Blackwater Faces New Monitoring From State Dept.

The State Department responded yesterday to escalating criticism of Blackwater security guards in Iraq, announcing new measures to more closely monitor their operations as a new Pentagon report depicted a troubling lack of coordination between private security contractors and the U.S. military. Following the recommendations of a high-level review team sent to Baghdad last week, the State Department said yesterday that it will place its own diplomatic security agents in all Blackwater convoys, mount video cameras in Blackwater vehicles and record all radio transmissions to ensure an "objective" record of any future incident of contractor use of force…..(Washington Post, 6 Oct 07)

War-Crimes Prosecutor Quits in Pentagon Clash

…The prosecutor, Col. Morris D. Davis of the Air Force, was to leave his position immediately…People involved in the prosecutions, who spoke on condition of anonymity, have said that General Hartmann challenged Colonel Davis’s authority in August and pressed the prosecutors who worked for Colonel Davis to produce new charges against detainees quickly. They said he also pushed the prosecutors to frame cases with bold terrorism accusations that would draw public attention to the military commission process, which has been one of the central legal strategies of the Bush administration. In some cases the prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty.….(New York Times, 6 Oct 07)

Bomb plot 'helper' had 'list of bomb parts'

A man accused of helping the failed July 21 bomb plotters had a torn up list of bomb parts and notes entitled "Steps to Martyrdom" when he was arrested by police, a court heard. Siraj Ali, 32, is one of five defendants, including the brothers of bombers Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman, who face charges of "actively assisting" them after the attacks. The four men who detonated the homemade bombs, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Hussain Osman and Ramzi Mohammed were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in July……(Telegraph, 5 Oct 07)

Ariz. will be ‘target’ in terrorism attack drill

Dozens of federal, state, tribal and local governments will be drawn into a simulated dirty-bomb attack in the Valley later this month, part of an international exercise that’s intended to help authorities prepare for terrorist strikes and other major emergencies.
The congressionally mandated program is called Topoff 4, government shorthand for Top Officials 4. The exercise will be conducted at the “functional” level, meaning thousands of top level decision-makers will respond to the simulated disaster in real time, making what would be life-and-death decisions if the event was real……(E. Valley Tribune, 5 Oct 07)

ISAF soldier, several civilians killed in fresh Afghan violence

An ISAF soldier and several Afghan civilians were killed in separate incidents in southern and southeastern parts of Afghanistan over the previous 24 hours…..(KUNA, 5 Oct 07)

Iran: Millions hold nationwide rallies to mark 'Jerusalem Day'

Millions of Iranians attended nationwide rallies Friday in support of the Palestinians, while the country's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel's continued existence was an "insult to human dignity. The creation, continued existence and unlimited (Western) support for this regime is an insult to human dignity," Ahmadinejad said. "The occupation of Palestine is not limited to one land. The Zionist issue is now a global issue." Ahmadinejad's remarks came as millions of Iranians held rallies across Iran to protest Israel's continued control of Jerusalem…..(AP/Jerusalem Post, 5 Oct 07)

Ahmadinejad rules out talks on Iran’s ‘nuclear rights’
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday ruled out any negotiations with world powers on Iran’s ‘nuclear rights’ amid growing pressure from the United States and Europe for Teheran to suspend uranium enrichment activities. ‘The Iranian people are not ready to sit around a table and discuss their absolute nuclear rights. They (world powers) have to know this,’ Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Teheran. ‘We are no longer prepared to be active in the political scene to argue about Iran’s right to nuclear energy,’…..(AFP, 5 Oct 07)

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Ahmadinejad and a Murder in Vienna: An Interview with 'Witness D'

…Some 16 years later in summer 2005, one "witness D," an Iranian journalist in exile in France, would charge that the man on the motorcycle that day was none other than current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Are the accusations credible or were they merely part of a smear campaign to discredit the Iranian leadership? Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Assefi dismissed the allegations at the time as "ridiculous and unfounded," suggesting that they were the work of "Zionist circles."...The Iranian journalist D is standing in a telephone booth someplace in France when Profil calls. D has recently fled Iran and he does not want to give away his identity. He is scared. Shortly before dying under mysterious circumstances, an officer of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, or Pasdaran, by the name of Nasser Taghipoor made an explosive revelation to him: Taghipoor is supposed to have admitted that he was himself a member of the terror commando unit that in July 1989 shot to death the Iranian Kurdish leader, Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, and two other Kurds in Vienna. The recently elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Taghipoor is supposed to have told D, was also a member of the commando unit……(World Politics Review, 5 Oct 07)

N Korea claims US agrees to remove country from terrorism-sponsors list for nuclear disablement

North Korea said Friday the U.S. had agreed to remove it from a list of terror-sponsoring nations and lift other sanctions for Pyongyang disabling its nuclear facilities. A report from the North's official Korean Central News Agency said "the U.S. decided to take such political measures as delisting the (North) as a terrorism sponsor" at international arms talks.The North also said Washington would stop treating the communist nation under the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act, a measure that restricts trade, "in return for the North's neutralization of its nuclear facilities by the end of 2007."….(AP, 5 Oct 07)

Hamas: Fatah using 'insurgency' tactics

After failing to organize a popular uprising against Hamas in Gaza, Fatah has begun resorting to "insurgency" tactics in a bid to undermine the Islamist movement, Hamas officials said Thursday. The officials told The Jerusalem Post Fatah militiamen were behind a series of bombings that targeted Hamas members and institutions over the past few weeks……(Jerusalem Post, 5 Oct 07)

Musharraf faces election setback

Pakistan's presidential election can go ahead as planned on Saturday, but the legality of President Musharraf's bid is still in doubt. The Supreme Court says that no winner can be announced until it has ruled on whether Gen Musharraf can stand for re-election while still army chief. The court wants more time to consider the arguments……(BBC, 5 Oct 07)

U.S. Called Lax at Policing Labs Handling Biohazards

The federal government is failing to supervise properly a greatly expanded network of public and private laboratories handling deadly agents like anthrax and Ebola, Congressional investigators and public health experts testified on Thursday… There has been a similar increase in second-tier biocontainment labs, which can also handle very dangerous substances like anthrax and the avian flu and West Nile viruses. While the goal has been to increase public safety, the opposite may have happened, Mr. Rhodes said. With more researchers handling the dangerous agents, there is more likelihood of an accident……(New York Times, 5 Oct 07)

Weapons orders to Iraq slow, Gates says

The United States must deliver weapons to Iraq more quickly, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday after an announcement that the Iraqis have ordered $100 million in military equipment from China. The US military is concerned that it is harder to track weapons purchased from countries other than America. In many cases, the Iraqis cannot account for arms flowing into the country, which often end up in the hands of insurgents…..(AP, 5 Oct 07)

House Acts in Wake of Blackwater Incident

…The 389 to 30 vote expanding the scope of the existing Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act came over the strong opposition of the Bush administration, which objected to its broad application to a wide range of contractors working for U.S. agencies overseas. The bill requires that contractor offenses that would be punishable by at least a one-year prison sentence if perpetrated in the United States be pursued under U.S. law. The Justice Department's inspector general would have to report to Congress on the status of Justice Department investigations of alleged contactor abuses. And the FBI would have to establish investigative units for each U.S. war zone where contractors are operating……(Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

Blackwater Faulted In Military Reports From Shooting Scene

U.S. military reports from the scene of the Sept. 16 shooting incident involving the security firm Blackwater USA indicate that its guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force against Iraqi civilians, according to a senior U.S. military official. The reports came to light as an Interior Ministry official and five eyewitnesses described a second deadly shooting minutes after the incident in Nisoor Square. The same Blackwater security guards, after driving about 150 yards away from the square, fired into a crush of cars, killing one person and injuring two…The U.S. military reports appear to corroborate the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault in the shooting incident in Nisoor Square, in which hospital records say at least 14 people were killed and 18 were wounded…..(Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

Militants to ‘welcome’ Bhutto with bombings

Taleban militants in Pakistan have threatened to launch suicide bomb attacks against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto when she comes home from exile on October 18…‘My men will welcome Bhutto on her return,’ Baitullah Mehsud, a senior militant commander in the tribal areas by the border with Afghanistan, told negotiators trying to secure the release of around 240 government soldiers captured in August. ‘We don’t accept President General Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto because they only protect the interests of the US and see things through its glasses,’ Mehsud reportedly told a member of parliament…..(DPA, 5 Oct 07)

Pakistan: US warned of reaction to unilateral military action
Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan has warned that any unilateral US military action in the tribal areas would have dangerous consequences both for Pakistan and the United States. Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, he said that such an action would weaken the government in Islamabad and be unpopular with the Pakistani public…..(AKI, 5 Oct 07)

Musharraf, Bhutto Reach Tentative Deal to Let Her Return With Amnesty

President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto have reached tentative agreement on a deal that is designed to give his election more credibility and allow her to return to Pakistan without facing corruption charges…The deal, which followed months of seesaw negotiations, was expected to be formally announced later Friday, the eve of a planned presidential vote in the national and provincial assemblies. The Pakistan Supreme Court ruled Friday that the vote could proceed on Saturday as scheduled, despite a pending legal challenge to Musharraf's eligibility. However the court said that the results could not be announced until justices finished considering the case -- a partial setback to Musharraf's plans for a smooth transition between terms…….(Washington Post, 5 Oct 07)

Chertoff outlines security goals by 2009

… An Oct. 3 memo to the president's chief of staff — marked "For Official Use Only" and obtained by The Associated Press — outlines the department's goals and the likelihood they will be met by the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. An agreement that would expand the amount of information the U.S. and Canada share about air travelers is one goal Chertoff does not foresee happening "due entirely to Canada's reluctance to move forward on this initiative," he wrote. This issue and an immigration overhaul are the only two goals Chertoff cites as unlikely to be met. Congress failed to pass immigration legislation this year……(AP, 4 Oct 07)

French Official: CIA Warns of Attacks

The CIA has warned its counterparts in Europe of the possibility of terror attacks in several countries, with Paris' sewage system among the suggested targets, a French official said Thursday. The agency warned that al-Qaida agents may be planning suicide or bombing attacks in London and cities in Italy, France and Germany, Le Monde newspaper reported. It said the CIA had warned of the possibility of attacks taking place this month…..(AP, 4 Oct 07)

US army nabs man charged with delivering USD 100 mln to Qaeda

The US army said Thursday its troops arrested one of the most major financiers of terrorism who is charged with delivering some USD 100 million to Al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq…The detainee used to travel abroad to lobby and raise funds for Al-Qaeda, the statement said, noting that the man was charged of paying some USD 50,000 to Al-Qaeda members a month. He received some USD 100 million this summer from terror supporters from Italy, Syria and Egypt who got into Iraqi illegally. He has links with a Qaeda cell in Al-Dorrah, Al-Tarmia and Baaqouba areas and used leather trade as a cover to his terrorist activities……(KUNA, 4 Oct 07)

UK terrorists on al-Qa'eda 'foreign legion' list

British security services have been given personal details of UK residents on a list of 500 foreign jihadists discovered by American troops in Iraq. The US military have claimed that it discovered documents and computer files with details of al-Qa'eda loyalists from 13 countries during a raid last month…"During the operation we captured multiple documents and electronic files that gave an insight into al-Qa'eda's foreign terrorist operations,"…..(Telegraph, 4 Oct 07)

Iraq MP found at Al Qaeda meeting: US military

…A spokesman for the Iraqi parliament said the lawmaker was from the assembly’s main Sunni Arab bloc. The man was held after a raid in the Sunni Arab town of Sharqat, 260 km (160 miles) northwest of Baghdad, in volatile Salahuddin province on Sept. 29, the US military said in an email in response to queries from Reuters. “The man being held is one of the 275 members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives,”…..(Reuters, 4 Oct 07)

Military spy planes monitor terror suspects

The intelligence agencies are using military aircraft equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment to eavesdrop on and monitor the movements of suspected terrorists, the Guardian has learned. The Britten-Norman Islander is already being used by the police to combat dangerous driving, trace missing persons, and find escaped prisoners or stolen vehicles. It was used by the army in Northern Ireland, and is now being deployed in counter-terrorist operations when, it is understood, it is flown by an RAF crew…..(Guardian, 4 Oct 07)

Intelligence agencies unfit to fight terror: Patil
Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Wednesday said intelligence agencies of states were not strong and adequate enough to meet the challenges of terrorism.  Inaugurating a two-day conference of directors-general and inspectors-general of police here, Patil said special branches in states should be strengthened where men and officers are retained for sufficient periods with enough incentives to keep them motivated…..(Times of India, 4 Oct 07)

Senior NATO officials say incompatible command-and-control equipment has contributed to allied fatalities

A lack of interoperable command-and-control (C2) equipment and intelligence-sharing networks among NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has contributed to allied fatalities that could have been otherwise avoided, according to senior NATO commanders. Jane’s International Defense Review reports that commanders say the issues are especially severe in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar district and others where the Taliban's insurgency movement is strongest, and where fatalities involving ISAF soldiers could have been avoided or minimized……(Janes, 4 Oct 07)

HRC to Address Muslim Rights Issues in Europe

Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) will urge its counterparts in the European Union to ask their governments not to link terrorism to Islam and also to issue regulations to protect Muslims from prejudice and discrimination because of their faith. According to a source at HRC, the government-funded rights body will also address various human rights issues in Europe: when Muslims are unjustly interrogated, treated with disrespect, physically or mentally abused, or not allowed to practice their faith freely such as Muslim girls being prevented from wearing the hijab (head cover) in some schools…..(Arab News, 4 Oct 07)

Europe rights groups urges racial profiling ban

Racial profiling by police should be banned as it alienates the very communities whose cooperation police need to beat crime and terrorism, a European rights group said on Thursday… In its non-binding report the ECRI called on police to win over ethnic communities by improving the recording and investigation of race crimes and combating discrimination by serving officers…..(Reuters, 4 Oct 07)

Iran: Another cleric murdered in south

Iranian cleric Hojatolislam Mehdi Tavakkoli was shot dead by gunmen aboard a motorbike in southern Iran after he had led prayers at the mosque in Khash. It was the third attack against a cleric in the region in the past month. Tavakkoli's two assassins made off after his murder late on Tuesday. Last Saturday, Sheikh Samir Dorakvandi, an imam from the Arab Shelangabads neighborhood mosque in Ahvaz, was seriously injured by gunmen who entered the mosque after arriving by motorbike. Exactly a month earlier, Hasham Samiri, an imam from the same mosque was also slain by gunmen aboard a motorcycle…..(AKI, 4 Oct 07)

U.S. pulls plug on 6 al-Qaeda media outlets

The U.S. military says it has captured at least six al-Qaeda media centers in Iraq and arrested 20 suspected propaganda leaders since June. The seizures of the centers underscore the importance al-Qaeda has placed on media, primarily the Internet, as a tool to communicate to its members and use against U.S. forces in Iraq. The group's media emphasis continues to increase, intelligence analysts say. Al-Qaeda is keenly aware that the battle is ultimately for the "hearts and minds of the ummah," the community of Muslim believers, says Gordon Woo, catastrophe analyst for RMS, a London-based firm that consults private companies on terrorism risks. Woo notes that Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, said in 2005 that most "of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media." The progress against al-Qaeda's media operations stems from new offensives aimed at al-Qaeda sanctuaries and an emphasis on blunting the terrorist group's extensive propaganda operations, U.S. officers say. "One of our goals is to target these propaganda networks, and we've had more success over the past three months,"….(USA Today, 4 Oct 07)

Iraqi Probe Implicates Blackwater

…The three-member panel, led by Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, determined that Blackwater guards sprayed western Baghdad's Nisoor Square with gunfire Sept. 16 without provocation, Minister of State for National Security Sherwan al-Waili told AP. The panel also found that 13 Iraqis were killed, not 11 as earlier disclosed, according to al-Waili told AP. A parallel but unofficial investigation by seven members of the Interior Ministry found that 17 Iraqis were killed and 24 wounded……(AP, 4 Oct 07)

Al-Qaeda 'financier' arrested in Iraq

…The $100m (€71m, £50m) sum - far greater than amounts usually associated with Sunni insurgents - had been received over the summer from "terrorist supporters who cross the Iraq border illegally or fly into Iraq from Italy, Syria and Egypt", according to a statement. It did not indicate how the total was arrived at or whether the money had been recovered in Tuesday's raid near Baghdad which saw the unnamed man arrested. But US officers have previously said that captured insurgents will boast about attacks and exaggerate their importance…..(Financial Times, 4 Oct 07)

Senior Iraqi immigration official assassinated

A senior officer at Babel Immigration and Naturalization Service was killed in the early hours of Thursday by unknown gunmen…Babel Police Spokesman Captain Muthanna Al-Mamuri told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that unknown gunmen assassinate Brigadier Ihsan Abdulkareem in front of his house in northern Babel province….(KUNA, 4 Oct 07)

Italian Wounded in Afghanistan Dies

An Italian intelligence agent who was kidnapped with a colleague in Afghanistan and wounded during a rescue operation died Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.The man had been put on a respirator after he was wounded in the NATO-led raid on Sept. 24, a few days after he and the colleague were abducted……(AP, 4 Oct 07)

3 Pakistani Soldier Hostages Are Killed

Three of Pakistan's 260 soldiers taken hostage in the country's tribal areas along the Afghan border were found dead on Thursday, raising fears for the safety of the remaining troops.  A Pakistani intelligence official says the bullet-riddled bodies of the three men were found near Jandola, a town in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). …(CBS, 4 Oct 07)
 

Bombs Kill 2 and Wound Polish Envoy in Baghdad

Poland’s ambassador to Iraq was wounded and two people were killed — an Iraqi civilian and a member of the ambassador’s security detail — in what appeared to be a coordinated roadside bomb attack on Wednesday morning in downtown Baghdad…..(New York Times, 4 Oct 07)

Bomb wave kills at least 12 in Iraq

A series of bombings in Iraq on Thursday killed at least 12 people, including a town mayor, the day after the Polish ambassador narrowly survived an attack in the capital. The mayor of Iskandariyah, a mixed Shiite-Sunni town 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Baghdad, and four of his bodyguards were killed by a roadside bomb on their way to work….(AFP, 4 Oct 07)

DHS Spews Forth Spam In IT Snafu

…The DHS, which sends out the bulletin, had misconfigured it so the businessman's reply message was swept out to the 7,500 security professionals and organizations on the list, according to Laura Keehner, a spokeswoman for the agency. Once others on the list saw what was happening, a virtual free-for-all started, with people like Army sergeants and business executives jumping into the fray to take advantage of the instant link-up…Keehner said they sent out an e-mail message asking people to stop e-mailing each other immediately. The New York Times reported that Department of Defense did the same thing. The requests met a lot of deaf ears, but the DHS notified the contractor who is in charge of the e-mail list and had it shut down……(Information Week, 4 Oct 07)

Port security card system will work, officials tell senators

Homeland Security Department officials on Thursday attempted to assure lawmakers they are ready to begin a massive program to issue port workers security cards, despite years of delays and concerns that individuals might be mistakenly denied the credentials……(Gov Exec, 4 Oct 07)

CDC to Review Inspections Rules for Labs

The U.S. government does not conduct surprise inspections of laboratories handling the world's most dangerous organisms and poisons, but regulators said Thursday they may change their tactics…The CDC inspects high-security research laboratories only once every three years, although there are additional inspections when an accident is reported or a lab changes its research……(AP, 4 Oct 07)

Al Qaeda’s Secret Correspondence

A website affiliated with the US Department of Defense has published authentic documents and correspondence exchanged between al Qaeda’s leadership figures, which the US Army has intercepted as part of its war against terror. Some of this correspondence includes letters addressed to “Abu Abdullah”, Osama Bin Laden, and others from a leader named Atiyah Allah, which were addressed to [Abu Musab] al Zarqawi. There were also letters addressed to “Abu Abdullah” from a security official [with Al Qaeda] in Arabic that warned against the dangers of eating the communal shared food among elements from Al Qaeda leadership every Friday after prayer. According to the security observation, no monitoring exists over the kitchen where the Arab youth cook the food – which presents an invaluable opportunity for US Intelligence. The kitchen is located in the headquarters where Bin Laden hosts top al Qaeda figures…..(Al-Awsat, 4 Oct 07)

Terrorists using prepaid cards to transfer money, inquiry hears

Terrorists are always looking for new ways to move money around and finance their attacks, the Air India inquiry heard Thursday. Organizations and individuals involved in terror cells are buying prepaid merchandise cards and using cell phones and the Internet to buy items and transfer money….(CanWest, 4 Oct 07)

Sunni lawmaker sacked for joining armed resistance

…After a long debate, the Parliament agreed to dismiss MP Abdul
Nasser al-Janabi, and ordered that his party nominate a replacement,
independent Voices of Iraq news agency reported. Shiekh Khalid Attiya, the first deputy of the Iraqi parliament, had earlier decided to postpone the decision, saying since al-Janabi had not resigned from the Iraqi Accord Front, the move was "illegal." But Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition members rejected efforts to put off the issue and pressed for action against al-Janabi. The session chairman then decided to sack him and ask IAF to nominate a replacement…..(DPA, 4 Oct 07)