News for October 7, 2005

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High Risk of Nuke Terror This Month, Says Expert (October 7, 2005) - The threat of an al-Qaida nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. is especially high this month during the Islamic world’s Ramadan observances, suggests an expert on the network’s “American Hiroshima” plot. Paul Williams, author of “The Al-Qaeda Connection,” says Osama bin Laden’s promise of a major “Ramadan Offensive” and a 10-year effort to acquire nuclear weapons and deliver them inside the U.S. for an attack on seven major cities, raises the specter of an imminent “nuclear hell storm.” Williams, a former FBI consultant who has written three books on al-Qaida and its nuclear ambitions, first warned of the increased threat this month exclusively in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin, the premium, online, intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND. That full report was released for use in WND today. Williams follows up with another exclusive today in G2 Bulletin, explaining the spiritual significance of Bin Laden to his followers – many of whom consider his to be the mahdi, a messianic figure sent by Allah to deliver Muslims from the hands of the infidels. Williams points out that, in a communiqué to bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top al-Qaida lieutenant in Iraq, mentions the “Great Ramadan Offensive” that will create a “fateful confrontation” with the United States and Israel. more...

U.S. Snags Al Qaeda No. 2’s Letter to Zarqawi (October 7, 2005) - The United States has intercepted a letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the No. 2 Al Qaeda leader, to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the affiliated group Al Qaeda in Iraq, Pentagon officials told FOX News Thursday. The letter says that the Al Qaeda leadership has have developed a detailed plan to create an Islamic state centered on Iraq, which would include neighboring countries. The plan also involves the destruction of Israel. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would only say the letter had been intercepted recently, but would not say where in order not to reveal sources and methods. Whitman told the Associated Press the letter demonstrates “that there is this detailed planning and intent on the part of the insurgents in Iraq to one day control that country and to really try to extend their extremism to neighboring countries. It demonstrates to me they clearly understand the importance and significance of the battle in Iraq right now.” more...

Ramadan and nuke terror By Paul L. Williams (October 7, 2005) - The next terrorist attack on the United States – a “nuclear hell storm” planned for seven major cities – is set to occur this month. That’s the word from al-Qaida. In a communiqué to Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top al-Qaida lieutenant in Iraq, mentions the “Great Ramadan Offensive” that will create a “fateful confrontation” with the United States and Israel. “I think that the plans for the next stage of the jihad has reached you or will reach you in a few days,” Zarqawi writes in the letter. “O God, make the plans of Osama come to fruition!” The communiqué, dated May 30, was intercepted by CIA officials and remains on the Global Information System database that is accessible only to government officials with high-security clearance. Most U. S. intelligence officials dismissed Zarqawi’s letter as wishful thinking until Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden’s second in command, appeared on al-Jazeera, the official television network of Saudi Arabia, to deliver a message to the American people. In the message, which was broadcast Aug. 8, al-Zawahiri said: “What you have seen, O Americans, in New York and Washington and the losses you are having in Afghanistan and Iraq, in spite of the blackouts by your media, are only the losses of the initial clashes. ... You will soon experience horrors that will make you forget the horrors you have encountered in Vietnam.” more...

Iran admits ‘suicide column’ program (October 7, 2005) - Iran has announced that it is actively recruiting members of public to become suicide bombers, provides training camps across country for ‘suicide column’ As the world deals with suicide bombers and radical Islamists, Iran has, once again, upped the terror ante. Iranian government officials have long denied media reports about a long suicide bomber recruitment program -- until now. According to the London-based daily Asharq Al Awsat,  Ayatollah Muhammad Taki Misbah Yazari, a senior figure in Iran’s leadership and spiritual advisor of President Muhammad Ahmadinejad, has issued a call in an Iranian newspaper for the public to join the swelling ranks of Iran’s homegrown suicide bombers. “Suicide operations are the peak of the nation, and the height of its bravery,” wrote Yazari in a statement. “Commander Khamani has announced that registration for the suicide bomber force is open all over the country, and encourages Iranians to join in order to safeguard Islam and fight against its enemies. “This holy organization of the Islamic Republic is aimed at those who are interested in suicide. The volunteer will join specialist courses. Brothers and sisters who believe and are interested in defending Islam are invited to get in touch via P.O. Box Number 1653-664, Teheran, and are asked to send two photos, a copy of their birth certificate. Please enlist in the suicide squad.” more...

HOW AMERICA IS BEING SOVIETIZED (October 5, 2005) - The U.N.’s concept of sustainable development is antithetical to individual freedom and economic liberty. It is, philosophically speaking, unsustainable. Development in this context refers to the use of naturally occurring materials such as land, forests, rivers, water and the like. The notion of Sustainable Development assumes that if not managed by some collective body, that these materials will be destroyed by individual owners. The United Nations Habitat Conference Report in 1976 stated: “Private land ownership is also a principle instrument of accumulation and concentration of wealth and therefore contributes to social injustice…Public control of land use is therefore indispensable”. This idea plays on the notion that resources are limited. Yet there is no such thing as a “natural resource.” There is only matter and energy in the world that we human beings with our remarkable minds are able to make use of for our survival and well-being. Oil, for example, a century and a half ago was not a resource to a farmer who found it seeping out of his land; it made the land worthless for growing crops or grazing farm animals. Only when men discovered how to use it to heat homes, run electrical generators and propel planes and automobiles did it become a resource. Since from a human perspective there is no limit to the potentially usable matter and energy in the universe, there is no problem of running out of resources. The only problem is which resources will be developed and at what cost. more...

New York scrambles amid ‘credible threat’ (October 7, 2005) - New York City is mobilizing hundreds of police officers after law enforcement officials received report of a “credible threat” to the subway system. Sources told ABC News 19 terrorist operatives have been deployed to the city to place bombs in the subway. A law enforcement official told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity prior to an announcement, that the threat is “specific to place, time and method.” Rep. Peter King of New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, confirmed the report. “Obviously, this is a significant threat,” he said. The planned attack is said to be timed to the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and to the Jewish High Holidays. Officers have been dispatched to patrol every subway station in Manhattan and are expected to be kept on 12-hour tours over the weekend. While the police department is taking the threat seriously, the public is being urged to not be alarmed. Though the source is credible, the information has not been verified, officials say. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said it was the most detailed threat he has seen against the city's subway system. “I wanted to assure New Yorkers that we have done and will continue to do everything we can to protect the city,” Bloomberg said. “We will spare no resource. We will spare no expense.” According to ABC News, the threat was disclosed when three Iraqi insurgents were arrested several days ago during a raid by a joint FBI-CIA team. more...

Plane Carrying Viruses Crashes in Canada (October 7, 2005) - A cargo plane carrying small amounts of flu virus crashed on railway tracks near Winnipeg’s city center Thursday, killing the pilot but missing buildings and vehicles, authorities said. The research samples of frozen influenza and herpes viruses were destroyed in the crash and ensuing fire along with other freight, Federal Express spokeswoman Karen Cooper said. She said the Cessna 208 was owned by Morningstar Air Express of Edmonton and was under contract to FedEx. Morningstar spokesman Don Boettcher didn’t immediately identify the woman piloting the aircraft. “She’d been with us for about five years,” he said, without providing further details. The plane took off from the Winnipeg airport en route to Thunder Bay, Ontario, at about 5:45 a.m. and traveled about four miles southeast of the airport before it requested a return, Transportation Safety Board investigator David Ross said. “The aircraft then descended below radar coverage and contact was lost with the aircraft,” Ross said. “It has crashed on railway tracks and does not appear to have collided with any other objects, houses or cars,” police Sgt. Shelly Glover said. Winnipeg police spokeswoman Carolyn Kwiatek said there was no damage to the surrounding area from the fire. The crash did tie up traffic on nearby streets during the morning rush, but no accidents or injuries resulted. In its cargo were six vials of virus samples being sent to Thunder Bay for research, Cooper said. more...

Bush hits ‘Islamic radicals’ (October 7, 2005) - President Bush yesterday gave his most detailed and defiant rationale for the war against terrorism, branding the enemy “Islamic radicals” for the first time and excoriating Syria and Iran. The president also revealed that plans for numerous terrorist attacks have been foiled, although he declined to give specifics. “The United States and our partners have disrupted at least 10 serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States,” he told the National Endowment for Democracy. “We’ve stopped at least five more al Qaeda efforts to case targets in the United States or infiltrate operatives into our country.” The speech, which was delivered at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, was originally written for the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, when anti-war demonstrations led by Cindy Sheehan and others were garnering headlines. But the onslaught of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita postponed the speech until yesterday, according to White House aides. Mr. Bush felt it was time to reassert himself as the war’s chief prosecutor and, for the first time, began to regularly substitute the term “Islamic radicalism” for terrorism. He also unleashed a scathing attack on Iran and Syria for their ongoing support of terrorism. The president said Damascus and Tehran “share the goal of hurting America and moderate Muslim governments and use terrorist propaganda to blame their own failures on the West and America, and on the Jews.” He added, “State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a long history of collaboration with terrorists, and they deserve no patience from the victims of terror.” more...

Hamas West Bank Battle Plan Exposed By Aaron Klein, World Net Daily (October 6, 2005) - JERUSALEM–After declaring Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip a victory for their “resistance operations,” Hamas is now planning to focus attacks on the West Bank, where it will fire rockets and carry out guerrilla operations against nearby Jewish towns until Israel leaves the territory, a research center affiliated with Hamas announced in a published study.

“[Hamas will be] transporting warfare technologies such as mortars and rockets from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. These will provide an easy way to bombard Israeli populated areas adjacent to the security fence, and the fence, which is currently under construction, will therefore become useless,” stated a recent publication by the Al-Mustaqbal Research Center in Gaza.

Al-Mustaqbal is headed by a Palestinian professor and, according to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at Israel’s Center for Special Studies, is associated with Hamas and is known to publish surveys and studies that reflect the terror group’s attitudes.

The study credited Israel’s West Bank security barrier with limiting Hamas’s ability to infiltrate Jewish cities to perpetuate suicide bombings, but it said, “Carrying out such acts remains an option since Hamas will find methods to circumvent the obstacle built by Israel. The length of the fence and its proximity to populated areas will make the task easier.”

Al-Mustaqbal said Israel’s withdrawal in August from four West Bank towns provides Hamas and other terror groups with a staging ground from which to launch attacks and to transport rockets to other West Bank communities. It said the Gaza and West Bank withdrawals prove Israel will vacate other areas in response to repeated attacks.

“[Following Israel’s withdrawal] the new warfare technology [of Qassams and mortars] will be produced, and from there, they will be distributed to other West Bank areas,” said the study. Along with rocket fire at West Bank Jewish communities, Hamas will carry out guerrilla attacks against local residents and Israeli Defense Forces positions, the study stated, citing what it said was Hezbollah's success in using such attacks to drive Israel from Lebanon in 2000.

“The fighting in the West Bank in the new era [after Israel’s Gaza withdrawal] will be characterized by guerrilla actions carried out by small groups of terrorists as was done in south Lebanon, and by long-distance shooting as was done in the Gaza Strip during the lull in the fighting. These actions will focus on soldiers and settlers, and they will consist of attacks on roads, military bases and settlements,” al-Mustaqbal published.

Israel last week rounded up over 450 suspected Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in the West Bank, and has been warning that the terror groups are planning to step up operations in the area.
A senior security source told World Net Daily: “The terror groups will now attempt to step up attacks because they believe they can drive Israel from the rest of the West Bank. Al Aqsa and Islamic Jihad have recently been the dominant players [in the West Bank], but signs are Hamas is poised to catch up.”

Since Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza last month, Palestinian terrorists have fired over 30 mortars and rockets at nearby Israeli Negev towns. So far, there has been no rocket fire in the West Bank.