CT Studies | Counterterrorism News for September 9-15, 2007

Intelligence & Counterterrorism News for the week of:

September 9-15, 2007

…Maulana Hassan Jan, a senior leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam _ a religious party which controls the provincial government in Pakistan's North West Frontier province _ was traveling through the city of Peshawar when gunmen attacked him. Imtiaz Khan, a local police official, said Jan was going to a mosque for evening prayers when “terrorists shot and killed him.”….(Times of India, 15 Sep 07)

Lebanon: Fatah Islam Fighters Caught

…The army defeated Fatah Islam after a three-month-long siege. Lebanese troops have since combed areas around the Nahr el-Bared camp for militants who may have escaped during a final desperate breakout attempt on Sept. 2 when more than 50 fighters were killed and two dozen detained. The spokesman, Abu Salim Taha, was captured in the countryside outside Nahr el-Bared near another Palestinian refugee camp, Beddawi…..(AP, 15 Sep 07)

U.S. Official Says Syria May Have Nuclear Ties

A State Department official said Friday that the United States had concerns about Syria’s involvement in illicit nuclear activities and suggested that North Korea might be aiding the Syrians in their efforts. Andrew Semmel, a top official on countering the spread of nuclear weapons, said that Syria may have a number of “secret suppliers” for a covert nuclear program, and that North Korean technicians were currently operating inside Syria…..(New York Times, 15 Sep 07)

Bhutto Announces Date of Return to Pakistan

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced Friday that she would return from self-imposed exile on Oct. 18 to run in parliamentary elections that could make her prime minister for a third time by the year’s end. The decision to return appears to have been made without her reaching a formal power-sharing agreement with Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf….(New York Times, 15 Sep 07)

Sunni leaders in Iraq threatened

An al-Qaida front group threatened to assassinate Sunni leaders who support American troops in Iraq as a Shiite bloc loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr defected Saturday from the Iraqi government's parliament base. The two developments cast doubt over prospects for political and military progress in Iraq as the U.S. Senate gears up for a debate next week on Democratic demands for deeper and faster troop cuts than President Bush plans.The threat against Sunni leaders came from the Islamic State of Iraq, which claimed responsibility for the assassination…..(AP, 15 Sep 07)

AP: Federal Agencies Flunk Their Audits

Ten years after Congress ordered federal agencies to have outside auditors review their books, neither the Defense Department nor the newer Department of Homeland Security has met even basic accounting requirements, leaving them vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse. An Associated Press review shows that the two departments' financial records are so disorganized and inconsistent that they have repeatedly earned "disclaimer" opinions, meaning that they simply cannot be fully audited….(AP, 15 Sep 07)

Police sleep on terror modules

There are about 13 terrorist modules or sleeping cells in the city. Each cell comprises around six to 10 operatives who are activated by their foreign masters when required. Ordinarily, when a strike has to be carried out, it is either a team of Pakistanis or Bangladeshis that visit the city, take charge, conduct the recce and execute the plan in coordination with local operatives. According to police sources, in the Mecca Masjid, Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar blasts at least 40 operatives took part. In the masjid incident alone, four Bangladeshis and two Pakistanis played an active role. These facts are known to the Special Branch, the Special Investigation Team and the Special Investigation Cell. The city police are aware of the information, or parts of it, for nearly 15 years….(Times of India, 14 Sep 07)

Pakistan's newest threat: Army officer turns suicide bomber
According to reliable sources in the local police, a Pashtun army officer belonging to the elite Special Services Group, whose younger sister was reportedly among the 300 girls killed during the Pakistan Army's commando raid on the Lal Masjid in Islamabad between July 10 and 13, blew himself up during dinner at the SSG's headquarters mess at Tarbela Ghazi, 100 km south of Islamabad, on the night of September 13, killing 19 other officers. The incident coincided with United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's visit to Kabul and Islamabad for talks with leaders and officials of the two governments. According to the same sources, the Pashtun army officer belonged to South Waziristan, but Tarbela Ghazi is not located in the tribal belt. The SSG, to which General Pervez Musharraf belonged, was specially trained by the US Special Forces for covert operations and for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency duties…..(Rediff, 14 Sep 07)

Iran Leader: Bush Will Be Tried

…Speaking to thousands of worshippers during the first Friday prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Bush will be called to account for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "A day will come that the current U.S. president and officials will be tried in an international supreme court for the catastrophes they caused in Iraq," he said…..(AP, 14 Sep 07)

Truck bomb kills seven police north of Baghdad

A suicide bomber rammed a truck laden with explosives into two police cars near the northern Iraqi town of Baiji on Friday, killing at least seven policemen, a police source said. An official at a joint police and army coordination centre put the death toll at 10, and said he believed it could rise further because identification cards had been found at the scene which did not belong to bodies so far recovered…..(Reuters, 14 Sep 07)

Six Pakistani soldiers go missing in Waziristan, 11 others released

As militants released on Friday the 11 Pakistani soldiers that were kidnapped earlier, authorities said six more went missing after the latest clashes in the North Waziristan tribal agency along Afghan border in which nearly 40 militants were killed….(KUNA, 14 Sep 07)

Bomb Kills a Key Sunni Ally of U.S.

…The efforts of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha became the centerpiece of the Bush administration's campaign to prove its troop buildup in Iraq has been a success. President Bush, during a visit to Anbar last week, met with Abu Risha and said the province suggested "what the future of Iraq can look like." Abu Risha was regarded by Americans as a rare leader willing to stand defiantly alongside U.S. forces, while able to both cajole and intimidate his fellow Sunnis into agreement…..(Washington Post, 14 Sep 07)

Iraq: Revenge Sought in Sheik's Death

Mourners vowed revenge and perseverance Friday at the funeral of the leader of the Sunni Arab revolt against al-Qaida militants who was assassinated just 10 days after meeting with President Bush in Iraq's Anbar province. More than 1,500 mourners marched along the highway near the home of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who was killed along with two bodyguards and a driver Thursday by a bomb hidden near his house, just west of Ramadi……(AP, 14 Sep 07)

Gaza: Fatah Hopes for Comeback

Alaa Siyam's limbs are purple from a beating by Hamas police _ but he says that won't stop him from joining protests against the militant group's leaders now running Gaza. Hamas' defeated rival, the Fatah Party of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is counting on loyal foot soldiers like Siyam as it takes hesitant first steps to rebuild its shattered organization in Gaza…..(AP, 14 Sep 07)

Saudi Arabia waves off US accusations of complacency in fight against terror

…"We hear every now and then that the kingdom does not do enough. [But] when we meet with officials, they thank us for the effort exerted by the government to combat terrorism," Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. "They [describe] the program we are implementing as one of the most effective on the international scene to confront terrorism, be it on the security or material fronts," he said. Saud was responding to a question about remarks by the US Treasury's top anti-terrorism official, Stuart Levey, who chided Saudi Arabia Tuesday for not prosecuting the bankrollers of terrorist groups…..(Daily Star, 14 Sep 07)

Bhutto announces Pakistan return

Pakistani ex-PM Benazir Bhutto will return from self-imposed exile on 18 October, despite no power-sharing deal with the government, her party says. A top member of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) told journalists in Islamabad that Ms Bhutto would "bring back true democracy to Pakistan". Ms Bhutto, who has failed to reach a deal with President Musharraf, could face corruption charges on her return….(BBC, 14 Sep 07)

Benazir Bhutto's extraordinary career

Benazir Bhutto was once feted at home and abroad as a symbol of modernity and democracy, but she has since fought a long battle against corruption allegations. Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s. His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army…..(BBC, 14 Sep 07)

US: North Korea warned against sending nuclear material to Syria

US President George Bush warned North Korea last year against transferring nuclear material to Syria, Iran or a terrorist organization, saying such a move would be perceived as a "grave threat," according to a former senior government official….(AKI, 14 Sep 07)

Murky Raid Heats Up Syria-Israel Tension

Syria and Israel last turned their guns on each other in all-out war a quarter century ago, but tensions are sky high after a mysterious Israeli airstrike deep into Syrian territory last week. America says the target was Iranian missiles, while others have raised questions of possible North Korean links…..(AP, 14 Sep 07)

U.S. Army Awards Iraq Security Work To British Firm

The U.S. military confirmed yesterday that it awarded the largest security contract in Iraq to a private British firm, Aegis Defense Services, in a deal worth up to $475 million over two years. Aegis won the high-stakes derby over six other contenders, said sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the bidding process. The deal, however, is being challenged by another British company that bid on the contract…..(Washington Post, 14 Sep 07)

WYXZ Video: Doctor-in-Training Caught in Park with AK-47

Pentagon Censors 9/11 Suspect's Tape

The Pentagon has released a censored audiotape of suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed _ deleting a part officials said could be used to recruit future terrorists. The tape of Mohammed's 40-minute hearing before a U.S. military proceeding in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was edited to exclude a 10-minute passage about the kidnap and beheading of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl and Mohammed's explanation for why Islamic militants are waging jihad against the United States, as well as information the government said was classified…..(AP, 14 Sep 07)

Diary secrets of Dutch woman fighting for FARC

Colombian forces have captured the intimate diary of a Dutch woman who joined the country's Marxist rebels, in which she gives a rare view of life with the guerrillas deep in the jungle…That woman, known in the FARC as "Eillen", is actually Tanja Nijmeijer, 29 - her identity was confirmed by the Dutch after a photo of her stored on the captured computer was published. Her parents live a middle-class neighbourhood in Denekamp, near the German border. She is a languages graduate from the University of Groningen, who first went to Colombia in 2000 as part of a university exchange to improve her Spanish. She returned in 2002 and entered guerrilla ranks. The FARC have long recruited women, who make up about a third of the 12,000-strong army….(Scotsman, 14 Sep 07)

New Terror Arrest in Canada

…In a written statement, the RCMP said, "The Integrated National Security Enforcement Team arrested an individual residing in Maskinongé, Mauricie, on September 12, 2007. Said Namouh, 35, was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada of conspiring for the purpose of delivering, placing, discharging or detonating an explosive in a place outside Canada…..(ABC Blog, 14 Sep 07)

India: Sniffer dogs to enhance security for railways

It will be canine power that will assist security personnel in guarding country’s "sensitive" railway stations. With threat perceptions high at these stations, it has been decided to deploy about 250 trained sniffer dogs at the stations, which will help in curbing incidents like the Samjhauta Express and Mumbai train blasts……(AKI, 14 Sep 07)

Serbian prosecutors file terrorism charges against 15 Muslims

Serbia's state prosecutors on Friday filed criminal charges against 15 Muslim men from a tense southern region for alleged terrorist activity. Most of the indicted men were arrested in raids earlier this year in the Sandzak region bordering Kosovo where large caches of ammunition and bomb-making material were also discovered….(AP, 14 Sep 07)

Bail Mulled for Man Linked to Terrorism

…U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel said he would decide next week whether to release Rahmat Abdhir on bail pending his trial. Abdhir, 43, is accused of sending more than $10,000 and military gear to his brother, thought to be a high-ranking member of al-Qaida affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah. Prosecutors say the gear included nearly 30 military radios _ parts of which were discovered to be timing devices for a bomb that killed five people in the Philippines last year……(AP, 14 Sep 07)

Violence Kills More Than 60 in Northwest Pakistan

More than 60 people died in violence in Pakistan on Thursday, including at least 15 soldiers who were killed by an explosion in a heavily secured dining hall for army commandos. The blast went off at dinnertime, just as dozens of army officers were sitting down to eat, according to officials, who said the attack was most likely the work of a suicide bomber. It was unclear how the bomber gained access to the tightly controlled base in the northwestern town of Tarbela Ghazi, which is home to the army's elite Special Services Group…..(Washington Post, 14 Sep 07)

Fatah takes battle with Hamas to mosques

Loyalists of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas are taking their fight with Hamas to the mosques of the West Bank to stop what they call Islamist brainwashing and recruiting. Palestinian security officers have stepped up surveillance of places of worship across the territory and preachers caught spouting Hamas propaganda will be sacked….(Agence France-Presse, 14 Sep 07)

Books define Islam, Judaism in 100-plus pages

What Do Muslims Believe? The Roots and Realities of Modern Islam, by Ziauddin Sardar and What Do Jews Believe? The Customs and Culture of Modern Judaism, by Edward Kessler

…Each book offers just over 100 pages of tightly formatted highlights of the history, significance and practice of the faiths and concludes with suggestions for further study. They're well-indexed, in case a reader wants to cut through the detailed chapter on the life of Mohammed to learn about the prophet's crucial night journey when he received the revelations of the Quran. But the books offer more than facts. Both authors sometimes add a personal spin to their summaries…..(USA Today, 13 Sep 07)

Which Islam? Whose Islam? All Muslims Own Interpretation of the Koran

(Part Three of Four)

While most English translations of the Koran are similar, there are essential differences that may escape non-Muslims, including its well-intentioned and articulate critics. Actually, these differences are better termed human interpretations rather than translations, because they are, in their essence, inextricably wedded to the biases and orientation of their translators. I need not point out how a story, told to one person, who tells it to another, and so on, can bear no resemblance in the end to the original; some parts can become magnified, others exaggerated, and others omitted altogether…..(Family Security Matters, 13 Sep 07)

Economist warns against vague statements on security threats

The government appears to be fighting a data-free war on terror, instead of using data analysis to inform policy decisions, a Princeton economist said this week.

Government officials should avoid making vague statements about terrorism that have little empirical basis, said Alan Krueger, a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton, at a Tuesday event at the Brookings Institution….(Gov Exec, 13 Sep 07)

Confidential Chicago terrorist threat assessment leaked over P2P

Officials at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. are looking into how a Fox News reporter acquired a confidential terrorist threat assessment on Chicago over a public file-sharing network. Larry Yellen, an investigative reporter with WFLD Fox News in Chicago, on Tuesday reported that he recently used a peer-to-peer (P2P) program called LimeWire to obtain the Booz Allen document. The firm authored the document in 2002. George Farrar, a spokesman for Booz Allen, today confirmed the incident and said the document was commissioned by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) five years ago. It was one of 35 threat assessments….(Computerworld, 13 Sep 07)

al-Qaida Video Shows Body of U.S. Pilot

An al-Qaida-linked insurgent group released a video Thursday showing what it called the body of a U.S. pilot killed in Iraq last year, a photograph of his identification card and footage of his aircraft's wreckage site. The video, posted on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants, also blamed President Bush for the pilot's death and for pushing "thousands of American soldiers to the incinerator in Iraq."… Titled "The Missing," the video shows the ID card photograph of Air Force pilot Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, whose F-16CG crashed Nov. 27, 2006, some 20 miles northwest of Baghdad…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Security chief says terrorists have been arrested on Texas border

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. "Has there ever been anyone linked to terrorism arrested?" Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw said in a speech to the North Texas Crime Commission. "Yes, there was."… Leticia Zamarripa, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso, said Wednesday she was unaware of any border arrests of people with terrorist ties. An ICE spokeswoman in San Antonio did not return phone messages left by The Associated Press. U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Lloyd M. Easterling was unable to comment…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

FBI Official Charged With Abduction, Assault

For nearly six hours, a senior FBI official terrorized his Arlington County girlfriend, at times holding her at knifepoint in her closet, dragging her around the apartment by her hair and forcing a gun into her mouth in a jealous, drunken rage, police allege in court documents. Carl L. Spicocchi, 54, a former head of the FBI's Toledo office who was on a temporary assignment in Washington, is being held without bond at the Arlington jail on two felony counts -- abduction with intent to defile and a firearms charge….(Washington Post, 13 Sep 07)

Suicide attack that killed 16 soldiers in Pakistan likely an inside job, official says

…Security officials initially said that Thursday's blast at the Ghazi Tarbela base, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the capital, Islamabad, was the work of an attacker driving an explosives-laden vehicle. But a senior army officer told The Associated Press on Friday that survivors said they had seen a man enter the busy dining room and blow himself up, killing 16 troops and wounding another 29. "Now we know for sure that the suicide attacker entered the dining hall," said the official, who sought anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record. "It was not possible without the support from some insider, or someone who had access." He said there were no firm leads on who could be responsible among a range of militant groups including the Taliban and al-Qaida and homegrown Islamic extremist organizations…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Austria's 'Jihad by Telecommute'

They translated and prepared terror videos, claims of responsibility and al-Qaida propaganda on the Internet. Austrian police have now attributed this handiwork to the Global Islamic Media Front and the leader of this network is reportedly among the arrested. It's been three weeks since the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) put out an ad for a translator to help with the growing workload in terror news. "Brothers and sisters with English language skills are especially sought," wrote a GIMF member. "We're looking for someone with time to sacrifice for Allah and thereby support the jihad." Instructions were to send an e-mail response, after which one would receive "a little job" in return…..(Der Spiegel, 13 Sep 07)

Quebec man arrested in terrorist bomb plot

A man arrested northeast of Montreal for allegedly planning a terrorist bombing outside Canada could face additional charges depending on the results of a search at his home, the RCMP said Thursday. Said Namouh, 35, was to appear in court this morning to face charges of conspiring to detonate an explosive device. The arrest of the landed immigrant coincided with three related arrests in Vienna, Austria. The Quebecer is suspected of having links to the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaeda propaganda network. Terrorism researcher Rita Katz, who has been tracking the group, said other Canadians are involved. "The Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) is individuals that are spread around the world, and there are several of them in Canada,"… The GIMF has harnessed the Internet to replace the old-style communiqués that terrorist groups used to distribute to sow fear by threatening their targets, making demands and taking responsibility for acts of violence. Islamist terrorist groups from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Palestinian territories and Somalia send their messages and videos to the GIMF, which translates, packages and redistributes them to hundreds of on-line message boards. It is one of the largest al-Qaida mouthpieces, and the kind of slick work it does, putting jihadist propaganda all over the Internet, is credited by security agencies for helping spread the ideology that is turning some Western youths into extremists.….(National Post, 13 Sep 07)

Iraqi insurgents kill key US ally

A key Sunni ally of the US and Iraqi governments has been killed in a bomb attack in the city of Ramadi, Iraqi police and media say. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was the leader of an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes that rejected al-Qaeda because of its methods and worked with the US. He was killed in a bomb attack near his home in Iraq's western Anbar province. Abu Risha was among a group of tribal leaders who met President George W Bush during his visit to Iraq last week… Abu Risha was the leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening, an alliance of clans which sided with US forces and the Iraqi government in order to try to reclaim Anbar province from al-Qaeda…..(BBC, 13 Sep 07)

Obituary: Abdul Sattar Abu Risha

Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was a key Sunni Arab ally of the US and Iraqi governments in Iraq's western Anbar province. The 37-year-old leader of the Al Bu Risha tribe was killed in a bomb attack near his home in the provincial capital, Ramadi, on Thursday. He was reportedly a top target for assassination by al-Qaeda in Iraq, whom he is widely credited with having defeated in much of western Iraq. Abu Risha, who also ran a construction and import-export business with offices in Jordan and Dubai, was among a group of tribal leaders who met President George W Bush during his visit to Iraq last week…..(BBC, 13 Sep 07)

U.S. plane hit by gunfire on resupply flight in Mali

Tuareg rebels fired on a U.S. military plane flying food supplies to Malian troops fighting the desert insurgents in the far north of the African country, Malian officials said on Thursday. The incident occurred early on Wednesday when the U.S. aircraft was resupplying a Malian army garrison at Tin-Zaouatene in a desolate northern mountain region bordering Algeria and Niger, where the rebels have staged raids in recent weeks…..(Reuters, 13 Sep 07)

12 more Pakistani soldiers, 3 officials go missing

Suspected militants attacked a security checkpost in northern Pakistan and kidnapped at least 12 soldiers, said officials Wednesday. Also, in a separate incident three government officials have been kidnapped by suspected militants…..(KUNA, 13 Sep 07)

Pakistan: Up to 30 Militants Killed

Militants attacked a military base near the Afghan border Thursday, sparking a battle which drew in army helicopters and left up to 30 insurgents died…Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said nine soldiers were wounded in the fighting near Razmak, a town in the South Waziristan region where pro-Taliban militants hold sway. The clash occurred a day after a top visiting U.S. official praised Pakistan's efforts against militants…One of the intelligence officials told the AP that another four to six soldiers were missing after the attack on the Nawaz Fort base…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Gunmen free last three kidnapped Afghan deminers

Gunmen have freed the last three of 13 Afghan deminers abducted last week, their employer said on Thursday, but it was not immediately clear who was behind the abduction. The deminers belonging to Afghan Technical Consultants were abducted while traveling in a convoy in the southeastern province of Paktia a week ago….(Reuters, 13 Sep 07)

Canadian gets 14 years for funding terrorists

Khalid Awan, a Muslim and naturalized Canadian of Pakistani descent, wasn't ultimately convicted of any links to al-Qaeda. Rather, U.S. authorities in the Eastern District of New York used a series of elaborate in-prison stings to establish he supported a terrorist group of another religion, Sikh militants known in India as the Khalistan Commando Force. U.S. officials alleged the 45-year-old was known during frequent travels to Pakistan as a "silent mujahed," which means holy warrior in Islam - although in this case the suspect was said to be a kind of free-floating radical, with links to Sikh and Muslim extremists, as well as Pakistani intelligence. A New York jury last year convicted Mr. Awan of lending financial and other forms of support to KCF members who had staged deadly attacks against Indian civilians……(Globe & Mail, 13 Sep 07)

Jordanian court sentences Fatah Al-Islam leader to 5 years in jail

Jordan's State Security Court has sentenced 16 people, including Fatah Al-Islam leader, Shaker Al-Absi, for planning to join insurgents in Iraq, news reports said on Thursday. The defendants had received military training by Al-Absi who was sentenced, in absentia, to five years in prison since he was in charge of the training camps….(KUNA, 13 Sep 07)

Thailand Cracks Down on Southern Militants

Government efforts to resolve the ongoing violence in Thailand's four southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla—which has claimed the lives of 2,400 people since January 2004—continue to emphasize a three-pronged strategy of reconciliation, improving socio-economic conditions and counter-insurgency (COIN) operations. Over the past three months, the COIN element has been the most pronounced, resulting in the detention of nearly 2,000 suspected separatists……(Global Terrorism Analysis, 13 Sep 07)

Turkey plans to build fence on its borders with Iraq

Turkish Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit along with elite of experts are evaluating details of a project to erect a USD 3.2 billion concrete fence on its borders with Iraq to stop infiltration of Kurdish Workers Party's (PKK) rebels…..(KUNA, 14 Sep 07)

U.S. looks to sanctions on Iran's Quds force

The Bush administration is looking at slapping sanctions on a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps but has decided against naming the entire body a terrorist group…With some allies' support fading for tougher U.N. sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, Washington plans more unilateral measures to pressure Iran, including sanctions on the Guards' Quds force, blamed for stoking violence in Iraq…Last month, plans were leaked to U.S. media of the Bush administration's intent to label the entire Guard Corps a foreign terrorist group -- the first time the United States would place the armed forces of any sovereign government on its list of terrorist organizations. Such a designation enables Washington to target the Iranian group's finances…..(Reuters, 13 Sep 07)

France's interior minister announces reorganization of intelligence services

France's interior minister announced a reorganization of the country's intelligence services under a single roof Thursday, a move designed in part to enhance the fight against terrorism. Michele Alliot-Marie hosted an unprecedented visit by journalists to the nerve center of France's counterterrorism fight, in a glistening new building in the northwest Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. The reorganization of key units, including counterterrorism and the police intelligence service, under an umbrella organization called the Central Agency for Internal Intelligence, or DCRI, was pushed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, a former interior minister……(AP, 13 Sep 07)

EC funds counterterrorism tech research

The European Commission will commit $212.16 million to research on counterterrorism technologies. The funding was granted in response to a call from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program, a research program that seeks to develop technologies and knowledge to mitigate threats including terrorism, organized crime and natural disasters…..(CNN, 13 Sep 07)

Afghan suspect transferred to Guantanamo: Pentagon

The Pentagon said on Wednesday an Afghan national it described as a dangerous terrorism suspect had been transferred to the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The man, identified only by the name Inayatullah, was captured as part of operations against violent extremists in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said in a statement. "He has admitted that he was the Al Qaeda Emir of Zahedan, Iran, and planned and directed Al Qaeda terrorist operations,"….(Reuters, 13 Sep 07)

NATO force chief suggests new ways to fight Afghan opium production

The head of NATO's military force in Afghanistan said Wednesday he had proposed new ways to crack down on opium production, which is a major source of income for Taliban-led insurgents…"You can make the debate that there could be other things the ISAF force could be doing that would have more effect, and indeed the members of the alliance ... (are) likely to do it," he said. But he insisted that ISAF, whose aim is to provide security so that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government can spread its influence throughout the insurgency hit country, should not start destroying poppy fields. "I'm not desirous of the force becoming an eradication force. We're not manned. We're not trained. We're not equipped,"…..(Agence France-Presse, 13 Sep 07)

U.S.: 45 Taliban Killed in Afghan Clash

Airstrikes and Afghan army gunfire killed more than 45 suspected Taliban fighters in a clash in a southern province just as the holy month of Ramadan began, the U.S.-led coalition said. The battle in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday began when insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire….(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Terrorism: Italy 'ill-equipped' to deal with threat, explosives expert says

One of Italy's most prominent experts of the effects of explosive devices has warned the country is 'ill-equipped" to deal with possible terrorist bomb attacks such as those that have struck Madrid in 2002 and London in 2005. "We continue to lull in the fact that so far all has gone fine,"….(AKI, 13 Sep 07)

Refugee cleared of terrorism suspicion after 4 years

Ahmed Zaoui arrived in New Zealand in December 2002 and sought refugee status, saying he would be tortured or killed if he was returned to Algeria. But the security intelligence service was convinced he was a terrorist and a security risk. Although granted refugee status, he was jailed for two of the four years he has spent trying to clear his name. Security Intelligence Service director Warren Tucker now says Mr Zaoui's former associates were the problem…..(ABC, 13 Sep 07)

North Korea opens facility
North Korea showed visiting U.S. officials everything they asked to see at the communist nation's main nuclear complex during an inspection yesterday to determine how to disable the facility so it cannot produce more bombs, the State Department said. The U.S. officials, joined by Chinese and Russian experts, were to continue their tour of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear site today before returning tomorrow to the capital, Pyongyang, for discussions with North Korean officials…..(Washington Times, 13 Sep 07)

U.S. Official: Israel Targeted Weapons

Israeli warplanes targeted weapons destined for Hezbollah guerrillas in a strike last week in northeastern Syria, a U.S. government official said Wednesday. Syria's envoy to the United Nations called the claim "nonsense." The American official said the target of the Sept. 6 attack was a site where Israel believed Syria stored weapons being sent from Iran to the militant Islamic group in Lebanon….(AP, 12 Sep 07)

Islamic Jihad Union Threatens Attacks Outside Germany

The German government is taking seriously claims by a militant Islamic group that it was behind a foiled terror plot. The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that an Internet announcement by the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) that it had plotted to bomb US and Uzbek targets in Germany was being treated as genuine. Three men were arrested on Sept. 4 in Germany (more...) on suspicion of planning to attack US and other facilities….(Der Spiegel, 13 Sep 07)

U.S. Lauds Musharraf, Silent on Sharif

A top U.S. envoy praised President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government Wednesday and skirted the issue of his expulsion of a top political rival, taking some heat off the military leader as he struggles for election to a new term…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Austrian suspects may have had ties to kidnappers of BBC's Alan Johnston

Three alleged al-Qaida sympathizers arrested in connection with an online video threat against Austria and Germany may have had links to the Army of Islam, a shadowy group that kidnapped a BBC journalist earlier this year, a U.S. terrorism research group said Thursday. SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors al-Qaida messages, said its research suggests one of the three suspects arrested Wednesday in Vienna was a leader of the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaida propaganda group increasingly tied to terrorism operations…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Somali govt dismisses opposition "terrorist" alliance

Somalia's government on Thursday said a new opposition movement vowing war on Ethiopian troops in the Horn of Africa nation was a "terrorist alliance" posing no real threat. Somali opposition figures forged The Alliance For The Liberation Of Somalia in the Eritrean capital of Asmara on Wednesday in a move analysts said may boost Islamist-led insurgents fighting the interim government and its Ethiopian military allies…..(Reuters, 13 Sep 07)

'Bilal brainwashed 300 Hyderabadis'

…alleged mastermind of the blasts, Shahid Bilal, reportedly indoctrinated around 300 people in Hyderabad between 1994 and 2002. Syed Imran Khan, an associate of Shahid, revealed this during the second narco analysis test on Wednesday. Shahid formed a group called DJ for indoctrinating vulnerable youth and carrying out terrorist activities. "Shahid tried to register the organization, but the government refused permission," said the officials interrogating Imran Khan. Imran Khan, arrested after the Mecca Masjid blasts in May 2007, was an active member of the group and is said to have 'loads of information' about terrorist activities in Hyderabad….(Times of India, 13 Sep 07)

The Zaoui Story

Algerian Ahmed Zaoui was today triumphant and all smiles after winning New Zealand's most protracted battle for refugee status…Mr Zaoui, an associate professor of theology at the University of Algiers and imam of his local mosque, was democratically elected to represent the Algerian Islamic Front for Salvation in December 1991. However, the new government was overthrown in a military coup in January 1992 and he fled to Europe. He was accused of being associated with the militant Armed Islamic Group but has denied any such involvement. He was deported from France to Burkina Faso in west Africa. Fearing for his safety, he fled to South Africa, then to Asia. In 2003, the Algerian Government convicted him of terrorism and sentenced to death. However, he has never been proven responsible for any terrorist acts…..(New Zealand Herald, 13 Sep 07)

The Surge, the Shiites and Nation Building in Iraq

…There was always a degree of doubt with regard to the true representativeness of the Sunni parties that emerged as "winners" in their fields in the heavily boycotted 2005 parliamentary elections. The fact that these parties are now worried about internal competition means that more Sunnis are interested in participating in the system, and that a group of politicians firmly attached to the vision of a unified Iraq but also enjoying solid popular backing in their core constituencies may be on the way up, assisted by the "surge." At the same time, foreign-sponsored groups, such as al-Qaeda, and office seekers whose popular legitimacy is in doubt (for instance, some members of the Tawafuq bloc) are coming under pressure or are even being weeded out.……(Global Terrorism Analysis, 13 Sep 07)

How This Ends

"Tell me how this ends." That famously is the question that Gen. David Petraeus posed to journalist Rick Atkinson in March 2003 as U.S. troops were moving to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. And it's still the right question after Petraeus's sober progress report to Congress on the U.S. troop surge in Iraq…..(Washington Post, 13 Sep 07)

Al-Qa'eda 'as strong today as it was on 9/11'

…"Core" al-Qa'eda is proving adaptable and resilient and has retained the ability to plan and co-ordinate large-scale attacks in the Western world, says the Strategic Survey published yesterday by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Nigel Inkster, a former director for operations and intelligence for MI6, who contributed to the al-Qa'eda section of the report, said it showed that the tactics being used in the war on terrorism were proving ineffective. "The bottom line is that for six years the United States and its allies have been struggling to eliminate this threat and it is becoming increasingly clear that they have not succeeded in doing so," said Mr Inkster…..(Telegraph, 13 Sep 07)

U.S. let al-Qaida deepen roots, group claims

…In its annual report on global security, the International Institute of Strategic Studies painted a bleak picture of conflict in the Middle East, an emboldened al-Qaida and growing Islamic radicalism across Europe. New European leaders offer hope of a fresh approach in the fight against terrorism, the report said, but success is unlikely with the White House struggling to command global respect. With weak leadership from Washington, "the risk is that simmering international tensions will spill over and endanger global prosperity," the report said…"The United States and its allies have failed to deal a deathblow to al-Qaida; the organization's ideology appears to have taken root to such a degree that it will require decades to eradicate,"….(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Shelling Near Iranian Border Is Forcing Iraqi Kurds to Flee

…For four weeks now, Kurdish villagers in this far northeastern corner of Iraq have endured a punishing barrage of rockets and artillery shells from what they say are Iranian troops across the border. The seemingly indiscriminate shelling has burned acres of orchards and grassland, damaged homes, killed livestock and driven about 2,500 people to abandon about two dozen villages. The attacks are an ominous reminder that the emergence of an increasingly self-sufficient Kurdish region in northern Iraq could provoke reprisals or even invasions by Iran and Turkey…..(Washington Post, 13 Sep 07)

WP Audio Report: Visiting Kurdistan

Reuters Video: Iran shells Iraq Territory

Iran leader denies interference in Iraq

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday rejected the congressional testimony of the top U.S. officials in Iraq accusing Iran of interfering in its war-torn neighbor. He also said the Islamic Republic could help in Iraq if the U.S. and British governments stopped alleging it is fighting a proxy war there by arming Shiite Muslim militias accused of attacking coalition forces and Sunni Arabs. In an interview on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker raised allegations of Iranian meddling solely because of the political debate within the United States over the war in Iraq…..(AP, 13 Sep 07)

Trouble on the Iran-Iraq Border

…The target of the Iranian shelling, which began in mid-August, is a little-known Iranian-Kurdish rebel group known as the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK). About 2,000 PJAK guerillas, which Iran accuses of infiltrating across the border into the Islamic Republic, are camped out in the lime-green hills dotted with walnut trees along the Iraq-Iran border. In Rezga “there are a lot of peshmergas” armed with RPGs and Kalashnikovs, the farmer told me, using the colloquial term for Kurdish guerillas. “There are so many that I can’t count.” At first glance, the battle in the hills of an obscure corner of Iraq seems like little more than a longstanding local dispute. Iran has been shelling the Kurdish region of northern Iraq “since forever,” says Joost Hiltermann, a Middle East expert….(Newsweek, 13 Sep 07)

The War on Terror: The German Front
How the much-hated United States stopped European converts from pulling off a major terrorist attack......(FrontPage, 13 Sept 07)

Terror Criminal Links Growing
How to better spot terrorists.....Interviewed by ABC News on September 11, 2007, U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) Stuart Levey, said: "If I could somehow snap my fingers and cut off the funding from one country, it would be Saudi Arabia.".....(FrontPage, 13 Sept 07)

N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility

North Korea may be cooperating with Syria on some sort of nuclear facility in Syria, according to new intelligence the United States has gathered over the past six months, sources said. The evidence, said to come primarily from Israel, includes dramatic satellite imagery that led some U.S. officials to believe that the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons. The new information, particularly images received in the past 30 days, has been restricted to a few senior officials under the instructions of national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, leaving many in the intelligence community unaware of it or uncertain of its significance…..(Washington Post, 13 Sep 07)

Splits Revealed Inside Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

During an August 14 news conference organized by Algerian authorities for a select group of Algerian reporters, Benmessaoud Abdelkader, a former Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) regional commander, confirmed that there was deep disagreement within the former GSPC over national commander Abdelmalek Droudkel's decisions first to merge with al-Qaeda in September 2006 and then later to rename the group the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in January 2007 (Liberté, August 21). The split appears to have diminished the terrorist group's logistical capacity and reduced its overall size, but has also made the al-Qaeda affiliate more desperate and determined to demonstrate its continued effectiveness and relevancy……(Global Terrorism Analysis, 13 Sep 07)

Italy's Left-Wing Terrorists Flirt with Radical Islamists

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)..…(Global Terrorism Analysis, 13 Sep 07)

Sadr group vows to fight US troops

The powerful Shiite movement of Iraq’s anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr vowed today to fight US-led forces in the war-torn country until the last of them leave… Sadr’s aides reacted angrily to an upbeat progress report to the US Congress this week by the top US general and diplomat in Iraq, saying it did not reflect the true situation in the bitterly divided country. "The report did not touch on Iraqi reality," said Abdul-Mahdi al-Mutayri, a member of the politburo of Sadr’s office in the central city of Najaf…..(Agence France-Presse, 13 Sep 07)

Bin Laden's new image: younger, more Marxist

After a three-year absence, Osama bin Laden has resurfaced in another of his rousing videotapes, only this time with a new image and a new message. Projecting a younger look, Mr. bin Laden gives his most ideological address since the early 1990s with an assault on capitalism and liberal democracy loaded with Marxist and socialist terms. Indeed, this new bin Laden sounds more like Che Guevara, the Marxist revolutionary, than some of his rifle-toting Al Qaeda cohorts. Gone is bin Laden's vintage militaristic appearance. He has exchanged his fatigues and Kalashnikov for a white robe, circular cap, and beige cloak, giving him an aura of clerical wisdom….(Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep 07)

Egyptian Playwright Ali Salem Speaks Out Against 'Culture of Death'

The following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian playwright Ali Salem, which aired on Abu Dhabi TV on August 16, 2007….(MEMRI, 13 Sep 07)

Which Islam? Whose Islam? All Muslims Own Interpretation of the Koran

(Part Two of Four)

As we note the sixth anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11, we in the Muslim community need to begin a serious intellectual deconstruction of “bin Ladenism,” its origins, and all of its offshoots and ideological siblings – which form the nucleus of the phenomenon of political Islam (Islamic supremacism, or Islamism) and Jihadism. Americans are now reviewing the recent video message from bin Laden, whose delivery was timed to preface our annual mourning of the victims of his cowardly attack. Despite the denials of many “leading” Muslim organizations in America, bin Laden’s mantra is not that of an isolated psychopath……(Family Security Matters, 12 Sep 07)

Which Islam? Whose Islam? All Muslims Own Interpretation of the Koran

(Part 2 of 4)

As we note the sixth anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11, we in the Muslim community need to begin a serious intellectual deconstruction of “bin Ladenism,” its origins, and all of its offshoots and ideological siblings – which form the nucleus of the phenomenon of political Islam (Islamic supremacism, or Islamism) and Jihadism… If Muslims wish to defeat the fervent believers of Jihadism and Islamism, we must begin by deconstructing and defeating their claim to moral sanction – and even divine commandment – to perpetrate their acts of intolerance, murder and oppression. The time has come (indeed, it is long overdue) for anti-Islamist Muslims to begin offering alternative interpretations of the Koran to political and militant Islamists who, unfortunately, are the focus of the lion’s share of everything the world currently sees, hears, and reads about Islam…..(Family Security Matters, 12 Sep 07)

Fund to prevent mosque extremism

A campaign to prevent extremist beliefs taking hold in Birmingham's mosques and among the city's Muslim population is being launched. The £525,000 Reclaiming Islam scheme includes training schemes for imams and Muslim leaders. Mosque committees will be increased to reduce the risk of them being infiltrated by extremists. The government's national announcement of the fund coincided with anti terror raids in Birmingham in January 2007….(BBC, 12 Sep 07)

Arabs blame US for terror rise

Some six years after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, many in the Arab world say the US-led "war on terror" is spurring terrorism everywhere and that the world is less safe as a result. The resurgence of al-Qaeda is blamed by many Arabs on the United States, with recent foiled bomb plots in Germany, deadly terror attacks in Algeria, the latest video release by Osama bin Laden as well as the undiminishing daily violence in Iraq and Afghanistan winning yet more converts to this viewpoint….(Bangkok Post, 12 Sep 07)

U.S. may provide $25 million in fuel to N. Korea

…Under a multilateral agreement reached Feb. 13, North Korea is to receive 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO) once it has disabled its nuclear facilities and provided a complete declaration of its nuclear programs. That agreement is part of a broader deal hammered out in 2005 by the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States under which North Korea would ultimately abandon all its nuclear weapons and programs…..(Reuters, 12 Sep 07)

Poll: Bin Laden tops Musharraf in Pakistan

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf -- a key U.S. ally -- is less popular in his own country than al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to a poll of Pakistanis conducted last month by an anti-terrorism organization. Additionally, nearly three-fourths of poll respondents said they oppose U.S. military action against al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, according to results from the poll conducted by the independent polling organization Terror Free Tomorrow. "We have conducted 23 polls all over the Muslim world, and this is the most disturbing one we have conducted," said Ken Ballen, the group's head. "Pakistan is the one Muslim nation that has nuclear weapons, and the people who want to use them against us -- like the Taliban and al Qaeda -- are more popular there than our allies like Musharraf."….(CNN, 12 Sep 07)

Negroponte Lands in Pakistani Political Storm Clouds

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for talks with President Pervez Musharraf, two days after the government blocked former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's return from exile…..(Reuters, 12 Sep 07)

Scientists Use the 'Dark Web' to Snag Extremists and Terrorists Online

The Internet can be conceptualized as a public space with many dark corners, where terrorists can plan and execute attacks. The Dark Web project at the University of Arizona's Artificial Intelligence Lab is working to find, catalogue and study these virtual places where terrorists and extremists operate…Funded by the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies, Hsinchun Chen and his Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Arizona have created the Dark Web project, which aims to systematically collect and analyze all terrorist-generated content on the Web…..(Phys Org, 12 Sep 07)

Terrorism: Al-Qaeda to release third 9/11 video

Al-Qaeda will release a third video to mark the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to postings on Islamist websites on the Internet on Wednesday. The websites said that the video will be entitled, "The two expeditions to New York and Washington, causes and motives", and is expected to be a documentary which will explain the reasons why the terrorist group carried out the attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States that killed close to 3,000 people….(AKI, 12 Sep 07)

Taliban Threatens New Operation In Southern Afghanistan

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusef Ahmadi says militants will soon launch an operation in southern Afghanistan led by Mullah Bradar -- a senior Taliban commander who was earlier reported to have been killed…. Ahmadi's announcement of the operation comes just days after he issued a statement saying the Taliban would be willing to consider negotiations with the Afghan government -- if Kabul made a formal offer. Ahmadi released that statement after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on September 9 that his government is willing to hold talks with the Taliban…..(RFE/RL, 12 Sep 07)

Plot by German Cell Detailed on Internet

A terrorist cell broken up in Germany last week was planning to attack the huge Ramstein Air Base, a U.S. and NATO facility, and a U.S. consulate by the end of the year, German authorities reported Tuesday, citing an assertion of responsibility posted by a Central Asian militant group. The Islamic Jihad Union, based in Pakistan and Uzbekistan, asserted in an Internet statement that it was behind the plot, according to the Interior Ministry, which said it considered the statement authentic. The ministry said the group claimed it had also intended to target Uzbek diplomatic posts in Germany…The Islamic Jihad Union is an offshoot of a larger network, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan…The State Department has blamed the network for carrying out suicide bombings against the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Tashkent in July 2004..…(Washington Post, 12 Sep 07)

Algeria: Al-Qaeda accused of recruiting teenage bombers

Al-Qaeda has been accused of recruiting 40 teenage youths in Algeria for suicide attacks in Iraq. According to a report in the Algerian newspaper, al-Khabar, the youths were being trained to become 'little Zarqawis'…..(AKI, 12 Sep 07)

Militants Abduct 18 Police in Pakistan

Suspected militants attacked a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, abducting 18 police officers and injuring two others, officials said. The insurgents fired rockets at the post near Bannu, a town next to the restive region bordering Afghanistan, before overrunning the position…..(AP, 12 Sep 07)

Austria holds three over 'threat'

Three people have been arrested in Austria in connection with a video posted on a website threatening attacks on Germany and Austria, officials say…The country's Interior Ministry said the detained militants were suspected al-Qaeda sympathizers. They had threatened to attack Austria and Germany unless both withdrew troops from Afghanistan, the ministry said…..(BBC, 12 Sep 07)

Bombs found in Madurai cinema hall

Five powerful country-made bombs have been found inside a movie hall in the city, police said on Wednesday. An abandoned cloth bag containing the bombs was found on a seat Tuesday evening by a woman, who alerted an employee of Sakthi Shivam theatre…..(Times of India, 12 Sep 07)

Minister denies barring terror author entry

The Federal Government denies it has refused a London-based editor of an Arabic newspaper entry to Australia after claims his application has been slowed on security grounds. Dr Abdel Bari Atwan, author of The Secret History of al-Qaeda and the last Western journalist to interview terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden, was scheduled to appear at the Brisbane Writers Festival tomorrow afternoon. However, Dr Atwan is yet to be granted a visa allowing him to enter Australia, forcing him to miss his scheduled flight from London earlier today…..(AAP, 12 Sep 07)

Saudi Press Reactions to Involvement of Saudi Nationals in Terrorist Activity
Recently, a public debate has emerged in Saudi Arabia regarding the involvement of Saudi nationals in terrorist activities throughout the world. This involvement has been confirmed by numerous sources. For example, reports point to Saudi involvement in terrorist activities in Syria. The Lebanese news agency Al-Markaziyya reported, citing a diplomatic source, that Saudi Arabia had demanded that Syria round up the 980 Saudi Al-Qaeda members currently at a refugee camp in Syria, and hand them over to Saudi authorities as a precondition for any negotiations between the two countries ….(MEMRI, 12 Sep 07)

Israel believes N. Korea selling nuke material to Syria

…A US administration official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria…"The Israelis think North Korea is selling to Iran and Syria what little they have left," the unidentified official was quoted as saying. A US defense official confirmed Tuesday that Israel carried out an air strike well inside Syria last week, apparently to send Damascus a message not to rearm Hezbollah in Lebanon……(Agence France-Presse, 12 Sep 07)

U.S. Confirms Israeli Strikes Hit Syrian Target Last Week

…A Defense Department official said Israeli jets had struck at least one target in northeastern Syria last Thursday, but the official said it was still unclear exactly what the jets hit and the extent of the bombing damage. Syria has lodged a protest at the United Nations in response to the airstrike, accusing Israel of “flagrant violation” of its airspace…..(New York Times, 12 Sep 07)

Report will not save U.S. from "Iraq's swamp": Iran

Iran on Wednesday dismissed a long-awaited progress report by the two senior U.S. officials in Iraq saying it would not "save America from Iraq's swamp."… Iran has long called for U.S. forces to leave its neighbor, but a Foreign Ministry statement made clear the suggested troop withdrawal did not go far enough for Tehran…..(Reuters, 12 Sep 07)

Iraq eyes big drop in foreign forces by end of 2008

Foreign troop levels in Iraq could drop to less than 100,000 by the end of 2008 if Iraq's own forces were ready and security threats had diminished, Iraq's national security adviser said on Wednesday. Mowaffaq al-Rubaie was speaking after two days of testimony in Washington by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who has recommended cutting U.S. forces by about 30,000 by next July because of reduced violence in Iraq…..(Reuters, 12 Sep 07)

Al-Qaeda fights back at Afghan peace bid
Similar to US General David Petraeus' plan of reconciliation with the Iraqi tribal-based national resistance and alienation of al-Qaeda, Washington has a two-pronged approach of political settlement with "reconcilable" insurgents and all-out war on radical extremists in the theater of Afghanistan and Pakistan. This initiative was given a fillip this week by both the government in Kabul and the Taliban, while al-Qaeda, which stands to lose the most, is already on the offensive - as in Osama bin Laden's latest video - in a bid to re-energize itself to maintain its support in the Afghan struggle…..(Asia Times, 12 Sep 07)

9/11 Linked To Iraq, In Politics if Not in Fact

…Every investigation has shown that Iraq did not, in fact, have anything to do with the Sept. 11 attacks. But the ad, part of a new $15 million media blitz launched by an advocacy group allied with the White House, may be the most overt attempt during the current debate in Congress over the war to link the attacks with Iraq. Six years later, the Sept. 11 attacks remain the touchstone of American politics, the most powerful force that can be summoned on behalf of an argument even as a nation united in their aftermath today stands divided on their meaning….(Washington Post, 12 Sep 07)

Bali bombers on death row won't seek pardon

…The three militants -- Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Ali Gufron -- have been on death row for over two years after courts convicted them of playing leading roles in the nightclub bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly tourists… Under Indonesian law, the family also has the right to ask for a presidential pardon. Michdan said he will consult with the families on this option. The attorney-general's office has not set a date for the execution, which in Indonesia is conducted by a firing squad…..(Reuters, 12 Sep 07)

Pakistanis Oppose US Terror Hunts

Only a quarter of Pakistanis support their military working with U.S. forces to pursue terrorists inside Pakistan, and even fewer favor letting American forces mount such operations on their own…In a broader measure of America's unpopularity in its erstwhile ally against terrorism, 19 percent of Pakistanis see the U.S. favorably — half the number with a positive view of India, a bitter rival Pakistan has fought in three wars since 1947….(AP, 12 Sep 07)

Khan Blocked From Entering Karachi

Allies of Pakistan's military ruler blocked opposition leader Imran Khan from entering the country's biggest city Wednesday, just days after the government sent a former prime minister back into exile. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is facing a barrage of criticism for Monday's expulsion of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, a step which removed a key political rival who could have upset Musharraf's re-election plans….(AP, 12 Sep 07)

Turkey: Kurd separatists blamed for Ankara bomb
The Kurdish separatist group, the PKK, has been been blamed for the foiled bomb attack in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday. Senior police, intelligence and military officials in Turkey are scheduled to hold a security summit in Ankara to evaluate security issues with ministers and top bureaucrats on Wednesday…..(AKI, 12 Sep 07)

Official: Saudis to Open Embassy in Iraq

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Wednesday that the kingdom soon will open an embassy in Baghdad for the first time since Saddam Hussein's 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, a step the U.S. has pressed the Saudis to take. The announcement by Prince Saud al-Faisal came after a Riyadh delegation returned from Iraq, where al-Faisal said it had investigated the possibility of the embassy's opening…..(AP, 12 Sep 07)

Indian Police Urged to Tap Cybercafes to Fight Terrorism

An organization in Mumbai, India has proposed that police use key-logging software at cybercafes to keep track of communications between terrorists. Public computers at cyber cafes offer terrorists the anonymity they require, said Vijay Mukhi, president of the Foundation for Information Security and Technology (FIST) in Mumbai in a telephone interview late Tuesday. Terrorists are known to use instant messengers (IM) from companies like Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., and these companies do not share information from IM chats with the police…..(PC World, 12 Sep 07)

Islamists in Somali alliance plan

Somali Islamists and opposition leaders meeting in Eritrea's capital are set to join forces to try to overthrow Somalia's transitional government. More than 300 delegates, including Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, have approved a 30-article constitution setting up the alliance…..(BBC, 12 Sep 07)

Iran defiant over EU uranium call

Iran will not stop uranium enrichment despite a call by the EU to halt the sensitive nuclear work, chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani has said. The EU approach was "from the past", and only "new initiatives" would lead to a diplomatic breakthrough, he said.

The West has accused Iran of trying to develop weapons - a charge Iran denies…..(BBC, 12 Sep 07)

NBC Video: A Look Inside a Secret Taliban Training Facility

Bin Laden, Brought to You by . . .

Early yesterday morning, a South Carolina Web designer who works at home managed to scoop al-Qaeda by publicly unveiling its new video, a feat she has accomplished numerous times since 2002. Within hours, cable news stations were broadcasting images of Osama bin Laden commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and crediting the 50-year-old woman, who uses the pseudonym Laura Mansfield. A similar event occurred Friday, when another group beat al-Qaeda by nearly a full day with the release of the first video images of bin Laden to appear publicly since 2004. That group, the SITE Institute, provided the tape to government agencies and news organizations at a time when many well-known jihadist Web sites had been shut down in a powerful cyberattack by unknown hackers. It was the latest round of electronic warfare between al-Qaeda and a small community of individuals and companies that troll the Internet for messages from terrorists -- as a livelihood, a personal obsession or both. Often, the groups compete to be the first to find and post a new video or message. Frequently, they accomplish their goal several steps ahead of government agencies who turn to them for the material…..(Washington Post, 12 Sep 07)

Ex-Chiquita Execs Won't Face Bribe Charges

The Justice Department notified Chiquita Brands International yesterday that it will not seek to criminally charge its former top executive and other former high-ranking officers over the company's payment of bribes to a Colombian organization on the State Department's list of terrorist groups. The multibillion-dollar banana company pleaded guilty earlier this year to making $1.7 million in illegal payments to a right-wing Colombian paramilitary group from 1997 to 2004…..(Washington Post, 12 Sep 07)

U.S. eyes $2.2 bln aircraft, missile sale to Taiwan

The Pentagon announced tentative plans on Wednesday to sell surplus P-3C Orion submarine-hunting aircraft and air-defense missiles to Taiwan in deals potentially worth more than $2.23 billion, including related gear and services. Taiwan is seeking to buy 12 surplus P-3C maritime patrol aircraft with T-56 turboprop engines, data terminals and a mobile operation command center in a deal that could be worth $1.96 billion, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice to Congress……(Reuters, 12 Sep 07)

Man with AK-47 assault rifle arrested after leaving Dearborn's Hemlock Park

Houssein Zorkot, a 26-year-old Dearborn resident, was arraigned Tuesday in 19th District Court on multiple felony charges, including carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent — a five-year felony. Zorkot, a third-year medical student at Wayne State University, was allegedly armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and dressed in black clothing with camouflage paint covering his face when he was arrested Saturday in Hemlock Park….(Press & Guide, 12 Sep 07)

Man On Terrorism Watch List Suspected Of Taking Bridge Photos

A man whose name is on a terrorism watch list and suspected of taking photos of a bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey was questioned and released after authorities determined he did nothing wrong. The man had pulled over to the side of the road on Monday, the day before the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks…..(NBC10, 12 Sep 07)

Guantanamo Detainees Tell of Abuses

…The Pentagon gave the AP transcripts of hearings held last year in a trailer at Guantanamo after the news agency sought the material under the Freedom of Information Act.Amid the tensions, the transcripts also show a few relaxed encounters between detainees and their guards and interrogators. The military has said Guantanamo is relatively calm compared to last year. But a report released by the detention center last month shows mass disturbances are up sharply over 2006 and forced removal of prisoners from cells and assaults with bodily fluids are on pace to match or exceed last year's total. The transcripts, obtained by the AP on Friday, illustrate the friction….(AP, 12 Sep 07)

Terror on Campus, The NYPD reports

In 2002, at Brooklyn College, New Yorker Syed Hashmi adopted the views of al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Islamic organization. In 2006, he was charged with assisting al Qaeda conspirators in attacking targets in London and delivering funds and weaponry to jihadists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cowed by political correctness, Western officialdom has been dangerously slow to warn of such militancy in our midst. “Radicalization in the West and the Homegrown Threat,” a 90-page report published in August by the NYPD’s Intelligence Division, makes up for lost ground…..(National Review, 11 Sep 07)

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

…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…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 11 Sep 07)

ELF Activist's Trial Starts in Calif.

A few hours after a $50 million condo project burned down, apparently in an eco-terrorism attack, Earth Liberation Front spokesman Rod Coronado stood in front of a San Diego audience and explained how to build a homemade Molotov cocktail…On Tuesday, his trial began in federal court on a single count of distributing information on explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction with the intent that his listeners commit illegal acts of violence…..(AP, 11 Sep 07)

U.S. tightens small plane security rules

Small aircraft flying into the United States from overseas faced new Department of Homeland Security rules Tuesday to prescreen passengers and crew. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said rules requiring pilots of private planes to radio the information in one hour before landing would change Tuesday to require the information be sent one hour before taking off…..(UPI, 11 Sep 07)

Analysis of Osama bin Laden's September 7 Video Statement

The September 7 release of a new video statement by Osama bin Laden puts to rest, at least for now, widespread speculation that he is dead, retired, or has been pushed aside by his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri [1]. With a newly trimmed and dyed beard, comfortable robes rather than a camouflage jacket, and a clear and patient speaking style, bin Laden achieved a major purpose of his speech before he said a word: he clearly showed Muslims and Americans that he was still alive, that he was healthy and not at death's door, that he spoke from secure surroundings unthreatened by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, and that he, al-Qaeda and their allies were ready to continue the war…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 11 Sep 07)

NEFA Foundation: A Look Inside a Secret Taliban Training Camp

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."…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 11 Sep 07)

'The Battle... Is Economic Rather than Military' – An Economically Oriented Concept of Jihad Emerges in Islamist Discourse
The concept of jihad, dating back to the earliest stages of Islam, has always been open to various interpretations. Since Islamic sources define jihad in very broad terms, Muslims have, throughout Islamic history, been able to transform and extend its meaning according to their specific perceptions and needs. This document focuses campaion a concept of jihad that has been emerging for some time in Islamist discourse, as is evident in Islamist forums and websites. In this permutation, jihad is perceived as being aimed primarily at undermining the Western economy, particularly the U.S. economy, with the ultimate goal of bringing about the total collapse of the West. [1] In practical terms, this concept of jihad does not pose an immediate and substantial danger to Western economy. However, it nonetheless merits attention, since it represents a broadening of the boundaries of jihad, and widens the circle of people who can potentially be involved in jihadist activity…..(MEMRI, 11 Sep 07)

9/11 and the Inconvenient Truths about Jihad and Islamism

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……(Counterterrorism Blog, 11 Sep 07)

Saudi Feminist Wajeha Al-Huwaidar Launches New Campaign: Let Us Drive Cars

On September 4, 2007, the liberal Arab website Aafaq published a statement from the newly established League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia, asking women to sign a message demanding that women be given the right to drive. The league plans to deliver the message to King 'Abdallah on Saudi Arabia's national holiday, September 23. Among the founders of the League are women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaidar, and Fawzia Al-Uyyouni, the wife of imprisoned reformist 'Ali Al-Domaini…..(MEMRI, 11 Sep 07)

Bin Laden Wants 'Caravan' of Martyrs

Osama bin Laden urged sympathizers to join the "caravan" of martyrs as he praised one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers in a new video that emerged Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Al-Qaida traditionally issues a video every year on the anniversary, with the last testament of one of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. This year's video showed hijacker 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." The new message came days after the world got its first current look at bin Laden in nearly three years….(AP, 11 Sep 07)

Peru's Shining Path Gaining Ground?

New reporting by Peruvian officials has brought to light information on a terrorist group about which has been little noted in recent years: Peru's Sendero Luminoso (SL)—Shining Path. The reports, which include sources who specialize in counter-terrorism programs within Peru's Interior Ministry, provides a worrisome update on one of the most brutal terrorist groups known in the past four decades, a group which appears to be gaining strength and which may be seeking to enlarge its area of military operations(La Republica, August 5). In Peru, the remnants of the Maoist Shining Path have turned to cocaine production to fund themselves, including their campaign to overthrow the government of Peru. This makes SL a multi-edged weapon aimed at not only Peruvian national security, but that of Latin America and the United States as well. Without even pulling a trigger, SL continues to contribute to the multi-billion dollar annual drain on the U.S. economy…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 11 Sep 07)

Wad Banda Raid Shows Khartoum Losing Control of Darfur Conflict

A daring rebel raid 200 kilometers into the Sudanese province of Kordofan suggests that the Darfur conflict may actually be spreading, despite the initiation of Darfur peace negotiations in Tanzania last month. At 4 PM on August 29, four columns of fighters from Darfur's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) converged on a Sudanese military base at Wad Banda, Kordofan province…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 11 Sep 07)

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

On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, as-Sahab, the multimedia arm of al-Qaeda, produced a video featuring the will of one of the nineteen hijackers, Walid al-Shehri AKA Abu Musab al-Shehri. The video, 47:16 minutes in length was issued to jihadist forums on the sixth anniversary of the attacks, today, September 11, 2007….(Site Institute, 11 Sep 07)

America's Crash Course On Islam

How goes the "war on terror"? One would think that the absence of a successful dramatic terrorist operation against Westerners since the London bombings in July 2005 would be heartening. But an atmosphere of gloom predominates. A recent much-publicized Foreign Policy magazine poll of 108 American specialists, myself included, found merely 6% who agreed, "The United States is winning the war on terror." A whopping 84% disagreed. This negativism reflects twin realities: Islamism (outside Iran) is waxing everywhere, while the civilized world is making profound mistakes — blaming itself for Muslim hatred, underestimating and appeasing the enemy……(New York Sun, 11 Sep 07)

Seeking Terror’s Causes, Europe Looks Within

Since the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11 six years ago, Europe has faced far more new attacks and reported plots than the United States. Train bombings in Madrid three years ago killed 191 people, the London transit attack two years ago killed 52 commuters, and a string of plots have been discovered and foiled. Then last week, arrests were made in Germany in a plot that the police said could have caused even worse carnage than in Madrid or London…..(New York Times, 11 Sep 07)

9/11 bomb threat at U.S. Air Base

A U.S. Air Force base in Germany received a bomb threat hours before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, military officials said. Military police have stepped up security and are taking a closer look at cars and trucks entering the Spangdahlem Air Base following a telephone call threatening to blow the facility up. Someone speaking German -- with a non-German accent -- called the base Monday evening and issued the bomb warning, according to Iris Reiff, a spokeswoman with the public affairs office at the base….(CNN, 11 Sep 07)

Bin Laden still top threat, intelligence chiefs say

President Bush's counterterrorism adviser, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement chiefs and a Cabinet member said Monday that Osama bin Laden remained the most dangerous terrorist threat to the United States six years after the Sept. 11 attacks. Eliminating the threat that the al-Qaida leader and his inner circle pose from their sanctuary in Pakistan's remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan "is our number one priority," Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told a Senate committee……(McClatchy Newspapers, 11 Sep 07)

Spy Chief Worries About Sleeper Cells

National intelligence director Mike McConnell said Tuesday that U.S. authorities are worried about "sleeper cells" of would-be terrorists inside the United States and are remaining vigilant against any new attacks…..(AP, 11 Sep 07)

Intelligence Chief Details Threats to US

Weapons of mass destruction, small boats packed with explosives and Islamic radicalization are the greatest terrorist threats facing the country, top U.S. security officials said Monday on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The officials told Congress the country is much better prepared to face terror threats than it was then, but that terrorists' desire to attack the United States remains strong….(AP, 11 Sep 07)

U.S. More Prepared but Faces Ongoing Threat
The U.S. government is better prepared to disrupt terrorist plots than it was six years ago, but the country continues to face a serious terrorism threat that could persist for a generation, top intelligence and counterterrorism officials testified yesterday…..(Washington Post, 11 Sep 07)

PKK Recruitment of Female Operatives

Since its establishment, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has included a small number of female militants. Over time, however, this number has increased significantly. By the early 1990s, 30 percent of its 17,000 armed militants were women (Cumhuriyet, June 17, 1993). The PKK's increased use of female militants is a concerning development since women provide great potential for both propaganda and recruitment, and they often have better access to certain soft targets. According to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's Marxist ideology has significantly influenced the group's view of women. The organization views women on the principles of "gender equality."…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 11 Sep 07)

Enemies Reunite at Guantanamo

For some men trying to get out of Guantanamo, the biggest obstacle can be another detainee. Prisoners often confront allegations leveled by other detainees as they appear before U.S. military panels that review their cases and decide whether they can be released, according to transcripts obtained by The Associated Press. Detainees have accused each other of storing anti-tank mines for the Taliban, plotting a bomb attack on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and guiding Arab fighters into Afghanistan through Iran…..(AP, 11 Sep 07)

New U.S. Law Credited in Arrests Abroad

…Mr. McConnell said the information had been obtained under a newly updated and highly contentious wiretapping law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But the official, who has been briefed on the eavesdropping laws and the information given to the Germans, said that those intercepts were recovered last year under the old law. The official asked for anonymity because the information is classified. The previous law required officials to seek warrants to monitor at least some phone calls and e-mail messages between foreign locations when they were collected from fiber-optic cable in the United States; the new law waived that requirement…..(New York Times, 11 Sep 07)

Deputies Say Woman Tortured, 6 Charged

A woman who authorities said was sexually abused, beaten and stabbed while held captive for at least a week was repeatedly called a racial slur during the attacks, the victim's mother said. Six people, all white, including a mother and son and a mother and daughter, have been arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of the 23-year-old black woman….(AP, 11 Sep 07)

US judge releases Iranian co-founder of defunct Muslim charity until trial

A federal judge said he would release the Iranian-American co-founder of a defunct Islamic charity while he awaits trial on conspiracy and tax fraud charges. But US prosecutors quickly appealed the decision to release Pirouz Sedaghaty, also known as Pete Seda. Another hearing is scheduled for Tuesday….(AP/Jerusalem Post, 11 Sep 07)

Militants backtrack on deal to free troops

Militants backtracked on a deal to free more than 260 abducted soldiers on Monday after an army raid on their hideout near the Afghan border left three rebels dead, a tribal elder said, AP reported. Local authorities and tribal elders believed that the soldiers – who were kidnapped on August 30 in South Waziristan – would be freed on Monday following talks with the militants. However, the militants changed their minds after the army raided their hideout in the region, triggering a shootout that left three insurgents dead, said Masood Ahmed, a local tribal elder…..(Daily Times, 11 Sep 07)

Hamas: Kassam attack on IDF training base 'a victory from God'

A Hamas spokesman praised Tuesday's rocket attack on an Israeli army base, calling it a "victory from God." "We consider this a victory from God for the resistance," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Hamas radio. "We consider the resistance as the legitimate right of the Palestinians to defend themselves and restore their rights." The rocket strike, which wounded 69 IDF soldiers, was followed by a mortar barrage….(Jerusalem Post, 11 Sep 07)

Child suicide bomber kills 19 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber aged around 15 years old blew himself up by a crowded minivan in north-western Pakistan Tuesday, killing himself and 18 other people, news reports said. The boy detonated an explosive vest when security forces stopped the vehicle in the town of Dera Ismail Khan and asked him to turn himself into custody. Two police officers, two soldiers and passengers died in the blast….(Khaleej Times, 11 Sep 07)

2 Children Among 26 Dead In Afghan Suicide Attacks

Twin suicide bombings ripped through a market in southern Afghanistan at dusk Monday, killing 26 people and injuring more than 50, local officials said. The coordinated attacks in the Gereshk district of Helmand province appeared to target police officers. But many civilians, including two children, were killed, according to district official Abdul Manaf……(Washington Post, 11 Sep 07)

Lodi man gets 24 years in terrorism case

A federal judge here Monday sentenced Hamid Hayat to 24 years in prison for attending a terrorism training camp in Pakistan, returning to the U.S. to commit violent jihad and then lying about it to the FBI…Hayat's conviction in April 2006 came after a nine-week trial that hinged on the contested confession and secretly taped conversations with an FBI informant who had been paid $200,000 to infiltrate Lodi's large Muslim community after the 9/11 attacks. The sentencing hearing came on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the attacks and on Hayat's 25th birthday. Dressed in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit and missing the beard he had worn during trial, Hayat displayed no emotion and did not speak, listening to the proceedings through an Urdu interpreter…..(LA Times, 11 Sep 07)

YouTube Video: Hamid Hayat Sentenced To 24 Years

Iranian Raises Possibility of an Intrusion Into Iraq

In a sharp escalation of a dispute over border fighting, an official Iranian delegation at a diplomatic conference here warned Sunday that if the Iraqi government could not stop militants from crossing into Iran and carrying out attacks, the Iranian authorities would respond militarily…“Supporting military and political actions by terrorist elements in Iraq against neighboring countries is considered dangerous behavior that we cannot tolerate, and a major factor in the chaotic security situation and instability in the region,” Mr. Baqiri told the assembled delegates, according to an Arabic translation of his remarks, which were made in Persian. “We are waiting for the Iraqi government to do what it takes to resolve this issue.”…..(New York Times, 11 Sep 07)

Iran: Barrier to be built along Iraqi border
Iran has begun the construction of a wall along the border with war-torn Iraq, to prevent militants of the Kurdistan's Workers Party (PKK) out of the country. According to government sources in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, work on the first four kilometre long section of the wall are underway in the area of the Haj Omran border crossing, near the Qandil mountains…..(AKI, 11 Sep 07)

Iran warns over ‘US weak points’ in Iraq, Afghan

The new head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned the United States Tuesday that Teheran has identified its ‘weak points’ in Iraq and Afghanistan and would launch a crushing response to any attack. The comments by Mohammad Ali Jaafari, appointed head of the elite force by the supreme leader just 10 days ago, come amid mounting tensions between Teheran and Washington over Iran’s controversial nuclear drive and its role in Iraq. ‘The Revolutionary Guards have identified all the weak points of the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and based on this have consolidated the defensive capabilities of the country,’….(Khaleej Times, 11 Sep 07)

8 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Die in Vehicle Wrecks; Another Killed in North

…U.S. military officers said Monday that the Pentagon plans to build a base near the Iran-Iraq border in an effort to stop the flow of Iranian weapons to Shiite militias. The base will house four or five U.S. military border enforcement teams, according to Maj. Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman for Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who commands U.S. troops in central Iraq. It will be located in Wasit province, about four miles from the border, Conway said. The troops will aim to stop explosively formed penetrators, a particularly deadly form of roadside bomb, and other munitions from crossing the Iranian border.…..(Washington Post, 11 Sep 07)

Warning says Iranian SCUD could do $771 billion damage

A new report says a SCUD-type missile launched from a small ship 200 miles from the coast of the United States could unleash a nuclear-generated electromagnetic pulse over Washington, D.C., that would leave behind $771 billion in damage. "More than five countries have the capability to inflict an EMP attack. Rogue regimes and terrorists know all about EMP and are working to acquire this weapon. We know the odds of our house burning down in any given year are very low, but that doesn't mean we will cancel our fire insurance,"….(World Net Daily, 11 Sep 07)

Pakistan Edgy as Ex-Premier Is Exiled Again

Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, faced the prospect of fresh clashes with a newly independent Supreme Court after deporting a former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, as he tried to return from exile on Monday…The government action appeared to flout a recent Supreme Court ruling ordering that Mr. Sharif be allowed to return to Pakistan unhindered, and it immediately ignited street protests among Mr. Sharif’s supporters. The Supreme Court could order an investigation into who was responsible for the deportation…..(New York Times, 11 Sep 07)

Behind Israel's Neo-Nazi Violence

The neo-Nazi gang seemed typical of such miscreants in many parts of the world — bored, rebellious teenagers who fantasized about Hitler in the privacy of their bedrooms. They spewed hatred against foreigners and Jews, and went so far as to spray a swastika inside a synagogue. Even more chillingly, they stalked ultra-orthodox Jewish youths and viciously beat them up. But while such ugly outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence are not unknown in Europe or the United States, this one happened in Israel……(Time Magazine, 11 Sep 07)

German politicians split on stiffer anti-terrorism laws

… Proposals to allow security forces to spy on personal computers and to make attendance at an Islamist training camp punishable under German law had a divided response at a conference of state interior ministers in Berlin Sept. 7…The interior ministers, who are responsible for internal security and policing, were meeting after police on Sept. 4 arrested three suspects linked to a bomb plot aimed at causing mass carnage among US citizens living in Germany…..(Expatica, 11 Sep 07)

Iraq sees reduced combat role for US troops

Baghdad said on Tuesday it expects US forces to cut back on combat duties in the near term after the top American general in Iraq signalled the start of a troop reduction from this month. "We anticipate in the near term a relaxation of the requirement for coalition forces to be in direct combat operation," Iraq's National Security Advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told reporters as he welcomed the testimony to Congress by General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, ambassador to Baghdad…..(Agence France-Presse, 11 Sep 07)

Pakistan unlikely to do US bidding in FATA: expert

The US administration’s impression that the recent violence in Pakistan will force President Pervez Musharraf to fall in line with US demands to employ a vigorous military campaign is erroneous. From a Pakistani perspective, a strategic shift in mindset is not necessarily synonymous with a shift in tactics, according to a Pakistani academic. Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Studies special guest Moeed Yusuf, commenting on the threat of a US military incursion into Pakistan, said that it reflected the Bush administration’s belief that a politically vulnerable Musharraf would be more amenable to accepting the US plea to launch a concerted military drive against extremists in the tribal belt. Such optimism is misplaced….(Daily Times, 11 Sep 07)

Terror Case Throws Spotlight on German Converts to Islam

… According to Kai Hirschmann of Germany's Institute for Terrorism Research and Study, converts to Islam do pose a danger that is higher than those who are born into the religion. The theory is that the religious convictions of those who choose to convert are much stronger than those simply following in the religious footsteps of their families. They can have the tendency to give 110 percent to the new faith. "Converts can be more easily radicalized," Hirschmann told the news Web site tagesschau.de "As 'novices,' they try to be more religious than even the religious leaders. That often makes them especially fanatical and also especially dangerous…..(Deutsche Welle, 11 Sep 07)

Iraqis captured en route to U.S.

Ten Iraqi citizens with forged passports and documents are in a Peruvian prison after an apparent bid to enter the United States on a flight to Los Angeles, officials here say. An 11th Iraqi man thought to be part of the group is at large. One of the men arrested is thought to have links to al Qaeda, said Peruvian National Police Col. Roberto Lujan, who is leading the investigation…..(Washington Times, 11 Sep 07)

Turkish police foil bomb attack in capital

Turkish police foiled a bomb attack in Ankara on Tuesday, the sixth anniversary of 9/11 attacks on the United States, averting what officials said would have been a disaster for the capital.Ankara governor Kemal Onal said police had found a van packed with explosives near a multi-storey carpark in a central district of the city of four million….(Reuters, 11 Sep 07)

Web search for bomb recipes should be blocked: EU

Internet searches for bomb-making instructions should be blocked across the European Union, the bloc's top security official said on Monday. Internet providers should also prevent access to any site giving instructions on how to make a bomb, EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said in an interview. "I do intend to carry out a clear exploring exercise with the private sector ... on how it is possible to use technology to prevent people from using or searching dangerous words like bomb, kill, genocide or terrorism,"….(Reuters, 11 Sep 07)

Teams to Take Up Issues of Palestinian Statehood
…Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the working groups would "begin talking about the hard-core issues," a reference to the final borders of a Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and the claim by Palestinian refugees that they have a right to return to homes in Israel. Israeli officials said the teams were being created to reach the goal of a two-state solution……(Washington Post, 11 Sep 07)

Analysis: Iraq 'Victory' Sites Lowered

As President Bush and Gen. David Petraeus struggle to make the case that yet more time is needed for victory in Iraq, the goal for success no longer resembles the high hopes the architects of the 2003 invasion had in mind. Bush's decision to wage war against Saddam Hussein after the Sept. 11 attacks _ six years ago Tuesday _ led to many miscalculations and mistakes. Critics contend those mistakes continue today…..(AP, 10 Sep 07)

U.S. mounts charm offensive for new Africa Command

The launch of a new U.S. military command for Africa is aimed at helping the continent to boost its own security and not at projecting American power or countering Chinese influence, a U.S. official said on Monday. Ryan Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, rejected what he called a series of "myths" surrounding October's launch, also including the idea that it was linked to growing U.S. appetite for West African oil exports…..(Reuters, 10 Sep 07)

Hamid Hayat Sentenced To 24 Years In Prison
…U.S. District Court Judge Garland Burrell Jr. imposed the sentence against Hamid Hayat on his 25th birthday, saying he had "attended a terrorist training camp, returned to the United States ready and willing to wage violent jihad when directed to do so." Hayat faced up to 39 years in prison after his April 2006 conviction on one count of providing material support to terrorists and three counts of lying about it to FBI agents. But Burrell said it was Hayat's first criminal offense and cited other factors in imposing the lesser sentence. He said the sentence handed down Monday was sufficient to deter similar behavior by others and punish Hayat for his crimes…..(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Lawyers to get terror trial evidence

Notebook and diary extracts, phone records, surveillance notes, DNA analysis and computer material will be handed to the lawyers for nine Sydney men accused of terrorism. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today reserved the right to continue serving evidence in its case against the men up until their February 25 trial. The nine men have pleaded not guilty to conspiring between July 2004 and November 2005 to plan the detonation of an explosive device or the use of weaponry to advance a political, religious or ideological cause for intimidation of the government or the public……(AAP, 11 Sep 07)

Muslim group behind ‘mega-mosque’ seeks to convert all Britain

A Muslim group that wants to open a giant £100 million mosque in London has set its sights on “winning the whole of Britain to Islam”. Tablighi Jamaat aims to build an Islamic complex near to the site of the 2012 Olympic stadium, with a mosque for 12,000 people, by far the largest religious building in Britain. The organization, which has millions of followers worldwide, insists that it is a peaceful, apolitical revivalist movement that promotes Islamic consciousness among individual Muslims. However, intelligence agencies have cautioned that the group’s ability to fire young men with a zeal for Islam acts as a staging post, for some, along a path that leads to jihadist terrorism…..(Times Online, 10 Sep 07)

Islamist party 'is targeting university students'

A senior British member of a Muslim organization accused of propagating extremism is to send out a warning this week that the group is targeting impressionable youngsters. Maajid Nawaz, who was offered the opportunity to lead the UK branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir earlier this year, is expected to announce that he has left the global party after concluding that its beliefs warp the Koran's true message. He will use an appearance on BBC2's Newsnight this week to claim that the organization is recruiting young Muslims at British universities and, in some cases, suggesting that they travel overseas to fight British troops…..(Telegraph, 10 Sep 07)

Prosecuting Khadr at home would be 'quite difficult,' experts say

If Omar Khadr were to be freed from Guantanamo Bay to face Canadian justice, Crown prosecutors would struggle to make any sort of case against him stick, experts say. "Even if there was a charge that could be laid, the trial would be quite difficult for us to conduct," said Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor. In interviews, Prof. Roach and other Canadian legal experts agreed that any attempted prosecution here would be deeply problematic. This amounts to a reality check. Canadian lawyers are urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to wrest Mr. Khadr, a 20-year-old Canadian citizen, from the U.S. legal limbo where he has been held for five years on charges that he is involved in terrorism and murdered an American soldier in combat….(Globe & Mail, 10 Sep 07)

Terror trial evidence concludes

Evidence in the terrorism trial involving a 21-year-old man has been concluded. The jury will hear prosecution and defence submissions on Tuesday and it is likely they will be sent out to consider their verdicts on Wednesday. Mohammed Atif Siddique, from Alva, Clackmannanshire, denies four terror charges and a breach of the peace…..(BBC, 10 Sep 07)

Taliban threaten MPAs, MNAs

Taliban in North Waziristan have issued a threatening letter to members of the national and provincial assemblies warning them against voting President General Pervez Musharraf in the presidential election. The statement issued by the Taliban central office in Miranshah addressed the members, “you have cast your votes for Musharraf who ruled for five years and you and the whole world saw its consequences”….(Daily Times, 10 Sep 07)

Former Pakistani PM in tense return home from exile

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned home on Monday from seven years in exile, leaving his aircraft after a tense 90-minute standoff with authorities. Sharif, who has vowed to challenge president Pervez Musharraf, eventually walked down a gangway, surrounded by supporters, onto a bus. He was driven to a terminal building where he entered a lounge…..(Reuters, 10 Sep 07)

UN Atomic Chief Calls for Pause in Iran Sanctions

United Nations atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei called on the Security Council to take a “timeout” from sanctions and for Iran to pause its uranium enrichment to avert a crisis over the country's nuclear program. “A double timeout of all enrichment-related activities and of sanctions could provide a breathing space for negotiations to be resumed,” ElBaradei told the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board of governors in Vienna. “The earlier we move from confrontation and distrust to dialogue and confidence- building, the better for Iran and the international community.....(Bloomberg, 10 Sep 07)

Criticism of U.S.-Gulf Arms Deal in Gulf Press
The U.S. recently announced a series of arms deals, worth $20 billion, with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states…The Gulf press, however, published articles criticizing the arms deals and U.S. policy in the Middle East. Columnists wrote that the Gulf states should not be squandering their funds on unnecessary weapons, and that the deals are aimed at promoting the interests of the U.S. rather than their own…..(MEMRI, 10 Sep 07)

Taliban says 'ready for talks' with Afghan govt

The Taliban said Monday it was ready for talks with the Afghan government after President Hamid Karzai offered negotiations in a bid to end the rebels' nearly six-year bloody insurgency. Karzai made the offer on Sunday, with the insurgency spiraling to its highest level this year, saying peace could not be achieved without dialogue. "For the sake of national interests ... we are fully ready for talks with the government," senior Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP……(Agence France-Presse, 10 Sep 07)

Israel: neo-Nazis could get their Israeli citizenship revoked

Israeli neo-Nazis could get their Israeli citizenship revoked by the interior ministry if they are found guilty of running a neo-Nazi cell in the city of Petah Tikva, outside the coastal city of Tel Aviv…Six of the eight accused have confessed to the charges, while two of the ringleaders have claimed to be innocent. One of the pair, Eli Boanitov, was quoted by police as saying: "I won't ever give up. I was a Nazi and I will stay a Nazi, until we kill them all I will not rest."…..(AKI, 10 Sep 07)

Israeli 'neo-Nazi gang' arrested

…The eight suspects, aged 16-21, are all Israeli citizens from the former Soviet Union. They were arrested a month ago, but the news only emerged on Saturday. Police say searches of their homes yielded Nazi uniforms, portraits of Adolf Hitler, knives, guns and TNT. Israel was founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust in which millions died…..(BBC, 10 Sep 07)

Europeans Get Terror Training Inside Pakistan

…The authorities said the man they had identified as the leader of the plot, Fritz Martin Gelowicz, 28, apparently found his way to the camp in Waziristan through contacts he made at an Islamic center he attended in Neu-Ulm, Germany. Other suspects in the suspected conspiracy then followed Mr. Gelowicz to the camp, where their instructors included militant Islamists from Uzbekistan who are aligned with Al Qaeda, according to the confidential document. As further evidence of traffic between Germany and the tribal areas of Pakistan, intelligence officials said six other men from Germany who had received similar training had been detained in Pakistan….(New York Times, 10 Sep 07)

Hate Fliers Distributed In Lexington Neighborhood

…People living in the Headley-Green subdivision in Lexington found the fliers. Some of those residents told 27 NEWSFIRST they are shocked this message would be spread in their neighborhood. At first glance, it appears to be an appeal for help to find a missing child, complete with a picture of a little girl. But a closer look reveals what this flyer is really about, complete with a quote from former Louisiana Congressional Candidate David Duke, a one time member of the Ku Klux Clan…..(WKYT, 10 Sep 07)

Muslims who renounce their faith band together in European countries

Leaders of "ex-Muslim" groups from several European countries signed a declaration of "Principles of Tolerance" Tuesday, hoping to counter Islamic radicalism and support Muslims too afraid to openly renounce their religion. Groups of secular Muslims have sprung up in the past year in Germany, Britain and the Scandinavian countries; there are plans to launch a group in the United States as well. Tuesday marked the formal launch of the Dutch group.Though membership is limited to several hundred people, they hope to add a new voice to the debate about — and within — Europe's Muslim communities…..(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Ore. Lawyer in Court Over Patriot Act

The lawyer whom the FBI wrongly accused in the 2004 Madrid terrorist bombings was in court Monday to urge a judge to strike down provisions of the USA Patriot Act that helped investigators conduct what he says were unconstitutional searches of his home and office… Mayfield was arrested May 6, 2004, after a fingerprint found on a bag of detonators in Madrid was incorrectly matched to him. Before the arrest, federal authorities searched Mayfield's Portland-area home and law office, going through files and placing bugging devices in the home……(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Britain stayed in Basra longer because of US: commander

Britain was prepared to withdraw its forces from the southern Iraqi city of Basra in April, but held off for five months after the United States asked it to stay, Britain's military commander in Iraq said in an interview published on Monday. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Brigadier James Bashall, commander of 1 Mechanized Brigade, said that he wanted to leave Britain's Basra Palace base in April, something he said would have been "the right thing to do."…..(Agence France-Presse, 10 Sep 07)

Mastermind of attack on Yazidis killed in Iraq

Iraq’s government has put the death toll from the suicide bombings at 411, although the Iraqi Red Crescent has said it could be more than 500. The bombings in the villages of Kahtaniya and Al-Jazeera were the deadliest militant attacks in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. According to Reuters, Fox named the mastermind as Abu Mohammed Al-Aafri, who he said was an associate of Abu Ayyab Al-Masri, the Egyptian leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Aafri was killed in an air strike southwest of the northern city of Mosul….(Daily Times, 10 Sep 07)

Afghanistan mine clearers freed

Ten members of an Afghan mine clearing team kidnapped last week have been released, officials say. Those freed, two of them doctors, were among 13 people being held in eastern Paktia province. It is not clear who abducted them or what they want. Officials say tribal elders are still negotiating with the kidnappers and the remaining hostages will be freed soon…..(BBC, 10 Sep 07)

Militants Free Abducted Pakistani Troops

Pro-Taliban militants on Monday freed more than 260 Pakistani troops who were kidnapped nearly two weeks ago in a restive tribal region near the border with Afghanistan…The soldiers were handed over to members of a jirga, or tribal council, in Ladha, a village in the South Waziristan tribal area, where they had been abducted by militants on Aug. 30, a local intelligence official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job…..(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Algerian Group Uses Suicide Bombers

When Algeria's Islamic militants dubbed themselves Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa this year, it was more than just a name change: Fresh recruits also have been deployed in suicide bombings, a new tactic in the 15-year insurgency. Two bombings that killed more than 50 people last week show how security services are struggling to cope….(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Radical environmentalist goes to trial under terror law

A few hours after a $50 million condo project burned down, apparently in an eco-terror attack, Earth Liberation Front spokesman Rod Coronado stood in front of a San Diego audience and explained how to build a homemade Molotov cocktail. Now, Coronado is going to trial in federal court on a single count of distributing information on explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction with the intent that his listeners commit illegal acts of violence, a charge that could land him in prison for up to 20 years under post-Sept. 11 legislation…..(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries

Behind the walls of federal prisons nationwide, chaplains have been quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries…The chaplains were directed by the Bureau of Prisons to clear the shelves of any books, tapes, CDs and videos that are not on a list of approved resources. In some prisons, the chaplains have recently dismantled libraries that had thousands of texts collected over decades, bought by the prisons, or donated by churches and religious groups….(New York Times, 10 Sep 07)

Security database to see few changes
Rejecting a wave of criticism, the government agreed to only modest changes in the computerized system that assesses whether each American who travels abroad poses a terrorist threat. The Homeland Security Department decided to keep the risk assessments for 15 years instead of 40 years and will no longer share them with federal, state and local officials who are deciding whether a person gets a job, a security clearance, a license to do business or a government contract. Nevertheless, travelers will still not be allowed to see their actual assessments or the reasons for them……(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Explosions strike Mexico gas pipelines

…Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, issued a statement saying it believed the explosions, which happened about 2 a.m. and forced the evacuation of 12,000 people, were deliberate……(AP, 10 Sep 07)

al-Qaida Criticizes Hamas

An al-Qaida commander who escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan appeared in a new videotape Sunday criticizing Hamas and other Islamic groups that he said prioritized nationalism and electoral politics over jihad, or holy war. Hamas is focused on the creation of an independent Palestinian state rather than al-Qaida's vision of a worldwide Muslim community ruled by Islamic law….(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Al-Sadr Restructuring His Mahdi Army Militia

Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia leader is turning to his commanders who distinguished themselves fighting U.S. troops in 2004 to screen fighters, weed out criminals and assume key positions in an effort to build a more disciplined force, two of his key lieutenants say. That suggests the goal of Muqtada al-Sadr's temporary freeze of Mahdi Army activities, announced Aug. 29 following deadly Shiite-Shiite clashes in Karbala, is to bolster the militia to intimidate his Shiite rivals as the anti-American cleric pursues his political ambitions….(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Iraqi insurgent group threatens to kill German hostage
A foreign ministry spokesman in Germany said Tuesday that his country was continuing to work for the release of a German hostage, hours after an insurgent group in Iraq posted a video showing the man who has been held over six months. The video, posted late Monday, showed Sinan Krause seated drinking tea in front of a blue backdrop and talking with his mother, Hannelore, who was freed in July and weeped openly in the footage. As the image shifted to Hannelore sitting alone dressed in her headscarf, a voice was heard saying she was released because she converted to Islam…..(AP, 10 Sep 07)

Osama Bin Laden's Video Message to the American People

On September 8, 2007 the Islamist forum http://al-ekhlaas.org, hosted by Layered Technologies, Inc. in Texas, USA, posted a video message from Osama bin Laden to the American people titled "The Solution." The following are excerpts: Bin Laden opens his message by discussing the effect of the 9/11 attacks, which, he claims, "further harmed America's reputation and its prestige worldwide.....(MEMRI, 10 Sep 07)

Hiding in Pakistan? Years Later Bin Laden Elusive

The United States is on the verge of remembering the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, and still Osama bin Laden remains elusive…And for all the time and $10 billion in U.S. aid, the only solid proof that bin Laden is even alive has come from the man himself…(ABC, 10 Sep 07)

Algerians hold mass protest against terrorism

Tens of thousands of Algerians protested against terrorism yesterday after two suicide bomb attacks in recent days claimed by an al-Qaeda offshoot killed at least 52 people. Demonstrations were held in Algeria's major cities, including the capital Algiers, where participants gathered in a sports arena, displaying banners saying "no to violence and crime…….(Ottawa Citizen, 10 Sep 07)

Keeping an Eye on Al Qaeda

Rita Katz is one of the country’s leading experts on jihadist propaganda. Director and cofounder of the nonprofit SITE Institute, which is funded by government, corporate and media clients, she obsessively monitors jihadi websites and directs what amounts to an intelligence operation that tracks terrorists and their finances. Born in Iraq, where her father was executed in 1969, Katz is fluent in Arabic. Last week she was one of the first people to get hold of Osama bin Laden’s latest video, timed to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. She spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Jeffrey Bartholet about bin Laden’s new taped message to the "people of America," as well as another video that followed it—and the Qaeda propaganda machine that produced them. Excerpts…..(Newsweek, 10 Sep 07)

Pentagon planning base near Iraq-Iran border: report

The Pentagon is preparing to build a military base near the Iraq-Iran border to try to curtail the flow of advanced Iranian weaponry to Shiite militants across Iraq…Pentagon also plans to build fortified checkpoints on major highways leading from the Iranian border to Baghdad, and install X-ray machines and explosives-detecting sensors at the only formal border crossing between the two countries. The base will be located about four miles from the Iranian border and will be used for at least two years….(Reuters, 10 Sep 07)

How the CIA Helped Germany Foil Terror Plot

With the help of the CIA, German investigators foiled what would likely have been the most devastating terror attack of its kind in the country's history. The plans of a fanatical group of Islamists trained in Pakistan reveal just how great a risk Europe faces…..(Der Spiegel, 10 Sep 07)

Al-Qaida promises 9/11 hijacker video

Al-Qaida said Monday that it will release a new video of Osama bin Laden presenting the last testament of one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers, marking the sixth anniversary of the attacks. The announcement from the terror group's media arm came only days after bin Laden appeared in his first video in three years, giving an address to the American people, lecturing them to abandon capitalism and democracy and convert to Islam….(AP, 10 Sep 07)

AP Video: On the heels of bin Laden, New Terror Tape

Bin Laden video stirs Arab world

Osama bin Laden's first video in almost three years has drawn enthusiastic support from al Qaeda supporters but other Muslims in the Arab world seem less impressed, and wary of new violence. Marking the sixth anniversary of the group's September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, the Saudi-born militant described the United States as vulnerable, a message some of his followers saw as a sign a new operation might be approaching….(Reuters, 9 Sep 07)

MSNBC Video: U.S. analyzing purported bin Laden tape

German official calls for registration of chemical purchases in wake of terror arrests

Germany's justice minister on Sunday proposed that purchasers of dangerous chemicals should have to supply identification, after three suspected Islamic militants were arrested on suspicion of planning massive terror bombings using hydrogen peroxide. "The fact that the chemicals in the case of the three arrested suspects could be freely bought without registering the purchaser is, I think not, particularly fortunate…..(AP, 9 Sep 07)

Germans Say U.S. Officials Helped to Foil Bombing Plot

… American intelligence was instrumental in first bringing the foiled plot to the attention of German intelligence and law enforcement officials, according to German and American officials. Interceptions of e-mail messages and telephone calls between Germany and both Pakistan and Turkey raised the initial red flags last year, they said. But the Americans also wanted to protect their sources, a German intelligence official said, which meant that the earliest warnings were vague…..(New York Times, 9 Sep 07)

Germany on Tiptoe Over Terror

…Ulm and its twin city of Neu-Ulm, across the Danube in Bavaria, together have a population of 167,000, of whom 16 percent are “foreign,” according to the cities’ official figures. But that alone would not make the area a likely site of unrest. Germany’s Muslim population, largely of Turkish background, has long shown little inclination to involve itself in radical anti-Western politics, terrorist or otherwise. What was most hard-line about the Ulm scene, Mr. Köpfer says, arose from a heavy influx of migrants out of Bosnia in the late 1990s, many of them highly politicized….(New York Times, 9 Sep 07)

The New Al-Qaeda Central

When Osama bin Laden resurfaced Friday in a 26-minute videotaped speech, his most important message was one left unsaid: We have survived. The last time bin Laden showed his face to the world was three years ago, in October 2004. Since then, al-Qaeda's core leadership -- dubbed al-Qaeda Central by intelligence analysts -- has grown stronger, rebuilding the organizational framework that was badly damaged after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, according to counterterrorism officials in Pakistan, the United States and Europe……(Washington Post, 9 Sep 07)

Washington Post Special Report:

Al-Qaeda's New Leadership

Al-Qaeda Operatives Put Out of Action

The New Al-Qaeda Central

Qaeda penetrating Gaza via clans: Israeli expert

The Al-Qaeda network is gaining a foothold in the Gaza Strip through powerful family clans in the Palestinian territory, an Israeli expert in Islamist movements said on Sunday. Reuven Paz cited the Doghmush clan which includes the leader of the Army of Islam, the extremist group that held BBC journalist Alan Johnston hostage for 114 days and which also took part in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June last year…..(Agence France-Presse, 9 Sep 07)

Bin Laden Branded ‘Virtually Impotent’

Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes, White House aide Frances Fragos Townsend made a clear attempt to diminish the influence _ or the perception _ of the man who masterminded those attacks. "This is about the best he can do," Townsend said of bin Laden…The consensus of the nation's top intelligence analysts is that bin Laden's terrorist network is anything but impotent. Terrorism experts say the network is regrouping in the lawless Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. The latest National Intelligence Estimate says al-Qaida is growing in strength, intensifying its efforts to put operatives in the United States and plotting against U.S. targets that will cause massive casualties. The U.S. is in a "heightened threat environment" and al-Qaida is the most serious threat, the analysts found…..(Washington Post, 9 Sep 07)

Islamists suffer setback in Morocco vote

This could have been the election that ousted Morocco's secular ruling class from power, giving Islamists unprecedented power in a country where Muslim women in T-shirts sip wine on the streets alongside veiled women drinking tea. Instead, fear of the unknown appeared to trump the anti-corruption, antiestablishment message of the Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party, or PJD, in Friday's election, with voters handing victory to the secular party close to King Mohamed VI…..(AP, 9 Sep 07)

Scarier Than Bin Laden

…we need to drop our preoccupation with Osama bin Laden, which is once again being fueled by his latest video. But Bin Laden's days as the movement's guiding star are over. The United States' most formidable nemesis now is not the Saudi terrorist leader but his nominal deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Part impresario, part visionary, bin Laden made himself and the terrorist organization he co-founded into household words. Today they are paired global "brands" as recognizable and interchangeable as any leading corporation and its high-visibility CEO….(Washington Post, 9 Sep 07)

Enemy Within? Not Quite.

In a guest house in southern Afghanistan, just miles from the al-Farooq training camp, the young would-be al-Qaeda recruits would gather. They balanced plates of beans and rice in their laps as they discussed how they, too, could join the global holy struggle to defend their fellow Muslims. They had been debating martyrdom, the true meaning of jihad and the atrocities that Russia had committed against their Muslim brothers in Chechnya…..(Washington Post, 9 Sep 07)

F.B.I. Data Mining Reached Beyond Initial Targets

The F.B.I. cast a much wider net in its terrorism investigations than it has previously acknowledged by relying on telecommunications companies to analyze phone-call patterns of the associates of Americans who had come under suspicion…The documents indicate that the Federal Bureau of Investigation used secret demands for records to obtain data not only on individuals it saw as targets but also details on their “community of interest” — the network of people that the target was in contact with….(New York Times, 9 Sep 07)

Wide Net Cast in Terrorism Inquiries

…The data-mining technique can lay bare phone and e-mail links that tie together otherwise indiscernible networks of individuals. Law enforcement officials value that sort of data as a means of identifying a suspect's potential conspirators. Privacy advocates say it can ensnare people with no tie to illegal or suspicious activity.The "community of interest" requests were included in more than 2,500 pages of FBI documents the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a watchdog group, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act…..(AP, 9 Sep 07)