Lieberman – Fort Hood Gunman Committed Extremist Terrorism

Sen. Joseph Lieberman,  chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said Tuesday that the government’s failure to deal with Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s growing radicalism was similar to the intelligence community’s failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks.

Lieberman made his comments after attending a closed-door briefing with administration officials about last week’s massacre at Fort Hood, which killed 13 people. Lieberman didn’t discuss any details of the briefing but said all signs indicate that Hasan committed an “act of Islamic extremist terrorism.”

“There is a similarity to 9/11, which is there was information in different places in our government, which if it had been connected, would have said to people this guy was a real danger,” Lieberman said.

Several people have told The News that Hasan, a psychiatrist, was conflicted about being a Muslim in the U.S. Army, complained that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan constituted a “war on Islam,” and wanted some of his patients to face war crimes charges.

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DHS Seeks Partnerships to Increase Information Sharing

In  an increased effort to identify and help reduce possible acts of terrorism, The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to identify communities of interest that don’t fit the normal models found in local government and the private sector (hey, this sounds like us).  The goal is to improve lines of communication between ethnic and faith-based communities and respond to terror threats by adopting procedures used by the Secure Community Network (SCN). The department’s goal is to mimic the SCN platform for national security and preparedness and use it as a means to decrease the number of acts of terrorism by increasing both communications and information sharing.

The DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP) focuses on protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR). The IP works to reduce terror threats and to strengthen national preparedness and response and recovery times, largely through public-private partnerships because most of the national CIKR is privately owned.

William F. Flynn, the IP’s acting assistant secretary, shares that DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to identify “communities of interest that don’t fit that normal model where we have outreach, like through local government and the private sector. She’s taken a personal interest in expanding this initiative.”

SCN is one such group. Because the Jewish community is often a target for terrorists, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations created SCN four years ago to address heightened security concerns. The organization has two purposes: to share information in crisis situations quickly and to improve security awareness of Jewish organizations to protect against terrorism and other threats.

SCN’s national director, Paul Goldenberg, notes, “Our community has seen an unprecedented number of attacks during recent years. DHS recognized that our community was vulnerable and that they should establish formal ties with the Jewish community. They felt training civilians to understand terror threats would help create eyes on the ground for DHS and local law enforcement.”

DHS and SCN have collaborated for four years, with DHS providing “tons of services” to the Jewish community, Goldenberg says.

Flynn adds, “SCN has a great platform to reach a broad audience. They have a pipeline, a technical means of broadly reaching their partners and constituents. That’s very valuable to help push out information. [DHS] has leveraged that relationship. We’ve sponsored security clearances for some of their staff; we’ve provided Web-based training and done webinars for them.”

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Terror In Mumbai Documentary Thursday on HBO

Terror in Mumbai, a documentary about the terrorist activities in Mumbai last year will premiere on HBO Thursday night. Terror in Mumbai features exclusive intercepted audio tapes of the cell phone calls between the terrorists and their controllers in Pakistan, as well as interrogation footage of the sole surviving gunman.

Terror in Mumbai, co-produced with the UK’s Channel 4, will provide the first-ever 360-degree view of the terrorist action, replete with telephone intercepts, when it debuts Nov. 19 at 8 p.m., one week before the first anniversary of the attacks.

This film, narrated by Mumbai-born Fareed Zakaria, CNN host and Newsweek International editor, who appears on camera in the opening and closing, expands on the British version of the documentary chronicling the bloody events of the 60-hour period in 2008 in which 10 young Pakistani men conducted coordinated attacks across the Indian city that left more than 170 people dead.

How To Survive A Dirty Bomb Attack

Tonight on the National Geographic Channel, don’t miss Dirty Bomb Attack, a one-hour docudrama on how to survive a dirty bomb attack. A US city is the target of a hypothetical radiological attack. The episode begins with a dramatization of a car bomb detonating in a busy street and sets up the question, what happens next?”

The answer is given through the lens of representative characters: a victim near the blast site whose radiation symptoms develop over time; first responders who go into the hot zone to save lives and help with the clean up; a pregnant mother and her child living in a contaminated area who must be evacuated and forensic scientists who comb through evidence to determine how lethal the attack was and who is responsible.

By concentrating on these key story lines and weaving back and forth between them Dirty Bomb Attack paints an accurate and often gripping picture of the aftermath of a radiological attack and gives viewers useful information in the event that we ever find ourselves faced with this kind of disaster in the future.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/naked-science/4252/protectyourself#tab-Overview#ixzz0WuYpu9M7

Naked Science | Dirty Bomb Attack | Protect Yourself | National Geographic Channel.

Safe Banking Systems ID’s Terror Suspects

In the last few months a Mineola-based database company, Safe Banking Systems has made quite an impression on both the FAA and TSA. During that time they have uncovered information that six men suspected of, or convicted of crimes that threaten national security kept their federal aviation licenses even though 9/11-related anti-terrorism laws required they be revoked.

From Newsday

Last June, Safe Banking issued what it called a "public service report" that rocked the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration.

The 10-year-old company informed the FAA and TSA that six men suspected or convicted of crimes that threaten national security kept their federal aviation licenses even though 9/11-related anti-terrorism laws required they be revoked. "We're a small company," said Safe Banking president and founder DavidSchiffer. "But within two hours we were able to identify those people who were high-risk individuals." The company employs 12 people, and its sales are "under $5 million," Schiffer said.

The FAA ultimately suspended the licenses of the six, who included two Libyan airlines employees on the FBI's 10 most-wanted list believed to have participated in the bombing of Pam Am Flight 103.

In a statement, the TSA said that this summer it "completed a comprehensive review of the nearly 4 million FAA certificate holders using the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database. TSA now conducts the name matching process for these nearly 4 million records on a daily basis."

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Lieberman Suggests Army Shooter Was Home-Grown Terrorist

Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday said the shootings at Fort Hood may have been a terrorist attack, and that he would launch a congressional investigation into whether the U.S. military could have prevented it.

Sen. Lieberman, who heads the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said initial evidence suggested that the alleged shooter, Army Major Nidal Hasan, was a “self-radicalized, home-grown terrorist” who had turned to Islamic extremism while under personal stress.

[...]

Mr. Lieberman, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” cautioned that it remained too early to draw any definitive conclusions. He said his comments were based on “reports that we are receiving” about Mr. Hasan’s actions and comments.

The Army’s top officer, Gen. George Casey, wouldn’t rule out that the shooting was an act of terrorism, but cautioned against speculation at this point. “We all want to know what happened and what motivated the suspect, but we need to … let the investigation take its course,” he told ABC News’s “This Week.”

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India – Discrepancy Over Alert, Warning of Sea Based Attack

Union Home Ministry on Monday refused to confirm any intelligence alert suggesting a possible 26/11 like attack in the country, a Times Now report said.

Earlier, it was reported that the intelligence agencies had issued an alert warning of possible sea-based terrorist strike.

The alert was reportedly issued for Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata following information that 30 to 40 terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba are planning a sea based strike.

It had also stated that local police and Coast Guard have been put on a specific alert in view of the intelligence inputs.

The warning comes only a few weeks prior to the date exactly one year ago that terrorists struck Mumbai India in a similar style attack.

Source

Al Qaeda Calls For Home-made Bomb Attacks in West

The leader of al Qaeda’s wing in the Arabian Peninsula called on militants to attack airports and trains in the West and said they could easily make bombs from household materials, the group’s Internet magazine said.

The Islamist group has been trying to secure small victories to maintain its feared image after its leaders’ threats to carry out large-scale attacks on Western targets have been discounted as words without deeds, analysts say.

Abu Basir Nasser al-Wahayshi, in an article in the e-magazine Sada al-Malahem, also urged militants to assault secular media figures and columnists who promote the policies of rulers in the world’s top oil exporting region.

“You do not need to exert great effort or spend a lot of money to make 10 grams of explosives, more or less. Do not spend a long time searching for materials as they already exist in your mother’s kitchen,” Wahayshi wrote in the article, posted on an Islamist website on Sunday.

“Make them (bombs) in the shape of a bomb you hurl, or detonate through a timer or a remote detonater or a martyrdom-seeker belt or any electrical appliance.”

Wahayshi said bombers should attack countries involved in wars in Muslim countries as well as government figures and security bodies in the Middle East.

via Al Qaeda calls for home-made bomb attacks in West | Reuters.

Modern Warfare 2 Terrorism Footage Stirs Controversy

Terrorism footage from a leaked version of the new Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 2 video game has apparently stirred a great deal of controversey overseas.

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ community manager Robert Bowling wasn’t kidding when he said this week might be a good time for players to look away from the Internet if they want “a spoiler free and pure ‘Modern Warfare 2′ experience.” A leaked video involving what are ostensibly terrorist operations from the game has stirred up plenty of controversy, and voices in Australia, a worldwide leader in game censorship, are on the front lines.

“Expecting game designers to be responsible by not glorifying terrorism will always lead to disappointment,” South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said, according to The Age.

In rundown over on GamePolitics.com, several Australian sources issue grievances with the game for allowing players to presumably act as terrorists in “Modern Warfare 2,” at least one of whom expects video game content to be evaluated as a “leisure activity” instead of an entertainment medium or artform on par with films or novels.

“The consequences of terrorism are just abhorrent in our community and yet here we are with a product that’s meant to be passed off as a leisure time activity, actually promoting what most world leaders speak out publicly against,” Australian Council on Children and the Media president Jane Roberts told the Australian publication.

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Tom Hoggins provides analysis of the controversial new Call Of Duty – Modern Warfare 2 game at The Telegraph.

As soon as the controversial footage of Modern Warfare 2 made it into the public eye this week, there was no doubt a sharp intake of breath from the gaming population the world over. Played from the first-person, the player apparently takes control of a terrorist gunning down innocent civilians in an indiscriminate attack on a public airport.. As he emerges from an airport elevator with his squad, the terrorists open fire on a group of travellers gathered in the baggage reclaim area.

As the footage continues, the player joins in the attack, turning his machine gun on civilians attempting to pull other injured people away from the carnage and even propelling grenades across the airport concourse.

Let’s not beat around the bush here, I’ve seen the footage and even as a lifetime gamer – supposedly ‘desensitised’ to this kind of thing – I was shocked. It was harrowing, terrifying, despicable and made me feel intensely uncomfortable just watching it. It echoes the recent Mumbai killings all too obviously.

So, here’s the big question; has this scene done its job in the way it was intended? While it will cause intense controversy and reignite the debate over video game violence, it could also be a watershed moment for video game storytelling.

Source

Terrorists Using Blogs To Engage Counter-terrorist Experts Online

This is an interesting article from the UK. Although I have never received any response from known terrorists on this site, I’ve often wondered if someone like Adnan G. el Shukrijumah, Adam Gadahn or others go online to research and read stories and posts about themselves. When someone like Gerald Posner does an in-depth investigative piece on a terrorist like el Shukrijumah, does el Shukrijumah see it? My assumption has always been that he does. Many well known terrorists have an obvious strong desire for attention in the media and this article makes that case.

A senior Arab Afghan adviser to al Qaeda and the Taliban has openly challenged an Australian counter-terrorism expert in a series of blog posts. Abu Walid al Masri has written direct responses to Leah Farrall, an Australian academic who writes the All things Counter Terrorism blog and has years of experience fighting terrorism with the Australian Federal Police.

Farrall recently described al Masri as “one of Mullah Omar’s most trusted advisers” in an op-ed for the Australian. He has written 12 books in Arabic relating to Afghanistan and al Qaeda, and has just re-emerged as an author for the Taliban’s flagship magazine publication, in which he recently encouraged the Taliban to engage in the kidnapping of British and American soldiers. Because of this, Al Masri has been one of Farrall’s “main academic interests for many years” and she was shocked read his blog posts about her: “To say that I am blown away by this would be a pretty massive understatement”.

In his first blog post, Abu Walid al Masri joked that Farrall’s “focus on academic research will give us a bit of comfort and space so we can work safely in the field (terrorism). Therefore I thought it would be a good to distract her with these dialogues so the rest of the gang can do the work.”

He compares Farrall to the “beautiful female soldiers” who tortured “our brothers” in Abu Ghraib, and then begins the dialogue sardonically:

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Passport of al Qaeda 9/11 Plotter Said Bahaji Found

UPDATE: It is now being reported that additional passports were discovered that are believed to have belonged to additional 9/11 plotters. Another passport, from Spain, bears the name of Raquel Burgos Garcia. Spanish media have reported that a woman with the same name is married to Amer Azizi, an alleged Al Qaeda member from Morocco suspected in both the 9/11 attacks and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

Her family in Madrid has had no news of her since 2001, according to Spanish media. Her passport included visas to India and Iran, and the army displayed a Moroccan document with Burgos Garcia’s photo and other information.

It was impossible to determine whether the passports are genuine, and German and Spanish officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the army’s chief spokesman, said he had not realized the passports matched any prominent names, and declined further comment other than to say European militants were sprinkled throughout the area.

The U.S. has maintained for years that South Waziristan and other parts of the rugged frontier have sheltered Osama bin Laden and his senior lieutenants.

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Original Post

Pakistani troops fighting Islamist militants in the mountains of South Waziristan may be closing in on the trail of a leading .al-Qaeda figure, Said Bahaji, wanted in connection with the attacks on 9/11.  The army reports it found the passport and other documents of the alleged terrorist in a mud compound in the village of Shawangai.

Bahaji, 34, lived with 9/11 plot leaders Mohamed Atta and Ramzi Binalshibh and was part of their Hamburg, Germany, cell, helping to plan the 9/11 attacks.

Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker of the United Airlines jet that crashed in Pennsylvania, attended Bahaji’s wedding.

Bahaji is believed to be alive and has rank in Al Qaeda as “a senior propagandist,” a U.S. counterterror official told The News.

He also is involved in operational activity.

Source

AJC Condemns Attack on Los Angeles Synagogue

AJC strongly condemned the gun attack on a Los Angeles synagogue early this morning, in which two Jewish worshippers were wounded. “One day after President Obama signed into law a new hate crimes law, the Jewish community in Los Angeles experiences a horrific attack which law enforcement authorities are investigating as a hate crime,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

A gunman shot at worshippers entering the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic synagogue in North Hollywood. “We are relieved to learn that both victims are in stable condition and pray for their full recovery,” said Harris. “We salute law enforcement for their quick response, their decision to consider this assault a hate crime, and their efforts to investigate and apprehend those responsible.”

Growing Up Bin Laden, Osama’s Son Omar Speaks

Time magazine takes a look at the life of Omar Bin Laden, the fourth eldest of Osama bin Laden’s 20 known children

For Omar Bin Laden, the fourth eldest of Osama bin Laden’s 20 known children, the awful realization that his own father was a terrorist mastermind plotting a global conspiracy that would destroy the lives of thousands of innocent people and even his own family came gradually.

Of course, there were warning signs: Omar’s childhood was marked by regular beatings and survivalist training; there was the growing army of ruffians and retainers who called his father “Prince”; and then there was that Afghan mullah who had given his father an entire mountain in Tora Bora.

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Terrorists in Kabul Attack UN Guesthouses and Hotel

UPDATE: Insurgents Wednesday morning attacked two guesthouses and a hotel in downtown Kabul that housed United Nations and other international staff, in one of their most daring attacks on the Afghan capital.

According to the Associated Press, at least seven people were killed in the guesthouse attacks, including three United Nations staff.

There also were sounds of explosions elsewhere in the city, suggesting a large-scale, coordinated attack on the capital.

The assailants managed to take over one of the guesthouses, Bakhtar, but were repelled by security guards at another, the Imperial. According to a U.N. spokesman in Kabul, three U.N. staff members were killed in the Bakhtar attack, and an unknown number was injured.

By midmorning the hostage crisis appeared to be over and the building secured, with firemen trying to extinguish fire amid billowing smoke on the roof.

Source

UN staff killed in Kabul attack

The attack began at dawn on Wednesday

At least three UN employees have been killed in an attack in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul, the UN says.

Heavy gunfire and an explosion were heard at a guesthouse used by the UN, after militants entered the building.

An Afghan official later told the BBC that six foreigners and three gunmen were killed in the attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

There are also reports of rockets being fired at the Serena Hotel in the city, which is used by diplomats.

There is no information yet on whether anyone has been injured or killed at the hotel, but about 100 people inside at the time were taken to secure rooms.

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Afghan forces exchanged gunfire with a group of terrorists holed up inside an international guest house in the centre of Kabul on Wednesday, police said.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said it was possible some of its staff and other foreigners were inside.

Intense automatic weapons fire and an explosion resounded in the capital, and plumes of black smoke rose above buildings.

A Reuters witness said a number of streets had been cordoned off by the police as the gunfire continued, and sirens reverberated across the city.

“There are five or six terrorists inside,” said Waheed Sadiqi, a policeman at the scene.

An increasingly resurgent Taliban have vowed to stage attacks ahead of a second-round run-off in Afghanistan’s presidential election on Nov. 7.

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AFP reprts

Afghan police were locked in a stand-off with a “group of terrorists” holed up in an apartment building in central Kabul on Wednesday, a police officer at the scene said.

The police officer told AFP that one of the group detonated an explosives vest before the rest of the group fled into the apartment building in a crowded neighbourhood near Kabul’s Chicken Street.

“We don’t know how many of them there are,” he said.

An AFP reporter and photographer saw a number of wounded being taken from the area to a local hospital, including at least two foreigners.

Source

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