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Homeland Security’s Islamist Payday

I feel in debt to this great country. Specifically when the Medicaid covered me with the entire cost of both of my hips replacements which reached $350,000.00.
– Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout

On September 28th, more than $24 million was distributed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to organizations considered to be at high risk of a terrorist attack. Each organization chosen received up to $100,000. While many of the groups could probably make the case for why they needed the DHS funds, one in particular is of interest, as it has a number of terrorism ties, itself. And because those ties have been exposed, the decision to award it with a grant is now officially under DHS review.

American Muslims for Emergency Relief (AMER) is a non-profit 501(c)3 based in South Florida that claims to be “operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes.” According to its website, it has assisted in numerous disasters, both inside the U.S. and overseas. Someone without any knowledge of the origins of AMER could easily believe that the “charity” is a worthy cause. Evidently that was the case, when DHS decided to dump thousands of dollars in AMER’s lap – $70,000, to be exact. However, when one looks at the group from which AMER came from, he/she will find that the government’s decision was nothing more than a terrifying lapse in judgment.

AMER is run by the American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA), out of AMANA’s North Miami Beach address. The President of both AMER and AMANA is Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout. [AMER’s Vice President, Rasheed Mahamad, and Secretary/Treasurer, Mustafa Nassar, are also directors of AMANA.] Shortly after he incorporated AMANA in September of 1999, Zakkout became involved with the Health Resource Center for Palestine (HRCP) as its Vice President.

While Zakkout was a leader in HRCP, the group told its followers, for HRCP “News Information & Updates,” to view the websites of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), the American propaganda wing of Hamas, and Free Jerusalem, a site that, on its homepage, lauded the life and death (“martyrdom”) of and featured numerous pictures of the former spiritual leader and founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. As well, while he was with HRCP, the group’s Secretary and Treasurer was Syed Khawer Ahmad, the former webmaster of the official website of the Islamic Association, Al-Jamiya Al-Islamia, the parent organization of Hamas located in Gaza.

Around this time, Zakkout also held the position of President of the Shamsuddin Islamic Center. He incorporated the center in November of 2000, and like AMER, Zakkout would use the AMANA address as the business address for Shamsuddin. In August of 2003, Shamsuddin would welcome Gulshair Shukrijumah, an individual who had been involved with at least two of those convicted for their part in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, as a Director of the mosque. Shukrijumah died less than one year later, after suffering a series of strokes said to have been derived from his son gotcha98’s being named a “Global Terrorist” by the United States government. Zakkout, described in Gulshair’s obituary as “a family friend” of the Shukrijumahs, announced the death.

After finishing his tenure with HRCP (the group was shut down in April of 2003), Zakkout focused the majority of his activities on AMANA, including the creation of a full blown website, complete with a large amount of anti-Jewish, anti-Christian and anti-homosexual content. As well, within the site’s links section, there were links to Jihad in Chechnya, one of the main websites that was raising money and recruiting fighters for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and the Al-Haramain Foundation, an Islamic “charity” that has been banned worldwide by the United Nations for being a financing arm to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. These links were placed on Zakkout’s site over a year after 9/11.

Today, AMANA’s website has been purged of much of its hatred and violence. Nevertheless, right on the group’s homepage, there are links to IslamiCity, a website that repeatedly calls for the murder of Jews and repeatedly “curses” Jews and Christians; the official website of Bilal Philips, an individual whose name was placed on the list of “unindicted co-conspirators” of the ‘93 bombing; and Islam Online, a site that features live dialogues with Hamas leaders and a ‘Fatwa Bank’ (religious ruling) section mandating terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.

Found on AMANA’s website is a list of its advisors. One of the “AMANA Advisors” is Ibrahim Dremali, a former representative of the Southeast division of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA-SE), an organization that told its web viewers to give “material support” to groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda. In addition, Dremali was a witness for the defense of convicted terrorist Adham Hassoun, during Hassoun’s August 2002 court hearing.

Zakkout had also defended Hassoun, stating, “They don't have anything against him. It's just because he is Muslim... The guy is clean.” Hassoun, meanwhile, had been charged with being part of a support cell that provided supplies, money and recruits to overseas terrorist organizations.

Prior to creating AMER, AMANA was involved in fundraising for Islamic Relief, a “charity” that the Israeli government has called a front for Hamas. Furthermore, the group’s logo has been seen in photographs taken inside the AMANA office.

With all of this in mind, one could easily ask how it was possible that AMER would be considered to receive funding from Homeland Security. It’s a question that those in DHS most certainly did not contemplate, when they made their decision to provide AMER with a grant. But now, in a stunning decision, based primarily on information exposing AMER and its parent organization’s terror ties, DHS has chosen to review the case.

In an official response from DHS, the following is read: “DHS through FEMA is currently reviewing the validity of several claims made in the grant application from which a determination was made to award DHS grant monies to AMANA. This review remains pending.”

While it would be an amazing change in direction for DHS to rescind the award, tragic mistakes, such as the giving of grants to those that wish us harm, have not been a rare occurrence. In far too many instances, the U.S. government has played a dangerous game of ‘Good cop/Bad cop’ with the enemy. However, the only winner in this game has been the enemy. Zakkout says that his organization deserves the DHS grant, because according to him, he “receives threats,” but what about the threat that Zakkout’s organization poses to us?

If, in the end, DHS decides to revoke the funding, it will have done the right thing. The hope is for this type of situation to never again be repeated.

Chinese Sub Pops Up Undetected Near U.S.S. Kitty Hawk During Exercise

The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced

When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed.

At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.

That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory.

American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.

By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.

According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy.

The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.

One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age.

The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon.

The lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from hostile aircraft or submarines.

And the rest of the costly defensive screen, which usually includes at least two U.S. submarines, was also apparently unable to detect it.

According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines.

It also led to tense diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the submarine was "shadowing" the U.S. fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and dismissed the affair as coincidence.

Analysts believe Beijing was sending a message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its "backyard".

The People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine fleet includes at least two nuclear-missile launching vessels.

Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors.

Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War.

He said: "It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans.

"It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan."

In January China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for the first time.

FBI: Al Qaeda May Strike U.S. Shopping Malls in LA, Chicago

The FBI is warning that al Qaeda may be preparing a series of holiday attacks on U.S. shopping malls in Los Angeles and Chicago, according to an intelligence report distributed to law enforcement authorities across the country this morning.

The alert said al Qaeda "hoped to disrupt the U.S. economy and has been planning the attack for the past two years."

Law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com that the FBI received the information in late September and declassified it yesterday for wide distribution.

The alert, like similar FBI and Department of Homeland Security terror alerts issued over the past five years at holiday times, raised questions about the credibility of the information.

The bulletin acknowledges that U.S. intelligence officers are uncertain as to whether the information is real, and intelligence officers say there is a concern that it could be "disinformation."

Law enforcement officials at three different agencies told ABCNews.com the FBI alert was based on a source who has proved reliable in the past.

The source reportedly had only "indirect access" to al Qaeda and word of the actual threat came to U.S. intelligence officers "through a lengthy chain" of contacts.

With the shopping season approaching, however, the FBI officials decided it was necessary to share the information.

For the past few years, jihadist chat rooms have regularly posted comments from anonymous individuals who have suggested or boasted about similar plans to attack such soft targets as shopping malls.

"Out of abundance of caution, and for any number of other reasons, raw intelligence is regularly shared within the intelligence and law enforcement communities -- even when the value of the information is unknown," said Special Agent Richard Kolko. "In the post-9/11 era, sharing information is our top priority. Al-Qa'ida messaging has clearly stated they intend to attack the U.S. or its interests; however, there is no information to state this is a credible threat. As always, we remind people to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to authorities."

"We have no credible, specific information suggesting an imminent attack," a DHS official said.

12 Arrested In Counter-terrorism and Drug-trafficking Investigation

What do hip-hop, Hezbollah and meth have in common? More than you might think…

More indictments are expected in the probe, which has centered on L.A.'s garment district.

A dozen people were arrested Tuesday on charges of narcotics trafficking, money laundering and selling counterfeit goods after a two-year counter-terrorism and drug investigation centered in Los Angeles' downtown garment district.

The focus of the federal investigation was Ali Khalil Elreda, 32, who was detained at Los Angeles International Airport last year, accused of trying to smuggle $120,000 in money orders and cashier's checks, hidden in a child's toy, to Lebanon, according to an indictment and an affidavit filed in the case.

In 2005, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department official showed a Senate committee a picture of a tattooed shop owner who had been arrested the year before on charges of selling counterfeit high-fashion merchandise. The tattoo was a symbol of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed guerrillas operating in Lebanon.

In his testimony, Lt. John Stedman, a top supervisor in the department's emergency operations bureau, did not identify the shop owner. Stedman was not involved in the most recent investigation.

But two law enforcement sources said Tuesday that the merchant was Elreda.

Elreda and Hussein Saleh Saleh, 37, both of Bell, were charged in one of two indictments returned in the case with conspiring to smuggle cash out of the United States.

Five years ago, in an interview with The Times, Asa Hutchinson, then the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said authorities were examining dozens of domestic drug cases with potential links to Islamic terrorists, including a methamphetamine ring allegedly tied to Hezbollah.

During the recent Los Angeles investigation, law enforcement authorities allegedly seized 30 kilograms of cocaine and counterfeit clothing worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Others arrested Tuesday included Elreda's brother, Mohamad, 25, of Bell; his sister, Susanne, 34, of Smyrna, Ga.; Robert Bell, 36, of Corona; Dalisa Johnson, 37, of Corona; Moussa Matar, 48, of Cudahy; Matar's sons, Mohamad and Ali, both 28, of Cudahy; Juan Gonzalez, 26, of Lynwood; Frankie Higuera, 24, of Downey; and Crystal Hill, 25, of Hawthorne.

In addition to the two indictments, four complaints were brought in the case. The U.S. attorney's office said Elreda's siblings are charged in one complaint with trafficking in counterfeit goods at a store called Hip Hop Connections.

A second complaint accuses Elreda and seven others of conspiring to distribute cocaine.

A third complaint accuses Hussein Saleh of trafficking in counterfeit goods through his store, Star City A & H in the garment district.

A fourth complaint accuses Epifanio Mercado, 29, of Perris and Ricardo Nava, of El Monte of conspiring to traffic in cocaine. The two were arrested over the weekend.

A second indictment charges the Matars with structuring cash transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements.

The maximum penalty for the defendants charged with conspiring to distribute narcotics would be life without parole in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office. The maximum penalty for the defendants charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods would be 10 years in prison, and conviction on the charges related to concealing cash from authorities could carry a maximum prison term of five years.

Some of the defendants made their initial court appearances Tuesday, and others were expected to appear today before a United States magistrate judge in Los Angeles.

Authorities said they expect more indictments within the next two weeks. The task force investigation included the DEA, FBI, IRS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department, Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies.

U.S. simulates 'dirty bomb'
attacks on Phoenix, Portland
WND invited to central command post
as interagency team springs to action

A dirty bomb explodes in Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.

A few hours later, two more dirty bombs detonate, this time on the continental United States.

One bomb goes off at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, killing an unknown number of people and spreading radiation throughout the airport.

Almost simultaneously, a dirty bomb goes off in Portland, Ore., detonated on the Steel Bridge, one of the city's main arteries across the Willamette River to the downtown area.

Within minutes, the news media broadcast these disasters to the world.

Is the U.S. facing another 9/11, this time with dirty bombs set off by another wave of Islamic terrorists?

How many more dirty bombs are set to go off, and where?

As much as the scenario may sound like the screenplay of a Hollywood thriller, these terrorists events were being simulated as part of a national training exercise conducted by NORAD and USNORTHCOM in October.

Named Vigilant Shield 2008, or VS08, the exercise was also a "top officials exercise," code-named TOPOFF4.

As a top officials' exercise, this year's Vigilant Shield included a week of intensive training involving many top officials of the U.S. government, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state and local government officials in Arizona and Oregon, the territory of Guam, U.S. Pacific Command, the military combatant command responsible for the Pacific (including Guam) and dozens of other agencies.

According to Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, the exercise was designed to stress USNORTHCOM's ability to integrate and assist state and local responders in the event of a terrorist attack involving radiological dispersal devices, or RDDs, known as dirty bombs.

Within the NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs is the command center heart of VS08/TOPOFF4, an inner, windowless room, where some 50 to 60 players from a myriad of federal agencies sit before computer screens and communicate via teleconference with remote players in Washington, D.C., as well as Guam, Arizona and Oregon.

Military and civilian federal players meet in this room every morning at 0900 hours to begin the information-sharing that is central to the operation of the command group known as the Joint Interagency Coordination, or JIACG.

"Interagency" was the applicable buzz word for the JIACG's activity as the 9:30 a.m. meeting began with a situation analysis posted on a large flat screen at the front of the room for group review and follow-up action.

Mal Johnson, the day-shift chief of the JIACG "battle cell" known as the Interagency Coordination Group, or ICG, sat comfortably at his computer at the head of the central table in the room. He proudly wore a golf shirt bearing a tyrannosaurus rex emblem copied from the Michael Crichton novel, with name changed from "Jurassic Park" to "JIACG Park."

Sitting around the room with Johnson are "resident reps" – those 40 or so non-Department of Defense agencies that have assigned permanent members to the JIACG.

Referencing the "virtual reps," the dozens of agencies in Washington, Denver and around the country that participate in the JIACG from a distance, Johnson told WND, "With everybody interacting right here in real time, we can advise the USNORTHCOM commander where we might need to go, where the interagency might need help."

"This is a win-win situation," he stressed.

In Day Two of the exercise, the JIACG is working hard to get accurate casualty statistics and to evaluate the radiological fall-our risk from the dirty bombs.

Is Sky Harbor Airport closed? How about the Steel Bridge in Portland? Are Phoenix and Denver shut down?

"Our focus in the JIACG is what's happening right now, today," Johnson explains, "but not only what's happening today, but what's happening tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the week after tomorrow, so that we can get ahead of the power curve. We are all viewing the same data and asking questions. Quite frankly, this helps bring the interagency together and be more efficient and effective."

Looking around the room, WND surveyed the following "resident" federal agencies represented in the JIACG at 9:30 hours on Day Two of VS08/TOPOFF4:

* DHS – Department of Homeland Security

* CBP – Customs and Border Protection

* Federal Emergency Management Agency

* Transportation Security Agency

* U.S. Coast Guard

* Director, National Intelligence

* Central Intelligence Agency

* Department of State

* U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

* U.S. Geological Survey

* U.S. Public Health Service

* Federal Aviation Administration

* Federal Bureau of Investigation

* Department of Energy

In addition, the following "contingency representatives" were in the room as interagency partners:

* Federal Air Marshals

* Department of Interior

* Department of Health and Human Services

* National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency

* Environmental Protection Agency

* National Aeronautics and Space Administration

* U.S. Department of Agriculture

Communicating remotely by teleconference are state and local government officials designated by the governors of Oregon, Arizona and Guam, who have been assigned to lead the emergency response. Also in the conference are field observers the federal agencies have on site.

cont'd

In a separate, windowless command room full of computer terminals and telecommunications equipment resides the "White Cell," the civilian and military planners who form the brain of the exercise.

The White Cell's job is to keep the exercise moving by monitoring game play and entering new input.

"Earlier in the week, we entered into the exercise a simulated aircraft crash," explained Steve Zakaluk, a civilian within NORAD-USNORTHCOM at the center of directing the White Cell's activity. "It turned out to be a civilian airliner. It was not terrorist related, but it was smoke in the cockpit and they crashed back into Ted Stevens Airport up in Alaska, back in Anchorage."

Entering unrelated events into the exercise demands that players sort out facts and determine if the incident is related or unrelated to the emergency response to the RDD detonations that the exercise is focused on managing.

"So, the airplane crash involved a commercial plane, with 90-some passengers on board, completely unrelated," Zakaluk explained, "but that's part of the thing which the players need to be able to do – to sort out the things that are extraneous to the major problem, because that's realistic. Other things will be happening in the real world."

Zakaluk continued, "Up in Alaska, our Joint Task Force Alaska working with the FBI and local people in the airport, state and other local agencies, worked through the civilian airplane problem, and we moved on with the exercise."

Referring to a computer slide that described the exercise, Zakaluk went through the bullet points that described other incidents scripted into the exercise.

"The second bullet is an operational threat involving a maritime response involving a 'vessel of interest,' a cargo ship sailing under a Panamanian flag," he explained. "The intelligence coming into the exercise connected the possibility of people on that ship, or perhaps material on that ship, that might be related to the radioactive material that had been used in the RDDs. So they had to connect the dots, exactly like a jig-saw puzzle."

Zakaluk continued, "There's a procedure whereby the government agencies determine whether it's a military problem or a civilian law enforcement problem. That vessel is being successfully tracked now by the Navy and the Coast Guard as it approaches Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor. Throughout the course of the week, the JIACG will take certain actions to determine whether or not it's a threat."

Also scripted to occur during the week-long exercise was a foreign country announcement of a space launch.

"Cheyenne Mountain tracked the space launch for us," Zakaluk clarified, "and NORAD provided assessments both to the JIACG and to Strategic Command in Omaha."

Strategic Command, or USSTRATCOM, is another of the nine U.S. unified commands under the Department of Defense.

Headquartered at Offut Air Force Base in Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is the lead combatant command responsible for DOD response combating weapons of mass destruction.

"Commander Renuart also dispatched a Commander's Assignment Element to fly out to Arizona and one to go out to Oregon, to see in person what was going on," Zakaluk noted. "Guam is not in our area. It's handled by Admiral Keating and Pacific Command, and it was Admiral Keating's decision to send out a Commander's (Assignment Assessment) Element to be on scene."

Keating preceded Renuart as commander of NORAD-USNORTHCOM.

"A Commander's Assignment (Assessment) Element is a small unit involving six or eight people who go out and meet with the governor, meet with the emergency operations people, and they try to gain information in anticipation of perhaps requirements coming to DOD," Zakaluk explained.

USNORTHCOM was established Oct. 1, 2002, to provide a military combatant command tasked with commanding and controlling Department of Defense homeland defense efforts and coordinating defense response of civil authorities.

NORAD is a bi-national U.S. and Canadian organization charged with the missions of maritime warning, aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America.

Zakaluk headed a group of exercise scenario managers at Peterson Air Force Base who were working in conjunction with a staff at the Joint War Fighting Center of the Joint Forces Command, or USJFCOM), headquartered in Norfolk, Va.

USJFCOM is another of the Department of Defense's nine combatant commands, with a mission to provide "mission-ready, joint-capable forces" as required by the Secretary of Defense.

In June, WND published an exclusive two-part interview with Col. Tom Muir, U.S. Army, deputy operations officer for Command Center Operations for NORAD and USNORTHCOM, detailing the distinctions between the NORAD command facilities housed in Cheyenne Mountain and the new NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters facilities at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

Massive attack simulation to involve every state
U.S. engaging in 5-year 'game-play' exercise for terrorism, major disasters

Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and USNORTHCOM, the United States Northern Command, invited WND staff reporter Jerome R. Corsi to visit Peterson Air Force base to observe Day Three of the NORAD-USNORTHCOM exercise Vigilant Shield 2008.

Corsi was the first outside news reporter allowed inside the Joint Interagency Coordination Group, or JIACG, to observe command center operations during a real-time national training exercise.

This article is the second of a five-part, exclusive WND series, based on an interview at the NORAD/USNORTHCOM headquarters with Eugene G. Pino, a member of the Senior Executive Service, who serves as director of Joint Training and Exercise at NORAD-USNORTHCOM.

Under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, NORAD-USNORTHCOM has begun planning comprehensive, multi-year exercises aimed at involving every U.S. state in game-playing designed to simulate national emergencies.

The emergencies planned in the exercise scenarios range from natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, to terrorist attacks and health emergencies, as envisioned in a possible avian flu epidemic or pandemic influenza.

The exercises are designed to involve a wide spectrum of federal, state and local agencies that share a common interagency command center with the NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"The most important thing to fully understand about our current Vigilant Shield exercise is that this is the maturation of a national exercise program," Eugene G. Pino, director of Joint Training and Exercise at NORAD-USNORTHCOM, explained to WND.

Pino serves as a chief architect in the national exercise program, responsible for developing a comprehensive plan to coordinate the response of the U.S. military into an emergency plan designed to be driven by civilian government authorities, first at the state and local level, then at the national level should the threat overwhelm local resources.

(Story continues below)

As WND reported yesterday, NORAD-USNORTHCOM conducted in October a national exercise involving the simulated detonation of Radiological Dispersal Devices, or "dirty bombs," exploding almost simultaneously in Guam, Arizona and Oregon.

The exercise code-named Vigilant Shield 08, or VS08, was also designated TOPOFF4, in reference to the many top federal, state and local officials the exercise was designed to train.

Pino was careful to make sure WND understood that the current VS08/TOPOFF4 exercise was part of a larger plan.

"Our goal," Pino explained, "is to develop working partnerships between federal and interagency departments, working together to design an exercise that exercises the entire national architecture, from federal to state to local and multi-national."

WND reported yesterday that over 40 federal agencies have permanent staff assigned as "resident agency" managers in the Interagency Coordination Group, or ICG, structure that operates the JIACG, or Joint Interagency Coordination Group.

The JIACG is the key operational component of the national exercise that meets daily in a combined command center, linked to the outside federal, state and local exercise participants by teleconference and computer.

Canada, UK, Australia join in

Pino noted that along with the countless observers – mostly in Washington, D.C. – there are several other nations participating in the exercise, including Canada, the UK and Australia.

The three countries, he explained, are physical partners playing in the exercise, with their own exercises linked to VS08/TOPOFF4.

"So, what you have is a mosaic of exercise objectives and exercise teams brought together into one synchronized, over-arching, large scale exercise," he said.

Maturation

Pino told WND planning for the current exercise started 14 months ago. Each year since USNORTHCOM was created in 2002, the command has run Vigilant Shield exercises in the fall and exercises code-named Ardent Sentry in the spring.

"The national exercise program in the Department of Defense has undergone a maturation process," Pino emphasized.

"In the past, those exercises were completely built, designed, controlled, executed and played by DOD personnel," he continued. "Sometimes, we would have other agencies and departments, either providing us subject matter experts, but not full participation. Every other department and agency conducted their own isolated stovepiped exercises."

The goal of NORAD-USNORTHCOM has evolved to transform its Department of Defense-managed exercises into full interagency participation, such that the Vigilant Shield and Ardent Sentry exercises now involve military planning coordinated through the lead efforts of the Department of Homeland Security.

"We started working on this particular construct of a national exercise program about three years ago, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security specifically," Pino said.

Pino explained President Bush reviewed an implementation plan for the execution of a national exercise program in April, approved the concept, and then the Department of Homeland Security was given the lead for executing the national exercise program.

"The Department of Homeland Security created an implementation plan for the national exercise program that was released in July," he continued. "This is our first national exercise under that construct.

With this change, interagency planning and cooperation was intended to replace the department-by-department emergency preparedness planning that was the norm before USNORTHCOM was created in 2002.

Pino explained: "So, rather than having stovepipe exercises without full integration and synchronization conducted by separate agencies, our goal now is to replicate a natural effort to deal with either a natural or man-made disaster within a national exercise program that starts to synchronize these disparate enterprises into one, focused exercise program.

"The various participating agencies are integrated from the very first step of planning the exercise," Pino said. "Where in the past we might have brought in another department, maybe a week before the exercise was going to kick off, now we coordinate through the Department of Homeland Security, and interagency cooperation is a central feature of the national exercise program."

Focused energy

Pino stressed interagency cooperation and coordination brought an added value to the national exercises.

"By the mere fact that all these agencies are integrated partners in the full development of the exercise, they are vested in the exercise, and they understand the objectives of the exercise," he argued. "Now we are able to focus all that energy into training our people together as to how we would operate in a real world environment.

"It is very difficult for departments and agencies that are working daily in protecting the nation and are fully focused on their individual requirements and their responsibilities to drop everything that they are currently doing when they find out about an exercise that's taking place in the next few months," Pino explained.

The solution was to develop a multi-year exercise plan announced well in advance to the many agencies expected to participate.

"The development of a five-year schedule where everybody knows this exercise is going to take place on this date, in this period of time, in '08, '09, 2010, 2011 and 2012 is powerful," Pino argued. "This way everybody can plan accordingly and build their budgets to support it. The key element of the national exercise program is the mandate for a five-year schedule.

cont'd

"We are also following a tiered approach to exercises, so we are focusing our energies on the proper levels of how missions are executed," Pino continued. "This particular exercise by design and by name is 'Top Officials Exercise,' which means something. VS08/TOPOFF4 is a Tier 1 national level exercise designed to engage our top government officials, because they require training, too – including the White House, department heads, cabinet secretaries, under secretaries and assistant secretaries."

While President Bush did not participate personally in VS08/TOPOFF4, an "exercise president" was designated to receive briefings and make decisions.

Pino also explained that the five-year cycle of national exercises was planned to cover a full spectrum of challenges the U.S. could face, ranging from natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, to terrorist events, such as 9/11.

"There is a linkage and should be a linkage between what we have identified are strategic, operational and tactical threats to our nation, and then build plans to operate against those threats and then create the scenarios to exercise against," Pino stressed.

"The White House Homeland Security Council, working with the president, identified 15 national planning scenarios that would require plans to be built against them," he said. "Our goal then was to focus our national exercise program against those 15 scenarios."

Gaming a 'dirty bomb'

Pino explained in more detail the thinking behind the current scenario of VS08/TOPOFF4, involving Radiological Dispersal Devices being used in multiple sites throughout the nation.

"The RDD used in the exercised was scripted to involve CCM-137, the radioactive material used," Pino said. "We chose this, because CCM-137 is readily available. CCM-137 is used in hospital equipment, for example. What we are gaming right now is CCM-137 that terrorists have stolen and weaponized with high explosives, such that a blast effect will cause casualties from the blast, but then also there will be fallout challenges from radioactivity. That, in essence, is what we mean by a 'dirty bomb.'"

Pino explained that the current RDD scenario of VS08/TOPOFF4 has been designated as National Planning Scenario No. 11.

"We will exercise all 15 of these national planning scenarios in the construct of the national exercise program over a period of years," he explained. "A perfect example is that last May, we conducted a national exercise as a precursor to this one, where we exercised against national planning scenario No. 1; that is, a nuclear detonation in a major metropolitan city."

From May 10-18 in Ardent Sentry 07, USNORTHCOM, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, exercised the detonation of an improvised nuclear device in Indiana.

USNORTHCOM's Joint Task Force Civil Support deployed in the exercise more than 2,000 active-duty military personnel and some 1,000 National Guard personnel to Camp Atterbury and the Muscatatuchk Urban Training Area, simulating an attack on Indianapolis.

Pino explained that each year at least one exercise will be designated a national level event, in which multiple state and local jurisdictions will be involved.

"That one national level event will be coupled with four 'Top Official Seminars' per year," Pino explained. "In the Top Official Seminars, we will take those national planning scenarios and discuss them in a seminar format with the principals and department heads in a table-top discussion environment.

"The issues that surface from those seminars will then be fed into the planning process for the national level exercise we will conduct," he continued. "It's a learning process in which we say, 'Okay, we talked about this as a potential challenge. We worked on what we believe is a proper answer to that challenge. Now we exercised it to validate that it, in effect, did accomplish the effect that we were after.'"

Pino also explained that the national exercise program is constructed to coincide with the four-year cycle of a presidential administration.

"So, in the first year of a president's administration," Pino explained, "we will have a ramped-up training program for the new administration on all the duties they are going to have in their homeland security and homeland defense responsibilities."

Pino laid out how the exercise cycle would work in conjunction with a presidential term.

"So, in the first year of a president's administration, like in 2009, the scenario will be one of the terrorist-related national planning scenarios. Then in 2010, the second year of this upcoming presidential administration, the exercise will be a natural disaster, perhaps a major hurricane or a major earthquake, affecting multiple jurisdictions."

He continued: "The third year will be an overseas Department of Defense-centric or humanitarian assistance to another nation state during a large-scale natural disaster, or a counter-insurgency-type operation, because we need to work national security too; this is a national exercise program.

"Then in the fourth year of a new administration," he concluded, "we will have domestic terrorist events as the foundation of that exercise."

Pino further specified that in each specific national exercise, different training objectives are identified.

"As I mentioned," he continued, "the planning for this exercise started 14 months ago. We identified certain exercise objectives we wanted to focus upon. Because this is a strategic national Top Officials exercise, our focus is working linkages and relationships and information-sharing between a strategic theater commander, a combatant commander – in this case NORAD-USNORTHCOM – and the national political leadership in Washington."

Therefore, Pino, explained, VS08/TOPOFF4 "has placed very little focus downward to operational forces on the ground or tactical units on the ground."

"We never intended to move very many actual forces around in this exercise," he said. "But, we designed the exercise to involve three venues – one in a U.S. territory that allows us to work those challenges of working a territory, the other two venues in Oregon and Arizona."

Pino also explained how the exercises were designed to involve FEMA regions nationwide.

"We have 10 FEMA regions throughout the nation," he explained. "A particular FEMA region is assigned the responsibility for a certain number of states, to provide disaster response and support. But FEMA Region 9, in this particular case, also has the responsibility for our territories in the Pacific. Oregon is FEMA Region 10, out of Seattle, and Arizona is FEMA Region 9, out of Oakland."

cont'd

"Our goal," he concluded, "is to exercise the full scope of national planning exercises – ranging from natural disasters, to terrorist events, to health emergencies such as epidemic flu, such that each FEMA region and all the states have the opportunity to work through emergency exercises within the planned exercise cycle."

Master-control cell

The master-control cell of the national planning exercise is in the Department of Homeland Security in Virginia," Pino pointed out.

"USNORTHCOM has representatives there in Virginia in that master-control cell," he said. "Then you have the venues in Guam, Oregon and Arizona, with on-site control groups that are linked by satellite to the master-control cell. The day-to-day game-playing takes place in the JIASC interagency environment where information is processed and decisions are made."

The objective of the exercise, Pino said, is to "drive the action forward by providing the injects on real world systems."

"Inside the white cell, we have representation from every element of NORTHCOM," he said. "You'll notice there's an intelligence seat, a public affairs seat; there an operations seat, there's an inter-agency seat.

The chief controller from the War Fighting Center, Steve Zakaluk, is Pino's chief manager.

Zakaluk, Pino said, built every aspect of the exercise for NORTHCOM, working in partnership with the War Fighting Center.

"We react to what the players are doing to create the next day's and next two-day's environment to make sure we are moving in the right direction," Pino said.

He explained how the exercises are designed to benefit from lessons learned as the exercise is gamed.

"The most important piece of exercising is to observe your performance," Peno stressed. "What tasks need to be accomplished to satisfy the requirements of the plan? Then, what are the standards you are measuring yourself against?

"We bring together a significant number of subject matter experts from throughout the Department of Defense to work with us to observe our performance during the exercise," he continued, "to identify accomplishments and challenges."

"These experts then report back to me with all their observations," he explained. "Then what I will do is take every single one of these observations, and I build a 'lesson-identified' on that observation. From there, we put in place a corrective action program to fix that issue, and then we will revalidate it on a future exercise."

Observer-trainers then, he said, are working with each of the staff elements to identify the value of standards and conditions of the tasks that are supposed to be performed.

"Then we have analysts and subject matter experts in specific domains like intelligence, operations, planning, interagency synchronization, etc.," he continued, describing an interactive feedback loop at the heart of systems and operations planning science.

"They observe our performance and report back to me on their observations," Pino explained, "and then the analysts give us a perspective on their analysis of particular trends that are going on. Then we take that information from these guys, and we feed it into that 'lessons-learned' corrective-actions program for the next planned exercise."

Built into the national exercise program, therefore, is a "corrective-action program," Pino stressed.

"We identify a challenge, an issue, something that didn't go right, and it is fed into the Homeland Security Council," said Pino. From there, the Homeland Security Council assigns a department among the interagency partners designated to fix the problem and reports back to the Homeland Security Council."

Ex-FBI, CIA worker took classified info
Lebanese national searched for intel on relatives tied to Hezbollah

A former FBI special agent and CIA analyst pleaded guilty Tuesday to using her database access privileges to search for information on relatives suspected of having ties to a reputed terrorist group, and who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship.

In federal court in Detroit Tuesday, Lebanese national Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, pleaded guilty to secretly obtaining information about ongoing FBI national security investigations. She is suspected of passing it on to relatives suspected of having ties to Hezbollah, a group that the U.S. government has classified as a foreign terrorist organization.

"Right now, CIA and FBI are both trying to find out what more she might have known, what more she might have passed on to Hezbollah, and was she in fact sent here by Hezbollah in the first place to penetrate the United States intelligence services," former government counter-intelligence official and ABC News consultant Richard Clarke said.

"As a special agent," court documents said, Prouty "was granted a security clearance" and assigned to a unit investigating crimes against U.S. citizens overseas.

While employed as a special agent, Prouty entered the FBI's computer system "without authorization, and beyond her authorized access, to query her own name" and those of her sister and brother-in-law. Those relatives later attended a fundraising event whose featured speaker was a U.S.-designated terrorist linked to Hezbollah.

The criminal information states that Prouty acted against FBI policy and took "an unknown quantity of classified information home with her."

Prouty's sister, brother-in-law and others were charged in federal court last year for an alleged scheme to cover up more than $20 million in cash funneled to individuals in Lebanon. Her sister, Elfat El Aouar, pleaded guilty to tax evasion last year and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. El Aouar's husband, Talal Chahine, is considered to be a fugitive and is thought to be in Lebanon, according to U.S. law enforcement officials.

Prouty resigned from her job as a midlevel CIA operations officer last week, after working at the agency for three years. According to an official familiar with the investigation, she worked for the National Clandestine Service, which runs covert operations.

Before joining the CIA in 2003, the FBI employed Prouty as a special agent, starting in 1999.

In an embarrassing twist, the investigation has also uncovered that Prouty fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship, admitting in court documents that she paid a man to marry her in 1990 so she could obtain citizenship after her student visa expired.

Sources told ABC News that officials at the highest levels of government have been briefed on the case, which is seen as an embarrassment for two of the nation's top intelligence agencies. Both the FBI and the CIA have launched internal reviews looking at organizational security procedures.

The case raises important questions about how careful and effective the vetting of employees is at the nation's premier law enforcement and intelligence agencies. FBI agents are supposed to be regularly polygraphed and take lie detector tests before obtaining a CIA job.

"This is a failure of three systems," Clarke said. "It's a failure of the FBI background system, including polygraphs. It's a failure of the CIA hiring system, including polygraphs. And it's a failure of the FBI's computer system security, because she was able to obtain information that she shouldn't have had access to about Hezbollah, which she probably passed on to Hezbollah, a terrorist group."

As part of the investigation, the government is conducting a damage assessment. Officials told ABC News the amount of information they suspect was leaked appears to be limited, but investigators are checking all the ex-agent's contacts within both agencies and looking to see what databases she might have tapped into.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield issued a statement on the investigation, saying that the CIA cooperated with the investigation and that Prouty "was a midlevel employee who came to us in 2003 from the FBI where she had been a special agent. The naturalization issue occurred well before she was hired by the Bureau."

Mansfield confirmed that Prouty resigned from the CIA as part of her plea agreement.

"It is a sad day when one of our public servants breaches our security and trust," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein said Tuesday. "This defendant engaged in a pattern of deceit to secure U.S. citizenship, to gain employment in the intelligence community, and to obtain and exploit her access to sensitive counterterrorism intelligence."

"It is fitting that she now stands to lose both her citizenship and her liberty," Wainstein added.

The plea agreement recommends that Prouty face a prison sentence between six and 12 months, and pay a maximum fine of $250,000. The documents also indicate Prouty will be on supervised release for two to three years after serving her sentence.

General would deploy troops on U.S. soil
NORTHCOM commander ready to obey any presidential order to act in domestic emergency

The commander of USNORTHCOM says he's prepared to obey any order from the president to deploy U.S. troops on American soil in response to a domestic emergency.

"If he were to choose to declare a national emergency, then clearly we at USNORTHCOM would be able to operate in that environment, in response to direct orders from the secretary of defense," Gen. Victor E. "Gene" Renuart told WND at his Peterson Air Force Base headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"But, I'm not sure that would ever be a routine event, and certainly it would be a minority event," he added in an interview conducted during a simulation of a multi-pronged terrorist attack.

As WND reported earlier this year, President Bush appears to have positioned the U.S. military and the National Guard, acting under presidential authority, to intervene in a wide range of domestic incidents that could occur anywhere in North America.

USNORTHCOM was established in 2002 with responsibility for a "homeland defense" area that includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico, parts of the Caribbean and waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans contiguous to the U.S.

WND asked Renuart to comment on the new constitutional ground created by USNORTHCOM's mission to have Department of Defense involvement in domestic emergencies.

"I think first, the Constitution is a pretty good document, and the founders and the writers of that document understood the real challenge to the democracy they envisioned of having too active a role for the federal military in law enforcement," he answered.

"And so, equally visionary was the establishment of the National Guard under the control of the state governors, who can give them, then, the law enforcement authority that those governors may need," Renuart added.

"As we see a situation develop that may require some additional support to law enforcement agencies, the governors have the ability to take advantage of the trained Guardsmen at the state level," Renuart continued. "This really frees us to do those supporting things that probably are the best use of the military in the homeland.

Standing on a cliff

In the NORAD/USNORTHCOM exercise in October – which included simulating simultaneous "dirty bombs" in Guam, Phoenix and Portland, Ore. – civilian authorities appeared to be in command.

"In the scenario we have in Oregon, the governor of Oregon is in charge of the response for his state," Renuart agreed. "The same is the case in Arizona."

"But it's a little bit like a cliff," he continued. "We don't want any state standing on a cliff with nobody to catch them if they fall. Or, we don't want them to try to climb a mountain without somebody to help them along the way."

Renuart added it's also not in the state's interest "to feel that their elected officials have failed."

"So in our case, we work very closely with our friends in DHS and FEMA, and the state emergency operations directors, to ensure that as they begin to respond and begin to see the need for more capacity (and that) they do that in a systematic way that allows for the states' National Guards to support the effort."

Renuart pointed out all of this is done through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC, a state-to-state mutual aid agreement designed to provide material and personnel resources to states or territories affected by emergency situations or disasters.

"As the need continues to grow in an emergency situation," Renuart expanded, "then DOD military, if military is the best capability, is available. Our goal at USNORTHCOM is to make sure the Department of Defense military is in a position to respond. That keeps the governor as the principal responsible official in the state." Military response

WND asked Renuart how the current simulation scenario would change if the game play determined that the dirty bombs were detonated by a foreign terrorist organization.

"First, there is the local response to help the victims and to reconstitute," Renuart replied. "Certainly that is, and maybe should always be, the state's responsibility."

The issue of determining the source of the event and how to respond to it is a national issue, the general stated.

"And certainly, if it is a very localized event, for instance, in the case of the Oklahoma City bombing, you had a law enforcement activity that was able to follow that through to arrests," he said.

"If the event were attributable to an attack either by a nation-state or an entity outside of our country, then the president certainly has the ability, as we have done in the past, to use the military to respond to those perpetrators, should that be the most appropriate," Renuart stressed.

"I think we have to be careful that we don't immediately jump from a dirty bomb to (raising the question of) what is the military doing within the bounds of our country," the general said. "I think we have a good apparatus to balance that. And we go through those decision pieces in the course of this exercise."

The NORAD-USNORTHCOM response would vary depending on the nature of the emergency – a terrorist attack, for instance, versus an earthquake or a hurricane.

"We have created a capacity in the response to an event that is very robust," Renuart said. "But, the response to an event is different than the response of a nation to an attack. We need to be very clear that we maintain those differences."

During the course of an event, there could by a number of decision points at which a local emergency could become a matter for the federal government.

In May, a NORAD-USNORTHCOM exercise called Ardent Sentry simulated a 10-kiliton nuclear explosion in Indianapolis.

"In that case, the area affected was more than a single state could deal with, and the plume that resulted from that detonation, at least the modeling, carried it through two states, so you now have a regional effect," Renuart pointed out.

"In that case, you may or may not choose to have a federal lead on the situation," he continued. "Or, you may choose to have some portion of it become a federal response. Or, you may choose to have two states coordinate with each other, but with federal support to each."

He concluded: "So, there's a lot of ways as this thing grows from city, to state, to regional, that present decision points along the way that we just have to be deliberate about."

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the first catastrophic emergency USNORTHCOM helped manage.

"Certainly, there have been a lot of smaller size events that the command has been involved in, but that's really the first one that went across the borders of two or three states and became a regional event," Renuart said.

USNORTHCOM also assisted the state of California in managing the wildfires that recently hit Southern California.

cont'd

Assisting Mexico

WND noted that in the press conference ending the third summit meeting of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America Aug. 21 in Canada, President Bush affirmed the U.S. government was negotiating a package of military aid to assist Mexico in combating drug trafficking.

WND asked if USNORTHCOM would play a role in the aid package.

"We have a great partner relationship with the military in Mexico," Renuart responded. "Mexico is taking increasing advantage of some of our professional schooling opportunities."

Bush has indicated support for a package of aid to Mexico that could substantially improve the country's capacity to deal with narco-terrorists, identified by President Calderon as a serious strategic threat.

Reuart said the proposal is evolving as it progresses through Congress.

"I believe we would clearly have a principal role in coordinating with the Mexican military on the kinds of things that they would need in a package like we described," the general said.

"More importantly, we have to ask what kinds of training might be beneficial to Mexico," he added. "We would work with them to try to enable that through our existing IMET system and the like."

IMET, or the International Military Education & Training program, is a component of the Department of Defense that provides low-cost security training on a grant basis to friendly nation.

"Mexico is an interesting country in this regard," Reuart said, because it fuses under its military functions the U.S. separates into different agencies, such as Border Patrol, Customs, Drug Enforcement and Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

"From our perspective, there is caution to insure that we don't trip across the border into those law enforcement areas," Renuart emphasized. "But again, I'll go back to this great interagency community that we have right here resident."

The general said he has the assistance of a group of about 16 lawyers, who examine decisions from 16 different angles.

"But, equally, our partner agencies know where they should take the lead and where we should take the lead," he said.

Presidential directive

WND asked Renuart about the role of USNORTHCOM under the National Security Presidential Directive 51 and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, which the president signed in May.

WND reported NSPD-51 and HSPD-20 appear to expand the president's emergency powers by allowing him to self-declare a national emergency and take over the management of all levels of government, including state, local, territorial and tribal.

"One important point, that is not so much a position, but a personal view, is that I think that for us, the military in NORTHCOM in particular, we should be careful not to engage in the legal-political questions in this regard," Renuart began.

"The key for us is do we have the authorities we need on any particular day to provide the support that the nation would ask of us," he continued. "Our involvement at USNORTHCOM would be at the specific direction of the secretary of defense, on orders from the president."

Regardless of how the issue settles, he said, "I know we have the authorities or can get the authorities to accomplish our mission."

WND also asked about the possibility that USNORTHCOM could become involved in border security issues, especially on the southern border with Mexico.

"Let me make two points on this," Renuart answered. "First, the avenues through which illicit traffic can travel make no distinction between money, weapons, narcotics, people or terrorists; so we have to assume that any of those avenues across the border could also be used by terrorists to travel through to gain access to the homeland."

All borders, he said – north, south, east, and west – pose challenges with regard to preventing individuals or small groups from crossing.

"So, we continue to work with our partners in Customs and Border Protection, and we partner with the National Guard in the various states," he said. "Both these agencies have an on-going counter-narcotics mission which gives me comfort in combating the narcotics trade."

USNORTHCOM would be involved if the mission were to combat the flow of any other dangerous people, such as terrorists, he explained.

"Working with the Coast Guard, especially in our ports and our naval approaches to the country, it's a huge, huge challenge, one we have to continue to work on," Renuart said.

"But, again, our partners are eager for us to participate, and we are very conscious of the constitutional limitations here, but we've created a pretty transparent relationship; so that if something pops up in our intelligence network that we think is not really our role, then the problem goes to the appropriate partner agency."

Renuart stressed that the partner agency relationships have built considerable confidence in the nation's ability to respond appropriately.

"Conversely, if one of our partner agencies has something that pops up in their assessment process that they think has a homeland defense impact, it comes straight to us," he said. "And so, we are working hard to preserve the confidence of our partner agencies, so they don't feel that we somehow compromise their ability to get the job done, but they feel we are value added, when needed."

Military prepares to support states in terror attack
National emergency exercises emphasize real-world experience

It was Day 3 of NORAD-USNORTHCOM's exercise, Vigilant Shield 08 and Top Officers 4, and the "reports" were coming in of the explosion of "dirty bombs" in Guam, at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and at the Steel Bridge in Portland, Ore.

The Joint Interactive Agency Coordination Group staging the exercise to test the national response to the detonation of radiological dispersal devices was on duty.

"This is an exercise designed to look at the national response if we would have a terrorist attack," explained Michael B. Perini, director of public affairs at NORAD-USNORTHCOM. "The goal of the JIACG is to work out the coordination and processes we need as a nation to manage the terrorist emergency and to do that in a very realistic environment so if it happens for real.

"We want to avoid having to exchange business cards at the scene of the accident, as it were," Perini stressed.

The JIACG involves 40 or more "resident" agencies of the federal government that have assigned permanent representatives to the NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Additionally, some 20 non-governmental partners, including private enterprise, are linked by computer and teleconference into the daily JIACG assessment meeting that convenes in the "battle cell" at 9:30 each morning during the exercise.

State and local government players in the field are linked into the daily JIACG assessment from the NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters, with resident players participating in person and remote players by communications with players in the field.

"This is all about relationship building," Perini stressed. "It's all about collaboration and coordination.

"A challenge for us here at NORAD-USNORTHCOM is that we are in support," Perini acknowledged. "So, we are doing everything we can to work at the local, state and federal levels to be able to show people that if they need certain talent, equipment or expertise, the military is there to help."

Michael Kucharek, current operations chief tasked with media relations and Web management in NORAD-USNORTHCOM public affairs, explained the history and context of the NORAD-USNORTHCOM mission that led to the simulation exercise.

"USNORTHCOM was created in the wake of 9/11," Kucharek began. "Obviously, there was before no combatant command responsible for defending the continental United States. Before then it was mostly law enforcement left to the states and U.S. Code Title 14 authority under the Coast Guard for maritime. The terrorist attack on 9/11 was the catalyst for U.S. Northern Command coming into existence."

Kucharek said USNORTHCOM has 'two basic missions: defense support of civil authorities defined by the National Response Plan on how we support that effort and then also homeland defense."

"Now what is homeland defense?" Kucharek asked. "It's preventing attacks before they would occur and to defeat any aggressions aimed at the United States. Our role is to support the state and local governments, to bring Department of Defense military resources to bear in a national emergency when the states and local governments need help."

The national exercises eventually will include all 50 states and the territories.

"This way, when something happens in a particular state, we have a better chance that everybody knows what their lanes of responsibility are in advance," he said.

"That way we at USNORTHCOM hope to avoid being the 800-pound guerilla coming in," Kucharek continued. "We want to avoid disrupting what the states and their emergency operations centers and emergency operations managers have to put in place to mitigate the emergency for the citizens of their states."

"Our goal is to ask, 'What is the unique capability that the Department of Defense Title 10 forces would offer, as opposed to something that the National Guard doesn't have?'" Kucharek said.

"So, we are building relationships at the state level, so they know what we're all about, what we can provide, what we can't provide, and what our intentions are," he continued. "We're available and leaning forward for the states when they request it, once we get approval from the secretary of defense."

A new National Response Framework, superseding the current National Response Plan, has been drafted and placed on the Department of Homeland Security website for comment.

Kucharek walked through how a Request for Assistance, or RFA, will work under the National Response Framework, all the way from first responders to the national level.

"In any emergency, the state local assets are the first response," he stressed. "What those resources are not sufficient, then there's a Request for Assistance that goes out from the state governor to the president that says, 'Hey, we need some help here. Can you help us out?'

"From there, the president would direct some kind of response from the Department of Defense," Kucharek explained. "Then a Department of Defense-approved mission assignment comes forward and from there we would deploy forces through our force providers to get assets on the ground."

"There's a formal process," Kucharek emphasized. "When an RFA comes in, a mission assignment is given, but only after being directed by the president or the secretary of defense."

Reality TV

Throughout the NORAD-USNORTHCOM simulation at Peterson Air Force Base, flat screen televisions broadcast simulated newscasts.

"We contracted with Forrest Sawyer who used to work for ABC," Perini explained.

"Throughout the exercise, we run our own news network, VNN, that covers the exercise in real time," he continued. "Sawyer's job is to act exactly like the national news networks would act. We cover the event from the scene, and VNN has a staff of reporters that grill the players as if this were a real world event."

While interviewing Perini and Kucharek, the VNN broadcast showed Sawyer grilling officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sawyer was asking tough questions, trying to get accurate assessments of the danger to the population in Phoenix and Portland of the radiation from the detonated dirty bombs.

At this point in the exercise, the JIACG assessment had determined that Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix would completely shut down, as would the Steel Bridge in Portland.

We asked Perini how success in the exercise was going to be measured.

"Success will be measured on the amount of cooperation and collaboration we are able to move forward based on the last exercise," Perini answered.

"If we see anything we can improve from the last exercise, then we take those 'lessons-observed' and make them 'lessons-learned' and I think that will be another measure of success for this exercise," he explained.

"I will tell you that, even three days into this exercise, folks are already seeing the value from Arizona and from Oregon as well as here, in terms of working the training aspects," Perini continued.

"We have a lot of new people in this exercise and now they are going to have one under their belt," he pointed out. "That is another measure of success, especially if we ever have to do this for real, because now these players will have experience."

Perini emphasized that the simulation is "not just a table-top exercise or a command post exercise." "We are actually moving real people, but not in large numbers, especially since this exercise has a top offices focus, but we are actually putting people on airplanes," he said.

"If we say we are going to move a unit, then we have gone to the point of actually identifying a unit, identifying them by name, because it helps to see if there is a gap and it helps us with the training."

Perini said the exercise gets to the point of identifying the kind of airplane, its call sign and how long it will take to arrive at its destination.

"That's our logistics folks doing that in detail," he said, "because really the exercise is all about being able to plan, and if we can do that now, then that is going to help us do it for real."

Perini pointed out there actually werepeople at Sky Harbor going through the exercise, and, in Oregon, "we actually have students playing high school students going through the exercise as if something had happened and they are not faced with having to recover."

"Portland play is very extensive," he said. "The governor of Oregon, secretary of homeland security Chertoff and our commander General Renuart will hold a real world press conference describing what's going on in Portland to communicate that to the citizens in that great state."

Kucharek said that finally, "We take from the exercise the lessons observed and then looking at where we need to take the scenario to others. Maybe we need to circle back and work through some of the gaps. But we design them so that they are very realistic and are designed to make the nation safer.

"The terrorist threat is for real and we have these exercises designed to help us meet that threat," he concluded. "These national exercises are very critical to us and we need to continue conducting them."

Securing malls against terror a delicate balance

While the U.S. government's terrorism warning system has a range of threat levels from low to severe, Marc Strich says his Woodfield Mall has only one: full alert.

"We raised our security level to the maximum after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and have never lowered them since," said the general manager of one of America's largest malls in this Chicago suburb. "We are constantly changing and upgrading what we do because security is crucial to our business."

A report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation made public on November 8 a warning that al Qaeda might be planning to strike shopping malls in Chicago and Los Angeles in the coming holiday shopping season in a bid to disrupt the U.S. economy.

Though the agency questioned the credibility of the threat, it was a reminder of the peril posed by the post-9/11 world.

Mall operators say the FBI warning was business as usual.

"High security is the norm today, "said David Keating, spokesman for General Growth Properties Inc, the second-largest U.S. mall operator.

Behind the scenes, however, the mall industry continues exploring new ways to meet the complex challenge it faces: protecting huge areas designed to be accessible to thousands of consumers without scaring them off.

"It's a logistical nightmare," said Micah Carlson, a project manager at the National Security Technology Department of John Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory.

Carlson and his colleagues are working on a project to determine which sensors for biological, chemical and explosive agents can work in large indoor spaces like malls -- especially which sensors may be prone to false alarms.

"There are serious ramifications to pinning grandma down on the floor when she has just taken a nitroglycerin tablet," Carlson said. "It's really not good for business."

TOURIST DE-TRACTION?

Reluctant to drive customers away, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has also launched a training program for mall security guards to spot suspicious behavior using U.S. government-recommended techniques.

"The industry is doing all it can to provide a secure environment but not impede customers as they shop," said Malachy Kavanagh, ICSC vice president for communications. "Customers themselves can play a big role by being vigilant."

Woodfield Mall is a good example of the scale of the challenges facing the industry.

Owned by luxury mall operator Taubman Centers Inc, Woodfield mall is among the five biggest U.S. malls, covering some 2.7 million square feet, and is home to nearly 300 stores.

Strich said about 30 million people will visit Woodfield in 2007. It is the top tourist destination in Illinois, with 4 million visitors a year coming from more than 50 miles away.

As well as security guards, Woodfield has a surveillance system that Taubman, like other operators, keeps a closely guarded secret.

"We don't want to give anything away," Strich said.

Frank MacInnis, chief executive of commercial construction company Emcor Group Inc, said security systems for malls such as closed circuit television and "air sniffer" devices are a huge growth area for his company.

"No owner of a mall can afford to put enough feet on the ground to do the job alone," he said.

A problem for mall operators is that many options to ward off a potential terrorist attack - concrete barriers, manned scanners, bag searches - could drive away customers.

"Unless the perceived threat changed rapidly, then measures like these would have a negative psychological impact on customers and drive them away," said Tom LaTourette, a physical scientist at non-profit research group RAND Corporation. "Many of the options out there are also very expensive."

Ironically, the perceived threat would increase in the event of an actual attack, he added.

The ICSC has teamed with George Washington University and former emergency service officers to develop a training course for mall security guards using U.S. government advice.

Six-thousand security guards have taken the course, launched in May, and 500 more will take it by the end of the year.

"The course does not use profiling," ICSC's Kavanagh said, "but focuses on recognizing behavior patterns indicating someone is not in a mall for the purpose of the facility.

"Ultimately, however, experience has shown it is hard to take preventive measures against someone willing to sacrifice their own life to take others'," he said.

Senate passes terror insurance bill

The Senate voted Friday to extend for seven years a post-Sept. 11 law guaranteeing federal help for the insurance industry in the event of a catastrophic terrorist attack.
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The Senate measure, approved by voice vote, differs considerably from a House version passed in September, and the two chambers have until the end of the year, when the current Terrorism Risk Insurance Act expires, to work out their differences.

The program, known as TRIA, was created in 2002 after the private insurance market for developers collapsed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Without this program, terrorism insurance will become unavailable or prohibitively expensive, construction projects would grind to a halt and Americans would lose jobs," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said.

The program, capped at $100 billion a year, pledges government assistance to help pay for losses from terrorism. The Senate bill retains the current threshold of $100 million for triggering federal aid. The House approach would lower the threshold to $50 million.

The House measure, passed 312-110, would extend the program for 15 years, rather than the seven years in the Senate bill. It specifies that nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological attacks will be covered.

The White House threatened to veto the House bill, saying the 15-year extension effectively makes TRIA permanent, increases the federal role in the private insurance market, and "expands the scope of coverage well beyond the point where it is needed."

Last month Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wrote leaders of the Senate Banking Committee repeating the administration position that TRIA should be phased out in favor of a private market for terrorism insurance. But he said the administration would not oppose the Senate version as long as it did not expand the current program.

Marc Racicot, president of the American Insurance Association, welcomed the Senate action Friday, saying the seven-year extension "will provide more stability and certainty in the market and will foster long-term investment and economic growth."

Racicot, former Montana governor and former chairman of the Republican National Committee and Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, said it was crucial that Congress reauthorize the program by the end of the year.

A final sticking point for the Senate was how to meet budget rules that require offsets for new spending. The Congressional Budget Office, while acknowledging that there is no accurate way to estimate damages from any future terrorist attacks, put the cost of the program at $3.4 billion over the next five years.

The Senate bill includes provisions to speed up recoupment payments that insurance companies must already make, up to a certain level, on federal aid. The House bill contains language requiring Congress to enact a resolution approving federal funds after a terrorist attack.

Presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said he returned to Washington late Thursday night after the Democratic debate in Las Vegas to iron out the last Republican objections and pass the bill before the Senate leaves on a two-week Thanksgiving recess. He said he was "very confident" the House and Senate could reach a compromise before Congress adjourns at the end of the year.

The bill is H.R. 2761.

GAO: Bomb Parts Snuck Past Airport Checks
Investigators Got Through Passenger Checkpoints With IED Components

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports terrorists could slip past Transportation Security Administration screeners and, with a few readily available components, assemble an explosive that could cause severe damage to an airplane, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The report, obtained exclusively by CBS News, details how GAO investigators conducted covert tests at 19 airports earlier this year to test the vulnerabilities of the passenger screening process. The investigators succeeded in passing through TSA checkpoints undetected with components for making improvised explosive devices (IED) and improvised incendiary devices (IID).

"Our tests clearly demonstrate that a terrorist group, using publicly available information and a few resources, could cause severe damage to an airplane and threaten the safety of passengers," the report states.

Investigators identified two devices a terrorist could use to cause such "severe damage." The first was an IED made up of a "liquid explosive and a low yield detonator." The second was an IID "created by combining commonly available products (one of which is a liquid) that TSA prohibits in carry-on luggage." The bomb parts were purchased over the Internet and from a local store for approximately $150, according to the report.

Read The GAO's Aviation Security Report

The investigators demonstrated how it is possible to bring parts for these devices "through TSA checkpoints and onto airline flights without being challenged by transportation security officers," according to the report.

Specific details about the components and methods of concealment for these devices are classified, however the report states the components were concealed in carry-on luggage and on the bodies of investigators.

The report also details some of the interactions between TSA officers and the GAO investigators. On one occasion, a TSA officer did not allow an investigator to pass through with a small, unlabeled bottle of medical shampoo - a "legitimate toiletry item," according to the report. "However, a liquid component of the IID - despite being prohibited by TSA - was allowed to pass undetected through the checkpoint."

More precise technology, like so-called backscatter x-rays could eventually help screeners find hidden bomb parts, but that equipment is still being tested.

For, now the Transportation Security Administration is relying on 2,500 undercover tests every day to keep screeners on their toes.

"That means every checkpoint, every shift, everyday, every one of the four hundred fifty some airports that we have," says TSA Administrator Kip Hawley.

Still, the failures exposed by the GAO report underscore a long-held fear that a team of terrorists working together could easily beat the system.

"If you start to break up all the components over several different people, and you bring them in in different ways, on your person, in your carry-on luggage, how is a TSA screener supposed to put all those pieces together?" says CBS News security analyst Paul Kurtz.

Pilot, Crew, TSA: Four Passengers Targeted Bathroom, Tampered with Mirror

On 24 October 2007, crewmembers aboard a Reagan-Washington National to Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport flight reported to a Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) flying in non-mission status that they noticed suspicious behavior by four passengers.

One of the subjects entered and exited the rear aircraft lavatory three times and failed to comply with crewmembers' verbal instructions. The FFDO seated himself near this subject to observe his behavior. Shortly afterward, two more of the subjects moved into the aisles and entered both lavatories. After one of the subjects vacated the rear left lavatory, the FFDO searched it, noting that the mirror above the sink was not properly latched.

He exited the lavatory and a fourth subject was waiting second in line with a passenger in front of him. The FFDO offered the fourth subject access to the right lavatory, but the subject declined, claiming the right lavatory was dirty.The FFDO noted the right lavatory was clean, and the subject reluctantly entered the right lavatory and remained there for an extended period of time. (TSA/SD-10-3849-07)

(U//FOUO) TSA Office of Intelligence Comment: Although there is no information that the aircraft was being specifically targeted for a future terrorist attack, the actions of the four passengers are highly suspicious. FFDO confirmation of possible tampering of the lavatory mirror in one of the lavatories could be indicative of an attempt to locate concealment areas for smuggling criminal contraband or terrorist materials. In this case, it appears the left lavatory was the sole area of interest for the passengers. One subject's excuse that the right lavatory was dirty when it was confirmed to be clean shows the four passengers had a specific, operational objective. Although unconfirmed at this time, this incident has many of the elements of pre-operational terrorist planning....

Tucson TV Station Broadcasts Arizona Fort Huachuca Terror Threat Report

KOLD News 13 Tucson is currently running a special report focused on a urgent FBI report outlining a possible terrorist threat in southern Arizona. It speaks specifically to Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. The document gives no timetable or explanation of how the threat will be carried out. But it does say, “a group of Iraqis may have entered the United States through tunnels from Mexico into Arizona,” and those same “Iraqis are believed to be the ones who will perpetrate the attack on Fort Huachuca.

______________

Southern Arizona Security Alert

The Arizona-Mexico border is so much more than just an international line. Depending on who you are or where you're coming from, it's a passageway of hope, opportunity or asylum.

But since 9/11 the Arizona-Mexico border has become something more, a possible point of entry for the very people who hate us most.

KOLD News 13 asks, "As a member of our society, do you believe this is something people need to be aware of, need to be notified of?" Jack Gresham says, "I believe it is, I believe it is, yes."

KOLD News 13 is the only news outlet to obtain this FBI urgent report outlining a possible terrorist threat right here in southern Arizona. It speaks specifically to Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista.

The document gives no timetable or explanation of how the threat will be carried out. But does say, "a group of Iraqis may have entered the United States through tunnels from Mexico into Arizona," and those same "Iraqis are believed to be the ones who will perpetrate the attack on Fort Huachuca."

Lt. Colonel Matthew Garner of the United States Army says, "The military is always a target, I believe."

For security purposes, Lt. Col. Garner wouldn't tell us what's been done or what's being done to stop the threat. But he did say the U.S. Government takes this very seriously.

And that Fort Huachuca is fully aware and prepared for anything that comes its way.

Lt. Col. Garner says, "We operate within that knowing that we are always a target, and then we take all precautions necessary whether it's a general threat or a specific threat like the one you're talking about."

According to the report which cites sources and sub sources within the DEA, the Iraqis may currently be located on an "unidentified Indian reservation" in Arizona.

The Tohono O'odham nation is one possibility, with more than 2 and half million acres that start near Casa Grande and continue south all the way to the Mexico border.

William Bevill says, "The fact that it's somewhere closer to Tucson makes it more of a concern."

Audrey Gresham says, "Why didn't we know about this? It's pretty scary that they could be coming. It's like who else is coming?"

Gresham says, "It's pretty scary, pretty scary that they're using tunnels to come through, you know."

Opinions aside, not everyone views the report as an imminent threat.

One former Congressman, who asked not to be identified for this report, said the document seems "dubious" and "without merit." Not only that, it's dated May 14th, 2007.

That was six months ago.

And Fort Huachuca hasn't seen an attack yet.

Ashleen O'Gaea says, "The administration has given us a lot of convenient information before which has proved to be less than accurate."

O'Gaea says, "Whether that be honest misunderstanding or deliberate deceit is up for debate."

Still, what's most troubling about the report is the mere possibility - and nobody's disputing the fact this could happen.

Lending fuel to that possibility, the report says, is an arsenal of weapons already in the United States.

They include two Milan--surface to surface, anti-tank missiles; some Soviet made surface to air missiles; and an unspecified number of grenade launchers.

When we showed the report to Tucsonans, many of their reactions were the same. They were definitely concerned and disturbed about the possibility- but even more so by the idea. This may very well be taking place, and nobody brought it to their attention, until now.

"I don't know why we haven't heard about it sooner, according to Gresham.""It's pretty scary, our kids are here. This is where we live."

Bevill says, "If this is being kept confidential, something so close to here, I think this of more importance than what we're doing in Iraq. Seems like the kind of information that would benefit everybody here."

FBI officials wouldn't speak to us on camera, but said in a prepared statement: "The information in this report was disseminated to law enforcement and intelligence partners for situational awareness, even though it had not been completely evaluated."

They went on to say, "There is no information to state this is a credible threat. We remind people to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to their local authorities."

That, more than anything is what officials want people to remember.

Threats can and do exist and that's why reporting suspicious activity is so important. We all hope something like this never happens.

But if it does awareness and vigilance may be what's needed most in such a time of crisis.

U.S. won't close Cheyenne Mountain defense center
Development of new command posts has sparked rumors of Cold War bunker's demise

The commander of NORAD-USNORTHCOM says the Department of Defense will not close its command centers in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.

Responding to a question from WND during an exercise simulating a terrorist attack, Gen. Gene Renuart answered without hesitation.

"No," he said. "There is no plan to close the command centers within Cheyenne Mountain."

"Cheyenne Mountain has been here for many years, built for a very specific purpose, a wonderfully hardened facility," Renuart added.

WND previously reported the development of command centers within the new headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs has raised questions about the future of Cheyenne Mountain.

Since the height of the cold war, Americans have identified NORAD command facilities build deep within Cheyenne Mountain as the most secure military facilities in the U.S., built with the intention to survive even a nuclear attack, then envisioned from the Soviet Union.

In June, WND published an exclusive two-part interview with Col. Tom Muir, U.S. Army deputy operations officer for command center operations for NORAD and USNORTHCOM, detailing the distinctions between the NORAD command facilities housed in Cheyenne Mountain and the new NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters facilities at Peterson Air Force Base.

Renuart explained to WND that even before USNORTHCOM was created, the mission of homeland defense was not focused on a single command but spread over services and other agencies.

"As NORTHCOM stood up after 9/11, in October 2002 we became a coherent Department of Defense force for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities," he said. "Clearly, this mission requires a command-and-control capability that is agile and up-to-date, built to handle the current threats and potential contingencies that we see."

Renuart explained that the mission of NORAD is interdependent with homeland defense, "because once you've warned, for instance, of a missile or air threat to the United States, in other words, once you've identified a principal NORAD mission, then you have to be able to do something about it, which becomes the NORTHCOM mission."

"Cheyenne Mountain is going to remain our primary command center for missile warning," he said. "But missile defense actually resides with NORTHCOM, because we have the response."

The plan then, is to bring NORAD and USNORTHCOM together "so that there is a seamless transparency between the warning, the air intercept that we do in our NORAD hat, and the response, all the way through consequence management."

If the threat is able to conduct its operation, he said, then "we have to be able to deal with a national emergency and that, once again, becomes a USNORTHCOM mission."

"So, the size of that entity combining NORAD and USNORTHCOM into a joint command facility and the ability to integrate it all is larger than the capacity that we have within Cheyenne Mountain," he explained.

"It is partly a physical space constraint," Renuart added. "Then we have here multiple agencies being wired together here in a modern Internet, telecommunications infrastructure that possibly may be better able to do from this new facility at the NORAD-USNORTHCOM building at Peterson Air Force Base."

Will Cheyenne Mountain become obsolete in the future?

"No," Renuart answered. "Cheyenne Mountain has a very important role for us because it also gives us the ability to have a hardened, protected operations center for those key instances where we may need that."

Cheyenne, he elaborated, doesn't have the "same size and muscle that we will have in our combined center here at the NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters. But we are also integrating some of those most critical functions in the homeland defense world up into the mountain. If the threat requires a hardened facility, and we need to go to Cheyenne Mountain, we will do so."

WND asked Renuart to address the security of the NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base.

"First, we work very closely with Peterson Air Force Base to make sure the physical security of the base is robust," he replied.

"We are taking some additional action in addition to the design of our operations center," he continued. "We are taking some additional actions to physically improve security to the key infrastructure on the base. The base has built new single-point entry inspection sites. We are becoming more robust in security patrols."

He emphasized that officials have the ability to go to the mountain and continue operations quickly.

"Or, if a nation-state becomes a threat like we used to face, and we can't rule that out right now, but if a nation-state does that, we do have an ability to maintain continuity of operation in a very high threat environment by continuing to modernize the mountain," he said. "We will continue to use the mountain to train our command post teams. We can do that in a wonderful facility there."

The mountain infrastructure also will be used for training, he said, along with becoming a contingency location, if that is required.

Bush homeland security adviser resigns
Fran Townsend had key role in formation of anti-terror strategy

Fran Townsend, the leading White House-based terrorism adviser who gave public updates on the extent of the threat to U.S. security, is stepping down after 4 1/2 years.

President Bush said in a statement Monday morning that Townsend, 45, "has ably guided the Homeland Security Council. She has played an integral role in the formation of the key strategies and policies my administration has used to combat terror and protect Americans."

Her departure continues an exodus of key Bush aides and confidants, with his two-term presidency in the final 15 months. Top aide Karl Rove, along with press secretary Tony Snow and senior presidential adviser Dan Bartlett, left earlier this year.

Bush in his statement early Monday noted that Townsend had served in the position for more than 4 1/2 years.

"Fran always has provided wise counsel on how best to protect the American people from the threat of terrorism," the president said. "She has been a steady leader in the effort to prevent and disrupt attacks and to better respond to natural disasters."

Townsend, who at one point had figured in speculation as to who would head the then-new Department of Homeland Security, was a familiar face, often appearing to argue the administration's position on morning news and Sunday interview shows.

When Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold called on Bush to refrain from using the phrase "Islamic fascists" on grounds it was offensive to Muslims, Townsend explained the president's use of the phrase.

"What the president was trying to capture was this idea of using violence to achieve ideological ends—and that's wrong," Townsend said at a news conference. "Regardless of what label you pin on it, it is this form of radical extremism that really wants to deny people freedom and impose a totalitarian vision of society on everyone, that we object to."

She had a high profile in the administration's recent response to the devastating wild fires in California, defending the White House reaction to the disaster as going "exactly the way it should be" and assuring Californians the federal response would be "better and faster" than its performance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's strike against the Gulf Coast states in 2005.

"This is not the end of federal assistance. It's just the beginning," Townsend said in connection with the wild fires.

Bush noted in his statement that Townsend prosecuted violent crimes, narcotics offenses, Mafia cases and white-collar fraud as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y. and as an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

No reason was cited for Townsend's departure, and there was no word on a successor.

Bush has seen a substantial revamping of the lineup of players on the team he brought to Washington as the just-elected president in a disputed election with Democrat Al Gore in 2000.

He saw longtime friend, aide and confidant Alberto Gonzales resign earlier this fall in the face of a convulsive uproar on Capitol Hill over the dismissals of a slew of federal prosecutors and in connection with the administration's warrantless wiretap program. And Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld resigned just after the time of the 2006 elections in which Democrats, harping on a get-out-of-Iraq theme, regained control of Congress.

Marine officer has Hezbollah ties
Illegal immigrant faked marriage to get U.S. citizenship

A NEW 'JIHAD JANE'
SHE'S MARINE OFFICER

The illegal immigrant with Hezbollah ties who faked a marriage to get U.S. citizenship, and then landed jobs as a top-level federal agent, has a former sister-in-law who pulled the same scam and is now a Marine officer, The Post has learned.

Commissioned Officer Samar Khalil Nabbou Spinelli married the brother of the sham first husband of disgraced former FBI and covert-ops CIA agent Nada Prouty, according to a tangled trail of public records.

The Lebanese women, who came to the United States on nonimmigrant visas, wed Michigan brothers Christopher and Jean Paul Deladurantaye in 1990, records show.

Prouty, who pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy and immigration-fraud charges, admitted in Detroit federal court that she never lived with or consummated her relationship with Chris Deladurantaye, and married him just to obtain citizenship.

A source close to the brothers told The Post both men agreed to the deal.

Spinelli and Prouty lived with Prouty's sister, Elfat El Aouar, during the time they claimed to be married, while their husbands lived elsewhere, according to public records.

Records show once their naturalization was finalized, the women filed for divorce - and went on to federal jobs.

Prouty later married Gordon Prouty.

Spinelli enlisted in the Marine in 1990 and rose to the rank of commissioned officer, which required US citizenship.

Nada Prouty used Spinelli, who is now remarried to a Marine, as a reference when she applied for an FBI job in 1997.

In court last week, Nada Prouty, who had been indicted earlier in the month, admitted she duped the FBI and CIA with her ill-gotten citizenship papers.

Spinelli - along with Nada Prouty's sister and her Hezbollah-connected husband, Talil Kahil Chahine - was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the feds' case against Nada Prouty.

She's the only named co-conspirator who is a military officer.

As part of her plea, Nada Prouty admitted she conspired with the others to defraud the government of the "valuable benefits of citizenship," including government jobs, security clearances and "U.S. military commissions."

Newsweek reported that as part of her plea, she'll have to answer questions about her sister and brother-in-law while wired to a lie-detector machine.

Spinelli, now stationed in Japan, could not be reached for comment.

A Marine spokesman did not respond to a detailed request for comment.

Is U.S. gov't infested with terrorist moles?
Intelligence official: 'FBI might as well put out a sign – Double agents wanted'

Thanks to lax background checks, even after 9/11, the Hezbollah spy who managed to obtain sensitive jobs at the FBI and CIA is not the first terrorist supporter to infiltrate the U.S. government.

An alleged al-Qaida operative also infiltrated the Environmental Protection Agency, according to federal investigators and court documents obtained by WND.

The case, details of which are revealed here for the first time, involves Waheeda Tehseen, a Pakistani national who obtained a sensitive position with the EPA in Washington as a toxicologist even though she was not a U.S. citizen.

Like the Lebanese national suspected of passing secrets to Hezbollah, Tehseen lied about her citizenship on her government application, a falsehood that the government failed – in both cases – to catch in its security background investigation.

In hiring Tehseen in 1998, the EPA also missed another red flag in her file – her husband's ties to Pakistani intelligence, which has a long history of clandestine support for both the Taliban and al-Qaida. Her husband served as a major in the Pakistani military specializing in intelligence.

FBI investigators say that while Tehseen had access to classified information as a toxicologist, she and her husband ran a charitable front for Osama bin Laden's inner circle in Peshawar, Pakistan. She even got colleagues to donate to the front – called Help Orphans and Widows, or HOW – which, among other things, operated an orphanage and madrassa for more than 200 boys on the Pakistani-Afghan border.

Investigators say Tehseen, a "very devout" Muslim who wears a hijab, was really acting as a conduit for money funneled to bin Laden from the Missouri-based Islamic American Relief Agency, which the Treasury Department has blacklisted for helping fund bin Laden's operations overseas. Treasury has frozen IARA's assets, and the FBI has conducted raids on its offices.

Investigators also suspect the building she used for the orphanage doubled as a safehouse for al-Qaida.

"She had big-time contacts with al-Qaida, including with people just once removed from bin Laden himself," said an FBI special agent familiar with the case.

The EPA bought Tehseen's story that HOW was a legitimate charity. In 2002, her supervisors even presented her with the agency's "Unsung Hero Award" to honor her charitable work, court records show.

The certificate, a copy of which was obtained by WND, reads: "For providing care, funds and needed articles through your own resources and contacts to isolated refugee camps often not reached by international aid groups."

On top of her $90,000 salary, the agency awarded her six cash bonuses.

"She even got the EPA to pay for her many trips to Pakistan, claiming she was visiting sick relatives or orphans," the FBI agent told WND. "It was a pack of lies."

In 2004, federal agents arrested Tehseen as she was preparing to board a flight to Pakistan on behalf of her charity. They raided her half-million-dollar home in a leafy subdivision in Fairfax, Va. – located not far from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' home – where they executed a search warrant for all documents and other items related to her charity.

Tehseen later pleaded guilty to federal charges of fraud, and was deported to Pakistan. Sources say her husband is now working for the Pakistani government in Islamabad.

It's not clear if Tehseen, 49, stole classified information for al-Qaida, but investigators suspect espionage is probable, as she produced highly sensitive health-hazard documents for toxic compounds and chemical pesticides. Tehseen also was an expert in parasitology as it relates to public water systems, a terror target of al-Qaida.

"She's a classic example of an al-Qaida sympathizer who infiltrated our government and our society, and worked and lived among us for years and years, and even started a family here," the agent said of Tehseen, who had a fourth child while living in America for 17 years.

Former WND Washington bureau chief Paul Sperry was the first journalist to expose the threat of Islamist espionage in his bestselling 2005 book, "Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington."

Quoting FBI officials who have worked counterterrorism and counterespionage cases in the D.C. area, Sperry warned that terror-support groups posing as Islamic charities, think tanks and other nonprofits have conspired to run infiltration operations against the U.S. government to collect intelligence.

Yet it wasn't until October 2004, according to Sperry, that the Justice Department convened a high-level meeting to discuss the possibility of infiltration from Muslim NGOs, or nongovernmental organizations.

Secret Islamist spy plan

He cites a document, seized by federal agents and translated from Arabic, that reveals a secret plan to spy on U.S. agencies.

"Our presence in North America gives us a unique opportunity to monitor, explore and follow up," it states. "We should be able to infiltrate the sensitive intelligence agencies or the embassies in order to collect information."

Shockingly, the U.S. security agencies they've targeted for infiltration have not made it very hard for them.

John M. Cole, who in 2004 retired from the FBI as program manager for foreign intelligence investigations covering Pakistan and Afghanistan, says he observed serious security lapses involving the screening and hiring of Arabic and other translators at the bureau.

"We have serious problems with the hiring of language specialists," he told Sperry. "Background investigations are not being conducted properly, and we're giving people TS/SCI (top secret/sensitive compartmented information) clearance who shouldn't have it."

He says at least a dozen translators still on the job have major "red flags" in their files. "And we have espionage cases because of it," Cole claimed.

One such red flag popped up in the file of an FBI translator hired after 9/11, who had also emigrated from Pakistan. And like Tehseen, she had a relative connected to Pakistani intelligence.

In fact, the translator is the daughter of a retired Pakistani general whose name showed up in the FBI's Automated Case System, according to Cole. He says the bureau had opened a case file on her father in the 1980s, when he was the military attaché stationed at Pakistan's embassy in Washington.

U.S. intelligence lists Pakistan among the top 10 spy threats in the world.

It was a major red flag, and Cole recommended rejecting her application. But the Urdu and Pashto translator, who is married to a State Department official, nonetheless was hired and given Top Secret/SCI clearance. The bureau has since promoted her, and even hired her sons.

Sperry reports that, desperate for Arabic translators after 9/11, the FBI hired even Arab taxi-cab drivers in the Washington area, cutting corners on background investigations to get them on the job.

"They just grabbed a bunch of Arab people off the street and said, 'Oh, we'll do the background checks later,'" said former FBI special agent Emanuel "Manny" Johnson Jr., who worked closely with Farsi translators as a squad supervisor in the Washington field office.

cont'd

They also turned to other local Muslims recommended by Washington-based Muslim leader Abdurahman Alamoudi, now a convicted terrorist who helped al-Qaida raise funds in the U.S.

In fact, FBI Director Robert Mueller made direct appeals to militant Islamic groups in his haste to hire translators to clear huge backlogs of untranslated terror intercepts and other materials. Many of them are the same Muslim NGOs now listed by federal prosecutors as members of the dangerous Muslim Brotherhood, as well as unindicted co-conspirators in a major ongoing terror-financing case involving America's largest Muslim charity.

At the same time, Mueller snubbed hundreds of Arabic-speaking Sephardic Jews in New York who applied to help the bureau, as WND first reported.

FBI a 'mole house'

As a result of the rush through what normally would be a rigorous security clearance process, the FBI's language squad in Washington is now a "mole house" for radical Arabs and Muslims, claimed former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds.

She says she knows of at least two former FBI translators, both female, who tipped off targets of FBI terror probes after becoming romantically involved with them. One spoke Arabic and was working on an al-Qaida case, and the other translated Farsi in an Iranian case out of the New York field office.

And according to a post-9/11 investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general, a male FBI translator from the Middle East was fired for taking gifts from foreign targets and then lying about it.

"A language specialist was dismissed for unauthorized contacts with foreign officials and intelligence officers, receipt of things of value from them, and a lack of candor in his 'convoluted and contradictory responses' to questions about his contacts," the inspector general found, according to a November 2002 report cited by Sperry in "Infiltration."

Recently, the inspector general reported that the FBI still has not fixed weaknesses in its internal security program – including personnel security – making it highly vulnerable to foreign moles, including those spying for terror groups.

Nada Nadim Prouty is the latest failure of the FBI vetting system. She worked as a special agent for the bureau from 1999 through 2003, before joining the CIA as an analyst. She made it through the FBI academy even though she fraudulently obtained her citizenship and had family ties to Hezbollah in her native Lebanon.

The CIA also missed the red flags in her background. Prouty earlier this month resigned from her job as a midlevel CIA operations officer, after working at the agency for three years. She worked for the division of Langley that runs covert operations.

Prouty has pleaded guilty to secretly obtaining information about ongoing FBI terror investigations. She's suspected of passing it on to relatives tied to the terror group Hezbollah.

'Nitwits' in Washington

"The average Marine lance corporal has more security awareness than the nitwits charged with protecting us in Washington," a senior U.S. military intelligence official told WND. "The FBI might as well put out a sign: 'Double agents wanted, no experience necessary.'"

Prouty isn't the first Arab agent to raise security alarms at the FBI.

Special agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, an immigrant Muslim from Egypt, twice refused on religious grounds to tape-record Muslim terrorist suspects, hindering investigations of a bin Laden family-financed bank in New Jersey, as well as Florida professor Sami al-Arian, who recently was convicted of terrorism despite Abdel-Hafiz's refusal to cooperate in the case.

In an exclusive interview with Sperry, reported in "Infiltration," Abdel-Hafiz confided that he respected al-Arian.

"These people think Sami al-Arian is an idiot," he said, referring to fellow agents investigating him. "But Sami al-Arian is a very smart man."

After 9/11, agents complained that Abdel-Hafiz was not helpful in running down al-Qaida leads in the FBI's office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he had been stationed. They said he wore Arab headgear and robes on work assignments there, and even made a pilgrimage to Mecca on bureau time.

Agents who later visited the office after Abdel-Hafiz was reassigned noted that secret documents and files had been carelessly scattered across tables and even wedged behind cabinets.

Despite the complaints and other red flags in his file, Abdel-Hafiz was kept on the job, and is still in the bureau after threatening to sue for Arab discrimination – a legal tactic that has protected other suspect Arab employees at the bureau.

William Gawthrop, a former senior Pentagon counterintelligence official, warns that U.S. security agencies should use extreme caution in employing Arab immigrants and Muslims. He says giving them a direct role, either as agent or translator, in investigations involving other Arabs or Muslims "invites conflict."

"Recent examples of a Muslim FBI agent and other Muslim law enforcement personnel declining to investigate their fellow Muslim are very probably concrete expressions of conscientious decisions rooted in a clearly articulated religious and legal doctrine," Gawthrop said in a recent Pentagon briefing obtained by WND.

Agencies Watch for 'Lone Wolf' Terror Scenarios Leading Up to Mideast Talks

There are no specific terror threats to next week's Mideast peace conference scheduled in Annapolis, Md., although authorities will be keeping an eye out for "lone-wolf" terrorists who might act outside of what observers are predicting.

The threat assessment — an unclassified version of which was obtained by FOX News — was done by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI in advance of the peace conference at the U.S. Naval Academy on Nov. 27. These assessments are done routinely for major events that could be attractive targets for terrorists.

"To date, DHS and the FBI have no intelligence reports indicating a possible threat to the Annapolis Peace Conference (APC); nevertheless, with the media coverage and the sensitive issues involved, the possibility of a terrorist attack against such a prominent event remains," the report says.

The report found no evidence that the Palestinian political faction Hamas — deemed by the U.S. as a terror group — plans an attack, and also found that other terror groups like the Al Qaeda and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have not expressed interest in mounting an attack.

The report notes that "domestic extremist organizations" have a presence in Maryland, but there is "no information suggesting any of these organizations pose a threat to the conference or Islamic or Jewish sites in the vicinity."

"Nonetheless," the report continues, "DHS does not discount the threat of the lone-wolf terrorists, including individuals radicalized by homegrown extremist groups or Internet content.

"Anti-U.S. rhetoric from Palestinian terrorist or organizations opposing the conference has the potential to spark violence by unaffiliated Palestinian sympathizers or lone-wolf terrorists. Many lone-wolf terrorists have conducted attacks against targets they perceived as being associated with Israelis or Jews.

"DHS and the FBI have no credible information indicating that Jewish extremist groups seek to target Muslim sites in the vicinity of the event or the USNA other than an extremist Israeli website run by Russian emigres has called for acts of civil disobedience by American Jews to protest the conference."

'Martyrdom' Detonator Video Details Revealed In Case

A prosecution court filing provides new details of a videotape the government says was made by a University of South Florida student and posted to the Web site YouTube.

The video, authorities allege, was made by Ahmed Mohamed, 26, who was arrested in South Carolina on Aug. 4 along with Youssef Megahed and accused of transporting explosives.

The prosecution says Mohamed acknowledged making the video in which he demonstrated how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.

The prosecution court filing quotes Mohamed as saying in Arabic on the video, "Instead of the brethren going to, to carry out martyrdom operations, no may G-D bless him, he can use the explosion tools from distance and preserve his life, G-D willing, the blessed and exalted, for the real battles."

The quote comes in a reply the government filed to a motion by Megahed seeking to have his case tried separately from Mohamed. Megahed's attorneys argue that terrorism-related allegations against Mohamed will unfairly prejudice the jury against Megahed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer writes in his response that he opposes the severance of the case, saying there is no basis to think the jury could not be fair to both defendants.

The "G-D" portions of the quote stand for the word "god," according to Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. "Jay did that out of respect to God. That's the way he prints that name," Cole said.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Adam Allen said, with court permission, he plans to "respond to the government's motion and to fill in gaps in facts which the government has neglected to plead."

Hoffer notes in his filing that the video was found by investigators on a laptop computer owned by Mohamed. Megahed was seen trying to stow the computer as deputies approached their car in North Carolina, the prosecution says.

Describing the video, a new prosecution court filing says, "Referring to the disassembled toy car, the narrator said 'We will cut the circuit of ... these two wires that supply the electric current to the motor and rather ... than giving electricity to the motor, we will route it to the detonator.' "

"Later summarizing the process, the narrator of the tape said that he 'will make this circuit send to the detonator' and, after disconnecting the wires on the toy car from their connection to the motor and showing how to connect them to another type of device, the narrator summarized his product as something akin to a military 'detonator' or 'self-igniter,' which, he went on to say, is 'an instrument or a simple tool that initiates the ignition, which in turn initiates the explosive reaction or any fuel reaction.' "

"That ignition," the narrator is quoted as saying, "will in turn cause another ignition or the start of an explosion."

Islamists target Arizona base
America's largest intelligence-training center changes security measures

Fort Huachuca, the nation's largest intelligence-training center, changed security measures in May after being warned that Islamist terrorists, with the aid of Mexican drug cartels, were planning an attack on the facility.

Fort officials changed security measures after sources warned that possibly 60 Afghan and Iraqi terrorists were to be smuggled into the U.S. through underground tunnels with high-powered weapons to attack the Arizona Army base, according to multiple confidential law enforcement documents obtained by The Washington Times.

"A portion of the operatives were in the United States, with the remainder not yet in the United States," according to one of the documents, an FBI advisory that was distributed to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the CIA, Customs and Border Protection and the Justice Department, among several other law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. "The Afghanis and Iraqis shaved their beards so as not to appear to be Middle Easterners."

According to the FBI advisory, each Middle Easterner paid Mexican drug lords $20,000 "or the equivalent in weapons" for the cartel's assistance in smuggling them and their weapons through tunnels along the border into the U.S. The weapons would be sent through tunnels that supposedly ended in Arizona and New Mexico, but the Islamist terrorists would be smuggled through Laredo, Texas, and reclaim the weapons later.

A number of the Afghans and Iraqis are already in a safe house in Texas, the FBI advisory said.

Fort Huachuca, which lies about 20 miles from the Mexican border, has members of all four service branches training in intelligence and secret operations. About 12,000 persons work at the fort and many have their families on base.

Lt. Col. Matthew Garner, spokesman for Fort Huachuca, said details about the current phase of the investigation or security changes on the post "will not be disclosed."

"We are always taking precautions to ensure that soldiers, family members and civilians that work and live on Fort Huachuca are safe," Col. Garner said. "With this specific threat, we did change some aspects of our security that we did have in place."

According to the FBI report, some of the weapons associated with the plot have been smuggled through a tunnel from Mexico to the U.S.

The FBI report is based on Drug Enforcement Administration sources, including Mexican nationals with access to "sub-sources" in the drug cartels. The report's assessment is that the DEA's Mexican contacts have proven reliable in the past but the "sub-source" is of uncertain reliability.

According to the source who spoke with DEA intelligence agents, the weapons included two Milan anti-tank missiles, Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles, grenade launchers, long guns and handguns.

"FBI Comment: The surface-to-air missiles may in fact be RPGs," the advisory stated, adding that the weapons stash in Mexico could include two or three more Milan missiles.

The Milan, a French-German portable anti-tank weapon, was developed in the 1970s and widely sold to militaries around the world, including Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Insurgents in Iraq reportedly have used a Milan missile in an attack on a British tank. Iraqi guerrillas also have shot down U.S. helicopters using RPGs, or rocket-propelled grenades.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson would not elaborate on the current investigation regarding the threat, but said that many times the initial reports are based on "raw, uncorroborated information that has not been completely vetted." He added that this report shows the extent to which all law enforcement and intelligence agencies cooperate in terror investigations.

"If nothing else, it provides a good look at the inner working of the law-enforcement and intelligence community and how they work together on a daily basis to share and deal with threat information," Mr. Bresson said. "It also demonstrates the cross-pollination that frequently exists between criminal and terrorist groups."

The connections between criminal enterprises, such as powerful drug cartels, and terrorist organizations have become a serious concern for intelligence agencies monitoring the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Based upon the information provided by the DEA handling agent, the DEA has classified the source as credible," stated a Department of Homeland Security document, regarding the possibility of an attack on Fort Huachuca. "The identity of the sub-source has been established; however, none of the information provided by the sub-source in the past has been corroborated."

The FBI advisory stated the "sub-source" for the information "is a member of the Zetas," the military arm of one of Mexico's most dangerous drug-trafficking organizations, the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf Cartel controls the movement of narcotics from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into the U.S. along the Laredo corridor.

However, the sub-source "for this information is of unknown reliability," the FBI advisory stated.

According to the DEA, the sub-source identified Mexico's Sinaloa cartel as the drug lords who would assist the terrorists in their plot.

This led the DEA to caution the FBI that its information may be a Gulf Cartel plant to bring the U.S. military in against its main rival. The Sinaloa and Gulf cartels have fought bloody battles along the border for control of shipping routes into the U.S.

"It doesn't mean that there isn't truth to some of what this source delivered to U.S. agents," said one law-enforcement intelligence agent, on the condition of anonymity. "The cartels have no loyalty to any nation or person. It isn't surprising that for the right price they would assist terrorists, knowingly or unknowingly."

Muslim man gets 10-years in Ohio bomb plot

A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Somali immigrant to 10 years in prison for plotting to blow up an Ohio shopping mall with a man later convicted of being an al-Qaida terrorist.

Nuradin Abdi, a cell phone salesman before his arrest, will be deported to Somalia after serving the sentence. U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley imposed the sentence as part of a plea deal Abdi agreed to in July.

In a 20-minute statement to the court, Abdi's attorney Mahir Sherif said his client apologized to the people of the United States, the people of Ohio and the Muslim community.

"He apologizes for the things he thought about and the things he talked about and the crimes he pleaded guilty to," Sherif said. "He wants to make it very, very clear that he does not hate America."

The alleged plot was never carried out and Sherif long maintained Abdi was guilty at most of ranting about the United States' handling of the war in Afghanistan.

Abdi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support for terrorists. Three charges were dropped as part of his plea deal; Abdi could have received 80 years in prison had he been convicted of all the counts he had faced.

Prosecutors said Abdi made threatening comments about the unspecified shopping mall during a meeting with two other alleged terrorists on Aug. 8, 2002, at a coffee shop in suburban Columbus.

Abdi and the two "could attack the mall with a bomb," Abdi told his friends as they sipped $11.25 in refreshments at the coffee shop, according to court documents.

One of the men with Abdi that day was Iyman Faris, who pleaded guilty in May 2003 to providing material support for terrorism. A Pakistani immigrant, Faris was convicted of plotting to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The third man alleged to be at the meeting is Christopher Paul, a U.S. citizen who grew up in suburban Columbus. He was charged in April with plotting to bomb European tourist resorts frequented by Americans as well as overseas U.S. military bases, and his trial is scheduled for January 2009.

Abdi was arrested in November 2003. His attorneys have said he was upset at the war in Afghanistan and reports of civilians killed in bombings by the U.S.-led invasion.

Prosecutors also say Abdi gave stolen credit card numbers to a man accused of buying gear for al-Qaida, and lied on immigration documents to visit a jihadist training camp.

Abdi's attorneys have said that the stolen credit card numbers were never used and that the Justice Department never alleged what organization they believed was running the camp, what Abdi intended to do with the training, or whether he ever actually went.

Abu Dhabi bails out Citigroup
Mideast oil state now top shareholder of largest U.S. bank

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will become the largest shareholder in Citigroup, with a $7.5 billion capital infusion in return for 4.9 percent ownership of the bank, America's largest by assets.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, or ADIA, is an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, with an estimated $1 trillion under management. Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates and its capital.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the investment will make ADIA the largest shareholder of Citigroup, exceeding the stake held by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Citigroup is facing a capital crisis over declared loses in collateralized debt obligations, including mortgage-backed securities estimated in the billions of dollars.

Earlier this month, Citigroup Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Charles Prince resigned after announcing the bank was facing as much as $11 billion losses in addition to billions of dollars already written off.

Citigroup has not yet selected a new CEO.

Wall Street analysts today were uncertain if the Abu Dhabi capital infusion would rescue Citigroup from the current credit crisis, noting that a $2 billion capital infusion the Bank of America pumped into mortgage banker Countrywide has not prevented its capital position from further erosion.

Separately today, the Wall Street Journal reported Dubai International Capital, controlled by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai's ruler, made a "substantial" capital investment in Sony in return for an ownership position believed to be slightly less than 5 percent.

With the price of oil edging toward $100 a barrel, Middle Eastern oil-producing states have experienced a windfall in revenue.

By comparison, in 2003 oil was trading at $44 a barrel, and when President Bush was inaugurated Jan. 20, 2001, oil was trading at $24 a barrel.

WND has reported the U.S. now imports 12 million of the 20 million barrels of oil it consumes daily, at a cost of about $1 billion.

Investment funds held by governments, known as "sovereign funds," are estimated to be in the trillions in Middle Eastern oil-producing states.

WND reported Dubai has moved to purchase approximately 20 percent of NASDAQ, one of the two largest stock exchanges in the U.S.

CNBC reports today that Arab investors have put some $70 billion in U.S. equities this year.

WND has also reported the crisis in mortgage-backed securities and derivatives is beginning to threaten the solvency of hundreds of financial institutions, including some of the largest, that hold the bundled instruments in their asset portfolios.

This morning, Citigroup was trading above 30 on the New York Stock Exchange, still down considerably from the stock's 52-week high of 57.

Doctor sentenced in NY terrorism case

A doctor convicted of conspiring to treat injured al-Qaida fighters was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison, with the judge reasoning that a sentence to deter others was needed because terrorists cannot carry out their deadly aims without help.
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U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska noted Dr. Rafiq Sabir, 53, showed no remorse after his May conviction for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists by agreeing to treat injured al-Qaida members so they could return to Iraq to battle Americans.

The judge said there was "no reason to believe that this defendant has abandoned any criminal intentions."

She said terrorism offenses were among the most serious crimes prosecuted and required stern punishments.

"If not for assistance to terrorists, then terrorist acts would not take place," she said.

Just before the announcement of the sentence in a crowded courtroom, Sabir, of Boca Raton, Fla., insisted he was "completely innocent."

He said a co-defendant, jazz musician and martial arts expert Tarik Shah, had duped him into taking an oath with an FBI agent who posed as an al-Qaida recruiter, never explaining that he was pledging loyalty to al-Qaida or its leader, Osama bin Laden.

"I'm an extremely gullible man," he said.

Sabir said he learned more about Shah at his trial than he had learned in the previous 20 years when they had become close friends.

He said he now realizes Shah tried to sell his services to al-Qaida.

"My intentions were entirely within the law," he said. "I had no idea I was being asked to be an al-Qaida member."

The judge said she concluded Sabir perjured himself when he testified during trial that he did not understand the accent of the FBI agent during the pledging ceremony and did not realize that "al-Qaida" was said or that references to "Osama" were about bin Laden.

Shah was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison in a deal with the government. A Brooklyn bookstore owner who pleaded guilty was sentenced to 13 years in prison. A Washington, D.C., cab driver has pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 15 years in prison.

Fla. group was terror cell

A construction worker commanded a homegrown terrorism cell that sought an "unholy alliance" with al-Qaida to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb several FBI offices, a federal prosecutor said Thursday in closing arguments at the group's trial.
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Narseal Batiste and his "soldiers" ultimately aimed to topple the U.S. government, and intended to use the attacks to spark a broader insurrection — even freeing prisoners to become guerrilla fighters, prosecutor Jacqueline Arango told jurors in the case of the group dubbed the "Liberty City Seven."

"They weren't going to be able to accomplish these grandiose plans alone. They needed help," Arango said. "That's why Batiste sought an unholy alliance with a foreign terrorist organization. They were a ready-made terrorist cell here for al-Qaida."

Batiste attorney Ana M. Jhones questioned the legality of investigators' tactics, claiming that Batiste was "entrapped" by the informants as part of the FBI's zealousness in making terrorism arrests following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Manipulation at the hands of the government cannot be tolerated because of their war on terror," Jhones said.

The seven defendants each face as many as 70 years in prison if convicted of all four terrorism-related charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida and plotting to wage war against the U.S. government. The defendants claim they were faking the plot to dupe an informant out of money. They never obtained explosives.

Closing arguments from defense lawyers and a final rebuttal from prosecutors were scheduled to continue Friday and possibly into Monday, said U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard.

Unknown to Batiste in 2005 and 2006 was that two Middle Eastern men he trusted with his suspected plan were actually FBI informants, one of them playing the role of overseas al-Qaida emissary "Brother Mohammed."

The FBI made dozens of audio and video recordings. The key tape, made in March 2006, shows Batiste, the FBI informant and the six other defendants at a ceremony to pledge loyalty or "bayat" to al-Qaida.

Arango said that oath is proof that each of the seven sought to provide material support to al-Qaida and that all of them were aware of Batiste's purported plot.

Batiste, testifying in his own defense over eight days, claimed that he was faking a terrorism plot in an attempt to scam "Mohammed" out of $50,000 and that he had no violent intentions.

His attorney held up stacks of cash she said amounted to the money Batiste thought he could get if he played along with the plots.

"He's talking the talk and he's walking the walk, and this is the motivating factor," Jhones said in her closing statement. "I'm not saying it's proper, but it's not terrorism."

The prosecutor, however, scoffed at that defense, accusing Batiste of lying about the money shakedown in an effort to avoid prison. She said the FBI tapes repeatedly show Batiste discussing such things as a "full ground war" that would "kill all the devils we can" beginning with the Sears Tower and FBI office attacks.

"He's not telling you the truth. The truth is in those tapes," Arango told jurors.

Although Batiste gave the FBI informant lists of weaponry and military gear he sought for the group, the group never obtained the firepower necessary to mount such a grand attack before their arrests in June 2006. The group was part of a sect known as the Moorish Science Temple that blends elements of several religions and does not recognize the authority of the U.S. government.

"They sought the destruction of the United States," Arango said.

Inmates studying al-Qaeda manual

ISLAMIC extremists are using an al-Qaeda training manual to give them instructions for taking over the state's toughest jails, prison authorities have alleged.

Up to 40 inmates had established an internal organisational structure to maintain morale, resist interrogation and recruit members to Islam.

The prisoners had set up leadership groups in several maximum-security jails, with their activities governed by the code outlined in the al-Qaeda manual for incarcerated followers.

A number of Corrective Services staff have been targeted, some with violent threats by inmate groups. Other staff have been singled out for conversion to Islam.

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said an undisclosed number of inmates had been transferred to other jails in an attempt to disrupt the leadership groups.

Mr Hatzistergos said he was extremely concerned about the broader attempts to infiltrate the jail system, which were uncovered after sweeping changes to prison regulations allowed 24-hour monitoring of Muslim inmates.

The latest crackdown followed the disclosure this year that a third of the state's most dangerous criminals held in the highest-security jail in Australia, the Super Max facility inside Goulburn jail, were Muslim fundamentalists or converts to Islam.

"The insidious nature of these activities remind us we have to be constantly vigilant to these types of threats for the security of our correctional system," Mr Hatzistergos said.

NSW Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham said international prison authorities had alerted Australian authorities to the existence of the manual three months ago.

Corrective Services staff had since uncovered patterns of behaviour among inmates consistent with instructions in the manual, including hunger strikes, group protests and claims of mistreatment, he said.

"There were hunger strikes and organised complaints about their treatment," he said. "We have detected the leadership in groups across our maximum security jails [and] have moved in to segregate them and split them up.

"There is nothing wrong with conversion to Islam for the right reasons, but we believe there has been conversion taking place for the wrong reasons."

The Security Threat Group Intervention Program, established in 2003 to stop ethnic and other criminal gangs exerting control within NSW jails, is now being used to identify and relocate the ringleaders who are applying the code outlined in the al-Qaeda manual, to counter the growing threat of terrorism.

Terrorist hierarchy

- The al-Qaeda training manual was first obtained by the CIA in 1996.

- It suggests a 10-position leadership structure for members held in prison.

- The structure includes "barracks chief and deputies", "greeters to meet and instruct new arrivals", "welfare attendant to organise equitable distribution of goods from families and aid organisations" and "clergy", presumably to attend to spiritual needs as well as to recruit new adherents to their faith, according to the CIA report.

N.Y. Cops Take Mall Terror Threat Seriously - Operation Safeguard

New York law enforcement officers have implemented a model program that enlists the publics help in watching for possible terrorist activity during the busy holiday shopping season.

An international tourist, having heard about Woodbury Common Premium Outlets’ global status, stakes out the facility during a shopping trip.

Then, during subsequent trips, he plans out an attack that would cripple major thoroughfares to New York City, as well as cost some of America’s top retail stores millions of dollars in earnings.

While such an attack remains a reality only among armchair theorists, law enforcement isn’t taking any chances.

That’s the rationale behind an annual show of force called “Operation Safeguard” that deployed 70 officers from 25 law enforcement agencies in Orange, Rockland and Sullivan counties to various shopping centers yesterday.

The deployment, which included state police, county sheriffs’ offices and local police, is meant to thwart a potential terrorist attack through a public education campaign, as well as create an unannounced presence at local malls and the roads that feed them during the busiest shopping season of the year.

“There’s no hard and fast intelligence of a terrorist threat to local malls, but when we discuss vulnerabilities in our area, those are the places that concern us,” said state police Maj. Ed Raso, one of the coordinators of the event.

Such retail stores are considered “soft targets” by anti-terrorism officials, because they have no armed guards or heavily fortified entrances. Terrorists tend to prefer such targets, as they are easier to attack, and because they deal a psychological blow to their enemies by incurring mass casualties, Raso said.

Major retail centers such as Woodbury Common and the Palisades Center in West Nyack would make potentially attractive targets.

But even smaller centers, such as the Galleria mall at Crystal Run and the Route 42 corridor stores in Sullivan County could end up as targets, said Raso, referencing similar attacks by extremists in Israel.

Troopers, sheriff’s deputies and Woodbury police officers handed out fliers to shoppers at Woodbury Common that urged “If you see something, say something.”

Such public awareness campaigns are the most effective weapon against terrorist attacks on soft targets, if they’re done year after year, Raso said.

“A lot of people get busy in their lives and in their jobs, and they put public safety on the back burner,” he said.

Western-looking terror recruits on rise
Latest crop of al-Qaida 'more like TV's Jack Bauer than Osama bin Laden'

The latest crop of Al Qaeda recruits is salted with white, Anglo-featured converts from Europe who look more like TV's Jack Bauer than Osama Bin Laden.

U.S. officials are worried about fair-skinned Al Qaeda killers with light-colored eyes, who most Americans would never suspect as Muslim jihadis ready to die in martyrdom missions like Sept. 11.

"It is a very big concern," a top counterterror official told the Daily News of the possibility that real-life terrorists resemble Kiefer Sutherland's character on "24."

The Europeans have been spotted in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, where a resurgent Al Qaeda runs small training camps.

"Al Qaeda is attempting to recruit 'Western' individuals to better blend into European and American societies," a senior military officer who monitors secret reports on the region said. "It's a continuing concern for the intelligence community."

The danger is that they may blend in back home - or take advantage of the visa-waiver program the U.S. shares with Eurpean allies that eliminates a key layer of scrutiny for travelers. The travel loophole allows 15 million people to enter the U.S. from 18 European countries without visas, including Britain, France, Germany and Norway.

Intelligence on white jihadis cropped up long before Bin Laden warned Europe last week to leave Afghanistan in a new tape.

Top CIA official John Kringen told lawmakers earlier this year that he was "very concerned" about Al Qaeda using Europe as "a launching point for bringing terrorists into the United States."

One counterterror official said the Department of Homeland Security isn't moving aggressively to counter those who don't fit the typical Al Qaeda ethnic profile. Most of its agents are from Arab countries, Asia or North Africa.

But DHS spokeswoman Laura Keehner said terrorists "come in all shapes, sizes and colors," and screening procedures "do not take appearances into account."

Peculiar behavior, rather than appearance, is increasingly relied on to tell the difference between a safe traveler and a terrorist, Keehner said.

The number of white Europeans who have converted to Islam and been trained by Al Qaeda in Pakistan is believed small, but their value is incal*culable. Besides ease of travel, they offer a window into Western culture.

Bin Laden has no one left in his top five tiers of leadership with experience in the West, such as captured 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who attended a North Carolina college. His only adviser on America is California-raised propagandist Adam Gadahn, the likely author of Bin Laden's recent speeches.

The first public inkling of the new threat came last year when a Newsweek reporter in Afghanistan met a Taliban leader who was guarded by a European with light-colored eyes, referred to as one of their "English brothers."

Military officials in Afghanistan told The News last summer they've never captured or killed any Europeans near the border. But Al Qaeda has suggested that European jihadis are plentiful.

Florida jury begins terror plot deliberations

MIAMI - Jurors began deliberations Monday on charges against seven men accused of conspiring to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and blow up FBI offices in an attempt to start an anti-government insurrection.

The members of the so-called "Liberty City Seven" face sentences of up to 70 years in prison if convicted of four terrorism-related conspiracy charges, including plotting to wage war on the U.S. and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida.

The jury got the case following a two-month trial.

In closing arguments, a prosecutor underscored allegations that 33-year-old Narseal Batiste was the leader of a homegrown terrorist cell hoping to get help from a man claiming to be an al-Qaida operative - in reality an FBI informant.

"This is the fanatic, ladies and gentlemen, and the soldiers who follow his word," Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Gregorie said.

Batiste testified that he was only trying to dupe the informant out of $50,000, and defense attorneys have said little evidence ties the six other defendants to the alleged plot.

One of the key pieces of evidence, an FBI videotape, showed a March 2006 ceremony in which all seven took an oath of loyalty to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden.

The alleged plots never got beyond the planning stage, but Batiste was overheard on hundreds of other FBI audio and video recordings describing elements of the attacks and the war that would follow.

During their closing arguments last week, several defense attorneys suggested the case was blown far out of proportion as the Bush administration sought terrorism convictions at all costs in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Prosecutors repeatedly mentioned those attacks and focused sharply on a recording in which Batiste claims his plan would be "as good or greater than 9/11."

Gregorie, however, said each of those accused had an opportunity to walk away from the conspiracy and never did.

"It has nothing to do with politics," Gregorie said. "It has to do with evidence."

No explosives, military weaponry or definitive attack plans were found when the FBI searched the group's headquarters, known as "the Embassy."

Batiste and the other men were part of an extremist sect known as the Moorish Science Temple, which blends elements of several religions and does not recognize the authority of the U.S. government. Batiste formerly lived and worked in Chicago, including time spent delivering packages in the area around the Sears Tower.

CAIR campaign gets another advertiser to bite
Effort targets supporters of Michael Savage's radio show

An announcement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations has confirmed another corporation has succumbed to the lobby group's campaign to discourage support of the Michael Savage radio talk show.

The Hate Hurts America Community and Interfaith Coalition, of which CAIR is a prominent member, said Universal Orlando Resorts "has joined a growing list of advertisers that have stopped advertising or refuse to place their ads on Michael Savage's 'Savage Nation' Radio program."

The campaign also has triggered a lawsuit by Savage against CAIR over its alleged misappropriation of Savage's radio broadcast material. In the lawsuit, Savage depicts CAIR as a "vehicle of international terrorism."

The organization said it was challenging Savage's "hate speech," and referenced Savage comments such as:

"I'm not gonna put my wife in a hijab. And I'm not gonna put my daughter in a burqa. And I'm not getting' on my all-fours and braying to Mecca. And you could drop dead if you don't like it. You can shove it up your pipe. I don't wanna hear any more about Islam. I don't wanna hear one more word about Islam. Take your religion and shove it up your behind. I'm sick of you."

The CAIR group said advertisers that already have stopped airing, or have refused to air commercials on "Savage Nation" include:

* AutoZone

* Citrix

* TrustedID

* JCPenney

* OfficeMax

* WalMart

* AT&T

Savage's lawsuit alleges copyright infringement by CAIR, which the lawsuit says seeks to do "material harm to those voices who speak against the violent agenda of CAIR's clients."

Filed in U.S. District Court in California, the suit seeks damages equal to the ongoing donations from CAIR supporters "who expect CAIR to act in this manner in exchange for continuing financial support" as well as "actual damages according to proof."

A spokesman for Savage indicated the top-rated talk show host would have no further comment, saying the text of the lawsuit itself would answer questions.

The focal point of the lawsuit is a series of audio clips CAIR has been using in its promotions and fundraising efforts.

Those comments from Savage's show include his criticisms of Islam and Muslims. The lawsuit maintains such comments, taken in context, are Savage's verbal expression of the feelings of many Americans.

"The audience of 'The Savage Nation' expects this type of from-the-heart outrage and when it is directed at a murderer such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his ilk, the piece is far more understandable and far more American mainstream. While the strength of the outrage is remarkable and a hallmark of 'The Savage Nation,' the sentiment is shared by a huge number of Americans," the lawsuit said.

Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for CAIR, told WND the group would not comment on the action until the document had been reviewed.

CAIR backs film praising convicted terror supporter
Group urges Muslims to buy tickets to al-Arian premiere

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is co-sponsoring the premiere of a documentary film that canonizes convicted terrorist supporter Sami al-Arian.

Tomorrow, CAIR will host the screening of "USA vs. Al-Arian" at the AMC/Loews Uptown 1 Theater in Washington, D.C., according to an action alert the Muslim group posted on its website urging Muslims to buy tickets to the premiere.

The screening, co-sponsored by the Muslim American Society, an Islamist group tied to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, will be followed by a "panel discussion" involving al-Arian's lawyer, his son, Abdullah al-Arian, and a constitutional lawyer from Georgetown University, whose Islamic studies program is funded by the Saudi royal family.

Last year, al-Arian was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by deportation. In a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of "conspiracy to make or receive contributions of funds, goods or services to, or for the benefit of, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," a federally designated terror group.

Al-Arian, an Egyptian citizen of Palestinian descent, had hoped for early deportation, but prosecutors and the federal judge in the case argue he has not cooperated in related terror cases.

He remains in federal prison in Virginia on a contempt citation after he refused to testify in front of a Virginia grand jury investigating a network of Islamic businesses and charities known as the Safa group.

Critics say the film portrays al-Arian in a sympathetic light by suggesting the U.S. government used the "draconian" Patriot Act to railroad an innocent Muslim professor.

The film's website juxtaposes photos of al-Arian in handcuffs with one of him and his wife posing with President Bush and Laura Bush during the 2000 campaign. It calls al-Arian "one of America's most prominent political prisoners."

"What we have is a man found innocent who is still harassed by the justice system," said Norwegian filmmaker Line Halvorsen, the film's director. "He's a man of principle. He fights for what he believes in and he's not afraid to speak his mind."

Critics say the film whitewashes the federal terror case, failing to mention that al-Arian pleaded guilty to providing material support to an officially designated terrorist group. The home page instead says he pleaded guilty to one count of supporting "immigrants" associated with an "illegal organization."

It also fails to reveal how, in a speech at a Cleveland mosque, al-Arian once thundered: "Let's damn America, let's damn Israel, let's damn their allies until death."

Court exhibits also show letters written by al-Arian praising Palestinian suicide bombers.

Publicly, al-Arian has maintained he doesn't support any kind of violence.

"I am a very moderate Muslim person," he said. "I also condemn violence in all its forms."

The film's website decries what it calls the "harsh" treatment of the confessed terrorist supporter.

"Currently Al-Arian is held under severe conditions in a prison about 1,000 miles away from his family, making it extremely hard for them to keep in touch with him," it said. "Al-Arian recently went through a 60-day hunger strike to protest the government's treatment."

CAIR called 'turnstile'
for terrorist suspects
'Proven record of senior officials being
indicted, imprisoned, deported from U.S.'

As the Council on American-Islamic Relations lobbies Congress to help strike its name from a list of co-conspirators in a federal terror case, WND has learned the Muslim group's ties to terrorism and extremism are far more extensive than first believed.

Although CAIR is a nonprofit organization, it does not disclose complete directories of its staff or advisory boards, and even refuses to make its federal tax filings readily available to the public.

But a review of federal criminal court documents, past IRS 990 tax records and Federal Election Commission records detailing donor occupations, reveals that Washington-based CAIR has been associated with a disturbing number of convicted terrorists or felons in terrorism probes, as well as suspected terrorists and active targets of terrorism investigations.

"Their offices have been a turnstile for terrorists and their supporters," said one FBI veteran familiar with recent and ongoing cases involving CAIR officials.

As previously reported, three CAIR officials have been linked to terrorism. But WND has learned that at least 11 other CAIR officials have been caught up in terror investigations, bringing the total to 14.

Congressional leaders say they are warning lawmakers and other Washington officials to disassociate from the group due to its growing terror ties.

"Groups like CAIR have a proven record of senior officials being indicted and either imprisoned or deported from the United States," said U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., co-founder of the House Anti-Terrorism/Jihad Caucus.

CAIR itself recently was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an alleged scheme to funnel $12 million to the terrorist group Hamas. In the Holy Land Foundation case, federal prosecutors also listed CAIR as a member of the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement that gave rise to Hamas, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. The government will retry the Holy Land case, which ended in a hung jury.

"There was a lot of evidence presented at the recent Holy Land Foundation trial which exposed CAIR and others as front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States," Myrick said.

Still, CAIR is lobbying House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and other sympathetic members of Congress to pressure the Justice Department to expunge its name from the case, arguing the negative publicity has hurt membership and fundraising.

The federal judge during the trial refused a written request by the group to strike its name from the list of co-conspirators. The petition is still pending before the court.

CAIR denies supporting terrorism and continues to claim to be a "moderate" voice for Muslims in America. The group says its critics are the extremists, including radio personality Michael Savage, whom the group is now attacking with a boycott campaign. So far it has convinced Wal-Mart, OfficeMax, AT&T, JCPenney and other companies to stop advertising on Savage's popular show.

In response, Savage last week filed a lawsuit against CAIR, accusing the organization of being a "political vehicle of international terrorism" that seeks to do "material harm to those voices who speak against the violent agenda of CAIR's clients."

Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for CAIR, told WND the group would not comment on Savage's action until the document had been reviewed.

CAIR, which runs 33 offices and chapters nationwide, also recently helped defeat an anti-terror plan by Los Angeles police to map the local Muslim community for extremist neighborhoods. Now it's pressuring GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to back down from his position against appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet.

Critics counter that CAIR has no legitimate voice to make such complaints, because the group is itself an extremist organization that has employed or appointed to its boards of directors and advisers an inordinate number of radical co-conspirators, suspected and convicted terrorists, and other criminals.

Indeed, the list is long and growing, and includes:

* Muthanna al-Hanooti: The CAIR director's home was raided last year by FBI agents in connection with an active terrorism investigation. Agents also searched the offices of his advocacy group, Focus on Advocacy and Advancement of International Relations, which al-Hanooti operates out of Dearborn, Mich., and Washington, D.C.

FAAIR claims to be a consulting firm raising awareness of Sunni grievances in Iraq, but investigators suspect it's a front supporting the Sunni-led insurgency.

#

Al-Hanooti, who emigrated to the U.S. from Iraq, formerly helped run a suspected Hamas terror front called LIFE for Relief and Development. Its Michigan offices also were raided last September. In 2004, LIFE's Baghdad office was raided by U.S. troops, who seized files and computers.

Al-Hanooti is related to Shiek Mohammed al-Hanooti, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He currently leads prayers at a Washington-area mosque that aided some of the 9/11 hijackers.

The FBI alleges al-Hanooti, an ethnic-Palestinian who also emigrated from Iraq, raised money for Hamas. In fact, "Al-Hanooti collected over $6 million for support of Hamas," according to a 2001 FBI report, and was present with CAIR and Holy Land officials at a secret Hamas fundraising summit held last decade at a Philadelphia hotel.

Prosecutors recently added his name to the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case.

Al-Hanooti denies supporting Hamas, although he's praised Palestinian suicide bombers as "martyrs" who are "alive in the eyes of Allah."

Earlier this year, his younger brother, Hamid al-Hanooti, was found dead in Iraq after reportedly being held by local security forces as a suspected terrorist.

# Laura Jaghlit: A civil-rights coordinator for CAIR, her Washington-area home was raided by federal agents after 9/11 as part of an investigation into terrorist financing, money laundering and tax fraud. Her husband Mohammed Jaghlit, a key leader in the Saudi-backed SAAR network, is a target of the still-active probe.

cont'd

Last decade, Jaghlit sent two letters accompanying donations – one for $10,000, the other for $5,000 – from the SAAR Foundation to Sami al-Arian, now a convicted terrorist. In each letter, according to a federal affidavit, "Jaghlit instructed al-Arian not to disclose the contribution publicly or to the media."

Investigators suspect the funds were intended for Palestinian terrorists via a U.S. front called WISE, which at the time employed an official who personally delivered a satellite phone battery to Osama bin Laden. The same official also worked for Jaghlit's group.

In addition, Jaghlit donated a total of $37,200 to the Holy Land Foundation, which prosecutors say is a Hamas front. Jaghlit subsequently was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the ongoing case.

Abdurahman Alamoudi: Another CAIR director, he is serving 23 years in federal prison for plotting terrorism. Alamoudi, who was caught on tape complaining bin Laden hadn't killed enough Americans in the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, was one of al-Qaida's top fund-raisers in America, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Nihad Awad: For the first time, wiretap evidence from the Holy Land case puts CAIR's executive director at a Philadelphia meeting of Hamas leaders and activists that was secretly recorded by the FBI. Participants allegedly hatched a plot to disguise payments to Hamas terrorists as charitable giving.

During the meeting, according to FBI transcripts, Awad was recorded discussing the propaganda effort. He mentions Ghassan Dahduli, whom he worked with at the time at the Islamic Association for Palestine, another Hamas front. Both were IAP officers. Dahduli's name also was listed in the address book of bin Laden's personal secretary, Wadi al-Hage, who is serving a life sentence in prison for his role in the U.S. embassy bombings. Dahduli, an ethnic-Palestinian like Awad, was deported to Jordan after 9/11 for refusing to cooperate in the terror investigation.

Awad's and Dahduli's phone numbers are listed in a Muslim Brotherhood document seized by federal investigators revealing "important phone numbers" for the "Palestine Section" of the Brotherhood in America. The court exhibit shows Hamas fugitive Mousa Abu Marzook listed on the same page with Awad.

Omar Ahmad: U.S. prosecutors also named CAIR's founder and chairman emeritus as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land case. Ahmad too was placed at the Philly meeting, FBI special agent Lara Burns testified at the trial. Prosecutors also designated him as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's "Palestine Committee" in America. Ahmad, like his CAIR partner Awad, is ethnic-Palestinian.

(Though both Ahmad and Awad were senior leaders of IAP, the Hamas front, neither of their biographical sketches posted on CAIR's website mentions their IAP past.)

Nabil Sadoun: A current CAIR board member, Sadoun has served on the board of the United Association for Studies and Research, which investigators believe to be a key Hamas front in America. In fact, Sadoun co-founded UASR with Hamas leader Marzook. The Justice Department added UASR to the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case.

Mohamed Nimer: CAIR's current research director also served as a board director for UASR, the strategic arm for Hamas in the U.S.

(Tellingly, CAIR neglects to mention Nimer's and Sadoun's roles in UASR in their bios.)

Rafeeq Jaber: A founding director of CAIR, Jaber was the long-time president of the Islamic Association for Palestine. In 2002, a federal judge found that "the Islamic Association for Palestine has acted in support of Hamas." In his capacity as IAP chief, Jaber praised Hezbollah attacks on Israel. He also served on the board of a radical mosque in the Chicago area.

Rabith Hadid: The CAIR fund-raiser was a founder of the Global Relief Foundation, which after 9/11 was blacklisted by Treasury for financing al-Qaida and other terror groups. Its assets were frozen in December 2001. Hadid was arrested on terror-related charges and deported to Lebanon in 2003.

Siraj Wahhaj: A member of CAIR's board of advisers, Wahhaj was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The radical Brooklyn imam was close to convicted terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and defended him during his trial.

Randall "Ismail" Royer: The former CAIR communications specialist and civil-rights coordinator is serving 20 years in prison in connection with the Virginia Jihad Network, which he led while employed by CAIR at its Washington headquarters. The group trained to kill U.S. soldiers overseas, cased the FBI headquarters, and cheered the space shuttle Columbia tragedy. Al-Qaida operative Ahmed Abu Ali, convicted of plotting to assassinate President Bush, was among those who trained with Royer's Northern Virginia cell.

Bassam Khafagi: Another CAIR official, Khafagi was arrested in 2003 while serving as CAIR's director of community affairs. He pleaded guilty to charges of bank and visa fraud stemming from a federal counterterror probe of his leadership role in the Islamic Assembly of North America, which has supported al-Qaida and advocated suicide attacks on America. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison and deported to his native Egypt.

Ghassan Elashi: One of CAIR's founding directors, he was convicted in 2004 of illegally shipping high-tech goods to terror state Syria, and is serving 80 months in prison. He's also charged with providing material support to Hamas in the Holy Land Foundation trial. He was chairman of the charity, which provided seed capital to CAIR. Elashi is related to Hamas leader Marzook.

Hamza Yusuf: The FBI investigated the CAIR board member after 9/11, because just two days before the attacks, he made an ominous prediction to a Muslim audience.

"This country is facing a terrible fate and the reason for that is because this country stands condemned," Yusuf warned. "It stands condemned like Europe stood condemned because of what it did. And lest people forget, Europe suffered two world wars after conquering the Muslim lands."

CAIR, which receives financial backing from Saudi and Emirati royalty, denies charges that it has a secret agenda to Islamize America. But a Muslim Brotherhood document declassified in the Holy Land case reveals that CAIR's parent was among Muslim organizations enlisted in a secret plot to destroy the American system from within and eventually take over the country.

Written early last decade in Arabic, the manifesto lays bare the subversive role of CAIR's forerunner, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and other Muslim groups in America to carry out a "grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by the hands of the believers, so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions."

CAIR's founder Ahmad, while claiming to be a moderate and patriotic American, last decade told a group of Muslims in Northern California that they are in America to help assert Islam's rule over the country.

"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant," a local reporter quoted him as saying, adding, "The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

Ahmad insists he was misquoted. However, an FBI wiretap transcript quotes Ahmad agreeing with terrorist suspects gathered last decade at the secret Philly meeting to "camouflage" their true intentions.

He compared it to the head fake in basketball. "This is like one who plays basketball: He makes a player believe that he is doing this, while he does something else," Ahmad said. "I agree with you. Like they say, politics is a completion of war."

What's more, Hooper, CAIR's communications director, also has expressed his wish to overturn the U.S. system of government in favor of an "Islamic" state.

"I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future," Hooper said in a 1993 interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "But I'm not going to do anything violent to promote that. I'm going to do it through education."

Though conceding he made the remark, Hooper argues that he's never advocated violence. He says he and Muslims like him should work instead through the media and use "education" to help turn America into an Islamic state.

Marine Captain Joins FBI Agent in Admitting Immigration Frauds

A Marine Corps officer from Michigan pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit citizenship and passport fraud in a case related to a similar plea in November by FBI agent Nada Nadim Prouty.

Prouty entered her own guilty plea Nov. 13 to charges of fraudulently obtaining her citizenship, and using her illegally acquired status to attain employment with both the FBI and CIA. Now Samar Khalil Spinelli, 39, admitted she conspired with Prouty and Elfat El Aouar to commit the immigration-related frauds. El Aouar is the wife of Michigan restaurateur Talal Chahine, who is wanted for tax evasion in connection with a scheme to conceal more than $20 million in cash. Some of that money allegedly was funneled to Hizballah.

Chahine owns a series of popular restaurants in Michigan called "La Shish."

This is the third guilty plea in the case. El Aouar pleaded guilty last week to entering into her own sham marriage for immigration purposes in 1990 before she married Chahine. El Aouar is Prouty's sister.

According to her plea agreement, Spinelli came to the U.S. from Lebanon in 1989 on a student visa. A year later, she married a St. Clair Shores, Mich. man to obtain permanent U.S. residency. Spinelli paid Jean Paul Deladurantaye to marry her, but they never lived together or had any real relationship, the agreement said. Spinelli did become a citizen, however, then filed for divorce in August 1999. The divorce papers claimed Spinelli and Deladurantaye had "lived and cohabited together as husband and wife."

In fact, Spinelli, originally named Samar Khalil Nabbouh, lived with Prouty during her marriage.

Spinelli then arranged for Prouty to have her own sham marriage with Deladurantaye's brother Chris. "Spinelli and Prouty were thus technically sisters-in-law through dual fraudulent marriages, while continuing to reside together in Taylor, Michigan," a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit said.

As a citizen, Spinelli signed up as a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps in 1997. While in training at the Marine Corps Basic School in Quantico, Va., Spinelli helped Prouty's application to join the FBI by providing a reference. This is considered fraudulent because Spinelli failed to mention the sham marriage, which would have ruled Prouty out of the FBI.

Spinelli, now a Marine captain, was stationed in Japan and in her second tour of combat in Iraq, when she was pulled out to answer the fraud accusations.

Prouty also worked at the CIA and used FBI computers to run searches on herself, Al Aouar and Chahine - her sister and her brother in law - without consent.

The crimes carry a maximum five year prison sentence. Guidelines indicate Spinelli could face 6 to 12 months in prison.

Lawsuit challenges profiling at airports

The top official in charge of fighting racial profiling for the American Civil Liberties Union says he was the victim of profiling at the Boston airport, and he has gone to federal court to challenge a screening technique that relies on suspicious behavior to identify potential terrorists.

King Downing said he was stopped and questioned by state police in October 2003 after arriving on a flight to attend a meeting on racial profiling.

Downing sued the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport, and Massachusetts State Police, alleging they violated his constitutional right against unreasonable search. A trial in the case began Monday in U.S. District Court.

Downing, who is black and wears a short beard, said in his lawsuit that he was stopped by a state trooper and asked to show identification after he left the gate area and made a phone call in the terminal.

When he declined, Downing said, he was told to leave the airport, but was then stopped again. He was surrounded by four state troopers and told that he was under arrest for failing to produce identification.

Downing, an attorney who serves as national coordinator of the ACLU's Campaign Against Racial Profiling, said after he agreed to show his driver's license, the troopers asked to see his airline ticket. He was then allowed to leave, and no charges were filed against him.

In his lawsuit, Downing alleges the behavioral screening system used at Logan International Airport encourages racial profiling. His lawsuit seeks unspecified damage and a ruling to declare the screening system unconstitutional.

Downing was stopped "for no apparent reasons other than his appearance," said Peter Krupp, one of his attorneys. "He knew his rights, and he knew he had done nothing wrong."

In 2002, about a year after terrorists launched the Sept. 11 attacks by hijacking two planes from Logan, the airport began a program called "Behavior Assessment Screening System," which allows police to question passengers whose behavior appears suspicious. Logan was the first airport in the country to use the system.

The Transportation Security Administration has rolled out a similar system at more than 40 of the nation's largest airports. The TSA would not reveal what kinds of behavior authorities look for, but officials at Logan have previously said suspicious activity includes loitering without luggage, wearing heavy clothes on a hot day and watching security methods at the airport.

Logan officials say race played no role in the decision to question Downing. The first trooper to ask Downing for identification was black, and three of the four officers who arrived later were also black, according to court documents. The first trooper said he became suspicious when he saw Downing watching him.

Airport officials insisted behavior-pattern recognition helps strengthen security and does not involve racial profiling.

"We welcome the opportunity to defend the program in court," said Matthew Brelis, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates the airport.

Critics say the behavioral-recognition technique carries an inherent risk of racial profiling.

"Done right, it is based on behavior. Done wrong, it is based on physical characteristics, superficial characteristics," said Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at the security firm BT Counterpane. "Unfortunately, it's easy to do it wrong."

I never cease to be amazed about how far political correctness will go with LIES and the abuse of certain terms (i.e. profiling). "Profiling" has been so misused and abused that nobody knows what it means these days, so it must be bad. Racial or ethnic "Profiling" is much different than "Criminal Profiling". "Profiling" is such an abused term that the law enforcement community should stop using this term at all. Maybe they should go back to using the very old terms like "Reasonable Suspicion, Reasonable Grounds, Probable Cause". Example: what set of facts and circumstances would cause a reasonable person to SUSPECT that a person was about to commit a crime or had just committed a crime? This is the basic foundation for crime prevention and criminal apprehension. There isn't anything unreasonable about it at all. It's called the "Reasonable Man Doctrine" in many courts in this part of the world.

Let's give a few examples, even though some very reasonable examples have already been given. 1 - There's been a jail break at ABC and officers are looking for five escapees. A reasonable man or woman looks in their back yard and sees a person hiding in the bushes - wearing a black and white striped outfit with a label of "ABC County Jail". What might that reasonable person think about the person hiding in the bushes? Does this have anything at all to do with race or anything else deemed to be unfair? Does this reasonable person need to call their lawyer and ask if it's OK to call the police and report the person hiding in their bushes? NO - Let's get real! ---------- OK, the next one is going to be MUCH harder: 2 - You are the reasonable person looking out the front window of your home and watch hours of activity on the street corner. For some unknown reason, many cars keep stopping at the street corner to speak with a person standing there. You see what you think is money being passed out of the car and the person on the corner handing them something too small for you to even see. The cars keep coming for hours, and you see something similar over and over again. You've been reasonable and already know the person on the corner isn't wearing a Girl Scout outfit and isn't selling cookies. You've watched this person stuff money in his pocket many times, and you've seen him apparently handing something too small to see to the people in the cars. As a reasonable person, what do you think that you're watching? Would you need a degree in Criminology to think that you were watching the illegal sales of drugs? NO! - and neither do the police. Anyone with common sense would think the same thing, and there isn't any flaw in this thinking. It has nothing to do with race, rather crime that is occurring right in front of you. Does the color or nationality of the person standing on the street corner have anything to do with this? NO!

Many types of criminal behavior are more difficult to explain, but they still go back to the "Reasonable Man Doctrine". It just takes more time and effort to explain to the reasonable man and woman sitting in the jury box. Many crimes involve elaborate strategies and behaviors. "Criminal Profiling" is a science based upon known and cataloged strategies and behaviors of criminals over a long period of time. Every crime has an "M.O." (Method of Operation), and law enforcement has studied these methods for many years. The M.O. is part of the Criminal Profile. This information is used to prevent crime and catch criminals who have already committed crimes. Many dedicated professionals in law enforcement do Criminal Profiling full time. Criminal Profiling is always a valuable tool that is used to finally stop and catch serial criminals (i.e. murderers, rapists). Every tiny piece of information makes a statement of some sort about the specific criminal, and this is why so many tiny details are collected and recorded. There is an important reason for every question.

Please let me make one point for the benefit of many people who are probably confused about the term, "Profiling". Being a Criminal Profiler is an honorable and most necessary profession. Bombers and terrorists are just like other criminals in that they do have "methods of operation" that are recognized. They obviously have strategies and behaviors that are used to complete their horrific acts. Average people can recognize many of these strategies and behaviors if they know what to look for. There is nothing wrong with Criminal Profiling. Criminal Profiling is nothing more than recognizing the behaviors of criminals. More sophisticated or professional criminals have advanced behaviors that are also recognized, and then you advance into the complex behaviors of sociopaths and psychopaths. This is a criminal science and has nothing to do with trying to pick on someone because of the color of their skin, ethnicity, nationality, etc. So, please don't confuse Criminal Profiling with something bad. Racial Profiling is bad, but CRIMINAL PROFILING is good.

Pastor Roger,

When I hear the term, "Criminal Profiling", I think about the wonderful Criminal Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia. I say "Wonderful" because I know that they are involved in nearly all of the worst criminal cases in this country - either before the criminal is caught or after. Their work is intense and extremely professional.

Truthfully, I'm only aware of a tiny number of cases ever in the area of racial profiling from the police. They really were isolated cases, but they had a horrendous impact on the entire profession. There used to be 8 to 11 million contacts per day between the police and the public in America. The impact of just 1 bad contact is amazing. On the other side of the coin, I can testify to the fact that the race card is many times falsely used. The case of the 6 Muslims on the airliner is a gross example. We must never allow a ridiculous case like this to effect common sense crime prevention and PUBLIC SAFETY. Whatever term is used, law enforcement and citizens must not be restricted in the use of common sense for survival.

I want to go back to the 6 Muslims on the airliner for a moment. Their behavior was outrageous on an airliner, and the appropriate, common sense actions were taken. Them being offended by those appropriate actions should be ZERO concern. They either need to learn how to behave properly or be banned from air travel. They acted like idiots and were treated appropriately. The airlines should only have to tolerate them once, and they've already had their once. I would have somewhat different thinking had they been 6 mental patients being transported with the appropriate adult supervision, but they would get only ONCE also. Other people also have rights. Idiots who can't be controlled appropriately will simply have to use other modes of transportation. Realistically, we should care less about whether they claim to be offended or not. My wife, mother, and I will be on an airline the 23rd of this month, and I can tell you now that we will be good little boys and girls. I can also tell you with certainty that I will report or handle suspicious activity with ZERO concern about any possible offense or reprisal.

Maybe we need some new criminal charges for high profile cases like airlines. I'll be happy to write it - maybe something like ,"Impersonating a Human in Public". ;D ;D

Iraqi officers go missing in U.S.
Nearly dozen – including brigadier general – fled military training facilities

Numerous Iraqi military and law-enforcement officials brought to the U.S. as part of special intelligence and training programs have run away and are seeking asylum in this country or disappeared altogether, The Washington Times has learned.

Intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, say nearly a dozen Iraqis fled military training facilities in the U.S., including a brigadier general who went to Canada with his family earlier this year.

Army officials yesterday confirmed that five Iraqi military personnel whom the Army had been training disappeared between 2005 and 2007. They did not know how many other Iraqis sponsored by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy may have done the same.

"Nothing that this command is aware of would suggest that any of those students who departed from their training or returned back to Iraq pose any threat to the United States," said Harvey Perritt, civilian spokesman for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), which oversees all the schools the Army has in the continental U.S.

"We don"t know the reasons why they elected not to return to Iraq," he said.

Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, says the national security implications are serious and the Bush administration must do more to ensure that those brought to the U.S. are properly accounted for.

"The trainees are given access to highly sensitive information intended to help in the stabilization of Iraq. Proper screening for entry into the program and strict controls during the training are necessary to protect both our national security and our soldiers overseas," said Mr. Smith, who first inquired about missing trainees last year.

Mr. Smith has yet to receive definitive answers to questions he sent to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in December 2006. He asked who the Iraqi military and law-enforcement officials are, whether an investigation was being conducted and how many Iraqi nationals have fled from military installations in the U.S., according to documents obtained by The Times.

"It is my understanding that officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) have received a significant number of asylum requests from Iraqi trainees brought here by the Department of Defense," Mr. Smith said in the letter. "The Iraqi nationals seek asylum on the grounds that they would be targeted by insurgents if they return to their home country. I also understand that, in some cases, the Iraqi nationals actually abandon their training in order to seek asylum."

Mr. Perritt said all the Iraqis who come to the U.S. are vetted by the multinational forces in Iraq, and that TRADOC also trains personnel from other government agencies, such as the State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, Treasury and Homeland Security departments.

He said two Iraqi officers fled in the middle of their training from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the nation's largest intelligence training facility. One officer disappeared from Fort Benning, Ga., where he was participating in combat arms training.

Another Iraqi officer who was studying medical training left Fort Sam Houston and the last two Iraqi officers fled the Army's defense language training school at Lackland Air Force Base — both those bases are in San Antonio.

CIS officials said that they could not give detailed reasons as to who applied for asylum because it could pose a danger to the applicant.

"The reason we don't break things down into specific details is because we are concerned about the safety of all parties involved in the asylum process — both the applicant here in the U.S. and the families in their home country," said Chris Bentley, CIS spokesman.

Besides Mr. Perritt's response, calls to Homeland Security, Defense and the State Department did not produce definitive answers to the tracking of the trainees. Homeland Security said the Defense and State departments "would be more appropriate respondents for information regarding the tracking of entries under this program."

Defense officials said the Iraqis' backgrounds are checked by the State Department before they are accepted into the program. State Department officials had no comment.

The training of Iraqi military personnel is determined by Central Command and under the Security Assistance Program with the Department of Defense, Mr. Perritt said.

In 2005, CIS said 232 Iraqi nationals applied for asylum in the U.S., while 310 applied in 2006. In 2005, the agency completed 229 Iraqi asylum cases and approved 120, while the rest were "denied, referred to the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review, or administratively closed."

In 2005, the Office of Immigration Statistics said 607 Iraqi diplomats and other government workers received class A visas, or similar, to come to the U.S. — the same visas issued to Iraqi military officials. In 2006, 585 diplomatic visas were issued.

In March, The Times revealed that an Iraqi air force colonel disappeared from an Air Force base in Alabama with his family and was being sought by federal and military agents. The colonel was studying at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base as part of the Defense program to rebuild the Iraqi air force.

The Air Force, FBI and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agents started in March to search throughout the Southeast for the colonel and his family. He was thought to be hiding in the U.S. or Mexico.

Was American Born Suspect Planning Terror Attack On San Diego Navel Base

Was American-born Hassan Abujihaad plotting to attack a San Diego military base? FBI witnesses say Abujihaad, awaiting trial on charges that he told extremists about U.S. ship movements, also conspired to shoot military personnel. A judge is preparing to decide.

The Patient Terrorist

Hassan Abujihaad calmly listened to recorded phone conversations in federal court last week, in which he offered assistance in an ill-conceived plot to attack a San Diego military base and then snipe off soldiers trying to escape the attack.

Abujihaad, an American born Paul Hall, was arrested March 7 in Phoenix, and indicted March 21 in Bridgeport on charges of material support of terrorism and disclosing previously classified information. In 2001, while in the Navy, Abujihaad allegedly emailed classified information about ships' locations in the Middle East to Azzam Publications, a pro-jihad website hosted by a Connecticut company. This was months before 9/11. Abujihaad's email said the U.S.S. Benfold, a Navy destroyer, would pass through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf on the night of April 21, 2001, when the ship would experience a communications blackout. During the blackout, Abujihaad wrote, "they have nothing to stop a small craft with RPG etc." In another email he praised the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, saying "psychological warfare [was] taking a toll."

In U.S. District Court in New Haven last week, government lawyers played dozens of recorded conversations between Abujihaad, his friend Derrick Shareef and an FBI informant, William "Jameel" Crisman.

Recorded conversations between the three are a curious mixture of American slang (dude, man, ol' boy) and Islamic phrases that were translated for the judge and court reporter. (After the first day of testimony, the court reporter asked: "Sounds like enchilada?" The answer: Insha' Allah, or God willing.)

Quirks aside, those conversations are alarming: They paint Abujihaad as a disgruntled Muslim American considering "defensive jihad." He laughs at the thought of killing American soldiers and admires an Iraqi sniper video. There's no real smoking gun in these conversations (although there is a semi-confession), but they reveal a paranoid would-be terrorist with a "consciousness of guilt." The government's lawyers are asking federal Judge Mark Kravitz to allow them to use these 2006 recordings in a jury trial about the 2001 email.

Evidence should keep the jury's eye on the ball, says Jeffrey Meyer, a former federal prosecutor and Quinnipiac University law professor. That means the prosecution can't introduce evidence unrelated to the offense, in this case the 2001 email of classified information. Kravitz will have to make a decision as to how far the prosecution can go: Do these taped conversations from 2006 illuminate Abujihaad's mind-set and motivations or do they unnecessarily make him look like a scary guy? These tapes could strike fear in the jury and Kravitz will decide whether or not the public will get to hear them again.

In 2006, the FBI asked their informant, Crisman—a white Muslim—to befriend Shareef. They met and Shareef moved into Crisman's Rockford, Ill., home. Right away Shareef began speaking against the government and alluding to jihad; Crisman began taping their conversations.

Shareef had an unstable childhood and moved to Phoenix in 2003 to be near his father. A recent and young convert to Islam, he was taken in by Abujihaad, who had been discharged from the Navy a year earlier. Abujihaad mentored the young Shareef: He helped Shareef get a GED, find a job and encouraged him to get his life in order. They also spoke about jihad.

In 2004, Shareef moved back to Illinois and fell out of touch with Abujihaad until 2006 when he wanted to revive their nebulous plan to attack a San Diego base.

Shareef, now 23, seemed eager and impatient; he wanted jihad now. Abujihaad—hesitant to participate in a hasty plan—repeatedly complained about Shareef's inexperience and his talkative nature. Those complaints give Abujihaad's attorneys a chance to question whether Shareef played up Abujihaad's importance in the terrorism underworld to make himself look more tough.

Abujihaad, 31, has two children; he's divorced and according to the FBI, he's threatened to kill his ex ["You wanna gotcha1 with my life?...I'll gotcha1in' make sure you die. Believe that."]. Abujihaad is African American with very short hair and an equally short beard and mustache. Born Paul Hall, he legally changed his name to Abujihaad—literally, father of jihad.

In the recordings, amidst coded talk of jihad and buying illegal weapons, children are heard playing in the background. Abujihaad often cites his kids as one reason he needed to be cautious.

Soon after moving in, Shareef began telling the informant about his friend Abujihaad, his stint in the Navy and contacts with people connected to al Qaeda.

Abujihaad's lawyers would like the judge to believe these conversations show Shareef, repeatedly described as a "loose cannon," wanted to puff himself up. "[As an informant,] you're lying to Mr. Shareef and you don't know if he's lying to you, isn't that right?" defense attorney Robert Golger asked the informant. "You don't know if he's telling the truth or trying to impress you."

Shareef spoke as though he and Abujihaad were "really tight," Golger continued. "He led you to believe that he had this guy out in Phoenix and all he had to do [to carry out a terrorist attack] was call him." But the two had barely seen each other in two years.

The FBI recorded conversations in which Shareef repeatedly called Abujihaad to ask for assistance for the San Diego attack. Shareef had nothing to lose; he was in his prime, he said. It would be better to attack now while young and without responsibilities. But Abujihaad was trying to support a family and stay off the government's radar. After Shareef made a quick visit to Arizona to supposedly speak about their plans, he called Abujihaad to ask for planning help.

"Like I said, I'm suspect of the phone," responded Abujihaad, who continued the conversation in code.

Abujihaad said he couldn't provide a "hot meal"—recent intelligence—because by 2006 he'd been out of the Navy for four years. But Abujihaad mentioned a friend who'd recently left the military who "can give himself a hot meal ... where he can eat a whole lot." Then Shareef and Abujihaad both laughed like giddy kids.

Shareef became frustrated and impatient with Abujihaad. Shareef hatched his own plan to attack a suburban Chicago mall in December of 2006, during the Christmas shopping season.

Abujihaad's lawyers claim Shareef's frustration proves Abujihaad wasn't serious about the San Diego attack (even though in recorded conversations Abujihaad asked for a left-handed AK 47 and said "patience" is a sniper's heaven). The informant claims Shareef said, "waiting for Hassan and them, I'll be waitin' 20 years for jihad."

For his mall plan, Shareef used the informant as a go-between to buy what he thought were illegal guns from an undercover officer. On Dec. 6, 2006 Shareef bought the guns and was arrested. (He pleaded guilty last week and could face life in prison.)

Two days later, the informant called Abujihaad to say Shareef had been arrested. Abujihaad immediately played dumb: "Look, I don't even know nothin'. I'll ditch your number or whatever." Then Abujihaad said, "This is what I'm gonna say...Look, he came at me with some bullgotcha2, I told him to get outta my face."

The informant and Abujihaad worried that Shareef's big mouth would get them in trouble. "Why the hell he still runnin' around talkin' gotcha2?" wondered the informant. "'Cuz he's stupid," replied Abujihaad. "Somebody just got paid off his dumb ass."

Listening to himself in court, Abujihaad seemed to realize how prescient that comment was. He smiled, leaned toward one of his attorneys and pointed at Jameel Crisman, the informant who was sitting across from him, on the witness stand. Crisman was the one who'd been paid. For the two-and-a-half months he'd informed on Shareef and Abujihaad, Crisman says he received $8,500.

Update- New Details Emerge In Former FBI CIA Agent’s Security Breach

New details have emerged and it appears the breach was much greater than what was previously reported.

More details on ex-agent's security breach

An illegal immigrant from Lebanon allegedly used CIA and FBI computers to access to sensitive data to help her brother-in-law, a suspected fundraiser for the terrorist group Hezbollah.

An illegal immigrant from Lebanon who became an agent for the FBI and CIA allegedly used her access to sensitive U.S. government secrets to help her brother-in-law, a suspected major fundraiser for the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to new details concerning a national security breach that emerged Wednesday.

In court documents and interviews, federal authorities said that as part of a criminal conspiracy, Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, illegally accessed top-secret FBI investigative files on five occasions and most likely shared the information with the suspected Hezbollah operative. When she pleaded guilty to unauthorized computer access and naturalization fraud charges three weeks ago, authorities revealed only that Prouty had accessed the FBI's Hezbollah files once, and said nothing about her sharing information about ongoing investigations with anyone else.

On Wednesday, prosecutors said Prouty illegally accessed the FBI's Hezbollah investigative files in 2002 and 2003, at a time when she was a Washington, D.C.-based FBI field agent who was not working Hezbollah cases. Prouty accessed them electronically, "without authorization and in excess of her authorized access," the prosecutors said in a court filing.

At the time, her sister's husband, Talal Khalil Chahine, 51, was under investigation by the FBI in Detroit for his suspected ties to Hezbollah. The Lebanon-based group was designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization in 1997.

The Detroit suburb of Dearborn is home to the largest Lebanese community outside of Lebanon, and for years the FBI's Detroit field office has had numerous investigations underway into Hezbollah's fundraising network here. Authorities say the group is supported by donations from wealthy local supporters and a wide array of criminal activities.

Authorities now believe Prouty was illegally accessing the FBI files to determine for Chahine and perhaps others what the FBI knew about the group's presence here, and that she accessed an investigative file on Chahine, according to the court filing and interviews. At the time, Chahine was suspected of raising large sums of money for Hezbollah within the local community and of meeting with top Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon.

Prouty's lawyer, Thomas W. Cranmer, said he could not comment on the prosecutors' allegations.

Chahine was not available for comment, but has denied wrongdoing in a statement to a local newspaper. He was indicted in 2005 for allegedly skimming millions of dollars in profits from his successful chain of Middle Eastern restaurants here and sending the money to Lebanon. He fled the country and is believed to be in Lebanon.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI had no official comment on the disclosures, which were contained in a superseding grand jury indictment of Chahine.

Several federal law enforcement officials familiar with the case said Prouty's actions were alarming, and that she essentially committed espionage on behalf of a terrorist organization by knowingly accessing and sharing internal FBI information on Hezbollah with Chahine at a time when she appeared to have known of his ties to the group.

One senior federal law enforcement official said an ongoing damage assessment focused on what information Prouty -- who started working for the FBI in 1999 and the CIA in 2003 -- passed onto Chahine and perhaps others with connections to Hezbollah here. Officials also are trying to determine whether the information undermined any of the FBI's long-running investigations into the organization.

The Justice Department has formally accused Prouty of taking home classified information improperly, and the damage assessment focuses on whether any of those files pertained to Hezbollah and whether she shared them with Chahine, said the law enforcement official.

"The damage as we see it is that the information has been compromised and accessed unlawfully with bad intent," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Of particular concern: Prouty at least twice accessed case files that contained an identification number for a "classified human source of information" being used by the FBI in Hezbollah investigations, the court filing said. That means that she could have compromised an undercover informant or witness who was working with the FBI, according to the official.

As part of her plea, Prouty of Vienna, Va., is required to cooperate in ongoing investigations and submit to polygraph tests about her relationship with Chahine and other matters.

The federal law enforcement official and a second counter- terrorism official also disclosed that the FBI began investigating Prouty after agents began hearing that Chahine, an influential power broker in Dearborn, had an inside source at the FBI who was feeding him information about its investigations into his activities and into Hezbollah.

Authorities said they knew about Prouty's other security breaches before allowing her to negotiate a plea agreement, and did not seek more serious charges because they could not prove their allegations without compromising classified sources and methods. Also, they said, it appears that Prouty shared much of the information with her sister, perhaps out of concern for her and her husband, and that the sister in turn passed it on to Chahine.

When Prouty pleaded guilty Nov. 14, prosecutors said that her sister and Chahine had traveled to Lebanon together in August 2002 to attend a fundraising event where the keynote speakers were Hezbollah spiritual leader Sheikh Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah and Chahine.

The FBI said Chahine was there because he was a major fundraiser for the organization. Hezbollah is popular with many Lebanese Americans because of its humanitarian efforts and Middle East political activities .

Hezbollah also has been blamed for the deaths of more Americans than any other terrorist group besides Al Qaeda, including the bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 U.S. military personnel. The U.S. government has alleged that Fadlallah issued the fatwas authorizing the bombing and other attacks on Americans.

Hackers Launch Major Attack on US Military Labs

Pretty scary story and I’m amazed it’s not getting more attention. Two of this country’s major military and nuclear weapons labs have been breached by hackers. Authorities say that the attackers may be located in China but there is no direct evidence.

Although only 2 locations have been named, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, others including Lawrence Livermore Labs, say the have blocked recent attempts.

The possibility that the latest attacks were the work of fraudsters will be seen by some as optimistic less positive would be the possibility of a rival government having been involved. Given the apparently coordinated nature of events, speculation will inevitably point to this scenario, with the data theft a cover motivation for more serious incursions.

Hackers Launch Major Attack on US Military Labs

Hackers have succeeded in breaking into the computer systems of two of the U.S.’ most important science labs, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

In what a spokesperson for the Oak Ridge facility described as a “sophisticated cyber attack,” it appears that intruders accessed a database of visitors to the Tennessee lab between 1990 and 2004, which included their social security numbers and dates of birth. Three thousand researchers reportedly visit the lab each year, a who’s who of the science establishment in the U.S.

The attack was described as being conducted through several waves of phishing emails with malicious attachments, starting on Oct. 29. Although not stated, these would presumably have launched Trojans if opened, designed to bypass security systems from within, which raises the likelihood that the attacks were targeted specifically at the lab.

ORNL director, Thom Mason, described the attacks in an email to staff earlier this week as being a “coordinated attempt to gain access to computer networks at numerous laboratories and other institutions across the country.”

“Because of the sensitive nature of this event, the laboratory will be unable for some period to discuss further details until we better understand the full nature of this attack,” he added.

Interpol chief warns of virus attack at sports event

POLICE across the world say there is no doubt that terrorists are planning to release a plague virus at a major sports event.

Experts are convinced that the bacteria will be distributed using something as simple as a child's plastic horn.

With the Beijing Olympics just months away and the World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010, there are plenty of opportunities for an attack.

Although it is more than six years before Scotland hosts the Commonwealth Games, its organisers say they are not taking anything for granted. A conference, codenamed 'Black Death' and organised by Interpol, was held last week in Lyon, France.

Ronald Noble, Interpol's general secretary, told delegates about the threat posed by bio-terrorists.

He said: "We will deal with a worst-case scenario of global proportion - terrorists that produce large amounts of a deadly bacteria, [or] plague - and disseminate it using hundreds of simple horns, the kind which children use at sporting events. In their wake are mass casualties and even greater disruption to society."

Security sources say the idea of terrorists using toy horns to distribute a deadly virus is a significant possibility.

One insider told Scotland on Sunday: "This has come from information received from the authorities in Indonesia, where references to such a form of attack were discovered."

He said it was simple and "very straightforward but potentially, absolutely deadly".

Noble said the threat needed to be addressed by everyone in order to prevent the terrorists from succeeding.

He said this type of attack "does not rely on advanced scientific expertise, large amounts of money or elaborate laboratories. This is the truly frightening form aspect of bio-terrorism. It is the perfect storm of opportunity and motivation".

The subject of targeting major sporting events was also identified recently by experts at Indiana University.

The authors of a report called 'Bio-terrorism and me' wrote: "Biological and chemical toxins can be released in several different ways.

"For practical purposes, certain delivery methods are more likely to be used than others. If the goal is to launch an unforeseen attack on the population of a certain region causing the highest possible number of deaths, an aerosol delivery of the agent is the most likely choice."

A spokesman for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games said: "Security is our number one priority and we will be liaising extremely closely with experts constantly throughout the build-up to the games.

"With a track record of regularly hosting major sporting, cultural and political events, the police and security services in this country have the knowledge and capacity to make sure that security is something that will not impinge on the Games' experience of competitors, spectators or the media."

EXCLUSIVE IPT INVESTIGATION UNCOVERS HLF JURY ROOM BULLYING

She felt the men were guilty and tried to explain why to the 11 other jurors. When she finished, one juror spoke up in an angry tone.

"If you're going by the evidence in this room," she recalls him snapping, "then you need to go home."

The terrorism-support trial of five Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) officials, which began July 24, already had been stressful for 49-year-old Kristina Williams. She had lost her job two weeks into it. Now during deliberations, she felt bullied and intimidated virtually every time she voiced an opinion.

"When I'd get off the jury I'd come home every night and basically cry because I felt like every time I spoke I would get knocked down, criticized, one way or the other for something pertaining to the way I voted," Williams said in an exclusive interview.

While several jurors favored acquittals, just one out of the 12 did most of the knocking down. In fact, interviews with three HLF jurors - speaking publicly for the first time - suggest that juror William Neal's stridency may have changed the trial's outcome. Neal even claimed credit for steering jurors away from convictions in a recent radio interview. Until now, he has been the sole source for public perception of the deliberations and the government's case.

The three jurors interviewed by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) showed the Neal-created perception as skewed. All three jurors say they disagree with his views of the evidence and the prosecution's case. To them, it seems clear that Neal made up his mind going into the jury room and refused to consider any argument in favor of guilt. He preferred to read the court's instructions rather than look at exhibits in evidence, they said. And his often snide manner intimidated and bullied those who disagreed with him.

The effect this had on the case is clear. When a juror walked out in frustration after just four days of deliberations, it followed a confrontation with Neal. When another juror briefly refused to cast a vote, it was after a confrontation with Neal. Williams broke down several times during the 19 days jurors spent locked in debate. Each incident followed what she felt was an attack by Neal.

In an interview with the IPT Dec. 3, Neal said he had no regrets. He disputed only some parts of the other jurors' stories – he said he can't remember telling Williams to go home if she was relying on the evidence in the jury room -- but stopped short of saying it didn't happen.

"We had so many conversations they tend to blend together," he said.

The defendants were accused of illegally routing more than $12 million in support to the terrorist group Hamas through a series of charities, known as zakat committees. Prosecutors said those committees are controlled by Hamas. Defense attorneys argued HLF simply helped out Palestinians living in desperate poverty and provided support to widows and orphans regardless of whether they served Hamas.

Interestingly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas effectively sided with prosecutors recently by claiming he was closing down 92 charities he said had been taken over by Hamas.

The HLF trial ran for six weeks. Then jurors deliberated 19 days. One defendant, Mohamed El-Mezain, was acquitted on all but one count against him – participating in a conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas. Jurors did not reach a unanimous verdict on that count and El-Mezain is facing a retrial for conspiracy.

Initially, it appeared others had been acquitted on multiple counts, but then two jurors stunned the courtroom: When U.S. District Judge A. Joe Fish polled the jury, a standard practice, Williams and a juror named Gail said they did not agree with the verdicts. Curiously, Neal joined them, later saying he wanted deliberations to continue. He believed jurors gave up too soon.

Judge Fish was left with no choice but to declare a mistrial, and did so Oct. 22. Attorneys on both sides are gearing up for a second trial in 2008.

"The jury room was a mess"

Williams describes a factionalized jury room, with those favoring guilty verdicts trying to explain their reasoning only to have those favoring acquittals shoot them down. Many times, jurors could not agree whether evidence was useful to them. Williams pointed to some that she thought was. When she did, she said Neal snapped back: "Go back to sleep, you're not important."

Another time, Williams and other jurors thought it would help to view photographs copied onto a videotape in evidence to see who had attended a pivotal meeting on scuttling Middle East peace hopes. Neal argued it was a waste of time and talked the group out of it.

That's because videotapes sometimes covered hours, Neal said, and jurors had no way to pinpoint the 30-second segment they were shown during the trial.

A second juror corroborates Williams' account. That juror spoke to the IPT only on the condition that the juror's name is not used. The juror didn't care if the defendants knew it. Neal, however, was someone the juror did not want to deal with again.

A third juror, Sylvester Holmes, also spoke publicly for the first time in an IPT interview. He and his two colleagues agreed that their arguments for conviction were dismissed out of hand. Sometimes they were told "that's not evidence." Other times, the argument didn't meet Neal's interpretation of the court's instructions. Or, he simply repeated arguments offered by defense attorneys.

The three jurors interviewed were far from agreement on the verdicts. Holmes believed in guilt on all counts. Williams could not convict on charges involving some specific transactions but felt all five defendants were guilty of conspiracy to support Hamas. The unnamed juror who spoke with IPT was convinced only HLF executive director Shukri Abu Baker and Chairman Ghassan Elashi were guilty of conspiracy. But all three say that Neal bullied and intimidated those who disagreed with him, stifling true discussion of the case.

"He took control of that jury room," Holmes said. "You just look at the case. The jury room was a mess."

Among the examples cited:

* Arguments for conviction met with immediate scorn and ridicule. At times, Neal raised his voice, cursed or otherwise belittled them for what they said. A handful of jurors called for an immediate break after he hollered "f*** your opinion" to a female juror.
* Williams said she felt pressured by a majority of jurors into voting to acquit defendant Mufid Abdulqader. To them, Abdulqader was a bit player with no control over HLF money. Later, however, Williams said she saw receipts showing HLF paid Abdulqader's travel expenses to attend a fundraiser. Already convinced there was a conspiracy to support Hamas, she decided that Abdulqader was a part of it. But the other jurors refused to let her change her vote on conspiracy counts, saying Abdulqader's verdict form already had been signed and put away. Deliberations continued for at least another week after Williams' request was rejected. That's what prompted her to speak up when the judge polled the jury.
* In a case featuring more than 80 videotape and audio recordings, jurors did not watch one video or listen to one tape during the 19 days of deliberations. Those who wanted to examine the exhibits were told it was a waste of time and printed transcripts were sufficient.

It is in this context that one juror named Gail refused to vote several days into deliberations. "People kept saying not guilty because they kept saying there was no evidence," the unnamed juror interviewed by IPT remembered about Gail. "She'd seen evidence herself and she felt they weren't taking the time to look at the evidence. They kept saying there's no evidence and she just got tired of hearing that."

cont'd

Williams agreed that the juror named Gail just gave up at that moment. "She said ‘I'm just tired. I'm just ready for this to be over with.'"

Holmes got so frustrated that he walked out, forcing deliberations to start over when an alternate took his place. That deprived those favoring a guilty verdict of an ally. He wrote to the court saying he did not "feel that I can give the defendant's (sic) justice. Due to the circumstance in this case, I ask to be dismiss (sic) for this case."

Holmes, a supervisor at a recycling plant, said he thought all the defendants were guilty but saw no point in arguing further. "I felt they were wasting my time," he said.

Neal's Account of the Deliberations

Neal, a graphic artist, apparently felt the same way about others wasting his time. He was interviewed by Dallas radio and television stations within days of the trial and by the Dallas Morning News. Thus far, his assertions have provided the only detailed insider assessment about the prosecution case.

Neal made his disdain clear two days after the mistrial in an interview on Dallas radio station KRLD.

"A lot of the jurors couldn't even say words that had four syllables," Neal said on the Ernie and Jay show on KRLD 1080 AM. "They just picked the jury based on socio-economical reasons. A lot of these people are blue collar, you know, working UPS, working food, cafeteria cashier. You had people [from] secluded lifestyles. They had no idea of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They had no idea about worldly affairs. To get them and you show them bombs and show them kids – that's not our lifestyle so we've got to vote them guilty because of that. That's the whole reason."

The Dallas Morning News noted Neal "also had difficulty calling Hamas a terrorist group. ‘Part of it does terrorist acts, but it's a political movement. It's an uprising.'"

He reinforced that assessment in the IPT interview, saying he read the Hamas charter twice during deliberations. "They haven't always been a bombing kind of group," he said.

Hamas' first actions involved shootings and stabbings. Its preamble to the charter includes this: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

So, to Neal, what is Hamas?

"It is marked as a terrorist organization. My personal viewpoint, I didn't know too much before. I see it as a political struggle. Our country was founded on a terrorist act. The Boston Tea Party wasn't a tea party, dude. It was a rebellion against the king's wrath. They fought back against an oppressive government."

He argues that prosecutors never proved that Palestinian charities, the zakat committees, were controlled by Hamas. HLF routed its money to the committees. Absent that proof of Hamas control, Neal reasons, the defendants can't be convicted. Within hours of the mistrial, he told reporters the government's case "was strung together with macaroni noodles."

"There were so many gaps in the evidence, I could drive a truck through it," he told the Morning News.

That, the three other jurors interviewed said, was not the case. Neal simply refused to consider it as valid evidence. Even at the end, a majority favored convicting Baker and Elashi, Williams and the unnamed juror reported.

The evidence

There wasn't one single exhibit that swayed the jurors interviewed. Rather, each placed exhibits in the broader context of statements and activities by the defendants. Baker, they said, was shown to have lied repeatedly about his attitude toward Hamas. The defendants privately discussed Hamas activities, from a bombing that defendant Abdelrahman Odeh described as "a beautiful operation," to the 1997 arrests in Brooklyn of three alleged Hamas members accused of plotting another bombing.

Williams was struck by transcripts of a secret gathering of Hamas members and supporters in Philadelphia in 1993. They met in the wake of the Oslo peace accord, which they feared threatened to marginalize Hamas politically and which eventually could lead to a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which they opposed.

At one point, Shukri Abu Baker tells the others "war is deception." That, combined with other false statements, swayed Williams.

"That was pretty intense for me, that, why would he say that? I know he said it at the Philadelphia meeting. And if it's a charity set up, then why is he saying that? And plus there was Hamas leaders there, and they showed tapes of Hamas leaders," she said.

A January 1995 call from Abdelrahman Odeh to fellow defendant Mohamed El-Mezain entered into evidence at the trial stuck with the unnamed juror. Odeh wanted to alert El-Mezain about a Hamas bombing. El-Mezain hadn't heard about it yet and could not understand the radio report Odeh played over the telephone.

"What is important is that they carried out an operation," Odeh said. Eighteen people were dead and 60 others injured. Odeh called El-Mezain again a little more than a year later to report Yehya Ayyash, the infamous Hamas bomb-maker known as "the Engineer," had been killed by the Israelis.

Then there was evidence introduced at trial concerning fundraising conference calls HLF organized in which speakers repeatedly praised Hamas. In January 1997, one such call featured Mohamed Siam, a prominent Hamas member, and Muslim Brotherhood leader Kamal al-Hilbawi. Hilbawi praised "the steadfast" and named Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmad Yassin, the Hamas bomb-maker Yehya Ayyash and Hamas founder Mousa Abu Marzook as those helping the Islamic world move "from weakness to strength and to the love of martyrdom."

"A legitimate foundation wouldn't do that," the unnamed juror said. But those favoring acquittal argued that HLF officials were not the ones who made the comments even if they were the ones benefiting from the money raised.

"They're the ones who brought these people in and who let them talk in raising this money," the juror said.

The juror also was struck by a 1997 conversation admitted as evidence between Baker and Elashi, in which they discussed the Brooklyn arrests of three men alleged to be plotting a Hamas-connected bombing in the United States. Baker insisted that the suspects had nothing to do with Hamas, whatever they had done; adding that Hamas leader Abel Aziz Al-Rantissi had already issued a denial.

Still, Baker expressed concern that the incident could be damaging:

Sh: I just wanted to tell you because it seems that whoever, the guy in New York, this dog, tried to tie it to parties…Don't be surprised if the fabrication gets bigger than that. They would keep on publishing confessions that…er, which are nonsense. They cannot get us by law, they will try to get us by fabrication, man.

The unnamed juror found that incriminating, wondering why Baker and Elashi would be so concerned about Hamas being falsely blamed for a plot if Baker and Elashi had nothing to do with the organization.

Neal saw that call differently. To him, the call had no significance because between references to the Brooklyn arrests, Baker and Elashi spent several minutes discussing a van Elashi wanted to buy. That section may not have been read to jurors in court. But when he read it during deliberations, Neal accused prosecutors of trying to misrepresent defendants' statements.

"…[T]hey left [that] out conveniently to show the other side of the fence," he told WFAA television. "Take one sentence that says Hamas. Well did you know they were talking about a van in the two sentences before that? No because you just completely want to talk about Hamas."

In his interviews, Neal expressed deep skepticism of virtually every aspect of the government's case. He believed little, if anything, of what he heard from prosecution witnesses. Expert witness Matt Levitt wasn't credible, in Neal's view, because he had testified in a series of similar trials. Levitt has extensively studied Hamas' infrastructure and tactics and authored the book, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad.

And Neal believed nothing he heard from an Israeli intelligence officer who testified under a pseudonym. "Avi" provided evidence Israel seized during raids of HLF offices in the West Bank and explained how some zakat committee officials were tied to Hamas.

cont'd

"So you've got this guy who works for the Israeli government, who's gonna name names. That's his job. His job is to find Palestinians who are Hamas or troublemakers or whatever. I expect him to name names. He admitted in open court that he's being paid to be here. So that's completely biased. All the prosecution witnesses were all biased because they've been doing this for 13 years," Neal said on the Ernie and Jay show.

In the IPT interview, he questioned why Hamas was designated a terrorist group.

"The Israeli government is one of our friends. It's a close ally and a lot of our political actions go in favor of Israel. If they'd have been in favor of the Palestinians we wouldn't be hearing about these things. There was probably a lot of pressure" on the United States to designate Hamas as a terrorist group and pass legislation outlawing transactions with it.

Defense arguments, in contrast, were embraced by Neal. He used them to rebut Williams when she put stock in a videotape exhibit that she said haunted her during the trial. It showed a skit in which defendant Mufid Abdulqader portrayed a Hamas member who kills an Israeli police officer. The skit was performed at a fundraiser for the Islamic Association for Palestine. The IAP, like HLF, was part of the Muslim Brotherhood's "Palestine Committee," which prosecutors say worked to benefit Hamas.

"I am Hamas, O dear ones," Abdelqader said. "And I am Hamas, O dear ones. In midst of fire, they throw me. And I am Hamas, O dear ones. In midst of fire, they throw me. I swear to wipe out the name of the Zionist. And protect my land, Palestine. And you must get out."

Neal dismissed the skit as meaningless. It was an exercise of free speech, he said, echoing defense attorneys. But to Williams, it showed knowledge of the ultimate objective.

"He's doing a skit raising money for the committees but he's doing it as a Hamas terrorist. If you're raising money, I wouldn't think you would be making Hamas look good. You would try to be helping the charities for the poor Palestinians that are poor and lost their loved ones or are under whatever circumstances whether they're martyrs or innocent bystanders."

When defendant Abdelrahman Odeh singled out the son of a slain Hamas bomb-maker for support, Neal told jurors who found that incriminating that they were wrong. The child shouldn't suffer because of the father's sins, he said, again repeating a defense argument.

Williams and the unnamed juror argued it wasn't about the child; rather, the fact that Odeh made a specific request to support the son of Hamas martyr Yehya Ayyash was telling.

"I don't know why Ayyash's kid was so important," Williams said. "Odeh made it a point of saying ‘This is who I'm going to support.' He didn't hide the fact that he supported Ayyash. And it was obvious Ayyash's son was the son of the major bomb maker of the Hamas."

To Neal, the specific nature of Odeh's action had no deeper significance. "It shows he's supporting an orphaned kid who happens to be the kid of a Hamas bomb maker. It's their religion to give to charity," he said. He seemed to view each exhibit in isolation, refusing to connect it with other evidence that might show a pattern of behavior.

After the mistrial, Neal told WFAA television the other jurors lacked sophistication and accused prosecutors of manipulating their credulity.

"If you're ignorant or you have no idea about any culture or you have no idea about a certain way of life or you don't know that Hamas was once a political – and it still is a political figure – you know, they still do political things. And if you're going to sit there and show bomb belts, and you're going to show what they're doing to the, you know, in their homeland – why didn't they show us what – I know it's not important in the case but at the same token you could show what Israeli people are doing to Palestinian people," Neal said.

In one interview, Neal indicated prosecutors may have falsely believed he would be sympathetic to them. His father works in the military, he said on the Ernie and Jay show.

"My answers [to the questionnaire] looked like I was a pro-American, you know, flag-waving American. I mean, I am, but they thought I was not going to be able to think for myself and just go on the facts that these were Muslims and these were, you know some of the defendants were not American citizens."

Neal told the IPT he went into deliberations with no opinion and wanted to see where the evidence took him. The other jurors never knew how he was voting on secret ballots, he said. Neal told interviewers it was the other jurors who had their minds made up before deliberations started, that it was their refusal to budge that dragged out deliberations.

That's just wrong, the anonymous juror said.

"If he believed not guilty across the board, if he wanted to talk about the case, that was fine. But he shouldn't have said stuff that wasn't true," the juror said. Asked to clarify, the juror said, "He talks a lot about people not changing their minds. I changed my mind throughout the deliberations on several defendants. I guarantee you he never changed his mind throughout. He was at not guilty from the time he sat in there."

Williams, Neal said, was often confused and disorganized. In his view, she "was there for the check," he said on Ernie and Jay. "She lost her job during this case so she was there for vacation and checks. She was flim-flamming all over the place."

Kristina Williams

In court, Williams says, she paid close attention. She filled three binders with notes from testimony and exhibits. Under the court's direction, she wasn't allowed to read from those notes during deliberations, but they did help her remember certain points and find exhibits from dozens of boxes stuffed into the jury room.

On Thursday, Oct. 18, jurors came to an agreement that further deliberations were pointless and they notified U.S. District Judge A. Joe Fish. There were unanimous decisions on some counts, deadlocks on others.

Fish was out of town and the verdict forms, indicating acquittals for defendants Mohammed El-Mezain, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdelrahman Odeh, were sealed until Fish returned Monday morning. Then, as is standard practice, the judge polled the jury – asking each whether they agreed with the verdicts.

Williams stunned the courtroom and her fellow jurors by saying no. She had already written to the court that morning asking whether they would be polled. If not, "I would like to give my statement while the court reporter is there," she wrote.

She said she had succumbed to pressure in voting to acquit Abdulqader on the conspiracy counts. Later, she recalled, she found evidence she felt proved his guilt on conspiracy.

"They [other jurors] said, ‘We've already voted on him. We can't go back and change our vote,'" Williams said. On this point, Neal agrees with Williams' account.

cont'd

Fish initially sent jurors back to see if more deliberations were possible. Williams said several other jurors were angry with her. "The foreperson was very embarrassed that it came to this. And I come out and I told them, ‘I told you I found some evidence on Abdulqader but you guys didn't want to hear it.' I says ‘I told you I wanted to change my vote to guilty and you told me we couldn't do it … I told you I didn't like my vote when we voted.' They told me, ‘Krissy just shut up and go back to sleep.'"

Williams denies ever sleeping during deliberations. There were times, she said, when she closed her eyes due to tension or fatigue, but she stayed awake. The unnamed juror said it did appear Williams dozed off a few times, but that came in "periods of silence" when jurors were waiting for someone to dig out an exhibit.

Other jurors disagreed with her on the case, Williams said. But they did so without attacking or belittling. For those jurors, Williams said, the evidence simply fell short. They were not sufficiently convinced that the zakat committees were part of Hamas.

Williams was convinced, pointing to a 1991 letter introduced at the trial that was addressed to defendant Shukri Abu Baker. It listed the committees and detailed which were "ours" and how many representatives worked there. Some jurors dismissed the letter due to its age, but Williams looked at it in conjunction with the testimony of "Avi" and FBI agent Robert Miranda. She felt their testimony further tied zakat committee members and HLF guest speakers to Hamas.

In some cases, Miranda was able to show the speakers' telephone or fax numbers traced back to known Hamas offices. For example, at least seven speakers used by HLF to raise money had the same telephone number as Hamas spokesman Ibrahim Ghosheh. Miranda found the number on a 1995 letter Ghosheh had written to U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch protesting American detention of Hamas political leader Mousa Abu Marzook.

It seemed to Williams that, short of a check written from HLF directly to Hamas, jurors were not going to convict.

"These people were smarter than that to just come out and write the word Hamas on a check. I think they knew what they were doing," she said. "They were just smarter than that to be that obvious that they were supporting Hamas. Some of the jurors, they wanted to see the word Hamas on a check. Sure, I would have loved to see Hamas on a check. It's just realistic. I think these people were just that smart."

The 1991 letter listing zakat committee connections was contradicted by other exhibits, Neal said. Oftentimes those documents were undated, making it impossible to determine when those whom HLF considered "ours" were present. Agent Miranda's testimony was barely discussed, he said.

The Common Thread

When things got heated, the one constant was Neal's involvement, the three other jurors interviewed say. Williams remembers one confrontation that prompted other jurors to demand a break to let tempers cool. A woman juror was going toe to toe with Neal, Williams said. At one point, she explained something and said "that is my opinion."

"Well f*** your opinion," Neal hollered back at her.

That tenor made it difficult on some days for her to commute to court from her home about 25 miles south of Dallas, Williams said. "There were just some days where I just didn't want to go in because of one juror and I wasn't the only one who felt that way."

All disputes aside, there is one comment from Neal on which all the jurors might find agreement: "Honestly," he said on Ernie and Jay, "if I hadn't been on that jury this would have been a different case."

Lawmakers protest HIV/AIDS travel rule

On World AIDS Day last month the White House said new rules would make it easier soon for people with HIV/AIDS to travel to the United States. Democratic lawmakers and gay rights groups are complaining that the regulations proposed by the Homeland Security Department could actually create more barriers.
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Gay rights advocates have long opposed a 1993 federal law that strictly restricts travel and immigration to the U.S. by HIV-positive people, arguing it's outdated and discriminatory. Foreigners with the virus can obtain visas only after receiving a waiver from the Homeland Security Department in a cumbersome process that requires approval from DHS headquarters.

Activists say this can lead people to lie on visa applications about whether they have HIV, then travel to the U.S. without needed medication to avoid being found out by Customs officials.

The White House says it wants to make the process easier for HIV-positive people seeking 30-day stays for business or pleasure. As part of President Bush's observance of World AIDS Day on Nov. 30, the administration announced the publication of regulations meant to speed up the process.

"The administration is working to end discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS," said a White House fact sheet. "A 'categorical waiver' will enable HIV-positive people to enter the United States for short visits through a streamlined process."

The rule proposed by the Department of Homeland Security last month would allow short-term visas to be granted to HIV-positive people by U.S. consulates in their home countries, cutting out the involvement of DHS headquarters and thus potentially speeding up the process greatly. However, applicants would have to agree to certain conditions, including giving up the ability to apply for a longer stay or permanent residency in the United States.

The DHS rule refers to people with the HIV infection, which would include people who are HIV-positive but have not developed AIDS and HIV-positive people who do have AIDS.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, more than two dozen Democratic House members objected that the changes do nothing to lessen the burden on HIV-positive people, instead shifting decision-making authority to "local consular officers who may lack the appropriate medical expertise."

"Applicants would still have to somehow persuade an official that they are of minimal danger, will not transmit the virus and will not cost the government money," said the letter released Monday by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. "There would be no appeal process. Selecting this pathway would also require applicants to waive any right to readjust their status once in the United States — a waiver not required under current policy."

Homeland Security Spokeswoman Veronica Valdes contended the new rule does provide a streamlined process for HIV-positive people to visit the United States. She had no immediate response to the criticism in Lee's letter, saying the department would review it and respond.

The comment period on the proposed rule closed last Thursday but Valdes couldn't say when a final rule would be published.

Gay rights activists say the U.S. is one of just a handful of countries that restrict travel for HIV-positive people. They say that because of the prohibition, the biennial International AIDS Conference has not been held in the U.S. for well over a decade.

Lee has introduced legislation to overturn the ban.

It's not clear how many people would be affected by the proposed rule. The State Department says that in the 2006 fiscal year, 139 people were found ineligible to travel to the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa because of having a communicable disease, but that 127 of those people overcame the finding and were able to get a visa.

However that applies to all communicable diseases, not just HIV/AIDS, and the department couldn't provide a breakout of just HIV/AIDS cases. The statistics also don't take into account people who were discouraged from applying for a visa because of being HIV positive, or who didn't report their status.

Sears Tower terror jury told to work on

Jurors said Monday they were still deadlocked in the trial of seven men accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices, but a federal judge ordered the panel to continue deliberating.
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U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard denied a defense request for a mistrial.

"It is your duty to agree upon a verdict if you can do so," Lenard told the jurors, who have debated the group's guilt or innocence for six days at the end of a two-month trial.

The panel of six men and six women met for three more hours Monday without concluding the case and were ordered to resume work Tuesday.

Jurors sent a second note Monday to the judge indicating they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict against any of the "Liberty City Seven," named for the Miami neighborhood out of which they are accused of operating. A similar note had been issued Thursday.

Lenard has refused to publicly release the contents of the notes or allow them to be read in court.

"The trial has been expensive in time, effort, money and emotional strain to both the defense and the prosecution. If you should fail to agree upon a verdict, the case will be left open and may have to be tried again," Lenard told the jury in a set of instructions known as an Allen charge.

Federal prosecutors took no position on whether a mistrial should be declared.

Lenard did not specify how long deliberations might continue. If jurors cannot reach a verdict, the U.S. Justice Department would have to decide whether to try the case again, drop the charges or negotiate plea agreements with some or all the men.

The seven defendants each face as many as 70 years in prison if convicted on all four terrorism-related conspiracy charges. The case is built mainly on meetings between the group's leader, 33-year-old Narseal Batiste, and a pair of paid FBI informants.

There was no evidence the men had acquired any explosives or even had a definitive plan for attacks.

But some in the group took reconnaissance photos and video of the Miami FBI office and other federal buildings, and all seven took an oath of allegiance to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden that was recorded by federal agents.

During eight days on the witness stand, Batiste testified that he was never serious about any terrorism plots and that he only went along in hopes of extorting $50,000 from one of the FBI informants, known as Brother Mohammed. Batiste also insisted that the other six men knew little or nothing about the alleged plots.

Hamas-sympathizing juror behind terror mistrial
May have misled prosecutors during jury selection

A Hamas-sympathizing juror may have misled U.S. prosecutors about his neutrality during jury selection in the nation's largest terror-financing trial, investigators familiar with the case say.

The juror's "browbeating" of fellow jurors during deliberations in the Holy Land Foundation trial led to a mistrial, they say. The Dallas-based charity and its leaders are accused of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas suicide bombers and their families.

WND has learned that prosecutors, who are preparing to retry the case next year, considered investigating the juror for perjury after hearing complaints from other jurors about his pro-Hamas, anti-Israeli bias and obscenity-laced bullying in the jury room.

"One guy caused all the trouble," said an investigator involved in the case, which charged several U.S. Muslims with conspiracy to support terrorism. "He browbeat other jurors favoring convictions."

He said the bearded 33-year-old juror – who voted not guilty across-the-board – made statements in the past that are at variance with his answers to prosecutors' questions about his bias during the jury selection.

"He clearly wasn't honest on his voir dire examination," the source said.

Voir dire is a pretrial process lawyers use to object to prospective jurors with strong opinions – in this case, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – which might preclude them from weighing the evidence objectively.

Juror William Neal, a Dallas graphic artist, has not tried to hide his opinions on the subject since a mistrial was declared Oct. 22.

His ideological remarks in the media – including suggestions Israeli intelligence officers can't be trusted and their government is guilty of occupying Palestinian lands and oppressing the Palestinian people – have raised alarms at the Justice Department.

Neal also has a hard time calling Hamas a terrorist group, even though the U.S. government has listed it as a terrorist organization for the past dozen years.

He told the Dallas Morning News "it's a political movement. It's an uprising."

Asked by the Investigative Project on Terrorism to clarify his statement about Hamas, Neal said: "It is marked as a terrorist organization. My personal viewpoint, I see it as a political struggle."

"Our country was founded on a terrorist act," he added. "The Boston Tea Party wasn't a tea party, dude. It was a rebellion against the king's wrath. They fought back against an oppressive government."

Terror expert Steven Emerson of the IPT features a video clip of one juror who said, "I was pressured into voting the way they wanted me to vote."

In a recent Dallas radio interview, Neal revealed he actively sought a seat on the jury to sway the verdict against the government. He boasted that he fooled federal prosecutors into believing he would be sympathetic to their case.

Neal explained that he noted on his pretrial questionnaire that his father works in the military.

"My answers looked like I was a pro-American, you know, flag-waving American," he said on the Ernie and Jay show. "They thought I was not going to be able to think for myself and just go on the facts that these were Muslims."

IPT reported that Neal refused to view key surveillance videotapes of defendants that the government introduced into evidence, arguing it was a waste of time. He talked the group of jurors out of watching them.

When jurors like Kristina Williams challenged Neal and argued for convictions, Neal yelled obscenities at them. "F--- your opinion," Williams said he told her. She said he had his mind made up to acquit the defendants before the trial even began.

Two other jurors – Sylvester Holmes and a juror who spoke to IPT only on condition of anonymity – also have come forward to complain their arguments for conviction were shot down by Neal.

In the radio interview, Neal said his fellow jurors were ignorant.

"A lot of these people are blue collar, you know, working UPS, working food, cafeteria cashier," he said. "They had no idea of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Neal took credit for steering many jurors away from convictions, which led to a hung jury.

"Honestly," he said, "if I hadn't been on that jury this would have been a different case."

Another terrorist trial gets a mistrial.

Mistrial in Sears Tower bomb plot trial
Jurors deadlock in 6 of 7 defendants, prosecutor plans to retry case

One of seven Miami men accused of plotting to join forces with al-Qaida to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower was acquitted Thursday, and a mistrial was declared for the six others after the federal jury deadlocked.

Federal prosecutor Richard Gregorie said the government plans to retry the six next year. The Bush administration had seized on the case to illustrate the dangers of homegrown terrorism and trumpet the government's post-Sept. 11 success in infiltrating and smashing terrorism plots in their earliest stages.

Lyglenson Lemorin was acquitted and buried his face in his hands when the verdict was read.

The jury gave up on the other defendants after nine days of deliberations on four terrorism-related conspiracy charges that carry a combined maximum of 70 years in prison. The jury twice sent notes to the judge indicating they could not reach verdicts but were told to keep trying. The mistrial came after their third note.

"We believe no further progress can be made," it said. U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard read the note in court.

Prosecutors said the "Liberty City Seven" so-named because they operated out of a warehouse in Miami's blighted Liberty City section swore allegiance to al-Qaida and hoped to forge an alliance to carry out bombings against America's tallest skyscraper, the FBI's Miami office and other federal buildings.

The group never actually made contact with al-Qaida. Instead, a paid FBI informant known as Brother Mohammed posed as an al-Qaida emissary.

The defense portrayed the seven men as hapless figures who were either manipulated and entrapped by the FBI or went along with the plot to con "Mohammed" out of $50,000.

The group never actually made contact with al-Qaida and never acquired any weapons or explosives. Prosecutors said no attack was imminent, acknowledging that the alleged terror cell was "more aspirational than operational."

But then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said after the arrests in mid-2006 that the group was emblematic of the "smaller, more loosely defined cells who are not affiliated with al-Qaida, but who are inspired by a violent jihadist message."

And U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of Miami said: "Our mission is to disrupt these cells if possible before they acquire the capability to implement their plans."

The Liberty City Seven, who included immigrants from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, adhered to a sect called the Moorish Science Temple that blends elements of Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

The government case was built largely on FBI surveillance video and some 12,000 telephone intercepts.

One key piece of evidence was a video of the seven men taking an oath of loyalty to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden in a March 2006 ceremony.

Also, the group's leader, 33-year-old Narseal Batiste was overheard talking about starting a "full ground war" against the U.S. government by bringing down the 110-story Sears Tower an attack he said would be "as good or greater than 9/11."

Batiste also supplied the informant with detailed wish lists that included assault rifles, bulletproof vests, uniforms, motorcycles and $50,000 in cash, prosecutors said.

However, Batiste testified he faked interest in the plot and really only wanted the money.

Members of the group also took reconnaissance photos of the FBI office and downtown federal buildings at the informant's request.

Defense lawyers contended that the informant and an overzealous FBI were responsible for pushing the alleged conspiracy along.

"This was all written, directed and produced by the FBI," said defense attorney Albert Levin.

Terrorist Fundraising in the Heartland

Are America’s enemies operating freely from inside the country?

Nearly 15 years after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and 6 years after 9/11, the federal agencies responsible for our domestic security against terrorism appear to be entirely unaware, unequipped and unconcerned about the continued operations of Islamic terrorists inside the US.

Exhibit A in support of this thesis is the recent fundraising visit to the US by major Somali terrorist leader Zakaria Mahmoud Haji-Abdi. Abdi is deputy chairman of the Eritrean-based Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). The ARS is organizationally integrated with the al-Qaeda-backed Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which is waging the deadly terrorist insurgency in Somalia against the UN and US recognized Transnational Federal Government (TFG). The insurgency is responsible for the violence that has caused the deaths of nearly 6,000 Somalis this year in Mogadishu alone and forced at least another half million refugees to flee from there.

Abdi was the keynote speaker at a fundraising event and conference hosted by the United Somali Diaspora and held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis on November 24. An article published the following day by SomaliTalk (in Somali) features numerous pictures of the event, documenting Abdi’s attendance. (Minneapolis is home to the largest Somali population in the country.) A follow-up conference was held the following weekend at the Days Inn in Falls Church, VA, (right outside Washington, D.C.) by United Somali Diaspora and several other US-based Somali groups.

Some in the US Somali community, however, are actively speaking out against the ARS terror campaign and their fundraising efforts in the West.

Abdirahman Warsame, Executive Director of the Terror Free Somalia Foundation, expressed his opposition to the conference agenda and Abdi’s terrorist fundraising mission. “This event was definitely intended to organize and mobilize the extreme elements of the Somali community here to support the armed struggle against the internationally recognized Somali government and oppose US foreign policy,” Warsame said. “Abdi was openly calling for jihad and directing supporters to use the underground hawala networks to circumvent US controls to prevent terrorism financing overseas. These funds will be used to support the insurgency that is killing civilians, civil servants and anyone who works for or with the government, in order to further weaken the country and open the doors for foreign terrorists to take control of the country. Why would this man be allowed in the US?”

According to one law enforcement source familiar with Abdi’s recent visit, the Department of Homeland Security was contacted more than a week before the Minneapolis conference. The agency determined that, since Abdi did not have a Social Security Number (he is neither a US citizen or resident) and it was not known where he would enter the US from, nothing could or would be done to stop his visit. Repeated phone calls and emails from this reporter to the DHS public affairs office asking for explanation on why Abdi was allowed in the country did not receive a reply.

The failure of Homeland Security to act in any way to keep Abdi out of the country prompted heated criticism of the agency by Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. “It is absolutely scandalous that federal authorities cannot or will not stop jihadists from entering the US. Homeland Security should be called Homeland Insecurity,” Emerson said.

He also noted that fundraising for terror is directly related to acts of terror:

To paraphrase the president, there is no difference between those that carry out acts of terrorism and those that protect them or enable them. Jihadist financiers are just as culpable for blowing up buses of children as those that strap bombs upon themselves. A jihadist is a jihadhist, and they are killers who have no place being allowed to operate in the US.

Equally as troubling is the fact that Abdi and the other guests at the conference were warmly greeted by a member of US Senator Norm Coleman’s (R-MN) staff, Constituent Policy Liaison Mahmud Nuur Wadheere. Wadheere’s welcome was noted in the SomaliTalk conference recap article.

Another ARS official, Abdirahman Haji Aden Ibbi, also joined Abdi as a speaker at the Minneapolis conference. The ARS was formed back in September during a conference held in Asmara, Eritrea to create an international coalition between the ICU, which was forced out of power in Somalia late last year by Ethiopian troops supporting the TFG, the Eritrean government, Islamist leaders from around the Middle East and the Somali diaspora community in the West. The US is currently considering listing Eritrea as a state sponsor of terrorism for its continued support of the insurgency in Somalia and for providing a haven for the ARS leadership.

Abdi was selected as the deputy chairman and official spokesman of the ARS, and the ICU’s no. 2, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, was appointed chairman. Last year, when the ICU took control of the country and imposed its Taliban-style of shari’a law, Abdi openly applauded their arrival. “Yesterday the West was talking about lawlessness in Somalia. Today everything is better because the Islamic courts have taken over,” Abdi said. “Let us give these people a chance.”

The leader of the ICU, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, also appeared at the Asmara conference, emerging from hiding following the ICU’s flight from Ethiopian forces. Aweys is wanted by the US and has been listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. US Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) on Meet the Press last year described Aweys as “an al-Qaeda operative or somebody that is connected to al-Qaeda.”

During the Asmara conference, Abdi was quoted as saying that the Ethiopian troops supporting the UN-backed TFG should “surrender now” or face “extinction.” He told the Associated Press : “We have enough and well-armed forces in every village of Somalia and they are ready to restore their sovereignty. We are in Eritrea to establish a control and command system so as we avoid confusion after the liberation.”

Abdi did not explain, however, the contradiction of “liberating” Somalia from foreign domination while receiving Eritrean military assistance and welcoming foreign Arab fighters (including known al-Qaeda operatives) as part of the Somali insurgency.

This episode demonstrates that our national security in some areas is no better than what it was prior to 9/11. If Homeland Security can’t or won’t act to prevent terrorist leaders like Zakaria Mahmoud Haji-Abdi from entering the US, especially when informed by other law enforcement agencies beforehand, there may be very little standing between us and the next 9/11.

Islamic Extremist Convention 2007

Unindicted terror co-conspirators, terror supporters, apologists for wife-beaters, anti-Semites, and a former aide to Cynthia McKinney are coming to the Windy Cindy this Christmas.

Starting December 21st, Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, will play host to two organizations tied to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), the inspiration for so many of the world’s worst terror groups. The organizations, the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), have an extremist history of their own. Soon Chicago, December 2007, will become a part of that history, as the Hyatt Regency O’Hare packs in thousands of Muslims that refuse to speak out against those that use their religion as a means to commit violence.

Most people in America are unaware of the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is not just an overseas group – that it’s here in America, as well. Indeed the group has had a presence in the United States starting in the 1950s. MAS was established in 1992, because MB leaders thought that previously created American MB groups were becoming too assimilated into Western society. ICNA was founded in 1971 as an embodiment of MB Pakistan or Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

Both MAS and ICNA use the internet to spread violent forms of bigotry. MAS is currently propagating material via the internet calling for the murder of Jews and the waging of war against non-Muslims, while ICNA runs a website, Why Islam (WI), where WI leaders and members target Jews and discuss the merits of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Also, both MAS and ICNA have had individuals involved in their organizations that are serving prison sentences after having been charged with terrorist activity. Randall Todd “Ismail” Royer, the former Communications Director for MAS, was convicted of conspiring with Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT), an Al-Qaeda related group, to attack Americans and Indians overseas. And four members of the ICNA-related ‘Houston Taliban’ were charged with jihad training with firearms for the purpose of joining the Taliban to, as well, attack Americans overseas; so far, three of the four have been found guilty.

Furthermore, ICNA has been involved in terror financing. When the Al-Khidmat Foundation (AKF), a Pakistani “charity” run by JI, gave $99 thousand to the head of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, in August of 2006, ICNA was the group’s top donor. As well, shortly before and shortly after the attacks of 9/11, the Southeast division of ICNA (ICNA-SE) was soliciting funds for Al-Qaeda related groups via the web.

None of the above has raised any eyebrows in Chicago, as the city will be opening its arms to MAS and ICNA for their 6th Annual Convention, commencing on December 21st and ending December 25th. Included in the gathering, much like all of the groups’ past conventions, will be a large list of the country’s most outspoken Islamic radicals. This year’s event features:

* Jamal Badawi. Badawi was named by the U.S. government as an “Unindicted Co-conspirator” for the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial that began in July, which dealt with millions of dollars in fundraising for Hamas. Badawi has authored a book entitled Gender Equity in Islam, in which he justifies the beating of women by their husbands.
* Jamal Said. Said is the imam of the Mosque Foundation, located in Bridgeview, Illinois, an Islamic center with ties to Hamas. Said served as the Treasurer of the Al Aqsa Educational Fund, an entity identified by the FBI as a Hamas “charitable” front. Said, like Badawi, was also named as an “Unindicted Co-conspirator” for the HLF trial.
* Raed Tayeh. Tayeh is a former Executive Board Member of the Chicago chapter of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), the now defunct American propaganda wing of Hamas. In November 2001, Tayeh was fired from his job as a Congressional aide to then-U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney, when a letter of his was published by a newspaper accusing Jewish lawmakers of exhibiting inappropriate loyalty to the State of Israel.
* Zulfiqar Ali Shah. Shah is the former South Asia Director of KindHearts, an Islamic “charity” that was shut down by the U.S. government in February 2006 for raising millions of dollars for Hamas. In a June 2001 article in Islam Online, Shah is quoted as saying, “If we are unable to stop the Jews now, their next stop is Yathrib (The Prophet's city of Medina), where the Jews used to live until their expulsion by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). That’s the pinnacle of their motives.”

While MAS and ICNA are portrayed in the media as “mainstream” and “moderate,” their involvement in extremist activity makes them anything but. They are groups that openly promote violent organizations and propagate hate towards non-Muslims. This is evidenced in the type of speakers they invite to their events; in the way they use the internet to spread radical Islam; and in their members’ direct involvement with terrorist groups. Yet, regardless of this, MAS and ICNA have built up a tremendous following.

When the American public asks why Muslims haven't mobilized against the radicals in their community, one only has to look upon the MAS ICNA convention, where thousands of Muslims in attendance will be turning a blind eye to violence in the name of their religion. The theme they are using for this year's event is “Islam Universal Message & Universal Values.” If the Islam that is portrayed by MAS and ICNA - one that is violent and intolerant of others - truly is the religion's universal message and values, then there can be no place for it in our society or anywhere else.

However, if the religion of MAS, ICNA and the Muslim Brotherhood is a false expression of Islam, then Muslims of good conscious need to come out from hiding, stand up and say so - loud and clear - so that all in their community, radical and otherwise, hear their voices. “Chicago beware!”

Terrorism and the Times: What's Not Fit To Print

On Friday, two Islamic converts, radicalized while in prison, pled guilty to terrorism charges, after admitting plots to attack "United States military operations, "infidels," and Israeli and Jewish facilities in the Los Angeles area."

The cell leader, Kevin James, founded Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh (JIS) while incarcerated in Folsom prison, and began recruiting other converts. Levar Washington pled guilty, along with James last week, and a third cell member, Gregory Patterson, pled guilty on Monday.

A fourth JIS member, Hammad Samana, has been found unfit to stand trial, but is accused of having researched "targets and prepared a document called ‘Modes of Attack.' The document listed ‘LAX and Consulate of Zion,' ‘Military Targets,' ‘Army Recruiting centers throughout the county,' ‘Military base in Manhattan Beach' and ‘Campsite of Zion,'" on behalf of the cell.

The JIS plotters face 20 to 25 years in prison. The plots and guilty pleas come as no surprise to those who have closely followed prison chaplaincy programs, as all too often, those in charge of selecting imams have Wahhabist and radical links. Former NYC prison chaplain Warith Dean Umar has stated that the 9/11 hijackers should be remembered as martyrs, and Umar Abdul-Jalil, top Imam of the New York City Department of Corrections, has his own radical views. As reported by the NY Post, citing tapes provided by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), Abdul-Jalil spread his radical views at a Muslim Students Association conference in Arizona:

At one conference session, Abdul-Jalil charged that Muslims jailed after the 9/11 attacks were being tortured in Manhattan, according to the tape. "They [some Muslim inmates] are not charged with anything, they are not entitled to any rights, they are interrogated. Some of them are literally tortured and we found this in the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in Manhattan. But they literally are torturing people," Abdul-Jalil said.

Abdul-Jalil also accused the Bush administration of being terrorists, according to the tape. "We have terrorists defining who a terrorist is, but because they have the weight of legitimacy, they get away with it . . . We know that the greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House, without a doubt," he said.

At another session, Abdul-Jalil urged American Muslims to stop allowing "the Zionists of the media to dictate what Islam is to us" and said Muslims must be "compassionate with each other" and "hard against the kufr [unbeliever]."

And still, despite deadly terrorist attacks perpetrated on U.S. soil, and the all too frequent instances of anti-American sentiment voiced by jihadists, the various usual suspects are intent on either underplaying the threat or pretending that none exists.

In a front page story in October 2006, titled, "F.B.I. Struggling to Reinvent Itself to Fight Terror," the New York Times dismissed out of hand the dangerous nature of the JIS cell in California (and called into question the validity behind other instances of U.S. based-terrorism cells), writing:

In that case, three men are charged with committing robberies to raise money for jihadist attacks on synagogues and military recruiting stations, in what Director Mueller has described as a bid to create "Al Qaeda in California." Their actions are said to have been directed by Kevin James, who headed a Muslim group behind bars.

But agents checked on more than 100 prisoners with links to Mr. James and charged none. And though Mr. James has been portrayed as the mastermind, reporters for The New York Times and "Frontline" were repeatedly able to visit him in jail in Santa Ana, Calif. Such access is almost never granted to people accused of terrorism because the authorities fear that they could direct a plot from prison.

In an effort to downplay the threat, the Times concludes that there must be some kind of conspiracy, when a more plausible explanation – mere incompetence – exists.

A month before, the Times was already on record downplaying the nature of the JIS threat, selectively seeking out experts to belittle the dangerous character of the plot. And the Times, found Thomas Kean, former Chairman of the 9/11 commission, who "said the (JIS) case threatened small-scale violence and should have been a routine police concern."

Yet what should concern everyone is not just the Times record of downplaying actual terrorist threats, even as yet again the Times editors find themselves with egg on their faces as the JIS plotters plead guilty, but that the Times consistently apologizes for radical Islam by flacking for domestic Muslim Brotherhood groups with a history of extremism. As I have documented in the past, the New York Times is a serial offender when it comes to giving an uncritical voice to the nation's most virulent Islamist fronts.

Monday's edition, unsurprisingly, has yet another glaring example, titled, "Boycotted Radio Host Remains Unbowed." The article quotes Ahmed Rehab and his organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), on radio host Michael Savage's lawsuit against CAIR. While the Times informs its readers that CAIR's "stated mission includes correcting mischaracterizations of Islam," it, of course, fails to tell its readers of CAIR's long history of extremism, support for terrorism and anti-Semitism, let alone CAIR's documented history as part of the Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood infrastructure in the United States.

Rehab himself is on the record refusing to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups and supporting Hamas-linked defendants. CAIR-Chicago, Rehab's home branch, referred to the cases against Hamas operative Mohammed Salah as a "political persecution" and stated that Salah, and his codefendant and another Hamas operative, Abedelhaleem Ashqar, were "targeted" by "the Bush administration has attempted to criminalize charitable aid to Palestinians." Salah is serving nearly 2 years in prison for obstruction of justice for lying under oath about his Hamas connections in a civil trial, and Ashqar is serving 11 years in prison, for obstruction of justice and criminal contempt, for his refusal to testify in front of a grand jury investigating Hamas front groups in the U.S.

But when the Times reports on CAIR, you won't read about such instances. Nor does the Times, in this specific article and almost all others which mention the group, inform its audience that CAIR has been named by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing case in U.S. history, named as a member of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood, and that the same prosecutors have officially stated that CAIR is "affiliated" with the terrorist group Hamas.

And on Saturday, after Kevin James and Levar Washington pled guilty, the Times, after twice downplaying the JIS cell as not dangerous and nothing more than a criminal endeavor more than a year earlier, printed a very short, 100 word account lifted from the Associated Press:

Two men accused of plotting in prison to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets pleaded guilty to conspiring to wage war against the United States. The men, Kevin James, 31, and Levar H. Washington, 28, pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy charges. Mr. Washington also pleaded guilty to using a firearm to further that conspiracy. The authorities say Mr. James, Mr. Washington and two others were part of a California prison gang cell of radical Muslims. The police said they uncovered the plot in July 2005 while investigating gas station robberies that they say were committed to finance the attacks.

Even though James and Washington pled guilty, and copious information about the JIS plots have emerged, the Times still uses the phrases "authorities say" and "police said" to describe their actions. In reporting on Gregory Patterson's guilty plea, the Times yet again just picked up the AP story, also using the language "prosecutors said" and "officials said," rather than straight reporting on what the men have confessed to plotting. Despite the Times' motto, some news is apparently not fit to print, and sadly that includes not just information about the inner workings of a home grown terrorist cell, radicalized in prison, but any information that tarnishes America's "most prominent" Muslim Brotherhood front group.

Four Charged In Houston School Bus Thefts

The arrest of four men in connection with the case of several missing Houston school buses will calm the fears of many. There was growing concern that the stolen buses may have be part of a build-up to a potential terror attack.

While this part of the mystery has been solved, the threat of terrorists striking our nations schools remains. We caution you to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity in and around the schools in your community.

The principal of a local charter school said she wasn’t alarmed in late August after noticing that two school buses weren’t waiting in the usual parking spots.

“I just assumed that maybe somebody took the keys and parked them somewhere else,” said Avernia Waddle, with the North Houston Multi-Language Academy, 1126 W. Tidwell.

Then she learned the buses were not in the shop for maintenance work.

“We had to face reality,” she said. “Somebody had taken the buses.”

Houston police said the school was hit by a band of thieves that specialized in stealing school buses and selling them for scrap. Detectives said the group has been linked to at least eight bus thefts.

An anonymous tip led detectives on Dec. 15 to two members of the alleged group suspected ringleader Mauro Yanez, 36, and Bernabe Moreno, 40.

A third suspect, Samuel Morales, 20, was arrested earlier in the investigation, and a fourth man, James Leon Jackson, 23, remains at large, police said.

Yanez, Moreno and Jackson were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, and Morales is accused of auto theft, police said.

Yanez, Moreno and Morales were being held Wednesday at the Harris County Jail without bail.

Police said thieves took the buses from churches and private schools and delivered them to a northeast Houston scrap metal dealer. The suspects received about $1,000 to $1,200 per bus, police said.

“They get paid by the weight of the vehicle. So the bigger, the better,” said HPD Capt. Don McKinney. “Buses were obviously substantially larger than any other vehicle.”

Detectives declined to identify the scrap metal dealer who paid for the stolen buses, citing their investigation.

Waddle said the school has replaced one of the buses for elementary students. However, many teenage students are forced to ride Metro buses.

“Some of the kids have to take two buses just to get to school,” Waddle said.

Fort Dix Terror Suspects Get Bail Hearing

The federal jail holding five men accused of plotting an attack on Fort Dix has promised the men will get better access to evidence in their case as a judge considers letting them out on bail.

A bail hearing is scheduled Dec. 20 for the men, charged with preparing to sneak onto the military base and shoot soldiers.

Attorneys for the five say officers at the jail are not giving them time to listen to recordings and view videos containing evidence for the trial. There are 200 hours of audio recordings, and this week, the federal government also provided some 500 hours of surveillance video.

Last month, a frustrated U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler agreed to have a bail hearing to consider releasing the suspects. That way, they would have unfettered access to the computers so they could review the materials.

The move may have been mostly a way to pressure prison officials into letting the men review the recordings more often in detention. But Michael Riley, a defense lawyer for suspect Shain Duka, said it caused new problems.

“When these guys heard bail, now that expectation is they’ll get out,” Riley said. And dealing with that has made trial preparations more difficult too, he said.

The federal Bureau of Prisons sent Kugler a letter earlier this month, but first made public this week, in which it pledges to allow the men access the material each weekday between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. The men would be given lunch and bathroom breaks and they would be able to use the detention center’s law library.

Prosecutors also have filed papers claiming that the suspects - all foreign-born Muslim men in their 20s - have not requested to see the evidence as often as they claim. The government said that some of the men have promoted terrorism to other inmates at the detention center - an allegation defense lawyers say is untrue.

This week, defense lawyers have asked Kugler to put on hold the bail motion while they wait for yet another video they hope will help their case.

The lawyers have asked for video that would show whether the inmates are putting out slips to request they be allowed to review the recordings. But the Bureau of Prisons says it could take about four weeks to compile that video.

The suspects - Serdar Tatar, Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, and the brothers Dritan, Shain and Eljvir Duka - face life in prison if they’ve convicted of conspiring to kill military personnel.

A trial is scheduled to begin March 24, though the lasting conflict over jailhouse issues makes that seem increasingly unlikely.

A sixth man charged in the case, Agron Abdullahu, has pleaded guilty to providing weapons to some of the others.

Actress Vanessa Redgrave Assists Two al Qaeda Suspects With Bail

This is beyond words…

Redgrave stated, “It is a profound honor and I am glad to be alive to be able to do this.”

Glad to be alive to do this…? At the cost of how many other lives? When these two are actually successful in some future terror attack, I hope Miss Redgrave remembers these words. The families of their innocent victims will have her to thank.

Two suspected al-Qa’eda operatives released from Guantanamo Bay have walked free from court although they are still wanted in Spain on terrorism-related offenses.

One of the men, who is accused of distributing extremist propaganda produced by Osama bin Laden, had half of his £50,000 bail surety met by the actress Vanessa Redgrave.

Jamil el-Banna, 45, who was said during a brief court hearing to have helped run a cell called the Islamic Alliance, recruiting people to fight jihad in Afghanistan and Indonesia, returned to his London home tonight.

The other man, Omar Deghayes, 38, a Libyan national freed from Guantanamo and allowed into the UK because he once lived here, is said to have had links to the same al-Qa’eda cell. He was also released on bail.

Spain issued European arrest warrants for both men within hours of their arrival in Britain last night from the Cuban detention centre. Miss Redgrave said: “It is a profound honor and I am glad to be alive to be able to do this.”

She added: “Guantanamo Bay is a concentration camp. It is a disgrace that these men have been kept there all these years.”

But the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard of their alleged links to al-Qa’eda, which raised fresh questions over why the British government interceded on their behalf to allow their return here from Guantanamo.

Although the men have been resident in the UK and have family here, they are not British citizens.

Previously, the Government has said it owed them no legal obligations.

Melanie Cumberland, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Mr el Banna was a Pakistani who had first come to Britain in 1994 on a false Kuwaiti passport.

FedEx Truck Hijacked In New York City - Strange Event

Many aspects of this story just don’t make sense to me. Maybe I’ve just been doing this too long and I over analyze things.

On one hand it appears to be a planned crime and not a crime of opportunity (guns, handcuffs, badge). However, if that was the case why didn’t the hijackers bring along some type of tools to break open the seals on the containers?

Next, the hijackers had the truck for nearly 9 hours. To me that seems like plenty of time to figure out some method for opening the containers (hack saw, bolt cutters, etc), even if you hadn’t planned for this.

This is where I begin to over-analyze. What if the truck was hijacked for some other purpose and the hijackers hadn’t planned on it being full of merchandise? What if they were actually hoping to take control of an empty truck just before Christmas and use it for some other purpose?

What other purpose you ask?

Oh, I don’t know… Do you suppose that a large FedEx truck might be able to access some area of a mall or airport during the holidays without raising suspicions?

When you add to this, the hijackers talk of their Albanian homeland, the driver being released and given $60.00 to get back to Manhattan, and the fact nothing was missing when the truck was located, this story just doesn’t add up.

For now, I’ll chalk it up to too much coffee on a Sunday afternoon and an over-stimulated imagination.

Quote

The hapless hijackers who stole a loaded FedEx truck and kidnapped its driver only to abandon both after they were unable to get at the locked-up loot told their captive stories about their supposed lives in Albania and stopped for pizza during an odd five-hour odyssey, the driver said.

Forced to ride face-down and handcuffed in a sport utility vehicle with a gun to the back of his head, “I kept saying to myself, ‘If they’re going to kill me, I hope it’s fast and doesn’t hurt,” Robert McGarry said Saturday, a day after he was released on a Brooklyn street. “It was a nightmare.”

Police said Sunday no arrests had been made in the case.

McGarry, 47, said he was ambushed shortly after driving out of a FedEx facility on Manhattan’s West Side around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. A swerving SUV cut him off on 11th Avenue, and one of the hijackers leaped out, rammed a gun against the FedEx truck window, flashed a badge and yelled “police,” McGarry said.

Two forced him into the SUV while a third drove off in his delivery truck. McGarry’s captors drove him through the city, one threatening him while the other struck a more congenial, calming tone, he said.

The 18-wheeler was laden with holiday shipments, but the thieves weren’t able to get at them. They let the driver go at about 1:30 a.m. Friday in the Williamsburg neighborhood. He said the robbers gave him $60 so he could get back to Manhattan; instead, he quickly waved down a police car.

The truck was found abandoned, its contents still locked in metal air freight containers, at about 5:30 a.m. in nearby Greenpoint, police said.

Representatives for Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx Corp. said no packages were missing.

New York Presses To Deploy More Bioweapons Sensors
DHS Priority Is Development Of Next-Generation Devices

City officials last month quietly activated some of the nation's newest generation of early warning sensors to detect a biological attack, turning on a limited number of filing-cabinet-size air filters in sensitive, high-volume areas of Manhattan.

But city officials say their effort to expand the program has run into surprising resistance from the White House, which is not widely deploying the machines.

Five years ago, officials here note, the Bush administration was prodding local authorities to move faster to detect the use of biological weapons and pouring billions into biosecurity-related initiatives. New York's leaders now say the administration's enthusiasm and sense of urgency has flagged in its final year in office.

The dispute is partly over whether the new sensors -- each with a $100,000 price tag -- are reliable and affordable enough for widespread deployment. But it is also about whether Washington's early support for such security enhancements has been undermined by distraction and competing budgetary demands.

"We'd like to see a little bit more focus in that area. . . . I think the federal government could do a better job," New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in an interview this week. He was referring to New York City officials' desire for more detectors and enhanced capabilities under a federal government program known as BioWatch, under which air samplers were installed in 2003 in more than 30 major U.S. cities to detect the airborne release of biological warfare agents such as anthrax, plague and smallpox.

BioWatch was meant to speed up the response of health authorities in the critical hours before disease could spread and symptoms appeared in people. More than $400 million has been spent so far, but officials in New York and elsewhere say the older air samplers installed under the program do not work as well as intended.

The older samplers catch airborne particles in filters that are manually collected once a day and taken to a laboratory, requiring up to 30 hours to detect a pathogen. They may not preserve live organisms that scientists use to select treatment options. And the process is cost- and labor-intensive, leading to false alarms, quality-control problems and limits on the system's size, despite an $85 million-a-year national budget.

New York officials say they prefer the newer model activated last month, known as Autonomous Pathogen Detection Systems and developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with federal support. They can automatically sniff the air hourly for a week unattended, identify up to 100 harmful species by using two types of genetic and biochemical reaction tests, preserve live specimens and transmit results immediately to headquarters.

"The whole name of the game with BioWatch is to buy yourself time," said Richard A. Falkenrath, Kelly's deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and a former Bush White House homeland security aide.

The faster authorities can pin down the time of exposure, the more aggressively they can go after perpetrators, treat victims in time to help them and avoid the overwhelming logistical challenge and likely panic of having to distribute vaccines or antibiotics to millions of people. "We won't have to make the worst-case assumption," Falkenrath said.

In New York, which Kelly notes was targeted in both the 2001 World Trade Center and anthrax mailing attacks, authorities believe that model could help investigators pin down the moment a pathogen is released. "We see ourselves in the cross hairs here," Kelly said.

In President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, he cited the early deployment of air samplers as an example of "unprecedented measures to protect our people and defend our homeland." Now Jeffrey W. Runge, chief medical officer and assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security's office of health affairs, said more research and technical improvements are needed before a costly full-scale deployment.

BioWatch backers in New York say they have a sympathetic ear and strong partner in Runge, but that it has been hard to him to obtain the administration's support to move faster. Runge, however, called Kelly's criticism unfounded, given that DHS has paid 90 percent of the cost to install New York's system and all of its operating costs.

Runge said technical challenges remain in ensuring new sensors' accuracy and reducing their size and operating costs. He said DHS plans to begin pilot tests this year of alternative sensors -- which it hopes will be better than those made by Lawrence Livermore -- and to oversee a competition between two private bidders, IQuum and Microfluidic Systems, beginning in 2009. As a result, Runge said, decisions on what and how big a system to deploy will be left to the next administration. "That decision has not been made," he said, "and I won't be around for this decision."

"I don't know what better job Washington can do other than having a multiyear, multimillion-dollar research program in how to get better automated pathogen detection," Runge said. "But what we have to do as a federal government is improve on the technology, to make sure other cities that don't have the billions that New York has can actually afford automated detection."

Some policy experts and members of Congress take an even more skeptical position, questioning the premises of the BioWatch program. Last month, for example, lawmakers set aside $2 million of BioWatch's $77 million operating budget for a "cost-benefit" analysis by the National Academy of Sciences of whether BioWatch's basic strategy -- of detecting the use of bioweapons through technology rather than through careful monitoring of disease patterns -- is flawed.

The study is meant to examine whether it would be better to improve diagnostic tests at traditional medical facilities such as hospitals, expand electronic medical recordkeeping and upgrade data links that enable the government to monitor unusual health and agricultural sector disease patterns.

Tara O'Toole, director of the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, asked Congress in October, "Does it make sense to invest limited biodefense funds in more advanced BioWatch technology even as we cut funds for public health personnel needed to analyze BioWatch data, as we are now doing?"

Local Flight School Under Investigation

The wings of an El Cajon flight school are clipped for now, as it goes under the microscope of a federal agency. Immigrantion and Customs Enforcement agents are investigating Anglo-American Flight School.

It may have been sloppy recordkeeping which caused ICE agents to swarm the offices of Anglo-American Flight School at Gillespie Field in El Cajon. Dozens of agents plowed through paperwork in what ICE officials would only call a criminal investigation.

"It's focusing on technical violations of immigration rules that allow schools such as these to provide documents to foreigners for permission to come to the United States as students. If there was some sort of technical violation, obviously we want to deal with it, we will correct it," Anglo-American Flight School attorney Jeremy Warren said.

Sources tell News 8 that agents specifically seized flight and repair logs. Investigators are also apparently looking closely at I-20 forms, which foreign students fill out regarding their schooling plans, including tuition and residency costs.

Since 9/11, it's no secret the government has been tightening up on flight schools around the country amid concerns of potential security breaches.

"These are people who have never been in trouble with the law before, and they intend to get through this and I think at the end of the day, everyone will be satisfied," Warren said.

SD Flight Training International owner Phil Thalheimer says ICE spot checks used to make him jittery, but not anymore.

"It's really important, and it's an added burden, but we took the responsibility of having international students here," Thalheimer said. "With that responsibility and that benefit comes this type of enforcement."

Thalheimer says he's learned to make sure his business is in complete compliance with the feds.

"We're pretty careful now - no one's perfect - and they've been pretty good with us," he said. "They checked some stuff and generally we're fine, and when they've asked for some changes we've made them immediately."

Phil Thalheimer says his company is seeing an influx of students from India, where piloting has undergone an explosion.

The owners of Anglo-American Flight School are hoping to get back in the air as soon as possible.

The company incorporated back in 1994 to offer intense training courses exclusively for international students.

3 convicted in Islamic charity trial
Duped U.S. into awarding organization tax-exempt status by hiding pro-jihad activities

Three former leaders of an Islamic charity were convicted Friday of duping the U.S. government into awarding their organization tax-exempt status by hiding the group's pro-jihad activities.

Care International Inc., which is now defunct, described its mission as helping war orphans, widows and refugees in Muslim nations. But prosecutors said the organization also distributed a newsletter promoting jihad and supported Muslim militants involved in armed conflicts around the world.

Emadeddin Muntasser, the founder of Care International; Muhammed Mubayyid, the group's former treasurer; and Samir Al-Monla, the president of Care from 1996 to 1998, were charged with tax code violations, making false statements and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

After a two-month trial and more than two weeks of deliberations, a federal jury found them guilty on all counts, except a false-statements count on which Al-Monla was acquitted. The fraud and false-statement charges each carry maximum sentences of five years in prison and fines of $250,000, while the tax charges carry a maximum three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing hearings in early April.

``Today's verdict is a milestone in our efforts against those who conceal their support for extremist causes behind the veil of humanitarianism. For years, these defendants used an allegedly charitable organization as a front for the collection of donations that they converted for the purpose of supporting violent jihadists,'' Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein in Washington said in a statement.

Defense attorneys, who did not immediately return calls for comment Friday, had accused prosecutors of trying to sensationalize the charges into a terrorism case by highlighting the newsletter.

Muntasser, 43, owner of the Logan Furniture Co., was born in Libya and now lives in Braintree. Mubayyid, 42, was born in Lebanon and now lives in Shrewsbury. Al-Monla, 50, was born in Kuwait, now lives in Brookline and is a U.S. citizen.

Their group, which was not affiliated with the well-known global relief organization CARE International, raised $1.7 million in donations from 1993 to 2001.

Prosecutors said the men failed to disclose that Care was a successor to the Boston branch of the Al-Kifah Refugee Center in New York, which was linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The center was a recruitment office for Mektab al Khidmat, which Osama bin Laden co-founded in the 1980s to recruit mujahideen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, according to the 9-11 Commission.

Prosecutors alleged that Care was raising money to support mujahideen, defined in the indictment as ``Muslim holy warriors,'' and that it published the pro-jihadist newsletter called ``al-Hussam,'' which means ``The Sword'' in Arabic.

Prosecutors acknowledged Care did some legitimate charity work, but said the group concealed non-charitable activities from the government. Specifically, prosecutors said the men did not tell the government it supported mujahideen in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Pakistan and other countries. Care also used a portion of its donations to publish an English translation of ``Join the Caravan,'' a pro-jihad book.

Court nixes NASA background checks
Says practice threatens workers' constitutional rights

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that NASA should be blocked from conducting background checks on low-risk employees at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, saying the practice threatens workers' constitutional rights.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the 28 scientists and engineers who refused to submit to the background checks ``face a stark choice - either violation of their constitutional rights or loss of their jobs.''

The decision written by Judge Kim Wardlaw reversed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Otis Wright and sent the case back to him with orders to issue an injunction on the workers' behalf.

The workers sued the federal government, claiming that NASA was invading their privacy by requiring the investigations, which included probes into medical records and questioning of friends about everything from their finances to their sex lives.

If they didn't agree to the checks, they could be fired.

NASA has argued that requiring employees to submit to the investigations was not intrusive and that the directive followed a Bush administration policy applying to millions of civil servants and contractors.

Every government agency was ordered to step up security by issuing new identification badges. Employees were required to be fingerprinted, undergo background checks and allow federal investigators access to personal information.

The plaintiffs have worked for many years at the labs that are jointly run by NASA and the California Institute of Technology. JPL is known for its scientific explorations of space and study of Earth.

None of the plaintiffs work on top-secret projects at JPL, which employs about 5,000 workers, but several are involved in high-profile missions such as the Galileo probe to Jupiter and the Cassini spacecraft to Saturn.

``We're ecstatic,'' workers' attorney Dan Stormer said. ``This represents a vindication of constitutional protections that all of us are entitled to. It prevents the government from conducting needless searches into backgrounds.''

If the workers were forced to quit rather than submit to invasive questions, it would hurt the space program, affecting Mars rover and other programs, Stormer said.

The higher court said Wright abused his discretion and committed several errors when he ruled that there was no merit to the claim that the scientists would suffer irreparable harm by signing the authorization forms.

It said that the lower court was wrong to conclude that the form which employees were asked to sign was ``narrowly tailored.''

``This form seeks highly personal information using an open-ended technique including asking for 'any adverse information which ... may have a bearing on this person's suitability for government employment,''' Wardlaw wrote. ``There is nothing 'narrowly tailored' about such a broad inquisition.''

The decision appeared to reverse a ruling by Wright late Thursday dismissing Caltech as a defendant in the lawsuit. The 9th Circuit said any injunction must also apply to Caltech.

It said the case ``raises serious questions as to whether the university has in fact now become a willful and joint participant in NASA's investigation program, even though it was not so initially.''

Veronica McGregor, a spokeswoman for Caltech and JPL, would not comment because the litigation was ongoing.

Fuel Truck Stolen From Penn. Located In D.C.

For the second time in less than a week a fuel truck has been stolen in Pennsylvania. This time it made officials a little nervous as they tracked it, using the trucks GPS system, heading towards Washington D.C.

Washington officials were worried about terrorism on Tuesday night when someone stole a tanker truck and drove it toward D.C.

The truck was stolen from Pennsylvania and ended up in Northeast Washington. However, police said it appeared that the crook wasn’t interested in terrorism.

The fuel truck that was the subject of a nationwide terrorism alert was found on a residential street in Northeast Washington a few miles from the White House on Tuesday night.

The truck was reported stolen early Tuesday morning at a commercial fueling station in Lancaster, Penn.

The lettering on the door reads “Heating Oil Partners, East Hartford, Conn.,” the name of the company that owns the truck.

Investigators called for officers from the bomb squad to make sure that the vehicle was not rigged with any explosives or booby traps.

They said they think whoever stole the truck did so, not for terrorism, but for profit.

“We don’t see any nexus to terrorism,” said D.C. police Sgt. James Manning. “We believe it was probably stolen for financial gain of some sort.”

By the time the truck was tracked down via a GPS system, some 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel had been pumped out and presumably stolen.

Heating Oil Partners sent a mechanic and a driver to recover the truck.

“It wasn’t here today, this morning when I left,” said Vince Tompkins, who lives nearby. “On my return it was there. (I left at) 6:30 a.m. this morning.”

D.C. police said they have learned this was the second fuel truck stolen in a few days from the same area of Pennsylvania.

“We’ve heard that there’s been other thefts of Heating Oil trucks in Lancaster,” Manning said. “We’re working with the Lancaster Police Department. I don’t believe any of those other trucks have been found around this area, though.”

Police said there has been an increase in thefts like this as fuel prices continue to rise.

FBI denies file exposing nuclear secrets theft
The FBI has been accused of covering up a file detailing government dealings with a network stealing nuclear secrets

THE FBI has been accused of covering up a key case file detailing evidence against corrupt government officials and their dealings with a network stealing nuclear secrets.

The assertion follows allegations made in The Sunday Times two weeks ago by Sibel Edmonds, an FBI whistleblower, who worked on the agency’s investigation of the network.

Edmonds, a 37-year-old former Turkish language translator, listened into hundreds of sensitive intercepted conversations while based at the agency’s Washington field office.

She says the FBI was investigating a Turkish and Israeli-run network that paid high-ranking American officials to steal nuclear weapons secrets. These were then sold on the international black market to countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

One of the documents relating to the case was marked 203A-WF-210023. Last week, however, the FBI responded to a freedom of information request for a file of exactly the same number by claiming that it did not exist. But The Sunday Times has obtained a document signed by an FBI official showing the existence of the file.

Edmonds believes the crucial file is being deliberately covered up by the FBI because its contents are explosive. She accuses the agency of an “outright lie”.

“I can tell you that that file and the operations it refers to did exist from 1996 to February 2002. The file refers to the counterintelligence programme that the Department of Justice has declared to be a state secret to protect sensitive diplomatic relations,” she said.

The freedom of information request had not been initiated by Edmonds. It was made quite separately by an American human rights group called the Liberty Coalition, acting on a tip-off it received from an anonymous correspondent.

The letter says: “You may wish to request pertinent audio tapes and documents under FOIA from the Department of Justice, FBI-HQ and the FBI Washington field office.”

It then makes a series of allegations about the contents of the file – many of which corroborate the information that Edmonds later made public.

Edmonds had told this newspaper that members of the Turkish political and diplomatic community in the US had been actively acquiring nuclear secrets. They often acted as a conduit, she said, for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s spy agency, because they attracted less suspicion.

She claimed corrupt government officials helped the network, and venues such as the American-Turkish Council (ATC) in Washington were used as drop-off points.

The anonymous letter names a high-level government official who was allegedly secretly recorded speaking to an official at the Turkish embassy between August and December 2001.

It claims the government official warned a Turkish member of the network that they should not deal with a company called Brewster Jennings because it was a CIA front company investigating the nuclear black market. The official’s warning came two years before Brewster Jennings was publicly outed when one of its staff, Valerie Plame, was revealed to be a CIA agent in a case that became a cause célèbre in the US.

The letter also makes reference to wiretaps of Turkish “targets” talking to ISI intelligence agents at the Pakistani embassy in Washington and recordings of “operatives” at the ATC.

Edmonds is the subject of a number of state secret gags preventing her from talking further about the investigation she witnessed.

“I cannot discuss the details considering the gag orders,” she said, “but I reported all these activities to the US Congress, the inspector general of the justice department and the 9/11 commission. I told them all about what was contained in this case file number, which the FBI is now denying exists.

“This gag was invoked not to protect sensitive diplomatic relations but criminal activities involving US officials who were endangering US national security.”

Jose Padilla sentenced on terror charges
He gets 17 years, four months, in case far removed from 'dirty bomb'

Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive “dirty bomb,” was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years and four months on terrorism conspiracy charges that don’t mention those initial allegations.

The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke marks another step in the extraordinary personal and legal odyssey for the 37-year-old Muslim convert, a U.S. citizen who was held for 3½ years as an enemy combatant after his 2002 arrest amid the “dirty bomb” allegations. He had faced up to life in prison.

Cooke said she was giving Padilla some credit — over the objections of federal prosecutors — for his lengthy military detention at a Navy brig in South Carolina. She agreed with defense lawyers that Padilla was subjected to “harsh conditions” and “extreme environmental stresses” while there.
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“I do find that the conditions were so harsh for Mr. Padilla ... they warrant consideration in the sentencing in this case,” the judge said.

Cooke also imposed prison terms on two other men of Middle Eastern origin who were convicted of conspiracy and material support charges along with Padilla in August. The three were part of a North American support cell for al-Qaida and other Islamic extremists around the world, prosecutors said.

'No evidence' of carrying out terror
But Cooke said that as serious as the conspiracy was, there was no evidence linking the men to specific acts of terrorism anywhere.

“There is no evidence that these defendants personally maimed, kidnapped or killed anyone in the United States or elsewhere,” she said.

Padilla was added in 2005 to an existing Miami terrorism support case just as the U.S. Supreme Court was considering his challenge to President Bush’s decision to hold him in custody indefinitely without charge. The “dirty bomb” charges were quietly discarded and were never part of the criminal case.

Cooke sentenced Padilla’s recruiter, 45-year-old Adham Amin Hassoun, to 15 years and eight months in prison and the third defendant, 46-year-old Kifah Wael Jayyousi, to 12 years and eight months. Jayyousi was a financier and propagandist for the cell that assisted Islamic extremists in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere, according to trial testimony. Both also faced life in prison.

The men were convicted after a three-month trial based on tens of thousands of FBI telephone intercepts collected over an eight-year investigation and a form Padilla filled out in 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. Padilla, a former Chicago gang member with a long criminal record, converted to Islam in prison and was recruited by Hassoun while attending a mosque in suburban Sunrise.

Padilla sought a sentence of no more than 10 years. Hassoun asked for 15 years or less and Jayyousi for no more than five years.

Prosecutors invoked Osama links
Padilla’s arrest was initially portrayed by the Bush administration as an important victory in the months immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and later was seen as a symbol of the administration’s zeal to prevent homegrown terrorism. Prosecutors repeatedly invoked al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden in the criminal case.

Civil liberties groups and Padilla’s lawyers called his detention unconstitutional for someone born in this country and contended that he was only charged criminally because the Supreme Court appeared poised to order him either charged or released.

Jurors in the criminal case never heard Padilla’s full history, which according to U.S. officials included a graduation from the al-Qaida terror camp, a plot to detonate the “dirty bomb” and a plot to fill apartments with natural gas and blow them up. Much of what Padilla supposedly told interrogators during his long detention as an enemy combatant could not be used in court because he had no access to a lawyer and was not read his constitutional rights.

Padilla’s lawyers argued for a lenient sentence, in part because of his minor role in the conspiracy that was the subject of last year’s trial and because of claims that he was mistreated and tortured while he was held at a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. U.S. officials denied those claims repeatedly.

Attorneys for Hassoun and Jayyousi argued that any assistance they provided overseas was for peaceful purposes and to help persecuted Muslims in violent countries. But FBI agents testified that their charitable work was a cover for violent jihad, which they frequently discussed in code using words such as “tourism” and “football.”

Former IAP President Indicted For Naturalization Fraud

Yaser Bushnaq, a former president of the Islamic Association for Palestine has been indicted in Virginia for naturalization fraud.

In applying to become a U.S. citizen in 2000, Bushnaq is accused of failing to disclose his affiliations with a series of organizations that the indictment links to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The indictment clearly defines the IAP as "an overt arm of the covert organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood."

In addition, it alleges that when Bushnaq applied to become a citizen he failed to disclose:

* He was the IAP's president from 1989-1991.
* That he worked under the pseudonym Yaser Saleh.
* He was a board of trustees member for the Al Aqsa Education Fund, "an organization that sought to raise funds for Hamas."
* He was an authorized signatory for the Marzook Legal Fund, established in 1996 to support Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook after his arrest by U.S. authorities.

The indictment claims he also failed to disclose a 1996 trip to Iran, which had been subject to U.S. sanctions as a state sponsor of terrorism the year before. And, the indictment alleges, Bushnaq did not tell immigration officials he spent most of 1998 living and working in Saudi Arabia. That extended absence from the United States "would have disqualified the defendant from obtaining naturalization because he no longer would have been a valid legal permanent resident."

A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Bushnaq Sept. 12 but it was not unsealed until Tuesday. Bushnaq remains at large and his whereabouts may be unknown. In a motion dated January 10, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg wrote that unsealing the indictment would not jeopardize any ongoing investigation.

Bushnaq is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Hamas-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), which, along with the IAP, is listed as part of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee operating in America. The committee was created to advance the Hamas cause in the U.S. Its members gathered in Philadelphia in the fall of 1993 to discuss ways to "derail" the Oslo Peace Accords, which the group feared would marginalize the Islamist Hamas.

Intercepted telephone calls show Bushnaq was invited to the Philadelphia meeting but did not attend. The HLF case is expected to be retried later this year after jurors deadlocked on most of the counts involved. Evidence presented at the trial showed the IAP and HLF had a close working relationship.

Bushnaq's Hamas support has been known for more than a decade. A 1996 Dallas Morning News story described the 1989 IAP conference this way:

But audience members at the December 1989 conference of the Islamic Association for Palestine shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") when the masked Hamas spokesman talked about an ocean of blood.

In a videotape of the conference, Yaser Bushnaq, a Dallas resident who was then president of the Islamic Association for Palestine, welcomed participants. A Hamas banner draped a table, from which one speaker after another praised Hamas. The conference was named after Abdullah Azzam, considered a Hamas martyr.

Bushnaq's work with the Marzook Defense Fund is not the only instance of his support for people directly involved in plotting on behalf of terrorists. Bushnaq derided the September 2003 arrest of American Muslim Council President Abdurrahman Alamoudi as an attack on Muslims in America. In a release from Solidarity International, Bushnaq called the arrest "extremely tragic" adding "The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and the U.S. Attorney General have apparently begun to destroy the lives of Arab Americans and Muslims based on newspaper articles and fabricated allegations."

Alamoudi pled guilty to illegal financial dealings with a State sponsor of terrorism and confessed to his role in a plot to assassinate the then-Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. A 2005 U.S. Treasury Department press release stated:

[t]he September 2003 arrest of Alamoudi was a severe blow to al Qaida, as Alamoudi had a close relationship with al Qaida and had raised money for al Qaida in the United States.

Bushnaq was pictured with Alamoudi and Ahmed Yousef, also an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF trial and now a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, at what was called the "Beirut Conference" in early 2001. During a daily press briefing on February13, 2001, a State Department spokesman said the meeting included "members of several terrorist organizations (who) met in Beirut in late January and that the pledged to work together against Israel. We believe the participants included Hizballah and Palestinian rejectionist groups."

Bushnaq worked with Alamoudi in creating Solidarity USA, a civil rights
group formed after the Sept. 11 attacks against America. In that role, Bushnaq was among the signatories to a March 2002 ACLU letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, urging that FBI guidelines on domestic surveillance not be relaxed. Such a move "is unwise, and unsound law enforcement policy," the letter stated.

Despite his fairly obvious Islamist ties, Bushnaq was often treated as a credible spokesman by gullible media outlets, such as NPR (which characterized Bushnaq as "help[ing] protect the rights of Muslim Americans" after the terror attacks of 9/11), the Voice of America, and the Washington Post, in which he defended his friend Alamoudi's criminal behavior. From a September 2003 piece:

Yaser Bushnaq, chief coordinator of the Solidarity USA civil rights group, which Alamoudi helped launch, said yesterday that if Alamoudi was trying to improve U.S.-Libyan relations, "it would fit with the man I know, who would try to bring a just solution between the two countries, and for the victims of the Pan Am incident." He said that "Alamoudi believes in reconciliation, and in America."

As is the case with other Hamas-linked and Islamist individuals in the U.S., Bushnaq contributed to the congressional campaigns of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) and former Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA).

The statute Bushnaq is accused of violating carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years if the crime helped "an act of international terrorism," or 10 years if the terrorism connection is not found by the court.

Al-Arian's Third Strike

In a ruling issued Friday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative Sami Al-Arian can't duck a grand jury subpoena in Virginia based upon a phantom claim that his 2006 guilty plea ruled out any future cooperation with law enforcement.

Al-Arian was serving out the remainder of a 57-month sentence for conspiring to provide goods and services to the PIJ when a federal grand jury in Northern Virginia subpoenaed him to testify about the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT). The IIIT is a think tank under investigation since at least 2002 for suspected terror financing. It was among the largest patrons of Al-Arian's own think tank, the World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), which was based in Tampa during the early 1990s and housed no less than four members of the PIJ's governing board.

Al-Arian refused to testify despite a grant of immunity, and waged a highly publicized hunger strike while appealing a resulting contempt citation. For every day the contempt order existed, he gained no credit on completing his sentence. A judge lifted the contempt charge in December, when the grand jury's term neared expiration. It isn't known whether a new grand jury might now subpoena Al-Arian again.

If it doesn't, Al-Arian could be released this spring and deported. If it does, Al-Arian will have to find a new argument. The 11th Circuit decision noted there's no language in the plea deal covering a grand jury subpoena and Al-Arian had been asked point blank at sentencing whether any other promises were made to him. He said no. Further, the opinion states:

The exclusion of a standard plea agreement provision requiring a defendant to cooperate with the government, whether voluntarily or under subpoena, does not establish that the government immunized Al-Arian from future grand jury subpoenas. This contention is especially dubious where, as here, the plea agreement contains an integration clause stating that there are no other promises, agreements, or representations except those set forth in the agreement, and Al-Arian denied at his plea hearing that he pled guilty in reliance on any promises or inducements except for those found in the agreement.

In other words, Al-Arian may have lied, making up the promise that, for pleading guilty to a felony, he could escape the obligations facing anyone else subpoenaed for information. The entire opinion is here.

"This is politics, this is not law," his attorney, C. Peter Erlinder, told the Associated Press after the ruling. That's not very sporting; variations of Erlinder's argument are now at least 0-for-3 in federal courts. It was rejected by the sentencing court in Tampa and by the 4th Circuit in Virginia as reported in March 2007:

The federal appeals court said Friday that it found no merit in al-Arian's claim that he does not have to testify because "a cooperation clause was discussed during the plea negotiations, but was not agreed to and not included in the written plea agreement."

The plea agreement "contains no language which would bar the government from compelling appellant's testimony before a grand jury," the appeals court said.

Turley called the subpoena a "direct violation of the [plea] agreement."

That's Jonathan Turley, who represents Al-Arian in his Northern Virginia contempt fight. In November, Turley crowed on his blog, "[t]he use of civil contempt to prolong his punishment has been a shocking abuse of the system by the Justice Department. Unable to convict Dr. Al-Arian before a jury, prosecutors have sought to mete out their own brand of justice through the grand jury system."

He made the same claim about Abdelhaleem Ashqar, a Hamas operative sentenced to 11 years in prison in November after he refused to testify before a grand jury investigating Hamas activity. Turley twists the nature of the Chicago case in an effort to gain public sympathy for his client, writing:

Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 49, a former associate professor of business at Washington's [Howard University], was sentenced this week to more than 11 years in a very controversial sentencing after he refused to testify in a grand jury. It is a case that follows a new and disturbing trend by the Bush Administration in using grand juries against individuals who they fail to convict in criminal cases.

Individuals, like my client Dr. Sami Al-Arian, are given the choice of a perjury trap is (sic) they testify or a contempt citation if they do not testify.

In a major loss for the Justice Department, Ashqar and co-defendant Muhammad Salah were acquitted of taking part in a racketeering conspiracy aimed at bankrolling Hamas in its violent attacks on the government of Israel. The prosecutors then pulled him into a grand jury and granted him immunity so that he could not invoke the privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment.

That, of course, is completely untrue. The same jury which acquitted Ashqar of racketeering in support of Hamas also convicted him of obstruction of justice and criminal contempt. Ashqar was not somehow dragged before a grand jury after his acquittal on bigger charges in some sort of exercise of "sour grapes" on the part of prosecutors.

Turley is not only Al-Arian's attorney, but also a law professor at George Washington University, a position where attention to detail might be considered important. So how to explain the fact that Turley got such a basic fact of the Ashqar case wrong? Had Turley read Ashqar's indictment, he would have seen that the first count against him was the racketeering charge and counts four and five were obstruction of justice and criminal contempt, related to Ashqar's refusal to testify in a separate grand jury investigation, occurring well before this trial which resulted in Ashqar's 11 year sentence.

Turley's fear of a "perjury trap" for a client like Al-Arian is a little more understandable. Both the 11th and 4th Circuit rulings express doubts about the existence of any promise not to be called to testify. And a look at the record shows he's been lying through his teeth for more than 15 years.

In January 1991, FBI agent Manny Perez interviewed Al-Arian at the request of FBI headquarters. Al-Arian assured the agent he had nothing to do with the PIJ and opposed terrorism. Three months later, Al-Arian was helping raise money at a Cleveland mosque, where he was introduced as the head of "the active arm of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine" that operated under a benign name "for security reasons."

In 1994, Al-Arian registered to vote, swearing he was a U.S. citizen when, in fact, his application for naturalization was under review. He was never granted citizenship, but he voted anyway. It was all a misunderstanding, he said.

That same year, he told me he had nothing to do with the PIJ and, at one point, even asked what the initials stand for. Wiretaps released at his trial show that earlier that year, Al-Arian spent days on the telephone arguing with PIJ leadership about the group's direction in the face of a money crisis. Trial evidence showed Al-Arian served as secretary of the PIJ governing board.

A year later, when PIJ founder and commander Fathi Shikaki was gunned down in Malta, Al-Arian told reporters there was no way a former associate from his think tank, Ramadan Shallah, had been appointed as new PIJ secretary general. His own attorneys had no choice but to acknowledge that was a lie. Ramadan Shallah still holds the job today.

Earlier in 1995, and after PIJ was designated as a terrorist group by an Executive Order from President Clinton, Al-Arian used the occasion of a brutal double suicide bombing to seek donations to the PIJ. In a letter to a Kuwaiti legislator, Al-Arian cited the attack, which killed 22 people, as an example of "what the believing few can do" adding:

I call upon you to try to extend true support effort to the jihad effort in Palestine so that operations such as these can continue.

Those are among the examples that prompted U.S. District Judge James Moody to call Al-Arian a "master manipulator" at sentencing.

Given all that, Turley may have a legitimate fear of perjury. While asking a question and expecting a truthful answer may prove personally challenging in Al-Arian's case, it is hardly a trap.

And in Ashqar's case, concern about a "perjury trap" didn't seem to be an issue after all. Press reports from the sentencing hearing indicate Ashqar clearly defined his refusal to testify as part of his loyalty to the jihadists he serves.

"He said he would rather go to prison than betray his people as they strived to free themselves from Israeli domination," the Associated Press reported. ‘"The only option was to become a traitor or a collaborator,"' Dr. Ashqar said, "'and this is something that I can't do and will never do as long as I live.'"

We'll see if Al-Arian has to make a similar choice.

FBI Investigates Gas Station Explosion

Many questions are left surrounding the death of a young Palestinian man. And, the FBI wants answers.

22-year-old Farid Karaka was burned alive after a gas station explosion early Wednesday morning on Busch Boulevard.

How did it happen?

Why was Karaka at a local Citgo mechanic’s garage at almost midnight. The garage was closed. He had just left friends at a local coffee shop and was en route to meet them at another location.

The FBI is asking all of these questions. But, they are tight-lipped on telling the media anything. They even refused comment on any connection of Karaka to 2 USF students who were recently arrested.

The question again is why. Have they established a connection? Are they looking into this as a matter of precaution? It would seem odd that a federal agency is involved in a matter left up to local fire investigators.

A local Muslim advocate group, CAIR, is welcoming any questions. And, wanting answers.

“Obviously when any crime happens or any accident happens, we welcome authorities and agencies getting to the bottom of things,” Ahmed Bedier told Tampa Bay’s 10 News at the scene of the fire. “We have lost a good young man.”

In keeping with Muslim tradition, the family wants the victim buried as soon as possible, which will most likely happen in Tampa. Karaka’s close family is located in Palestine. He was working in the United States to send money back home. Relatives in Brandon now have the somber task of burying their loved one, just 2 months before he was to marry a fiancé in New York.

Original Story

Tampa Fire Rescue crews say one person was killed in a fire at a gas station early Wednesday morning.

Crews say witnesses reported hearing an explosion and then seeing flames as high as the treetops coming from the Citgo Gas Station on West Busch Boulevard just after midnight. Two men who worked across the street from the gas station saw what was happening, and ran to help. They say they found a man lying inside the garage area of Jacob’s Lube Repair Shop, which is attached to the gas station. They say they ran inside, but the flames were just too intense.

“I ran inside, and I reached down in there and slowly eased my way towards him, and the flames were so high and the smoke—it overtook me. All I could do was touch his boot a couple times, and I kept calling for him to look up it at me. He was just in so much pain, and so much trauma was going on that all I could do was just keep talking to him.”

Fire crews arrived at the scene, and they say they found smoke and flames coming from the building. They also say the doors of the service bay area have been blown off by the explosion.

When firefighters pulled the man from the burning building, they say he was already dead. He was later identified as Farid IA Karakra, a 22-year-old mechanic who worked there. Coworkers told investigators he left work around 7:30 p.m., but they’re not sure why he would have returned.

Fire crews worked quickly to put out the blaze, extinguishing the flames within about 30 minutes. They say the damage was contained to the west end of the building, which appears to be a car service area.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire. On Wednesday morning, agents from ATF, FBI and the Tampa Bomb Squad were also at the scene, possibly looking into the cause of the explosion.

Six missing after Ga. sugar refinery explosion
Authorities say rescue efforts shifted from rescue to recovery operation

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. - Authorities searching for six people missing after an explosion at a sugar refinery said Friday that rescue efforts had shifted to a recovery operation. Firefighters were still battling flames.

Officials had not determined what caused the explosion Thursday night but said they suspect sugar dust, which can be volatile.

"There was fire all over the building," said Nakishya Hill, a machine operator who escaped from the third floor of the refinery on the Savannah River.
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"All I know is, I heard a loud boom and everything came down," said Hill, who was uninjured except for blisters on her elbow. "All I could do when I got down was take off running."

Fire partially contained
The fire was partially contained early Friday, said Capt. Matthew Stanley of the Savannah Fire Department. "We have diminished it considerably, but we're still struggling to get to parts of it," he said.

The fire had been extinguished in the area where the explosion happened, but structural damage was keeping firefighters out, Stanley said.

Ninety-five to 100 people were believed to be working in that area, authorities said.

Firefighters hoped to enter the area Friday. Authorities also were talking with the military about bringing in Chinook helicopters to dump water on the fire, Stanley said.

The blast was felt by residents throughout the Savannah suburb. No deaths were immediately reported, but six people remained unaccounted for hours later, said Chief Michael Berkow of the Savannah-Chatham County police.

Police Lt. Alan Baker and his wife, Joyce, told CNN they were among the first on the scene. Alan Baker said he went with a maintenance worker to turn off a gas main while his wife, a Red Cross first aid instructor, treated the injured.

"It was like walking into hell," Joyce Baker said. "We had approximately 13 men who were coming out and they were burned, third-degree burns on their upper bodies. And they were trying to sit down and the only thing that they wanted was to know where the friends were."

Some of the burned men had "no skin at all" and some had skin "just dripping off them," Baker said.

More than 50 people were taken to hospitals, some airlifted to a burn center in Augusta, 130 miles up the Savannah River, according to police and hospital officials. Several were in critical condition.

The plant is owned by Imperial Sugar and is known in Savannah as the Dixie Crystals plant.

Sugar dust explosion?
"A far as we know, it was a sugar dust explosion," Imperial Sugar CEO John Sheptor said. He said it happened in a storage silo where refined sugar is stored until it is packaged.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Lynn said the river was closed to ship traffic from the Port of Savannah while the river was searched for possible victims.

"It's a large facility, and there is still a significant amount of fire," said Clayton Scott, assistant director of Chatham County Emergency Management Agency. He described the refinery as covering an area the size of a Super Wal-Mart.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Friday it is sending an investigative team to the plant.

Sugar dust is combustible, according the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration's Web site. Static electricity, sparks from metal tools or a cigarette can ignite explosions. Sugar dust is suspected of sparking a nonfatal explosion last summer at a factory in Scottsbluff, Neb., and one that killed a worker in Omaha in 1996.

Imperial Sugar, based in Sugar Land, Texas, acquired Savannah Foods & Industries, the producer of Dixie Crystals, in 1997. The acquisition doubled the size of the company, making it the largest processor and refiner of sugar in the U.S., according to the company's Web site.

Imperial markets some of the country's leading consumer brands, Imperial, Dixie Crystals and Holly, as well as supplying sugar and sweetener products to industrial food manufacturers.

Pentagon charges 6 in 9/11 attacks
Death penalty will be sought against alleged mastermind, others

The Pentagon has charged six detainees at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, it was announced Monday. Officials said they’ll seek the death penalty in what would be the first trials under the terrorism-era military tribunal system.

“These charges allege a long term, highly sophisticated, organized plan by al-Qaida to attack the United States of America,” Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, the legal adviser to the tribunal system, told reporters. He added that the charges have been sworn “against six individuals alleged to be responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks” which occurred on Sept. 11, 2001 and killed nearly 3,000 people.

Hartmann said the six include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the attacks in which hijacked planes were flown into buildings in New York and Washington. Another hijacked plane crashed in the fields of western Pennsylvania.
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White House press secretaryt Dana Perino said that President Bush had no role in the decision to seek the death penalty.

“Obviously 9-11 was a defining moment in our history,” she said, “and a defining moment in the global war on terror. And this judicial process is the next step in that story. The president is sure that the military is going to follow through in a way that the Congress said they should.”

The military will recommend that the six men be tried together before a military tribunal. But the cases may be clouded because of recent revelations that Mohammmed was subject to a harsh interrogation technique known as waterboarding — which critics call torture.

Asked what impact that will have on the case, Hartmann said it will be up to the military judge to determine what evidence is allowed.

Prosecutors have been working for years to assemble the case against suspects in the attacks that prompted the Bush administration to launch its global war on terror.

The other five men being charged are:

* Mohammed al-Qahtani, the man officials have labeled the 20th hijacker;
* Ramzi Binalshibh, said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and leaders of al-Qaida;
* Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has been identified as Mohammed’s lieutenant for the 2001 operation;
* Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, al-Baluchi’s assistant;
* Waleed bin Attash, a detainee known as Khallad, who investigators say selected and trained some of the hijackers.

Tribunal system has changed
The men would be tried in the military tribunal system that was set up by the administration shortly after the start of the counterterror war and has been widely criticized for it rules on legal representation for suspects, hearings behind closed doors and past allegations of inmate abuse at Guantanamo. Original rules allowed the military to exclude the defendant from his own trial, permitted statements made under torture, and forbade appeal to an independent court; but the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the system in 2006 and a revised plan set up after Congress enacted a new law has included some additional rights.

Defense lawyers still criticize the system for it’s secrecy.

But Hartmann said Monday that the defendants will get the same rights as U.S. soldiers tried under the military justice system including the right to remain silent, call witnesses, and know the evidence against him. Appeals can go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He called the charges sworn Monday “only allegations” and said the accused will remain innocent until proven guilty.

The decision to seek the death penalty also is likely to draw criticism from within the international community. A number of countries, including U.S. allies, have said they would object to the use of capital punishment for their nationals held at Guantanamo.

The military tribunal system requires that a panel of 12 unanimously find the defendant guilty for capital punishment cases, Hartmann said.

Trial to be held at Guantanamo
Officials plan to hold the trial in a specially constructed court at Guantanamo that will allow lawyers, journalists and some others to be present, but leave relatives of Sept. 11 victims and others to watch the trial through closed-circuit broadcasts.

Mohammed was among 15 so-called “high-value detainees” who were held at length by the CIA in secret overseas prisons — some subject to what critics call torture — before being handed over to the military in 2006.

Last week, for the first time, the Bush administration acknowledged that Mohammed was among three suspects who were waterboarded. CIA Director Michael Hayden said that waterboarding was used, in part, because of widespread belief among U.S. intelligence officials that more catastrophic attacks were imminent.

Waterboarding involves strapping a person down and pouring water over the suspect’s cloth-covered face to create the sensation of drowning. It has been traced back hundreds of years, to the Spanish Inquisition, and is condemned by nations around the world. Critics call it a form of torture.

In Guantanamo Bay hearings that have been criticized as unfair, Mohammed confessed to the 9/11 attack and a chilling string of other terror plots last March.

“I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z,” Mohammed said in a statement read during the session, according to hearing transcripts later released by the Pentagon.

Under the system, the charges are forwarded to the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford. She can refer some or all of them for trial.

And it could be months or longer before trials begin for the six Sept. 11 defendants. With the appeals process, it would likely be some time after any convictions before executions would be possible.

Bush orders clampdown on flights to U.S.
EU officials furious as Washington wants extra data on all air passengers

The US administration is pressing the 27 governments of the European Union to sign up for a range of new security measures for transatlantic travel, including allowing armed guards on all flights from Europe to America by US airlines.

The demand to put armed air marshals on to the flights is part of a travel clampdown by the Bush administration that officials in Brussels described as "blackmail" and "troublesome", and could see west Europeans and Britons required to have US visas if their governments balk at Washington's requirements.

According to a US document being circulated for signature in European capitals, EU states would also need to supply personal data on all air passengers overflying but not landing in the US in order to gain or retain visa-free travel to America, senior EU officials said.

And within months the US department of homeland security is to impose a new permit system for Europeans flying to the US, compelling all travellers to apply online for permission to enter the country before booking or buying a ticket, a procedure that will take several days.

The data from the US's new electronic transport authorisation system is to be combined with extensive personal passenger details already being provided by EU countries to the US for the "profiling" of potential terrorists and assessment of other security risks.

Washington is also asking European airlines to provide personal data on non-travellers - for example family members - who are allowed beyond departure barriers to help elderly, young or ill passengers to board aircraft flying to America, a demand the airlines reject as "absurd".

Seven demands tabled by Washington are contained in a 10-page "memorandum of understanding" (MOU) that the US authorities are negotiating or planning to negotiate with all EU governments, according to ministers and diplomats from EU member states and senior officials in Brussels. The Americans have launched their security drive with some of the 12 mainly east European EU countries whose citizens still need visas to enter the US.

"The Americans are trying to get a beefing up of their visa-waiver programmes. It's all contained in the MOU they want to put to all EU member states," said a diplomat from a west European country. "It's a very delicate problem."

As part of a controversial passenger data exchange programme allegedly aimed at combating terrorism, the EU has for the past few months been supplying the American authorities with 19 items of information on every traveller flying from the EU to the US.

The new American demands go well beyond what was agreed under that passenger name record (PNR) system and look certain to cause disputes within Europe and between Europe and the US.

Brussels is pressing European governments not to sign the bilateral deals with the Americans to avoid weakening the EU bargaining position. But Washington appears close to striking accords on the new travel regime with Greece and the Czech Republic. Both countries have sizeable diaspora communities in America, while their citizens need visas to enter the US. Visa-free travel would be popular in both countries.

A senior EU official said the Americans could get "a gung-ho frontrunner" to sign up to the new regime and then use that agreement "as a rod to beat the other member states with". The frontrunner appears to be the Czech Republic. On Wednesday, Richard Barth of the department of homeland security was in Prague to negotiate with the Czech deputy prime minister, Alexandr Vondra,

Prague hoped to sign the US memorandum "in the spring", Vondra said. "The EU has done nothing for us on visas," he said. "There was no help, no solidarity in the past. It's in our interest to move ahead. We can't just wait and do nothing. We have to act in the interest of our citizens."

While the Czechs are in a hurry to sign up, Brussels is urging delay in order to try to reach a common European position.

"There is a process of consultation and coordination under way," said Jonathan Faull, a senior European commission official involved in the negotiations with the Americans.

To European ears, the US demands sound draconian. "This would oblige the European countries to allow US air marshals on US flights. It's controversial and difficult," an EU official said. At the moment the use of air marshals is discretionary for European states and airlines.

While armed American guards would be entitled to sit on the European flights to the US, the Americans also want the PNR data transfers extended from travellers from Europe to the US to include the details of those whose flights are not to America, but which overfly US territory, say to central America or the Caribbean.

Brussels has told Washington that its demands raise legal problems in Europe over data protection, over guarantees on how the information is handled, over which US agencies have access to it or with whom it might be shared, and over issues of redress if the data is misused.

The Association of European Airlines, representing 31 airlines, including all the big west European national carriers, has told the US authorities that there is "no international legal foundation" for supplying them with data about passengers on flights overflying US territory.

The US Transport Security Administration has also asked the European airlines to supply personal data on "certain non-travelling members of the public requesting access to areas beyond the screening checkpoint".

The AEA said this was "absurd" because the airlines neither obtain nor can obtain such information. The request was "fully unjustified".

If the Americans persevere in the proposed security crackdown, Brussels is likely to respond with tit-for-tat action, such as calling for visas for some Americans.

European governments, however, would probably veto such action, one official said, not least for fear of the "massive disruption given the huge volume of transatlantic traffic".

Man carrying Quran, Bible caught with box cutter at airport
Weapon hidden in hollowed-out book found when backpack passed through X-ray

A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said.

If convicted, Baines faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for a federal charge of attempting to board an airplane with a concealed dangerous weapon. He is currently serving a 30 day
sentence after pleading guilty Monday to a state misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.'s backpack through an X-ray machine and saw the image of a box cutter, according to a report from the Transportation Security Administration.

When searching the backpack, a security officer found a book titled "Fear Itself." The book was hollowed out, and the box cutter was inside.

After Baines was read his rights, he said his cousin had cut away the pages to make the hollow section in the book. Later, reports state, he said he had hollowed it out himself to hide money and marijuana from his roommates.

Baines told officers he was moving to Las Vegas and forgot the cutter was in the book.
Officers found books in the backpack titled "Muhammad in the Bible," "The Prophet's Prayer" and "The Noble Qur'an." He also had a copy of the Quran and the Bible.

Several sheets of paper in the backpack included rap lyrics that referred to police, narcotics, weapons and killing. Baines told officers he is a rapper who writes his own lyrics and that rap music writers need to "play the part," the report states.

Officers performed a background check and found no record of crimes or active warrants.
He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and booked into Orient Road Jail. At his first appearance in court Monday, Baines pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, according to an employee with the Hillsborough County clerk of court. He remained in Orient Road Jail today.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also filed a federal charge of attempting to board an aircraft with a concealed dangerous weapon. The federal charge against Baines was filed Sunday but was not announced until today, said Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.

Cole said Baines will be arrested by U.S. marshals upon his release from jail on the state charge.

9/11 Redux: 'Thousands of Aliens' in U.S. Flight Schools Illegally
Former FAA Inspector: TSA's Enforcement of Post-9/11 Laws 'Basically Nonexistent'

Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.

"Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today," wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration.

"Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes," wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.

Under the new laws, American flight schools are only supposed to provide pilot training to foreign students who have been given a background check by the TSA and have a specific type of visa.

But in thousands of cases that has not happened, according to the documents and current and former government officials involved in the program.

"TSA's enforcement is basically nonexistent," said former FAA inspector Bill McNease, in an interview for ABC News' "World News With Charles Gibson."

Watch the full report tonight on "World News With Charles Gibson" at 6:30 p.m. ET.

McNease, who retired last year, says in one year alone, 2005, he found some 8,000 foreign students in the FAA database who got their pilot licenses without ever being approved by the TSA.

"And a flight school wants the money to teach 'em. And they are gonna teach 'em how to fly and get their ratings, and then they just slip through the cracks," McNease said.

In another internal e-mail obtained by ABC News, Monty Thompson, an official in the TSA Flight School Inspections section, complained in 2005 to his bosses in Washington, "I fear we are 'danger close' to losing sight of the mission and the intent of the 'Flight School Security' provisions."

The new laws were passed after it was learned that all of the 9/ll hijackers, including ringleader Mohammed Atta, who were involved in flight operations had trained at U.S. flight schools with improper visas.

The FAA and Homeland Security are now starting to crack down on a number of flight schools suspected of training students illegally.

Just last month, agents raided a flight school outside San Diego, Anglo-American Aviation International, as part of an investigation of alleged fraud and misuse of visas.

A lawyer for the school said the raid only involved a technical, paper-work issue and that the school was "cooperating" in the investigation.

But federal officials say the so-called paper-work is extremely important.

"What happened in 9/ll we don't want to happen again or anything like that so something has to be done," said McNease.

No one from the TSA or Homeland Security would agree to be interviewed for this story, but officials said they were preparing an official statement in response.

The Department of Homeland Security would not provide an official from the flight school program to be interviewed for this story.

In a statement, the DHS said, "We have a high degree of confidence that our layered security measures, both seen and unseen, have raised the level of security in our aviation sector."

The statement did not address the issue of the thousands of students who have received pilot training and licenses with improper visas, other than to say they "are only one of the multiple layers of security" that the government relies on to "ensure that foreign nationals approved for flight training do not pose a threat to U.S. aviation security." The DHS said it conducts security threat assessments "on all non-U.S. citizens seeking flight training."

Las Vegas ricin investigation continues
Guns, anarchist-type textbook also found in room

Police say there is no indication of any link to terrorist activity involving the discovery of the deadly poison ricin that was found in a hotel room near the Las Vegas Strip.

Seven people were sent to the hospital to be tested for poisoning, including three officers who first responded to the 911 call. All seven people are fine and have been released from the hospital. There was also a dog and two cats found in the room. The cats survived, but the dog had to be put down because of starvation.

The room belonged to a man, Roger Von Bergendorff, who had been admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 with breathing problems. Von Bergendorff is now in critical condition and police sources say he has slipped into a coma. Police say they don't think foul play is involved, however they are still investigating why the man had ricin in his room.

Police say they were summoned to his room on Feb. 26, 2008 after apartment management called them to remove some firearms. The managers were going forward with eviction proceedings when they found guns and an anarchist-type textbook.

When police arrived, they noted the ricin section of the textbook was highlighted. Officers called Metro's bomb squad to check out the room, but they found no evidence of ricin.

A day later, a relative of Von Bergendorff found vials of ricin while cleaning out the room. He showed the vials to hotel management prompting a huge response by police and medical services.

Several federal and local agencies are involved in the investigation. The incident happened at the Extended Stay America Hotel, not far from the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel is located on Valley View between Flamingo and Harmon.

"Ricin is very serious. Something as small as the size of a pin can be deadly. An individual citizen, other than being involved in cancer research or cancer prevention, would not have any legal means or proper means to have it," said Metro Homeland Security Capt. Joe Lombardo.

Lombardo says the ricin was in powder form and also some of it was in castor bean form. Police say there were several vials of the toxin in a plastic bag and it may have been there for more than two weeks.

"I want to assure everyone the valley is safe we don't have any threat of contamination threat," said Lombardo.

Police say the relative who turned in the ricin also stayed at Excalibur Hotel. As a precaution, Metro went to the hotel and made sure there was no contamination.

"This was precautionary. It would be irresponsible of us not to respond to Excalibur and conduct tests to see if there was ricin," said Capt. Lombardo.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ricin is a powerful poison made from castor beans. It has some legitimate medical uses but it has most recently made news as a terrorist weapon.

Accidental exposure is very unlikely. It takes a deliberate act to make ricin and use it as a poison.

Meanwhile, as police and even the National Guard converged on the Extended Stay America, guests were locked out with no place to go.

Eyewitness News talked with Dennis Clark, who was locked in his room for hours, not knowing what was going on.

"You have it blocked up here and you are letting me walk around here, and she says, "Well, we are not really. You either go back into your room or you have to leave." and I said, "You are sure it is safe to stay?" and she said, "Yes, it is not a problem. We only have it blocked off to here." He said.

Friday morning, Eyewitness News caught up with Chad McEwan and his wife Darbi. They were married on Wednesday, just one day before the scare. They say their honeymoon is ruined. Luckily, Chad's mother lives in Las Vegas, so they stayed on her pull out bed -- not the honeymoon either had hoped for.

"Aww, she was gotcha8ed. We were panicking. Couldn't get to our room. We were tired," said McEwan.

Eddie Moreira did not get back to his room until 3 a.m., too. He works for an events company and had a large moving van parked nearby. He was upset no one from Extended Stay or the police told him what was happening.

"Are you in Russia or something? You can't have access to information and nobody can tell you anything," said Moreira.

No one from Extended Stay's local or national office had any comment Friday. A few of the guests did get refunds on their reservations, but many went elsewhere.

Ricin has been used in attacks overseas before, but Metro stresses this does not appear to be an act of terror.

Homeland Security says northern border at risk
'Undisputed presence in Canada of known terrorists, extremists'

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security is warning that the U.S. is at risk from invasion through its northern border, a 4,000-mile stretch of mostly unattended territory in 12 states, with the confirmed presence of a number of terrorist and extremist groups in Canada.

"The primary threat along the northern border is the potential for extremists and their conveyances to enter the U.S. undetected," the report delivered to Congress this week says. "There is an undisputed presence in Canada of known terrorist affiliate and extremist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria."

While both the United States and Canada long have boasted that the border between the two nations is the longest undefended international border in the world – there even is an International Peace Garden straddling the boundary on the edge of North Dakota, in the post-9/11 world, concerns over the movement of terrorists and their weaponry into the United States has increased exponentially.

That, especially since it was revealed that even before 9/11, an Algerian-born operative for Osama bin Laden's network was caught crossing from Canada into Washington with a trunk loaded with bomb-making materials, allegedly for use in a plot to bomb Las Angeles International Airport.

The new report, delivered to Congress on the instructions of legislation supported by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., calls the northern border porous and vulnerable to clandestine crossings.

The report, Tester told the Helena, Mont., Independent Record, "is just the first step, but it's good to see that the conversation on how to best shore up our northern border has started."

The report notes terrorists could blend into the Canadian population, because 90 percent of Canada's residents live within 100 miles for the border. But then on the U.S. side, much of the border is fronted by tens of thousands of square miles of sparsely populated forests in northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota.

"As such, the northern border's operating environment differs appreciably from the southwest border and requires a different law enforcement approach," the report said.

During 2007 more than 70 million people traveled across the border, and law enforcement agents arrested 4,000 people and intercepted 20 tons of contraband – mostly drugs.

The Department of Homeland Security had proposed that those crossing the border be required starting this year to present documents denoting citizenship and identity when entering the U.S. from Canada, but Congress then voted to delay that plan until 2009.

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said the "honor" system in place at the border for decades doesn't provide for the safety of American people. "Requiring secure and reliable documentation at our borders will drastically reduce security vulnerabilities posed by permitting entry based on oral declarations alone," he said.

Authorities noted from October to December 2007, authorities found 1,517 cases of individuals trying to enter the U.S. from Canada by falsely stating to be U.S. citizens. In another case, a suspect in a murder case was captured.

The Independent Record noted in its report that reconnaissance flights by the Montana National Guard and federal agents revealed numerous roads that crossed the international boundary with virtually no demarcation.

The newspaper said it located on Internet mapping services at least 58 roads or trails leading across the border with no checkpoints at all.

Tester told the newspaper he's seen such weaknesses personally. "This report will get the ball rolling to make the northern border as safe and secure as possible," he said.

Another issue is the staffing level for law enforcement agents. There are thousands of agents assigned to the southern U.S. border, but only a few hundred from Customs and Border Protection for the nation's northern edge, officials said.

"Vulnerabilities still exist along the northern border and must be addressed," the report said.

A second report on the situation, which is expected to detail measures that would improve security, is expected this summer.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat, earlier expressed concern about the ability of first responders in border states to respond, communicate and coordinate "in the event of a terrorist attack."

And a spokesman for the Border Patrol admitted the stretch "is not as secure as it should be."

The Independent Record noted that sometimes law enforcement authorities actually get their information from ranchers and farmers. "Because of the vastness of the area, the farmers help us out a lot, serving as our eyes and ears," a spokesman told the newspaper.

Hill County, Mont., sheriff Greg Szudero told the newspaper he has major concerns. "Terrorists – their goal is to murder people. If they can murder one or 30 or 3,000, they're going to do it. If we get too relaxed and don't act professional, we could be in serious trouble."

"The mindset of the local citizenry and some law enforcement is that terrorism won't happen here," he told the paper. "I do have concerns, and those are the terrorism issues we have in our country. We know terrorism incidents do happen. It could happen in rural Montana."

The southern border issues have, however, been given a higher profile. WND has reported that over the past few weeks, four Iraqis have been captured by Mexican officials, reportedly trying to enter the United States through its southern border.

Back in 2004, WND reported that al-Qaida planned to use Mexico as an entry point into the U.S. In addition, the 911 commission reported the terrorist network actually owned a travel agency in Mexico.

The commission also concluded that immigration enforcement failures led directly to the 911 attack . At least seven of the 19 hijackers carried false passports.

Also in 2004, WND reported Mexico was not fully cooperating with anti-terrorist efforts because of corruption and red tape inside the government.

That same year, WND reported al-Qaida expanding operations in Mexico and Latin America because of financial pressures brought on by the war on terrorism.

This followed an admission by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that al-Qaida was attempting to smuggle operatives into the U.S. across the Mexican border.

In 2003, WND reported a Mexican smuggling ring specializing in bringing Middle Easterners in the U.S. was discovered.

Just a month after the 911 attack, WND reported on the evidence Arabs were routinely making the trek from Mexico to the U.S.

FBI: Even more sensitivity
to Islam required by agents
Weeks added to required 'enrichment' program:
'We all need to learn and understand each other'

The FBI believes its agents still aren't sensitive enough to Muslims and their culture, so the bureau has extended by "a few weeks" its Islamic cultural "enrichment" training program, WND has learned.

During a recent outreach event at a Washington-area mosque, FBI officials also reassured a large turnout of concerned Muslims that the bureau is not profiling Arabs and Muslims for terrorism, and has made investigating alleged "hate crimes" against them and other minorities "the second-highest priority in the criminal division of the FBI."

Among the officials who attended the Feb. 8 "town hall meeting" at the large ADAMS Center mosque were Timothy Healy, deputy assistant director for FBI intelligence, and Dave Bennett, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Washington field office.

The officials said terrorism is "not a new phenomenon" limited to Muslims, and they cited abortion-clinic bomber Eric Rudolph as an example of a Christian terrorist.

While they said they are concerned about the threat from "homegrown terror" perpetuated by second-generation Muslim immigrants, the officials assured the Muslim audience they are no more concerned about such homegrown attacks than they are "about bank robberies," and are not targeting the Muslim community for special surveillance.

One official offered that FBI headquarters has extended the bureau's Arabic curriculum, which includes Muslim culture, by "a few weeks" to expose agents to Islam and cultivate a better understanding of the faith.

"We all need to learn and understand each other," he said, adding that the Muslim sensitivity program is part of basic training for agents.

"One of the things that the FBI believes in is diversity," he said. "Diversity is important."

To that end, he says the bureau is "under a hiring push this year" and is heavily recruiting Muslim agents. The FBI wants to hire 900 FBI agents and 2,000 professional support staff, including Arabic translators, by Sept. 30.

"One of the things that we are critically seeking are special agents and support staff who are Arabic speakers," he announced to the audience at the ADAMS mosque, which was founded and funded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has been one of the top distributors of Wahhabist anti-Semitic and anti-Christian dogma.

"We also need folks who, candidly, are familiar with Islam," the official said. "We're learning, many of us. And I've had many conversations with Muslims, and I've learned quite a bit. I'm a Roman Catholic, and there are so many similarities I have learned between Islam and Christianity that was a surprise to me."

ADAMS Center is not the only Muslim Brotherhood-tied organization where the FBI has recruited agents. In September, it also set up a recruitment booth at the annual Islamic Society of North America convention. Just four months earlier, federal prosecutors named ISNA as an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terror fundraising case, and listed it as a member of the U.S. branch of the radical Brotherhood.

What's more, the agency is advertising for agents in ISNA's magazine "Islamic Horizons," as well as on the website of the Saudi-backed Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, which has supported Hamas and other known terrorists.

Last November, Lebanese former FBI agent Nada Prouty was arrested and pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a Hezbollah espionage investigation.

As WND first reported, the FBI summarily rejected some 90 Jewish Arabic speakers who after 9/11 applied to become translators and language specialists at the FBI's New York field office.

As WND also first reported in 2003, national Arab-American and Muslim leaders have made presentations at an FBI training course on civil rights at the Washington offices of the FBI, and at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Va., as part of "Enrichment Training Sessions" for new special agents there.

In addition, the imam of a large Manhattan mosque has lectured veteran counterterrorism investigators at the FBI's New York field office about misinterpretation of the meaning of jihad in the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

The sensitivity training program, denounced by some active and former agents, was mandated after the 9/11 attacks by FBI Director Robert Mueller.

FBI headquarters defends the program as a way to reach out to the Muslim community in America.

"I hate the word 'sensitivity' training," said FBI spokesman Ed Cogswell. "I would call it an awareness training relative to cultural issues."

Mueller has met several times with Arab and Muslim groups since 9/11. He even agreed to be the keynote speaker at the American Muslim Council conference in Washington – a move that drew fire from AMC critics, who note the group has sung the praises of Islamic terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and was headed by al-Qaida fundraiser Abdurahman Alamoudi, now serving time in federal prison on terror charges.

"Mueller should lead the FBI in this war, and leave the sensitivity sessions to the human resources department or CNN," complained retired FBI special agent Don Lavey, who served 20 years in the bureau's counterterrorism unit.

"Let's just hope the director is leading the charge in this war against terrorism with an equal amount of zeal that he shows for cultural sensitivities," added Lavey, who claims Mueller is so politically correct he refuses to use "Islamic" and "terrorism" in the same sentence.

I got this in an email. If it's true, it's appalling!

What costs more per year than the Iraq War?

I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of
reading them. I have included the URL's for verification of the following facts:

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year.
http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of
English!
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt..01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare and Social Services by the American taxpayers.
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two-and-a-half times that of white non-illegal aliens.. In
particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US .
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal
aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from
the Southern border. Homeland Security Report.
http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'
http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to
their countries of origin.
MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "www.rense.com" claiming to behttp://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States .'
http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

Total cost is a whooping ... $338.3 BILLION A YEAR!!!
If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message, but on the other hand, if it does raise the hair on the back of your
neck, then forward it.
Snopes is provided for doubters:
http://www..snopes.com/politics/immigration/bankofamerica.asp

Social Security Change For 2008
The United States Senate voted to extend Social Security Benefits to Illegal Aliens beginning in 2008. The following are the
senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits. They are grouped by home state. If a state is not
listed, there was no voting representative. < /B>
Alaska : Stevens (R)
Arizona : McCain (R)
Arkansas : Lincoln (D) Pryor (D)
California : Boxer (D) Feinstein (D)
Colorado : Salazar (D)
Connecticut : Dodd (D) Lieberman (D)
Delaware : Biden (D) Carper (D)
Flor ida : Martinez (R)
Hawaii : Akaka (D) Inouye (D)
Illinois : Durbin (D) Obama (D)
Indiana : Bayh (D) Lugar (R)
Iowa : Harkin (D)
Kansas : Brownback (R)
Louisiana : Landrieu (D)
Maryland : Mikulski (D) Sarbanes (D)
Massachusetts : Kennedy (D) Kerry (D)
Montana : Baucus (D)
Nebraska : Hagel (R)
Nevada : Reid (D)
New Jersey : Lautenberg (D) Menendez (D)
New Mexico : Bingaman (D)
New York : Clinton (D) Schumer (D)
North Dakota : Dorgan (D)
Ohio : DeWine (R) Voinovich(R)
Oregon : Wyden (D)
Pennsylvania : Specter (R)
Rhode Island : Chafee (R) Reed (D)
South Carolina : Graham (R)
South Dakota : Johnson (D)
Vermont : Jeffords (I) Leahy (D)
Washington : Cantwell (D) Murray (D)
West Virginia : Rockefeller (D), by Not Voting
Wisconsin : Feingold (D) Kohl (D)

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Ohio Terror Connection Exposed

Reading the Washington Post several weeks ago, a front page article caught my eye: "Imam from VA Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided Al-Qaeda". The subject of the article, Anwar Al-Aulaqi, was a name familiar to me because of his past association with our former Hilliard terror cleric, Salah Sultan, who fled the country for Bahrain last March after having his citizenship application denied for his terrorist ties. Sultan was subsequently videotaped with several designated terrorists when he was a keynote speaker during a terror confab held in Doha, Qatar back in July. Al-Aulaqi and Sultan are also both tied to a known HAMAS fundraiser, Mohammed Al-Hanooti, who federal law enforcement authorities have claimed has raised millions of dollars for the terrorist organizations and who was also named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 WTC bombing.

The WaPo article discusses new evidence that after Sultan's friend Al-Aulaqi fled to Yemen in 2002, he began working directly with the Al-Qaeda networks in the Persian Gulf. This is not the first time that Al-Aulaqi has been tied to Al-Qaeda, though, since he has been identified by government sources and media reports as the spiritual mentor to two of the 9/11 hijackers, Nawaf Al Hazmi and Khalid Al Mihdhar. Al-Aulaqi helped the two 9/11 terrorists locate housing in San Diego, and the pair followed Al-Aulaqi when he moved to the Washington DC area in 2001.

Just prior to Al-Aulaqi's flight to Yemen in 2002, he was scheduled to help Salah Sultan lead a ubgone86 tour to Mecca, along with HAMAS fundraiser Al-Hanooti. The trip was coordinated by the DC-area Dar El-Eiman Tour Group, which was run by Fawaz Mushtaha. Mushtaha, a former official with the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), was listed, along with Al-Hanooti, as unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism finance trial last year. The Investigative Project has additional info on the background of Mushtaha, his tour company, Salah Sultan, and his Al-Qaeda and HAMAS ubgone86 homeboys.

As stated previously, this most recent WaPo article was not the first time that Al-Aulaqi had been in the news for his Al-Qaeda connections. In August 2003, Time Magazine asked the question, "Why Did the Imam Befriend the Hijackers?", which observes that despite his association with two of the 9/11 terrorists, after the terror attacks he lied to the FBI claiming not to have known any of the hijackers. The FBI's hands-off approach to Al-Aulaqi prompted criticism by congressional investigators.

And again in June 2004, US News and World Report featured an article on Al-Aulaqi, "The Imam's Very Curious Story," disclosing that the imam was known to have been engaging in some very un-Islamic behavior - namely, prostitution:

The probe of the 9/11 attacks soon led Washington FBI agents back to San Diego, where they found that al-Awlaki had twice been busted for soliciting prostitutes in 1996 and 1997 but had avoided jail time. Al-Awlaki has previously described these charges as "bogus." But FBI agents hoped al-Awlaki might cooperate with the 9/11 probe if they could nab him on similar charges in Virginia. FBI sources say agents observed the imam allegedly taking Washington-area prostitutes into Virginia and contemplated using a federal statute usually reserved for nabbing pimps who transport prostitutes across state lines.

Salah Sultan's other ubgone86 homeboy, Mohammad Al-Hanooti, was also the subject of an extensive investigative piece in June 2002 by the Albany Times-Union, "Religious leader tied to terror". That report discusses Al-Hanooti's longtime terror associations and activities:

But a classified memorandum written by the FBI's counterterrorism director less than a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks describes Al-Hanooti as a "big supporter" of Hamas.

The memorandum from Dale L. Watson, head of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, was sent to the Department of Treasury as federal authorities prepared to clamp down on what they called terrorist fronts that had set up fund-raising operations on U.S. soil.

It was during his tenure as imam at a northern New Jersey mosque in 1993 that Al-Hanooti allegedly raised money for Hamas, according to Watson's memorandum.

This information notwithstanding, there are still many in the Central Ohio area who are willing to stand up and defend Sultan and are quick to dismiss his open association with terrorist leaders and organizations, such as his appearance at a June 2005 HAMAS rally in Istanbul, where he spoke along with HAMAS head Ismail Haniyeh.

But even with Sultan's flight to the Middle East, he has been replaced by an endless stream of hate speakers and terror sheikhs who go through some of the Islamic institutions in the Columbus area like a department store revolving door.

Government outsources U.S. passports to Thailand
Company manufacturing electronic travel document was once victim of Chinese espionage

The United States has outsourced the manufacturing of its electronic passports to overseas companies — including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage — raising concerns that cost savings are being put ahead of national security, an investigation by The Washington Times has found.

The Government Printing Office's decision to export the work has proved lucrative, allowing the agency to book more than $100 million in recent profits by charging the State Department more money for blank passports than it actually costs to make them, according to interviews with federal officials and documents obtained by The Times.

The profits have raised questions both inside the agency and in Congress because the law that created GPO as the federal government's official printer explicitly requires the agency to break even by charging only enough to recover its costs.

Lawmakers said they were alarmed by The Times' findings and plan to investigate why U.S. companies weren't used to produce the state-of-the-art passports, one of the crown jewels of American border security.

"I am not only troubled that there may be serious security concerns with the new passport production system, but also that GPO officials may have been profiting from producing them," said Rep. John D. Dingell, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Officials at GPO, the Homeland Security Department and the State Department played down such concerns, saying they are confident that regular audits and other protections already in place will keep terrorists and foreign spies from stealing or copying the sensitive components to make fake passports.

"Aside from the fact that we have fully vetted and qualified vendors, we also note that the materials are moved via a secure transportation means, including armored vehicles," GPO spokesman Gary Somerset said.

But GPO Inspector General J. Anthony Ogden, the agency's internal watchdog, doesn't share that confidence. He warned in an internal Oct. 12 report that there are "significant deficiencies with the manufacturing of blank passports, security of components, and the internal controls for the process."

The inspector general's report said GPO claimed it could not improve its security because of "monetary constraints." But the inspector general recently told congressional investigators he was unaware that the agency had booked tens of millions of dollars in profits through passport sales that could have been used to improve security, congressional aides told The Times.

Decision to outsource

GPO is an agency little-known to most Americans, created by Congress almost two centuries ago as a virtual monopoly to print nearly all of the government's documents, from federal agency reports to the president's massive budget books that outline every penny of annual federal spending. Since 1926, it also has been charged with the job of printing the passports used by Americans to enter and leave the country.

When the government moved a few years ago to a new electronic passport designed to foil counterfeiting, GPO led the work of contracting with vendors to install the technology.

Each new e-passport contains a small computer chip inside the back cover that contains the passport number along with the photo and other personal data of the holder. The data is secured and is transmitted through a tiny wire antenna when it is scanned electronically at border entry points and compared to the actual traveler carrying it.

According to interviews and documents, GPO managers rejected limiting the contracts to U.S.-made computer chip makers and instead sought suppliers from several countries, including Israel, Germany and the Netherlands.

Mr. Somerset, the GPO spokesman, said foreign suppliers were picked because "no domestic company produced those parts" when the e-passport production began a few years ago.

After the computer chips are inserted into the back cover of the passports in Europe, the blank covers are shipped to a factory in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok, to be fitted with a wire Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, antenna. The blank passports eventually are transported to Washington for final binding, according to the documents and interviews.

The stop in Thailand raises its own security concerns. The Southeast Asian country has battled social instability and terror threats. Anti-government groups backed by Islamists, including al Qaeda, have carried out attacks in southern Thailand and the Thai military took over in a coup in September 2006.

The Netherlands-based company that assembles the U.S. e-passport covers in Thailand, Smartrac Technology Ltd., warned in its latest annual report that, in a worst-case scenario, social unrest in Thailand could lead to a halt in production.

Smartrac divulged in an October 2007 court filing in The Hague that China had stolen its patented technology for e-passport chips, raising additional questions about the security of America's e-passports.

Transport concerns

A 2005 document obtained by The Times states that GPO was using unsecure FedEx courier services to send blank passports to State Department offices until security concerns were raised and forced GPO to use an armored car company. Even then, the agency proposed using a foreign armored car vendor before State Department diplomatic security officials objected.

Concerns that GPO has been lax in addressing security threats contrast with the very real danger that the new e-passports could be compromised and sold on the black market for use by terrorists or other foreign enemies, experts said.

"The most dangerous passports, and the ones we have to be most concerned about, are stolen blank passports," said Ronald K. Noble, secretary general of Interpol, the Lyon, France-based international police organization. "They are the most dangerous because they are the most difficult to detect."

Mr. Noble said no counterfeit e-passports have been found yet, but the potential is "a great weakness and an area that world governments are not paying enough attention to."

Lukas Grunwald, a computer security expert, said U.S. e-passports, like their European counterparts, are vulnerable to copying and that their shipment overseas during production increases the risks. "You need a blank passport and a chip and once you do that, you can do anything, you can make a fake passport, you can change the data," he said.

Separately, Rep. Robert A. Brady, chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing, has expressed "serious reservations" about GPO's plan to use contract security guards to protect GPO facilities. In a Dec. 12 letter, Mr. Brady, a Pennsylvania Democrat, stated that GPO's plan for conducting a security review of the printing office was ignored and he ordered GPO to undertake an outside review.

Questionable profits

GPO's accounting adds another layer of concern.

The State Department is now charging Americans $100 or more for new e-passports produced by the GPO, depending on how quickly they are needed. That's up from a cost of around just $60 in 1998.

cont'd

Internal agency documents obtained by The Times show each blank passport costs GPO an average of just $7.97 to manufacture and that GPO then charges the State Department about $14.80 for each, a margin of more than 85 percent, the documents show.

The accounting allowed GPO to make gross profits of more than $90 million from Oct. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2007, on the production of e-passports. The four subsequent months produced an additional $54 million in gross profits.

The agency set aside more than $40 million of those profits to help build a secure backup passport production facility in the South, still leaving a net profit of about $100 million in the last 16 months. GPO was initially authorized by Congress to make extra profits in order to fund a $41 million backup production facility at a rate of $1.84 per passport. The large surplus, however, went far beyond the targeted funding.

The large profits raised concerns within GPO because the law traditionally has mandated that the agency only charge enough to recoup its actual costs.

According to internal documents and interviews, GPO's financial officers and even its outside accounting firm began to inquire about the legality of the e-passport profits.

To cut off the debate, GPO's outgoing legal counsel signed a one-paragraph memo last fall declaring the agency was in compliance with the law prohibiting profits, but offering no legal authority to back up the conclusion. The large profits accelerated, according to the officials, after the opinion issued Oct. 12, 2007, by then-GPO General Counsel Gregory A. Brower. Mr. Brower, currently U.S. Attorney in Nevada, could not be reached and his spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Fred Antoun, a lawyer who specializes in GPO funding issues, said the agency was set up by Congress to operate basically on a break-even financial basis.

"The whole concept of GPO is eat what you kill," Mr. Antoun said. "For the average taxpayer, for them to make large profits is kind of reprehensible."

Likewise, a 1990 report by Congress' General Accounting Office stated that "by law, GPO must charge actual costs to customers," meaning it can't mark up products for a profit.

Like the security concerns, GPO officials brush aside questions about the profits. Agency officials declined a request from The Times to provide an exact accounting of its e-passport costs and revenues, saying only it would not be accurate to claim it has earned the large profits indicated by the documents showing the difference between the manufacturing costs and the State Department fees.

Questioned about its own annual report showing a $90 million-plus profit on e-passports in fiscal year 2007 alone, the GPO spokesman Mr. Somerset would only say that he thinks the agency is in legal compliance and that "GPO is not overcharging the State Department."

Mr. Somerset said 66 different budget line items are used to price new passports and "we periodically review our pricing structure with the State Department."

Public Printer Robert Tapella, the GPO's top executive, faced similar questions during a House subcommittee hearing on March 6. Mr. Tapella told lawmakers that increased demand for passports — especially from Americans who now need them to cross into Mexico and Canada — produced "accelerated revenue recognition," and "not necessarily excess profits."

GPO plans to produce 28 million blank passports this year up from about 9 million five years ago.

A State Department consular affairs spokesman, Steve Royster referred questions to GPO on e-passports costs.

Congress to weigh in

GPO's explanations have not satisfied lawmakers, who are poised to dig deeper.

Mr. Dingell, the House Commerce chairman, said The Times' findings are "extremely serious to both the integrity of the e-passport program and to U.S. national security" and he has asked an investigative subcommittee chaired by Rep. Bart Stupak, Michigan Democrat, to begin an investigation.

"Our initial inquiry suggests that more needs to be done to understand whether the supply chain is secure and fully capable of protecting the manufacturing of this critical document," Mr. Dingell told The Times.

Mr. Stupak said that considering the personal information contained on e-passports, "it is essential that the entire production chain be secure and free from potential tampering." He added: "The GPO needs to make every effort to ensure that future passport components are made in America under the tightest security possible."

Michelle Van Cleave, a former National Counterintelligence Executive, said outsourcing passport work and components creates new security vulnerabilities, not just for passports.

"Protecting the acquisition stream is a serious concern in many sensitive areas of government activity, but the process for assessing the risk to national security is at best loose and in some cases missing altogether," she told The Times.

"A U.S. passport has the full faith and credit of the U.S. government behind the citizenship and identity of the bearer," she said.

"What foreign intelligence service or international terrorist group wouldn't like to be able to masquerade as U.S. citizens? It would be a profound liability for U.S. intelligence and law enforcement if we lost confidence in the integrity of our passports."

U.S.-based RevolutionMuslim.com spreading messages of hate
'May lead people who become radicalized by it to turn to other, more dangerous websites'

On any given day, log on to RevolutionMuslim.com and a host of startling images appear:

— The Statue of Liberty, with an ax blade cutting through her side;

— Video mocking the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, entitled "Daniel Pearl I am Happy Your Dead :) ";

— Video of a puppet show lampooning U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq;

— The latest speech from Sheikh Abdullah Faisal, an extremist Muslim cleric convicted in the UK and later deported for soliciting the murder of non-Muslims.

Even more surprising is that RevolutionMuslim.com isn't being maintained in some remote safe house in Pakistan. Instead, Yousef al-Khattab, the Web site creator, runs it from his home in the New York City Borough of Queens.

And, because al-Khattab enjoys the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, all the authorities can do is watch.

Formerly known as Joseph Cohen, al-Khattab is an American-born Jew who converted to Islam after attending an Orthodox Rabbinical school, which he later described as a “racist cult.”

The 39-year-old New York taxi driver launched RevolutionMuslim.com with the mission of “preserving Islamic culture,” “calling people to the oneness of God” and asking them to “support the beloved Sheik Abdullah Faisal, who’s preaching the religion of Islam and serving as a spiritual guide.”

In 2003 Faisal was convicted in the U.K. for spreading messages of racial hatred and urging his followers to kill Jews, Hindus and Westerners. In sermon recordings played at his trial, Faisal called on young, impressionable Muslims to use chemical weapons to “exterminate unbelievers” and “cut the throat of the Kaffars [nonbelievers] with [a] machete.”

Authorities believe Faisal’s sermons have influenced 2005 London transport bomber Germaine Lindsay and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who attended mosques where Faisal preached.

At times, al-Khattab's postings are farcical, such as a picture of him holding the book "Nuclear Jihad" with a wry smile on his face. Other messages call for radical Muslim rule worldwide.

Al-Khattab claims the Sept. 11 terror attacks were an “inside job,” and he blames U.S. foreign policy for spawning the terrorism that carried out the attacks.

He calls Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in 2002 by Islamic extremists in Pakistan, “a convicted spy.”

“I could care less about Daniel Pearl,” al-Khattab said in an interview with FOXNews.com. “I’m happy to see that he’s gone.”

The content changes constantly. One reason is that the fast flow of information allows messages to spread through cyberspace quickly. Another, terrorism analysts say, is to make it difficult for law enforcement to monitor the site.

Despite his radical anti-Western views, al-Khattab says he does not support terrorism of any kind.

Yet, RevolutionMuslim.com claims to be the official site of “North American representatives” for Sheikh Faisal, and it appears dedicated to spreading his radical doctrine.

He says Faisal “never said to kill innocent people” and was unjustly imprisoned. He says the real terror organizations are the U.S. Army, the CIA, and the FBI — and the National Coast Guard, “to a lesser extent.”

According to RevolutionMuslim, Faisal — who was deported to his native Jamaica in 2007 — is now receiving donations solicited on the site, including money for a new laptop and DVD burner to spread his message.

It's not illegal to post these messages or collect money for Faisal, but it would be if Faisal were designated a terrorist by the U.S. government. He currently is not listed on any government terror list; a Department of Justice spokesman could not confirm or deny if Faisal is being investigated for any terror related activity.

RevolutionMuslim may look amateurish when compared with other extremist Web sites, but it is no less of a threat, says Mia Bloom, political science professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.

“It may lead people who become radicalized by it to turn to other, more dangerous Web sites,” such as those run by terrorist organizations, she said.

Bloom characterized al-Khattab’s message as “narrow” and “misinformed” and said he is attempting to “proselytize or radicalize people who share some of these same ideas.”

“[He] has obviously been duped or is duping others because that’s not what Islam preaches,” she said.

On his site al-Khattab appears to condemn the very democracy that guarantees him the freedom to express himself — a freedom he cites in a disclaimer on his homepage:

“We hereby declare and make absolute public declaration that revolutionmuslim.com operates under the first amendment right to freedom of religion and expression and that in no way, shape, or form do we call for war against the U.S. government or adhere to the enemies of the United States elsewhere.”

Under the law FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said it is difficult to bring criminal charges against the operators of Web sites like RevolutionMuslim.com unless specific threats are made against an individual or individuals.

Kolko while not speaking directly about RevolutionMuslim said radical sites like these are not often prosecuted.

"It's usually a First Amendment right if they don't cross the threshold of making any threats," said Kolko. "There's nothing we should or could do."

“Until the rhetoric reaches the point in which it’s no longer protected speech under the first amendment, it’s hard to stop it,” said security expert, Harvey Kushner.

Authorities warn of growing jihad threat in U.S.
NYC police commissioner: 'The public is getting complacent'

Jihad USA: Confronting the Threat of Homegrown Terror

Law enforcement officials and security experts are warning against the threat of homegrown terrorism as several cases involving alleged American jihadists enter the courts.

"The public is getting complacent," New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly tells FOX News. Kelly, who was the police commissioner during the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, has developed a task force of counterterrorism officers trained to spot jihadists.

Although there has not been a major terrorist strike in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, Kelley says the country cannot let down its guard.

"We can't afford to be complacent in law enforcement, and I don't think we are," Kelly says in the new FOX News documentary, "Jihad, USA," which will air at 9 p.m. ET on March 29.

Several terror-related cases now in the courts highlight this need for continued vigilance, experts say.

— In Florida, the retrial of six of the "Liberty City Seven" is coming to a close. The group members, who allegedly plotted to destroy the Sears Tower in Chicago and swore allegiance to Al Qaeda on a secret FBI surveillance tape, were arrested in June 2006. Their first trial ended in a not-guilty verdict for one defendant and a mistrial for the other six.

— In Washington state, the murder trial has begun for Pakistani-American Naveed Haq, who is accused of opening fire in Seattle's Jewish Federation Building in July 2006, killing one woman and wounding five others. Haq allegedly said he was mad at the Jews and how they are running the country.

Two other cases are to enter court next month.

— In Michigan, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Houssein Zorkot, a Lebanese-born medical student at Wayne State University in Detroit who posted on his Web site in September 2007 that he was launching a personal jihad. He was arrested that same day in a nearby park, wearing camouflage paint and holding a loaded AK-47.

— In South Carolina a trial is set for Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed, two University of South Florida students who officials say had pipe bombs in their car when they were caught speeding near the Goose Creek weapons base.

Terror experts say these and other cases since Sept. 11 illustrate an emerging threat from homegrown terrorists, people who have been radicalized by extreme Muslim doctrine within the U.S.

"Al Qaeda is depending today upon the spontaneous emergence of these jihadist cells that are not tethered to the leadership of Al Qaeda by either telephone or e-mail," terror investigator and author Steve Emerson told FOX News.

But others say the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism is overstated.

In "none of these cases brought in the United States did the government ever produce any evidence suggesting that someone had prepared a bomb," says Jim Wedick, a former FBI agent. "Someone's actual ability to do harm needs to be taken into the equation."

Wedick consulted with the defense on the Liberty City Seven case.

"The solution is not to treat the whole Muslim community as a suspect community," says Hussam Ayloush, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "This is not about ignoring a threat, but this ... should not be about exaggerating any threat in a way that promotes certain political agendas."

Kelly says the threat is real and the only way to combat it is through prevention.

"Just imagine if the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were arrested on Sept. 10," he says. "How would that have been characterized?"

"Jihad, USA," a new FOX News documentary hosted by E.D. Hill, airs on the FOX News Channel at 9 p.m. ET on March 29.

2 SoCal freeway shootings, 1 fatal

Police said Monday they do not believe the weekend death of a motorist was connected to a monthlong string of other Southern California freeway shootings.
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The latest shooting occurred Sunday along the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, where police found driver Mario Gordillo Sical, 20, in a crashed sedan with a gunshot wound to his head.

Police Officer Sara Faden said authorities were investigating the shooting but did not think it was connected to any previous cases.

The shootings have made some drivers concerned about road rage.

"I have to be careful, maybe not cut in line. Or if someone does something, I shouldn't honk my horn," Lize Park, 50, said at a gas station near a 101 Freeway off-ramp.

Another case occurred late Saturday about 30 miles away in Long Beach, when a man was shot in what the victim called a road-rage incident. He was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.

On Feb. 27, a 46-year-old man was shot in the upper body and right arm while driving on the 210 Freeway northeast of Los Angeles. He survived.

A co-worker of that victim was arrested two days later and charged with attempted murder, Azusa police Detective DeWayne Eldridge said.

In another incident, a 26-year-old man died after a March 1 shooting on the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley that followed an argument on Hollywood Boulevard.

A 54-year-old woman was found about two weeks later shot in the head in a car crashed on the San Bernardino Freeway in eastern Los Angles County. She died at a hospital.

It was not known if arrests had been made in those shootings.

In a separate case, the California Highway Patrol said Monday it is investigating a series of apparent BB gun attacks that shattered rear passenger windows of six vehicles on Interstate 10 in eastern Los Angeles County, near the town of Baldwin Park. No one was been injured in those attacks, in a 15-minute span during the Monday morning rush hour.

4 Local Schools Close Due To Threats At St. Xavier - Threats Refer To Possible Campus Attacks on 4/14

Chicago - Saint Xavier University and four other nearby schools will be closed Monday. Graffiti found in a dorm on the St. Xavier campus threatened a deadly attack Monday.

Each of the schools’ websites informs students and parents about today’s school closings. Some say it’s because of their proximity to St. Xavier, some say they are closing in solidarity with the college campus.

The schools closed Monday are Mother McAuley High School, Brother Rice High School, Queen of Martyrs Elementary School and Evergreen Park Southwest Elementary. Altogether, more than 6,200 students are enrolled at those four schools.

Mother McAuley and Brother Rice high schools share a property line on the western edge of St. Xavier’s Chicago campus. Queen of Martyrs is just east of St. Xavier and Evergreen Park Southwest is also nearby.

The Brother Rice and McAuley websites indicate that all athletic practices, home activities and events are cancelled as well and that everything will resume as scheduled on Tuesday.

The closings follow Friday’s shutdown of both campuses of St Xavier. All students were asked to leave the Chicago and Orland Park campuses by noon Saturday. Non-essential staff also are not allowed on campus.

Campus employees found two threatening messages in Regina Hall, a freshman dormitory. The second one caused university officials to take extreme precautions because it warned “Be prepared to die on 4/14.”

St. Xavier University President Dwyer said, “This is a real enough threat we do not have these types of threats and when it was so specific to name a date, law enforcement said this is different from what we’ve seen at other college campuses and certainly at St. Xavier.”

The president has not decided when to re-open the college. She said students and staff will be notified by e-mail, text messages and telephone.

Meantime, another university in Michigan is also closed Monday due to threats of violence specific to Monday’s date.

Threatening graffiti found in three men’s restrooms led Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., to cancel campus classes, sports and cultural activities for two days.

The school said it sent out a security alert Saturday after finding one threatening message, and officials said they found similar messages in men’s restrooms in two other buildings later that day.

The school didn’t reveal contents of the threats. But university Police Chief Sam Lucido told the Detroit Free Press that they referred to possible campus attacks on “4/14.”

That is the same date noted in the threatening graffiti found at St. Xavier.

Lucido spoke Sunday with the head of security at St. Xavier, Oakland spokesman Ted Montgomery told The Associated Press.

“I don’t think as of yet they’ve established any connection that seems reliable,” he said.

Lucido told the Free Press that the Oakland University threats didn’t target anyone specific, and that authorities believe the same person left all three threats.

Border fence opponents go green
Letter criticizing U.S. security plan also cites 'endorsement' from Job

Opponents of a plan to make the U.S. more secure by building fencing along its porous border with Mexico have gone green, claiming such homeland security efforts will harm the environment.

And they even have cited a dispensation from the Bible, quoting the Old Testament suggestion from Job 12:7-10, which begins, "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you…"

The arguments have been launched in advance of a showdown hearing scheduled April 28 in Brownsville, Texas, where two subcommittees of the House Committee on Natural Resources are holding a joint oversight field hearing on arguments that a Department of Homeland Security decision to waive environmental and land management laws to build an expedited fence will cause irreparable damage.

On April 1, the Department of Homeland Security announced its intent to issue waivers to certain laws to complete by the end of 2008 some 470 miles of expedited border fence in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

The laws to be waived include sections of the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

DHS signed a second waiver for the levee-border barrier project in Hidalgo County, Texas.

"A substantial portion of the project areas addressed by these waivers have already undergone environmental reviews," the DHS said. "The department remains deeply committed to environmental responsibility, and will continue to work closely with the Department of Interior and other federal and state resources management agencies to ensure impacts to the environment, wildlife, and cultural and historical artifacts are analyzed and minimized."

But an "interfaith letter" sponsored by a coalition of 20 "religious groups" as diverse as the Alliance of Baptists, the Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and NETWORK, self-described as a "national Catholic social justice lobby," is being circulated to House of Representative members. It says one-third of the U.S. border lies in public hands, "including natural wildlife refuges, national parks and natural forests."

"Large swaths of pristine land provide habitat for an abundance of plant and animal life, including many species that are found nowhere else in the U.S.," the interfaith letter continues.

Calling the U.S. border with Mexico a "fragile ecosystem" that the governments of Mexico and the United States have worked together for years to protect, the letter contends, "Now, hasty construction of hundreds of miles of fencing along the border is destroying decades of cooperation and preservation."

The letter, which then cites the injunction to seek advice from the animals and birds, is being quoted by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who introduced H.R. 2593, the Borderlands Conservation and Security Act, on June 6, 2007.

WND has obtained a copy of a letter Grijalva is circulating to House colleagues, citing the interfaith letter and asking for co-sponsors to his plan to require DHS to comply with environmental and land management laws and to consult with Native American Indian tribes and local communities when deciding to build any fence along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Scheduled to appear at the hearing is Joan Neuhaus Schaan, a Fellow for Homeland Security and Terrorism Programs at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, and George Zachary Taylor of the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers.

Schaan and Taylor both are expected to testify that uncontrolled illegal immigration and the drug war currently raging along the U.S. border with Mexico are doing far more damage to the border ecosystem than building a fence ever would do.

Schaan is prepared to present data on the violence along the border, including increased levels of smuggling activity, burglary and theft, as well as murders resulting from the drug war and lawlessness entailed by the drug war.

Taylor is planning to present evidence of wildfires started by illegal immigrants causing environmental damage to the Pajarita Wilderness area, near his home in Arizona.

The hearing is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall of the Science, Engineering and Technology Building (SET-B) at the University of Texas-Brownsville.

The hearing is a joint oversight hearing of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, together with the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans.

Congress: Al-Qaeda Using Internet to Recruit Terrorists in the U.S.
Penny Starr
Senior Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - Using a video montage showing mass executions, bomb-making, and audio sound bites, including one promising to "slit the throats of Americans and Jews," Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) unveiled a report by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Lieberman and Collins told reporters that Al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist groups are using the Internet to recruit and train extremists in the United States.

"This bi-partisan report concludes that homegrown violent Islamic extremism poses an increasing threat to the safety of the American people," Lieberman said, adding that "homegrown" terrorists refer to American citizens or long-term residents. "The sophisticated use of the Internet by international terrorist organizations and their followers is increasingly a cause of this homegrown terrorism."

The report calls for better coordination between outreach programs, communication strategies, and law enforcement efforts to meet the growing threat.

"We need a well-coordinated national plan to counter terrorists' use of the Internet and to isolate and discredit their violent ideology," Lieberman said, "and, of course, the means to stop them before they carry out their violent, hate-filled acts against this country and its citizens."

Lieberman and Collins also called on American Muslim leaders to help counter the threat.

The Internet, the report says, gives disaffected people who have access to a computer a way "to identify and connect with networks throughout the world ... and gain expertise that previously was available only in overseas training camps."

"What makes it so troubling is we don't know how many people are being radicalized," Collins said, "because it's very difficult to track."

Lieberman said it was a mistake to underestimate the tactics being used by "the minority" of Muslims, who believe in jihad, or struggle, to create a caliphate, or global Islamic state.

"The terrorists, who some still mistakenly dismiss as people living in caves, are as sophisticated in their communication abilities today as the very sophisticated members of this generation," Lieberman said.

He said that sophistication includes the coordination of the message being disseminated to Americans through virtual clearinghouses.

"Al Qaeda or allied violent Islamic organizations manage a multi-tiered online media operation consisting of several production units to create content with the core message used to recruit and train terrorists."

The congressional report cites one Web site, at-Tibyan Publications, which posted the text of "39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad." It offers tips on fundraising, weapons training and "raising children to love jihad and those who wage it."

The report concludes that "this is a critical challenge for homeland security of the United States; one the U.S. government must work quickly and aggressively to overcome. The safety of the American people depends on it."

Fairfax Cop Who Tipped Terror Suspect Helped Kill Training Program

A Fairfax County Police sergeant who admits tipping off a terrorism suspect that he was under FBI surveillance also helped kill what had been a successful intelligence and terrorism-related training program within his police department.

Sgt. Weiss Rasool was sentenced to two years probation on April 22 after pleading guilty to illegally accessing a police database to run license tag numbers for a friend who thought he was being followed. Those tags traced back to FBI agents who had Rasool's acquaintance under surveillance as part of a terrorism investigation.

The Washington Post reported that Rasool cried during his sentencing and apologized for what he called "errors of judgment. But I never intended to put anybody's life at risk." The Post further reported:

"The target was arrested in November 2005, then convicted and deported, according to court filings in Rasool's case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanine Linehan said that the target and his family were already dressed and destroying evidence at 6 a.m. when agents arrived to make the arrest, indicating that they had been tipped off."

Now the president of an Arlington, Va.-based counterterrorism research center is asking Rasool's bosses to reconsider their 2006 decision to cease using training programs offered by the center. Complaints by Rasool and an officer from another local agency that the training was anti-Islam prompted Fairfax County police to break with the Higgins Center for Counter Terrorism Research.

In a letter to Police Chief David Rohrer written two days after Rasool's sentencing, Higgins Center President Peter Leitner said Rasool's complaints were unfounded and harmed his company's reputation:

"We were deeply disturbed and offended that the leadership of your Department sided with Rasool and essentially blackballed our non-Profit (sic) organization from teaching within your Academy. Several scheduled classes were cancelled and we were never invited back…

We were dismissed without recourse, suffered financial and professional reputation losses, and the resulting pressures caused serious damage to our ability to function properly. All on the basis of spurious charges made by someone who later proved to be unreliable -- at best."

Leitner said he has received no response to his letter.

"This is precisely why Fairfax PD needs our training," Leitner told the Investigative Project on Terrorism in an e-mail. "They need to learn about 5th column activities and penetrating agents. It also shows how ignorance and/or political correctness at the local level can jeopardize national security interests and assets."

Though he pled guilty, prosecutors still complained that Rasool was not playing straight with them. They originally argued that Rasool deserved a sentenced at the low end of the federal guidelines. That changed after a defense sentencing motion cast his actions as a simple administrative oversight, and that had he submitted a relevant form, "it is possible the case would not be before the Court today." Prosecutors then argued Rasool was not taking responsibility for his actions, saying he even claimed not to remember tapping in to the federal database and that he initially denied knowing the suspect or calling him. He confessed only after hearing a recording of the call.

"[A]s I told you, I can only tell you if it comes back to a person or not a person and all three vehicles do not come back to an individual person, so I just wanted to give you that much, uhh ok. Hope things work out for you," Rasool said in a voice mail message to his friend that was intercepted by federal investigators.

Rasool's attorney argued he was responding normally to a citizen's concern that he was being followed. "Rather," prosecutors responded, "the evidence is that the defendant was advising the target that he was being following by government vehicles."

In their sentencing memo to the court, prosecutors made clear the severity of Rasool's breach:

"The defendant, through his experience with the police, had a basis to believe that the leasing company was used for federal law enforcement vehicles, but despite that, relayed the information to the individual. The defendant also checked his name and other names multiple times in NCIC without a legitimate law enforcement purpose to do so and to see if he or others he was acquainted with were listed on the Terrorist Watch List.

The defendant's actions damaged the integrity of the NCIC system and jeopardized at least one federal investigation. The defendant's actions could have placed federal agents in danger. The FBI has had to undo the harm caused by the defendant."

The Higgins Center had offered courses for years without any complaint, yet in June of 2006, that all changed. In a letter dated June 26, 2006 to Academy Director Major Tyrone Morrow, Higgins Vice President Brian Fairchild indicated six officers in total lodged complaints against his programs. But the complaints did not reflect the program's actual content, Fairchild said, noting that statements used to illustrate Islamist ideology come from the Islamists themselves. In addition, instructors repeatedly make clear that the Islamists expressing radical ideology do not reflect the general Muslim world:

"It appears that these officers misunderstood and/or are confused by the content of our courses which is solely to educate officers about Islamist terrorists and the international revolutionary Islamist movement that creates and supports them. We are surprised by the assertions in these complaints, because, in order to ensure that such misunderstandings do not occur, we clearly define our terms in lecture supported by PowerPoint slides.

In our seminars, we never criticize traditional Islam or Muslims. Quite to the contrary, we definitively and repeatedly state that the overwhelming majority of the 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide are fine people that have nothing to do with extremism or terrorism." (emphasis in original)

In one complaint, Fairchild noted, the officer praised Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, who founded the Pakistani Islamic group Jamaat e-Islami in 1941. Maududi, Fairchild wrote, considered non-Islamic governments to be evil and sanctioned their violent overthrow.

"One of Maududi's direct quotes concisely describes his views:

* ‘Islam wishes to destroy all States and Governments anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to the ideology and programme of Islam regardless of the country or the Nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a State on the basis of its own ideology and programme, regardless of which Nation assumes the role of the standard bearer of Islam or the rule of which nation is undermined in the process of the establishment of an ideological Islamic State.'"

Rasool was under federal investigation at the time. In addition to running the license tag numbers, he admitted improperly accessing the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database 15 times in 2005-06, checking for his own name and the names of acquaintances. "The defendant did this in an attempt to determine if he or others were registered with the Violent Crime and Terrorist Offender File, which is a category of records maintained within the NCIC system," the plea agreement states.

In an interview, Leitner expressed frustration with the way Fairfax police officials treated him and his company. He called the complaints "nebulous," and said he was never given a full opportunity to rebut them. "It was very star chamber like."

Another officer who joined Rasool in complaining about the Higgins program works for an area sheriff's department, Leitner said. That officer claimed to be a representative from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Leitner said.

In November 2006, Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer attended CAIR's 12th Annual Banquet at the Marriott hotel in Crystal City. He credited CAIR with "helping police departments to better understand the Muslim community," adding:

"As we go forward, let us choose to make a difference and embrace a vision of peace and unity and hope. And let us choose for us and our children hope over fear, caring over indifference, tolerance over intolerance, acceptance over prejudice, and understanding over ignorance."

Among those writing to the sentencing judge in support of Rasool was CAIR governmental affairs director Corey Saylor. "I have always found Sgt. Rasool eager to promote a substantive relationship between the Fairfax County Police Department and the local Muslim community. His efforts played a significant role in improving trust in a time when mutual misunderstanding could easily severe (sic) all positive ties between these two groups."

Another letter of support came from Tyrone Morrow, the training academy major to whom Fairchild wrote his letter of appeal in 2006. Morrow, now retired, told the court he used to supervise Rasool and found him "to be of sound character and reputation."

Despite his plea to a misdemeanor, Rasool remains a Fairfax County police sergeant although he is under an internal affairs investigation.

Investigators find gaps in port program
Report assesses federal effort established after 9/11 attacks

A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C- TPAT), a federal program established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation's airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Under the program, roughly 8,000 importers, port authorities and air, sea and land carriers are granted benefits such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In exchange, the companies submit a security plan that must meet U.S. Customs and Border Protection's minimum standards and allow officials to verify their measures are being followed.

A 2005 GAO report found many of the companies were receiving the reduced cargo scrutiny without the required full vetting by U.S. Customs, a division of DHS. The agency has since made some improvements, but the new report found that Customs officials still couldn't provide guarantees that companies were in compliance.

Among the problems:

_A company is generally certified as safer based on its self-reported security information that Customs employees use to determine if minimum government criteria are met. But due partly to limited resources, the agency does not typically test the member company's supply-chain security practices and thus is "challenged to know that members' security measures are reliable, accurate and effective."

_Customs employees are not required to utilize third-party or other audits of a company's security measures as an alternative to the agency's direct testing, even if such audits exist.

_Companies can get certified for reduced Customs inspections before they fully implement any additional security improvements requested by the U.S. government. Under the program, Customs also does not require its employees to systematically follow up to make sure the requested improvements were made and that security practices remained consistent with the minimum criteria.

"Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices," investigators wrote. "It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits."

The GAO urged Customs and Border Protection to require consideration of third-party and other outside audits and take steps to make certain companies comply with any additional security improvements requested. The report also calls for some technological improvements to help improve consistency and better information-gathering in Customs' security checks.

Responding in part, Customs officials in the report agreed they could do more to follow up on suggested security improvements but noted that employees often use their expert discretion in assessing the potential danger before certifying a company. The agency has also said the program overall has made the nation safer.

Congress has been working to improve port security after the independent Sept. 11 commission cited the potential dangers in its 2004 final report. The commission stated that compared to commercial aviation, "opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation." DHS has said that while the likelihood of terrorists smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. in cargo containers is low, the nation's vulnerability and consequences of such an attack are potentially high.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the report shows the importance of the private sector's continued cooperation in helping improve port security. "I will continue to work with DHS and the private sector to ensure the effectiveness of the crucial port security program," she said.

The GAO study examined a sample of 25 company reviews by Customs and Border Protection from March 1, 2006 through Sept. 30, 2006. Investigators interviewed officials, reviewed documents and studied the agency's minimum security criteria to see if standards were being met.

Threat Received Before US Cargo Jet Caught Fire At San Francisco Airport

Air crash investigators have revealed the operators of a cargo plane which caught fire at San Francisco last week received a threat earlier in the week.

In its continuing investigation to determine the cause of the June 28, 2008, fire that burned a hole through the top of the fuselage of an ABX Air Boeing 767 cargo airplane parked at San Francisco International Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board has developed the following factual information:

The primary location of the fire was outside the cargo hold in an area just aft of the cockpit. The fire was extinguished by San Francisco Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting, but not before causing substantial damage to the aircraft. The flight crew of two, who were preparing to start the engines when the fire broke out, escaped from the aircraft without injury.

The NTSB dispatched a team of five investigators to the accident scene. Joining them were representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Transportation Security Administration; the Federal Aviation Administration; the San Francisco Fire Department; and Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting. NTSB investigators have worked closely with all of these groups throughout the process of examining and documenting the fire damage to the aircraft.

After the NTSB was notified of the fire, it was reported that within a week prior to the accident, the cargo carrier had received a threat against an unspecified aircraft. Preliminary examinations have not revealed any indication of an explosive or incendiary device.

The 21-year-old aircraft was originally configured for passenger operations and modified in 2004 to a cargo configuration by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Israel Ministry of Transport has designated an accredited representative to the investigation under the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13. IAI will serve as a technical adviser to the accredited representative.

NTSB investigators interviewed both members of the flight crew yesterday. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder are at NTSB headquarters in Washington where data from each is being analyzed.

The NTSB team anticipates completing the on-scene phase of the investigation by Sunday, July 6.

Parties to the investigation are the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, ABX Air, the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco Airport Authority, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Undercover city detective finds hints of danger among mosques

As the global war on terror approaches the start of its eighth year, the NYPD says it has never been more prepared - but also warns that the city can never let its guard down. In a two-part series, Daily News reporter Patrice O'Shaughnessy looks at the terror threat in New York - and around the world. Sunday's installment focuses on an NYPD undercover officer who dug deep into the potential terrorists in our midst.

A young undercover city detective spent four years in the shadowy world of terrorist wanna-bes - taking part in jihadist discussions and training in parks in the dead of night - to get a handle on the homegrown threat.

At great personal risk, he participated in everything from prayers at a mosque to martial arts training under cover of darkness to watching jihadist videos, with many of the activities laced with talk of killing, according to a source familiar with the undercover's investigations.

His experiences paint a vivid portrait of the potential for local terror. While the picture is in no way indicative of the city's Muslim population as a whole, it provides insight into its most radical element.

The detective spent his time interacting with informal groups of youths and men who shared extremist views - and his experiences illustrate what police say is the potential for radicalization of some elements in the community.

He reported that after prayers at a neighborhood mosque, there were often private classes that included discussions about bombing different areas.

The men discussed violent jihad in bookstores, private houses and on buses en route to paintball and shooting-range events.

He was invited to join in "bonding" activities like working out at a gym and martial arts training in parks at night, during which the group discussed ideological justifications for killing Westerners.

He also watched military movies and jihadist videos with groups of young men in private homes. During one such evening, one man got so excited he punched a wall.

The detective reported that some youths became extremists after they traveled to their home countries; others went on the ubgone86 - the pilgrimage to Mecca - and came back fired up by imams who encouraged violence as a religious obligation.

Others, after visiting relatives abroad, became enraged at their family's living conditions and blamed the U.S. for supporting nondemocratic governments.

Although the youths talked about ways to attack the U.S., they lacked a strong leader who could help them follow through on a plan, the detective reported.

The undercover, a Muslim who came to America from Bangladesh when he was 7, gave only a glimpse of his work as an undercover when he testified during the trial of the Herald Square bomb plotters, the only known New York City homegrown plot to reach the jihadization stage.

The groups the detective interacted with resemble the "bunches of guys" that Marc Sageman, a noted terrorism authority and new scholar-in-residence at the NYPD, says are the real concern. His position has stirred a debate among security analysts.

While some experts contend the chief threat is Al Qaeda, Sageman, author of "Leaderless Jihad," contends the threat comes more from radicalized individuals who meet and scheme in their neighborhoods and on the Internet.

"We're still very much learning about our enemy," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. "Sageman will help us do that. He was with the CIA, a consultant to France and Spain. He's a heavyweight."

While the homegrown threat is real, "An attack from afar by Al Qaeda is always a possibility," Kelly emphasized.

Intelligence analysts for the department have compiled a report, "Radicalization in the West," that "conceptualized the whole notion of the homegrown threat," said David Cohen, deputy commissioner of intelligence. The Internet as training ground and recruitment tool for homegrown radicals is strong, Cohen said, but the number of jihadist Web sites - up from a dozen in 1998 to more than 5,000 now - has probably flattened out.

"Along with expanding computer investigations done by the cyber unit, we have expanded our human program," Cohen said, referring to traditional undercover detective work. The detective appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court two years ago as the final witness at the four-week trial of Shahawar Matin Siraj, 23, a Pakistani immigrant who was convicted of plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station during the Republican National Convention in 2004.

The detective was not involved in that case, but testified that he had come across Siraj during his undercover work.

Testifying under the fake name of Kamil Pasha, he said he was taken from the Police Academy in October 2002 to be a "walking camera," eyes and ears, among Muslims. He interacted with groups in Brooklyn and elsewhere in the city.

The detective has been involved in "numerous" investigations for the intelligence division, part of a cadre of undercovers who act as listening posts.

"We don't target a group as a whole; we look for patterns of behavior, travel, training," Cohen said.

The NYPD has studied attacks in Europe to enhance its understanding of the homegrown threat. For example, the July 7, 2005, London subway bombings that killed 52 people drove home the issue of plotting being done outside the target area. The attack plan was hatched in Leeds - more than 150 miles from London.

"We drew a 200-mile perimeter around the city, and we work with all the local police agencies from Maryland to Canada," Cohen said.

"We have our ear to the ground," Kelly said. "We are aware of the possibility of a threat to this city developing very close to home."

Post 9/11 dragnet turns up surprises
Biometrics link foreign detainees to arrests in U.S.

In the six-and-a-half years that the U.S. government has been fingerprinting insurgents, detainees and ordinary people in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa, hundreds have turned out to share an unexpected background, FBI and military officials said. They have criminal arrest records in the United States.

There was the suspected militant fleeing Somalia who had been arrested on a drug charge in New Jersey. And the man stopped at a checkpoint in Tikrit who claimed to be a dirt farmer but had 11 felony charges in the United States, including assault with a deadly weapon.

The records suggest that potential enemies abroad know a great deal about the United States because many of them have lived here, officials said. The matches also reflect the power of sharing data across agencies and even countries, data that links an identity to a distinguishing human characteristic such as a fingerprint.

"I found the number stunning," said Frances Fragos Townsend, a security consultant and former assistant to the president for homeland security. "It suggested to me that this was going to give us far greater insight into the relationships between individuals fighting against U.S. forces in the theater and potential U.S. cells or support networks here in the United States."

The fingerprinting of detainees overseas began as ad-hoc FBI and U.S. military efforts shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It has since grown into a government-wide push to build the world's largest database of known or suspected terrorist fingerprints. The effort is being boosted by a presidential directive signed June 5, which gave the U.S. attorney general and other cabinet officials 90 days to come up with a plan to expand the use of biometrics by, among other things, recommending categories of people to be screened beyond "known or suspected" terrorists.

Fingerprints are being beamed in via satellite from places as far-flung as the jungles of Zamboanga in the southern Philippines; Bogota, Colombia; Iraq; and Afghanistan. Other allies, such as Sweden, have contributed prints. The database can be queried by U.S. government agencies and by other countries through Interpol, the international police agency.

Civil libertarians have raised concerns about whether people on the watch lists have been appropriately determined to be terrorists, a process that senior government officials acknowledge is an art, not a science.

Large-scale identity systems "can raise serious privacy concerns, if not singly, then jointly and severally," said a 2007 study by the Defense Science Board Task Force on Defense Biometrics. The ability "to cross reference and draw new, previously unimagined, inferences," is a boon for the government and the bane of privacy advocates, it said.

An FBI mission
The effort, officials say, is bearing fruit.

"The bottom line is we're locking people up," said Thomas E. Bush III, FBI assistant director of the Criminal Justice Information Services division. "Stopping people coming into this country. Identifying IED-makers in a way never done before. That's the beauty of this whole data-sharing effort. We're pushing our borders back."

In December 2001, an FBI team was sent on an unusual mission to Afghanistan. The U.S. military had launched a wave of airstrikes aimed at killing or capturing al Qaeda fighters and their Taliban hosts. The FBI team was to fingerprint and interview foreign fighters as if they were being booked at a police station.

The team, led by Paul Shannon, a veteran FBI agent embedded with U.S. special forces, traveled to the combat zone toting briefcases outfitted with printer's ink, hand rollers and paper cards. The agents worked in Kandahar and Kabul. They traversed the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. They hand-carried the fingerprint records from Afghanistan to Clarksburg, W.Va., home to the FBI's criminal biometric database.

As they analyzed the results, they were surprised to learn that one out of every 100 detainees was already in the FBI's database for arrests. Many arrests were for drunken driving, passing bad checks and traffic violations, FBI officials said.

"Frankly I was surprised that we were getting those kind of hits at all," recalled Townsend, who left government in January. They identified "a potential vulnerability" to national security the government had not fully appreciated, she said.

The people being fingerprinted had come from the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. They were mostly in their 20s, Shannon recalled. "One of the things we learned is we were dealing with relatively young guys who were very committed and what they would openly tell you is that when they got out they were going back to jihad," he said. "They'd already made this commitment."

One of the first men fingerprinted by the FBI team was a fighter who claimed he was in Afghanistan to learn the ancient art of falconry. But a fingerprint check showed that in August 2001 he had been turned away from Orlando International Airport by an immigration official who thought he might overstay his visa. Mohamed al Kahtani would later be named by the Sept. 11 Commission as someone who allegedly had sought to participate in hijackings. He currently is in custody at Guantanamo Bay.

Similarly, in 2004, an FBI team choppered to a remote desert camp on the Iraq-Iran border, home to the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), whose aim is to overthrow the Iranian government. The MEK lead an austere lifestyle in which men are segregated from women and material goods are renounced. The U.S. State Department considers the organization to be a terrorist group.

The FBI team fingerprinted 3,800 fighters. More than 40, Shannon said, had previous criminal records in the agency's database.

While the FBI was busy collecting fingerprints, the military was setting up its own biometrics database, adding in iris and facial data as well. By October, the two organizations agreed to collaborate, running queries through both systems. The very first match was on the man who claimed to be a poor dirt farmer. Among his many charges were misdemeanors for theft and public drunkenness in Chicago and Utah, a criminal record that ran from 1993 to 2001, said Herb Richardson, who serves as operations manager for the military's Automated Biometric Identification System under a contract with Ideal Innovations of Arlington.

Many of those with U.S. arrest records had come to the United States to study, said former Criminal Justice Information Services head Michael Kirkpatrick, who led the FBI effort to use biometrics in counterterrorism after Sept. 11. "It suggests there was some familiarity with Western culture, the United States specifically, and for whatever reason they did not agree with that culture," he said. "Either they became disaffected or put up with it, and then they went overseas."

cont'd

Errors in matching, though rare, have occurred. In a noted 2004 case, Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield was erroneously named as a suspect in the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people. FBI lab analysts matched a print lifted from a plastic bag at the crime scene to his fingerprints that were stored in the FBI's criminal database because of a 1985 arrest for auto burglary when he was a teenager. The charge had been dismissed. After a critical Justice Department Inspector General audit, the FBI made fixes in its system. A recent inspector general report found the FBI fingerprint matching to be generally accurate.

Worries about watch list
Civil libertarians, however, worry that the systems are not transparent enough for outsiders to tell how the government decides who belongs on a watch list and how that information is handled.

"The day when the federal government can tell people the basis they've been put on the watch list is the day we can have more confidence in biometric identification," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Vetting the data is the job of analysts at the National Counterterrorism Center, an office park-like complex in McLean run by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Analysts there scour intelligence reports to create the master international terrorist watch list.

"You cannot draw a bright red line and say that's a terrorist, this person isn't," said Russ Travers, an NCTC deputy director. "If somebody swears allegiance to Bin Laden, that's an easy case. If somebody goes to a terrorist training camp, that's probably an easy case. What if a person goes to a camp and decides, 'I don't want to go to a camp, I want to go home.' Where do you draw the line?"

Investigators are working on ever more sophisticated ways to evaluate the data. Analysts at the Army's National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, for instance, use software to scrutinize intelligence reports from sources such as electronic surveillance and informants. They then link the information to a person's biographic and biometric data, and look for relationships that might detect terrorists and plots.

For example, a roadside bomb may explode and a patrol may fingerprint bystanders because insurgents have been known to remain at the scene to observe the results of their work. Prints also can be lifted off tiny fragments of exploded bombs, said military officials and contractors involved in the work.

Analysts are not just trying to identify the prints on the bomb. They want to find out who the bomb-carrier associates with. Who he calls. Who calls him. That could lead to the higher-level operatives who planned and financed attacks.

Already, fingerprints lifted off a bomb fragment have been linked to people trying to enter the United States, they said.

In a separate data-sharing program, 365 Iraqis who have applied to the Department of Homeland Security for refugee status have been denied because their fingerprints turned up in the Defense Department's database of known or suspected terrorists, Richardson said.

If Iraq and Afghanistan were a proving ground of sorts for biometric watch-listing, the U.S. government is moving quickly to try to build a domestic version. Since September 2006, Homeland Security and the FBI have been operating a pilot program in which police officers in Boston, Dallas and Houston run prints of arrestees against a Homeland Security database of immigration law violators and a State Department database of people refused visas. Federal job applicants' prints also are run against the databases. To date, some 500 people have been found in the database and thus are of interest to Homeland Security officials.

Steve Nixon, a director at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said the effort is key to national security.

"When we look at the road and the challenges, globalization and the spread of technology has empowered small groups of individuals, bad guys, to be more powerful than at any other time in history," he said. "We have to know who these people are when we encounter them. A lot of what we're doing in intelligence now is trying to identify a person. Biometrics is a key element of that."

Arrest Rate on Terrorism-Related Charges in U.S. is 2.5 times Higher than Europe

"Since 9/11, there have been over 2,300 arrests connected to Islamist terrorism in Europe in contrast to about 60 in the United States." Thus writes Marc Sageman in his influential new book, Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century (University of Pennsylvania Press).

This one statistical comparison inspires Sageman, in a chapter he calls "The Atlantic Divide," to draw sweeping conclusions about the superior circumstances of American Muslims. "The rate of arrests on terrorism charges per capita among Muslims is six times higher in Europe than in the United States." The reason for this discrepancy, he argues, "lies in the differences in the extent to which these respective Muslim communities are radicalized." He praises "American cultural exceptionalism," admonishes European governments "to avoid committing mistakes that risk the loss of good will in the Muslim community," and urges Europeans to learn from Americans.

Sageman's argument rehashes what Spencer Ackerman wrote in a New Republic cover story of late 2005, when he found that "Europe's growing Muslim culture of alienation, marginalization, and jihad isn't taking root" in the United States.

But Sageman's entire case is premised on the figures of 2,300 and 60 arrests. Aside from possible other causal explanations for these differences, such as the European legal system permitting more latitude to make terrorism-related arrests, are those figures even correct? He supports them with only a brief, vague footnote: "Updating Eggen and Tate, 2005; Lustick 2006: 151-52 agrees with this estimate." Here, "Eggen and Tate, 2005" refers to a two-part newspaper article and "Lustick 2006" sources a discredited extremist screed.

In fact, Sageman's numbers are scandalously inaccurate.

European arrests: His European number is inflated. The European Police Office (Europol) issued statistics showing that in 2007, 201 Islamists were detained in the European Union (other than the United Kingdom) on terror-related charges, compared to 257 in 2006. Earlier Europol statistics are less clear, but a close review of the evidence conducted for me by Jonathan Gelbart of Stanford University shows 234 arrests made in 2005, 124 in 2004. and 137 in 2003. In all, the total West European terrorism-related arrests appear to number less than 1,400.

U.S. arrests: According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Sageman's American figure is too low by a factor of almost ten. Department spokesman Sean Boyd indicated, according to a Fox News report, that "527 defendants have been charged in terrorism or terrorism-related cases arising from investigations primarily conducted after Sept. 11. Those cases have resulted in 319 convictions, with an additional 176 cases pending in court." Plus, as I documented at "Denying [Islamist] Terrorism" and its follow-up blog), politicians, law enforcement personnel, and the media are loathe to acknowledge terrorist incidents, so the real number of terrorism-related arrests is substantially higher.

Given that the Muslim population in the United States is about 1/7th size of its West European counterpart (3 million vs. 21 million), using the figures of 527 arrests for the United States and 1,400 for Europe suggests that the Muslim per-capita arrest rate on terrorism-related charges in the United States is 2.5 times higher than in Europe, not, as Sageman asserts, 6 times lower. In fact, Sageman (who was offered a chance to reply to this article but declined) is off by a factor of about 15.

His error has major implications. If the United States, despite the much better socio-economic standing of its Muslims, suffers from 2.5 times more terrorism per capita than does Europe, socio-economic improvements are unlikely to solve Europe's problems.

This conclusion fits into a larger argument that Islamism has little to do with economic or other stresses. Put differently, ideas matter more than personal circumstances. As I put it in 2002, "The factors that cause militant Islam to decline or flourish appear to have more to do with issues of identity than with economics." Whoever accepts the Islamist (or communist or fascist) worldview, whether rich or poor, young or old, male or female, also accepts the ideological infrastructure that potentially leads to violence, including terrorism.

In policy terms, Americans have no reason to be smug. Yes, Europeans should indeed learn from the United States how better to integrate their Muslim population, but they should not expect that doing so will also diminish their terrorism problem. It could, indeed, even worsen.

U.S. eyes Iranians at nuke labs
Muslim scientists invited by Clinton still employed

As fears grow over Iran secretly developing nuclear weapons, U.S. counterintelligence officials are keeping a close eye on scientists from Iran and other Muslim nations working at the U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, WND has learned.

The Energy Department recently revoked the security clearance of an Egyptian-born nuclear physicist because he was suspected of "conflicting allegiances."

Last year, DOE and FBI agents began questioning Moniem El-Ganayni, who worked on the side as a Muslim prison chaplain.

Prison authorities in Pennsylvania alleged he advocated suicide bombing of Americans and jihad against the U.S. while ministering to inmates, charges El-Ganayni denies.

Even so, SCI-Forest prison in Marienville, Pa., terminated his contract. DOE contractor Bettis Laboratory also fired him.

Until May, El-Ganayni had access to classified nuclear secrets.

Last year, federal authorities accused a Muslim engineer at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station of illegally smuggling software codes into Iran and downloading details of control rooms, reactors and designs of the nation's largest nuclear plant. Arizona Public Service Co. operates Palo Verde.

Mohammed Alavi, 49, was arrested as he stepped off a plane in Los Angeles and later jailed. He was released, however, after Iran's foreign minister sent a letter to U.S. officials demanding his immediate release.

Under the Clinton administration, the Energy Department welcomed scientists and students from sensitive Muslim nations, including Iran, at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and other nuclear weapons research labs as part of its "open-door policy."

No Iranian nationals were employed at Los Alamos when Clinton took office in 1993, according to an internal lab report. By 1997, three Iranians were employed there.

Iranians were assigned to other labs as well. Although the labs have cut back on the number of visitors from sensitive countries since 9/11, many of the foreign workers are still assigned there.

And U.S. officials say concerns have been raised specifically about the high number of Iranian students assigned to the labs.

"They let a lot of Iranians in on post-doctoral fellowships," an Energy official said. Such assignments typically last up to a year, but can extend much longer.

Another official who works in security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California says a number of warnings have been issued regarding possible Iranian espionage at the labs.

"There is a great deal of concern about Iranians throughout the national lab complex," he said. "A lot of directives have been issued concerning this issue."

A former senior Energy intelligence official says that in terms of developing deployable nuclear weapons, "the Iranians are years ahead of where the Iraqis ever were."

He says Los Alamos, which has been the target of an alarming number of security breaches over the past several years, is particularly vulnerable to penetration by Iranian spies.

"The opportunities they have to collect intelligence from the lab is pretty damn frightening given how leaky that place is," the former official said.

"They can do a lot of harm."

In December, Tehran sent a formal protest note to Washington for "spying" on Iran's nuclear activities. Iranian officials accused the U.S. of carrying out espionage activities.

Tehran last year stopped UN inspectors from visiting an underground bunker where it is building an industrial-scale plant to make enriched uranium.

Iran insists its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity.

U.S. headed for 'heightened alert' stage
Major events on horizon prompt surge in anti-terror efforts

Government officials have been quietly stepping up counterterror efforts out of a growing concern that al Qaeda or similar organizations might try to capitalize on the spate of extremely high-profile events in the coming months, sources tell ABC News.

Security experts point to next month's Olympics as evidence that high-profile events attract threats of terrorism, like the one issued this past weekend by a Chinese Muslim minority group that warned of its intent to attack the Games.

Anti-terror officials in the U.S. cite this summer and fall's lineup of two major political parties' conventions, November's general election and months of transition into a new presidential administration as cause for heightened awareness and action.

This is what the Department of Homeland Security is quietly declaring a Period of Heightened Alert, or POHA, a time frame when terrorists may have more incentive to attack.

According to drafts of government memos described to ABC News, the period would run roughly from this August through July 2009.

During this time, homeland security analysts will be asked to redouble efforts to study terrorism leads. And a number of agencies will be asked to review emergency response plans to a variety of attacks, from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to biological weapons.

Officials also are being asked to make sure they are prepared for all contingencies during the transition from the Bush administration to that of the next president.

In a recent interview, FBI director Robert Mueller told ABC News of his concerns for homeland security.

"When you have a series of events like this which are very public, where you have a number of people that are congregated together, we take additional precautions," he said.

"That means identifying, focusing on the intelligence that's available and scrutinizing it to pieces and running it to ground, to putting in place the precautions to assure the particular events go according to plan and free from terrorist attacks," he said.

At the moment, the nation's public threat level will remain at yellow, or "elevated," but not orange, or "high."

The reasons: There are no specifics indicating an attack on the U.S. is imminent, and U.S. officials do not want to be accused of trying to inject themselves into the presidential campaign.

Official: US wanted death penalty in anthrax case

A top U.S. biodefense researcher apparently has committed suicide in the wake of what a brother said was his intense pursuit by the FBI in connection with anthrax-tainted letters that killed five people.

The Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against the scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, 62, a leading military anthrax researcher who worked for the past 18 years at the government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md., the Los Angeles Times reported in Friday editions. Ivins had been told of the impending prosecution, the paper said.

Ivins died Tuesday at Frederick Memorial Hospital in Maryland. The Times, quoting an unidentified colleague, said the scientist had taken a massive dose of a prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine. A woman who answered the phone at Bruce Ivins' home in Frederick declined to comment.

Only last month, the government exonerated another scientist at the Fort Detrick lab, Steven Hatfill, whose name for years had been associated with the post-9/11 attacks that traumatized the nation. Investigators had publicly named Hatfill a "person of interest" in 2002. The government paid Hatfill $5.82 million to settle a lawsuit contending he was falsely accused and had been made a scapegoat for the crimes.

Investigators have been interviewing Ivins' family and co-workers since at least last year, and the pressure increased after Hatfill's name was cleared. Justice Department officials declined to comment.

"We are not at this time making any official statements or comments regarding this situation," said Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office, which is investigating the anthrax attacks, said Friday.

Tom Ivins, a brother of the scientist, told The Associated Press that his other brother, Charles, had told him that Bruce committed suicide and Tylenol might have been involved.

Tom Ivins said Friday that federal officials working on the anthrax case questioned him about his brother a year and a half ago. "They said they were investigating him," he said from Ohio, where he lives, in a CNN interview.

But he never talked to his brother about it: "I stay away from him," Tom Ivins said.

A woman who answered the phone at the home of the third brother, Charles Ivins, in Etowah, N.C., refused to wake him and declined to comment on his brother's death. "This is a grieving time," she said.

Henry S. Heine, a scientist who had worked with Ivins on inhalation anthrax research at Fort Detrick, said he and others on their team have testified before a federal grand jury in Washington that has been investigating the anthrax mailings for more than a year. He declined to comment on Ivins' death.

The Fort Detrick laboratory and its specialized scientists for years have been at the center of the FBI's investigation of the anthrax mailings, which killed five people, shut down a Senate office building and postal center for months, and compounded Americans' sense of vulnerability to terrorism.

An aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who received one of the anthrax-tainted letters, said Friday that Leahy had not yet been briefed on the developments. Leahy, as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, has the FBI under congressional oversight.

Unusual behavior by Ivins was noted at Fort Detrick in the six months following the anthrax mailings, when he conducted unauthorized testing for anthrax spores outside containment areas at the infectious disease research unit where he worked, according to an internal report. But the focus long stayed on Hatfill.

Dr. W. Russell Byrne, a physician who worked with Ivins in the bacteriology division of the Fort Detrick research facility for 15 years, said he does not believe Ivins was behind the anthrax attacks.

Byrne of Frederick said he believes that Ivins was "hounded" by aggressive FBI agents who raided his home twice. He said Ivins was forcefully removed from his job by local police recently because of fears that he had become a danger to himself or others. The investigation led to Ivins being hospitalized for depression earlier this month, Byrne said.

He described Ivins as "eccentric," but not dangerous.

"If he was about to be charged, no one who knew him well was aware of that, and I don't believe it," said Byrne, who attended the same Catholic church as Ivins, who played the keyboards and led the church's musical program.

Norman Covert, a retired Fort Detrick spokesman who served with Ivins on an animal-care and protocol committee, said Ivins was "a very intent guy" at their meetings.

Ivins was the co-author of numerous anthrax studies, including one on a treatment for inhalation anthrax published in the July 7 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

The Times said federal investigators moved away from Hatfill and concluded Ivins was the culprit after FBI Director Robert Mueller changed leadership of the investigation in 2006. The new investigators instructed agents to re-examine leads and reconsider potential suspects. In the meantime, investigators made progress in analyzing anthrax powder recovered from letters addressed to two Leahy and Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., according to the report.

Besides the five deaths, 17 people were sickened by anthrax that was mailed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and members of the news media in New York and Florida. The victims included postal workers and others who came into contact with the anthrax.

In the six months following the anthrax mailings, Ivins conducted unauthorized testing for anthrax spores outside containment areas at USAMRIID - the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick - and found some, according to an internal report by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, which oversees the lab.

In December 2001, after conducting tests triggered by a technician's fears that she had been exposed, Ivins found evidence of anthrax and decontaminated the woman's desk, computer, keypad and monitor, but didn't notify his superiors, according to the report.

The report says Ivins performed more unauthorized sampling on April 15, 2002, and found anthrax spores in his office, in a passbox used for moving materials in and out of labs, and in a room where male workers changed from civilian clothing into laboratory garb.

Ivins told Army investigators he conducted unauthorized tests because he was worried that the powdered anthrax in letters that had been sent to USAMRIID for analysis might not have been adequately contained.

In January 2002, the FBI doubled the reward for helping solve the case to $2.5 million, and by June officials said the agency was scrutinizing 20 to 30 scientists who might have had the knowledge and opportunity to send the anthrax letters.

After the government's settlement with Hatfill was announced in late June, Ivins started showing signs of strain, the Times said.

Ivins was one of the nation's leading biodefense researchers.

In 2003, Ivins and two of his colleagues at the USAMRIID received the highest honor given to Defense Department civilian employees for helping solve technical problems in the manufacture of anthrax vaccine.

In 1997, U.S. military personnel began receiving the vaccine to protect against a possible biological attack. Within months, a number of vaccine lots failed a potency test required by federal regulators, causing a shortage of vaccine and eventually halting the immunization program. The USAMRIID team's work led to the reapproval of the vaccine for human use.

The Times said Ivins was the son of a Princeton-educated pharmacist who was born and raised in Lebanon, Ohio. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a Ph.D. in microbiology, from the University of Cincinnati.

He and his wife, Diane, owned a small white home just outside the main gate to Fort Detrick, about two blocks from an apartment where Hatfill once lived.

"Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is involved in this simply because the victim here is from another country and it just kind of makes sense that our terrorism guys would take a look a look at this," FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis said.

Davis told CBS 4 that nothing so far has been found to link the case to terrorism or the coming convention.

"I don't see how anybody could do anything but look into the possibility that this is a potential terrorist attack," said Dr. Andrew Ternay, a Department of Defense contractor.

Ternay has worked with the Pentagon for 25 years. He's published text books and written "The Language of Nightmares" which is a glossary of all things deadly, including cyanide.

"The very first thought that came to my mind was murder, or somebody who's got to kill an awful lot of rodents because years ago cyanide used to be used to kill rats and roaches," said Ternay. "A tablespoon would be enough to kill you. Less actually."

Authorities said The Burnsley Hotel is safe and is open for business.

Cyanide can be made from plants in very small amounts. It can be a gas, liquid or powder. It prevents the body from using oxygen and therefore is more harmful to the heart and brain than other organs.

"It was used in concentration camps in World War II and by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in the 1990s," CBD4 Medical Editor Dr. Dave Hnida said. "And put it in a little capsule, it is in fact used as a suicide pill just like you see in the movies."

Officials said cyanide can be used as a terrorist weapon if it is dumped in water put in food, sprayed as a gas, or many other methods.

Ternay said the question with cyanide is how pure it is. If the powder is only 10 percent cyanide, it is not nearly as lethal.

Ternay said cyanide can be easy to get if you want a quarter of a pound. Filling out some paperwork is all that is required to order it.

Larger amounts of 50 pounds or more are tougher to come by.

The investigation is continuing.

Joint Terrorism Task Force Investigating Cyanide, Dead Man Found In Denver Hotel Room

An autopsy is now complete on a 29-year-old Ottawa man found dead in a Denver hotel room on Monday.

Although Denver police haven’t yet said how Saleman Abdirahman Dirie died, authorities told reporters they found one pound of sodium cyanide near his body.The pound of sodium cyanide found in a hotel room Monday is potent enough to have killed close to 1,000 people, according to an expert in deadly chemicals and counter-terrorism.

“You have a suspicious substance that was found in a hotel room in conjunction with a person being a foreign national, and we have a lot of questions and that is why we are assisting,” said Denver FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright. Authorities were trying to determine why Dirie, 29, was in Denver and how and when he got into the United States.

“There is not necessarily more of a concern, but it is something we are aware of and how close the DNC is,” Wright said. “We want to make sure we do everything we can to find out the unknown.”

And they should be, according to Dr. Andrew Ternay, a chemist at the University of Denver and the director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Homeland Defense.

“A pound of cyanide would kill hundreds of people,” Ternay said. “It depends on, do you breathe it in? Does it get on your skin? That makes all the difference in the world. Sitting in a bag, it does nothing. But if you get it on your skin, it’ll go through the pores of your skin and kill you.”
Police say it appears Dirie was dead for several days before his body was found in room 408 of the Burnsley Hotel in downtown Denver, located about four blocks from the State Capitol.

The FBI and the U.S. government’s anti-terrorism agency are assisting in the investigation.

“Our joint services task force is involved in this simply because the victim here is from another country and it just kind of makes sense that our terrorism guys take a look at this,” FBI special agent James Davis told the local CBS News television station in Denver.

Ottawa’s Somali community in shock

Meanwhile, members of Ottawa’s Somali community, which Dirie belonged to, are in shock after learning of his death.

“I don’t know what happened. The community don’t know what happened but I think the community do care. One of their members who travelled to Denver lost his life there,” Abdirizak Karod told CTV Ottawa on Wednesday, adding that Dirie’s family left for Denver immediately after learning of his death.

Police are now waiting on toxicology results to determine how Dirie died and whether cyanide played a role in his death.

Security Officials On The Lookout For Cloned Emergency Vehicles

Cloned emergency vehicles lookout memo issued.

Security officials around the cities hosting this year’s political conventions are being told to watch out for fake or cloned emergency vehicles.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency memo ‘bulletin’ says terrorists could use such “cloned” emergency or commercial vehicles to conduct surveillance or carry out an attack.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau says faking such vehicles is inexpensive, perhaps costing as little as $2000.00.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service says it doesn’t have any specific information that cloned vehicles are being used for terrorist or other illicit purposes at the Democratic convention in Denver or the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The bulletin, called an “infogram,” is distributed to emergency management officials across the country.

Officials are advised to know how to verify markings on government and military vehicles. Imaging systems that can see inside trucks as well as radiation detection equipment will be used in both convention cities to prevent anything dangerous from getting near or inside the venues.

Thousands of federal, state and local law enforcement officials will be working to secure the conventions, as will airport screeners, nuclear weapons experts and intelligence analysts.

Previous Incidents Involving Cloned Emergency Vehicles

Several recent incidents of cloned vehicles has caught the attention of intelligence analysts at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). In a nationwide survey of recent “cloned” vehicle reports, a troubling pattern emerged. In their study, tagged “law enforcement sensitive,” and completed this January, the FDLE charted some 15 incidents involving both faked official and commercial vehicles between 2005 and 2007, which should serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement and counterterrorism officials worldwide.

As the FDLE’s study, The Road Map to Cloned Vehicles, put it: “… the use of government vehicles with official markings, especially those associated with friendly military, government and public safety entities, could be a means of delivering a vehicle-borne explosive device to a target site. This method could allow terrorists to bypass established security protocols and strike hardened, high-value targets.”

“Load it with a conventional explosive or even a radiological device and you have the makings of a truly ‘ultimate nightmare’ scenario,” said a federal counterterrorism official familiar with the new Florida study.

Officially, at least, the FDLE declined to comment on their restricted clone report when asked for comment recently by HSToday. “That is ‘Law Enforcement Sensitive.’ The lawyers are looking at that now,” said Eva Rhody of the FDLE’s Office of Statewide Intelligence.

Some of the agencies, entities and commercial companies cited in this report also declined on-the-record interviews about the numerous incidents listed. To put it in context, they, too, are actually “victims” of such illicit practices.

One of the more ominous cases uncovered by the FDLE study was a July 2006 joint federal and state investigation in the Portland, Ore., area in which one stolen pickup truck displaying both National Security Agency (NSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emblems was seized.

“During the investigation, a second stolen truck, again with FEMA markings and other FEMA documentation, was also recovered,” the report stated. The results of this rather worrisome case have still not been released.

It’s not just law enforcement that has to be worried. “We’ve had a few incidents, too,” as Bill Anderson, Ryder Truck’s director of global security, put it in an interview with HSToday. “Fortunately, they ‘only’ involved cargo theft,” and not terrorism threats, he said.

Predator Drone ‘UAV’ On Long Island Sparks Terror Investigation

Predator Drone ‘UAV’ On Long Island Sparks Terror Investigation - Investigators said the drone was being designed to carry 600 pounds of explosives. Jonathan Dienst breaks the story for WNBC.com

A predator drone being built by an engineer on Long Island sparked a large counter-terrorism investigation across the New York area, officials tell WNBC.com. Police said they had stumbled upon overnight testing of the drone at a little-used airstrip in Calverton, Long Island.

The investigation began in February of last year, when investigators first learned testing of the drone was underway. Officials said the drone was being designed to carry more than 600 pounds of explosives.

“It could be in the air for 8-10 hours and there’s potential harm if it is carrying a large amount of toxic material,” NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in explaining why his department’s counterterrorism officials were concerned.

Police surveillance video obtained by News 4 New York shows a white van rolling onto the tarmac, a small group of men jumping out and ground testing the unmanned flight vehicle.

Kelly said the engineer building the drone never reported his work to any agency including the Federal Aviation Administration or local authorities. Investigators said concern increased for a time when they learned the man behind the project was an Egyptian national who had entered the U.S. on a Sudanese passport.

“It was such a bizarre set of circumstances,” said New York State Homeland Security Director Michael Balboni. “Of course we watched it as closely as we did anything that was on our radar screen.”

NYPD officials worked with Suffolk County police and the FBI to determine there were no ties to terror. Under questioning, the engineer said he was an inventor hoping to sell this drone model to the U.S. military. NYPD Lieutenant William McGroarty said during the investigation they had other questions.

“What if this individual could not sell to the military?” McGroarty asked. “Would he then turn and sell it to the highest bidder?”

Tracking Terror and Terrorists Online

For years, al-Qaida and other terror groups have set up shop in the Internet. Those who track them have covertly followed. The companies SITE and IntelCenter have penetrated even deeper into the terror Web than most intelligence agencies.

When al-Qaida was founded, Josh Devon was nine years old. Ben Venzke was 15. The year was 1988, and Devon and Venzke were as uninterested in the terrorist network as its leader, Osama bin Laden, was in the two young Americans.

Now, two decades later, things have changed. Venzke and Devon have both become fascinated in terrorism and have turned that interest into careers. And al-Qaida now takes careful note of their work.

Venzke and Devon are two of the most prominent "terror trackers" worldwide. In the United States, and increasingly in other countries, the term refers to a community of people who spend their days analyzing traces that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations leave behind, especially on the Internet. The two Americans are essentially digital trackers in the age of globalized terrorism.

IntelCenter and SITE Intelgroup are the companies that Venzke and Devon, respectively, have founded. They enjoy a strong reputation within the relatively small community of terrorism experts. Beyond that, though, they are virtually unknown -- but wrongly so.

Bin Laden's Words

The two companies exert tremendous influence, worldwide and around the clock. News agencies, intelligence services and law enforcement organizations from the entire Western world are among Devon's and Venzke's clients. SITE and IntelCenter deliver their product -- information -- via e-mail, telephone or fax, or directly to clients' PDAs or mobile phones.

Almost every statement by Osama bin Laden published on the Internet, to name only one example, is first made public by SITE and IntelCenter. They find the statements in the confusion of Web sites associated with al-Qaida, and within seconds they have sent the first screen shots to their subscribers. It takes the companies only minutes to summarize bin Laden's speeches and within hours, they will have provided full translations, analysis included.

Because hardly any news agencies, newspapers or magazines are in a position to obtain or examine this information themselves, the translations often end up being quoted verbatim in the media. They also land on the desks of intelligence analysts in the United States and Europe, providing them with special delivery, albeit secondhand, of bin Laden's words.

It is a hot day in June on the East Coast of the United States. The location of SITE Intelgroup's headquarters cannot be disclosed. The company is housed in an inconspicuous office building -- there is no company sign.

The interior -- neutral carpeting and light-colored desks, a humming air-conditioning system and a gurgling water cooler -- offers little hint of the company's delicate field of business. Josh Devon, holding a cup of ice tea from Starbucks, invites his visitor into a conference room where the walls are draped with maps. This is where Devon briefs FBI agents. The 29-year-old is wearing a white shirt and sporting three-day growth. When he founded SITE, together with Rita Katz, he was all of 23.

'We Simply Followed'

"We simply followed the jihadists," he says, describing the idea behind SITE. "We went where they went." He means online.

When he and Katz joined forces, Devon was still a student of Middle Eastern Studies, but his business partner was already a legend. Beginning in the late 1990s, Katz almost single-handedly uncovered a number of funding sources of Islamists. Katz, a Jew born in Iraq who speaks Arabic, infiltrated Islamist organizations disguised as a Muslim woman -- and wearing recording equipment. She passed her findings on to the authorities. There were court cases, and some organizations were banned.

Then came Sept. 11, 2001.

A short time later, Rita Katz and Josh Devon were among the first to notice that al-Qaida and its ilk were creating an online presence. They established SITE, an acronym for "Search for International Terrorist Entities," and began surfing their way in pursuit of radical Islamic terrorist organizations. A US magazine was one of their first subscribers. Government agencies in Switzerland and the families of Sept. 11 victims soon followed. SITE was in business.

Today this former non-profit organization has been turned into a business enterprise. But Devon and Katz see their work as more of an avocation than running a business. They are only offline when commuting between their offices and homes. In a later e-mail interview Katz, who was not at the SITE offices during the June visit, wrote: "I believe what I do is very important. It's a mission." Devon says: Terror tracking "is very addictive, especially when you experience a major success."

And SITE has certainly been successful. There is a reason Katz has a letter of appreciation from FBI Director Robert S. Muller III hanging on the wall in her office. The company's work has also led to arrests abroad, including those of would-be suicide bombers who had left farewell letters in chat rooms that SITE managed to penetrate.

'Could Blow Your Cover'

SITE doesn't like to discuss methods. But even without such information, it is not hard to figure out where its expertise lies. Katz and her employees surf the Net as if they were cyber jihadists. "In a sense it's similiar," she says, alluding to her previous undercover mission, "because in both cases you have to be very careful not to disclose your true identity and not make mistakes that could blow your cover."

In the past few years, al-Qaida volunteers have created a stable online infrastructure. Its mainstays are a handful of Arab-language discussion forums, where supporters of terrorism hold their debates. Most of all, however, the administrators of these sites allow terrorist organizations to post their speeches, videos and claims of responsibility for attacks and other acts of terror.

The forums are password-protected, but this is only the first hurdle. Anyone who wants more information than can be gleaned by reading the posts has to work up through the informal hierarchy. He or she must be able to credibly convey, using suitable language and the right tone, that he is a true jihadist. Gaining the confidence of the key users and, eventually, of the administrators is vital. Only then can one becomes a part of cyber networks with close ties to al-Qaida and other affiliated terrorist organizations, networks that posses the raw footage of terrorist videos, coordinate the flow of funds and know the real e-mail addresses of forum users.

SITE's competitive edge is that it got into the game earlier than government agencies. According to a European intelligence official, SITE has a head start of four to five years.

SITE's work for government agencies is always confidential and, in some cases, based on concrete assignments. Its public products include newsletters about Taliban activities, the situation in Iraq and the latest news from the jihadist chat rooms. Aside from official information from terrorist organizations, SITE also provides accounts of the "atmosphere" in the terrorist community.

cont'd

SITE is frequently quoted by such papers as the New York Times and Washington Post. More often, though, SITE appears indirectly and without attribution in newspaper stories worldwide, although the company is now seeking less public profile than in recent years.

SITE is likely also the source of some of the reports exchanged by cooperating intelligence services. "In the worst case," criticizes terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp of the Swedish National Defense College, "it's an echo chamber." In other words, because intelligence services do not reveal their sources to each other, the same report can become its own confirmation.

Of course, every intelligence service worth its salt also pursues cyber jihadists on its own. But SITE and IntelCenter are often faster, and their products are also sent to departments that lack these capabilities.

Ranstorp sees other problems as well. He believes that SITE and companies like it are commercializing intelligence and influencing analysts with their reports. Most of all, however, Ranstorp wishes there were more companies like SITE. "Then there would be more competition."

In fact, SITE has only one serious competitor: Ben Venzke.

He scored one of his most recent scoops in late July, when IntelCenter employees were the first to find a video on the Internet in which the Turkestan Islamic Party threatened to commit acts of terror during the Olympics.

Never Trusted the News

At 9:07 p.m., IntelCenter reported the discovery to its subscribers using the Flash Messaging System. Translated key passages followed at 9:46 p.m., and freeze images at 10:39. At the same time, the first news agency took up the report. The next day, Venzke analyzed the group's credibility and later send out information from an earlier video.

Although Ben Venzke doesn't look quite as young as Josh Devon, he still doesn't look like someone who routinely provides US special units with intelligence material. "This here," says Venzke cheerfully, wearing a casual black shirt, "is my second living room." The waitress in the café at the Four Seasons Hotel recognizes him immediately and brings him a cup of tea.

Venzke was even younger than Devon when he founded IntelCenter 19 years ago: 16, to be exact. He later studied journalism in college and eventually wrote for the Boston Globe and Jane's Intelligence Review.

"I never trusted the news to give the full picture," says Venzke. He says that he wanted to understand "how things really worked."

His motto goes something like this: "In order for a society to function, people have to be able to know they are safe. Life should be about film and music, not about worrying about buildings collapsing."

IntelCenter has a lot in common with SITE, but there are also some important differences. Both are capable of finding every important al-Qaida communiqué, sometimes even before it is published. Both can quickly send out relatively accurate translations of terrorist material, including videos, speeches and claims or responsibility. Both work for similar clients.

But IntelCenter, which also keeps its location a secret, provides more customized preliminary work for the intelligence services and the military -- at least based on what we are able to see and hear.

Involved in almost every Hostage Crisis

Venzke's catalog illustrates this approach. It contains services that he offers to government agencies only, such as the 24/7 "Hostage/Kidnapping Profiling and Incident Monitor" -- at a cost running up to more than $500,000 (€323,000) a year. According to Venzke, IntelCenter is involved in almost every hostage crisis.

IntelCenter seems to act more like a subcontractor to government agencies than SITE. "Much of what we do, they could probably do themselves, but we often have more experience in our specialty areas and can do it faster and cheaper," says Venzke. He explains that he invested heavily in infrastructure to meet the requirements of the intelligence community, including, for example, redundant power, cooling and other systems. Some clients want raw data, while others prefer finished analyses. IntelCenter offers both and can format the information using the standard "Analyst's Notebook" software.

Venzke prides himself on his professionalism. There is gossip about how Rita Katz once took it upon herself to call foreign officials, because she was convinced that somebody was planning something and US officials were unwilling to help her. Sometimes she acts as a private terrorist hunter, sometimes as an expert and sometimes as a business partner. Venzke, for his part, would never talk to strangers about this sort of potentially critical information.

Perhaps for this reason, Venzke has little praise for SITE. "What SITE does, is not even remotely in our class." Rita Katz disagrees: "Our information is of the highest quality and of unparalleled accuracy." She declined to comment on the work of others.

The Secret, Hidden Part

The competition between these two companies is probably healthy. Criticism exposes more of what SITE and IntelCenter do, but not, of course, the secret, hidden part. In the end, both companies earn more working for government agencies and businesses than for the media.

Still, compared to other private-sector companies that are contractors with the CIA, the Pentagon and the like, SITE and IntelCenter are transparent, tiny and laughably insignificant. "I've never thought about our influence," says Josh Devon with complete innocence. "We try to do the best job we can."

Nevertheless, both companies are part of an information oligarchy that hardly anyone in the Western hemisphere can monitor or assess. And the conspiracy theories pontificating that SITE and IntelCenter shoot the bin Laden videos themselves will continue to exist in the future.

And Katz, Venzke and Devon will continue to see the humor in such theories: Yep, this is Mossad Headquarters. Exactly!

But then something beeps, or a pager starts humming to indicate that a jihadist is sending a message. And they will keep on digging through information. And the hunt will begin all over again.

Homeland Security
goes on special alert
Agents watching for al-Qaida op involving
Turkish terrorists, homegrown jihadists

As the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks nears, Homeland Security agents are on heightened alert for young Turkish Muslims who may be trying to enter the U.S. as part of an al-Qaida terrorist operation, WND has learned from counterterrorism officials and internal agency documents.

Meanwhile, agents are monitoring more than 20,000 suspected homegrown terrorists on the FBI's watchlist to prevent them from boarding commercial aircraft.

All of the individuals are American citizens or permanent legal residents "who have some relationship with terrorist activity," said Leonard Boyle, who heads the FBI's terrorism screening center in McLean, Va.

Homeland Security has programmed a computer system that screens inbound passengers for signs of terrorist activity to flag Turkish and other individuals whose passports show travel to Pakistan.

U.S. intelligence officials say jihadist websites indicate that hundreds of Turks have recently trained in al-Qaida camps in Pakistan, and may have sworn to carry out suicide operations against the West.

One website recently showed a martyrdom video of German-born Turk Saad Abu Furqan, who blew himself up outside a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan have been creating cells with the mission of attacking Western targets, including the U.S., officials say. Osama bin Laden's deputy appeared in a video this week with a rifle propped up behind him. Officials are analyzing the tape for possible coded messages.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has warned that al-Qaida is trying to exploit a security loophole created by the Visa Waiver Program to sneak terrorist muscle into the country.

Germans, Brits and other European passport holders are exempt from U.S. visa security checks under the program. Such travelers, who are entered into the system as "WT" or "WB," do not require a visa to enter the U.S.

At the same time, counterterrorism officials in New York are running down leads produced by last month's arrest and interrogation of al-Qaida operative Aafia Siddiqui, an MIT-educated microbiologist who fled to Pakistan after 9/11.

Siddiqui was found with a list of New York targets including the Empire State Building, Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty and the subway system. Notes in her possession also included information about a mass attack and referred to construction of dirty bombs.

In addition, a computer flash drive found on Siddiqui referred to "attacks" by certain "cells."

Siddiqui is close to a Saudi-American considered by the FBI to be "the next Mohamed Atta." gotcha98 al-Shukrijumah, aka "Jafar the Pilot," allegedly conspired with al-Qaida dirty bomber Jose Padilla. Al-Shukrijumah is still at large.

WND has learned that customs and border agents are also taking a closer look at female Muslim travelers, and handicapped Muslim travelers and their aides.

Officials say the internal heightened alert extends through at least October and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and likely will continue on through Election Day.

The nation's public threat level remains at yellow, or "elevated." Officials say they have no specific credible information of a terrorist attack that would lead them to raise the threat level to orange, or "high," at this time.

Foiled Terror Plots Against America Since 9/11

The following is a list of known terror plots thwarted by the U.S. government since Sept. 11, 2001.

• December 2001, Richard Reid: British citizen attempted to ignite shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

• May 2002, Jose Padilla: American citizen accused of seeking radioactive-laced "dirty bomb" to use in an attack against Amrica. Padilla was convicted of conspiracy in August, 2007.

• September 2002, Lackawanna Six: American citizens of Yemeni origin convicted of supporting Al Qaeda after attending jihadist camp in Pakistan. Five of six were from Lackawanna, N.Y.

• May 2003, Iyman Faris: American citizen charged with plotting to use blowtorches to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge.

• June 2003, Virginia Jihad Network: Eleven men from Alexandria, Va., trained for jihad against American soldiers, convicted of violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy.

• August 2004, Dhiren Barot: Indian-born leader of terror cell plotted bombings on financial centers (see additional images).

• August 2004, James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj: Sought to plant bomb at New York's Penn Station during the Republican National Convention.

• August 2004, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain: Plotted to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat on American soil.

• June 2005, Father and son Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat: Son convicted of attending terrorist training camp in Pakistan; father convicted of customs violation.

• August 2005, Kevin James, Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana: Los Angeles homegrown terrorists who plotted to attack National Guard, LAX, two synagogues and Israeli consulate.

• December 2005, Michael Reynolds: Plotted to blow up natural gas refinery in Wyoming, the Transcontinental Pipeline, and a refinery in New Jersey. Reynolds was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

• February 2006, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi and Zand Wassim Mazloum: Accused of providing material support to terrorists, making bombs for use in Iraq.

• April 2006, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee: Cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization.

• June 2006, Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augstine: Accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower.

• July 2006, Assem Hammoud: Accused of plotting to bomb New York City train tunnels.

• August 2006, Liquid Explosives Plot: Thwarted plot to explode ten airliners over the United States.

• March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Mastermind of Sept. 11 and author of numerous plots confessed in court in March 2007 to planning to destroy skyscrapers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Mohammedalso plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II and former President Bill Clinton.

• May 2007, Fort Dix Plot: Six men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey. The plan included attacking and killing soldiers using assault rifles and grenades.

• June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men are accused of plotting to blow up fuel arteries that run through residential neighborhoods at JFK Airport in New York.

• September 2007, German authorities disrupt a terrorist cell that was planning attacks on military installations and facilities used by Americans in Germany. The Germans arrested three suspected members of the Islamic Jihad Union, a group that has links to Al Qaeda and supports Al Qaeda's global jihadist agenda.

(emphasis in bold is mine as I am sure that there has been many that have not been reported for various reasons of classified information)

Man injured by chemical reaction in suspicious box

Greenville Department of Public Safety Director Michael Stuck said a high concentration of fertilizer led to a man being injured and the evacuation of a hospital's emergency room.

The FBI is investigating the incident and Montcalm County sheriff's deputies told 24 Hour News 8 they are handling the case as a criminal investigation.

It was around 8:30 a.m. Thursday when the incident occurred at a home on Arloa Drive near Burgess Lake in Eureka Township southwest of Greenville.

The 27-year-old homeowner found a wooden box that was left in his driveway overnight. He opened the box and an unknown - at the time - substance was released as he inspected it, creating a liquid chemical reaction. The substance hit him in the face, causing facial injuries and began eating away at his clothing.

Witnesses near the home told us they heard a "thud," then went out and saw their injured neighbor.

He was taken by ambulance to Spectrum Health System's United Memorial Hospital in Greenville. After he arrived, hospital officials evacuated 26 patients and staff from the emergency room for fear they had become contaminated. The evacuees were decontaminated in large tents outside the hospital around 10 a.m.

Ambulances were diverted from United Memorial Hospital to Spectrum's Kelsey Hospital in Lakeview and Carson City Hospital. The hospital was accepting walk-up patients to the emergency room until 4 p.m. when the E.R. reopened.

"Everybody did their job," said Dr. Corey Waller from United Memorial Hospital. "We knew that the patient was not in any imminent danger so we just continued to work on what we needed to do to make sure nobody else came in contact with this."

Montcalm County Sheriff William Barnwell told 24 Hour News 8 the extent of the injuries to the victim are unknown.

Investigators say residents near the victim's home are not in danger.

Barnwell says the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad removed the box for further examination.

Intelligence: Terror operation in U.S., Europe possibly imminent

Islamic terrorist operatives reportedly dispatched, in place, and possibly ready to execute terrorist operation in U.S., Europe

"Pray for the successes of our brothers in America & Europe. Expect 'good news' soon." Posted by Arabic speaking Islamic terrorist supporter

A disturbing communication posted in a high level Arabic language forum suggests that some type of terrorist operation is currently underway, targeting sites within the United States and Europe. According to information developed within the last 24 hours by a deep-cover intelligence operative, Islamic terrorists have been dispatched to the U.S. and Europe and may be in place, preparing to execute unspecified terrorist attacks within the U.S. and Europe.

Neither the targets nor the types of attacks were able to be identified from an analysis of the communications, although it appears possible that the European and American operations could be conducted in tandem. Also unclear is the timetable of potential attacks, although the wording pertaining to the "anticipated celebration" of the success of such attacks suggests that they will be carried out within the next few days.

While many such threats by Islamic terrorists are published constantly and end up being nothing more than propaganda, it is important to note that the origin and nature of the communications isolated here meet a significantly higher standard of evidence for threat evaluation purposes. As such, it is the recommendation of this agency that individual awareness of any suspicious activity be stepped up accordingly, and immediately reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

Increased vigilance by law enforcement and security professionals is also urged, especially at areas of likely "hard" targets such as our infrastructure.

Spies Warn That Al Qaeda Aims for October Surprise
Intercepted Messages Asking Local Cells To Be Prepared for Imminent Instructions

In the aftermath of two major terrorist attacks on Western targets, America's counterterrorism community is warning that Al Qaeda may launch more overseas operations to influence the presidential elections in November.

Call it Osama bin Laden's "October surprise." In late August, during the weekend between the Democratic and Republican conventions, America's military and intelligence agencies intercepted a series of messages from Al Qaeda's leadership to intermediate members of the organization asking local cells to be prepared for imminent instructions.

An official familiar with the new intelligence said the message was picked up in multiple settings, from couriers to encrypted electronic communications to other means. "These are generic orders," the source said — a distinction from the more specific intelligence about the location, time, and method of an attack. "It was, 'Be on notice. We may call upon you soon.' It was sent out on many channels."

Also, Yemen's national English-language newspaper is reporting that a spokesman for Yemen's Islamic Jihad, the Qaeda affiliate that claimed credit for last week's American embassy bombing in Sa'naa, is now publicly threatening to attack foreigners and high government officials if American and British diplomats do not leave the country.

Mr. bin Laden has sought to influence democratic elections in the past. On March 11, 2004, Al Qaeda carried out a series of bombings on Madrid commuter trains. Three days later, the opposition and anti-Iraq war Socialist Workers Party was voted into power.

In the week before the 2004 American presidential election, Mr. bin Laden recorded a video message to the American people promising repercussions if President Bush were re-elected. In later messages, Al Qaeda's leader claimed credit for helping elect Mr. Bush in 2004. Last year in Pakistan, Qaeda assassins claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister who returned to her native country in a bid for re-election.

"There is an expectation that Al Qaeda will try to influence the November elections by attempting attacks globally," a former Bush and Clinton White House counterterrorism official, Roger Cressey, said yesterday.

Mr. Cressey said Al Qaeda lacks the capability to pull off an attack in the continental United States, however. "It would likely be a higher Al Qaeda tempo of attacks against U.S. and allied targets abroad," he said.

At a talk at the Washington Institute for Near East Affairs on August 12, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats said he expected to see more threat reporting on Al Qaeda as America approaches the November elections.

The terrorist attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Saturday was a particular blow to the allied effort against Al Qaeda. The hotel's lobby in recent years served as a meeting place for the CIA and Pakistanis who would not risk being seen at the American Embassy. The bombing, which targeted one of the most heavily fortified locations in Pakistan's capital, will likely claim close to 100 lives after the dead are pulled from the rubble.

President Zardari, who had just given his first major address as Pakistan's head of state, on fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda, was the target of Saturday's attack, the vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, said.

"He was expected to attend the iftar dinner at the Marriott," Mr. Gartenstein-Ross said "Think of the symbolic value if they were able to kill Zardari after his first address as president of Pakistan in a speech announcing his fight against the terrorists. The symbolic effect of the attack on the same day would be devastating."

An adviser to Senator McCain and a former director of central intelligence under President Clinton, James Woolsey, said Al Qaeda has a "history of doing three things at least related to elections. One is to attack before elections, such as in 2004 in Spain, and of course the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. They also have a history of attacks when new leaders take over, like Gordon Brown in Britain and the new leader in Pakistan, with the attack over the weekend. Also Al Qaeda sends messages to populations in elections. You really don't know which one of these they are going to implement."

Earlier this summer, another McCain campaign official mused in an interview that an attack could benefit his candidate in the polls. But whether that statement is true is unclear: At the Republican National Convention this month, Mr. McCain praised the president's counterterrorism policies for preventing an attack in America since September 11, 2001. The Bush administration has deliberately refrained from pointing to this success in light of the many plots that the president has said have been aborted on American soil since September 11.

The deputy communications director for the McCain campaign, Michael Goldfarb, said: "There is no doubt that Al Qaeda is still dangerous and still desires to strike at America and our allies. But Americans will not be intimidated and their votes will not be swayed by terror."

A spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, Wendy Morigi, said, "Last week's attacks demonstrate the grave and urgent threat that Al Qaeda and its affiliates pose to the United States and the security of all nations. As Senator Obama has said for some time, we must refocus our efforts on defeating Al Qaeda around the world."

Homeland Security Detects Terrorist Threats by Reading Your Mind

foxnews

Baggage searches are SOOOOOO early-21st century. Homeland Security is now testing the next generation of security screening — a body scanner that can read your mind.

Most preventive screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns the old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person — not the device — set to wreak havoc and terror.

MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, searches your body for non-verbal cues that predict whether you mean harm to your fellow passengers.

It has a series of sensors and imagers that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious tells invisible to the naked eye — signals terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack.

But this is no polygraph test. Subjects do not get hooked up or strapped down for a careful reading; those sensors do all the work without any actual physical contact. It's like an X-ray for bad intentions.

Currently, all the sensors and equipment are packaged inside a mobile screening laboratory about the size of a trailer or large truck bed, and just last week, Homeland Security put it to a field test in Maryland, scanning 144 mostly unwitting human subjects.

While I'd love to give you the full scoop on the unusual experiment, testing is ongoing and full disclosure would compromise future tests.

But what I can tell you is that the test subjects were average Joes living in the D.C. area who thought they were attending something like a technology expo; in order for the experiment to work effectively and to get the testing subjects to buy in, the cover story had to be convincing.

While the 144 test subjects thought they were merely passing through an entrance way, they actually passed through a series of sensors that screened them for bad intentions.

Homeland Security also selected a group of 23 attendees to be civilian "accomplices" in their test. They were each given a "disruptive device" to carry through the portal — and, unlike the other attendees, were conscious that they were on a mission.

In order to conduct these tests on human subjects, DHS had to meet rigorous safety standards to ensure the screening would not cause any physical or emotional harm.

So here's how it works. When the sensors identify that something is off, they transmit warning data to analysts, who decide whether to flag passengers for further questioning. The next step involves micro-facial scanning, which involves measuring minute muscle movements in the face for clues to mood and intention.

Homeland Security has developed a system to recognize, define and measure seven primary emotions and emotional cues that are reflected in contractions of facial muscles. MALINTENT identifies these emotions and relays the information back to a security screener almost in real-time.

This whole security array — the scanners and screeners who make up the mobile lab — is called "Future Attribute Screening Technology" — or FAST — because it is designed to get passengers through security in two to four minutes, and often faster.

If you're rushed or stressed, you may send out signals of anxiety, but FAST isn't fooled. It's already good enough to tell the difference between a harried traveler and a terrorist. Even if you sweat heavily by nature, FAST won't mistake you for a baddie.

"If you focus on looking at the person, you don't have to worry about detecting the device itself," said Bob Burns, MALINTENT's project leader. And while there are devices out there that look at individual cues, a comprehensive screening device like this has never before been put together.

While FAST's batting average is classified, Undersecretary for Science and Technology Adm. Jay Cohen declared the experiment a "home run."

As cold and inhuman as the electric eye may be, DHS says scanners are unbiased and nonjudgmental. "It does not predict who you are and make a judgment, it only provides an assessment in situations," said Burns. "It analyzes you against baseline stats when you walk in the door, it measures reactions and variations when you approach and go through the portal."

But the testing — and the device itself — are not without their problems. This invasive scanner, which catalogues your vital signs for non-medical reasons, seems like an uninvited doctor's exam and raises many privacy issues.

But DHS says this is not Big Brother. Once you are through the FAST portal, your scrutiny is over and records aren't kept. "Your data is dumped," said Burns. "The information is not maintained — it doesn't track who you are."

DHS is now planning an even wider array of screening technology, including an eye scanner next year and pheromone-reading technology by 2010.

The team will also be adding equipment that reads body movements, called "illustrative and emblem cues." According to Burns, this is achievable because people "move in reaction to what they are thinking, more or less based on the context of the situation."

FAST may also incorporate biological, radiological and explosive detection, but for now the primary focus is on identifying and isolating potential human threats.

And because FAST is a mobile screening laboratory, it could be set up at entrances to stadiums, malls and in airports, making it ever more difficult for terrorists to live and work among us.

Burns noted his team's goal is to "restore a sense of freedom." Once MALINTENT is rolled out in airports, it could give us a future where we can once again wander onto planes with super-sized cosmetics and all the bottles of water we can carry — and most importantly without that sense of foreboding that has haunted Americans since Sept. 11.

FBI hunts American citizens
trained overseas for terror
Feds launch dragnet to stop
'October surprise' attack

As Pakistani investigators hunt the terrorists behind the massive Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad, FBI agents in the U.S. have begun aggressively hunting for Americans who have recently returned from trips to Pakistan where they may have trained at al-Qaida camps, WND has learned.

A coast-to-coast dragnet has been launched partly in response to leads developed in the arrest of one of al-Qaida's "fixers" in the U.S., say FBI officials. They report the bureau is in a race against time to identify Pakistan-trained sleeper cells and disrupt a possible pre-election "October surprise."

For the first time since 9/11, counterterrorism field agents have been authorized to spy on young Muslim men and women – including American citizens – who have traveled to Pakistan without any specific evidence of wrongdoing.

Controversial new investigative guidelines approved by the Justice Department allow agents to monitor suspects and conduct undercover interviews even before opening formal investigations.

FBI headquarters has ordered its field offices to aggressively pursue anonymous tips and report back any suspicious activities in their Muslim communities. The intelligence will be immediately analyzed and shared in a threat matrix to avoid a repeat of the so-called "Phoenix memo" intelligence failure, officials say.

In the weeks prior to 9/11, an alert agent in the FBI's Phoenix office noted that several radical Middle Eastern men were taking flying lessons. He drafted a memo and sent it to headquarters, which promptly buried it, missing an opportunity to act before the disastrous hijackings of 9/11.

The FBI's new rules and current sense of urgency follow the recent interrogation of al-Qaida operative Aafia Siddiqui, an M.I.T.-educated scientist who fled to Pakistan after 9/11. She was arrested this summer in Afghanistan and brought back to the U.S. after sustaining injuries from a gun battle.

According to a federal indictment, Siddiqui was found with handwritten notes that referred to a "mass casualty attack" and listed various locations in the U.S. including Wall Street, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Plum Island and the Brooklyn Bridge. In addition, certain notes referred to the construction of "dirty bombs," chemical and biological weapons and other explosives.

Siddiqui's notes also discussed "mortality rates associated with certain of these weapons and explosives," the indictment says. Other notes referred to various ways to attack "enemies," including destroying reconnaissance drones, using underwater bombs and using gliders.

A computer thumb drive in Siddiqui's possession contained electronic correspondence that referred to specific "cells" and "attacks" by certain "cells," the indictment says. Other documents referred to "enemies," including the U.S., and discussed recruitment and training.

Officials say subsequent interrogations have revealed that possibly hundreds of American Muslims, many of them of Pakistani descent, have traveled to Pakistan in recent years to train at al-Qaida and Taliban madrassas and terror camps and have returned to the U.S. to carry out suicide attacks.

The revelation has shocked the politically sensitive FBI into abandoning its long-held policy of coordinating investigations in the Muslim community with Muslim-rights groups. Officials say it's more important than ever to track down Muslims who have traveled to Pakistan, and gather and disseminate intelligence quickly to disrupt possible terror plots before they can develop to an operational stage.

"There's some worry we may be in another Phoenix moment," one official said, "but this time we're determined to leave no stone unturned."

The formation of al-Qaida training camps inside Pakistan has been a major concern among U.S. security agencies since at least 2004, when Washington issued a rare intelligence directive to border agents to check young Pakistani male travelers –including Americans – for physical signs of military training.

As WND first reported, they were asked to look for "rope burns," "unusual bruises," "scars" and other possible injuries suffered from obstacle courses, firearms or explosives.

"Many of the individuals trained in the Pakistani camps are destined to commit illegal activities in the United States," warned the two-page DHS advisory that launched the special action.

According to another internal DHS document obtained by WND, the department more recently directed customs officers to escort passengers identified by "one-day lookouts" to secondary inspection, where they are subjected to a battery of questions to determine if they have visited terror camps in Pakistan.

American citizens of Pakistani descent also are under increased scrutiny. Over the past few years, U.S. authorities have arrested or investigated several Pakistani-American men who have trained at the camps during trips to Pakistan. One camp used photos of President Bush for target practice.

"The camps are a big concern," said a DHS official, who requested anonymity. "We are questioning U.S. citizens, as well as Pakistani nationals, as they come back to the states if the computer says they might have terrorist ties."

FBI Director Robert Mueller earlier this month cited the threat posed by the Pakistani terror-training camps while briefing Congress about the bureau's expanded investigative powers, which officially go into effect Oct. 1.

"We know that in western Pakistan now that there are camps in which individuals are being trained. The U.K. knows that very well because individuals who were involved in the 2005 attacks and later attacks had traveled to Pakistan for training in the camps and then come back," Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee. "I believe the American public would want us to do what is necessary to try to identify persons who had traveled to Pakistan, whatever their heritage, whatever their background, whatever their ethnicity, to determine who has gone to Pakistan to obtain that training and may be coming back to the United States to undertake an attack."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., complained the new investigative rules would give FBI agents license to racially profile citizens.

FBI officials noted that the Marriott blast, which killed both U.S. Defense and State Department officials, signaled new techniques by al-Qaida-trained suicide terrorists. The dump-truck bomb they used was so massive, leaving a crater 30 feet deep and 60 feet wide, that it managed to severely damage the building even from beyond the concrete barriers protecting the perimeter of the building.

Also, investigators said that the hotel – a high-profile target that was used by Western diplomats as well as the CIA – had been targeted at least twice previously for attack, just as the U.S. embassy in Yemen had been hit in minor operations before this month's full-scale attack.

The repeat attacks indicate the terrorists are testing security, experts say. It also indicates they will keep coming back to the same target until they are successful in destroying it.

In the U.S., the World Trade Center was first attacked in 1993 and then again in 2001. A target the hijackers intended to strike but failed to hit on 9/11 was the U.S. Capitol. Terror analysts believe the Pentagon remains an al-Qaida target as well, since it was only partially damaged in the 9/11 operation.

New al-Qaida threat:
Thermobaric bombs
Packs power like a nuke,
but easier to build, blow up

Investigators now believe the bombing on Sep. 21 that killed dozens and left massive damage at the Islamabad Marriott, including a gaping hole in the ground in front of the building, was a crude form of a device that intensifies and enhances an explosive – a thermobaric bomb, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The bomb was delivered in a truck that contained what investigators believe was aluminum powder in addition to grenades and artillery shells. The aluminum power is believed to have been responsible for the acceleration and expansion of the impact of the bomb.

While barriers around the hotel kept the truck bomb at some distance from the structure, the devastation indicated that there had to be something capable of raising the devastation level considerably.

The blast was thought to be targeting Americans, since the hotel is a central location for U.S. personnel including intelligence agents to meet outside the U.S. embassy. The hotel also is a temporary residence for U.S. personnel staying in the country.

Some five dozen people, including U.S. government employees, were killed by the truck bomb which was said to include more than a ton of explosives.

If this analysis of the presence of aluminum powder is confirmed, it means that terrorists with the capability can make such bombs without detection, since all ingredients are off-the-shelf.

Al-Qaida and related terrorist groups such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban of Pakistan are thought to have made the attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel. If that is accurate, then by extension al-Qaida has developed an ability to fashion thermobaric bombs of huge potential.

"Thermobaric bombs … may be emerging as a weapon of choice for terrorists," declared Tom Burky, an explosives expert at the Ohio-based Battelle defense research institute.

Burky pointed out that thermobaric bombs are meant to take out big buildings and cave complexes where metal fragmentations from traditional bombs don't work well. He added that thermobaric blasts can push around corners and down corridors or deep inside caves.

When an explosion occurs in a bomb using aluminum powder as in the Islamabad Marriott hotel blast, metal powder creates a fireball as it contacts the air.

U.S. Army conducting training exercises in cities, towns
Planning for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, high-yield explosive incidents

The exercise scenario was a sobering one: a 10-kiloton nuclear device detonated in America's heartland, quickly overwhelming civilian responders.

Military leaders who recently trained for this response say they are now thinking differently about how to move equipment, extract the injured and take care of people following this type of attack.

Their insights came from "Vibrant Response," a week-long command post exercise designed to train the commanders and staff of the nation's dedicated force for responding to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive incidents, or CBRNE incidents.

The units completed the exercise Sept. 18 at Fort Stewart, Ga., just two weeks before their force, the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF, will be assigned to U.S. Northern Command to begin its mission.

"Assigning them will allow Northern Command to directly influence the operational and training focus of the forces and ensure a trained and ready response force when needed," said Col. Lou Vogler, chief of future operations at U.S. Army North.

U.S. Army North conducted the exercise while its subordinate, Joint Task Force Civil Support, provided command and control for the CCMRF.

Joint Task Force Civil Support -- based at Fort Monroe, Va. -- plans, trains, develops policy and determines the way ahead for DOD CBRNE response, said the force's commander, Army Maj. Gen. Daniel "Chip" Long.

Commanders and staff in the three task forces - Operations, Medical and Aviation - say that the academics and command post exercise offered valuable new perspectives for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines assuming this important mission.

Task Force Operations

Responding to a catastrophic chemical, nuclear or biological attack is challenging because there is no notice and it requires a fast response, Long said.

Developing the capability to deploy rapidly was a priority for the infantry unit assigned to the force, according to Army Maj. Marc Cloutier, planner for the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The unit forms the core of Task Force Operations, one of the three functional task forces within CCMRF.

It's the first infantry brigade to be assigned to NORTHCOM for a year in order to respond quickly to civil-support missions.

Cloutier said that one apparent challenge for the brigade will be turning an infantryman into a truck driver or a first responder. However, Cloutier said, the Soldiers and NCOs in the brigade are smart and adaptable and can easily learn to drive a truck or use a chain saw given a little instruction.

"When I got to the unit in July, I looked at the mission and realized the biggest challenge was going to be organizing to become rapidly deployable," he said. "I knew we would have to preposition containers and equipment to deploy ourselves on very short notice."

The brigade also began working with the division and the garrison at Fort Stewart to ensure there were mechanisms in place to support a short-notice deployment, Cloutier said.

Once the exercise started, the brigade planners looked at how to reorganize their habitual formations from an infantry or armor battalion in order to accomplish the mission.

"Do we want to take our internal assets and develop functional task forces like engineering, decontamination, heavy movement, and search and rescue, or do we want to develop multifaceted task forces and assign them by region?" he asked.

Their conclusion? That configurations would likely change based on the type of catastrophe or the size of the geographical area.

"We're developing something of a playbook from everything we do here," Cloutier said. "We'll capture everything and keep it on the shelf so if we see a similar situation down the road, we're starting that much further along."

Technical Support

Air Force Lt. Col. Kevin Martilla was especially impressed with the brigade's planning efforts, which structured the forces and established processes to efficiently execute any mission that comes down.

As chief of the Air Force Radiation Assessment Team, Brooks City-Base, Texas, Martilla leads a unit responsible for supporting health-protection efforts for the force, to help commanders understand and manage radiation risks so they can complete their missions.

The team has existed since 1968 to respond to Broken Arrow incidents, or those involving military nuclear weapons damaged during transport.

"We've always been involved in planning to respond to Broken Arrow incidents, so it made sense that (the services) included us when developing CCMRF," Martilla said.

The team provides technical advice and the capability to measure radiation levels, collect and analyze samples, and measure and track radiological exposure to the force.

Being assigned to Task Force Operations allowed the team to work closely with the brigade planners and staff, Martilla said.

"Our team gained an understanding we wouldn't get if exercising with units on paper," he said. "This exercise has been a great step forward toward accomplishing this mission in case it ever does happen."

Also assigned to CCMRF within Task Force Operations is a Marine Corps technical support force called the Chemical, Biological Incident Response Force based at Indian Head, Md.

The force, known as CBIRF, was created in the mid 1990s as a domestic response force following the sarin attacks on the Tokyo subway.

The biggest misconception, said the unit's operations officer, is that the force is a nuclear, biological and chemical unit.

"We are a life-saving organization," said Marine Corps Maj. Stan Bacon. "Although we can identify hazards and decontaminate personnel, those actions are all geared toward allowing our force to conduct search and extraction."

cont'd

Every one of the 500 Marines and Sailors in the battalion is trained to perform search and extraction, Bacon said. In addition, all members have received additional training to perform specialized technical rescues, including confined space, advanced rope, trench, collapsed structure, and vehicle and heavy machinery extraction.

The battalion is able to "grab and drag" people from within the hazardous area. However, the force also developed procedures to stabilize casualties when moving them would cause more injury, Bacon said.

"Very few military or civilian agencies plan to have medical personnel in the hot zone, in suits, treating and extracting casualties," he said.

Bacon said the Marine Corps unit benefited from training with the forces that will provide its logistics, decontamination, aviation and command and control during a disaster.

"We know we won't have to reach back to Indian Head for logistics support or work on mitigating the hazard," Bacon said. "We'll be able to focus our entire effort on saving lives."

'The main effort'

Civil support missions also are logistics intensive, as Army Lt. Col. Johnney Matthews found out.

Matthews, a support battalion commander, knows what it takes to move the fuel, food and water for a brigade headquarters and four maneuver battalions for combat.

However, the support battalion soon found they had gone from being the "unsung heroes" of the brigade to being the main effort, he said.

As the exercise scenario unfolded, Matthews learned the importance of quickly building a supply base to keep their own forces sustained so he could focus on moving food and water to affected civilians.

The battalion designed "speed balls," bundles of daily rations that feed up to 1,500 people and can be rapidly rolled on and off a military flatbed truck.

"This exercise has been a good experience for us," Matthews said. "We've been able to shake out our staff and put some systems in place for future missions. And we've learned a lot about civil support - we've been given a picture of some of the things we might face."

Task Force Medical

The consequence management response force is able to deploy with robust medical capability, including patient treatment and evacuation, blood storage and distribution, environmental assessment, epidemiology, and even stress management.

They were all coordinated by 1st Medical Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas.

As with a number of units attending the week of academics before the exercise, the 1st Medical Brigade was on alert and planning for possible response to Hurricane Ike, which was barreling toward the coast of Texas.

During every break, the medical brigade's executive officer was returning phone calls.

"We knew that if Ike hit hard enough to trigger a federal response, we had to be ready to respond," Army Maj. Tim Walsh said. "We have a lot of ongoing requirements, but we know we have to be prepared to deal with the alligator that is in our room."

Walsh said the exercise gave them an opportunity to look at mission requirements and the brigade's capabilities, then identify shortfalls and try to mitigate them.

Although they may not be able to mitigate all the shortfalls, just knowing what they are is beneficial too, Walsh said.

"States and local responders go through the same process," he said. "Our goal is to fill their shortfalls until they are able to handle the incident with just their capabilities, then we leave."

As combat operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, military medical capability remains in high demand. Walsh said those deployments give the unit the credibility to do their mission within the United States.

"We are proud and honored to do our mission anywhere, but to do it in the United States - that's extra motivation," he said. "We treat everyone with dignity and respect, whether it's a captured suicide attacker or one of our own Soldiers - we give them the same level of care we'd give our own parents."

Task Force Aviation

Speed is essential for this type of response, and rapidly moving people and equipment is nothing new for the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, according to Col. Paul Bricker.

"We're not encumbered by roads or terrain, and we move vertically around obstacles that restrict vehicular movement," Bricker said. "If a bridge is out, we can move people or large equipment rapidly."

The commander of the Fort Bragg, N.C., based aviation brigade said each of the unit's CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters can move 30 people and large pieces of equipment - ideal for medical evacuation, patient transfer, logistical resupply and personnel movement.

Each of the UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters can transport 11 people or 8,000 pounds of cargo - perfect for transporting search teams, dogs, high-priority equipment and radiological survey teams, Bricker said.

The exercise allowed the brigade's staff to both come together as a team and to work with a joint task force headquarters.

"Working with the joint task force and the civilian sector exposes our folks to a whole different set of coordination requirements," he said.

'What if'

Long, the Joint Task Force Civil Support commander, agreed that having a dedicated response force assigned to Northern Command can only improve DOD's ability to help save lives, prevent injury and provide temporary critical life support.

"We've got to train like we've got to execute," he said. "There will be catastrophic deaths. Hospitals will be affected, first responders will be affected, and you've got to integrate all the response capabilities when citizens are trying to get away or trying to pull their lives together."

Since the joint task force was created in 1999, the nation has made tremendous progress on 'what if,' Long said.

"There are all sorts of deterrence capabilities, and this (force) is one of them," he said. "This exercise has been a great effort to prepare for a catastrophic CBRNE event. The nation needs to know we have this capability."

U.S. Army Brigade Deploys For Homeland Mission

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys.

Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.

Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.

It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help at home. In August 2005, for example, when Hurricane Katrina unleashed hell in Mississippi and Louisiana, several active-duty units were pulled from various posts and mobilized to those areas.

But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.

After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that another, as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the mission will be a permanent one.

“Right now, the response force requirement will be an enduring mission. How the [Defense Department] chooses to source that and whether or not they continue to assign them to NorthCom, that could change in the future,” said Army Col. Louis Vogler, chief of NorthCom future operations. “Now, the plan is to assign a force every year.”

The command is at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., but the soldiers with 1st BCT, who returned in April after 15 months in Iraq, will operate out of their home post at Fort Stewart, Ga., where they’ll be able to go to school, spend time with their families and train for their new homeland mission as well as the counterinsurgency mission in the war zones.

Stop-loss will not be in effect, so soldiers will be able to leave the Army or move to new assignments during the mission, and the operational tempo will be variable.

Don’t look for any extra time off, though. The at-home mission does not take the place of scheduled combat-zone deployments and will take place during the so-called dwell time a unit gets to reset and regenerate after a deployment.

The 1st of the 3rd is still scheduled to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan in early 2010, which means the soldiers will have been home a minimum of 20 months by the time they ship out.

In the meantime, they’ll learn new skills, use some of the ones they acquired in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing any of it.

They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.

Training for homeland scenarios has already begun at Fort Stewart and includes specialty tasks such as knowing how to use the “jaws of life” to extract a person from a mangled vehicle; extra medical training for a CBRNE incident; and working with U.S. Forestry Service experts on how to go in with chainsaws and cut and clear trees to clear a road or area.

The 1st BCT’s soldiers also will learn how to use “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them.

The package is for use only in war-zone operations, not for any domestic purpose.

“It’s a new modular package of nonlethal capabilities that they’re fielding. They’ve been using pieces of it in Iraq, but this is the first time that these modules were consolidated and this package fielded, and because of this mission we’re undertaking we were the first to get it.”

The package includes equipment to stand up a hasty road block; spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and, beanbag bullets.

“I was the first guy in the brigade to get Tasered,” said Cloutier, describing the experience as “your worst muscle cramp ever — times 10 throughout your whole body.

“I’m not a small guy, I weigh 230 pounds ... it put me on my knees in seconds.”

The brigade will not change its name, but the force will be known for the next year as a CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced “sea-smurf”).

“I can’t think of a more noble mission than this,” said Cloutier, who took command in July. “We’ve been all over the world during this time of conflict, but now our mission is to take care of citizens at home ... and depending on where an event occurred, you’re going home to take care of your home town, your loved ones.”

While soldiers’ combat training is applicable, he said, some nuances don’t apply.

“If we go in, we’re going in to help American citizens on American soil, to save lives, provide critical life support, help clear debris, restore normalcy and support whatever local agencies need us to do, so it’s kind of a different role,” said Cloutier, who, as the division operations officer on the last rotation, learned of the homeland mission a few months ago while they were still in Iraq.

Some brigade elements will be on call around the clock, during which time they’ll do their regular marksmanship, gunnery and other deployment training. That’s because the unit will continue to train and reset for the next deployment, even as it serves in its CCMRF mission.

Should personnel be needed at an earthquake in California, for example, all or part of the brigade could be scrambled there, depending on the extent of the need and the specialties involved.
Other branches included

The active Army’s new dwell-time mission is part of a NorthCom and DOD response package.

Active-duty soldiers will be part of a force that includes elements from other military branches and dedicated National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Teams.

A final mission rehearsal exercise is scheduled for mid-September at Fort Stewart and will be run by Joint Task Force Civil Support, a unit based out of Fort Monroe, Va., that will coordinate and evaluate the interservice event.

In addition to 1st BCT, other Army units will take part in the two-week training exercise, including elements of the 1st Medical Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas, and the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Bragg, N.C.

There also will be Air Force engineer and medical units, the Marine Corps Chemical, Biological Initial Reaction Force, a Navy weather team and members of the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

One of the things Vogler said they’ll be looking at is communications capabilities between the services.

“It is a concern, and we’re trying to check that and one of the ways we do that is by having these sorts of exercises. Leading up to this, we are going to rehearse and set up some of the communications systems to make sure we have interoperability,” he said.

“I don’t know what America’s overall plan is — I just know that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that are standing by to come and help if they’re called,” Cloutier said. “It makes me feel good as an American to know that my country has dedicated a force to come in and help the people at home.”

———
Correction:

A non-lethal crowd control package fielded to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, described in the original version of this story, is intended for use on deployments to the war zone, not in the U.S., as previously stated.

UK Terror Threat Severe - Critical

The U.S. is apparently not the only country picking up on a possible increased terror threat. In Britain, the threat level is at the “severe end of severe” according to sources who say the level of “chatter” among terrorist cells has increased in recent months.

The security services say they are now operating at full stretch to counter the elevated threat.

Britain’s close relationship with the US has been particularly inflammatory after cross-border raids into Pakistan by American forces.

Security officials had considered downgrading the official threat level from “severe” but that plan has now been abandoned as a result of the increase in terrorist activity.

A senior counter terrorism source said: “We were looking at the threat level six months ago and asking how severe is severe? But it is October now and we are at the severe end of severe.

“Al-Qaeda’s core exists on the Afghan-Pakistan border. The arrangement of people changes at a frighteningly rapid pace but they have enough people to replace them and there are people who are looking at us and at external operations, some at this country in particular.

“We are not chasing shadows. These are potential threats to security and life. Police and the security network are operating at full capacity.”

The source said a review by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which looks at information from MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, had considered downgrading the threat from “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely, to “substantial,” meaning an attack is a strong possibility, but that move was abandoned after the level of activity increased.

The assessment, which has five levels, has been considered severe since the arrest of the men allegedly plotting to attack transatlantic airliners in 2006 but moved up to “critical,” meaning an attack is imminent, during last year’s car bomb alert which led to the attack on Glasgow airport.

It is now only just below that level.

MI5 is watching around 200 networks across Britain and MI6 and GCHQ are constantly monitoring communications on the crucial Afghan-Pakistan border area.

Although key commanders have been killed in air strikes, one of the particular concerns is the disappearance of Rashid Rauf from Birmingham, an alleged al-Qaeda mastermind who escaped from Pakistani custody last December.

Security officials are also worried about threats which may come from off the radar.

They are particularly worried by lone operators who “self-radicalise” over the internet and stock-pile chemicals from domestic sources.

“They are discreet from traditional networks and have a very small intelligence signature which makes them hard to pick up,” the source said.

State Department warns against travel to Mexico
Deadliest drug zone invites Americans to tour 'land of encounters'

More than 1,100 people have been slaughtered in a bloodbath of drug-related violence in one city just south of the U.S.-Mexico border this year – that's nearly four victims each day – and some say it is just part of a large crisis that is will soon spill over the border.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Americans who visit Mexico, citing Ciudad Juarez as a hotbed of criminal activity. A large Mexican metropolis in Chihuahua State bordering El Paso, Texas, Juarez is Mexico's deadliest narcotics-war zone with two criminal gangs fighting for power – over city streets and drug-smuggling routes into the United States.

The State Department is warning U.S. citizens of escalating crime along the border, stating that 1,600 cars were stolen in Juarez in July alone. Public shootouts, muggings, murders and bank robberies are rampant, and Mexican criminals harass U.S. travelers along border regions.

"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have taken on the characteristics of small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and, on occasion, grenades," according to the State Department. "Firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but particularly in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. The situation in northern Mexico remains fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements cannot be predicted."

Mexican criminals are said to be armed with sophisticated weapons, often wearing police or military uniforms and driving government vehicles. Many people – including U.S. citizens – are being kidnapped and held for ransom or killed across Mexico.

Decapitation, torture, human 'soup'

Gang-related violence has killed an estimated 5,000 people since President Felipe Calderon ordered police and 3,600 soldiers to crack down on drug cartels in December 2006.

On Saturday gunmen killed six men at a family party in Ciudad Juarez, the Associated Press reported. In just the last three days, 23 people have been killed in northern Mexico. Also, 12 were killed in Baja California, including two adults and two children who were gunned down in spray of bullets from an AK-47 assault rifle.

Another 11 homicides were reported earlier this month after masked attackers dressed as police opened fire in a bar. A U.S. citizen was shot in Juarez Monday. He and another female victim, 19, of an unrelated Juarez shooting were brought to an El Paso hospital for medical attention. Among Monday killings was a double homicide inside a home, while another man was found shot to death in the same city Tuesday evening.

In a similar wave of violence this month, 54 people were killed within one week in Tijuana. Twelve bodies were dumped outside an elementary school and some had their tongues removed, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Other bodies were decapitated, cut up or wrapped in blankets and tossed along roadsides. Police also discovered a barrel filled with acid containing human remains and a note threatening to make "soup" of gang rivals.

Also this month, a group of drug hitmen killed five people, including two cops, at a car stereo and alarm shop. Shortly afterward, men shot two Chihuahua state police officers in Juarez with assault rifles. Seventy-one bullet casings were found at the scene. The killers had a wreath delivered to police headquarters with a threatening note identifying the victims and a third name of another officer. A young girl, 12, was shot by hitmen in June, and a Juarez police commander was gunned down in an ambush of 50 bullets. Many of the murders took place in broad daylight.

The violence is not aimed only at drug cartels. A new Discovery production titled "Silence in Juarez" details historical accounts of abductions and murder in the city. The program reveals 400 women have been tortured and raped in Juarez since 1993, and more than 1,000 have gone missing.

U.S. Border Patrol, media assaulted

Law-abiding authorities sometimes quit their positions when their lives and families are threatened by hit men. In a city plagued by corruption and bribery, and with so many criminals disguising themselves as police and soldiers, officials often have difficulty differentiating between legitimate and crooked authorities.

In August, WND reported four Mexican soldiers held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint after crossing a barbed-wire fence into U.S. territory. The Mexican government claims its soldiers were simply lost despite the agent's repeated attempts to identify himself in both English and Spanish.

There have been dozens of other incursions by Mexican police and soldiers into the U.S. WND reported an investigation by Judicial Watch that documented 29 confirmed incidents along the U.S.-Mexican border involving Mexican military and/or law enforcement personnel in fiscal year 2007.

The report lists incidents such as the one at the Fort Hancock Station in El Paso:

"[Troopers] attempted to apprehend three vehicles believed to be smuggling contraband on I-10 … As the vehicles approached the border, [troopers] stated that a Mexican Military Humvee armed with a .50 caliber weapon and several soldiers were seen assisting smugglers return to Mexico … Officers then noticed several armed subjects dressed in fatigue type clothing unload the contraband into the Humvee. These subjects set fire to the stalled vehicle before leaving the area."

Increasingly, border agents are coming under assault. The Texas Legislature, fearing violence spillover as the drug war worsens, allocated $110 million to beef up Border Patrol in the area.

Members of the media have come under attack as well. Reporters Without Borders stated 95 attacks on journalists in Mexico have taken place since the beginning of this year, including threats, assaults, kidnappings and murders. Newspapers and other media outlets have begun censoring their coverage and running stories without reporters' names to avoid retaliation.

Mexican hitmen entering U.S.

In August, Mexican cartels threatened to send hitmen into the U.S.

"We received credible information that drug cartels in Mexico have given permission to hit targets on the U.S. side of the border," El Paso police spokesman Officer Chris Mears told Fox News.

In June, six Mexican men in police tactical clothing shot a man to death in a drug-cartel hit, firing more than 100 rounds into his Phoenix home. The assailants were said to be wielding AR-15 assault weapons and wearing full body armor and black assault gear similar to uniforms worn by Phoenix police tactical teams.

Worst 'yet to come'

Spillover is imminent because cartels employ people from both Mexico and the U.S., border anthropologist and drug-traffic expert Howard Campbell told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"At some point, the Mexican cartel people may decide, what do they have to fear, really?" Campbell said. "A lot is their own perception that they can't get away with this stuff in the U.S. But sadly, I think they could. My sources in Juarez are saying the worst of the violence is yet to come."

Meanwhile, Mexican officials have launched a desperate campaign to draw American tourists back into Juarez after many have decided to stay away from the region, the Associated Press reports. Billboards now tout the city as the "land of encounters."

Scheme to smuggle guns, visas uncovered
Jordanian native offered informant missile that 'can reach the Pentagon'

An FBI informant helped agents uncover a visa fraud and gun smuggling scheme run by two Annandale men, one of whom told the informant he could sell him a missile that “can reach the Pentagon,” according to a sworn statement unsealed Monday.

The investigation started when the informant met with Amjad Hamed, a Jordanian native and legal U.S. resident since 1978, in Hamed’s Annandale home in April 2006, the affidavit said. Hamed reportedly asked the informant to obtain visas for six associates who wanted to immigrate to the U.S. from Jordan and the West Bank.

Hamed reportedly told the informant that three of the of the six passports and visas were for people who had been arrested by the Israeli government. Hamed added that he had been jailed in Israel three times. Months later, between May 2007 and June 2007, Hamed sold three firearms — a fully automatic AR-15 assault rifle and two handguns, one with a serial number scratched off — to the informant, the affidavit said.

In June 2007, the two met in an Annandale parking lot, where the informant asked about buying a missile. “When I say missile, it is with everything ... with the controls if you want you can reach the Pentagon,” the affidavit said Hamed responded. In August 2007, the informant met with Hamed’s cousin Ibrahim Hamed, a Jordanian immigrant living legally in the U.S. since 1989. Ibrahim has been charged with transporting a firearm with an obliterated serial number across state lines. Amjad has been charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

Gregory Stambough, Ibrahim Hamed’s attorney, said the affidavit was “overblown” and “is not really reflective of the events as they actually took place.” Amjad Hamed’s attorney did not return calls Tuesday. Both men are being held without bail.

Reward Increased for Operation Backfire Fugitives

Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced an increased reward for information about fugitives being sought for their role in a domestic terrorism cell. Specifically, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Josephine Sunshine Overaker, Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, Justin Franchi Solondz, and Rebecca Rubin. These individuals were members of the domestic terrorism cell, referred to as “The Family,” whose criminal actions included vandalism, animal releases, arsons, and attempted arsons across Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming, and Colorado.

“We depend on the assistance of our domestic and international law enforcement partners in this ongoing fugitive search,” said Executive Assistant Director Arthur M. Cummings, II, of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “These individuals are terrorists; regardless of their political or social message, their actions were criminal and violated federal laws. The FBI has remained steadfast in the search for these individuals and is making every effort to locate these fugitives and bring them to justice.”

From 1996 to 2001, these individuals conducted a range of criminal actions throughout the United States in the name of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF). They were responsible for at least 25 domestic terrorism criminal actions totaling over $48 million in damages, including the largest eco-related arson in history, a $26 million arson at the Vail Ski Resort in Vail, Colorado. To date, Operation Backfire has resulted in the indictment of 17 individuals for eco-terrorism criminal activities, four of which remain at large, possibly overseas.

“The crimes perpetrated by ALF and ELF have proven violent and potentially deadly, as the criminals use sophisticated incendiary devices, pipe bombs, and tactics” said ATF Deputy Assistant Director William McMahon. “As these fugitives are still on the run, law enforcement must remain aggressive in our pursuit. The ATF will continue to work with the FBI to battle the twin menaces of violent crime and terrorism.”
Detailed descriptions of these fugitives are available on www.fbi.gov. These fugitives are considered armed and dangerous. If you have information concerning any of them, please do not take any independent action. We ask that you contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Feds warn of terror plot against NYC subways
Internal memo says FBI received 'plausible but unsubstantiated' report

Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway and train systems during the holiday season, and police are beefing up security in preparation.

An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press says the FBI has received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.

A person briefed on the matter, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the intelligence-gathering work, said the threat may also be directed at the passenger rail lines running through New York, such as Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, which are particularly busy with Thanksgiving holiday travelers.

A U.S. counterterror official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do so publicly, said senior government officials have been briefed because the FBI very recently received credible information about possible attacks over the holiday season, and authorities are particularly concerned about this long holiday weekend.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko confirmed only that his agency and the Homeland Security Department issued a bulletin Tuesday night to state and local authorities, and the information is being reviewed.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said the warning was issued as a routine matter, but added that there may be an increased police presence in New York and other large cities.

The internal bulletin says al-Qaida terrorists "in late September may have discussed targeting transit systems in and around New York City. These discussions reportedly involved the use of suicide bombers or explosives placed on subway/passenger rail systems," according to the document.

"We have no specific details to confirm that this plot has developed beyond aspirational planning, but we are issuing this warning out of concern that such an attack could possibly be conducted during the forthcoming holiday season," according to the warning dated Tuesday.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said they have received an unsubstantiated report and as a result have "deployed additional resources in the mass transit system."

While federal agencies regularly issue all sorts of advisory warnings, the language of this one is particularly blunt.

Intelligence and homeland security officials are working with local authorities to try to corroborate the information "and will continue to investigate every possible lead," the memo says.

Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said authorities "have very real specifics as to who it is and where the conversation took place and who conducted it."

"It certainly involves suicide bombing attacks on the mass transit system in and around New York and it's plausible, but there's no evidence yet that it's in the process of being carried out," King said.

Knocke, the DHS spokesman, said the warning was issued "out of an abundance of caution going into this holiday season."

No changes are being made to the nation's threat level, or for transit systems at this time, he said.

"However, transit passengers in larger metropolitan areas like New York may see an increased security presence in the coming days," Knocke said.

The increased personnel could include uniformed and plainclothes "behavior detection" officers, federal air marshals, canine teams, and security inspectors, Knocke said.

Doomsday: U.S. report warns of 'strategic shock' leading to massive unrest

The United States could be sleep-walking into its next crisis, a military report said.

The report by the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Institute, said that a defense community paralyzed by conventional thinking could be unprepared to help the United States cope with a series of unexpected crises that would rival the Al Qaida strikes in 2001, termed a "strategic shock."

The report cited the prospect of the collapse of a nuclear state leading to massive unrest in the United States, Middle East Newsline reported.

"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security," the report, authored by [Ret.] Lt. Col. Nathan Freir, said.

"Deliberate employment of weapons of mass destruction or other catastrophic capabilities, unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters are all paths to disruptive domestic shock."

Titled "Known Unknowns: Unconventional Strategic Shocks in Defense Strategy Development," the report warned that the U.S. military and intelligence community remain mired in the past as well as the need to accommodate government policy. Freier, a former Pentagon official, said that despite the Al Qaida surprise in 2001 U.S. defense strategy and planning remain trapped by "excessive convention."

"The current administration confronted a game-changing 'strategic shock' inside its first eight months in office," the report said. "The next administration would be well-advised to expect the same during the course of its first term. Indeed, the odds are very high against any of the challenges routinely at the top of the traditional defense agenda triggering the next watershed inside DoD [Department of Defense]."

The report cited the collapse of what Freier termed "a large capable state that results in a nuclear civil war." Such a prospect could lead to uncontrolled weapons of mass destruction proliferation as well as a nuclear war.

The report cited the prospect of a breakdown of order in the United States. Freier said the Pentagon could be suddenly forced to recall troops from abroad to fight domestic unrest.

"An American government and defense establishment lulled into complacency by a long-secure domestic order would be forced to rapidly divest some or most external security commitments in order to address rapidly expanding human insecurity at home," the report said.

The report said the United States could also come under pressure from a hostile state with control over insurgency groups. The hostile state could force American decision-makers into a desperate response.

"The United States might also consider the prospect that hostile state and/or nonstate actors might individually or in concert combine hybrid methods effectively to resist U.S. influence in a nonmilitary manner," the report said. "This is clearly an emerging trend."

"The aforementioned are admittedly extreme," the report said. "They are not, however, implausible or fantastical."

Assets Seized at Company Suspected of Funneling Money to Iran

Federal authorities moved on Wednesday to seize assets from a company suspected of being a front for an Iranian bank that has ties to terrorism, assets that include the company’s 40 percent stake in a sleek Midtown Manhattan office tower.

The seizure was the latest step in the government’s broader effort to financially suffocate Iran’s biggest banks, several of which have been accused of funneling money to groups like Hamas and financing Iran’s nuclear missile program. The United States and other countries have blacklisted Iranian banks in recent years and frozen their assets, part of a plan to stifle Iran’s foreign financial transactions.

On Wednesday, several branches of the government joined forces to strike a blow against Iran’s largest bank, Melli.

The Treasury Department announced that it had designated the Assa Corporation, which does business in New York, a shell company that launders money and sends it to Melli. The Assa Corporation’s parent, the Assa Company, based in the Channel Islands, owns a 40 percent stake in 650 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story granite-and-glass tower at 52nd Street. The building has many prominent tenants, including Citibank, Equity 1 and Pali Capital.

As the Treasury was making its declaration on Wednesday, the Justice Department started its own indirect strike against Bank Melli, initiating legal action to take control of the Assa Corporation’s stake in 650 Fifth Avenue and to seize funds from Assa’s bank accounts.

“This scheme to use a front company set up by Bank Melli — a known proliferator — to funnel money from the United States to Iran is yet another example of Iran’s duplicity,” Stuart Levey, the undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement on Wednesday, using a term that refers to spreading nuclear weapons to states without them. “The dangerous mix of proliferation and deception has led the United States, the European Union and Australia to designate Bank Melli, and the United Nations to issue a call for vigilance with respect to all Iranian banks.”

A man who is listed as an agent for 650 Fifth Avenue, James Quinn, did not return a phone call to his office on Wednesday.

According to legal documents filed by the office of Lev L. Dassin, the United States attorney in Manhattan, the building was constructed in the 1970s by the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit agency of the shah of Iran, and financed partly by a loan from Bank Melli. By the end of the decade, the Islamic revolution had taken place, and Iran’s diplomatic relationship with the United States had soured.

In 1989, the foundation, which had renamed itself Alavi, formed the 650 Fifth Avenue Company in partnership with Bank Melli, but disguised the bank’s role by transferring its partial stake to the Assa shell company, federal authorities said. From then on, they said, the shell company sent its proceeds from the building’s rental income to Bank Melli, in violation of federal laws that forbid the exportation of goods and services to Iran without a license from the treasury.

Businesses use RFID to track workers, pay for fewer hours

The same computer chips used to track razor blades and lipstick are now being used to track workers and cut jobs.

Radio Frequency Identification technology was on display this week by the Charlotte, N.C.-based Material Handling Industry of America at the ProMat trade show at McCormick Place.

Retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, have used the technology to track their products. But the displays at ProMat showed how businesses can track how quickly employees are working and then pay them for fewer labor hours. Retail inventories also can be chipped so fewer workers are needed to sort through them.

"Everyone says, 'I want to be able to push a button in my office and know where my guys are,'" said Bruce Smallwood of Accu-Sort Inc, of Telford, Pa., a company that makes barcode and RFID readers.

In fact, I.D. Systems Inc., of Hackensack, N.J., has installed RFID tags in 35,000 forklifts across the country, according to Kenneth Ehrman, president. The tags are linked to the ignition, so an employee needs an authorized badge to start the engine.

The RFID tag can also track when the forklift is being operated. The business can then compare a digital log of the vehicle's time spent moving to the operator's time card and then pay them for less time. Additionally, the RFID tag causes a machine to turn off when it's left idling.

"You're paying eight hours of work for one hour of product moving in the facility," said Ehrman.

I.D. Systems received a $4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop a system to track vehicles and workers innovled in such areas as baggage handling at airports.

RFID can also be used to cut a company's costs by speeding up the handling of retail goods. Each bin of products will have its own RFID tag, and that tag's code can be read by a hand-held scanner. This makes it faster for employees to find what they're looking for.

"You don't need human beings to see what's in inventory," said Jeffrey Allen of AL Systems, of Rockaway, N.J.

Companies are also using RFID to track how quickly employees work and have them compete with each other in order for everyone to work faster. If a task normally takes two minutes and an employee finds a more efficient way to get it done in one minute, then the standards are changed, said Ehrman.

Yet this could cause complaints from an employee who can't physically move faster.

"What happens if that person can't improve?" said John Brosnan of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which mediates labor disputes.

If everyone's being made to work faster and getting more done in less time, maybe the person lagging behind will become expendable.

Allen, whose company makes software that directs RFID devices said one retail company's employee parking lot went from full to half-full after installing RFID for its inventory.

"You can replace all that extra labor with technology," said Allen.

New film uncovers 'homegrown jihad'
Group left off terror list operates 35 training camps across U.S.

A jihadist group responsible for nearly 50 attacks on American soil is operating 35 training camps across the nation, but its name cannot be found on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Exposing Jamaat ul-Fuqra's threat to the U.S., putting it on the terror list and shutting it down is the aim of a documentary film premiering tomorrow night at the Landmark Theater in Washington, D.C., at 7:30 p.m.

The film's producer, the Christian Action Network, or CAN, says there's no charge to attend the showing of "Homegrown Jihad: The Terrorist Camps Around the U.S.," and DVDs are available at its website. A trailer for the film can be viewed online.

In 2006, the film points out, a Justice Department document, marked "Dissemination Restricted to Law Enforcement," exposed 35 terrorist training compounds in the U.S. Among the items of evidence was a confiscated terrorist training film by Jamaat ul-Fuqra's leader, Sheik Muburak Gilani, called "Soldiers of Allah."

In "Soldiers of Allah," Jamaat ul-Fuqra's reason for being in America is clearly stated.

"We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America," declares Giliani.

The training video, featured prominently in CAN's documentary, teaches American students how to operate AK-47 rifles, rocket launchers, and machine guns; how to kidnap Americans and then kill them; how to conduct sabotage and subversive operations; and how to use mortars and explosives.

Jamaat ul-Fuqra's attacks on American soil range from bombings to murder to plots to blow up U.S. landmarks.

"Act like you are his friend. Then kill him," says Gilani, explaining how to handle American "infidels."

CAN said the more than two years of research it took to make the documentary included going inside the compounds with video cameras and confronting members of the group.

The filmmaker cites a 2006 Department of Justice report saying Jamaat ul-Fuqra "has more than 35 suspected communes and more than 3,000 members spread across the United States, all in support of one goal: the purification of Islam through violence."

In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security predicted the group would continue to carry out attacks in the U.S.

CAN points out that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was attempting to interview Jamaat ul-Fuqra's leader, Gilani, in 2002 when he was kidnapped and later beheaded. One year later, Iyman Faris, member of both Jamaat ul-Fuqra and al-Qaida, pleaded guilty in federal court to a plot to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge.

Gilani was at one time in Pakistani custody for the abduction of Pearl. Intelligence sources also suggest a link between Jamaat ul Fuqra and Richard Reid, the infamous "shoe bomber" who attempted to ignite explosives aboard a Paris-to-Miami passenger flight Dec. 22, 2001.

"What we are witnessing here is kind of a brand-new form of terrorism," says FBI Special Agent Jody Weis in the documentary. "These home-grown terrorists can prove to be as dangerous as any known group, if not more so,"

As WND reported, a covert visit to a Jamaat ul-Fuqra encampment in upstate New York by the Northeast Intelligence Network found neighboring residents deeply concerned about military-style training taking place there but frustrated by the lack of attention from federal authorities.

Gilani also is the founder of a village in South Carolina called "Holy Islamville."

Muslims of the Americas Inc., a tax-exempt organization, has been directly linked by court documents to Jamaat ul-Fuqra. The organization operates communes of primarily black, American-born Muslims throughout the U.S. The investigation confirmed members commonly use aliases and intentional spelling variations of their names and routinely deny the existence of Jamaat ul-Fuqra.

The group openly recruits through various social service organizations in the U.S., including the prison system. Members live in compounds where they agree to abide by the laws of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, which are considered to be above local, state and federal authority.

U.S. authorities have probed the group for charges ranging from links to al-Qaida to laundering and funneling money into Pakistan for terrorist activities. The organization supports various terrorist groups operating in Pakistan and Kashmir, and Gilani himself is linked directly to Hamas and Hezbollah.

Guess how DHS defines who is a terrorist now?
2nd 'domestic extremism' report includes 'alternative media,' 'tax resisters' in lexicon

Two weeks before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security penned its controversial report warning against "right-wing extremists" in the United States, it generated a memo defining dozens of additional groups – animal rights activists, black separatists, tax protesters, even worshippers of the Norse god Odin – as potential "threats."

Though the "Domestic Extremism Lexicon" was reportedly rescinded almost immediately, Benjamin Sarlin of The Daily Beast recently obtained and published online ( http://www.tdbimg.com/files/2009/04/30/-hsra-domestic-extremism-lexicon_165213935473.pdf ) a copy of the unclassified memo, dated March 26, 2009.

While many of the groups listed in the lexicon – such as Aryan prison gangs and neo-Nazis – may indeed be widely considered extremists, others will likely take offense at being described as a potential "threat."

For example, the memo defines the "tax resistance movement" – also referred to in the report as the tax protest movement or the tax freedom movement – as "groups or individuals who vehemently believe taxes violate their constitutional rights. Among their beliefs are that wages are not income, that paying income taxes is voluntary, and that the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which allowed Congress to levy taxes on income, was not properly ratified."

The report, however, continues in its assessment of tax protesters, asserting that members "have been known to advocate or engage in criminal activity and plot acts of violence and terrorism in an attempt to advance their extremist goals."

Similarly, the lexicon concludes its definition of "black separatists" by asserting, "Such groups or individuals also may embrace radical religious beliefs. Members have been known to advocate or engage in criminal activity and plot acts of violence directed toward local law enforcement in an attempt to advance their extremist goals."

In his blog piece titled "Who You Calling an Extremist?" Sarlin writes, "Partisans leapt to decry the first DHS memo as part of a Democratic conspiracy to marginalize right wingers. But it became clear that DHS's broad descriptions of extremists were symptomatic of an ongoing agency problem that crossed ideological lines."

The lexicon states its purpose is to provide "definitions for key terms and phrases that often appear in DHS analysis that addresses the nature and scope of the threat that domestic, non-Islamic extremism poses to the United States."

Apparently, the DHS analyzes the "threat" level of Internet news websites like WorldNetDaily, for the lexicon defines "alternative media" as "a term used to describe various information sources that provide a forum for interpretations of events and issues that differ radically from those presented in mass media products and outlets."

The term "black power," widely used in a variety of contexts, also merits a definition in the lexicon: "A term used by black separatists to describe their pride in and the perceived superiority of the black race."

The DHS memo also includes precursors to the ill-fated "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" report, which prompted outrage from legislators and a campaign calling for the resignation of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.

For example, the lexicon contains virtually the same broad-stroke language the right-wing extremism report used.

"Rightwing extremism," the lexicon defines as those "who can be broadly divided into those who are primarily hate-oriented, and those who are mainly antigovernment and reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority. This term also may refer to rightwing extremist movements that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

The lexicon further points to those who oppose driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

"Anti-immigration extremism," the lexicon defines as "a movement of groups or individuals who are vehemently opposed to illegal immigration, particularly along the U.S. southwest border with Mexico, and who have been known to advocate or engage in criminal activity and plot acts of violence and terrorism to advance their extremist goals. They are highly critical of the U.S. Government's response to illegal immigration and oppose government programs that are designed to extend 'rights' to illegal aliens, such as issuing driver's licenses or national identification cards and providing in-state tuition, medical benefits, or public education."

Unlike the right-wing extremism report, however, the lexicon includes definitions of extremism across a broad spectrum of issues: anarchy, animal rights extremism, black nationalism, Cuban independence, environmentalism, Jewish extremism, Mexican separatism, right-wing militias, white supremacists, the anti-war movement and more.

Among the more curious groups the DHS appears to be monitoring is the "racial Nordic mysticism" group, defined as "an ideology adopted by many white supremacist prison gangs who embrace a Norse mythological religion, such as Odinism or Asatru."

Among the more comical definitions is the description given of what "racist skinheads" wear, enabling law officers, it appears, to identify skinheads by their preferred brand of footwear:

"Dress may include a shaved head or very short hair," the report states, "jeans, thin suspenders, combat boots or Doc Martens, a bomber jacket, and tattoos of Nazi-like emblems."

Sarlin, who first publicized the memo, reports that a spokesperson for DHS told him the memo was recalled "within minutes" of being issued but declined to offer any details on the reasons for its withdrawal.

Napolitano adds adviser with ties to terror backers
Swears in leader of Arab group that hailed jihadists as 'heroes'

By Aaron Klein WorldNetDaily

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano swore in to her official advisory council the head of an Arab American organization whose officials have labeled deadly anti-U.S. jihadists as "heroes" and opposed referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, or ADC, also has close ties to anti-Israel professor Rashid Khalidi, whose association with President Obama – first exposed by WND – stirred controversy during last year's presidential campaign.

The ADC also leads the opposition to domestic anti-terrorism measures taken after the 9-11 attacks, such as watch lists, background check delays for visas and an initiative meant to more comprehensively screen visitors from select Mideast countries or specific individuals labeled as possible national security threats.

Last week, Napolitano swore in Damascus-born Kareem Shora, the ADC's national executive director, to a position on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, an outside-the-department group of national security experts that advises the secretary. Shora is the first Arab rights advocate on the panel.

At the ceremony in Albequrque, Shora reportedly recounted how he watched with his immigrant father Obama's address last week to the Muslim world. Shora said his father cried when he heard Obama's message of reconciliation.

ADC glorifies terrorism

The ADC takes an openly anti-Israel line. Its official material has accused the Jewish state of "apartheid" and "atrocities" against the Palestinians. In 2006, a local ADC group drew up a petition calling on the U.S. to stop providing Israel with weapons.

Scores of senior ADC officials have expressed positive views toward terrorist organizations.

In 1994, during one of the main peaks of Hamas suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, then-ADC President Hamzi Moghrabi said, "I will not call [Hamas] a terrorist organization. I mean, I know many people in Hamas. They are very respectable. … I don't believe Hamas, as an organization, is a violent organization."

Discover the Networks notes that two years later, Moghrabi's successor, Hala Maksoud, defended the Hezbollah terrorist group.

"I find it shocking," Maksoud said, "that [one] would include Hezbollah in … [an] inventory of Middle East 'terrorist' groups."

In 2000, new ADC President Hussein Ibish characterized Hezbollah as "a disciplined and responsible liberation force."

When Israel released Hezbollah prisoners in early 2004, Imad Hamad, ADC's Midwest Regional Director, openly celebrated the freedom of "the heroes."

Besides its deadly terrorism against Israel, Hezbollah distinguishes itself as second only to al-Qaida among terror groups responsible for killing the most Americans. It's responsible for such deadly attacks as the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, which killed 299 servicemen, including 220 U.S. Marines.

ADC linked to Khalidi

The ADC is linked to Columbia University's Khalidi, who spoke at several of the organization's events. At one speech, in June 2002, the New York Sun documented how Khalidi appeared to condone the killing of armed Israelis.

"Killing civilians is a war crime. It's a violation of international law. They are not soldiers. They're civilians, they're unarmed," Khalidi said in a recorded address. "The ones who are armed, the ones who are soldiers, the ones who are in occupation, that's different. That's resistance."

The ADC also has collaborated on numerous projects with the Arab American Action Network, or AAAN, an organization founded by Khalidi's wife Mona, and which WND first reported received start-up funds from a nonprofit, the Woods Fund, on which Obama served as a paid director.

The AAAN, headquartered in the heart of Chicago's Palestinian immigrant community, worked on projects supporting open boarders and education for illegal aliens. Speakers at AAAN dinners and events routinely have taken an anti-Israel line. The organization co-sponsored anti-Israel projects and exhibits.

Khalidi, an apologist for PLO terrorism, holds the position of Columbia's Edward Said professorship of Arab Studies. Said, a well-known far-leftist intellectual and apologist for Palestinian terrorism, served on an advisory counsel to the ADC.

ADC opposes anti-terrorism screening

According to the ADC charter, the organization seeks to "empower Arab Americans; defend the civil rights of all people of Arab heritage in the U.S.; promote civic participation; and encourage a balanced U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East."

The organization has actively lobbied against the Patriot Act and was reportedly instrumental in scaling back some of the restrictions of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System program, or NSEERS. Shora was personally involved in those efforts.

The NSEERS required persons whose nationality identifies them as a possible security risk to submit to control processes governed by the Department of Justice. NSEERS also targeted specific individuals labeled as possible national security threats, at times making them undergo fingerprinting, photographing and registration.

HOMELAND INSECURITY
U.S. military teaches 'protesters' are 'low-level terrorists'
Become 'dangerous citizen' by 'repeating the very phrases Founding Fathers used'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: June 17, 2009
10:00 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Just weeks after a scandal erupted over a Department of Homeland Security report that described as "right-wing extremists" those who oppose abortion and support secure national borders, another report is revealing that the Department of Defense is teaching that protesters are "low-level terrorists."

The newest action to define those who disagree with positions adopted by the government or administration of the United States was revealed by blogger Dennis Loo at Salon.com.

He cited a complaint filed by the northern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union demanding that the Department of Defense change its instructions and those who have been given the training be told of the modifications by "sending out corrective materials."

According to the ACLU letter, the DoD's "Annual Level 1 Antiterrorism (AT) Awareness Training for 2009" tells department personnel "that certain First Amendment-protected activity may amount to 'low-level terrorism.'"

Specifically the training "Knowledge Check 1" asks, "Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism activity?"

The multiple choices are: Attacking the Pentagon, IEDs, Hate crimes against racial groups and Protests.

The correct answer in the training course is "Protests."

According to Loo, the use of the term apparently is routine.

"I have just learned of a scholarly conference paper presented earlier this year that underscores the fact that the DoD training's use of 'low-level terrorism' is hardly an anomaly. 'Low level terrorism' is a term regularly being used by state security agencies," he wrote.

He cited a document at the February convention in New York titled "Labeling 'Low Level Terrorism': The Out-Definition of Social Movements."

Wrote a participant in the Salon forum page, "One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our Founding Fathers used in their struggle for independence."

Said another, "Yep, when regular legally protected political protest is becoming classified by the powers-that-be, we know we have turned another corner into darkness. Perhaps this is the era the Great UN-enlightenment."

Blogger Jim Bovard added, "I still believe that we have not yet seen the tip of the iceberg of federal efforts to classify political protests or opposition to the government as terrorism."

Blogger Josh Richman at at the Costra Costa Times said, "I guess I'm surprised not only that the government hasn't yet learned its lesson about equating the exercise of our cherished constitutional rights with terrorism, but also that it's so incredibly obvious in doing so."

"Teaching employees that dissent on issues of public concern is something to be feared, rather than encouraged, is a dangerously counterproductive use of scarce security resources, making us less safe as a democracy," the ACLU letter to the Pentagon said.

"DOD employees cannot accomplish their mission of protecting our nation and its values unless they understand that those values encompass the right to criticize our government through protest activities. It is imperative that they are taught the difference between political, religious or social activism and terrorism."

"Peaceful protest is not terrorist activity, it is protected by the First Amendment and is one of the cornerstones of our democratic society," the ACLU said. "The fact that the views espoused may be unpopular or may be critical of the government is hardly a reason to treat engaging in dissent as a suspect activity."

The earlier DHS report was "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." WND has posted the report online for readers to see.

It also has prompted, as WND has reported, a lawsuit by Thomas More Law Center.

Law Center President Richard Thompson said the promise by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to "reword" it truly is "scary because we know they are still going to maintain some kind of targeting for various people that she's never apologized to or never retracted [her accusations]."

The report linked returning veterans with the possibility of terrorism and when it was released and created such a furor for Napolitano she has given several explanations for it, including that she would have reworded the report and that it was issued by a rogue employee.

She later apologized to veterans for having linked them to terror.

But Thompson noted that the report also targeted as "potential terrorists" Americans who:

Oppose abortion

Oppose same-sex marriage

Oppose restrictions on firearms

Oppose lax immigration laws

Oppose the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship, and the expansion of social programs

Oppose continuation of free trade agreements

Are suspect of foreign regimes

Fear Communist regimes

Oppose a "one world" government

Bemoan the decline of U.S. stature in the world

Are upset with loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to China and India, and more
And Thompson told WND no apology has been offered to the members of any of those classes of citizens.

Thompson said as part of his preparation for the lawsuit, his organization has uncovered "additional information" that "creates even more concern that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is unconstitutionally targeting Americans merely because of their conservative beliefs."

Thompson said that information will be released in due course.

"This report was the tip of the iceberg," Thompson said at the time. "Conservative Americans should be very outraged."

The Thomas More Law Center filed its lawsuit against Napolitano and the DHS on behalf of nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, Gregg Cunningham of the pro-life organization Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Inc. and Iraqi War Marine veteran Kevin Murray.

It alleges the federal agency violated the First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights of these three plaintiffs by targeting them for disfavored treatment and chilling their free speech, expressive association, and equal protection rights. The lawsuit further claims that DHS encourages law enforcement officers throughout the nation to target and report citizens to federal officials as suspicious rightwing extremists and potential terrorists because of their political beliefs.

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Entertainment => Politics and Political Issues => Topic started by: Soldier4Christ on October 05, 2007, 01:29:23 PM