Former leader in Ku Klux Klan decides against Forsyth election

Vernon Logan, a former leader in the Ku Klux Klan who announced months ago his intention to pursue a seat on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, is withdrawing for health reasons……(Journal Now, 17 Oct 07)

9 killed, including 7 police officers in Iraq violence Wednesday

A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol early Wednesday, killing at least seven officers, according to police. The blast went off about 2 a.m. on the road to Affak, which is about 30 km (20 miles) east of Diwaniyah, said the police officer who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information…..(AP, 17 Oct 07)

Iraqi police discover beheaded body set up as bomb in Kirkuk

Police discovered a beheaded body loaded with explosives near Kirkuk, while local authorities in Mosul are imposing a curfew after an attack targeted a police center in the city, Iraqi police said on Tuesday…….(KUNA, 16 Oct 07)

Kidnappers withdraw agreement to free Iraqi priests

The kidnappers of two Roman Catholic priests in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have withdrawn an agreement for their release, a Christian group said on Tuesday. Father Pius Affas and Father Mazen Ishoa, both Iraqis, were kidnapped in Mosul on Saturday by an unknown group, and Pope Benedict XVI subsequently made an appeal for their release….(AFP, 16 Oct 07)

Car Bombing in Iraq Kills 6

A car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army checkpoint in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least six people and sending black smoke billowing into the sky….(AP, 16 Oct 07)

Countering the Art of Information Warfare

…Today, the US Department of Defense uses more than 5 million computers on 100,000 networks at 1,500 sites in 65 countries worldwide. Not surprisingly, potential adversaries have taken note of the US's slavish dependence on bits and bytes. In an average year, the Pentagon suffers upwards of 80,000 attempted computer network attacks, including some that have reduced the US military's operational capabilities. Also, in the last few years, the US Army's elite 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and 4th Infantry Division have been "hacked". While it is difficult to determine the source, according to the Pentagon, most attacks on the US digital Achilles' heel originate in China, making Beijing's information warfare (IW) operations an issue we had better pay close attention to…..(Family Security Matters, 16 Oct 07)

Seminar on 'cyber terrorism' to open in Busan

A regional forum of 27 nations, including South and North Korea, China, Japan and the United States, will open in the southeastern port city of Busan later Tuesday to study ways to fight global terrorism through the Internet, the Foreign Ministry said.  Co-hosted by the ministry and the National Cyber Security Center of the country's state intelligence agency, the seminar will run from Tuesday to Thursday…..(Hani, 16 Oct 07)

Police consider charges under 9/11 aftermath act

Police are poised to lay charges under the Terrorism Suppression Act for the first time since it was passed in 2002 after yesterday's raids on people allegedly associated with guerrilla-style training camps. Search warrants used in the raids made specific reference to evidence that could relate to crimes under the act…..(Dominion Post, 16 Oct 07)

US delays British withdrawal from Basra

British forces were prevented from pulling out of their last base in Basra City for five months because the Americans refused to move their consulate…The US warned that a brigade of troops would be sent from Baghdad to take "appropriate action" to maintain security….(KUNA, 16 Oct 07)

Top US Air Force official 'suicided' as Iran war nears

Russian Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that American War Leaders have 'suicided' one of their Top US Air Force Officials Charles D. Riechers as the rift growing between the US War Leaders and their Top Military Officers over a nuclear attack on Iran appears to be nearing open warfare….(Pravda, 16 Oct 07)

Homeland security plan draws fire

…the strategy doesn’t fully address the problem of cyberattacks that could cripple the government’s response to a national security crisis, critics said. Many essential and emergency services rely on the uninterrupted use of the Internet. More importantly, terrorists and hostile foreign governments can access the Internet and use it for their own gain, the document states.  White House officials said the federal government is improving cybersecurity. To secure the U.S. cyber infrastructure against man-made and natural threats, federal, state and local governments and the private sector are working together to prevent damage and abuse of Internet systems, the document states. But for anyone interested in more details, the updated strategy refers to the Bush administration’s nearly five-year-old National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace…..(FCW, 15 Oct 07)

Law center: Little evidence of jihadists in the U.S.

Six years of investigations and prosecutions have turned up little evidence of Islamic jihadists at work in the United States, according to a study released Monday. The study, conducted by New York University's Center on Law and Security, tracked 510 cases billed as terrorism-related when arrests were made. But it found only 158 of those people arrested since al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks were prosecuted for terrorism……(CNN, 15 Oct 07)

Officials Brace for Foot-And-Mouth Scare

When there were fears of a foot-and-mouth outbreak in the Midwest this summer, the White House received secret briefings that highlighted the potential for old farm diseases to be new national security threats. The suspected outbreak in Minnesota of the disease, which does not affect humans, never materialized. Yet federal officials said their concerns showed how the government probably would respond to a foot-and-mouth epidemic……(AP, 15 Oct 07)

Lehigh University plans global Islamic studies program

Lehigh University is planning to leap into the world of Islam with a new center that approaches the worldwide religion from many disciplines and regions -- beyond the Arabic language and the Middle East, which people tend to associate with the religion. The Center for Global Islamic Studies is still a concept, although one with support at the highest level. In her inauguration speech last spring, President Alice Gast outlined a vision that included an Islamic studies program that would encompass all the regions where Islam is dominant, and the cultural side of the religion……(Morning Call, 15 Oct 07)

Ex-U.S. Commander Goes on Trial in Iraq

…Lt. Col. William H. Steele, an Army reservist from Prince George, Va., already pleaded guilty at a pretrial hearing Oct. 7 to three of seven charges he faces. They carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison, forfeiture of pay and dismissal from the Army, according to the U.S. military. He also pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges of aiding the enemy by providing an unmonitored cell phone to prisoners, giving special privileges to detainees, acting inappropriately with an interpreter and failing to obey an order.….(AP, 15 Oct 07)

Philippine Muslim militants get money after YouTube campaign

An al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militant group in the southern Philippines has been able to raise funds after posting video clips about the organization on the popular internet site YouTube…The video clips seeking funds and support for the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines, were posted on YouTube in August. The clips featured the late Abu Sayyaf founder Abdurajak Janjalani and his younger brother and replacement Khadafi Janjalani. Abdurajak Janjalani was killed by security forces on Basilan in 1998, while his brother died last year on Jolo….(DPA, 15 Oct 07)

An Internet Jihad Aims at U.S. Viewers

When Osama bin Laden issued his videotaped message to the American people last month, a young jihad enthusiast went online to help spread the word. “America needs to listen to Shaykh Usaamah very carefully and take his message with great seriousness,” he wrote on his blog. “America is known to be a people of arrogance.”…Unlike Mr. bin Laden, the blogger was not operating from a remote location. It turns out he is a 21-year-old American named Samir Khan who produces his blog from his parents’ home in North Carolina, where he serves as a kind of Western relay station for the multimedia productions of violent Islamic groups…Terrorism experts at West Point say there are as many as 100 English language sites offering militant Islamic views, with Mr. Khan’s — which claims 500 regular readers — among the more active. While their reach is difficult to assess, it is clear from a review of extremist material and interviews that militants are seeking to appeal to young American and European Muslims by playing on their anger over the war in Iraq and the image of Islam under attack…..(New York Times, 15 Oct 07)

NYT Video: The Internet Jihadi

NYT Video: Jihad Trainer

NEFA: Iraqi Insurgents Blame Online Antics by Al-Qaida Supporters for Harming "Obelisk" Network

Over the past year, prominent Internet chat forums which underpin the terrorist communications network known as "Obelisk" have increasingly become the stage for bitter infighting between Al-Qaida and other competing Islamic extremist groups, including the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), the Mujahideen Army, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, "Iraqi Hamas" and--most recently--Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya.  The back-and-forth bickering has grown so intense that, several months ago, it actually sparked a bizarre split among opposing administrators on the top-ranking Al-Boraq chat forum--most closely associated with the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) but nonetheless an integral part of the so-called "Obelisk" network……(Counterterrorism Blog, 15 Oct 07)

NEFA: Iraqi Insurgents Blame Online Antics by Al-Qaida Supporters for Harming "Obelisk"

Over the past year, prominent Internet chat forums which underpin the terrorist communications network known as "Obelisk" have increasingly become the stage for bitter infighting between Al-Qaida and other competing Islamic extremist groups (most recently, Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya).  Now, several of those factions are issuing statements warning that arrogant quarreling provoked by Al-Qaida supporters over Internet chat forums is threatening the integrity of the "Obelisk" network…..(NEFA, 15 Oct 07) 

Police foil paramilitary plot - napalm bomb tested

…Commissioner Howard Broad has told reporters about a military style training camp set up in the remote Urewera bush, where a number of diverse activist and protest groups received weapons training. There were raids this morning from Auckland through to Christchurch and the best known face to be taken into custody was Tuhoe activist Tame Iti. 3 News has obtained one of the search warrants from the raids. It details the kind of weapons like AK47s, ammunition belts and items like balaclavas that the groups apparently bought on trademe……(TV3, 15 Oct 07)

German govt to ask lawyers, accountants to report suspect transactions - report

The German government plans to require professionals including lawyers and tax accountants to report to authorities financial transactions that may be used to finance terrorist activities and money-laundering, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing a draft by the Interior Ministry. The government may amend six existing laws to extend an obligation to report suspicious transactions……(Forbes, 15 Oct 07)

Bombs Seized, Four Arrested in Bangladesh

…Five bombs were found near the house of one Golam Mostafa and two were planted near Baitun Najat Jame Mosque in the district town. Police later arrested Golam Mostafa, Bayezid Hossain Sagir, Hafez M. Zakir Hossain and Jubayer Hossain……(Arab News, 15 Oct 07)

Six killed in attack on Iraqi anti-al-Qaeda alliance

At least six Iraqis were killed and scores wounded on Monday in an attack targeting a checkpoint of anti-al-Qaeda tribal forces in Salahaddin province…A suicide attacker driving a car bomb blew himself up near a checkpoint of the Salahaddin Awakening Council forces in Balad district…..(DPA, 15 Oct 07)

Three tribal leaders killed in Iraq attack

A gun attack on Monday on a convoy of tribal leaders spearheading the fight against Al-Qaeda in Iraq's central Salaheddin province killed three people and wounded five, police said. The attack occurred at the town of Hawijah, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) west of the northern oil city of Kirkuk……(AFP, 15 Oct 07)

Attack at Iraqi military base kills 5

Shiite militiamen attacked a military base south of Baghdad and U.S. helicopters fired back during clashes Monday that killed five Iraqi civilians, including two children, and wounded 17, according to police. The U.S. military said it was looking into the report.The fighting in Diwaniyah, a mainly Shiite city 80 miles south of Baghdad, began when fighters from the Mahdi Army militia fired at least a dozen mortar rounds at the base……(AP, 15 Oct 07)

Algerian authorities arrest 14 people linked to Qaeda

Fourteen people, suspected of being linked to Al-Qaeda terrorist network, have been arrested Sunday by Algerian authorities west of the capital. A security source told KUNA that the busting followed tips authorities received on the whereabouts of the network's food and ammunitions unit……(KUNA, 15 Oct 07)

17 Terror Arrests in New Zealand

New Zealand police raided what they called military-style training camps and private homes on Monday, seizing firearms and arresting 17 people from domestic groups on arms and possible terrorism offenses, authorities said…The groups involved were drawn from ''various ethnicities'' and had ''a variety of motivations,'' Broad said. The arrests appeared aimed primarily at environmental protest groups and Maori sovereignty activists. The Maori are a Polynesian people who make up 15 percent of New Zealand's 4 million population……(AP, 15 Oct 07)

U.S. denies Quran desecration allegation

The U.S. military said Monday it had looked into allegations that soldiers had desecrated the Quran during a raid on an Afghan home and found no evidence that soldiers had defaced the Muslim holy book. The allegations sparked an outcry among villagers in the eastern province of Kunar, who met with the governor…..(AP, 15 Oct 07)

Turkey: Ground offensive in Iraqi Kurdistan mooted after attacks

The Turkish government was considering whether to permit a ground incursion by military forces into Iraq's northern Kurdistan region on Monday, after cross-border attacks on villages at the weekend raised tensions in the region to a new high. The Turkish army reportedly shelled border areas and conducted aerial bombings on several villages on Sunday as tens of thousands of Turkish troops massed in the area…..(AKI, 15 Oct 07)

After the presidential elections in Pakistan

General Pervez Musharraf is planning again to attack the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, with the active support of Benazir Bhutto and with the covert support of the USA. High level meetings have been going on in Islamabad for the last two days to chalk out a new strategy against Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who is fast becoming a real threat to the fragile Musharraf-Benazir agreement, by puncturing the highly publicized presidential ordinance through which PPP leadership got amnesty from corruption cases……(Canada Free Press, 15 Oct 07)

Putin Confirms Iran Trip, Despite Plot

Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Monday that he would travel to Iran despite reports about a possible assassination attempt, saying if he paid attention to all the threats against him "I would never leave home." Russia's Interfax news agency, citing a source in Russia's intelligence services, said Sunday that suicide terrorists had been trained to carry out the assassination in Iran…..(AP, 15 Oct 07)

Taliban use hostage cash to fund UK blitz

Millions of dollars handed over to secure the release of South Korean hostages in Afghanistan have been used to buy weapons deployed against British and American forces in the country, the Taliban claims. Major Alexis Roberts, 32, Prince William's former platoon commander at Sandhurst, was one of the victims of the Taliban offensive funded by the hostage money. According to Taliban fighters interviewed by The Sunday Telegraph, the money has also been used to train recruits to carry out terrorist attacks in Britain and America……(Telegraph, 15 Oct 07)

Report: Al-Qa'ida's (mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point is pleased to present the report, Al-Qa'ida's (mis)Adventures in the Horn of Africa. Based on a collection of al-Qa'ida documents recently released from the Department of Defense's Harmony Database, this report provides an analysis of al-Qa'ida's early operations in the Horn of Africa. These documents, captured in the course of operations supporting the Global War on Terror, have never before been available to the academic and policy community…..(CTC, 15 Oct 07)

Israel Silent on Reports of Bombing Within Syria

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli officials declined Sunday to confirm or deny a report that an Israeli Air Force strike against Syria last month had bombed a partly constructed nuclear reactor of North Korean design……(New York Times, 15 Oct 07)

Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled

The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq…Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. At the same time, the intelligence community, and some in the military itself, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown great resilience in the past……(Washington Post, 15 Oct 07)

UK backs plan to split Taliban from within

The British government has thrown its backing behind an ambitious Afghan strategy to split the Taliban by securing the defection of senior members of the militant group and large numbers of their followers. The strategy, spearheaded by the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, reflects a significant shift in British policy, and is showing initial signs of success. The Guardian has learned that members of the Taliban's leadership council have used go-betweens to negotiate their defection…….(Guardian, 15 Oct 07)

Fighting Jihad: Money Talks

Almost immediately after the attack of 9/11/2001, the United States began to “follow the money” –to see who was financing Jihad and how it was being transmitted. This started a long process that is still ongoing, but it has encountered many roadblocks. One of these roadblocks is a Saudi billionaire, Khalid bin Mahfouz, who has either sued or threatened to sue 36 writers who have fingered him as a major financier of Islamist mayhem. He has taken them on in British courts because England has libel laws favoring individual rights over public rights……(Family Security Matters, 15 Oct 07)

Turkey Forms Alliance With Iran Against Kurds

U.S. ally Turkey and U.S. arch-enemy Iran have formed a military alliance to drive opposition Kurds from bases in northern Iraq they have used since 2004 to launch guerrilla operations inside Iran, rebel leaders told Newsmax at a secret base in the Qandil mountains. Both Iran and Turkey have vowed to send troops into northern Iraq, but until now evidence of active military cooperation between them has remained a closely-held secret…..(News Max, 15 Oct 07)

Iranian involvement in Iraq: an old or a new case?

Has the US military stepped up the case identifying Iranian involvement in Iraq over the past several weeks, or is the information released over the past few weeks just a continuation of the case being made against Iran? In an October 12 posting at The Counterterrorism Blog, and a more detailed entry at The New York Daily News’ Mouth of the Potomac James Gordon Meek stated that “in recent weeks, the military command in Baghdad has stepped up its offensive - both public and tactical - against Iranian-backed ‘special groups militias’ south of Baghdad, which have led to dozens being killed or captured. The military has also emphasized any seizure of ‘Iranian-made’ weapons, such as mortars, IEDs and hand grenades, no matter how small the cache.”…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 15 Oct 07)

The Persian Abyss: Iranian Evolution: Facts and Fantasies

…As an Iranian, I am sometimes mystified by the jejune idealism and the pseudo-prescience that have become endemic in the rhetoric of Washington policy makers and columnists regarding Iran’s future. Yet, from propping up despots who inflict hell upon their citizenry in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to aligning with fascists of convenience like Saddam Hussein when he was decimating the unwanted of his society and then going to war with that same tyrant once American economic interests were threatened, and to being overtly complicit in arming and training of Islamic psychopaths like Bin Laden who later attacked the American mainland, it would appear that Washington may attempt to reconcile its past failures by introducing a monumental one, a grand finale…..(Jerusalem Post Blog, 15 Oct 07)

Suspected Terrorists Detained in Lebanon

Lebanese military intelligence officials have detained members of a suspected "terrorist network" for plotting attacks against U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon…The group had planted a bomb near the southern city of Tyre in an attempt to target a U.N. patrol, but it did not explode because of a problem with the trigger…The suspects also admitted they planned to plant two other bombs in the area and detonate them within a short period "in order to cause maximum casualties among the forces,"…..(AP, 15 Oct 07)

Egyptian police uncover smuggling tunnel leading to Gaza Strip

Egyptian authorities discovered two new tunnels leading under the border to the Gaza Strip and arrested several suspects, a security official said Monday. The first, 1,100 meter-long tunnel (1203 yards) was discovered in Salah el-Din north of the Rafah border crossing…..(AP/Jerusalem Post, 15 Oct 07)

Indonesia: Bali bomber wants to be beheaded

One of the Bali bombers currently on death row has said he would like to be executed by beheading. Convicted Muslim militant, Imam Samudra, said he would prefer the Islamic-sanctioned punishment of beheading to being shot to death - the method used by the Indonesian government.  “We are ready to die in any manner, as long as this death is blessed by Allah,”…..(AKI, 15 Oct 07)

Afghan Suicide Bomber Kills Own Family

A mother who tried to stop her son from carrying out a suicide bomb attack triggered an explosion in the family's home in southern Afghanistan that killed the would-be bomber, his mother and three siblings…The would-be bomber had been studying at a madrassa, or religious school, in Pakistan, and when he returned to his home in Uruzgan province over the weekend announced that he planned to carry out a suicide attack…..(AP, 15 Oct 07)

TSA Laptops With Personal Info Missing

Two laptop computers with detailed personal information about commercial drivers across the country who transport hazardous materials are missing and considered stolen. The laptops belong to a contractor working for the Transportation Security Administration and contain the names, addresses, birthdays, commercial driver's license numbers and, in some cases, Social Security numbers of 3,930 people, according to an Oct. 12 letter from TSA to lawmakers……(AP, 15 Oct 07)

TWIC Enrollment Underway at Delaware Port

Transportation workers at the Wilmington, Del., port on Monday began enrolling in a long-sought identification card program designed to secure vulnerable areas of seaports and sea vessels from terrorists and other criminals. The Transportation Worker Identification Credential program was first mandated in the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and then again in the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006…..(Congress Quarterly, 15 Oct 07)

FBI monitoring al-Qaida associates in north Jersey

Members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are monitoring a number of north Jersey residents with ties to al-Qaida. The agents have disrupted their activities and deported several……(Press of Atlantic City, 15 Oct 07)

Scouting a New Home For Homeland Security

Federal officials will seek approval starting this week for plans to build a giant headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security, a $3 billion undertaking that would transform a dilapidated but historic site in Anacostia. The plans call for one of the largest construction projects in the Washington area since the Pentagon was built in the 1940s. The complex would have 4.5 million square feet of office space for 14,000 employees. It would occupy the western campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, the home of the first federal psychiatric institution…….(Washington Post, 14 Oct 07)

U.S. Plan for Airline Security Meets Resistance in Canada

Canadian airlines are balking at a Department of Homeland Security plan that would require them to turn over information about passengers flying over the United States to reach another country. The proposal, which appears at odds with Canada’s privacy laws, would mostly involve Canadians who join the annual winter exodus to Mexico, Cuba and the Caribbean.……(New York Times, 14 Oct 07)

South Korean church asked to repay cost of hostage rescue

The South Korean church that sent a group of Christian aid workers to Afghanistan said it had been asked to pay more than 60,000 dollars towards the cost of rescuing them from the Taliban. The 19 aid workers were taken hostage by the Taliban after undertaking the trip in defiance of foreign ministry warnings, and only freed after Seoul government negotiators reached a deal with the kidnappers……(AFP, 14 Oct 07)

Book Faults Israeli Air War in Lebanon

A study of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war commissioned by the United States Air Force and to be published this month concludes that Israel’s use of air power was of diminishing value as the fight dragged on because it was used without enough discrimination. Although the war was widely criticized in Israel and abroad for relying too heavily on the air force, the study argues that air power remains the most flexible tool in fighting groups like Hezbollah, because ground forces alone could not have achieved Israel’s aims……(New York Times, 14 Oct 07)

Israel Struck Syrian Nuclear Project, Analysts Say

Israel’s air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, according to American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports……(New York Times, 14 Oct 07)