Next Two Weeks Critical to Pakistan’s Survival

Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, has told U.S. officials the next two weeks are critical to determining whether the Pakistani government will survive.

See related story here -  Taliban Nuclear Nightmare

“The Pakistanis have run out of excuses” and are “finally getting serious” about combating the threat from Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists operating out of Northwest Pakistan, the general added.

But Petraeus also said wearily that “we’ve heard it all before” from the Pakistanis and he is looking to see concrete action by the government to destroy the Taliban in the next two weeks before determining the United States’ next course of action, which is presently set on propping up the Pakistani government and military with counterinsurgency training and foreign aid.

Petraeus made these assessment in talks with lawmakers and Obama administration officials this week, according to individuals familiar with the discussions.

They said Petraeus and senior administration officials believe the Pakistani army, led by Chief of Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, is “superior” to the civilian government, led by President Ali Zardari, and could conceivably survive even if Zardari’s government falls to the Taliban.

American officials have watched with anxiety as Taliban fighters advanced earlier this month to within 70 miles of the capital city of Islamabad. In recent days, the Pakistani army has sought to reverse that tide, retaking control over strategic points in the district of Buner even as the Taliban struck back by kidnapping scores of police and paramilitary troops.

The see-saw nature of the battles Wednesday demonstrated to U.S. officials that, as one put it to FOX News, “even with intent and superior technology, the capability may not be there” for the Pakistani army to defeat the extremists.

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Suspicious Packages Found Near California State Capitol

A loud boom echoed from a grassy area in front of the state Capitol just after noon today as California Highway Patrol officers apparently blew up a suspicious package found nearby.

Two packages were found on a statue near the north end of the Capitol and were x-rayed by a hazardous materials team, according to Jarrod Lassila, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

One of the packages, a paper bag, was found to contain clothes. The other had a piece of metal sticking out of it, so officers moved it to a grassy area and conducted what Lassila said was a “controlled disruption.”

Lassila said the bag did not contain explosives or hazardous materials. He said investigators are not releasing details on the disruption method they used or on the contents of the second package.

Some areas of the Capitol were evacuated during the operation.

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Diesease And Terrorism In A Connected World

A complacent America, growing ever less concerned about the threat of pandemic bird flu, was startled last week by the sudden appearance of a major epidemic of swine flu in neighboring Mexico. Cases were soon reported from New York, California, Texas and Ohio, as well as France, New Zealand, Canada and Britain. So far, the apprehension and confusion about what to expect resembles the early days of the anthrax attacks of 2001, when a fine powder of weaponized anthrax bacteria showed up in the U.S. mail. Then, as now, health authorities were taken completely by surprise, and the public panicked out of all proportion to the actual threat.

The similarities between the flu and biological terrorism are not coincidental. In recent years the world has changed in ways that have made the threats of natural and man-made epidemics more and more alike. As we deal with the increasing prospects of a bioterrorist attack, we are also struggling with the challenge of emerging diseases: AIDS, pandemic strains of influenza and the “mad-cow disease” that terrified Britain only a decade ago. The way these threats unfold—and the responses they call for—are becoming ever more similar.

The central driver is the increasingly interconnected world we live in.

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Chertoff Points To Possibilities Of Biological Attack

Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says the biggest threat from terrorists may come in the form of biological weapons.

In an interview segment aired Thursday on the FederalNewsRadio program Homeland Security: Inside and Out, the ex-DHS head said concerns about the possibility of a biological attack should outweigh fears of an attack using a nuclear weapon, chemical agents or conventional explosives.

“The natural ingredients of a biological threat are not difficult to come by, and it’s just a question of the know-how in terms of fabricating them to make a weapon,” said Chertoff.

While he did not dispute the idea that a nuclear attack would have the most far-reaching and devastating consequences, the likelihood of terrorists getting a nuclear bomb is “very remote at this point,” Chertoff said.

The former Homeland Security chief told program co-host Dave McIntyre that, far from being a theoretical possibility, a biological attack has already occurred in the United States. “Only someone who has a very short memory and doesn’t recall what happened in the fall of 2001, when we had an anthrax attack, albeit one on a small scale, can say it hasn’t happened,” Chertoff said.

And – while terrorists would have to go to some lengths to obtain nuclear material – anthrax and plague are naturally occuring and thus far more readily available for nefarious use, according to Chertoff.

The former DHS head said he believes the U.S. has already done much to implement biohazard detection. “We also need the capability to distribute detection equipment much more widely and much less expensively,” Chertoff added.

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Alleged Al Qaeda Sleeper Agent Pleads Guilty to Terror Charges

A man held since 2001 as an alleged Al Qaeda sleeper agent has pleaded guilty to supporting terrorism.

Ali al-Marri entered his plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm in Peoria. He admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

The Bush administration declared al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident, an “enemy combatant” in late 2001 and held him without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

The designation was dropped when a federal grand jury in Illinois indicted him on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terror.

Sentencing is set for July 30.

Torture Tape Delays U.S.-UAE Nuclear Deal

A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said.

In the tape, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE’s seven emirates.

The senior U.S. officials said the administration has held off on the ratification process because it believes sensitivities over the story can hurt its passage. The tape emerged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas, by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. citizen, against Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan. Former business partners, the men had a falling out, in part over the tape. In a statement to CNN, the sheikh’s U.S. attorney said Nabulsi is using the videotape to influence the court over a business dispute.

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Swine Flu – Mexico Shuts Government Says Pandemic Imminent

Mexico’s president told citizens on Wednesday to stay home for a five-day partial shutdown of the economy, after the World Health Organization raised its alert level and said a swine flu pandemic was imminent.

In his first televised address since the crisis erupted last week, President Felipe Calderon told Mexicans to stay home with their families. The country will suspend non-essential work and services, including some government ministries, from May 1-5.

“There is no safer place than your own home to avoid being infected with the flu virus,” Calderon said.

Mexico is taking the drastic step after another 17 deaths were potentially linked to swine flu, bringing the total to as many as 176.

Essential services such as transport, supermarkets, trash collection and hospitals will remain open.

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Swine Flu News Updates

Container Carrying Swine Flu Virus Explodes On Swiss Train

A container for transporting swine flu virus samples exploded on a Swiss train, authorities said Tuesday, but stressed that there was no danger to the public.

The container, which was filled with dry ice and carried samples of the H1N1 swine flu virus and was destined for Switzerland’s national influenza centre in Geneva, exploded Monday night on board a train.

A laboratory employee had picked up the samples in Zurich to transport them by train to Geneva, but the package exploded near Fribourg and Lausanne, after melting dry ice, which had been wrongly placed, caused a build-up of pressure.

Two people suffered slight injuries, police confirmed, but authorities stressed there was no danger for the public as the virus was not the mutated strain which is suspected to have caused up to 149 deaths in Mexico.

The train was halted for several hours and the 61 passengers on board the affected carriage monitored until an infection could be completely ruled out, police said.

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Swine Flu – Pandemic Alert level Raised To 5

The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to 5, its second-highest level Wednesday, indicating the outbreak of swine flu that originated in Mexico is nearing widespread human infection.

Dr. Margaret Chan, the U.N. agency’s director-general, said the decision means that all countries should “immediately” activate pandemic preparedness plans.

“This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharm industry and the business community that certain actions now should be taken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace,” Chan said.

The announcement came as the number of people infected with swine flu increased rapidly across the world, and health officials scrambled to get more information about the virus — which has no vaccine.

Phase 5 alert means there is sustained human to human spread in at least two countries. It also signals that efforts to produce a vaccine will be ramped up.

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Swine Flu News Updates

Swine Flu – First U.S. Death Is Reported

American authorities confirmed the first death outside of Mexico from swine flu on Wednesday, as the number of confirmed cases of the disease continued to rise in Europe.

President Obama, in a morning news conference, called on local authorities to be vigilant in reporting new suspected cases, and called on schools to consider closing temporarily if a confirmed case was reported among its students.

[...]

Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday in an interview with CNN that the first American death of the disease was a 23-month-old child in Texas. He gave no other details about the child. The death was confirmed by President Obama, who said his “thoughts and prayers” were with the child’s family.

Source- NYTimes.com

Swine Flu News Updates

7 Police Officers Murdered In Tijuana Attacks

Heavily armed gunmen staged a series of surprise attacks against municipal police forces in this tense border city, killing seven and wounding three in brazen assaults that shattered a four-month period of relative calm.

Six police officers and an auxiliary officer died within a 45-minute span late Monday in ambushes at a hillside substation, on busy streets and outside an OXXO mini-mart, where four were killed in a hail of bullets, including one who tried to fight back.

“He took out his gun and tried to fire at them, but they shot him and he fell backward, and his eyes rolled up in his head,” said a teenager who witnessed the shooting in the tough Los Arenales neighborhood.

With authorities placing the blame on organized crime gunmen, municipal police Tuesday retreated to substations and headquarters and patrolled mostly in groups or with army escorts. The tension was palpable outside the 8th Street headquarters downtown, where motorcycle cops were being held back from patrol until further notice.

[...]

Authorities said the attacks, by men firing AK-47 rifles from late model cars and SUVs, were preceded by a spate of threats over police radio frequencies. Such threats are so common, Leyzaola said, that authorities didn’t feel a need to take precautionary measures.

The first act of violence against police Monday occurred about 9:15 a.m., when a female officer was wounded, shot in the back while on patrol in her vehicle near the airport. But the frenzy of attacks erupted at 8 p.m. in the ramshackle Los Arenales neighborhood of east Tijuana, where residents say police rarely venture. The four police officers arrived at the mini-mart to take a report of an assault and were ambushed as they left.

Witnesses said two or three cars pulled up and that several masked men opened fire with high-caliber automatic weapons. The officers didn’t stand a chance, even though they were wearing bulletproof vests, the witnesses said.

Two were shot in the back and fell near the door. A female officer was struck in the face and died while trying to take cover under a car. The fourth was shot in the neck and died with his gun still in his right hand.

The teenager who witnessed the attack said he placed his sisters on the floor and then peeked outside and saw the last officer go down.

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U.S. Believes Bin Laden Still Alive

The U.S. strongly believes al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is still alive, a U.S. counterterrorism official said.

The U.S. view contradicts Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s comments today that his country’s intelligence agencies think the terrorist leader is dead.

The U.S. official wouldn’t speculate as to why Zardari made his statements today. Zardari also said that the intelligence agencies didn’t have evidence of bin Laden’s death, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

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Netanyahu – Threat Of Terror Is Greater Than Ever

As Israel commemorated Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers and victims of terror on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the global threat of terror was greater than ever and vowed that Israel would never cease to defend itself.

“We have no choice but to fight terror until it is obliterated and to defend our lives,” he told bereaved families gathered for the official state ceremony on the Mount Herzl military ceremony in Jerusalem.

“This is what we have done and what we are doing. The State of Israel, through the Israel Defense Forces, has responded with war, determination and diligence, with courage and sophistication, using an incomparable morality of combat,” he said.

“Terror is a war crime, the indiscriminate murder of innocent civilians,” the prime minister added.

Israelis stood silently at attention on Tuesday morning as a two-minute siren wailed across the country to mark Memorial Day. The official day of remembrance opened on Monday evening and will continue into Independence Day after sundown on Tuesday.

via Source

New Jersey Brothers Get Life for Fort Dix Terror Plot

Three brothers were sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to kill soldiers at the Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey or other military targets in a plot that authorities said was homegrown terrorism.

Dritan “Tony” Duka, 30, was sentenced with his brothers Shain, 28, and Elvjir, 25, for their convictions on conspiracy and weapons charges by an anonymous jury in December. The Dukas were illegal immigrants from Macedonia who settled in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in the 1980s and ran a family roofing business.

“Nothing has a greater impact on society than a crime of terrorism,” U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler said today in sentencing Dritan Duka in federal court in Camden, New Jersey. “He clearly intended to and planned on killing American soldiers solely because of their status as American soldiers.”

The sentences follow a 15-month FBI investigation and eight-week trial. Prosecutors said the men grew up in the U.S., adopted extremist religious views, and were inspired by online jihadist videos to plan an attack on America. Each of the brothers protested the verdicts, accusing prosecutors and the judge of ignoring evidence or inflating the charges.

“I am innocent, I am innocent, I am innocent,” Shain Duka told the judge today in a packed courtroom with extra security.

Dritan and Shain Duka got an additional 30 years each for buying machine guns from an FBI informant. Two co-defendants will be sentenced tomorrow. Each of the five were acquitted of attempted murder. All three Dukas were ordered to repay $125,000 to the U.S. for the cost of additional security at Fort Dix.

via Read Full Article – Bloomberg.com.

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