American commanders in Iraq are urging Pentagon chiefs to authorise the deployment of newly-developed heat wave guns to disperse angry crowds or violent rioters.
In pictures: How I was zapped by a heat wave gun
But the plea for what senior army officers believe could prove a valuable alternative to traditional firepower in dangerous trouble-spots has so far gone unanswered.
The ADS can target crowds from 750 metres away
Washington fears a barrage of adverse publicity in the suspicious Muslim world and is concerned that critics will claim the invisible beam weapons were being used for torture.
Now the US military directorate charged with developing non-lethal weapons, which has invested more than a decade developing the Active Denial System (ADS), has launched a concerted effort to convince both the public and its own bosses at the defence department of the device's merits.
"With brand new technology like this, perception is everything," said Col Kirk Hymes, a former Marine artillery officer who heads the directorate.
He added that tests were almost complete and the first ADS, also known as the Silent Guardian, could be deployed early next year if the Pentagon allows. The decision is so sensitive that it is expected to be made personally by the defence secretary, Robert Gates, who sent senior representatives to the demonstrations.
Raytheon, the company contracted to manufacture the prototype, has also received interest from several undisclosed European countries. The machine displayed last week cost about $10 million to build, but the directorate believes that the ADS can be put into production for $2-$5 million (£1-2.5 million) per device.
Col Hymes told observers at a demonstration that the system was a safe and effective alternative to plastic bullets, which can cause injury and sometimes death and are effective only up to 75 metres.
The heatwave weapon can, by contrast, target troublemakers from 750 metres. It works by dispatching high-powered radio waves from a vehicle antenna, similar to a satellite television dish, causing the molecules in a target's skin to vibrate violently, creating a burning sensation.
"We are pretty good at shouting and intimidating people and we have been perfecting the art of lethal warfare since Cain and Abel," he said. "But in places like Iraq we are re-learning that we need a response in the spectrum between shouting and shooting. The ADS provides this."
But he added: "This is not something we want to roll out and deploy and surprise people. We know we need to educate the public."
In fact the development of the weapon only became public after the Sunshine Project - a Texas-based group that campaigns against biological and chemical weapons - pushed for disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
In pictures: The Telegraph's Philip Sherwell is zapped by a heat wave gun
The group's director, Edward Hammond, said: "If we are not prepared to use it as a crowd control technique on our own citizens, then we really shouldn't be using it in Iraq either."
Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon intelligence officer who is senior military analyst for the Human Rights Watch campaign group, was among those invited to feel the device's impact at a recent demonstration.
He said: "If I had the option of being shot by a bullet or this, I would choose this - but still not enough is known about it. This is novel technology. We're talking about bringing science fiction into reality and it's critical to have open discussion."
He added: "People understand what happens when you get shot with a gun, but with the "pain-ray" there's still uncertainty. When it's used, the military is going to have to deal with a public backlash because I'm sure there will be claims of medical problems by the people it's been used upon, real or not."
"We are talking about young soldiers having this in their hands. If we upset the civilian population in Iraq, whether by killing, by torture or by misusing this, it will have a strategic effect on the US's ability to execute effective operations."
Col Hymes said that all ADS operators were given a six-week training course that covered sophisticated crowd control techniques as well as handling the technology.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
AL-MASRI FINALLY COMING TO USA - UNWILLINGLY
British Court OKs Extradition of London Imam
November 17, 2007
by Arthur Bright
A British court ruled Thursday that London Imam Abu Hamza al-Masri, Britain's highest profile Muslim radical, could be extradited to the US to face charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and providing material support to terrorists.
Although Britain is likely to comply, the US bid to extradite Mr. al-Masri still faces several challenges, namely concerns about his potential prison conditions in the US and whether such a move might violate his human rights.
Al-Masri, the firebrand Muslim cleric convicted last year in Britain of soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred, faces extradition to the US on 11 terrorism-related charges. That process, however, could take time, reports the British Broadcast Corporation.
City of Westminster Magistrates Court approved the extradition, but the decision has to be ratified by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Senior District Judge Timothy Workman ruled that Abu Hamza (al-Masri), who preached at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, had lost his legal arguments. The judge said he would send the matter to the Secretary of State for a decision on whether the former civil engineering student should be extradited.
The New York Sun writes that the British home secretary's assent to extradition is thought to be a formality. Upon her approval, al-Masri can be sent to America to face charges filed against him in New York in 2004.
Mr. Hamza (al-Masri) is charged with sending an associate to collect funds from sympathetic Muslims in New York that were used to send two co-conspirators to Afghanistan to recruit a 'front line commander' to direct acts of violent jihad in the West. ... The terrorism charges against Mr. Hamza relate to a period in late 1999 and early 2000 in Bly, Ore., when he is accused of trying to set up camps to train youths to commit violent acts of jihad and terrorism.
In April 2004 the cleric was the subject of an 11-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York. According to [then US Attorney General John] Ashcroft, between December 23 and 29, 1998, Mr. Hamza plotted to take Westerners hostage in Yemen and provided a satellite telephone to members of the Islamic Army of Aden, who carried out the kidnapping.
The Sun notes that four of the hostages, three Britons and an Australian, were killed when Yemeni forces stormed the kidnappers' hideout. A key point of contention in the extradition hearings has been whether al-Masri's incarceration in the US might violate his human rights, reports The Daily Telegraph (London).
Judge Workman was told that Hamza was likely to be housed in a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, where his treatment would breach the Human Rights Act. Hamza was said to be in poor health with diabetes, raised blood pressure, the loss of sight in his right eye, poor vision in the left and the effects of the amputation of both forearms. A report from a former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals said supermax prisoners were 'locked down for 23 hours a day in small cells between 48 and 80 sq ft.'
The Independent (London) adds that if convicted of charges in the US, al-Masri could be facing a 99-year prison sentence in a 'supermax' facility. But Workman rejected those arguments, as he does not foresee al-Masri being held in such a prison indefinitely.
Judge Workman said that to hold Hamza... in such a regime for an indefinite period could breach his human rights, but he added: 'I am satisfied that the defendant would not be detained in these conditions indefinitely, that his undoubted ill health and physical disabilities would be considered and, at worst, he would only be accommodated in these conditions for a relatively short period of time.
'Whilst I find these conditions offensive to my sense of propriety in dealing with prisoners, I cannot conclude that in the short term the incarceration in a 'supermax' prison would be incompatible with his Article 3 rights.'
CNN reports that extradition could be several months away, as he cannot be sent to the US until all his avenues of appeal under British law are exhausted. If he is extradited, his US trial would interrupt the seven-year prison term he is currently serving in Britain. If he is convicted, his US sentence would begin after his British sentence is completed.
A British judge last year sentenced al-Masri to seven years for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred. The court convicted the cleric of possessing items including a 10-volume 'encyclopedia' of Afghani jihad, which the prosecutor described as 'a manual for terrorism;' the texts discussed how to make explosives, explained assassination methods, and detailed the best means of attack.
The cleric was also convicted of possessing video and audio recordings which prosecutors said he intended to distribute to stir up racial hatred. Both non-Muslims and Muslims have condemned al-Masri's preaching, which include praising the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, calling al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a hero, and describing the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster as punishment from Allah because the astronauts were Christian, Hindu and Jewish.
CNN adds that al-Masri's followers include Richard Reid, who was convicted of trying to light a bomb in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be charged in the US in connection with the September 11 attacks. The Guardian notes that for all his condemnations of the US and the West, al-Masri's 'brazenness also helped - with his knowledge or otherwise - the [British] intelligence services.'
Following his conviction last year, it emerged he had repeatedly met MI5 and Special Branch officers. A former MI5 agent who infiltrated the Finsbury Park mosque said Hamza was allowed to operate by the security services as long as he did not threaten Britain's national security. Both the agent and a close associate of Hamza claimed the cleric was an unwitting informant on other extremists.
The Guardian adds that al-Masri claims he is not a man of violence, but rather he is solely a political advocate.
November 17, 2007
by Arthur Bright
A British court ruled Thursday that London Imam Abu Hamza al-Masri, Britain's highest profile Muslim radical, could be extradited to the US to face charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and providing material support to terrorists.
Although Britain is likely to comply, the US bid to extradite Mr. al-Masri still faces several challenges, namely concerns about his potential prison conditions in the US and whether such a move might violate his human rights.
Al-Masri, the firebrand Muslim cleric convicted last year in Britain of soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred, faces extradition to the US on 11 terrorism-related charges. That process, however, could take time, reports the British Broadcast Corporation.
City of Westminster Magistrates Court approved the extradition, but the decision has to be ratified by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Senior District Judge Timothy Workman ruled that Abu Hamza (al-Masri), who preached at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, had lost his legal arguments. The judge said he would send the matter to the Secretary of State for a decision on whether the former civil engineering student should be extradited.
The New York Sun writes that the British home secretary's assent to extradition is thought to be a formality. Upon her approval, al-Masri can be sent to America to face charges filed against him in New York in 2004.
Mr. Hamza (al-Masri) is charged with sending an associate to collect funds from sympathetic Muslims in New York that were used to send two co-conspirators to Afghanistan to recruit a 'front line commander' to direct acts of violent jihad in the West. ... The terrorism charges against Mr. Hamza relate to a period in late 1999 and early 2000 in Bly, Ore., when he is accused of trying to set up camps to train youths to commit violent acts of jihad and terrorism.
In April 2004 the cleric was the subject of an 11-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York. According to [then US Attorney General John] Ashcroft, between December 23 and 29, 1998, Mr. Hamza plotted to take Westerners hostage in Yemen and provided a satellite telephone to members of the Islamic Army of Aden, who carried out the kidnapping.
The Sun notes that four of the hostages, three Britons and an Australian, were killed when Yemeni forces stormed the kidnappers' hideout. A key point of contention in the extradition hearings has been whether al-Masri's incarceration in the US might violate his human rights, reports The Daily Telegraph (London).
Judge Workman was told that Hamza was likely to be housed in a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, where his treatment would breach the Human Rights Act. Hamza was said to be in poor health with diabetes, raised blood pressure, the loss of sight in his right eye, poor vision in the left and the effects of the amputation of both forearms. A report from a former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals said supermax prisoners were 'locked down for 23 hours a day in small cells between 48 and 80 sq ft.'
The Independent (London) adds that if convicted of charges in the US, al-Masri could be facing a 99-year prison sentence in a 'supermax' facility. But Workman rejected those arguments, as he does not foresee al-Masri being held in such a prison indefinitely.
Judge Workman said that to hold Hamza... in such a regime for an indefinite period could breach his human rights, but he added: 'I am satisfied that the defendant would not be detained in these conditions indefinitely, that his undoubted ill health and physical disabilities would be considered and, at worst, he would only be accommodated in these conditions for a relatively short period of time.
'Whilst I find these conditions offensive to my sense of propriety in dealing with prisoners, I cannot conclude that in the short term the incarceration in a 'supermax' prison would be incompatible with his Article 3 rights.'
CNN reports that extradition could be several months away, as he cannot be sent to the US until all his avenues of appeal under British law are exhausted. If he is extradited, his US trial would interrupt the seven-year prison term he is currently serving in Britain. If he is convicted, his US sentence would begin after his British sentence is completed.
A British judge last year sentenced al-Masri to seven years for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred. The court convicted the cleric of possessing items including a 10-volume 'encyclopedia' of Afghani jihad, which the prosecutor described as 'a manual for terrorism;' the texts discussed how to make explosives, explained assassination methods, and detailed the best means of attack.
The cleric was also convicted of possessing video and audio recordings which prosecutors said he intended to distribute to stir up racial hatred. Both non-Muslims and Muslims have condemned al-Masri's preaching, which include praising the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, calling al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a hero, and describing the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster as punishment from Allah because the astronauts were Christian, Hindu and Jewish.
CNN adds that al-Masri's followers include Richard Reid, who was convicted of trying to light a bomb in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be charged in the US in connection with the September 11 attacks. The Guardian notes that for all his condemnations of the US and the West, al-Masri's 'brazenness also helped - with his knowledge or otherwise - the [British] intelligence services.'
Following his conviction last year, it emerged he had repeatedly met MI5 and Special Branch officers. A former MI5 agent who infiltrated the Finsbury Park mosque said Hamza was allowed to operate by the security services as long as he did not threaten Britain's national security. Both the agent and a close associate of Hamza claimed the cleric was an unwitting informant on other extremists.
The Guardian adds that al-Masri claims he is not a man of violence, but rather he is solely a political advocate.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
ANNUAL ISLAMIC PILGRIMAGE - THE HAJJ
Here's a link to an article about the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca which Muslims are expected to make at least once in their lifetime. It provides more information than what is generally reported. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flphajj1113pnnov13,0,201556.story.
Be advised that the 3 week period surrounding December 18 - 22 (dates of the Hajj) will be a period when thousands of U.S. Muslims will be traveling to Saudi Arabia. I have an acquaintance who is a commercial aviator.
He tells me that the logistics of moving some two million Muslims from all over the world to and from Mecca for the Hajj requires reactivating retired aircraft for all the special charter flights.
Those used to run charters from really backward third world nations will often be so fouled by the passengers....some of whom may have never used a flush toilet, that afterwards they are unfit for further passenger service. They will be stripped of seats and subsequently used only as air freighters.
Incidentally, this Hajj period may be a good time to stay away from crowded major malls. The absence of faithful Muslims just may provide a period during which terrorist attacks might be planned. Crowded malls have been identified as potential target sites.
This will be the first time in many years that the annual Hajj occurs during the Holiday shopping period. This happens due to the fact that Islam observes a twelve month calendar of 28 day lunar months, (336 days) so Hajj is 29 days earlier this year than last.
Be advised that the 3 week period surrounding December 18 - 22 (dates of the Hajj) will be a period when thousands of U.S. Muslims will be traveling to Saudi Arabia. I have an acquaintance who is a commercial aviator.
He tells me that the logistics of moving some two million Muslims from all over the world to and from Mecca for the Hajj requires reactivating retired aircraft for all the special charter flights.
Those used to run charters from really backward third world nations will often be so fouled by the passengers....some of whom may have never used a flush toilet, that afterwards they are unfit for further passenger service. They will be stripped of seats and subsequently used only as air freighters.
Incidentally, this Hajj period may be a good time to stay away from crowded major malls. The absence of faithful Muslims just may provide a period during which terrorist attacks might be planned. Crowded malls have been identified as potential target sites.
This will be the first time in many years that the annual Hajj occurs during the Holiday shopping period. This happens due to the fact that Islam observes a twelve month calendar of 28 day lunar months, (336 days) so Hajj is 29 days earlier this year than last.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
ANOTHER INSTANCE OF OUR INADEQUATE BACKGROUND CHECKS
If we cannot accurately check out people like Prouty how do we expect to penetrate the cover stories of infiltrators from Islamic Iran, for whom the Mullah regime goes to lengths to provide bullet proof cover before sliding them into the USA? Often via Canada.
Former FBI, CIA Employee Pleads Guilty to Computer Crime
Grant Gross, IDG News ServiceTue Nov 13, 5:00 PM ET
A former employee of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency has pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship and accessing a U.S. government computer system to unlawfully find information about her relatives and the Islamic organization Hizballah.
Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, originally from Lebanon, also pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.
She was accused of using her fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship to gain employment with the FBI and CIA, and of using her position in the FBI to check on the information held on family members connected to Hizballah, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. government considers Hizballah a terrorist group.
Prouty faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a US$250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge; one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for the unauthorized computer access charge; and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the naturalization charge.
Prouty “engaged in a pattern of deceit to secure U.S. citizenship, to gain employment in the intelligence community, and to obtain and exploit her access to sensitive counterterrorism intelligence,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said in a statement.
Prouty first entered the U.S. from Lebanon in June 1989, on a one-year, non-immigrant student visa, according to court documents.
After her visa expired, she remained in Taylor, Michigan, living with her sister. As a way to remain in the U.S., Prouty later offered money to an unemployed U.S. citizen to marry her, and on Aug. 9, 1990, she was married.
Prouty never lived with her fraudulent husband, but continued to live with her sister, the DOJ said.
In August 2000, Prouty’s sister married Chahine, the owner of La Shish. A month later Prouty used the FBI’s computerized Automated Case System without authorization to query her own name, her sister’s name and that of her brother-in-law, the DOJ said.
In June 2003, Prouty accessed the FBI system and obtained information from a national security investigation into Hizballah that was being conducted by the FBI’s Detroit field office
For full story go to:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20071113/tc_pcworld/139605
Former FBI, CIA Employee Pleads Guilty to Computer Crime
Grant Gross, IDG News ServiceTue Nov 13, 5:00 PM ET
A former employee of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency has pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship and accessing a U.S. government computer system to unlawfully find information about her relatives and the Islamic organization Hizballah.
Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, originally from Lebanon, also pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.
She was accused of using her fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship to gain employment with the FBI and CIA, and of using her position in the FBI to check on the information held on family members connected to Hizballah, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. government considers Hizballah a terrorist group.
Prouty faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a US$250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge; one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for the unauthorized computer access charge; and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the naturalization charge.
Prouty “engaged in a pattern of deceit to secure U.S. citizenship, to gain employment in the intelligence community, and to obtain and exploit her access to sensitive counterterrorism intelligence,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said in a statement.
Prouty first entered the U.S. from Lebanon in June 1989, on a one-year, non-immigrant student visa, according to court documents.
After her visa expired, she remained in Taylor, Michigan, living with her sister. As a way to remain in the U.S., Prouty later offered money to an unemployed U.S. citizen to marry her, and on Aug. 9, 1990, she was married.
Prouty never lived with her fraudulent husband, but continued to live with her sister, the DOJ said.
In August 2000, Prouty’s sister married Chahine, the owner of La Shish. A month later Prouty used the FBI’s computerized Automated Case System without authorization to query her own name, her sister’s name and that of her brother-in-law, the DOJ said.
In June 2003, Prouty accessed the FBI system and obtained information from a national security investigation into Hizballah that was being conducted by the FBI’s Detroit field office
For full story go to:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20071113/tc_pcworld/139605
Saturday, November 10, 2007
HOMELAND MALL ATTACK WARNINGS
Alan Note: this was probably a rehearsal for future operations. In addition to Jihadists like him, who have attack plans on our malls and schools (to get our children - kill or kidnap), there are estimates of SEVERAL THOUSAND suicide/homicide bombers already in place in the USA and various European countries, who will attack our malls, restaurants and "soft target" public places. As retaliation for any attack on Iran.
Don't be surprised to have IEDs (indeterminate explosive devices) going off on our freeways as they do in Baghdad. Most probably of Iranian manufacture, smuggled over our porous borders.
This may be the price we pay in civilian losses inside the USA for not allowing the same hostile Iranian inspired terrorists exploding nuclear, biological or dirty bombs on or at us instead of this "lesser" (by comparison only) penalty of those we lose as above.
Those who promote NOT attacking Iran and are against the border fence might wish to consider those two points of holding back till Iran has a larger arsenal of nukes (they already have a half dozen and allowing our border to leak so the explosivers come across as easily as they do today.
Are they willing to die for their idealistic beliefs? Like no profiling? They SHALL be tested and weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth after the fact will not bring the dead back to life. In fact they may likely be among the dead.
Stop analyzing foreign mentalities. mindsets and motives in American terms rather than in the terms of the cultures, upbringing, murderous religious tents of those you try to "protect" according to your upbringing and American social norms!
Last December, a Muslim man identified as Derrick Shareef, a/k/a Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef planned to set off at least four and possibly more hand grenades and improvised explosive devices at the CherryVale Shopping Mall in Rockford, near Interstate 90 and Interstate 39, about 75 miles north of Chicago.
Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef was arrested by FBI agents from the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force before he had the opportunity to set his plans in motion. The mall has about 130 retail stores and was one of "several potential targets" that also included a list of federal buildings as well.
According to authorities, he planned to detonate explosives at the shopping mall during the Christmas shopping season. Our details of that incident are at this link.
Today, another warning about plots against malls across the U.S. was issued for this holiday season in the form of a government advisory, with some governmental sources acknowledging to the Northeast Intelligence Network that there has been reliable intelligence obtained from recent investigations to indicate that shopping malls are in the cross hairs of Islamic terrorists who are already in the U.S.
According to both federal and state sources close to this agency, shopping malls are considered desirable targets for both the psychological effect as well as the economic damage such attacks could produce.
According to the sources closest to this agency, "no specific malls or shopping centers have been actually identified."
FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/2007mallwarning
ALSO CHECK OUT ANOTHER HOMELAND ARTICLE ON ISLAMIC TERROR TITLED "THE BIGGEST LIE EVER SOLD"
http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/Gilani21108
Don't be surprised to have IEDs (indeterminate explosive devices) going off on our freeways as they do in Baghdad. Most probably of Iranian manufacture, smuggled over our porous borders.
This may be the price we pay in civilian losses inside the USA for not allowing the same hostile Iranian inspired terrorists exploding nuclear, biological or dirty bombs on or at us instead of this "lesser" (by comparison only) penalty of those we lose as above.
Those who promote NOT attacking Iran and are against the border fence might wish to consider those two points of holding back till Iran has a larger arsenal of nukes (they already have a half dozen and allowing our border to leak so the explosivers come across as easily as they do today.
Are they willing to die for their idealistic beliefs? Like no profiling? They SHALL be tested and weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth after the fact will not bring the dead back to life. In fact they may likely be among the dead.
Stop analyzing foreign mentalities. mindsets and motives in American terms rather than in the terms of the cultures, upbringing, murderous religious tents of those you try to "protect" according to your upbringing and American social norms!
Last December, a Muslim man identified as Derrick Shareef, a/k/a Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef planned to set off at least four and possibly more hand grenades and improvised explosive devices at the CherryVale Shopping Mall in Rockford, near Interstate 90 and Interstate 39, about 75 miles north of Chicago.
Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef was arrested by FBI agents from the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force before he had the opportunity to set his plans in motion. The mall has about 130 retail stores and was one of "several potential targets" that also included a list of federal buildings as well.
According to authorities, he planned to detonate explosives at the shopping mall during the Christmas shopping season. Our details of that incident are at this link.
Today, another warning about plots against malls across the U.S. was issued for this holiday season in the form of a government advisory, with some governmental sources acknowledging to the Northeast Intelligence Network that there has been reliable intelligence obtained from recent investigations to indicate that shopping malls are in the cross hairs of Islamic terrorists who are already in the U.S.
According to both federal and state sources close to this agency, shopping malls are considered desirable targets for both the psychological effect as well as the economic damage such attacks could produce.
According to the sources closest to this agency, "no specific malls or shopping centers have been actually identified."
FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/2007mallwarning
ALSO CHECK OUT ANOTHER HOMELAND ARTICLE ON ISLAMIC TERROR TITLED "THE BIGGEST LIE EVER SOLD"
http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/Gilani21108
INTERPOL WARRANTS FOR FIVE IRANIANS AND ONE LEBANESE - WITH PHOTOS
Beirut - Interpol voted yesterday in Marrakesh , Morocco to issue red notices for five Iranians and one Lebanese member of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Argentina in which 85 people were killed.
Lebanese Imad Moughnieh - only non-Iranian sought by Argentina. Served as intelligence officer for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. U.S. has put $25 million bounty on him. Allegedly involved in kidnappings of Westerners in Lebanon in 1980s and suicide attacks on U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine base in Lebanon — bombings that killed more than 260 Americans. Whereabouts unknown.
Ali Fallahian - Former Iranian intelligence minister and midlevel cleric who graduated from seminary in Qom, Iran, widely seen as breeding ground of Islamic militants. Now on Experts Assembly, elected body responsible for appointing Iran's supreme leader. Has been accused of links to other attacks — slaying of three Iranian Kurd dissidents in Berlin and murders of five Iranian political dissidents; denies involvement.
Mohssein Rezaei - Commander of Revolutionary Guards during Iran's 1980-88 war with Iraq. Retired from military and entered politics. Now serves on Expediency Council, body that arbitrates between Iran's parliament and Guardians' Council.
Lebanese Imad Moughnieh - only non-Iranian sought by Argentina. Served as intelligence officer for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. U.S. has put $25 million bounty on him. Allegedly involved in kidnappings of Westerners in Lebanon in 1980s and suicide attacks on U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine base in Lebanon — bombings that killed more than 260 Americans. Whereabouts unknown.
Ali Fallahian - Former Iranian intelligence minister and midlevel cleric who graduated from seminary in Qom, Iran, widely seen as breeding ground of Islamic militants. Now on Experts Assembly, elected body responsible for appointing Iran's supreme leader. Has been accused of links to other attacks — slaying of three Iranian Kurd dissidents in Berlin and murders of five Iranian political dissidents; denies involvement.
Mohssein Rezaei - Commander of Revolutionary Guards during Iran's 1980-88 war with Iraq. Retired from military and entered politics. Now serves on Expediency Council, body that arbitrates between Iran's parliament and Guardians' Council.
Mohssein Rabbani - mid-ranking Iranian cleric was cultural attache at Iranian Embassy in Argentina in 1994. Also has been implicated in 1992 terror bombing at Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires. No longer in Iranian government.
Ahmad Vahidi - General in Revolutionary Guards, regarded as father of country's missile program. Believed to working in Defense Ministry, but little information publicly available.
Ahmad Reza Asghari - worked as third secretary in Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires, but believed to have been linked to Revolutionary Guards. Not known whether he still works for Iranian government.
(Alan note: some reports place him at the Iranian Embassy in Syria)
LIBERAL BRITAIN STILL UNABLE TO COMBAT TERRORISM
New Leader, Same Government?
The Labour Party, headed by Gordon Brown since June 27 this year, has been in power for more than a decade. When Labour was elected in May 1997, Gordon Brown held the post of chancellor and was regarded as second-in-command of the government. Islamic extremism was on the rise in British campuses and mosques when Labour came to power, but little was done to extinguish it.
One of the government's first laws to be introduced was the Human Rights Act of 1998. This enshrined the terms of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights into British law, trumping all existing legislation. The 1998 Act has been one of the biggest obstacles in countering terrorism. Many foreign terrorists have been allowed to seek asylum in Britain, even though they have been convicted in their home states for acts of terror that have included fatalities. They have been allowed to spread their extremism in Britain, and even plot terror acts abroad, with impunity.
The Human Rights Act has allowed Afghan terrorists and their families to be allowed permanent residence in Britain, and has prevented the deportation of known and suspected terrorists to their home countries, lest they be subjected to torture - a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR. Individuals like Abu Qatada, once described as "Al Qaeda's ambassador in Europe" remains in detention in Britain. Yasser al-Siri, convicted of terrorism and causing death in his native Egypt, walks free in Maida Vale, West London.
In November 2005, the Terrorism Act of 2006 was still undergoing review in the House of Lords (parliament's upper house). Four clauses of the Terrorism Act were opposed by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The controversial clauses were:
Amending human rights legislation to enable easier deportations
Making the glorification of terrorism (including acts of terror outside the UK) an offense
Automatically refusing asylum to anyone linked to terrorism anywhere
Banning Hizb ut-Tahrir and successors to the group Al-Muhajiroun
The only one of these clauses to remain when the terrorism law was finally passed was the offense of glorification of terrorism - Schedule 1, section 1 (3) of the Act. The 2006 Terrorism Act introduced penalties for the first time for engaging in terrorism training, either at home or abroad.
Even though the Human Rights Act 1998 protects the rights of terrorists and other criminals who are not even British citizens, a recent legal ruling declared that old people living in private care homes are not protected by the Human Rights Act.
In this week's Queen's Speech, outlining bills to be introduced during parliamentary session, a new Terrorism Act was mentioned. In all the proposed legislation produced by Gordon Brown's government, there are no reported plans to decrease the terms of the Human Rights Act to make deportations of terrorists or criminals easier, nor are there measures to extend the Act to protect vulnerable elderly people in private nursing homes.
The Queen's Speech was widely expected to show Gordon Brown's promised "vision" for Britain. Various commentators have condemned the "lack of vision" in Brown's planned legislation.
When a major terrorism trial came to its conclusion on April 30, 2007, five individuals were given life sentences for plotting bombings on the UK mainland employing ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The most damaging evidence, which eventually secured convictions, was that produced by secret surveillance by MI5. Bugs had been placed in an apartment belonging to the cell's ringleader, Omar Khyam, and also in his car.
Even though secret electronic and video surveillance evidence is legally acceptable in a British court of law, evidence gained by phone-tapping is not allowed. For decades, successive U.K. governments have legally authorized phone-tapping of individuals. The majority of phone-tapping is enacted through the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Click on link below for full article:
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003903.html
The Labour Party, headed by Gordon Brown since June 27 this year, has been in power for more than a decade. When Labour was elected in May 1997, Gordon Brown held the post of chancellor and was regarded as second-in-command of the government. Islamic extremism was on the rise in British campuses and mosques when Labour came to power, but little was done to extinguish it.
One of the government's first laws to be introduced was the Human Rights Act of 1998. This enshrined the terms of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights into British law, trumping all existing legislation. The 1998 Act has been one of the biggest obstacles in countering terrorism. Many foreign terrorists have been allowed to seek asylum in Britain, even though they have been convicted in their home states for acts of terror that have included fatalities. They have been allowed to spread their extremism in Britain, and even plot terror acts abroad, with impunity.
The Human Rights Act has allowed Afghan terrorists and their families to be allowed permanent residence in Britain, and has prevented the deportation of known and suspected terrorists to their home countries, lest they be subjected to torture - a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR. Individuals like Abu Qatada, once described as "Al Qaeda's ambassador in Europe" remains in detention in Britain. Yasser al-Siri, convicted of terrorism and causing death in his native Egypt, walks free in Maida Vale, West London.
In November 2005, the Terrorism Act of 2006 was still undergoing review in the House of Lords (parliament's upper house). Four clauses of the Terrorism Act were opposed by the Association of Chief Police Officers. The controversial clauses were:
Amending human rights legislation to enable easier deportations
Making the glorification of terrorism (including acts of terror outside the UK) an offense
Automatically refusing asylum to anyone linked to terrorism anywhere
Banning Hizb ut-Tahrir and successors to the group Al-Muhajiroun
The only one of these clauses to remain when the terrorism law was finally passed was the offense of glorification of terrorism - Schedule 1, section 1 (3) of the Act. The 2006 Terrorism Act introduced penalties for the first time for engaging in terrorism training, either at home or abroad.
Even though the Human Rights Act 1998 protects the rights of terrorists and other criminals who are not even British citizens, a recent legal ruling declared that old people living in private care homes are not protected by the Human Rights Act.
In this week's Queen's Speech, outlining bills to be introduced during parliamentary session, a new Terrorism Act was mentioned. In all the proposed legislation produced by Gordon Brown's government, there are no reported plans to decrease the terms of the Human Rights Act to make deportations of terrorists or criminals easier, nor are there measures to extend the Act to protect vulnerable elderly people in private nursing homes.
The Queen's Speech was widely expected to show Gordon Brown's promised "vision" for Britain. Various commentators have condemned the "lack of vision" in Brown's planned legislation.
When a major terrorism trial came to its conclusion on April 30, 2007, five individuals were given life sentences for plotting bombings on the UK mainland employing ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The most damaging evidence, which eventually secured convictions, was that produced by secret surveillance by MI5. Bugs had been placed in an apartment belonging to the cell's ringleader, Omar Khyam, and also in his car.
Even though secret electronic and video surveillance evidence is legally acceptable in a British court of law, evidence gained by phone-tapping is not allowed. For decades, successive U.K. governments have legally authorized phone-tapping of individuals. The majority of phone-tapping is enacted through the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Click on link below for full article:
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003903.html
DETAILS OF ATTACKED SOUTH AFRICAN NUCLEAR SITE
Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center 25°48'S 27°54'E
Church Street Extension West
P.O.Box 582
PRETORIA 0001
Republic of South Africa
The Atomic Energy Board was founded in 1948, and in 1961 the board moved from Pretoria to its existing site at Pelindaba near Hartbeespoort Dam approximately 30-35 km West of Pretoria. In the mid-1960s the South African nuclear weapons program moved from downtown Pretoria to the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center.
"Pelindaba" is derived from the words pelile meaning "finished." and 'indaba' meaning "discussion".
The Pelindaba site consists of 2300 hectares of which around 54 hectares are building space.
This AEC site includes the Safari-1 research reactor, a hot cell complex, a waste disposal site, and conversion and fuel fabrication facilities.
Facilities at Pelindaba include: (click on link below)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/rsa/pelindaba.htm
Church Street Extension West
P.O.Box 582
PRETORIA 0001
Republic of South Africa
The Atomic Energy Board was founded in 1948, and in 1961 the board moved from Pretoria to its existing site at Pelindaba near Hartbeespoort Dam approximately 30-35 km West of Pretoria. In the mid-1960s the South African nuclear weapons program moved from downtown Pretoria to the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center.
"Pelindaba" is derived from the words pelile meaning "finished." and 'indaba' meaning "discussion".
The Pelindaba site consists of 2300 hectares of which around 54 hectares are building space.
This AEC site includes the Safari-1 research reactor, a hot cell complex, a waste disposal site, and conversion and fuel fabrication facilities.
Facilities at Pelindaba include: (click on link below)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/rsa/pelindaba.htm
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
FEWER PAKISTANI TROOPS AT INDIAN BORDER
NEW DELHI — For the first time in 60 years, Pakistan has considerably reduced the number of troops along the heavily guarded border with India.
The matter has come up in the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Turmoil in Pakistan and unrest in its western areas, have resulted in Pakistani troops being pulled away in large numbers from the border areas adjoining Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Reports quoting intelligence agencies said here yesterday that the aggressively positioned eastern frontier areas adjoining India have become extremely thin. Pakistani troops that otherwise are positioned to counter Indian forces, have been moved out to Waziristan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the western borders, reports said.
Intelligence officials have been quoted as saying that strain is starting to tell on the regular Pakistan army with tensions mounting in the north west frontier. “The very sign of pressure building up against Pakistan is that their forces which never compromised on its eastern border have been moved out leaving the border areas along India lean and lanky,” said top officials.
Some 38,000 troops from key border installations have been repositioned, the Caninet Committee has been told. It is said as many as 15 Infantry Brigades of Pakistan army have been repositioned on the border areas of north west frontier to fight Taleban.
Many reserve troops and units that were on duty on the borders at Indo-Pak Line of Control have been moved out. Even soldiers from the elite strike corps that are trained to slice into India in the event of war along with reserves with the army GHQ in Rawalpindi have been mobilised. However, this doesn’t indicate that Pakistan’s eastern border has been left totally unattended.
The thinning of troops indicate that Islamabad is quite apprehensive about internal developments more than any untoward events unfolding with India. Officials were quoted as saying that Islamabad isn’t worried with New Delhi that has seemingly been sympathetic with the situation in its neighbour that forced President Pervez Musharraf impose 'emergency' last Saturday.
“For them the priority is surely the western flank that has brought them more trouble as of now. With Indo-Pak peace process still on, Islamabad can at least trust its new found camaraderie with New Delhi,” officials said. Latest inputs have shown that the Mangla-based Army Reserve North (ARN) and Multan-based Army Reserve South (ARS) too have been repositioned, said Indian Express newspaper.
“They have been dispatched to Peshawar or Quetta for deployment along the troubled Afghan frontier. Units from the Force Command Northern Area (FCNA) that controls Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir region and forces from the dual-role XI Corps in Peshawar — tasked with defending the Afghan border have also been moved to fight the Taleban,” said the report.
The reports quoting valid details, point out that written instructions were sent by Pakistan Army GHQ to all formation commanders to determine the quantity of forces each unit could relieve for deployment along the Afghan border and even the hinterland. After that a classified list of ‘extra troops’ was drawn up by GHQ based on an internal audit that was carried out by all formations.
Top US-based defence analysts watching developments in India and Pakistan, have warned that this pressure on Pakistani armed forces could lead to an ‘abnormally high percentage of Pakistani troops on active duty’ — a factor that is dangerous, as it can ‘crack open’ the army against President Musharraf himself.
“Intelligence data says that out of the 66 Infantry Brigades (about 1.65 lakh troops) in the Pak army, 33 brigades are currently on active duty. Of these, 18 brigades (45,000 troops) are deployed for counter-terror operations. With half its troops committed to active duty, the army is finding it hard to rotate and relive formations,” said reports.
“It is a major operational constraint. In the event of war, the whole army gets mobilised but in an ideal scenario, one-third of the troops should be on duty, while the rest are in transit or in a peace area. In long term, it will get increasingly difficult to manage the already strained forces,” top officials were quoted as saying.
On this scenario, strategic affairs expert Stephen Cohen has pointed out that “the (Pakistani) army might lose its coherence. It is a multi-ethnic army, derived from the old British Indian army, and from time to time it, like its predecessor, has had ethnic-based mutinies (the most notable being the revolt of the Bengali elements of all three services in 1970).”
“At present, about 18 per cent of the Pakistan army are Pushtuns or of Pushtun-origin. There are reports of officers refusing to attack targets, and the astonishing case, still unexplained, of nearly 300 officers and jawans surrendering to the militants in Waziristan — where they are still being held hostage,” Cohen wrote for Brookings Institution explaining that America was in for a tough ride with developments in Pakistan.
The matter has come up in the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Turmoil in Pakistan and unrest in its western areas, have resulted in Pakistani troops being pulled away in large numbers from the border areas adjoining Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Reports quoting intelligence agencies said here yesterday that the aggressively positioned eastern frontier areas adjoining India have become extremely thin. Pakistani troops that otherwise are positioned to counter Indian forces, have been moved out to Waziristan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on the western borders, reports said.
Intelligence officials have been quoted as saying that strain is starting to tell on the regular Pakistan army with tensions mounting in the north west frontier. “The very sign of pressure building up against Pakistan is that their forces which never compromised on its eastern border have been moved out leaving the border areas along India lean and lanky,” said top officials.
Some 38,000 troops from key border installations have been repositioned, the Caninet Committee has been told. It is said as many as 15 Infantry Brigades of Pakistan army have been repositioned on the border areas of north west frontier to fight Taleban.
Many reserve troops and units that were on duty on the borders at Indo-Pak Line of Control have been moved out. Even soldiers from the elite strike corps that are trained to slice into India in the event of war along with reserves with the army GHQ in Rawalpindi have been mobilised. However, this doesn’t indicate that Pakistan’s eastern border has been left totally unattended.
The thinning of troops indicate that Islamabad is quite apprehensive about internal developments more than any untoward events unfolding with India. Officials were quoted as saying that Islamabad isn’t worried with New Delhi that has seemingly been sympathetic with the situation in its neighbour that forced President Pervez Musharraf impose 'emergency' last Saturday.
“For them the priority is surely the western flank that has brought them more trouble as of now. With Indo-Pak peace process still on, Islamabad can at least trust its new found camaraderie with New Delhi,” officials said. Latest inputs have shown that the Mangla-based Army Reserve North (ARN) and Multan-based Army Reserve South (ARS) too have been repositioned, said Indian Express newspaper.
“They have been dispatched to Peshawar or Quetta for deployment along the troubled Afghan frontier. Units from the Force Command Northern Area (FCNA) that controls Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir region and forces from the dual-role XI Corps in Peshawar — tasked with defending the Afghan border have also been moved to fight the Taleban,” said the report.
The reports quoting valid details, point out that written instructions were sent by Pakistan Army GHQ to all formation commanders to determine the quantity of forces each unit could relieve for deployment along the Afghan border and even the hinterland. After that a classified list of ‘extra troops’ was drawn up by GHQ based on an internal audit that was carried out by all formations.
Top US-based defence analysts watching developments in India and Pakistan, have warned that this pressure on Pakistani armed forces could lead to an ‘abnormally high percentage of Pakistani troops on active duty’ — a factor that is dangerous, as it can ‘crack open’ the army against President Musharraf himself.
“Intelligence data says that out of the 66 Infantry Brigades (about 1.65 lakh troops) in the Pak army, 33 brigades are currently on active duty. Of these, 18 brigades (45,000 troops) are deployed for counter-terror operations. With half its troops committed to active duty, the army is finding it hard to rotate and relive formations,” said reports.
“It is a major operational constraint. In the event of war, the whole army gets mobilised but in an ideal scenario, one-third of the troops should be on duty, while the rest are in transit or in a peace area. In long term, it will get increasingly difficult to manage the already strained forces,” top officials were quoted as saying.
On this scenario, strategic affairs expert Stephen Cohen has pointed out that “the (Pakistani) army might lose its coherence. It is a multi-ethnic army, derived from the old British Indian army, and from time to time it, like its predecessor, has had ethnic-based mutinies (the most notable being the revolt of the Bengali elements of all three services in 1970).”
“At present, about 18 per cent of the Pakistan army are Pushtuns or of Pushtun-origin. There are reports of officers refusing to attack targets, and the astonishing case, still unexplained, of nearly 300 officers and jawans surrendering to the militants in Waziristan — where they are still being held hostage,” Cohen wrote for Brookings Institution explaining that America was in for a tough ride with developments in Pakistan.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
SURGE DEFEATING THE TERRORISTS BUT NOT OUR NEWS MEDIA
To all those who said the “surge” in U.S. forces in Iraq was doomed to fail, a look at the latest results should be instructive, if not humbling.
Start with American military casualties. For October (36 Americans killed in action), they were the lowest for any month since February 2004, more than three years ago. U.S. casualties have now declined for five consecutive months even as American forces press the fight against al-Qaeda-in-Iraq terrorists and move out of their mega-bases to operate from security outposts in Iraqi neighborhoods.
Steadily fewer American soldiers killed or wounded is a measure of a weaker enemy now in retreat – in fact, an enemy being defeated – plus dramatically increasing cooperation from Iraq's civilian population.
This latter point is vital, on both military and political grounds. As security expands and Iraqis consequently feel safer from retaliation by terrorists and sectarian extremists, their willingness to cooperate with U.S. and Iraqi government forces is growing accordingly. A major reason that al-Qaeda-in-Iraq terrorists are now losing is because Iraqi civilians are tipping off coalition forces about the locations of roadside bombs, arms caches and terrorist cells.
Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, deputy to Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus, gave these totals in a briefing last week for illegal arms, ammunition and explosives recovered in just the last two weeks of October:
“Over 37,000 pounds of explosives, a thousand gallons of nitric acid used to make homemade explosives, over 2,000 artillery rounds and over 500 rockets, 136 assembled explosively formed penetrator IEDs (improvised explosive devices), along with 359 copper discs used to make more EFPs, and hundreds of rifles, grenades, anti-tank weapons and suicide vests.” Odierno attributed these arms captures largely to tips from local Iraqi civilians."
The death knell for any insurgency or terrorist movement sounds when the civilian population that these killers claim to represent begins turning them in to the security forces.
Next, consider the numbers and trend lines for Iraqi civilian deaths. This is a core indicator not only for moral and humanitarian reasons but because protecting Iraq's civilian population is a central goal of Gen. Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy.
Iraqi civilian deaths are down more than 60 percent since their peak last December, from 3,000 that month to just over 700 in October. That's still too many, of course, but in a nation of 25 million people beset with sectarian violence and terrorism, a two-thirds drop in civilian deaths is a remarkable achievement.
As with U.S. casualties, the trend line for Iraqi civilian deaths is steadily declining, particularly since the surge offensives aimed at clearing and holding strategic population centers gained momentum this past summer.
Securing greater Baghdad against terrorist attacks is a surge priority. Results? The incidence of mass-casualty terrorist attacks (truck bombs, car bombs and the like) in Iraq's capital city is down 75 percent in recent months.
The second-ranking surge objective was pacifying Anbar province, formerly the heartland of the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces and their Iraqi government allies. A year ago, Anbar was suffering more than 300 enemy attacks and hostile incidents per week. The number for the last week of October all across Anbar, Iraq's largest province, was fewer than 30.
Overall, the declining numbers of terrorist attacks and security incidents represent, as Gen. Odierno noted, “the longest continuous decline in attacks on record.”
Credit for these impressive, even stunning, gains in Iraq is irrefutably attributable, first, to the surge's 30,000 additional U.S. troops and Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy. Without these essential reinforcements and a wholly new strategy, the American mission in Iraq would be where it was last December – a failing effort staring at defeat.
Instead, al-Qaeda is on the run and losing, the main Shia militias are respecting a truce with coalition forces, and the Sunni tribal sheiks in Anbar and Diyala provinces and elsewhere have joined U.S. forces against al-Qaeda. Sectarian reconciliation, the ultimate political key to peace and security in Iraq, remains unfulfilled at the national level but is gaining ground locally under U.S. tutelage.
Acceptable levels of security and stability define the road out of Iraq for U.S. combat forces. The surge's success brings that day closer.
Start with American military casualties. For October (36 Americans killed in action), they were the lowest for any month since February 2004, more than three years ago. U.S. casualties have now declined for five consecutive months even as American forces press the fight against al-Qaeda-in-Iraq terrorists and move out of their mega-bases to operate from security outposts in Iraqi neighborhoods.
Steadily fewer American soldiers killed or wounded is a measure of a weaker enemy now in retreat – in fact, an enemy being defeated – plus dramatically increasing cooperation from Iraq's civilian population.
This latter point is vital, on both military and political grounds. As security expands and Iraqis consequently feel safer from retaliation by terrorists and sectarian extremists, their willingness to cooperate with U.S. and Iraqi government forces is growing accordingly. A major reason that al-Qaeda-in-Iraq terrorists are now losing is because Iraqi civilians are tipping off coalition forces about the locations of roadside bombs, arms caches and terrorist cells.
Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, deputy to Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus, gave these totals in a briefing last week for illegal arms, ammunition and explosives recovered in just the last two weeks of October:
“Over 37,000 pounds of explosives, a thousand gallons of nitric acid used to make homemade explosives, over 2,000 artillery rounds and over 500 rockets, 136 assembled explosively formed penetrator IEDs (improvised explosive devices), along with 359 copper discs used to make more EFPs, and hundreds of rifles, grenades, anti-tank weapons and suicide vests.” Odierno attributed these arms captures largely to tips from local Iraqi civilians."
The death knell for any insurgency or terrorist movement sounds when the civilian population that these killers claim to represent begins turning them in to the security forces.
Next, consider the numbers and trend lines for Iraqi civilian deaths. This is a core indicator not only for moral and humanitarian reasons but because protecting Iraq's civilian population is a central goal of Gen. Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy.
Iraqi civilian deaths are down more than 60 percent since their peak last December, from 3,000 that month to just over 700 in October. That's still too many, of course, but in a nation of 25 million people beset with sectarian violence and terrorism, a two-thirds drop in civilian deaths is a remarkable achievement.
As with U.S. casualties, the trend line for Iraqi civilian deaths is steadily declining, particularly since the surge offensives aimed at clearing and holding strategic population centers gained momentum this past summer.
Securing greater Baghdad against terrorist attacks is a surge priority. Results? The incidence of mass-casualty terrorist attacks (truck bombs, car bombs and the like) in Iraq's capital city is down 75 percent in recent months.
The second-ranking surge objective was pacifying Anbar province, formerly the heartland of the Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces and their Iraqi government allies. A year ago, Anbar was suffering more than 300 enemy attacks and hostile incidents per week. The number for the last week of October all across Anbar, Iraq's largest province, was fewer than 30.
Overall, the declining numbers of terrorist attacks and security incidents represent, as Gen. Odierno noted, “the longest continuous decline in attacks on record.”
Credit for these impressive, even stunning, gains in Iraq is irrefutably attributable, first, to the surge's 30,000 additional U.S. troops and Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy. Without these essential reinforcements and a wholly new strategy, the American mission in Iraq would be where it was last December – a failing effort staring at defeat.
Instead, al-Qaeda is on the run and losing, the main Shia militias are respecting a truce with coalition forces, and the Sunni tribal sheiks in Anbar and Diyala provinces and elsewhere have joined U.S. forces against al-Qaeda. Sectarian reconciliation, the ultimate political key to peace and security in Iraq, remains unfulfilled at the national level but is gaining ground locally under U.S. tutelage.
Acceptable levels of security and stability define the road out of Iraq for U.S. combat forces. The surge's success brings that day closer.
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