a GAO report issued September 21 reflecting that our Diversity Visa program was at notable risk of fraud abuse and that risk was particularly vulnerable to misuse by foreign terrorist operatives seeking to enter and remain in the United States, utilizing the program to gain “legal” immigration status and cover. The Diversity Visa program was initially established to facilitate immigration from countries with otherwise low levels of immigrant entry. This currently includes terror sponsoring countries like Iran, Syria and Sudan.

The report indicates fraud within the program is complicated by the easy potential for terrorist aliens obtaining genuine identity documents in false identities in their home countries, or such aliens who are not already known to US and allied Intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and therefore not in the various lookout systems, slipping through the alert network. Additionally, the report notes once Diversity Visa aliens are admitted into the United States, there is virtually no follow up effort by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or any other US Government agency to verify their location or activities.

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A Time to Outline Iran-Al Qaeda Ties

By Douglas Farah

One of the more surprising things about Iran and the
visit of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is that Bush administration's unwillingness to lay out the case of Iran's unusual complicity with al Qaeda.

I say unusual only because Shi'ite governments do not often make common cause with Sunni radicals, although tactical alliances among non-state actors is not so unusual.

But, it seems, if the cause is big enough, tactical alliances can be made and endure. Hatred for the United States and a shared desire to create Islamist states seem to be enough in this case to unite the old guard of al Qaeda with the Ahmadinejad regime.

The tactical alliance is not new, but it is passing strange that, in light of the relationship, the current administration does not focus more explaining the Iranian threat.

This alliance alone is enough to negate Ahmadinejad's request to visit Ground Zero in New York. He scored tactical points by making the request and having it denied, although it would be akin to allowing an accomplice to lay a wreath at the grave of the victims. My full blog is here.

Internal and External Threats to the Jihad Media War

By Evan Kohlmann

Several Sunni insurgent factions fighting in Iraq have recently released official communiqués addressing brewing conflicts over the jihad media war--including divisions that exist within the mujahideen community itself. On August 29, the Mujahideen Army issued a statement accusing their "dear brothers" from the Al-Furqan Foundation--the official media wing of Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq"--of distributing a video of a military operation that had already been claimed months earlier by the Mujahideen Army. In due course, the ISI's Al-Furqan Foundation issued a response acknowledging, "the operation had indeed been executed by one of the central brigades of the Mujahideen Army... However, following the establishment of the ISI, this particular brigade pledged its allegiance to Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi and, therefore, their media archives became the rightful property of the Al-Furqan Media Foundation." The ISI has also sparked controversy with the recent release of an audio recording by its leader Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, including accusations that several major Sunni insurgent organizations are now working in conjunction with U.S. forces. One of the groups singled out by al-Baghdadi--the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front (JAAMI)--has issued its own letter firmly denying these allegations and demanding that "the gossiping cease from all those who posted harsh words on the Al-Hesbah web forum." Separately, Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya ("the Iraqi Jihad Union") has announced the expulsion of several prominent activists within its organization for unauthorized contacts with unspecified "outsiders." Finally, the ISI's Al-Furqan Foundation has released a statement condemning a series of recent electronic attacks by "crusaders" on notorious jihad web forums--including the Al-Hesbah network.

- 7/29/07: Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya Declares Expulsions of Dissidents for Unauthorized Contacts
- 8/29/07: Mujahideen Army Statement to ISI's Al-Furqan Foundation
- 9/3/07: Al-Furqan Foundation Response to Statement from the Mujahideen Army
- 9/13/07: Al-Furqan Foundation Statement Regarding Recent Attacks on Jihad Websites
- 9/16/07: Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front (JAAMI) Response to Speech by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi

See also:
- [CTBLOG]: "Operation Niche: The Conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique"
- Report: "State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq: August 2007"

Is Al Qaeda Iraq a Threat to Sweden?

By Walid Phares

The leader of al Qaeda in Iraq recently offered a bounty encouraging the assassination of a Swedish cartoonist and his editor for having published drawings deemed insulting to the religion of Islam. Omar al Baghdadi, in an audio statement said Lars Vilks, who "dared insult the Prophet", should be killed for a reward of $100,000 and, if "slaughtered like a lamb", the killer will receive another $50,000. In addition, he offered a Jihadi financial reward of $50,000 for the murder of Ulf Johansson, the editor of Nerikes Allehanda, the Swedish paper that printed Vilks' cartoon on August 19.

In the context of Global Jihadism, this second cartoon drama -- after last year's Danish cartoon crisis - displays a dimension very relevant to the ongoing War on Terror. Indeed, the identity of the threat issuer is important, because it is al Qaeda in Iraq. This development should send a significant message into the American and international debates about that conflict, especially as a significant faction within the US Congress, some of whom claim that Iraq is fighting only a civil war, is pressing for a rapid withdrawal of US troops.

What the "Jihad bounty" tells us loud and clear is this: al Qaeda's operation in Iraq is not, nor will it be, "only" about an American, Western or international presence. As the AQI press release shows, there is clear evidence that those who are beheading, killing, maiming, kidnapping and blowing up people and things in the Sunni Triangle and in the rest of Iraq have an agenda of international violence.

Iraq is merely their launching pad.

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In the Name of God: Islamists Spearheaded Violence over Cartoon in Bangladesh

By Animesh Roul

Hundreds of Islamic hardliners including activists of Hizbut Tahrir, Islami Oikya Andolon, Chhatra Mukti Andolon, and Islami Shasantantra Andolon descended to the streets and later resorted to violence and arson to protest the publication of a cartoon that allegedly made fun of Mohammed, in a vernacular daily. The protesters said this was a deliberate attempt by the cartoonist and the news paper to ridicule Prophet Mohammad. The cartoon appeared on Sept 17 issue of Prothom Alo’s magazine Aalpin. It was titled "Naam” (Name)” which made a childish and harmless (not outrageous at all) fun of the naming custom in the Muslim countries. Even though, the Newspaper editor apologized on the same day for the inadvertent publication of the cartoon and urged to 'forgive the mistake', violence erupted in the National capital on September 21. Clerics have called for the cartoonist (who is in police custody right now) to be punished and the news paper office to be closed. Copies of the newspaper have been burned outside mosques in Dhaka. Defying emergency rule that prohibits protest and rally of any kind, angry protesters attempted to storm the offices of the news paper. However, one could read and see the cartoon to ascertain whether the cartoon (the text included) is blasphemous or the mindless violence and burning in the name of Prophet.

The cartoon has these texts (read it as conversation between a boy and elderly cleric):

Boy, what’s your name? My name is Abu.
It is customary to put Mohammed in front of the name.
What is your father’s name? Mohammed Abu.
What is that on your lap? Mohammed cat.

And the burning of newspapers that followed.

Losing Traction against Syria

By David Schenker

The September 6 Israeli bombing of a presumed North Korean-supplied nuclear weapons facility in Syria highlights the ongoing policy challenge posed by Damascus. More than three years after President Bush signed the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act (SAA), Syria continues to support terrorism, destabilize Iraq, meddle in Lebanon, and develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile systems. This week's headlines tell the story: on September 19, yet another anti-Syrian parliamentarian was assassinated in Lebanon; the same day, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that a July 2007 chemical weapons accident in Syria -- involving mustard gas and VX and sarin nerve agents -- killed fifteen Syrian officers and dozens of Iranian engineers.

To date, Syria has proven largely impervious to U.S. sanctions, and Washington's efforts to forge international consensus on isolating Damascus have not gained traction. Although the regime seemed isolated after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, the trend has recently shifted toward diplomatic and economic engagement. If such engagement continues, Syria may avoid accountability for both the Hariri assassination and Western demands to alter its behavior.

As information begins to emerge about the extent of North Korean-Syrian ties, Washington will have another opportunity to focus the international community on the continuing dangers posed by the Asad regime. The UN's Hariri tribunal will add to the pressure on the regime, but that alone will not suffice. To stem Syria's reacceptance into the international community, Washington needs to convince its European and Arab -- particularly Gulf -- allies to freeze their engagement with Damascus. It should also exclude Syria from the Arab-Israeli peace conference scheduled to take place this November.

In the absence of effective measures, the Asad regime will continue to undermine Washington's hopes for the region. You can read the full-length version of this article here.

Pointless Proposal: EU Seeks to Ban Access to Bomb-Making Instructions Online

By Aaron Mannes

The EU is considering a proposal that would ban websites that post instructions on bomb-making. The proposal is interesting because it does not appear to focus on criminalizing the websites. Instead it puts the burden on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to these sites. While the EU says this is a not an infringement on speech, the ISPs are balking. First it would be a tremendous technical hassle for them and if they failed to successfully block the sites they could be held liable on criminal charges. Obviously a fair degree of self-interest is at play here. However, there is a freedom of speech issue – at least hypothetically - since the ISPs are being asked to do to their customers what countries like China and Saudi Arabia do to their citizens online.

It has the potential to be a big fight – and a somewhat pointless one. First, it won’t work. The Internet is a big place and the ability to migrate information and conceal it is limitless. Secondly, and perhaps more is that it is not really necessary. The major successful terror attacks have all had links to real world training and experience. The record of self-taught bomb-makers is terrible. The recent plot in Germany was serious because the individuals had had training in Pakistan. But the self-taught cells, like the Doctors Cell of this summer, have not been able to construct successful explosive devices.

Although it is conventional wisdom that anyone can build a bomb off the Internet, so far the reality does not support this contention.

The squawk over censoring access to bomb-making sites may distract the EU from the other, more serious counter-terror proposals in the package such as collecting airline passenger data from every flight in or out of Europe and a rapid alert system for lost and stolen explosives. These are the real elements of successful terror strikes – travel to major training centers (such as in London 7/7) and/or acquisition of actual explosives (such as Madrid 3/11).

To some extent one can sympathize with the EU's action. It is a way to appear to be doing something substantial and pressuring ISPs is far easier than pressuring Pakistan or Syria. However, if the EU is willing to endorse high level monitoring of Internet activity, than it would probably be more fruitful to set up online "honeypots" on bomb-making to attract potential terrorists and then track them down.

Finally, the debate over ISPs monitoring their customers’ traffic has another important angle – and this debate over bomb-making websites may distract from it as well. ISPs could play a much stronger role in preventing and breaking up the botnets and other cyber-crime activity that is growing so severe that it could threaten the operation of the web itself (see my piece in the Wall Street Journal Europe on the cyber-spat between Russia and Estonia.) If the ISPs are going to be pressed into this kind of activity - it ought to be for a good purpose.

Terror Finance Case: "Operation Cash-Out"

By Jeffrey Imm

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced today that a federal grand jury indicted 39 defendants and one business in an international money laundering case that includes one person accused of concealing terrorist financing. The terror finance case, "Operation Cash-Out", had an international scope with defendants in United States, Spain, Canada and Belgium, with the use of hawala money-transmitting businesses to launder millions of dollars.

Substantive news reports on this came out today from: U.S. Attorney's Office press release, Baltimore Sun, ABC, and NBC, with a potentially related story in Spain reported by AP.

The Baltimore Sun reported that during a news conference on Thursday that 32 of the 39 defendants had been arrested in the past 24 hours: "U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said most of the defendants were under arrest -- at least 16 of them in Maryland -- and that an additional six had been arrested last night". NBC WBAL-11 TV reported that "[r]aids were conducted in Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey and Spain on Thursday". The U.S. Attorney's Office press release states that "Operation Cash-Out" includes a total of 46 defendents.

Per the U.S. Attorney's office on "Operation Cash-Out", "[t]he four indictments seek a total of $5,148,000 in criminal forfeitures and ownership interest in two convenience stores located in Snow Hill, Maryland. Five additional defendants have been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with bribery and one other with money laundering."

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said: "Operation Cash-Out was a wide-ranging undercover investigation that yielded evidence of four separate criminal schemes involving at least 46 defendants in the United States, Spain, Canada and Belgium. Three of the indictments involve money laundering hawala schemes exposed through an undercover investigation in which a cooperating witness pretended to operate a business engaged in criminal activity. The indictments allege that the hawala money-transmitting businesses laundered millions of dollars that they believed were the proceeds of illegal activities such as drug dealing, by accepting the money in the United States and returning it in other countries. One of the defendants, Saifullah Ranjha, is alleged to have laundered money that he believed was to be used by al Qaeda, a foreign terrorist organization. The fourth indictment alleges a scheme in which many defendants conspired to bribe public officials with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to illegally obtain green cards and the Maryland Comptroller's Office to receive abatement of taxes owed to the state."

The Baltimore Sun reports regarding "Operation Cash-Out": "[i]n most cases, the money laundering schemes used hawala, a system under which funds are transferred from one place to another, often different countries, through an informal network of people using codes. Although the system is not illegal, U.S. law demands that large money transfers to overseas locations be reported to federal officials and that such businesses have commercial licenses. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the hawala system has been suspected of playing a role in financing some terrorist activities.

It has not yet been reported whether the arrests in Spain today of 2 Pakistani nationals, Anar Muhammad Shan and Preces Mehmood Sandhu, on suspicion of being involved in financing international terrorism is a part of the "Operation Cash-Out" arrests. AP reports that in that case, "among items seized were documents showing $74,360 had been transferred to radical Islamic sympathizers in Arab countries and $9,820 in cash".

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Bin Laden "Come to Jihad" Pakistan Message Transcript

By Jeffrey Imm

From Laura Mansfield - complete transcript of Osama Bin Laden September 20, 2007 message "Come to Jihad"

Image from Laura Mansfield

Complete message video link - from Laura Mansfield
CTB Analysis posting - September 20, 2007

"Come to Jihad: A Speech to the People of Pakistan
Shaykh Usama bin Ladin
(May Allah protect him)
September 2007/Ramadan 1428"

"All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His aid and forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil in ourselves and from our bad deeds. He whom Allah guides cannot be led astray, and he who is led astray cannot be guided. I bear witness that there is no God other than Allah alone, without partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger."

"As for what comes after:"

"To my Muslim brothers in Pakistan:"

"Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

"Allah, the Most High, says, 'O Prophet! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be harsh against them. Their abode is Hell, and an evil destination it is.' (9:73) And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, says, 'There is no one who abandons a Muslim in a place where his honor is violated and his sanctity is infringed upon except that Allah, the Most High, abandons him in a place in which he would like His aid. And there is no one who aids a Muslim in a place where his honor is violated and his sanctity is infringed upon except that Allah aids him in a place in which he would like His aid.' (Narrated by Ahmad)"

"Pervez's invasion of Lal Masjid in the City of Islam, Islamabad, is a sad event, like the crime of the Hindus in their invasion and destruction of the Babari Masjid. And this event has crucial and critical connotations, most important of which are:"

"First, this event demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims, and this is one of the ten nullifiers of Islam, as the people of knowledge have determined, and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory. Allah, the Most High, says, 'O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guides not a people unjust.' (5:51) And His statement 'And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them' means that he is of them in Kufr (unbelief), as the people of Tafseer (explanation) have said. This ruling was the one given and confirmed by Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, may Allah have mercy on him, in his famous Fatwa following the raids on New York, and among the things which he said: 'If any ruler of an Islamic state provides aid to an infidel state in its aggression against the Islamic states, it is the legal obligation of the Muslims to remove him from power and consider him to be legally a traitor to Islam and Muslims.' People of Islam in Pakistan: Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, may Allah have mercy on him, discharged a great duty which was upon him, and declared the word of truth and didn't care about the anger of the creation. He endangered himself and his wealth and made clear the ruling of Allah regarding Pervez: that he is a traitor to Islam and Muslims and must be removed. This Fatwa enraged Pervez and enraged his masters in America, and it is my opinion that the murder of the Mufti - may Allah have mercy on him - was at their hands. And Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai died without having replaced the word of truth with falsehood, in contrast to what many of the 'Ulama of vice do. And the obligation on us remains, and we have been extremely late in carrying it out, six years having passed, so we should make up for lost time. May Allah forgive me as well as you."

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The Sudden Rush of al Qaeda Communications

By Douglas Farah

Perhaps one of the most successful achievements of the old guard al Qaeda, besides staying alive, is the vast expansion of its propaganda outreach arm.

Not only are the videos and tapes coming fast and furious, but in multiple languages aiming at a wide variety of audiences.

This indicates a level of sophistication and and stability that is both deeply alarming and indicative of how secure the group feels. The videos, with different scenes, subtitles, translations and rapid turnaround time (indicated by the references to recent events) shows that the old guard al Qaeda is dedicating significant resources to the propaganda/outreach wing and has a desire to retain a place of preeminence within the _jihadi_ world.

It is interesting that both Bin Laden and Zawahiri have become ubiquitous after years of long silences. This indicates to me that not only do they have the wherewithal to run the operation, but that they feel it is imperative to get their message out repeatedly.

For non-state groups, cut off from the normal media channels, such outreach is vitally important to survival. I draw an imperfect parallel to the success of Radio Venceremos, run by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) in the Salvadoran civil war in the 1980s. My full blog is here.

HLF Jury Begins Deliberations

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

DALLAS – The fate of five men accused of running the nation's largest terrorist-financing front is in the hands of a jury.

The men, officers and employees at the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) are charged with conspiracy and with providing material support to Hamas through their charitable donations. Prosecutors say HLF funneled more than $12 million to Hamas, mostly through a network of social welfare charities in the West Bank and Gaza.

During two and a half days of closing arguments that ended Wednesday afternoon, attorneys offered strikingly different interpretations of those charities, known as zakat committees. Prosecutors say the committees are controlled by Hamas and their activities – food programs, schools and hospitals - are a vital cog in the terrorist group's campaign to win the hearts and minds of Palestinians.

Defense attorneys say Palestinian society wouldn't allow that, that the committees were non partisan in nature and sanctioned by the Palestinian Authority which is a bitter rival to Hamas.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Garrett had the final word in the two-month long trial. In a rebuttal argument, he urged jurors to take disparate pieces of evidence together to see what HLF did for Hamas. He spent considerable time on exhibits showing HLF was part of a broader group, a Palestine Committee established in the U.S. by the Muslim Brotherhood, an 80-year-old Islamist movement that seeks the global empowerment of Islamic law.

For the full article, click here to go to the IPT's website.

Al Qaeda Bin Laden Message Declares War on Pakistan President Musharraf

By Jeffrey Imm

View image
Images from Laura Mansfield

UPDATE - 3:30 PM ET:
Bin Laden Message Transcript -- from Laura Mansfield

Complete message video link - from Laura Mansfield

Jihadist web site monitoring groups and media organizations report that Osama Bin Laden has released a new message declaring war on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Laura Mansfield, the SITE Institute, Reuters, AFP, AP, ABC News, CNN, FOX News, and others have reported on this.

ABC has provided a short video excerpt of the latest Bin Laden message.

Laura Mansfield reports on the new Bin Laden message:
"This morning's video release from As Sahab features the audiotaped voice of Osama bin Laden over a video montage of older footage showing the terror leader in various activities. The message, entitled 'Come to Jihad', is directed to the people of Pakistan. However, the simultaneous release of transcripts in English, Pashtun, and Arabic indicate the terror group is looking at a wider audience, including the English-speaking world. Much of the message builds a legalistic case under Islamic shari'ah justifying why Muslims in Pakistan should take up arms against Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff. He cites numerous quotes from the Qu'ran to document Musharaff's alleged violations of Islamic law culminating with the recent events at the Lal Masjid, as well as several fatwas from clerics justifying action against Musharraf."

SITE Institute reports that the new Bin Laden message addresses Muslims in Pakistan asking them to "rebel against the government of President Pervez Musharraf and declaring al-Qaeda’s intent to retaliate for the blood spilled of 'champions of Islam', in a 23:36 minute audio speech produced by as-Sahab. Old footage of bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri touring a Mujahideen training camp and traversing a mountainside is shown in the center, the screen surrounded by the visages of four deceased jihadists: Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Nizamuddin Shamzai, Nek Muhammad and Abdullah Mahsud."

SITE reports that:
"Bin Laden’s speech presents justification on the grounds of Islamic Shari'a for the overthrow of Musharraf, citing his cooperation with the United States and recent actions against the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and Jamia Hafsa for this purpose. Echoing the sentiments of other al-Qaeda leaders, Zawahiri and Abu Yahya al-Libi, he condemns Musharraf and states: 'So Pervez, his ministers, his soldiers and those who help him are all accomplices in the spilling the blood of those of the Muslims who have been killed. He who helps him knowingly and willingly is an infidel like him'. Bin Laden advocates dismissing elections and other 'futile actions', arguing that force is required and jihad is the way. Further, in the name of al-Qaeda, Usama bin Laden declares that it will retaliate for the death of the aforementioned individuals, including Nek Muhammad and Abdullah Mahsud in Waziristan, and praises the people of Waziristan for their sacrifices against the 'international Kufr [disbelief]', America."

Laura Mansfield provides the following quotes from the new Bin Laden message:
-- regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons program: "How is the nation benefited by these weapons and tests of yours? The same goes for the nuclear bomb itself."
-- in conclusion: "And we in al-Qaida Organization call on Allah to witness that we will retaliate for the blood of Maulana Abd al-Rashid Ghazi and those with him against Musharraf and those who help him, and for all the pure and innocent blood, foremost of which is the blood of the champions of Islam in Waziristan – both North and South – among them the two noble leaders, Nek Muhammad and Abdullah Mahsud. May Allah have mercy on them all."

Earlier this morning, AP reported that Jihadist web sites on Thursday had banners stating that such a new message would be "Soon, God willing: 'Come to Jihad (holy war)', from sheik Usama bin Laden, God protect him... Urgent, Al Qaeda declares war on the tyrant Pervez Musharraf and his apostate army, in the words of Usama bin Laden".

On Thursday, September 19, Al Qaeda's Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri also spoke in a separate video entitled "The Power of Truth"calling for Jihad in Pakistan and around the world. Zawahiri released a previous message "The Aggression against Lal Masjid", calling for Jihad in Pakistan on Wednesday July 11, 2007.

SITE Institute has reported on the Thursday, September 19 video, released by As-Sahab and entitled as "The Power of Truth". Per the SITE report, among other subjects, in the September 19 video, Zawahiri threatens "Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that the death of Abdul Rashid Ghazi and the actions at the Red Mosque and Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad will not go unpunished".

AP also reports that, in the Thursday video "The Power of Truth", Zawahiri also stated that the Lal Masjid counterterror operation "revealed the extent of the despicableness, lowliness and treason of Musharraf and his forces, who don't deserve the honor of defending Pakistan, because Pakistan is a Muslim land, whereas the forces of Musharraf are hunting dogs under (President) Bush's crucifix." Zawahiri made similar comments in his July 11, 2007 video to Pakistanis, where he called Pakistanis to take action: "Muslims of Pakistan: your salvation is only through Jihad."

SITE also reports that, in the September 19 "The Power of Truth" video, "the 'truth', as given in the documentary, is that al-Qaeda and the Mujahideen have been accumulating victories in its war against the United States and the West, despite allegations to the contrary", and that Al Qaeda's Zawahiri "reiterates the call of Usama bin Laden for jihad in Sudan. Calling to Muslims everywhere to abandon those movements that seek alliance or treaties with the enemy, such as the Palestinian Authority and Omar al-Bashir in Sudan, and unite, Zawahiri declares Muslims as strong and never to be subservient to any people, opting for jihad rather than obedience. He states: 'This is what the two blessed raids embodied in the truest of representations, and that is their message to the Crusader West: that the criminal must pay the price for his crimes.' "

Laura Mansfield provides a video link of the September 19 "The Power of Truth" video. Laura Mansfield reports that the "Power of Truth" video "has a total running time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 34 seconds".

In addition, AP reports that in the Thursday video, Zawahri called for attacks on French and Spanish interests in North Africa and on U.N. as well as African peacekeepers expected to deploy in Darfur.

AFP reports that Pakistan is dismissing the anticipated Bin Laden threat, according to chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad: " 'We are already committed to fighting extremists and terrorists -- there is no change in our policy". Last month, President Musharraf made an outreach to the Taliban to become a "mainstreamed" political organization.

Two weeks ago, CNN reported on a poll of more than 1,000 Pakistanis, which concluded that Osama Bin Laden is more popular than President Musharraf. The poll was taken for the group Terror Free Tomorrow in August 2007. The poll results showed that only 4 percent believed that there was a good motivation in the "war on terrorism" with 66 percent viewing it is as a war against Islam, 74 percent said they opposed U.S. military action against al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, and 33 percent supported Al Qaeda (only 43 percent said they opposed Al Qaeda).

Pakistan is increasingly facing internal strife on the issue of its military actions against Jihadist groups, amidst increasing violence and death toll among Pakistan's military. The Daily Telegraph reports that more than 1,000 Pakistani soldiers have died fighting their own countrymen in the US-led war on terror, including 18 ambushed on Sunday, with some having their throats cut. On Wednesday, the bodies of 15 Pakistani soldiers were found mutilated, and 250 Pakistani soldiers continue to be held hostage by Jihadists. The Daily Telegraph report states that "an increasing number of analysts have questioned the soldiers' will to fight what many Pakistanis believe to be 'someone else's war'. Talat Masood, a retired lieutenant-general wrote in a newspaper column earlier this week "[f]or all practical purposes, the state has lost its authority and is in full retreat especially in Waziristan and Bajaur".

Media have reported on desertions from the Pakistani army, and belief that some members of the Pakistani army have been infiltrated by Jihadists for attacks. AKI reports that 6 soldiers deserted the Pakistani army yesterday, and the Times of India has reported that "[s]cores of Pakistan soldiers desert forces". In the Times of India report, a deserting Pakistani soldier told reporters "I did not desert the force because I feared death, but I was not sure whether the fighting in tribal district Waziristan was Islamic or not".

In addition to the widely reported Lal Masjid mosque uprising (where it was reported that Al Zawahiri was involved in planning), there have also been individual cases of Pakistani pro-Islamist mobs attacking police to free Jihadists, as well as pro-Jihadist rallies. In July, Gulf News reported that the top cleric in Waziristan would "wage Jihad" if the US attacked Waziristan. Moreover, Pakistani Islamist press has been calling for Jihad against India.

Pakistan's government has also seen rising Islamist sentiment. Last month, the Gulf Times reported that in the Pakistan government, ruling coalition legislator and parliamentary secretary for defense Syed Tanveer Hussai has called for the Pakistan government to recognize the Taliban, use Jihad to "liberate" Kashmir, and reject US aid stating "[t]he aid that forces us to mistreat our own people should be spewed out". A month ago, on August 21, Dawn reported that Pakistan Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niaz called for ending Pakistan's involvement in fighting in the "war on terror", refusing US aid for the Pakistani military, stated that the "events which followed the 9/11 incident proved that it was the brainchild of Jews", and claimed that the Qur'an demanded Islamic enmity against Christians and Jews.

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Ghanem was killed by the Syro-Iranian “axis” - Chapter 7 is a "Must"

By Walid Phares

As I projected on June 12 on this site (after the assassination of Walid Eido), this is another assassination conducted within the campaign launched by the Syro-Iranian axis to reduce the majority in Parliament and obstruct the election of a new President who would represent the views of the democratic majority. Eliminating MP Ghanem is a terror act and a war crime identical to the assassination of other Lebanese leaders such as former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and MPS Gebran Tueni, Pierre Gemayel and Walid Eido. This is a massacre of democracy in Lebanon, happening in front of the eyes of the international community and should be met with determination. For the Syrian-Iranian axis and their extensions in Lebanon including Hezbollah, its allies, other militias and the Jihadist cells, are directly responsible for this Terror.

It is incumbent on the Security Council of the UN to vote a resolution to put the Presidential election of Lebanon under Chapter 7 of the UN charter. Lebanon’s borders and most areas in the country are now unsafe and have been infiltrated by the Terrorist networks. Clearly the UN has the obligation to intervene directly to save Lebanon’s democratic process and its citizens and elected officials from further acts of terror. UN forces should protect the legislators, the meeting place and deploy along the Syrian Lebanese borders. Nothing else would stop the bloodshed.

Picture of Assassination Scene from CNN

Syria Strikes Again? Another Assassination of an Anti-Syrian Parliamentarian Rocks Lebanon

By David Schenker

This morning, Lebanese parliamentarian Antoine Ghanem was assassinated in Beirut. Ghanem, a Phalange MP allied with the pro-West Government led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was the third parliamentarian in the anti-Syrian majority to be killed this year. A fourth, Gibran Tueni, was killed in December 2005. With Ghanem’s death, the Government’s majority has decreased to 68 of 127 MPs--down from 72 a few years ago. The shrinking majority of this democratically elected government raises the very real prospect that terrorism will overturn the results of the 2005 Lebanese General Elections.

None of the assassins of any of these crimes have been apprehended, although the UN has included the crimes as part of its investigation into the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri. The leading suspect in these killings, of course, is Syria, a leading backer of the Hizballah-led political opposition.

Ghanem’s murder occurs just days before the Lebanese parliament was supposed to convene to elect a new President. The issue is highly contentious; the opposition claims that a 2/3 quorum is required to elect a president—which the majority does not have. In an effort to block the election, the opposition is refusing to attend the parliamentary session. Meanwhile, the majority believes that in the absence of a 2/3 quorum, the constitution permits for a straight majority (50% + 1 vote) election.

The stakes are high. Syria and the opposition are pressing for a pro-Syrian pro-“resistance” president. The majority is looking for a pro-West, pro-democracy figure.

The assassination comes just weeks after Israel attacked an alleged North-Korean related nuclear facility in Syria, and on the same day that Jane’s Defense Weekly reported that an explosion at a Chemical Weapons facility in July—involving mustard gas and sarin and VX nerve agents—killed 15 Syrian military personnel and “dozens of Iranian missile weaponisation engineers.”

Articles I have published this week discussing Syria’s latest military buildup and the poor judgment of Syrian President Bashar Asad can be found at the tagged links.

BREAKING: Closing Arguments Over in HLF Trial

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Closing arguments have ended in the terror financing case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Develpment (HLF), and the jury is receiving instructions from the judge before beginning deliberations, which are expected to begin as early as later today.

For our earlier reports on the closing arguments, read:

First Amendment, Alternate Theories Highlight HLF Defense Arguments
"Deception" Dominates HLF Closing Arguments

Underutilized Law Enforcement Tool Finally Gaining Some Traction And Can Aid CT Efforts

By Bill West

On September 17, the Family Security Foundation ran an excellent article concerning the little known “Section 287(g)” provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). What is particularly interesting about “287(g)” is that it has existed as Federal law in its current state since 1996 yet has been largely ignored by the mainstream media and many government bureaucrats, especially the ones with the ability to make effective policy changes.

Section 287(g) is the INA section that allows Federal immigration law enforcement authorities, now the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to grant Federal immigration enforcement authority to state and local law enforcement officers under certain specific circumstances. This provision, potentially, provides a powerful enforcement enhancement tool in the effort against illegal immigration. Given the political hot potato that is immigration enforcement, at least in the minds of the liberal elites and much of the MSM, 287(g) has managed to remain mostly buried from public scrutiny for all these years. It is now seeing some light of day.

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Worst Approach to Counter-terrorism Yet

By Steven Emerson

On Wednesday, October 3rd, the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security is hosting its "5th Annual Counter-Terrorism Conference" titled, "Radicalization: Global Trend, Local Concern?" The conference is part of the agency's "First Responder Training" and speakers and experts are brought in to instruct department employees on various topics related to security and counter-terrorism.

In a decision that defies reason, slated to speak on a panel called "To What Extent is Radicalization a Concern in the U.S.?," is none other than Georgetown University's John Esposito, a man who has never met a radical Muslim he didn't like.

At a banquet held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Dallas in August of this year, Esposito stated:

I've got to tell you, you know, I mean, Sami Al-Arian's a very good friend of mine. I remember that when his kids told me that he was supporting a Republican I just said, ‘Tell your dad, as a lifelong Democrat, even though I don't always vote Democrat, he's ‘gonna regret voting for a Republican. And you know, God help Sami Al-Arian in terms of this administration and any others who have to live through this.

Esposito finished his speech, telling the crowd, "One of the most impressive people I have met under fire is Sami Al-Arian."

Please click here to read the rest of the article at the website of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, and to see exlusive videos of Esposito's "very good friend" Sami cursing the United States and calling for the death of its allies.

HLF Trial: Defense Continues Closing Arguments

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

DALLAS - Attorneys for three Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) officers minimized their clients' roles in work prosecutors allege was designed to help Hamas. Any evidence there is against their clients is protected by the First Amendment, they said in closing arguments Tuesday.

Joshua Dratel, attorney for Mohammad El-Mezain, told jurors the evidence against his client cuts off in 1995 and 1996, when support for Hamas became illegal.

The crux of the case is whether a series of Palestinian charities, known as zakat committees, were controlled by Hamas as prosecutors say. Monday, federal prosecutor Barry Jonas argued that those commitees were part of the Hamas social wing and their work helped win Palestinian hearts and minds for the terrorist group.

Defense attorneys argue that point was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt and have repeatedly noted that none of the committees were designated as terrorist fronts by the U.S. government. The Palestinian Authority, which essentially is at war with Hamas, closed 103 charities in the West Bank a few weeks ago, Dratel said. None of the HLF charities were targeted, he said, and all are licensed by the Authority.

Dratel also cast a 1993 gathering of Hamas supporters in Philadelphia, which included defendant Shukri Abu Baker, as a political conversation. "Association, association, association - that's what the government wants you to convict them on," Dratel said.

Transcripts show the participants gathered to discuss ways to "derail" the nascent Oslo peace accord, which they feared would marginalize the Islamist movement and they opposed for its direction toward a peaceful, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was at that meeting that Shukri Abu Baker said "War is deception."

Attorney Marlo Cadeddu told jurors that prosecutors placed a mountain of exhibits into evidence. But the only ones dealing with her client, Mufid Abdulqader amount to a "little teeny tiny stack of documents here."

She acknowledged that part of that "teeny tiny stack" were a dozen videotapes of her client performing in a band singing songs in praise of Hamas and acting in a skit in which he pretends to kill an Israeli.

Click here to read the entire article detailing yesterday's events at the HLF trial on the IPT's website.

Defense attorney Linda Moreno will deliver closing arguments for defendant Ghassan Elashi Wednesday morning. Then, prosecutor Nathan Garret gets the final word in the government's rebuttal argument before federal Judge A. Joe Fish instructs the jury and deliberations begin.

An Attempt at Education Rather than Deprivation

By Douglas Farah

Militant Islamists willing to pick up a gun to kill for the sake of Allah are a special breed whose legitimacy, both in their own eyes and the eyes of their peers, is largely dependent on their belief that they are theologically enlightened and blessed.

Radicalization, as we have learned in many books published, is almost never an overnight event, but rather a process of some duration in which time the individual, through a combination of personal experience and theological training, comes to believe that Allah requires him to use lethal force to defeat the infidel.

If that fundamental belief structure and narrative begins to unravel, so do the justifications for the violence, especially the violence against civilians.

A counter-narrative that is theologically sound is imperative in this effort and must be led by Muslims.

(That, to me, in a nutshell, is a major reason not to engage with the Muslim Brotherhood-their narrative of their faith is not significantly different from the _jihadist_ narrative that leads to violence. While not all directly to violence, the children of the Brotherhood now engaged in violent jihad bear testimony to the fact that the narrative does not go against that grain.) My full blog is here.

The Reemergence of Hizballah in Turkey

By Matthew Levitt

With secularism, PKK terrorism, and other Turkish issues becoming international concerns in recent months, a dangerous Islamist trend has been overlooked: radical groups inspired more by the revolutionary ideology of Iran than domestic issues such as Kurdish nationalism are staking their own claim to power. One such group is Hizballah in Turkey (HiT), a Kurdish faction recovering from a government crackdown after years of violence. Although HiT's current efforts seem limited to aggressive social activism, the group's track record, like the PKK's, makes future violence likely.

In a new Washington Institute Policy Focus monograph, Rusen Cakir, a senior correspondent for the Turkish daily Vatan, explores this little known sunni extremist group. The full study is available here.

"Deception" Dominates HLF Closing Arguments

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

DALLAS - A federal prosecutor and the attorney for the lead defendant in the terror-support trial of five Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) officers traded accusations of deception Monday during closing arguments.

When federal prosecutor Barry Jonas accused the defendants of trying to deceive the American public, he pointed to their own conversations captured on surveillance tapes.

"War is deception," former HLF President Shukri Abu Baker said during a secret gathering of Hamas supporters in 1993.

Defense attorney Nancy Hollander, in turn, appealed to distrust of the government and challenged evidence presented by an Israeli security witness who testified under a pseudonym.

Jonas reminded jurors that investigators found a security manual with instructions how to avoid detection at one of the defendant's offices and that HLF officers used the word "Samah" rather than HAMAS in their conversations. In 2000, they had their office swept for bugs.

"Is this what a real charity would do?" Jonas asked repeatedly.

He pointed to Baker's 2002 sworn declaration in which he claimed to "reject and abhor Hamas, its goals and its methods" as part of a civil suit. But Baker also published an ode to Hamas in the Arabic publication Ila Filastin. "Hayzum (Gabriel's horse) Hamas has arrived," it concludes, "and we will not accept any other than Hamas." The poem was followed by a solicitation for donations to the Occupied Land Fund, HLF's original name.

For the full article detailing the first day of closing arguments in the HLF trial, visit the IPT's website.

Operation Niche: The Conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique

By Evan Kohlmann

Yesterday, a Scottish jury at the High Court in Glasgow returned a verdict convicting Mohammed Atif Siddique--a 21-year old homegrown extremist thought intent on becoming a suicide bomber--of a series of terrorist offenses, including the possession and distribution of terrorist propaganda material via websites and providing instructional material about guns and explosives over the Internet. In reaction to the verdict, the sitting justice Lord Carloway made several brief remarks, directly addressing the defendant Siddique: "You have been convicted of significant contraventions of the Terrorism Act, in particular on charge one of having articles in your possession for the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism. The court must take these offenses extremely seriously."

In June 2006, I was formally requested by the Central Scotland Police to review and assess the significance of materials recovered from digital storage media found in the possession of Mohammed Siddique and now-defunct Internet websites he was responsible for creating. In an 18-page report filed on behalf of Crown Prosecutors, I concluded that Siddique's collection of online propaganda constituted "a formidable archive of authentic Al-Qaida recruitment and technical material that is designed and likely to be used for purposes relating to the commission, perpetration, or instigation of an act of terrorism—most specifically, a suicide or 'martyrdom' operation."

In fact, the material collected by Siddique was a virtual encyclopedia of terrorist knowledge acquired over time by Al-Qaida and its associates. It was also a remarkable who's-who lineup of some of the most high profile figures in the "homegrown terrorism" market hailing from Al-Qaida's military leadership. Though Western academics have tended to focus on the much-vaunted role of Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Mustafa Setmariam Nasar) in this respect, actual case studies are consistently demonstrating that the teachings of other competing strategists have been far more influential in Al-Qaida circles, arguably none more so than those published by the late Saudi Al-Qaida commander Shaykh Youssef al-Ayyiri. Known to his supporters as “the Swift Sword,” al-Ayyiri (a.k.a. “Al-Battar”) reportedly first joined the Arab mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan at age 18. Impressed by his enthusiasm and skills as a combatant, Al-Qaida claimed to have granted Al-Ayyiri a position of high importance as the commander of a training camp in Afghanistan. Before long, Al-Qaida judged al-Ayyiri to be a “seasoned military man… a genius and theorizer who served jihad… He is an inspired genius and a miracle of the age. Had he been in another nation, they would not have made him walk on the ground. They would have carried him on their heads.” Al-Ayyiri authored several notable theoretical works on terrorism (distributed in electronic form over Al-Qaida's first official Internet website "Al-Neda"), including “Sacrifice Operations: Suicide or Martyrdom?” and “The Moscow Theater Operation and Its Benefits for the Mujahideen.” According to another digital magazine later distributed by Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia, when al-Ayyiri learned of the September 11, 2001 suicide hijackings in New York and Washington D.C., he “was so joyous he nearly floated on air.” A subsequent Al-Qaida propaganda video released in late 2003 contained audio messages from al-Ayyiri. Amidst scenes of suicide bombers preparing for their mission in Saudi Arabia, al-Ayyiri can be heard explaining:

“In the first stage, the stage of attrition and engaging the enemy in battle, you need to make your enemy tired more than you need to kill a large number of its members. You need to scatter the enemy, demoralize it, spread it out over a large area, and cause it to get tired. If the enemy is spread out, it will need supply armies and a lot of other things. You need to make the enemy reach this stage. In this stage, you should strike, run, and disappear. Strike at the weak points.”

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Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's emir kicked out

By Olivier Guitta

As The Croissant just reported citing 2 reports in the Algerian press, Abdelmalek Droudkel, aka Abu Mussab, was allegedly kicked out of his position of emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) by his peers.
I had mentioned on this site the dissension inside the ranks of AQIM since the ex GSPC changed his name in January and pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda. In fact after the triple suicide bombings in Algiers on 4/11, many AQIM members did not approve of the use of suicide bombings targeting civilians.
To go on a limb, this news could mean the death of AQIM per se and a return of the ex GSPC to a more guerilla style terrorism approach.

NEFA Series "Target America": KSM's Transatlantic Shoe Bomb Plot

By Evan Kohlmann

On the heels of the foiled plots targeting Fort Dix and JFK Airport, the Nine Eleven Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation announces the release of the eleventh in a series of reports examining the multitude of threats directed at the United States since 9/11. This week's report focuses on 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's (KSM) plan to utilize two British Al Qaeda operatives -- Richard Reid and Sajid Badat -- to blow up U.S.-bound commercial airliners with shoe bombs. On December 22, 2001, Reid attempted to bring down American Airlines Flight 63 by igniting the explosive device in his shoe; his attempt failed and he was restrained by passengers until the plane landed. And, at the last moment, Badat withdrew from the plot, telling police he wanted to "introduce some calm in his life." Reid and Badat had been assisted by KSM's nephew 'Ammar al-Balucchi, who also played an important supporting role in 9/11.

The report can be viewed on the NEFA Foundation website, http://www.nefafoundation.org.

France Calls For Tough European Sanctions On Iran

By Victor Comras

The New French Government is now adding its own weight in support of U.S. efforts to get Iran to back off from its accelerated uranium enrichment program. French President Sarkozy indicated shortly after his election that he would place a very high priority on the nuclear proliferation risks posed by Iran. A few days ago French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned Iran in stark terms to halt its quest for nuclear weapons capability. Their failure to take the international community's s concerns seriously, could, he warned, ultimately lead to war. The “world should prepare for the worst,” Kouchner cautioned, “which is war.” That’s particularly strong language coming from the French.

While Prime Minister Francois Fillon sought to smooth over Kouchner’s harsh remarks, he didn’t back down from them. Rather, Fillon stressed that while it would continue to pursue all possibilities for a negotiated settlement, France was now convinced that further sanctions or Iran were needed to bring the message home to Iran’s leaders. France, he indicated, has formally proposed imposing European wide sanctions on Iran, which would be separate from what the UN Security Council might do. The Security Council has made little progress, so far, in coming up with a new set of sanctions on Iran. "These would be European sanctions that each country, individually, must put in place with its own banking, commercial and industrial system. The English and the Germans are interested in talking about this. We will try to find a common European position," Kouchner said. Dutch Foreign Minister, Maxime Verhagen, has also indicated that if the Security Council fails to act on new stringent sanctions measures, that the Dutch government could well join with the United States in applying unilateral sanctions on Iran.

Unfortunately, other European leaders have not been as forthcoming. In Germany, for example a conference entitled "Iran - Business Opportunities for German Exporters" is scheduled to open tomorrow in Darmstadt. The conference reportedly is a joint initiative between the Hessian state government and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. However, the German Chamber of Conference did remove from its website the text of an invitation to the conference which read, in part,: "Iran is accustomed to crises - but somehow always keeps going forward. Iran's economic potential makes the country a worthwhile investment in any case."

Europe can play a critical role in convincing Iran to change course (see my Congressional Testimony on Iran Sanctions at recent House and Senate hearings) Alone, the United States lacks significant sanctions leverage on Iran. But, joined by Europe, combined US European sanctions can have a major impact on Iran’s economy, and will go a long way toward convincing Iran’s leaders to reassess their current policies. The question remains just how far European countries are willing to go with new sanctions, and how many European Countries will participate. Europe remains Iran’s largest trading partner, and potential source for foreign investment. Iran – Europe two-way trade amounts to some $26 billion per year. And Iran is still much more reliant on European imports than Europe is dependent on Iranian Oil. And beyond European Sanctions, there is still a real possibility that combined US-European clout will also bring China and Russia around. So, lets hope that France, Britain, the Netherlands and other European non proliferation committed countries follow through with meaningful sanctions and resist those advocating more effete measures in the name of a lowest denominator consensus.

Six Years after September 11: A 9-11 Commission Progress Report

By Matthew Levitt

Six years after September 11, terrorist attacks still threaten Americans. Although Washington has carried out major reforms to improve its counterterrorism measures, Mike Hurley arges there is a critical lack of urgency on several fronts.

And while the United States has used and should continue to use military power to combat terrorism, military power alone will not defeat the persistent and evolving threat of terrorist threat . America's influence in the world depends on public image and how willing other nations are to cooperate with U.S. initiatives. To achieve security in the long term, the United States needs to improve its image in the world. The best way to do so. argues Chris Kojm, is through economic assistance.

On September 12, 2007, I chaired a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute featuring Michael Hurley and Chris Kojm. Mr. Hurley, recently retired from twenty-five years of service at the CIA, served on the 9-11 Commission as a senior counsel and director of the counterterrorism policy investigation. Mr. Kojm, now a professor of international affairs at George Washington University's Elliott School, is former president of the Public Discourse Project and deputy director of the 9-11 Commission. A rapporteur's summary of their remarks can be found here.

A streaming audio of the event is available here.

Third 9/11 Jihadist Video Calls For Attacks on West (Updated)

By Jeffrey Imm

September 18 Update with additional SITE report

Media reports state that a third 9/11 Jihadist video, reportedly by Al Qaeda, has been released via Islamist web sites today, calling for Jihadist terror acts on the West to be a daily occurrence and calling for "acts of mass extermination".
AKI and AFP have thus far provided the primary reporting on this new Al Qaeda video.

AKI reports that the new 26 minute video is entitled "The attacks in New York and Washington - reasons and motives".
AFP reports that the video "features a montage of images of the burning World Trade Center towers and scenes from Islamist training camps."

AFP reports that a voiceover on the video states:
"We must take Islamist terrorism to Western countries so that it becomes a normal part of life like natural disasters" and "[i]n that way, we will have acts of mass extermination in which people will feel that their affluence also brings death... and we will have created a balance of deterrence between us and them".

AKI reports that the new video begins with a message from Abu Yahya al-Libi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. On the new video, Al-Libi is reported to praise the role of Al Qaeda in defending the principles of Islam

AKI reports that the new video includes a montage of audio and video footage of previous messages Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri on the rationale behind the 9/11 attacks. AFP reports that the video also includes a clip by Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid, also known as Sheikh Said, the group's commander in Afghanistan.

AKI reports that:
"[a] voice on the video also gives an account of the war in Chechnya, blames the West for having committed a mass extermination and calls for revenge for this action. Also included is footage of interviews carried out by the Arab satellite TV network, Al Jazeera, with university professors, Arab commentators and editor of the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper. The entire video describes various events that occured before the 9/11 attacks, in particular the conflict in Chechnya, and tries to explain the reasons behind the terror attacks."

AKI reports that the video ends with a speech by Abdullah Azzam. Abdullah Azzam, who died in 1989, was an inspiration to Osama Bin Laden and countless other Jihadists.

AKI reports that the new video does not the logo of al-Sahab, Al Qaeda's communications arm, but carries the new logo of "al-Tanzim". AFP reports: "A third release had been trailed by Al-Qaeda's media arm, As-Sahab. In the event the new video was issued in the name of Al-Tanzem, prompting suggestions the network has launched a new media arm."

Additional SITE Reporting

SITE provided additional reporting on the 9/11 Jihadist video, pointing out that in this Al-Tanzem Jihadist video, there was significant focus on Chechnya. SITE reported that: "Chechnya is the lens through which al-Tanzem is fixated, the narrator stating: “If you see the massacres of Chechnya, you would say that this is enough reason to strike the towers of the World Trade Center.” Footage of destruction in Chechnya in human and material terms, and excerpts from interviews with Islamic scholars and al-Qaeda spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, defend the jihad in Chechnya and portrays it as an example of a war on Islam not isolated to Russia."

SITE reported that "Al-Tanzem, in the past, has produced media praising deceased jihadi leaders, such as Mullah Dadullah, Shamil Basayev and Abu al-Walid al-Ghamdi."

SITE also provided a similar translation on the video voiceover previously reported by AFP, with SITE stating: "[a] voice which sounds like that of Abu Musab al-Suri states: 'Islamic terror must move to the Western countries so that it turns into a natural disaster such as earthquakes, volcanoes and things similar to that. They should have mass extermination so they can feel what we suffer and stop what they are doing to us, then they will have sympathy and a balance is achieved. We don’t need to understand the West; instead we make the West understands us.' "

Sources:

September 17, 2007 - SITE Intelligence Group -- "Reasons and Motivations for the Attacks in New York and Washington" – Video Presentation from al-Tanzem Foundation for Sixth Anniversary of 9/11

September 17, 2007 -- AKI: Terrorism: Al-Qaeda releases third 9/11 video

September 17, 2007 -- AFP: Qaeda urges Islamic terror in West in third 9/11 video

September 17, 2007 -- Agenzia Giornalistica Italia -- Terror: Third Al Qaeda's video, attacks must be normal

April 16, 2002 - Slate: Abdullah Azzam - The godfather of jihad

A Look at the Hamas (Muslim Brotherhood) Government

By Douglas Farah

Today's Washington Post carries a fascinating look at the way Hamas, the West Bank branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, runs its government.

The two trends that have made Islamist governments both accepted and disliked are clearly on display. The first thing the Hamas government seems to have done is get rid of the perpetual insecurity, crime and endemic corruption. This is a pattern repeated from Afghanistan to Somalia, and one that is often at the top of the list of priorities of civilian populations.

These actions, as they did elsewhere, buy an enormous amount of goodwill among the general public, and is a facet that is usually sorely lacking in U.S.-led efforts to win hearts and minds.

The second trend is the imposition of Islamist behavior. The article notes that "Gaza's streets have taken on an increasingly Islamic cast in recent months. The improved everyday security has brought people back to the markets, beaches and parks, many of them women wearing for the first time the full black gown, gloves and face covering favored by the most conservative Muslims." My full blog is here.

Al Qaeda in Libya

By Olivier Guitta

While focus has been rightly so recently on the attacks perpetrated by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Algeria and Morocco, let's not forget that Libya is also possibly a target.
Furthermore, two of Al Qaeda top leaders are Libyan and dream of unseating Colonel Khadafi.

For more on what's going inside Libya, please read on this story from The Croissant:

Despite the news blackout imposed by Libyan authorities, Western chancelleries got information regarding the infiltration of Al Qaeda elements in the Maghreb.
In Mid May, after receiving a US report on potential terror attacks in Libya similar to those perpetrated in Algiers in April, Colonel Khadafi met with his top security services aides. This American report mentioned the potential use of missiles targeting the Bab Al Azizia barrack, Khadafi’s Headquarters in Tripoli. The report also mentioned that Al Qaeda members entered Libya through Algeria and Sudan. It provided a list of likely personalities targeted including security services heads, the CEO of the National Oil Company, Chucri Ghanem, the Prime Minister, Al Baghdadi Al Mahmoudi, the Interior Minister. Other targets included the headquarters of foreign companies, in particular Anglo-Saxon ones in the oil and gas sectors.
Following the US report, Libyan authorities reacted swiftly. Between May 31 and June 7, more than 250 people were arrested in major cities:just in Benghazi, supposedly over 100, in Al Baida (the Salafists and Muslim Brothers stronghold) arrests are occurring around the clock. The bulk of these alleged jihadists had already been jailed in the past, after their fighting against Libyan security services in the 90’s and at the beginning of the 2000’s ; but then they had been freed.
Authorities, not hiding their fears, even arrested family members of Islamist militants who could not be found: indeed they wanted to pressure these jihadists to surrender but it did not seem to work out this time around.

For the rest of the story, please click here.

Four questions on al Qaeda's threat to Sweden

By Walid Phares

Posted on Jihadi web sites, a declaration by the commander of al Qaeda Iraq, Omar al Baghdadi promised to pay 100,000$ for anyone who would assassinate Swedish Cartoonist Lars Vilks, who published an "offensive cartoon" of Prophet Mohammed in the Nerikes Allehanda. Al baghdadi would add another 50,000$ if the artist is "slaughtered," and 50,000$ for the killing of the publication's editor. The "Cartoon Jihad" is back in Europe after the Danish affair last year. But as we are analyzing the far consequences of this threat, and independently from the discussion of the cartoon and the sensitivities it may have hurt (which are real and important on the emotional levels), following are questions to be raised:

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"Terrorists have been arrested on the border, security chief says"

By Michael Cutler

Here's the lead from an article that deals with the nexus between our nation's failure to secure our borders and the imminent danger that this lunacy poses to our nation's security, six years after the attacks of September 11, 2001: "Texas' top homeland security official said Wednesday that terrorists with ties to Hezbollah, Hamas and al-Qaida have been arrested crossing the Texas border with Mexico in recent years." The official described one person caught in 2004 as being tied to a Pakistan insurgent group and whose specialty was smuggling Afghanis and other illegal aliens across the border.

I want you to take a moment to let the significance of all of this sink in. Our nation is at war with terrorists who have already killed thousands of innocent victims within our nation's borders. The commonly quoted number of victims is approximately 3,000. In point of fact I fear that the ultimate toll will actually be a multiple of that number when you factor in all of the people who are dying of lung diseases and other ailments associated with the various highly toxic pollutants that were released when the buildings at the World Trade Center complex collapsed. And now we see how the open borders of the United States facilitate the entry of terrorists, at a time when "We the People" are being inconvenienced, and our freedoms and expectations of privacy are being significantly reduced.

We know that in order to carry out their pernicious plans, terrorists must gain entry into our country and embed themselves in communities around the United States. The key to both of these activities is the way in which our nation secures its borders and enforces the immigration laws from within the interior of the United States. So it is critical that USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) create as tight and effective system as possible. It is also important that all governments deny illegal aliens sanctuary, because sanctuary for illegal aliens will encourage still more illegal aliens, and will enable criminals (and especially terrorists) to set up shop in those communities willing to provide sanctuary.

Report: Muslim Brotherhood U.S. Front Groups a Threat

By Jeffrey Imm

On September 10, Douglas Farah posted a CTB Blog report on a DOD memorandum "Analysis of Muslim Brotherhood's General Strategic Goals for North American Memorandum".

The Washington Times is reporting on additional comments on the Muslim Brotherhood from a Pentagon Joint Staff analyst and this week's congressional hearings.

The Washington Times reports that Pentagon Joint Staff analyst Stephen Caughlin issues a memorandum on September 7 that stated that the Muslim Brotherhood has a number of U.S. front groups posing as moderate organizations. Stephen Caughlin is a lawyer and military intelligence specialist on the Joint Staff.

The Washington Times report states that documents from the Holy Land Foundation trial "reveal new security threats from a network of more than 29 U.S. Muslim groups", and quotes Mr. Caughlin as stating "[t]hese documents are beginning to define the structure and outline of domestic jihad threat entities, associated nongovernmental organizations and potential terrorist or insurgent support systems".

The Washington Times report quotes Mr. Caughlin as stating that a 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum "describes aspects of the global jihad's strategic information warfare campaign and indications of its structure, reach and activities", and identifies unindicted HLF trial co-conspirator Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Per the Washington Times report, Muslim Brotherhood memo on organizing Muslims in North America said that all members "must understand their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within, and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions." The Washington Times quotes Mr. Caughlin's memorandum as stating that "consequently, outreach strategies must be adjusted in the face of credible information that seeming Islamic humanitarian or professional nongovernmental organizations may be part of the global jihad with potential for being part of the terrorist or insurgent support system."

The Washington Times also quotes Mr. Caughlin as stating that government efforts at outreach in the recent ISNA conference "can cause those responsible for its success to so narrowly focus on the outreach relationship that they miss the surrounding events and lose perspective. This could undermine unity of effort in homeland security, lead to potential for embarrassment for the [U.S. government] and legitimize threat organizations by providing them domestic sanctuary."

Regarding congressional hearings this week with top security officials, the Washington Times reports that Senator Joseph Lieberman asked about operational efforts to counter Islamic extremism, quoting Senator Lieberman as stating "[b]ecause this is a war, but it is ultimately a war against, and with, an ideology that is inimical to our own values of freedom and tolerance and diversity,"

The Washington Times made the following report on FBI comments regarding this week's congressional hearings and the FBI views on countering Islamist ideologies:

"FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III revealed during the hearing that the FBI has no counterideology response other than its 'outreach' to Muslim-American communities so they 'understand the FBI' and address 'the radicalization issue,' he said. Asked whether the FBI has a responsibility to wage a battle of ideas within U.S. Muslim-American communities, Mr. Mueller said: 'You put that where I would say no, that it would not be our responsibility for any religion to engage in the war of ideas.' The FBI's responsibility, he said, is 'to explain that once one goes over the line and it becomes not a war of ideas but a criminal offense, this is what you can expect, and to elicit the support of those in whatever religious community to assist us in assuring that those who cross that line are appropriately investigated and convicted.' The comment shows that despite the creation of a dedicated FBI intelligence-gathering branch, the bureau remains limited to investigation and law enforcement."

The Washington Times also reported that:

"Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff also said nothing is being done domestically to battle Islamist extremist ideas. The department's incident management team, he said, is focused on civil rights or civil liberties -- not fighting terrorists' ideology. "

Sources and Related Documents:

September 14, 2007 - The Washington Times: "Jihadist Threat" - by Bill Gertz

September 10, 2007 - U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Groups Called "Threat Organization" in DOD Memo -- CTB Blog -- by Douglas Farah

September 14, 2007 - Holy Land Foundation...A Thought Before Final Arguments - CTB Blog - Dennis Lormel

August 14, 2007 - Muslim Brotherhood Phonebook Confirms that MAS is Brotherhood's Baby - The Investigative Project

August 8, 2007 - CAIR Identified by the FBI as part of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee - The Investigative Project

August 2, 2007 - The Muslim Brotherhood’s "Military Work" in the US - The Investigative Project

August 1, 2007 - The Smoking Gun on the Muslim Brotherhood's Agenda -- CTB Blog -- Douglas Farah

Nine / Eleven Finding Answers (NEFA) - HLF Exhibit GX 3-85 -- "An Explanatory Memorandum: On the General Strategic Goal for the Group" - Mohamed Akram - May 22, 1991

Nine / Eleven Finding Answers (NEFA) - HLF Exhibit GX 24-29 - The Links between the U.S. and International Muslim Brotherhood

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, CR NO. 3:04-CR-240-G, Attachment A - List of Unindicted Co-conspirators and/or Joint Venturers

August 28, 2007 - DOJ, ISNA & HLF -- CTB Blog -- Steven Emerson

August 30, 2007 -- ISNA and Jihad: Why DOJ's Involvement in ISNA Conference Sends The Wrong Message -- CTB Blog -- Jeffrey Imm

Islamism - Definition - Wikipedia

9/11 Commission Report: Cluster References to "Islamism" in U.S. Final Report of the 9/11 Commission

September 11, 2007 - 9/11 and the Inconvenient Truths about Jihad and Islamism -- CTB Blog, Jeffrey Imm

Holy Land Foundation...A Thought Before Final Arguments

By Dennis Lormel

I was contacted today by a reporter who noted that the final arguments in the Holy Land Foundation trial are scheduled for Monday. He inquired about the importance of this case in the government’s anti-terrorism campaign. I posted an article on the Counterterrorism Blog during the jury selection process which, in part, addressed this question.

This is an extremely important case to the government. In complex trials like this, it is difficult to gauge the jury reaction. Regardless of whether there is a conviction or acquittal, the government succeeded in establishing a significant deterrent. Importantly, the government created a sense of awareness to the magnitude that HAMAS manipulates charities. This has caused a decline in charitable giving. HAMAS, not the government, is directly responsible for the decline in charitable giving because of their underhanded techniques in masking terrorist intent.

Documentary evidence was presented during the trial that was damning to the Muslim Brotherhood. It demonstrated the link the Muslim Brotherhood has to radical anti-Western society sentimentality and in favor of terrorism. The evidence also linked Islamic organizations to include the Counsel on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to the Muslim Brotherhood.
These are extremely important revelations.

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Arrest of LTTE’s KP: Goof up or Cover up?

By Animesh Roul

Media broke the news about KP’s arrest in Bangkok on Sep 10 and later picked up by all news agencies around the world. Sri Lanka took a sigh of relief and India desperately wanted to take him home for a trial. But all this euphoria died down when Thailand authority denied his arrest on the face of all media hype. KP is Kumaran Padmanadan (also, Tharmalingam Shanmughan), LTTE's point man for international arms procurement/ trafficking and a senior cadre involved in many high profile operations, including financing the assassination of a former Prime Minister of India. KP considered as the most important players within LTTE, next to chief V. Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman, head of its intelligence wing.

There is a possibility that Thai government is hiding something worthwhile now, even though they handed over three other Tamil Tigers to Lankan authority in August after they served jail terms for arms smuggling, since 2003. It is plausible that Thai govt. conveyed the news to Lanka but never thought that it would be blown to such proportions by the media which has now brought a third player, India into the whole episode. Fearing this could be interfering in the investigation process and that New Delhi would want KP to be extradited first, Bangkok authority now wished to deny the whole incident for the time being. One thing leading observers to believe that KP is in Thai custody much before the reported date of his arrest (does not matter if detained or arrested) because Sri Lanka Navy has successfully interdicted and sank three ships reportedly carrying LTTE’s arms in the high seas recently. Lankan Navy could not have achieved this success unless until they received concrete information on the shipments. A parallel can be drawn between both events. However, this speculation aside, KP’s arrest still remains a mystery, controversial and much awaited.

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Italy's Left-Wing Terrorists Flirt with Radical Islamists

By Lorenzo Vidino

My colleague Andrea Morigi and I have a piece in the latest issue of the Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Monitor describing the links between Italy's so-called "New Red Brigades" and radical Islam:

Last February, in the quiet of a secluded northern Italian country house, three Italian far left militants brainstormed, unaware that counter-terrorism officials were listening to their every word. The men were known members of the so-called "New Red Brigades," discussing new strategies for the group. Alfredo Davanzo, the ideologue of the group who had just returned from France using a forged passport, spoke about the need to overcome the organization's isolation, caused by its secrecy and the waves of arrests it had suffered (ironically, the three would be arrested the following Monday). The group, said the men, should find new venues for their recruitment efforts and pointed to Italian mosques, described as "propellers of protests and struggles," as one of the most obvious choices. The conversation is just another indication of what Italian intelligence officials have warned about for the last few years: some of the most militant segments of the Italian extreme left have displayed an increasing interest in and admiration for radical Islam. What has been only purely moral support up to now could possibly develop into a dangerous cooperation.

The "New Red Brigades"

In assessing the threat, it is necessary to briefly examine the history of the Red Brigades. The group was formed in the early 1970s and bloodied the streets of Italy until the first half of the 1980s. Divided in compartmentalized cells spread throughout the country, the group targeted with assassinations, kidnappings and shootings all those it perceived as "enemies of the proletariat": politicians, military and law enforcement officials, entrepreneurs and business leaders. By the mid-1980s, the aggressive strategies employed by the Italian government (a clever mix of infiltration, tough judicial repression and deals with former militants) had dealt significant blows to the organization. After the crackdowns that followed the 1981 kidnapping of NATO General James Dozier and the 1988 assassination of Christian Democrat Senator Roberto Ruffilli, the Red Brigades were considered virtually dismantled. Most of its leaders received life or extremely long sentences, while only a few managed to flee Italy and settle in other countries.

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Becoming a Safer Nation is an Incremental Process

By Dennis Lormel

With the somber remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the question is always posed “are we safer now then before 9/11?” The invariable answer is we are safer, but not safe. We’re not safe because we are an open society that is easily exploitable. One reason why we are safer is how the government has evolved.

The counterterrorism landscape in the government has changed dramatically and for the better. Initially, I was not a proponent for creation of the position of Director of National Security. I have since changed my view and believe we have a stronger intelligence community and infrastructure as a result. Our intelligence agencies are more cohesive and coordinated then ever before. Many functions for information sharing and analysis have been developed at the federal, state and local levels creating an environment in which officials charged with protecting us are better positioned to perform their duties. This transition is a work in progress and has been since 9/11. In essence, it’s an incremental process. We must measure the community capabilities in the same manner, incrementally. Even though we’ve made progress, there is need for significant improvement to this emerging intelligence environment. As long as the incremental maturation process continues improvements will be made.

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Islamist party's defeat in Morocco: a few observations

By Olivier Guitta

THe PJD (Justice and Development Party), the main Islamist party in Morocco got 46 seats during the September 7 Moroccan legislative elections. This is a surprise considering that polls were predicting a landslide victory for the PJD and its leaders were conservatively expecting to win anywhere from 70 to 80 seats.
Also very interestingly, US officials were very much betting on the PJD winning and had already started meeting regularly with their leaders.
I have written extensively about this alliance between some in the US and the Islamists.
In particular regarding the outrageous Fulbright scholarship given to the editor in Chief of the PJD's unofficial paper At Tajdid, Mustapha Khalfi.

What can we expect?
Islamism is far from dead.
The other more radical Islamist party Al ADl Waalihsanne headed by Sheikh Yassine had called for a boycott of the elections.( By the way the participation rate was an all-time low 37%)
Radicalization of Moroccan society is still going strong, Wahhabism is still being preached in the mosques of the kingdom and a new generation of suicide bombers is ready to act.
Unfortunately one can expect additional suicide attacks in Morocco in the near future.

For those of you interested, my fellow CT Blogger Zeyno Baran will host a panel I will be on at Hudson in Washington DC on September 18 on Islamists in Morocco and Turkey.

By the way, The Croissant also has numerous stories on Morocco, including this one on the GICM.

The Arrest of Diego Montoya and the Power of Drug Cartels

By Douglas Farah

This week brought the welcome news of the arrest of Diego Montoya, one of the world's largest drug traffickers and most wanted criminals. His organization worked both with right-wing paramilitary squads and the Marxist FARC rebels to move tons of cocaine to the United States and Europe.

Montoya, before he had a $5 million bounty on his head, was an old nemesis of mine, along with his co-founders of the Valle del Norte cartel, operating out of the lush valleys north of Cali. I was the first journalist to write about him, in 1992, and was then cordially invited to visit with him on the farm of one of his best friend and fellow cartel leader, Ivan Urdinola. They offered to provide hospitality for me and my family, or, if I preferred, to provide any entertainment I might desire should I choose to go alone.

For some reason, the thought of breaking bread with men best know for using chainsaws to hack their enemies to pieces did not appeal to me. Authorities say Montoya's organization killed some 1,500 people. He penchant for gratuitous, vicious killing was well-known, and anyone suspected of betraying him or his organization could look forward not only to an unbelievably cruel death, but also to the same fate for his or her entire extended family.

Montoya, like Pablo Escobar and the Rodriguez Orejuela brothers before him in the Medellin and Cali cartels, is a serious player not only in funneling cocaine to the streets of the United States and Europe, but a major cause of instability in Latin America. My full blog is here.

NEFA Foundation: A Look Inside a Secret Taliban Training Camp

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained exclusive video footage of a secret Taliban training camp located just north of the Afghan capital Kabul, excerpts of which were aired today by NBC News. The recording was made by NEFA consultant Claudio Franco, who watched firsthand as Taliban fighters demonstrated the detailed construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which their commander endorsed as his preferred method of attacking enemy forces. Asked if they would be ready to strike as "martyrdom volunteers" on targets in Western countries, the men responded, "Allah willing, we will, once we have defeated the infidels…. if we are still alive, we will go to other countries and push the infidels out from other Islamic countries." They also acknowledged that "there are mujahideen coming to us from various countries to carry out martyrdom missions... They are coming from Islamic countries, even from Europe, America, (Australia) and from all over the world, to train and, yes, also for suicide attacks."

Click to view video excerpts from NBC News

"Intense Hospitality"- Islam in American Courts and Why It Matters

By Jeffrey Breinholt

During the week we recognize the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and Congress considers the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq, I want to offer some general observations about an issue I have been writing about - Islam in the American courts - and why awareness of this history is so important to counterterrorism challenges we face today.

Here’s a little-known historical fact that comes from an American court case: the reason Western countries chose to place military and diplomatic assets in foreign locations was the threat of Muslims to their nationals residing those countries. We know this because of a 1957 Supreme Court opinion, in which the wife of a U.S. Air Force sergeant who killed him and was thereafter convicted in court martial proceedings successfully challenged the application of the military tribunals to her overseas conduct. The concurring opinion by Justice Felix Frankfurter contains a history lesson, and a hilarious typographical error:

The practice of European governments to send officers to reside in foreign countries, authorized to exercise a limited jurisdiction over vessels and seamen of their country, to watch the interests of their countrymen and to assist in adjusting their disputes and protecting their commerce, goes back to a very early period, even preceding what are termed the Middle Ages. * * * In other than Christian countries they were, by treaty stipulations, usually clothed with authority to hear complaints against their countrymen and to sit in judgment upon them when charged with public offenses. After the rise of Islamism, and the spread of its followers over eastern Asia and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, the exercise of this judicial authority became a matter of great concern. The intense hospitality of the people of Moslem faith to all other sects, and particularly to Christians, affected all their intercourse, and all proceedings had in their tribunals. Even the rules of evidence adopted by them placed those of different faith on unequal grounds in any controversy with them. For this cause, and by reason of the barbarous and cruel punishments inflicted in those countries, and the frequent use of torture to enforce confession from parties accused, it was a matter of deep interest to Christian governments to withdraw the trial of their subjects, when charged with the commission of a public offense, from the arbitrary and despotic action of the local officials. Treaties conferring such jurisdiction upon these consuls were essential to the peaceful residence of Christians within those countries and the successful prosecution of commerce with their people.

Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1, 77 S.Ct. 1222 (1957).

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On the Sixth anniversary of 9/11: Ten questions for the future

By Walid Phares

At this sixth anniversary of the Jihadist attacks on America, a better understanding of the past can lead us to a clearer analysis of future trends. Such analysis opens up the way for a series of critically important questions.

1. Do the Jihadists wish to destroy the enemy (the free world) or absorb it?

2. Do they want to attack the West and the United States before they accomplish their goals in the Muslim world first? A crucial question, leading to many others.

3. Will it be possible to conclude peace with the Jihadists? What would doing so entail?

4. What are al Qaeda’s priorities in the struggle against the United States?

5. What weaknesses and holes do the Jihadists see in America and the West, and how would they use them?

6. Are the governments in the United States and other western nations ready for these future wars?

7. What would the next generations of Americans, today’s children and youths, have to face in these wars?

8. What should the United States and the West do to avoid future jihads?

9. Why wasn’t it already done in the past?

10. Are the Jihadists alone, or do they have the backing of other powers and states?

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Bin Laden Video Calls For More Jihadists, Testament of 9/11 Hijacker

By Jeffrey Imm

A new message from Osama Bin Laden has been received, in which he praises the 19 9/11 Jihadists and calls for additional Muslims to become Jihadists.

Reuters reports that a "U.S. intelligence official said the voice appeared genuinely to be that of bin Laden."

Laura Mansfield reports that the video is entitled "The Wills of the Heroes of the Raids on New York and Washington. The Will of the Martyr (as we see him) Abu Mus'ab al Shehri With a forward by Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah protect him". Laura Mansfield's web site provides a excerpt of the video.

SITE Institute reports that the video/audio message is 47 minutes, and opens with a still image of Osama Bin Laden from the September 7, 2007 video "The Solution". SITE reports that Bin Laden introduces Waleed al-Shehri, describing his motivations for being among those who "penetrated the most extreme degrees of danger" of the "19 champions".

In the new video, AP reports that Osama Bin Laden praised al-Shehri, saying he "recognized the truth" that Arab rulers were "vassals" of the West and had "abandoned the balance of (Islamic) revelation."

AP also reports that the Bin Laden audio message states:

"It is true that this young man was little in years, but the faith in his heart was big. So there is a huge difference between the path of the kings, presidents and hypocritical Ulama (Islamic scholars) and the path of these noble young men," like al-Shehri, bin Laden said. "The formers' lot is to spoil and enjoy themselves whereas the latters' lot is to destroy themselves for Allah's Word to be Supreme. It remains for us to do our part. So I tell every young man among the youth of Islam: It is your duty to join the caravan (of martyrs) until the sufficiency is complete and the march to aid the High and Omnipotent continues."

Reuters reports that the video includes the "will" of the 9/11 Jihadist Waleed al-Shehri: "Hijacker al-Shehri was shown wearing white robes in the video by the network's production arm as-Sahab, which superimposed him on a backdrop featuring a model airplane and an image of New York's burning Twin Towers. In his testament, he quoted part of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, which he believes commands Muslims to fight infidels."

AP reports that the video shows 9/11 Jihadist Waleed al-Shehri, addressing the camera and warning the U.S.: "We shall come at you from your front and back, your right and left."

Reuters also reports al-Sheri as stating: "The difference between us and you -- O cowards -- is that you fear death and are frightened by it, whereas we hope for it and seek it in God's path."

SITE Institute also reports that on the video: "Shehri speaks on the condition of Islam during his time, arguing it one of depravity and able to bring one to tears 'in view of the weakness, humiliation, scorn and enslavement it is suffering because it neglected the obligations of Allah and His orders, and permitted His forbidden things and abandoned Jihad in Allah’s path.' Legitimacy of jihad and suicide bombings in particular for the Cause of Allah are at the focus of his will, Shehri describing the American presence in Saudi Arabia as among the 'chief causes' of Islam’s misfortune and the jihad against them as the 'most obligatory of obligations'. To America, Shehri speaks of its being in Saudi Arabia: 'you shall expelled from it, humiliated and subdued and dragging behind you the tails of defeat and remains of those killed. And how could we desire anything other than your killing, when our lord ordered us thus'."

Sources:

SITE Intelligence Group: The Will of Walid al-Shehri AKA Abu Musab al-Shehri, One of the Nineteen 9/11 Hijackers, Introduced by Usama bin Laden – 9/2007

Laura Mansfield web site

Laura Mansfield - Except of Video:

September 11, 2007 - AP: New Osama Bin Laden Video Shows 9/11 Hijacker's Last Testament

September 11, 2007 - Reuters: Bin Laden praises 9/11 "champions"

September 11, 2007 - UPI: No live image of bin Laden in 9/11 video

September 7, 2007 - SITE Transcript and Video Link to Bin Laden Video (Updated)

Reenlist the UN in the War on Terror

By Michael Jacobson

I had a piece in today's Baltimore Sun on the need to revitalize the UN's efforts in combating terrorist financing.

The recent National Intelligence Estimate painted a troubling picture. While al-Qaida is resurgent, with an "undiminished" intent to attack the U.S. homeland, international counterterrorism cooperation is likely to wane as 9/11 grows more distant. Revitalizing the United Nations' counterterrorism role would be an important step to bolster the international effort against al-Qaida.

The United Nations has demonstrated that it can play a significant counterterrorism role. Indeed, for the first few years after 9/11, it was at the center of the fight against terrorism. In fact, the United Nations first took on al-Qaida and the Taliban before 9/11, passing Resolution 1267 in 1999 to pressure the Taliban to evict al-Qaida from Afghanistan.

That effort failed, but the United Nations' declaration of al-Qaida as a terrorist entity was an important step forward -- particularly given the traditionally paralyzing U.N. debates about who is a terrorist and who is a "freedom fighter." The fact that al-Qaida and the Taliban were blacklisted certainly helped the United States build international support quickly after 9/11.

To read the rest of the piece, click here

9/11 and the Inconvenient Truths about Jihad and Islamism

By Jeffrey Imm

Six years after the 9/11 attacks, the key strategic issue regarding the global war has not yet been addressed by American leadership and the American people: a clear definition of the global enemy we are fighting and a clear definition of the ideology of the enemy. Extensive discussion has been held on terrorism, the nature of terrorism, tactical approaches to homeland security, tactics of terrorism and counterterrorism, and specific military campaign tactics. Significant progress has been made on such issues, but it is important to recognize that the progress has been in tactical operational areas, and that overarching strategy issues still need to be addressed.

But by ignoring the major strategic issues of fighting Jihad and addressing political Islamism, there are numerous convenient fictions contrary to our national security interests (e.g., denying Jihadist threats, misunderstanding Jihadist's ideological basis, monofocus on tactical and military debates) -- all of which ignore the uncomfortable, inconvenient truths and complexities about global Jihad and political Islamism. In effect, American policy and debate remains focused on tactical issues, without a clear agreement on the enemy, or the strategy to fight the enemy, in the world war.

This unwillingness to face the identity of the enemy is the source of our failures in foreign policy, our failures in national security, and our divisions at home. With an ambiguously defined "war on terror", the US media, politicians, and other citizens can define the war and the enemy with whatever political filter that they choose, and they do. This ambiguity is what empowers the Washington Post and the New York Times to give editorial coverage to Jihadist organization representatives.

In the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and 9/11 Commission report, there is essentially no definition of the enemy as Jihadists that would be meaningful in a war strategy and analysis of a global conflict. Buried in the notes of the 9/11 Commission Report is a definition on "Islamism", as a basis of "Islamist terrorism", but there is no analysis on the link between "Islamism" and "Jihad", nor is there any strategy on how to deal with either. The focus of the 9/11 Commission report, like the "war on terror" is in defining "terrorists" and their "ideology" as the enemy, without an actual definition of the ideology or examination of the impact of that ideology on US national security . The remaining key documents that could be used to fight Jihad, like the FTO and SDN lists, are tactical documents for tactical operations, reflective of where the focus has been in the past 6 years.

The September 7, 2007 Osama Bin Laden tape has been dismissed as "propaganda" by the US government, but there is no reference as what type of "propaganda" it is, or the ideology being represented. This is a week after Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and political leaders spoke at or were exhibitors at the Labor Day weekend ISNA conference, where Islamists were key speakers (and where reportedly DHS had an exhibit next to the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir group). ISNA is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorist financing trial. This is a month after Pakistan President Musharraf called for the "mainstreaming" of the Taliban organization as an acceptable Islamist political organization; this is the same Taliban organization that supported Al-Qaeda training camps used by the 9/11 attackers.

Yet the Osama Bin Laden September 7 video had a very well-defined propaganda message – of political Islamism - attacking democracy, attacking separation of church and state, and calling for the American people to abandon democracy and to accept Islam. Hizb ut-Tahrir's Islamist organization states that its chief objective is to re-establish the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) by attempting to force nations to "resume the Islamic way of life and to convey the Islamic Call to the world. Its role is to establish the laws of the Islamic Shari'ah and to carry the call of Islam to the world." Osama Bin Laden is the most sought after man by America, while Hizb ut-Tahrir is a legal organization in the USA that rubs elbows with the DHS at conventions (and Hizb ut-Tahrir's role in promoting Jihadist activity is ignored). But the inconvenient truth is that when it comes to their views on Islamism – Osama Bin Laden and Hizb ut-Tahrir share the same ideology.

The same day as the Osama Bin Laden September 7 video of Islamist propaganda, the London Times reported on the takeover of half of the UK mosques by the Deobandi sect used to inspire the Taliban; in the September 7 reports the London Times quoted UK imam Riyadh ul Haq as stating "adhering to the fundamentals of Islam… is considered extremism and the struggle against oppression is called terrorism." The next day, the London Times reported on Deobandi scholar Justice Muhammad Taqi Usami's views as being "that Muslims should live peacefully in countries such as Britain, where they have the freedom to practice Islam, only until they gain enough power to engage in battle." UK actually provides an example to America as what not to do in regards to political Islamism, and the lessons learned from UK's failures would be of great value to the US national security strategy… IF there was a US national security strategy that addressed Islamism.

At last week's APEC meeting, President Bush called for a unified effort against "violent Islamic extremists". Yet it is very clear that, within the United States or across the world, there is no consensus as to the definition of the term "Islamic extremist". Until American leadership, American politicians, and the American people step back to look at the strategic issues as to who and why we are fighting, this lack of national and international consensus will continue to undermine our national security.

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Counterterrorism Foundation News

By Douglas Farah

Today the Counterterrorism Foundation, which operates the Counterterrorism Blog and of which I am a director, received a welcome letter from the IRS, informing us that CTF has been granted tax-exempt status under IRC Section 501(c)(3). The exemption is effective April 26 of last year, the date of our incorporation, and the ruling under this determination is effective through calendar year 2010, at which time CTF must justify continuation of the status. This is an important moment for CTF, and we appreciate all the support we have received.

This will enable the CTF to do numerous things as we continue to try to grow. One of the areas where we are growing is in broadening and deepening the board of directors. To this end we are very pleased to announce that Jeffrey Breinholt, on leave from his job as deputy of the counterterrorism division at the Department of Justice, has agreed to join the board. We are also very pleased to announce the addition of David Kaplan, a long-time U.S. News and World Report journalist who is well-known for his expertise on terrorism, organized crime and the overlap of the two.

So, we look forward to the coming months and will keep you posted on developments.

U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Groups Called "Threat Organization" in DOD Memo

By Douglas Farah

The following recent, unclassified memorandum, a military intelligence analysis of some of the Holy Land Foundation documents, was sent to me by a friend concerned with these issues. For the first time that I know of, the Muslim Brotherhood organizations in the United States are classified as "threat organization" in an official writing.

It also directly addresses the campaign by Truespeak Institute, led by Jim Giurard, to change the language of the war on terrorism.

J. Michael Waller is an important part of that campaign as well, and, in his recent monograph Fighting the War of Ideas Like a Real War: Messages to Defeat the Terrorists argues, a Giurard does, that one should classify Islamist terrorist attacks as _hirabah_ rather than _jihad_.

It is not an insignificant semantic difference, and its importance is given below, and in Waller's own work. Thanks to the work of Waller and Giurard, the concept is gaining some currency in the U.S. counterterrorism community.

I have done nothing to the document except remove the name of the author who did the analysis, at the request of military officials. While this is circulating widely in the Pentagon and policy making circles, I honored that request. Neither the officer who wrote this nor the official who wrote the introduction had any role in giving it to me.

This document is part of a broad debate that is finally being engaged, on the true nature of the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliated groups in the United States.

-----

This assessment makes the point that the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered a threat organization and the affiliated US domestic Muslim NGOs and associations identified in the strategy document should likewise be considered part of the Muslim Brotherhood network, that these are “front” functional organizations operating as links and nodes of the overall network.

Exceptionally important in the analysis is the role of the “Truespeak” organization and Jim Guirard who has been arguing in DoD circles and academic institutions that the term jihad should be suspended from the GWOT lexicon to be replaced by hiraba. This analysis demonstrates that “Truespeak” contributors are part of the Muslim Brotherhood threat network, with the implication that this entire communication and lexicon effort is part of a strategic disinformation and denial and deception campaign.

Those involved in strategic communication or IO, whether senior leaders, practitioners or analysts should take a close note.

This analysis begins to provide clear I&W for domestic threats that DoD, DHS and the USG must come to terms with.

LTC Joseph C. Myers
Senior Army Advisor
Air Command and Staff College
Maxwell AFB Montgomery, AL

ANALYSIS OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD’S
GENERAL STRATEGIC GOALS FOR
NORTH AMERICA MEMORANDUM

7 September 2007


INTRODUCTION

*The following is a brief analysis of a Muslim Brotherhood document entered into evidence in the U.S. v Holy Land Foundation trial (Trial) that the U.S. Justice Department is currently prosecuting in Federal Court. Analysis is based on this document as well as other publicly available documents. (For a broad offering of Trial documents, see here ). The attached documents relate to ISNA and the Trial.

· The first document is a Muslim Brotherhood memorandum that was accepted into evidence in the U.S. v Holy Land Foundation (HLF) case. The first 16 pages are in the original Arabic and the second are English language translations of the same. It is dated 22 May 1991 and titled “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America” (Memorandum). The document includes an Attachment 1 that contains “a list of our organizations and the organizations of our friends.” My full blog is here.

The 'Bin Trotsky' Video and the Jihadi Failure in Iraq

By Walid Phares

Has Osama bin Laden turned into Osama bin Trotsky? As I was watching bin Laden reading carefully from his prepared speech, I couldn't help but notice the dramatic drifting in the rhetoric from Salafi Jihadism to a new brand of neo-Wahabism, which I'd baptize "Jihadi Trotskyism" just for the sake of analytical linguistics. The (now) black-bearded high commander of al Qaeda was still quoting from holy texts and talking at a Caliphate level, to be sure, but stunningly, he was also reciting recycled neo-Marxism of the kind usually generated at Berkeley, Columbia or the web sites of the anarchic and post-Soviet internationalists. This mutation, above all other matters related to hair color, skin health or "where-is-Osama," is the essence of the tape, at least for those who read it from a strategic angle.

In short, the man has turned to a fantasy bi-doctrinal ideology, continuing a trend he has shown interest in years ago. I wasn't the only reader of his speech who noticed the mutation, including even the senior analyst of al Jazeera International commenting on the substance. He said, "Are we seeing a Marxist Bin Laden now?"

Obviously, the question was a sort of a teaser, for the Islamist movement knows all too well that the chief of al Qaeda is an ultra-Jihadist and is not really converting to Karl's, Vladimir's, Leon's ideas. As the connoisseurs of bin Laden thinking on multiple Western and Arabic channels agreed, he is "using the weapon" of extreme left wing discourse to generate further chaos inside the enemy camp. So, what was the real and profound goal of this tape? Let's follow the stages of Jihadi logic:

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Algerian President Bouteflika targeted by the September 6 terror attack, what if?

By Olivier Guitta

After the terror bombing that occurred in Batna on September 6 15 minutes before president Bouteflika's appearance, the question of what if is at the middle of the Algerian political scene. Succession has not really been planned and a real chaos would have certainly followed the assassination of Bouteflika.
Other forces are working to unseat the current president and his regime.

From The Croissant comes this very interesting story about Algerian dissidents planning to overthrow President Bouteflika.
Here is an excerpt:

The political movement Rachad, founded by Algerian refugees living in Switzerland, the UK and Germany, was launched on April 18 from London.
This little group wants to overthrow president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his regime.

3 out of the 5 founding members live in Switzerland:
- Abbas Aroua teaches at the University of Medicine of Lausanne
- Mourad Dhina is an ex-employee of the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and of the Zurich Federal Polytechnique School
- Rachid Mesli works for the Arab Human Rights organization Al Karama in Geneva

Mourad Dhina is one of the key figures of the Algerian fundamentalists. After the dissolution of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) [the main Algerian Islamist party] in 1992, he fled to Saint Genis Pouilly [in France nearby the Swiss border];in 1994 he was suspected of weapons trafficking by French authorities, he then decided to flee to Switzerland where his asylum requests were denied twice. Between 2002 and 2004, he nonetheless was in charge of the FIS executive office abroad. Since 1995 he has been tolerated on Swiss soil thanks to a never-ending temporary authorization. Since Algerian authorities revoked his passport he, along with his wife and 6 children (5 of which were born in Switzerland), cannot travel outside Switzerland.

Dhina easily admits that he has “almost constant” contacts with:
Abbas Madani, the historical FIS leader and Madani’s right hand Ali Belhadj (both were jailed in Algeria for 12 years, both always refused to condemn the terrorist acts of the GSPC (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat) now called Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM])

To read the rest, please click here.

A New International Counter-terrorism Organization Makes Good Sense

By Victor Comras

John Edwards’ proposal for a new international Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization (CITO) deserve serious consideration. Edwards has put his finger on the single most important shortcoming in the war on terrorism – the serious lack of international cooperation and coordination in efforts to grapple with terrorism on a world wide scale. The United Nations, and the various terrorism related committees established by the Security Council, have simply failed to carry out this important function. (see my numerous blogs on this topic: (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) here, ). This has left a void that the United States and certain other countries have sought to fill by establishing various ad hoc bilateral arrangements, and this process has produced only limited, and very uneven, success.

While intelligence sharing and cooperation between the United States and certain European countries, directly, and under the auspices of the Roma-Lyon Group, has borne some fruit, other bilateral cooperative arrangements have proved sterile, and in some cases, even counter-productive. Numerous countries have complained that counter terrorism intelligence cooperation with the United States is too often a one way street, with US intelligence agencies proving overly reluctant to provide detailed intelligence to overseas agencies. Most acknowledge that the US has acted quickly to help foreign governments thwart imminent terrorist attacks, but, they complain that follow-up information upon which to base prosecution and continued incarceration, is frequently lacking. And US intelligence officers have also often complained of the spottiness and unreliability of information flowing to the US from foreign intelligence agencies. Without an ability to pool information, and compare notes, terrorist activists, including those recruiting and funding terrorists, and planning and carrying out terrorist attacks, often escape prosecution, or otherwise fall through the cracks.

The Roma-Lyon Group has proved to be the most effective international cooperative counter-terrorism effort to date. Following the 9/11 attacks, G8 Home Affairs and Justice Ministers agreed to combine the Roma group (set up by G7 countries in 1978 to foster intelligence and internal security cooperation) and the Lyon Group (established in 1996 to foster law enforcement cooperation in combating transnational crime). The combined forum was charged with developing and implementing recommendations to combat terrorism. Its work quickly extended to developing cooperative intelligence and enforcement arrangements, and to developing “best practices’ in combating terrorism that could be shared with other countries. However, it membership and scope is quite limited, it has not become an intelligence pooling organization, and intelligence, investigative, judicial and enforcement actions are still handled only on an ad hoc basis through bilateral --country to country – channels.

The UN’s failure to serve as an effective cooperative counter terrorism forum stems from several factors. At the base is the failure of the UN General Assembly and Security Council to develop a clear definition of terrorism. This reflects, in turn, a serious absence of consensus as to which groups should be labeled as terrorists. While there is a general agreement that Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization, the Organization of the Islamic Conference Countries continues to resist labeling Hamas, Hizbollah, and many other other Palestinian, North African, Kashmiri, and other so called “resistance movements” as terrorist organizations, despite the fact that they regularly employ terrorist tactics, including suicide bombings aimed at inflicting civilian casualities. This lack of a definition of terrorism has largely gutted the usefulness of the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, and the effectiveness of UN Security Council Resolution 1373.

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More Overlooked History: Muslim Employment Discrimination

By Jeffrey Breinholt

I have posted a study I recently completed on the history of Muslim employment discrimination claims in our courts. Because I anticipate my findings will generate controversy, I included several appendices so critics can replicate my results, and the paper is longer than is customary for the Counterterrorism Blog. Here's the upshot: Muslim employment discrimination cases are rising at an alarming rate. The number of judicial opinions that were formerly issued in an entire decade are now coming out in a single month. Meanwhile, the rate of successful Muslim employment discrimination claims remains extremely low. In fact, the total number of judicial opinions in which courts have affirmed Muslim employment discrimination is 12. That is not a typo - the total count is a single dozen, in U.S. history. How many total claims? Around 300 resulting in court decisions. I believe that this astounding fact shows that there is a growing effort to perpetuate the myth that Muslims in the U.S. are treated poorly. The more interesting question is why this type of religious discrimination claim is on the rise. Perhaps we should look to the Muslim civil rights organizations for answers.

SITE Transcript and Video Link to Bin Laden Video (Updated)

By Jeffrey Imm

Image from SITE Institute

Bin Laden Video Link
Update: Video Link to latest Bin Laden Video from Laura Mansfield -- with subtitles in English

SITE Institute Video Transcript
The following is the transcript of the latest Osama Bin Laden Video as provided by the SITE Institute:

SITE Institute: Transcript of Osama Bin Laden video (PDF file 7 pages long)

SITE Institute: One minute video clip of new Osama Bin Laden video

"All praise is due to Allah, who built the heavens and earth in justice, and created man as a favor and grace from Him. And from His ways is that the days rotate between the people, and from His Law is retaliation in kind: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the killer is killed. And all praise is due to Allah, who awakened His slaves' desire for the Garden, and all of them will enter it except those who refuse. And whoever obeys Him alone in all of his affairs will enter the Garden, and whoever disobeys Him will have refused."

"As for what comes after: Peace be upon he who follows the Guidance. People of America: I shall be speaking to you on important topics which concern you, so lend me your ears. I begin by discussing the war which is between us and some of its repercussions for us and you."

"To preface, I say: despite America being the greatest economic power and possessing the most powerful and up-to-date military arsenal as well; and despite it spending on this war and is army more than the entire world spends on its armies; and despite it being the being the major state influencing the policies of the world, as if it has a monopoly on the unjust right of veto; despite all of this, 19 young men were able - by the grace of Allah, the Most High- to change the direction of its compass. And in fact, the subject of the Mujahideen has become an inseparable part of the speech of your leader, and the effects and signs of that are not hidden."

"Since the 11th, many of America's policies have come under the influence of the Mujahideen, and that is by the grace of Allah, the Most High. And as a result, the people discovered the truth about it, its reputation worsened, its prestige was broken globally and it was bled dry economically, even if our interests overlap with the interests of the major corporations and also with those of the neoconservatives, despite the differing intentions."

"And for your information media, during the first years of the war, lost its credibility and manifested itself as a tool of the colonialist empires, and its condition has often been worse than the condition of the media of the dictatorial regimes which march in the caravan of the single leader."

"Then Bush talks about his working with al-Maliki and his government to spread freedom in Iraq but he in fact is working with the leaders of one sect against another sect, in the belief that this will quickly decide the war in his favor."

"And thus, what is called the civil war came into being and matters worsened at his hands before getting out of his control and him becoming like the one who plows and sows the sea: he harvests nothing but failure."

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9/11 6th Anniversary: Bin Laden Video Details Emerge

By Jeffrey Imm

4:45 PM ET UPDATE:

SITE Institute: Transcript of Osama Bin Laden video (PDF file 7 pages long)

SITE Institute: One minute video clip of new Osama Bin Laden video

Per SITE Institute: The "solution", as bin Laden presents it, is for the American people to embrace and join Islam. This invitation has been made in past by both Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and Adam Gadahn AKA Azzam the American, in which bin Laden also touts the benefits of Islam for mankind and on the individual level. He presents Islam as peaceful, not barbaric against another human being, not levying taxes, and believing Jesus as a Prophet of Allah. Bin Laden declares: "the greatest mistake one can make in this world and one which is uncorrectable is to die while not surrendering to Allah".

Media Updates
ABC and NBC are both reporting details on the Bin Laden tape, which they estimate to be 25-30 minutes long. NBC reports that the Bin Laden tape urges young Muslims to carry out suicide bombings against the West. The ABC transcript report states that Bin Laden refers to the Iraq war, the U.S. Democratic Party-led Congress, and urges Americans to convert to Islam. The ABC Blotter report transcript references to the 9/11 attacks.

Bin Laden Video Transcript Details Being Reported by NBC:
-- Urges young Muslims to carry out suicide bombings against the West
-- Criticized Democrats in Congress in the video for being unable to stop the war in Iraq
-- Refers to current events in the U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq
-- Recommends reading reading books by Noam Chomsky and Michael Scheuer
-- States the Jewish people could have avoided Holocaust by placing themselves under the protection of Muslims

Transcript Details Being Reported by ABC Blotter:

"Bin Laden does refer to the Sept. 11 attacks. He criticizes Americans for not holding 'those who waged this war' accountable and for re-electing President Bush 'to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then you claim to be innocent! The innocence of yours is like my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 9/11 -- were I to claim such a thing."

Transcript Details Being Reported by ABC:

According to the transcript, bin Laden opens with "praise to Allah" and his "law of retaliation" -- "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the killer is killed."
"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there. It would benefit you to listen to the poignant messages of your soldiers in Iraq, who are paying -- with their blood, nerves and scattered limbs -- the price for these sorts of irresponsible statements."
"Among them is the eloquent message of Joshua which he sent by way of the media, in which he wipes the tears from his eyes and describes American politicians in harsh terms and invites them to join him there for a few days."
ABC reports that according to the transcript, bin Laden says there are two ways to end the war: "The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you." The second is to do away with the American democratic system of government. "It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations."
"To conclude, I invite you to embrace Islam. There are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat [alms] totaling 2.5 percent.”

Transcript Details Being Reported by AP:
(This is in regards to Bin Laden's request that Americans convert to Islam.)

"It will also achieve your desire to stop the war as a consequence, because as soon as the warmongering owners of the major corporations realize that you have lost confidence in your democratic system and have begun to look for an alternative, and this alternative is Islam, they will run after you to please you and achieve what you want to steer you away from Islam."

Sources:

September 7, 2007 - NBC News: Details of purported bin Laden video emerge -- Officials: No specific threat made; Web sites carrying tape shut down

September 7, 2007 - ABC News: Bin Laden Threatens Americans in First Video Message in Three Years

September 7, 2007 - ABC News: New OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control

September 7, 2007 - AP: Bin Laden urges Americans to convert

September 7, 2007 - CNN: Bin Laden tape: Why have Democrats failed to stop war?

September 7, 2007 - Reuters: Bin Laden tape grabs attention but lacks overt threat

September 7, 2007 - AP: No overt threats in new bin Laden video

9/11 6th Anniversary: Bin Laden Video Being Analyzed by US Govt and Islamist "Special Gift" Promised (updated)

The Importance and Unimportance of Bin Laden Videos

By Douglas Farah

There is an interesting debate ongoing over whether the mass media, and particularly Arab-language television, should broadcast and assign great importance to the videos of al Qaeda leaders, particularly Osama bin Laden.

Do the broadcasts help create a mystique around a cult figure that inspires those who want to participate in the broader al Qaeda project, even on an ad hoc basis? Or are such broadcasts necessary for the general public to see and understand al Qaeda, to understand the enemy more clearly? Or both, and does it make any difference?

I think it is both, and that in the Internet age it matters little what is broadcast on air. Those who want to access the entire speech will be able to do so in a matter of hours, can download and forward it with great speed and efficiency. If there are hidden messages to followers, keeping the broadcasts off the air are hardly likely to be a deterrent or keep the message from getting through.

Broadcasting bin Laden's speeches, in whole or in part, are far less dangerous than the radical, hate-filled sermons that fill many mosques in London every week, as the Times of London documents. My full blog is here.

Former Dallas Congressman Testifies at HLF Trial

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

DALLAS - Former Congressman John Bryant (D-Texas), who served both as a lawyer and lobbyist for the Holy Land for Relief and Development (HLF), testified Thursday in the defunct charity's terror support trial. Bryant said HLF became a client in 1997 following news reports about an ongoing investigation into charity's alleged ties to terror.

Bryant said he sought several meetings with the Department of State and FBI officials asking for guidance about Palestinian charities which had terror ties and those which did not. HLF routed its donations through local Palestinian groups called zakat committees and he wanted federal officials to tell him whether HLF was doing anything illegal. If so, he wanted to know what the charity could do to take to change the situation.

He received no response, Bryant said.

During cross examination, government prosecutor Barry Jonas drew a distinction between a criminal investigation and an intelligence investigation. When Bryant approached the federal officials for guidance, the inquiry against HLF was in the intelligence investigation stage and only later became a criminal investigation, Jonas said. During a criminal investigation government agencies are under no obligation to share information, he said... Please click here for full article.

Iran Plan for Iraq

By Walid Phares

This is a part one of a series on "Freedom Lines," adapted from seminars conducted for the U.S. House of Representatives' Caucus on Counter Terrorism, summer 2007. It addresses the various plans in the region regarding Iraq, Lebanon and beyond. It was initially published by the World Defense Review. This piece attempts to summarize the Iranian strategic goals in Iraq, if they can achieve a US collapse. The piece is analytical and based on projections and some information not on strict intelligence sources.

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9/11 6th Anniversary: Bin Laden Video Being Analyzed by US Govt and Islamist "Special Gift" Promised (updated)

By Jeffrey Imm

UPDATE: September 7, 2007:

--- US government has copy of Bin Laden tape and is analyzing. Reuters, CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC report that the US government has a copy of the Bin Laden video and that the US government is currently analyzing it.

-- NBC reports that numerous Jihadist web sites have simultaneously shut down. NBC and FOX reports that Evan Kohlmann suspected it was the work of Al Qaeda itself, trying to find how the video leaked to U.S. officials

-- ABC and NBC are both reporting details on the Bin Laden tape, which they estimate to be 25-30 minutes long.

-- NBC is also broadcasting that NBC's experts believe that the Osama Bin Laden tape will be released today (September 7) or the very near term.

-- ABC News reports that the CIA is analyzing the video message, quoting a CIA spokesman "It's quite possible this is a new video". ABC also reports that the Department of Homeland Security released a bulletin this morning, saying it and the FBI have "no intelligence of any specific and imminent threat to the homeland at this time." ABC news states that "intelligence sources tell ABC News they believe the expected video message from Osama bin Laden is authentic, recently produced and evidence the al Qaeda leader is still alive. U.S. authorities now say they have a transcript which they say is aimed at potential suicide bombers who he urges to carry out missions against the West."

September 6, 2007 News:

The SITE Intelligence Group and Laura Mansfield reported on September 6 that a new Osama Bin Laden video message was forthcoming. SITE stated that the new Osama Bin Laden message will be "addressing the American people on the sixth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001."

Associated Press also reported this stating: "Intelcenter, which is based in Alexandria, Va., and also monitors Islamic Web sites, said the video was expected within the next 72 hours, or by Sunday. That would come before the sixth anniversary next Tuesday of the World Trade Center attack."

The SITE Intelligence Group also stated that "image of bin Laden contained in the banner found on jihadist forums is reminiscent of his last video appearance in 2004, but his beard is now completely black, as it was previously streaked with grey." AP reports SITE's Rita Katz as speculating that Bin Laden has dyed his beard: " 'I think it works for their benefit that he looks young, he looks healthy,' Katz said of the new image."

In a potentially related story, FOX News reported on September 6 that "Federal counterterrorism officials are analyzing a posting on an Islamic forum Web site that warns of "a special gift" to be given on the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11".

FOX News reports that "warning was posted Sept. 2 on a site frequented by radical groups and said in part that 'there will be a special gift coming on the day of the blessed invasion of Manhattan.' "

In addition, both Laura Mansfield and the SITE Institute report the release of a new 40 minute video from Al Qaeda's "Azzam the American" to jihadist forums on September 5. Laura Mansfield has provided the video link for download.

Sources:

September 7, 2007 - NBC News: Details of purported bin Laden video emerge -- Officials: No specific threat made; Web sites carrying tape shut down

September 7, 2007 - ABC News: New OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control

September 7, 2007 - ABC News: New Videotape From Bin Laden; Al Qaeda's No. 1 Still Alive

September 7, 2007 - FOX News: U.S. Officials Analyzing Usama Bin Laden Video

September 7, 2007 - Reuters: U.S. analyzing purported bin Laden tape

September 7, 2007 - CNN: U.S. trying to determine age of purported bin Laden tape

September 7, 2007 - NBC: U.S. has copy of purported bin Laden video

September 7, 2007 - CBS: U.S. Analyzing New Bin Laden Video

The SITE Institute Web Site

SITE: Image of Bin Laden in Jihadist Banners

September 6, 2007 - ABC: Al Qaeda Announces New Bin Laden Video

September 6, 2007 -- AP: "Groups: Bin Laden plans video on 9/11"

September 6, 2007 - Reuters: Web site says to carry new bin Laden video

September 6, 2007 -- FOX News: "Counterterrorism Officials Analyzing Islamic Web Post Warning of 'Special Gift' "

SITE: As-Sahab Issues English-Subtitled Version of “The Winds of Paradise”, Narrated by Adam Gadahn AKA Azzam the American

Laura Mansfield: As Sahab releases English translation of Winds of Marytrs Part 1 - video link

German Jihad Plot Investigation (Updated)

By Jeffrey Imm

Since the arrest of three Jihadist suspects on Wednesday, the investigation into the German Jihadist plot continues.

1. Identity of the three arrested suspects.
The International Herald Tribune (IHT) reports that the arrested suspects are being identified as follows: "Fritz Gelowicz" (German), "Daniel Martin S." (German), and "Ayem Y." (Turkish). All three suspects remain in custody.

2. Update - Report: German Jihadist Suspect Met 9/11 Hijacker
The London Times is now reporting that German Jihadist Suspect Fritz Gelowicz may have had contact with 9/11 Jihadist Mohammed Atta, who smashed a hijacked plane into the Twin Towers. Police state that Fritz Gelowicz came to their attention 9 years ago when he publicly praised Islamic terror attacks; they state that Fritz Gelowicz's name also comes up regarding a visit to Neu-Ulm by Mohammed Atta. Atta had visited a Neu-Ulm mosque known for its radicalism. A senior investigator stated that Atta "seems to have inspired many of the people who came in and out of the Neu-Ulm mosque".

3. Targets for Jihad Attacks.
The IHT reports that based on monitoring the suspects telephone calls and monitoring their actions, the investigators concluded that the possible targets were Ramstein Air Base and Frankfurt International Airport.

As previously reported on Wednesday, German federal prosecutor Monika Harms also stated that: "As possible targets ... the suspects named discotheques and pubs and airports frequented by Americans with a view to detonating explosives loaded in cars and killing or injuring many people"

4. Additional Jihadist Suspects
The IHT and other media report that seven additional suspects are still in Germany now. AP reports that August Hanning, a deputy interior minister, said that "about" 10 people were being sought in total, and that represent the network that the authorities knew about. Hanning also stated that he believed that investigators believed that the network no longer posed a director security threat. IHT reports that Hanning stated that the suspects still at large include German converts to Islam, Turkish residents, and other nationalities.

IHT reports that of the seven Jihadist suspects in Germany, the German federal prosecutor spokeman Andreas Christeleit stated that the seven suspects are not fugitives, and that the authorities know where they are. However, Andreas Christeleit said that German authorities lacked sufficient evident to arrest them. Other sources told the IHT that one of the remaining suspects is Pakistani, one is Lebanese, and one is stateless. The source told IHT that one of the suspect fled Germany by plane, presumably to Turkey.

5. German Jihadist Internet Communications
AP reports that one of three arrested Jihadists visited a radical Islamic web site while in Munich. German state interior minister Beckstein stated that investigators would like to perform an online search but don't have the legal basis for that. However, Der Spiegel reports that German intelligence was monitoring Fritz Gelowicz's emails since Spring 2007. It is believed that Fritz Gelowicz was the "ringleader". It was in Fritz Gelowicz's emails that intelligence learned of potential targets, logistics. Fritz Gelowicz attempted to avoid detection by not sending the emails, but keeping them in an online "draft" folder for others Jihadists to read online.

Update: UPI reports that the German law enforcement's stakeout of an Internet cafe was instrumental in capturing the arrested bomb suspects.

6. Association of the three arrested suspects with a German mosque in Ulm.
Der Spiegel reports that the three men, who had visited terrorist training camps in Pakistan, were associated with a mosque in the southern German city of Ulm which has a reputation for radicalism. The Evening Standard reports that Fritz Gelowicz worked at the Ulm city's Islamic Information Center after converting to Islam. DPA reports that German authorities watch increasing conversions to Islam with concern, noting a 400% increase in Islamic conversions from 2005 to 2006. DPA reported that "Guido Steinberg, who researches Islamic issues, said extremists were targeting new converts, and terrorist expert Rolf Tophoven said converts tended to be fanatical."

7. Explosives kept in cottage.
AP reported that the three arrested Jihadists kept both military-style detonators and explosive materials at a rented cottage in Oberschlendorn, central Germany. AP reports that "Police moved in when the suspects began moving some of the containers and acquiring other equipment used to make bombs."

8. ABC Report on German 10 Month Investigation
ABC News reports in "The Story Behind the German Terror Plot" that German police were silent for 10 months as 1,000 officers built case around the homegrown terrorists.

9. Report: Pakistanis masterminding plot?
Der Spiegel reports that investigators "want to discover the identity of two men in Pakistan they think were behind the plot." Numerous media reports have stated that the German Jihadists attended Pakistani training camps.

10. German Jihadists' Connections with United Kingdom.
The Evening Standard reports that the German Jihadists phoned British contacts as they plotted. The Evening Standard states that "Several calls to British numbers are said to been made from mobile telephones linked to two of the men being questioned in Germany. One is said to have been a 'known' number." It also reported that British anti-terror officers were "checking for links between the men held in Germany and British-Pakistani terror suspects who may have trained with them. Officers from Scotland Yard flew to Germany to assist the investigation. They want to examine any possible links with UK terror plots."

11. German Security Wants To Make Attending Terror Camp Training a Crime
AP reports that German security officials are urging the German government to make attending terror training camp a crime.

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Grading U.S. Performance against Terrorism Financing

By Michael Jacobson

In December 2005, the 9-11 Commission's Public Discourse Project issued its final report card on the U.S. government's progress in the war on terror. Overall, the grades were dismal except for the "A-minus" awarded to the efforts against terrorism financing. Nearly two years later, and six years after the September 11 attacks, these efforts remain one of the few areas of government success, though serious challenges have emerged.

Complete text of this article available here:

Euro-Terror Plots + Visa Waiver = Sober Reminder

By Bill West

The past few days have realized arrests in Denmark and Germany against alleged al-Qaeda linked terror operatives suspected of plotting major attacks against Western targets, including US military facilities and personnel in Germany. Initial reports indicate at least some of the suspects are “native born” European citizens who have recently converted to Islam and attended terrorist training camps, perhaps in Pakistan. This may be one of the nightmare scenarios long held by Western law enforcement and Intelligence agencies actually starting to play out in reality.

Of additional concern to the United States is the fact that any such terror operatives holding European citizenship would “up front” qualify to enter the United States under the questionably generous visa waiver program that requires no visa application pre-screening. If such Euro-terrorists have a previously unknown identity to law enforcement and Intelligence authorities and are not listed in any of the various lookout databases, they would most likely be readily admitted into the US upon arrival at a port of entry.

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HLF Witness Doesn't Accept Evidence Linking Charity to HAMAS

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

DALLAS-- Cross examination of former U.S. Counsel General Edward Abington continued Wednesday at the terror-support trial of five Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) officials. Abington, who served as counsel general at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, has testified that Palestinian charity committees supported by HLF benefited needy Palestinians and did not help HAMAS, as the prosecution claims.

Prosecutor Barry Jonas tried to challenge Abington's assertion Wednesday, identifying members of those charity groups, known as Zakat (charity) Committees, who had HAMAS affiliations. Tuesday, Abington referred to Zakat Committees as "organizations run by pious individuals."

If that's the case, Jonas asked, how would Abington explain materials glorifying HAMAS leaders and the group's violence that Israeli security forces found during raids in 2002? Those materials included posters of HAMAS leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Yehya Ayyash, the bomb maker known as "the Engineer," and the "father of martyrdom operations." Other images offered into evidence at the trial include videos and keychains.

Abington said he had seen the posters, too, while visiting the committees but denied their presence meant the group was linked to HAMAS. Under later questioning by defense attorney Nancy Hollander, Abington said having one or more HAMAS supporters at a Zakat Committee doesn't mean the committee is controlled by HAMAS.

Jonas showed a picture found in a Zakat Committee of a bus being burned by suicide bombers and asked Abington whether the picture meant anything to him. The picture "represents the daily life of Palestinians," Abington said. Does daily Palestinian life include suicide bombings? Jonas asked.

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More Homegrown Jihadis-A Strength and a Weakness

By Douglas Farah

It is interesting to note that two of the three suspects arrested in Germany for a possible plot were homegrown jihadists, not foreigners.

This points to the growing trend before toward self-starting individuals who feel they must act on behalf of al Qaeda, without necessarily ever coming into contact with the mother ship of the organization.

These self-starting groups that come from within their own population are far harder to detect that foreigners who may stand out.

Being converts, they are often more radical than the local population, either because they were recruited in a radical environment, they feel the need to prove they are worthy of their new religion, or any number of reasons.

The arrests also highlight the dangers posed by websites, often in the United States, that offer instruction in how to wage individual strikes against high-profile targets. These sites provide not only instructions but also motivational messages to encourage the person to act. My full blog is here.

Germany foils Jihadist bomb plot

By Jeffrey Imm

Media sources have reported today that German police have arrested 3 Jihadists involved in the final stages of an "imminent" bomb plot. The International Herald Tribune reports that the plot was to be "against several sites frequented by Americans, including the busy United States air base at Ramstein and the Frankfurt international airport".

The Jihadists are reported to be two Germans and one Turk. AP reports that officials said that the "three suspects -- two Germans, ages 22 and 28, who converted to Islam, and a 29-year-old Turk -- first came to the attention of authorities because they had been caught observing a U.S. military facility in Hanau, near Frankfurt, at the end of 2006". Der Spiegel reports the men as "Daniel S. from the state of Saarland and Fritz G. from Neu-Ulm in Bavaria... [and].. Adem Y., who is believed to be from Turkey".

IHT reports that:

"They were planning massive attacks," the German federal prosecutor, Monika Harms, said at a news conference, outlining a vast six-month investigation. She said that the suspects had amassed huge amounts of hydrogen peroxide, the main chemical used to manufacture the explosives used in the suicide bombings in London in July 2005. Harms said the two German suspects were converts to Islam who had trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan. They had amassed 1,500 pounds of hydrogen peroxide to make explosives, which they had hidden and were preparing to move when they were arrested on Tuesday afternoon. Officials said they also had military grade detonators.

German federal prosecutor Monika Harms also told a news conference that: "As possible targets ... the suspects named discotheques and pubs and airports frequented by Americans with a view to detonating explosives loaded in cars and killing or injuring many people". According to Harms, the targets were to be hit by the Jihadists detonating a series of car bombs simultaneously. Official stated that the hydrogen peroxide mixed with other bomb chemical would have had the explosive power of 1190 pounds (540 kg) of TNT. German Federal Crime Office's (BKA) chief Joerg Ziercke stated that "this would have enabled them to make bombs with more explosive power than the ones used in the London and Madrid bombings".

German federal prosecutor Monika Harms also stated that the three suspects members were of the Islamic Jihad Union, which has its origins in Uzbekistan. DPA reported that BKA's Ziercke linked the Islamic Jihad Union to al-Qaeda.

CNN reported that BKA's Ziercke stated the three Jihadists suspects were united by a "hatred against American citizens". Daily Mail reported that MP Wolfgang Bosbach speculated that the bombings were planned to coincide with 9/11 attacks anniversary - next Tuesday.

DPA reported that monitoring the suspects required 300 police officers. In May 2007, a German government official stated that 32,000 German Muslims were under surveillance. In May 2007, ABC reported that Col. Andrew Pratt (Ret.) of the George Marshall Center stated that "there are 300 to 500 people who are suspected to be part of al Qaeda cells in Germany". Another report quoted Rolf Tophoven, a leading expert on terrorism in Germany, as telling NTV television that the arrests showed "that the threat to Germany is not abstract and the country has been in the firing line of terrorists for some time".

There has been a terror alert regarding threats to US facilities in Germany since April 20, 2007. On April 20, 2007, the US Embassy in Berlin issued a warning to Americans living in Germany regarding an increased threat of terrorism. ABC reported that in April 2007, U.S. increased security at government facilities following reports that suspected terrorists had conducted surveillance of the Patch Barracks facility.

In May 2007, the German magazine Focus reported that the alert was in regards to five Islamists in Germany - two German converts, and three Germans of Turkish origin, that belonged to the Islamic Jihad Union. Focus also reported in May from police sources that they had filmed valedictory messages by men who intended to die in an attack on a base.

There was also concern that German Jihadists would strike at the G8 summit in June 2007. On May 12, 2007, ABC reported that German authorities detained (and released) two suspects believed to be part of a cell of the Islamic Jihad Union. On May 14, 2007, ABC reported that U.S. Air Marshals were flooding German flights due to concern about increased threat of Jihadist terrorism.

The threat of Jihadist terrorism is not new to Germany, as previously discussed in other postings by Lorenzo Vidino, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, and myself. In May 2006, German federal prosecutor Kay Nehm viewed Germany as a terror threat "powder keg". In May 2006, German authorities thwarted suicide bomb attacks in Iraq by German women. In July 2006 two gas suitcase bombs were placed on German commuter trains but did not explode. Subsequently, it was learned that the suitcase bombers initially planned to attack the World Cup held in Germany. Der Spiegel later reported that the suitcase bombs were placed by Lebanese students Youssef al-Haijib and Jihad Hamad, as a possible initiation test to gain entrance to Al-Qaeda. This summer, DPA reported that Germany indicted Iraqi for spreading al-Qaeda propaganda online, and DPA reported that Germany indicted Lebanese student Youssef al-Haijib for suitcase bomb attempted murder. Six Lebanese men are currently standing trial in Lebanon over the suitcase bomb plot, which targeted trains in western Germany.

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Former Ambassador Defends HLF

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

DALLAS--A former U.S. diplomat spoke in glowing terms Tuesday about the Palestinian charities supported by the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). Edward Abington, a former counsel general at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, was the first defense witness in the terror-support trial of the Richardson Tex.-based foundation and five of its former officers.

Prosecutors spent the past six weeks detailing links between the Palestinian charities, known as zakat committees, and HAMAS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. While much of the money went to humanitarian relief, anything that went to benefit HAMAS violated U.S. law, the government contends.

Jurors heard a much different account from Abington...

For full blog click here to visit the website of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

HLF Prosecution: CAIR “affiliated with” Hamas

By Brian Hecht, IPT

On Tuesday, the prosecution in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) filed its motion in opposition to the amicus brief filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

In addition to picking apart the arguments laid out in CAIR’s brief piece by piece, the government set an important precedent, officially and definitively linking CAIR to Hamas, writing:

In the instant case, striking CAIR’s name from the attachment to the Trial Brief will not prevent its conspiratorial involvement with HLF, and others affiliated with Hamas, from becoming a matter of public record. That has already occurred as a consequence of the presentation of evidence at trial. (emphasis added)

The government also argues some legal basics, that CAIR has no standing to petition its removal from the list of unindicted co-conspirators since the list is not directly pertinent to the “actual, ongoing controversy” of HLF’s criminal trial, basically that, by filing the brief, CAIR has not acted as a “friend of the court,” but rather only out of self interest, and that, in the brief, CAIR has failed to show any injury as a result of its inclusion on the list of unindicted co-conspirators.

In arguing lack of injury, the prosecution makes similar points outlined in the August 21st blog post by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), CAIR’s Reputation and Incredibly Fluctuating Membership Roll. The motion states:

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Minnesota Website Tells how to Wage Jihad

By Douglas Farah

The Middle East Media Research Institute has a disturbing and interesting new report on an Islamist website hosted in Minnesota telling people how to join al Qaeda, how to attack high value targets and how to form a functioning cell.

As has previously been discussed here and elsewhere, the decentralized nature of the current incarnation of al Qaeda is stressed, including the ability to form a jihad cell wherever one is, without ever meeting anyone from the formal al Qaeda structure. The document is aimed at recruits outside the United States, possibly those seeking to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"You feel that you want to carry a weapon, fight, and kill the occupiers, and that it is our duty to call for jihad as much as to call for prayer... All that is required is a firm personal decision to fulfill this obligation, and participation in jihad and the resistance," the document says.

"I don't have to meet Osama bin Laden to become a jihad fighter. Moreover, there is no need to meet even one jihad fighter to become one. Neither do I need recognition from Al-Qaeda... My full blog is here.

Pakistan: Pindi Explosions

By Animesh Roul

Two bomb blasts occurred in Rawalpindi on September 04 Morning, killed nearly 20 people and as many injured, mostly government employees working in defense departments. The first explosion hit a white-line bus in Qasim Bazzar area. The second blast (planted on a motorbike) occurred in the city's R.A. Bazaar. No outfit claimed responsibility so far. Outfits like Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (Most likely behind today's twin blasts), Jaish-e-Muhammed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have been active in Pindi to carry out attacks on the government (Military) installations and judicial hubs. Pakistan’s most lethal religious extremist outfit TNSM has reportedly unleashed couple of suicide bombers, personally trained by TNSM head Maulana Faqir Muhammad in July this year to attack properties and lives of military officials in Rawalpindi. Early that month President Pervez Musharraf himself escaped an assassination attempt here.

Pindi is a garrison city which housed Army Headquarters, has been on the radar of religious extremists, Pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda elements since long. This place is considered as actual power center for Musharraf’s military regime.

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HLF Case Heavy on Detail

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

It is one line among thousands of pages of evidence in a Dallas courtroom, but it summarizes the government's terror-support case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and five former leaders.

"Caution should be practiced not to reveal true identity."

It comes from an internal security manual found at Infocom, a computer business run by defendant Ghassan Elashi. Prosecutors say Elashi and his HLF colleagues deliberately funneled money to HAMAS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, consistent with the objectives of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee. And, prosecutors claim, they did everything they could to keep that a secret.

Defendant Shukri Abu Baker, HLF's former chief executive, put it another way during a secret 1993 meeting of HAMAS members and sympathizers in Philadelphia: "War is deception."

Defense attorneys say the men and their non-profit organization merely sought to relieve the suffering of Palestinians living under occupation. They will present witnesses and evidence on that claim starting Tuesday after the prosecution rested its case Thursday.

For the full summary of evidence in the HLF trial, click here to visit the website of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The Tampa Bombers: Jihadists or "Beach Boys?"

By Walid Phares

Six years after 9/11, the mainstream reading of the war on Terror still circles around the essence of the conflict. Two young men indicted for charges of possession of explosives aren't yet perceived as part of an Urban Jihadist campaign inside the United States, despite the fact that a number of cells and of individuals have been arrested over the past years, all linked to Jihadism. Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24 and Youssef Samir Megahed (in Egyptian accent it reads “Mujahid”) 21, are affiliated with South Florida University in Tampa. As one reviews all news reporting (until this day), no link was made yet to an ideology which is the master chain between the perpetrators and their action. The AP story begins with "two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday on charges of carrying explosive materials across states lines and one was accused of teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons." The News Agency doesn't explain what these violent reasons are. Was it about drugs, social crisis, Palestine, Americans Politics, Egyptian politics, Abortion, or other matters? The mainstream media says "Terrorism," and so advances the Government, so far.

Ahmed Mohamed is an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based University. He and Megahed are facing "terrorism" charges for "teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives." The question is: using them against whom, in which war, by whose instructions, under which doctrine? If none of this information is available how to define the terror factor beyond criminal charges?

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