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NEWS:

Sunday, November 25, 2007, Chandigarh, India

'N-terrorism a growing threat'
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 24
Stating that nuclear terrorism is a growing threat with potentially massive and disastrous consequences for all countries, Dr David F Ciampi from the US Homeland Security Defence Coalition said the global structures currently in place today are inadequate for preventing the acquisition of nuclear materials by terrorist organisations.

He said there was great concern among many experts that Pakistan's nuclear weapons and components are increasingly vulnerable to being diverted to terrorist groups, he said while speaking today at a seminar on "Changing dimensions of international security: Implications for India", organised at Panjab University here.

Pointing out that Al-Qaida and Taliban have a solid foothold in tribal areas of Pakistan and that there was political and ethnic unrest among various factions, he said there was fear that some Pakistani scientists, government officials and military commanders may be helping Taliban and Al Qaeda.

He said constant threat that a radical government may emerge in Pakistan due to a popular uprising was of great concern to everyone and the adverse implications for India should not be underestimated.

Rouge regimes, Dr Ciampi said, must be prevented from acquiring the technical ability to manufacture military grade uranium and plutonium and new aggressive international security systems must be implemented to secure and protect nuclear establishments.

Speaking on India's shifting security paradigm, Brig Kiran Krishan (retd) said in the new geo-political scenario post 9/11, with a weakened Pakistan and an economically resurgent India in strategic partnership with America, there was a need to realistically assess security challenges facing India.

He was of the view that military threats from Pakistan and China have diminished and rather than a fixation with borders, resurgent India needed to look outward and fashion its security needs and apparatus accordingly.

Lieut-General Kamal Dawar (retd) spoke on the "Dynamics of international terrorism and India's concern". He explained the need to wage global war on terrorism under the aegis of U.N Prof. R.N. Swaroop presented a mathematical model of security emphasising on non-military threats to international security.

Vice-Admiral Anup Singh talked about Indian maritime security and delved upon the importance of Indian Ocean, through which majority of international sea trade lanes pass, and India 's influence over it. Prof Hari Saran discussed the strategic imperative of India's maritime security.

Former Punjab DGP P.C. Dogra talked about internal security and the myriad threat to India's internal security. He asked the government to take concrete steps to emerging threat to internal security from Maoists.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071125/cth1.htm#8

Monday, June 18, 2007   FOCUS ON THE CARIBBEAN The discovery and dismantling of a plot to attack New York's JFK airport is only the latest reminder of the growing jihadist threat around us.  That the JFK plot had not yet left the planning stage after a year of activity should not suggest that it was not serious. Among the hallmarks of Islamist plots are that the enemy has enormous patience, and that they plan and practice for far longer than we might consider reasonable in order to ensure a successful mission. The cell may not have been as small as it at first seemed, but this remains to be proven. However, the existence of cells like this one throughout the United State underscores the need for Americans to wake up to a dangerous reality. In this case, the four individuals involved appear to have had close ties to one of the terrorist networks in the Caribbean. There is no dearth of these. Al Qaeda, Darul Uloom, Jammat Islamiyah, and Hezbollah are all known to be active throughout the Caribbean, as well as in Central and South America.  In the world of terrorism, international boundaries do not represent acceptable limitation of activity or goals. They are simply inconvenient impediments to be overcome. There is therefore a strong likelihood that further investigation will show that the individuals involved in this plot were part of a far-reaching network that transcended international constraints with known terrorist links in the Caribbean, South America, Europe, the United States, and beyond. The links between the JFK plotters and Trinidad/Tobago and Guyana are not surprising.  The Caribbean region, with its proximity to Venezuela and Colombia, has long been a playground for terrorist organizations whose strategic goal is the global dominance of radical Islam. The Caribbean has provided a convenient nexus for the mutual interests of drugs, organized crime, and terrorism, and radical Islamist groups and their activities are growing in numbers and strength. The combination of evolving strategies for global terrorist groups and the laid-back culture of the islands have made the region an attractive place for cottage industries in document forgery, money laundering, drug dealing, and human trafficking, and these islands, with their friendly relations with America, give relatively easy access to the United States. The Link to Shukrijumah The possible connection between the JFK plotters and Adnan al-Shukrijuma is ominous. Shukrijuma is considered to be a dangerous and elusive agent of al Qaeda.  His aim to attack the United States with a nuclear or radioactive device has caused the FBI to put a $5 million reward on his head. They have dubbed him "the next Mohammed Atta". Known as an expert bomb maker, he is a master of disguise who seems to appear and disappear at will and has eluded capture for many years. His last reported sighting was on October 30, 2006 on the McMaster University campus in Hamilton, Ontario, where he had spent considerable time in 2003. His mission at the time, according to Dr Paul Williams, who has done extensive research on his activities there, was to steal 180 pounds of nuclear material from the McMaster nuclear reactor that is situated on the campus. Shukrijuma's connections to both Trinidad/Tobago and Guyana make his possible association with the JFK plot more than a little coincidental. He is known to be travel under multiple identities, and may be carrying multiple passports from Guyana, where he grew up, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada. Over the last few years, he has been sighted at various times in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Honduras, and Mexico, and in various spots throughout the United States and Canada. He was reported to be in Trinidad for several months, where he claimed to be working on the construction site of the new Atlantic LNG Train 4 facility in Trinidad. During that period, he stayed at a prominent hotel in Point Fortin, until he realized that the FBI was looking for him. He then left the country via boat to South America. More recently, in relation to the latest plot, a New York Post article quoted a law enforcement officer, who said, "We thought he could be the invisible hand. He's always in the shadows, particularly in [the Caribbean]. He's passed through it, he's known." In 2004, a spokesman for the FBI in El Paso called him "one of the most dangerous cell leaders below the leadership of al-Qaeda who plans to hurt the United States." Officials suspected that Shukrijumah was using immigrant-smuggling routes through Central America and Mexico to get to the border. If the men who were working on the JFK plot were indeed connected with Shukrijuma, however peripherally, the implications are even greater that al Qaeda was involved in the plot, and that the consequences, had it been carried out, would have been devastating. Connecting the Dots There also appears to be evidence that the men arrested in the JFK plot were associated with the Jamaat al Muslimeen, a radical Islamist group in Trinidad best known for their bloody takeover of the Trinidad parliament in 1990. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that these groups are collaborating with others when their jihadist missions coincide. Our sources tell us that there may be a link between Darul Uloom, the Jamaat Al Muslimeen, and Al Qaeda, but that it is a hidden one. They further suggest that Darul Ulom of Trinidad and Tobago is an even more dangerous organization than Jamaat al-Muslimeen. They follow the radical Deobandi ideology, which represents the most extreme forms of Islamist belief (the Taliban are among their most devoted adherents).  Shukrijumah has been closely linked to Darul Uloom, which has branches in the Pakistan, the UK, Trinidad, and closer to home, Canada and the United States (including Florida, Illinois, and Georgia). Although more than a few terrorist plots have been thwarted by our federal and local law enforcement agencies (such as the planned attacks against Fort Dix, the Manhattan tunnels, and Miami), the proliferation of Islamist radicalism in the United States should alarm us all. As the details of this last plot unfold, it will be necessary to also take a hard look at our policies at the national and local levels that makes the development of terrorism within our own country not only possible, but comparatively easy. SHORT TAKES DANGEROUS SIGNS FROM MOSCOW Putin's latest sabre-rattling against America and Europe points to increasing signs of paranoia on the part of the Russian premier. His most recent threat to aim nuclear warheads at European cities, in response to America's missile defence shield, is an inappropriate and exaggerated reaction. Even a brief look at recent events in Russia will find Putin closing his circle of advisors, imposing increasing limitations on its democratic institutions, and, despite his assurances that he will be stepping down at the end of his term, stronger signs that will ensure his job security for the future. (See coming issue for in-depth analysis) OVERLOOKED THREAT TO AVIATION SECURITY The communications disruption at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport last week due to pirate radio transmissions that jammed air traffic communications and endangered takeoffs and landings should give us all pause. The culprit was an illegal radio station operating out of the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, which caused interference in communications between the airport's control tower and both inbound and outbound airplanes. The consequences could have been disastrous. Although the rogue station was found and closed down, further interference was experienced by the control tower.  The implications are ominous and should be a warning to aviation around the world. Intentional interference by terrorists or rogue hackers could result in multiple, simultaneous mid-air collisions. The bad guys have discovered another method of committing mayhem by airplane and the lives of millions of travelers are at stake. There is now an urgent need to secure the airwaves used by our airports and the pilots who fly in and out of them. This warning should not go unheeded.   About This Publication INTELANALYSIS  is published by Gerard Group International, which provides in-depth analysis relating to homeland security and counter-terrorism. Our other intelligence-led programs include: Homeland Security Solutions: s Intelligence Analysis    s Counter-Terrorism Training for Law Enforcement    s Emergency Response Planning s Safe Schools Initiative    s Critical Infrastructure Security Planning    s Municipal Security Programs s Counter-Terrorism Threat / Vulnerability Assessments and Mitigation Planning Corporate Programs: s Business Intelligence    s Threat Analysis and Mitigation Planning     s Executive Safety  s Travel Security s Personnel Training    s Country Evaluation with Risk and Threat Assessment     s 24/7 Emergency Response

GERARD GROUP INTERNATIONAL LLC   s  www.gerardgroup.com  s  800-950-4213

Propaganda and Why There is No Negotiating with the Resistance

March 28, 2007, By: Tim Greene

The Islamic State of Iraq, under the leadership of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, released information concerning the attempt of the U.S. military to open negotiations with the Islamic State leadership.

They reported that the U.S. military released al-Mujihadeen fighters from Iraqi/U.S. military prisons with a verbal message for the al-Mujihadeen and Islamic State of Iraq to open negotiations.

Baghdadi says the U.S. agreed to support the Islamic State of Iraq and would fight with them against the shiite's if the Islamic State would cease attacks on the U.S. military, Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi government.

Baghdadi's top field lieutenant says while the negotiation is tempting, he nor any group associated with the membership of the Islamic State of Iraq will negotiate with America because America 's interest is not that of Iraq or the sunni people but only of themselves.

Now the U.S. military is sandwiched between fighting the resistance of Iraq, which is ever more growing in membership and support of money, weapons and technology - terrorist groups such as al-Queda and also the shiite militia's supported and trained by Iran.

They say the war in the middle east in which Iraq is caught in between currently is America's fight for control of the middle east and Iran's fight for control of the middle east.

But it would seem that the fight for control of Iraq is enough for the U.S. military.

Dr. Zalmay Khalizad, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, says that the U.S. is attempting to negotiate with tribal leaders and some insurgent groups in an effort to turn them away from al-Queda.

The Islamic State of Iraq has no need to negotiate with America when they perceive that their tactics and strategy are far more successful than that of the U.S. military's as well as the Iraqi security forces old and new security plan.

The U.S. military fails to understand the drive and confidence behind the Islamic State of Iraq that is the religion of Islam itself.

The Islamic State of Iraq has 2 agenda's:

1. Win
2. Fight until death

There is no negotiation with the Islamic State of Iraq except for the U.S. military pull-out from Iraq immediately.

COSTING AMERICA

The Islamic State of Iraq is costing the United States millions of dollars per day just in manpower, logistics and equipment support, not including the medical cost of wounded soldiers, the destruction of U.S. military equipment, the destruction of Iraqi government facilities such as police stations, army bases Iraqi utility structures and government offices.

For every strategy the U.S. and Iraqi government and military implement, the Islamic State of Iraq reports that it has successfully countered it.

For every new technology the U.S. military has invented and placed in-service, the Islamic State of Iraq has successfully countered and they continue to develop new technology in their improvised explosive devices, anti-aircraft missiles, mortar fired missiles and shoulder fired rockets.

The U.S. military has taken the Israeli approach to fighting terrorism in Iraq and according to the sunni arab culture in Iraq, this does not make militants "think twice" about joining the resistance or terrorist groups when their family members (men, women, children and elderly) are arrested or killed, it drives them stronger to join into the ranks of the resistance.

You can't fight the war on terrorism in Iraq like the Israeli's fight the Palestinians in Gaza , the West Bank and other Palestinian territories and current and former Israeli officials are heavily involved in the coaching of U.S. military strategy in Iraq , Afghanistan and throughout the middle east.

Your dealing with a different culture, a different society, a different set of values, principles and ideology that only a sunni Iraqi knows and can understand.

POWER STRUGGLERS

The U.S. military has a window to negotiate with groups such as former Ba'athist of Saddam Hussein's, with resistance groups such as the 1920 Revolutionary brigades and so forth.

These groups fell from grace as the countries former government and religious ethnic's most powerful people in Iraq before the war.
They are fighting to regain their control, power and money once again so negotiating with them is far more easy and acceptable by them. Religion is not the driving force behind these groups and therefore that leaves a window for negotiating with them.

Actually these groups have internal conflicts that have arisen and caused them to split recently  particularly speaking of the 1920 Revolutionary Brigades.

They are now two separate groups. One named "Islamic Jihad" and the other named "Islamic Conquest". The one thing they did manage to work out during their split was territory.

The Islamic Jihad group will control northern regions of Iraq in Mosul , Kirkurk, Tikrit, sections of Baghdad and Abu Ghraib.

The Islamic Conquest group will control western regions of Iraq , Ramadi, Fallujah, sections of Baghdad and Diyala.

But as one group splits another group arises as of January a new Sulefy group has formed called the "Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order". They are fighting U.S. Military in Iraq in honor of the memory of a former Palestinian Liberation Organization leader named Mohammed Abbas who was captured in Iraq by the U.S. Military in May of 2003. Abbas died of natural causes while in custody, however, the group claims that he was tortured and poisoned to death in U.S. custody.
Their other reasons for joining the resistance include discrimination against Sunni's, loss of power, status and unemployment as well as revenge for suffering of other indecencies such as unlawful detentions whereas sunni men have held in U.S. and Iraqi detention centers for months to up to two years and then released with no right to legal counsel and no criminal charges brought against them.

WHO IS AL-QUEDA?

Who is al-Queda anyway? Most all sunni people, tribes and even the "resistance" groups have strongly opposed to al-Queda in Iraq , specifically for religious reasons in which former al-Queda in Iraq leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, strongly misrepresented the true meaning and idea of Jihad in Islam with al-Queda's indiscriminant killing of men, women and children of sunni and shiite religious fellowship.

Every attack that takes place today in Iraq is labeled an "al-Queda" linked attack and a great majority of the attacks in Iraq today are not al-Queda linked but "resistance" linked.

DRIVING FORCE OF ISLAM

The Islamic State of Iraq is a "resistance" organization, not an al-Queda organization, totally against the foreign control and foreign occupation of Iraq.

The shiite dominant Maliki government is seen to be controlled by America, but in the absence of America would certainly be controlled by Iran.

Islamic and Shariah law are the constitution of the Islamic State of Iraq and therefore negotiation between them is definitely going to be impossible. Islam is not-negotiable.

There is no other religion and driving force to stand and fight for one's self, family, culture, values and home than in Islam.

Recently however, the Islamic State of Iraq released information that now they are making deals with al-Queda to increase the quantity and quality of their attacks on U.S. Military in Iraq.

Why should the Islamic State of Iraq negotiate when today they have exactly what they have been wanting?

"IF" they were to negotiate, this would split the organization of the Islamic State of Iraq, because certainly some will be for the negotiation and some will be against the negotiation.

This would decrease their membership, their support from money and weapons and their ability to succeed so exclusively in their strategy to make the Maliki government fail, keep from shiite domination controlled by Iran and to force the U.S. military out of Iraq .

This would make the Islamic State of Iraq appear extremely weak to the sunni population for negotiating with the "Masters of the Maliki government", the "Crusaders" and the "Zionist Jews".

What inspires a young sunni arab to stand in front of a tank and fight it with an AK-47?

The Islamic State's motto is to fight to win or fight until death, whichever comes first. Fighting to the death is a glorious prize in Islam as a martyr of religion supporting GOD's will and law even if that comes down to fighting with nothing but rocks and sticks.


WEAPONS WARS

The World's military superpower occupies Iraq today with sophisticated technology of weapons, tactics, planning and equipment.
Fighting them is the world's most un-sophisticated military in the world, the Islamic military, destroying thousands to million dollar pieces of the most magnificent technology in the world with explosive's made with hardware store materials to improvise them for maximum destruction.

Million dollar helicopters shot down with $40 to $100 rockets.

Military minesweeper vehicles, costing $750,000 each, with the worlds most sophisticated and up to date technology in frequency jamming of remote control explosive devices, destroyed completely by the combination of 4 to 8 120mm shells tied together with detonation cord and packed with TNT - about a $250-$400 value.

The top military frequency jamming devices penetrated to set off remote improvised explosive devices.

The top military anti-tank and anti-aircraft defense technology penetrated by techniques such as covering the missile in mud and new electronic technology developed by the engineers of the Islamic State of Iraq themselves to drive through anti-missile flares.

Top experienced military tactical strategist who plan and prepare every attack operation throughly and carefully before implementation.

The Islamic State of Iraq has established their leader, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, a multi-media team and Information Ministry, field lieutenants that take orders and give orders in all provinces of Iraq under U.S. occupation and resistance operations, teams established for attacks on specific targets, specific investigations teams, intelligence operatives, engineers who work to create new technologies and new weapons to defeat America's most advanced technologies and weapons, former military planners who create the new strategies to defeat America's newest defense and security strategies, financial supporters from all over Iraq and abroad and a membership and recruitment drive associated with their strategic propaganda drives.

MEDIA WAR

Recently the media released that the Defense Department has put in a purchase for the manufacture of the new minesweeper vehicles such as the Buffalo , the Cougar, the Meerkat and the RG-31 Nayala. These vehicles have the most up to date frequency jamming technology to prevent remote detonation of improvised explosive devices. They have IED detection technology to locate IED's along the roadways in front of military patrols and convoys. The Buffalo is the largest of the new vehicles, sitting high up from the ground and has a V-shaped bottom to deflect the concussion of an explosion under the roadway out and away from the body of the vehicle. It also has a large crane arm with a camera to deal with, disarm or disassemble any explosive devices that it finds.

The Defense Department reported that they had an order of 4000+ of these vehicles to be manufactured and deployed in Iraq before the end of 2007, however, since the vehicle has been so successful, with no soldier casualties and the inability to destroy such a vehicle unlike the humvee which has a large, flat body and takes in most of the explosion, the Defense Department has increased the order to over 6000 vehicles at an estimated cost each of $750,000 US.

The week after this media report, the Islamic State of Iraq released a 26 minute video detailing all 4 new military vehicles with their specialized design and technologies and included in the video was specific and strategic attacks against all of the 4 vehicles resulting in the deaths of soldiers on board as well as the destruction of the vehicles to prove the Defense Departments information release as insufficient.

Two weeks ago the Islamic State of Iraq attacked the Badoosh prison in Mosul.

The western media reports that the prison suffered no known injuries or casualties and that about 114 prisoners were released, however, all but appx. 40 of them were captured within one hour.
Days later the Islamic State of Iraq released their video footage of the attack on Badoosh Prison noting that their attack teams had specific targets. One team attacked the tower guards, who were their largest threat, one team attacked the communications for the prison to prevent them from calling for assistance, one team attacked the electricity and one team attacked the entrance to the prison. They all successfully made entry, released 114 Iraqi prisoners and some approx. 100 other foreign prisoners, none of which were apprehended. The prison personnel suffered heavy injuries and deaths. The whole operation took 14 minutes - and had the prison been successful to contact for help, resistance teams were set up to attack the responding military teams and hold them off until the prison operation was complete. Similar to the attack incident on the Blackwater helicopters and emergency response teams recently in Baghdad .

Recently they released a video showing the attack on an undisclosed U.S. military base where their tactical strategists split their personnel into 3 teams... the attackers, the supporters and the get-a-way. They had a good tactical plan, predetermined and planned carefully. They had their attackers in good operational locations and the ability to move about. They attacked the base from different directions for maximum results and confusion among the base. They closed off support routes with fighters, weapons and explosive devices. They set up a quick and successful evacuation.

The old saying is that there is two sides to every story and the Islamic State of Iraq's main idea is to have their side heard on top of the western media and the press releases they get from the US military and Iraqi government in an attempt to prove that the security plan is not working and that the Iraqi government is not functioning and working for the people of Iraq.

Tim Greene is a lecturer and instructor in Islam, Sharia law, the Sunnah, Haddith, Arab Culture, Tribal Society, Middle Eastern and International militia's, resistance groups and terrorist organizations, and conducts anti-terrorism assessments, consulting, policies and training.
 

The Trouble with the Baker-Hamilton Study
By Ilana Freedman

The Iraq Study Group Report is one of the most naove and potentially dangerous documents to impact United States policy in many years. The alarming scope of the panel's ignorance of Middle East realities is made all the more alarming by the respected reputations of those who sat on the panel. They included two former White House Chiefs of Staff, advisors to several presidents, a retired Supreme Court Judge, a former Secretary of State, and several academics and think tank executives.

Significantly absent from this commission, however, was anyone with military expertise or experience, with real and recent knowledge of the current situation in Iraq. Considering that America's involvement in Iraq has been first and foremost a military one, this omission is singularly glaring and it casts a long shadow on the findings. This may explain some of the more serious shortcomings of this report, but it does not lessen the dangers that the report will represent if it is accepted as a reasonable analysis and absorbed into policy.

This is very clear in the very first pages of the report, which refers to "the ability of Iran and Syria to influence events within Iraq and their interest in avoiding chaos in Iraq". In reality, Iran has been one of the key drivers of Iraq's increasing instability since the beginning of America's military involvement in Iraq in 2003. As an element of their national policy, they have offered safe haven, training, and military support to terrorists bound for operations in Iraq. They have flooded Iraq with billions of counterfeit US dollars aimed at destabilizing the local economy, and have provided major military and financial support to terrorist groups within the country. Anyone who has studied the strategic implications of policy changes in Iraq should know this.

Yet the Study Group recommends that "Iran should stem the flow of equipment, technology, and training to any group resorting to violence in Iraq", displays a shocking lack of understanding of the forces that drive the conflict. Iran has no interest in a stable region or a strong Iraq, but rather seeks to dominate the entire Muslim world. When the panel suggests that the United States try to "engage [Iran and Syria] constructively", they ignore Iran's vested interest in destabilizing the region.

The report also ignores the harsh lessons of history. The patterns of pre-World War II Germany are now playing out again in Iran. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made his game plan clear, just as Hitler did more than 80 years ago. As early as 1919, Hitler was publicly asserting his ideas about"racial purity" and reserving his greatest venom for the Jews, whom he made it clear needed to be "eliminated".

The world did not pay attention then, and Hitler did exactly as he said he would. The six million Jews who were murdered represented 25% of the civilian casualties of the war in Europe. Today, as Ahmadinejad develops his nuclear arsenal while unabashedly calling for the total destruction of the state of Israel and its six million Jews, his message is abundantly clear. Yet this point is totally disregarded by the panel.

Moreover, Ahmadinejad has also declared - in letters and speeches - that the West must follow the path of Allah or "vanish from the face of the earth". These are words that must be taken at face value. In a worst case scenario, they will be there to remind us that we were warned. A student of Islam knows that warnings are a part of the tradition of Mohammed, and are declared today as a prelude to war. The fact that these warnings have not been taken into account by the Study Group is reason for great concern. Like Chamberlain, the panel embraces diplomacy while ignoring the threats and clear warnings of the enemy who preaches the destruction of our nation. As Iran moves purposefully towards the acquisition of nuclear power, the ominous threat of a nuclear war looms large. Ahmadinejad has issued thinly veiled threats of his goal in this regard and we ignore at our peril. A nuclear bomb delivered against one of Iran's precieved will mark the beginning of a world war unlike anything we have ever seen.

The report shows a stunning lack of interest or concern for Israel's place in the Middle East. It calls for a direct talks between Israel and Syria to "deal directly with the Middle East conflict." But it then provides a list of eight fanciful assumptions that includes "verifiable cessation" of Syrian aid to Hezbollah and arms shipments for Hamas, and a Syrian commitment to help obtain from Hamas an acknowledgment of Israel's right to exist. The end result, according to the report, will be a full and secure peace agreement. The idea that Syria will agree to any of this denies Syria's close alliance with Iran, its history of supplying arms, ammunition, funds, a logistical support to the Hezbollah to support their terrorist activities against Israel.

Nevertheless, the panel has recommended that in return for these naove and simplistic demands, Israel will return the strategic Golan Heights, that overlook its entire northern region, to Syria, with the promise of a U.S. security guarantee and an international force on the borders. Given Israel's past disastrous experience with security guarantees and international forces, it is hardly reasonable to expect them to stake their very survival on such promises. They also ignore the massive support of Iran and Syria, or, no less alarming, the continued movement of long-range missiles to Syria's border with Israel.

Finally, the panel's urgent call for US withdrawal from Iraq is both uninformed and dangerous. Given Iran's consistent and deadly meddling in Iraq, US withdrawal would do more to destabilize the region than any other single act. It could throw the Middle East into a war on several fronts that could merge into a conflagration unlike anything we have yet seen in the region. And it would inflame Islamists around the globe to take up the sword in jihad.

The historical record shows that the Study Group's assumptions are simplistic at best and, more to the point, they are dangerously lacking realistic perspective. While they have raised serious questions about issues which are in urgent need of discussion and resolution, their lack of knowledge about the complex cultures and issues of the Middle East or the ramifications of Western actions there should disqualify this report from playing any significant role in developing foreign policy.


) Gerard Group International LLC 2006

 

Learning from the enemy's side

Written by P. Michel

The author is a former member of Bundesgrenzschutz, a German federal police force. His company Praesidia Defence provides executive protection and training in executive protection, as well as bomb awareness training and security consulting

The knowledge of terrorist tactics is a valuable tool for predicting future attacks, assessing the most probable means of attacks and developing counter measures for security professionals....Click Here to read full article in pdf format

This article originally appeared in The Forensic Examiner, the peer-reviewed publication of the American College of Forensic Examiners (ACFEI). It appears here with the permission of ACFEI. For more information on ACFEI or The Forensic Examiner call toll free (800) 423-9737 or visit www.acfei.com. Dr. David F. Ciampi, the author of this article, welcomes your comments at:  ciampi@aamsitm.org The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. You can download Acrobat Reader Here

Freedman: It is perilous to ignore the gathering storm
By Ilana Freedman / Local Columnist
Friday, November 18, 2005

The ongoing riots in France, and the recent suicide bombings in Jordan, are thinly veiled warnings of what the world can expect in the coming months. As the terror spreads from country to country, the message is one we would be wise to take to heart.

Since 9/11, we in America have been spared the grief of additional attacks. It has been easy for us to allow complacency to take over. While destruction and anarchy continues in France, and as Jordanians struggle with the new reality of suicide terrorism in their kingdom, our fickle American network television news stations, hungry for new stories, has already moved on.

But averting our eyes to the growing threat is hardly in our best interest. The threat of terror is not going away anytime soon, and with each incident abroad, it comes closer to American shores.

Last Tuesday night, the twentieth night of violence in France, 149 cars were torched throughout the country. It brought the total number of vehicles destroyed in the continuing riots to well over 8,000, but there was hardly a mention in our own press.

Once again, the politically correct shied away from the obvious, calling the rioters "restive suburban youth." But the incendiary mobs roaming France's streets are more than just frustrated, angry young men. What began as a "spontaneous" response by an apparently disaffected community to the death of two teens quickly turned into an orgy of car burnings and property destruction that spread to nearly 300 other cities and towns. What most reports neglected to mention is that the vast majority of the rioters are young, French-born Muslims of the banlieues (similar to American inner city housing projects).

There is no argument that conditions in the neighborhoods which spawned the riots are bad. The residents are largely poor and disadvantaged, with a jobless rate that reaches nearly 30 percent in some areas. These banlieues are home to a large Muslim community. Many of these families have lived in France for two or three generations. They maintain their own culture, keeping themselves apart from mainstream French life. They have never truly assimilated into the culture of their new home. They are no longer 'new immigrants' - they just behave as though they were.

Is the rioting simply the result of pent up frustrations and anger, triggered by a random event, or is it something more? The question of whether terrorist organizations or radical Islamic groups exploited this situation and fanned the flames of rage is still on the table. Government officials say no. Terrorist experts are not so sure.

It is doubtful the rioting was spontaneous. In fact, it appears to have been a well coordinated action, spreading from city to town with incredible speed. Young rioters were seen synchronizing their activities via cell phones, e-mail, and instant messaging. Using every medium available, they urged others to join the rioting, shouting "Alahu Akhbar" (Allah is great) as the orgy of burning and destruction took on a life of its own.

These are all signs of a well-planned event. It is more than likely that this was a plan waiting for a trigger -- a gas leak looking for a spark. The accidental electrocution of two teenage boys, hiding from police in a power substation, was all that was needed to set it off.

The same unrest that has exploded in France was mirrored throughout Europe. Once the rioting began in earnest, arson attacks were quickly reported in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, and Switzerland. In an age of instant communication, bad news traveled fast, but nowhere was the rioting so severe or lasting as it was in France.

Europe has seen a large influx of Muslims over the last 40 years. Liberal immigration policies opened the doors to mass immigration from North Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean in order to attract unskilled labor. Today more than 12 million Muslims live in Western Europe. Regulations regarding the reunification of dispersed families led not only to mecurial population growth, but an increase in average family size as well within Europe's Muslim community.

Coupled with a determination to maintain cultural integrity and remain separate from the national character of the country they have adopted, the Muslims in France have created large, concentrated communities of socially isolated, economically disadvantaged citizens. These poor neighborhoods are fertile breeding grounds for restless young Muslims seeking an outlet for their anger and frustration. Poverty is a useful condition in which to grow the seeds of insurrection, and al Qaeda has been ready and willing to exploit any opportunity.

Indigenous sleeper cells have been spawned among the young native populations in countries around the world. Reaching beyond the stereotypical young Middle Eastern men, al Qaeda has initiated sophisticated new campaigns, recruiting blond, blue-eyed Europeans, and dark-eyed Hispanics from South America to the cause of radical Islamic terror. They have expanded their mission to include people who are native to Western culture, who blend in, and who know how to use the system they hope to destroy.

We saw the results of this policy in London last July when four British citizens targeted the city's public transportation system. These suicide terrorists, two of whom had been trained in one of al Qaeda's camps in Pakistan, murdered 52 people and injured over 700 during morning rush hour. For the first time, the world saw how al Qaeda has moved beyond its own parochialism and created a new paradigm for fomenting terror.

It is only a matter of time before the fires of Paris and the suicide bombers of Amman reach our shores. We cannot continue to watch the carnage abroad as if it had nothing to do with us. We have the resources and the ability to make ourselves safer; our history is a powerful reminder of our own resilience and strength.

But the longer we close our eyes to the gathering storm, the greater is the danger that lies before us.

Ilana Freedman is a specialist in counter-terrorism and CEO of Gerard Group International.
 

A true story by Annie Jacobsen

Reproduced with permission of WomensWallStreet.com

Click here to read this sobering account of a recent flight taken by Annie Jacobsen.