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Posts Tagged al qaeda
Washington Examiner EXTRA: Latest news on Osama bin Laden’s death
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch on 2/May/2011 15:03
From: The Washington Examiner
Washington Examiner EXTRA: Latest news on Osama bin Laden’s death
We’ve collected all of our coverage here. We’ll continue to update this post throughout the day.
Examiner Editorial – Bin Laden could run but he couldn’t hide from the U.S.
A decade ago in the terrible aftermath of one of America’s darkest days, President George W. Bush vowed that “I don’t know if it will be tomorrow, or next month, or next year, but we will get him.” Five years later, tough interrogation by the CIA of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and another Osama bin Laden henchman turned up the nickname of an especially trusted courier of the al Qaeda leader. Read More
Nate Beeler’s Cartoon – The End of Osama bin Laden
Check out more of Nate Beeler’s cartoons here.
News from the Examiner’s staff writers:
Emily Babay and Brian Hughes – Crowds rejoice at White House after news of bin Laden’s death
Flag-waving Washingtonians flocked to the White House after learning of Osama bin Laden’s death, cheering and chanting “USA, USA,” into the early morning hours Sunday night and all afternoon Monday. Read More
Susan Ferrechio – Lawmakers credit Obama, Bush for killing bin Laden
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill put aside their partisanship at least temporarily Monday and praised President Obama for the mission resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden. Read More
Transcript Of President’s Speech – Osama bin Laden Killed
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 2/May/2011 14:51
President of the United States:
“Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory — hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.
And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts. Read the rest of this entry »
AQAP and the Vacuum of Authority in Yemen
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch on 31/Mar/2011 14:43
AQAP and the Vacuum of Authority in Yemen is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
While the world’s attention is focused on the combat transpiring in Libya and the events in Egypt and Bahrain, Yemen has also descended into crisis. The country is deeply split over its support for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and this profound divide has also extended to the most powerful institutions in the country — the military and the tribes — with some factions calling for Saleh to relinquish power and others supporting him. The tense standoff in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa has served to divert attention (and security forces) from other parts of the country.
On March 28, an explosion at a munitions factory in southern Yemen killed at least 110 people. The factory, which reportedly produced AK rifles and ammunition, was located in the town of Jaar in Abyan province. Armed militants looted the factory March 27, and the explosion reportedly occurred the next day as local townspeople were rummaging through the factory. It is not known what sparked the explosion, but it is suspected to have been an accident, perhaps caused by careless smoking. Read the rest of this entry »
Al Qaeda’s Libya Pilgrimage
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch on 31/Mar/2011 10:12
From:Daily Beast by Sami Yousafzai
As the battle for the future of Libya continues, the excitement is almost palpable among Libyan-born al Qaeda fighters and other Arabs hunkered down in Pakistan’s remote and lawless tribal area. According to Afghan Taliban sources close to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist group, some of the 200 or so Libyans operating near the Afghan border may be on their way home to steer the anti-Gaddafi revolution in a more Islamist direction.
Solution: Kill The Enemy
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 7/Dec/2010 18:10
The Washington Examiner has a great article on our military capturing and releasing combatants.
A marine stationed in southern Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand province told The Examiner that efforts to detain insurgent fighters are “worthless.”
Earlier this year, his unit held a man known to be working with the Taliban. The Marines had gathered evidence that the man was transporting hundreds of pounds of bomb-making equipment and explosives for the Taliban. But, shortly after they captured him, he was set free.
“Less than two weeks later, we saw the same guy walking through the bazaar,” said the marine, who spoke on condition that he not be named. “He recognized us. I wanted to shoot him right then and there. We got the guy, and yet there he was, walking around planning to kill again, and we couldn’t do a thing about it.”
If the military brass and politicians would stop trying to direct the war and instead focus on killing those who take up arms against us and those who are helping them, I think the morale of the soldiers would be higher and the war would be over. It seems ever since World War II we decided to fight the rest of our wars with one hand tied behind our back.
Al Qaeda Unlucky Again in Cargo Bombing Attempt
Al Qaeda Unlucky Again in Cargo Bombing Attempt is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
The Oct. 29 discovery of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) inside two packages shipped from Yemen launched a widespread search for other devices, and more than two dozen suspect packages have been tracked down so far. Some have been trailed in dramatic fashion, as when two U.S. F-15 fighter aircraft escorted an Emirates Air passenger jet Oct. 29 as it approached and landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. To date, however, no other parcels have been found to contain explosive devices.
The two parcels that did contain IEDs were found in East Midlands, England, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and both appear to have been sent by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Qaeda’s jihadist franchise in Yemen. As we’ve long discussed, AQAP has demonstrated a degree of creativity in planning its attacks and an intent to attack the United States. It has also demonstrated the intent to attack aircraft, as evidenced by the failed Christmas Day bombing in 2009 involving Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to detonate an explosive device concealed in his underwear on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
A tactical analysis of the latest attempt suggests that the operation was not quite as creative as past attempts, though it did come very close to achieving its primary objective, which in this case (apparently) was to destroy aircraft. It does not appear that the devices ultimately were intended to be part of an attack against the Jewish institutions in the United States to which the parcels were addressed. Although the operation failed in its primary mission (taking down aircraft) it was successful in its secondary mission, which was to generate worldwide media coverage and sow fear and disruption in the West. Read the rest of this entry »
Mauritania sentences 3 al-Qaida suspects to death
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Law, News, Threat Watch on 20/Oct/2010 19:09
Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital city, North-West Africa
“NOUAKCHOTT — A court in Mauritania has condemned three alleged al-Qaida members to death, including the former leader of the African nation’s local terrorist network.
Chief judge Khayi Ould Mohamed issued the sentences late Wednesday in the capital, Nouakchott.
The former al-Qaida leader, El Khadim Ould Semene, was accused of helping organize an attack on the Israeli embassy here two years ago.”
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/10/20/5324487-mauritania-sentences-3-al-qaida-suspects-to-death
The 9/11 Anniversary and What Didn’t Happen
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch on 20/Sep/2010 15:10
The 9/11 Anniversary and What Didn’t Happen is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
Sept. 11, 2010, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, was a day of solemn ceremony, remembrance and reflection. It was also a time to consider the U.S. reaction to the attack nine years ago, including the national effort to destroy al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in order to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks. Of course, part of the U.S. reaction to 9/11 was the decision to invade Afghanistan, and the 9/11 anniversary also provided a time to consider how the United States is now trying to end its Afghanistan campaign so that it can concentrate on more pressing matters elsewhere.
The run-up to the anniversary also saw what could have been an attempted terrorist attack in another Western country. On Sept. 10 in Denmark, a potential bombing was averted by the apparent accidental detonation of an improvised explosive device in a bathroom at a Copenhagen hotel. The Danish authorities have not released many details of the incident, but it appears that the suspect may have been intending to target the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which has been targeted in the past because it published cartoons featuring the Prophet Mohammed in 2005. Groups such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have tried hard to ensure that the anger over the cartoon issue does not die down, and it apparently has not. It is important to note that even if the perpetrator had not botched it, the plot — at least as we understand it so far — appears to have involved a simple attack plan and would not have resulted in a spectacular act of terrorism.
Yet in spite of the failed attack in Denmark and all the 9/11 retrospection, perhaps the most interesting thing about the 9/11 anniversary in 2010, at least from an analytical perspective, was what did not happen. For the first time, the al Qaeda core leadership did not issue a flurry of slick, media-savvy statements to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. And the single statement they did release was not nearly as polished or pointed as past anniversary messages. This has caused us to pause, reflect and wonder if the al Qaeda leadership is losing its place at the ideological forefront of the jihadist cause. Read the rest of this entry »
9/11 and the 9-Year War
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch on 8/Sep/2010 15:40
9/11 and the 9-Year War is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By George Friedman
It has now been nine years since al Qaeda attacked the United States. It has been nine years in which the primary focus of the United States has been on the Islamic world. In addition to a massive investment in homeland security, the United States has engaged in two multi-year, multi-divisional wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, inserted forces in other countries in smaller operations and conducted a global covert campaign against al Qaeda and other radical jihadist groups.
In order to understand the last nine years you must understand the first 24 hours of the war — and recall your own feelings in those 24 hours. First, the attack was a shock, its audaciousness frightening. Second, we did not know what was coming next. The attack had destroyed the right to complacent assumptions. Were there other cells standing by in the United States? Did they have capabilities even more substantial than what they showed on Sept. 11? Could they be detected and stopped? Any American not frightened on Sept. 12 was not in touch with reality. Many who are now claiming that the United States overreacted are forgetting their own sense of panic. We are all calm and collected nine years after.
At the root of all of this was a profound lack of understanding of al Qaeda, particularly its capabilities and intentions. Since we did not know what was possible, our only prudent course was to prepare for the worst. That is what the Bush administration did. Nothing symbolized this more than the fear that al Qaeda had acquired nuclear weapons and that they would use them against the United States. The evidence was minimal, but the consequences would be overwhelming. Bush crafted a strategy based on the worst-case scenario. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakistan Aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, Leaked Reports Assert
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 26/Jul/2010 00:41
Nadeem Khan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, center, the former head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, was arrested during a 2007 demonstration.
“Americans fighting the war in Afghanistan have long harbored strong suspicions that Pakistan’s military spy service has guided the Afghan insurgency with a hidden hand, even as Pakistan receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington for its help combating the militants, according to a trove of secret military field reports made public Sunday.
The reports suggest that the Pakistani military has acted as both ally and enemy, as its spy agency runs what American officials have long suspected is a double game — appeasing certain American demands for cooperation while angling to exert influence in Afghanistan through many of the same insurgent networks that the Americans are fighting to eliminate.
Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul ran the ISI from 1987 to 1989, a time when Pakistani spies and the C.I.A. joined forces to run guns and money to Afghan militias who were battling Soviet troops in Afghanistan. After the fighting stopped, he maintained his contacts with the former mujahedeen, who would eventually transform themselves into the Taliban.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26isi.html?_r=1
Fanning the Flames of Jihad
Posted by Gary in Threat Watch on 22/Jul/2010 11:05
By Scott Stewart
On July 11, 2010, al-Malahim Media, the media arm of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published the first edition of its new English-language online magazine “Inspire.” The group had tried to release the magazine in late June, but for some reason — whether a technical glitch, virus (as rumored on some of the jihadist message boards) or cyberattack — most of the initial file released was unreadable.
The magazine was produced by someone who has a moderate amount of technological savvy, who speaks English well and who uses a lot of American idioms and phraseology. We did not note any hint of British or South Asian influence in the writing. A government source has suggested to us (and we have seen the claim repeated in the media) that Inspire was produced by a U.S citizen who was born in Saudi Arabia named Samir Khan. Khan is a well-known cyber-jihadist — indeed, The New York Times did an excellent story on Khan in October 2007. Given Khan’s background, history of publishing English-language jihadist material and the fact that he reportedly left the United States for Yemen in 2009 and has not returned, it does seem plausible that he is the driving force behind Inspire.
“This report is republished with the permission of STRATFOR: www.STRATFOR.com.”
Female suicide bombers: Al-Qaeda intends to send 25 Female suicide bombers to Diala
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 17/Jul/2010 16:33
Diala, Jun 15, (VOI) – An Iraqi local official warned that al-Qaeda intends to send 25 female suicide bombers to Diala, one day after a deadly bombing that struck soccer fans who were watching their national team win a big match.
14 female suicide bombers blew themselves up in Diala in the last six months according to intelligence tips and the province statistics Ibrahim al-Bajalan, chief of Diala’s provincial council, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
The local official noted some of the 14 female suicide bombers were not Iraqi nationals.
The announcement came one day after a female suicide bomber targeted a crowd of soccer fans celebrating Iraq’s win in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday, killing two persons and wounding least 37 people near a cafe in Qara Taba, Diala province.
http://patdollard.com/2008/06/no-women-in-aq-al-qaeda-to-send-25-female-suicide-bombers-to-diala/
The 30-Year War in Afghanistan
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch on 1/Jul/2010 15:24
This report is republished with permission of STRATFOR
By George Friedman
The Afghan War is the longest war in U.S. history. It began in 1980 and continues to rage. It began under Democrats but has been fought under both Republican and Democratic administrations, making it truly a bipartisan war. The conflict is an odd obsession of U.S. foreign policy, one that never goes away and never seems to end. As the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal reminds us, the Afghan War is now in its fourth phase.
The Afghan War’s First Three Phases
The first phase of the Afghan War began with the Soviet invasion in December 1979, when the United States, along with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, organized and sustained Afghan resistance to the Soviets. This resistance was built around mujahideen, fighters motivated by Islam. Washington’s purpose had little to do with Afghanistan and everything to do with U.S.-Soviet competition. The United States wanted to block the Soviets from using Afghanistan as a base for further expansion and wanted to bog the Soviets down in a debilitating guerrilla war. The United States did not so much fight the war as facilitate it. The strategy worked. The Soviets were blocked and bogged down. This phase lasted until 1989, when Soviet troops were withdrawn. Read the rest of this entry »