An American Warning

ZAWAHIRI: JIHAD WILL CONTINUE DESPITE OBAMA

Counterterrorism Blog — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:10:06 GMT

As observers were awaiting the release of the "official" al Qaeda position regarding the election of Barack Obama as the new President of the United States, seasoned experts on the Jihadist movement had little doubts as to the substance of the main message. As I have outlined in my appearances on Arabic television channels since November 4, Bin Laden or his second in command was expected to declare that their "Jihad" will continue despite the election of an African American President and despite...(read more)

Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Risks of Having a Big Mouth

Counterterrorism Blog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:21:51 GMT

During several recent conferences concerning extremist radicalization and the web, I have frequently commented that the Internet can often serve as a double-edged sword for terrorist organizations: while it may certainly help facilitate their recruitment and communications, the web also offers a wide interactive arena for dissent within these organizations, and it increases the likelihood of overly-talkative terrorist leaders becoming ensnared in awkward Sarah Palin-like moments -- caught in the...(read more)

The Future is Now: Somalia in the New World Order

Counterterrorism Blog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:01:06 GMT

The recent, audacious hijacking of a Saudi oil tanker by Somali pirates, with at least some of the ransom money destined for Islamist militants, shows just how quickly the future has arrived. The criminal-terrorist groups on the Somali coast (largely controlled by radical Islamists of the al-Shabaab group, a self-declared affiliate of al Qaeda central) have in essence declared themselves at war as a joint enterprise, against the rest of the world. Even the Saudis are angry enough to try to join international...(read more)

The Future of the Middle East

Counterterrorism Blog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:55:28 GMT

Yesterday afternoon, the Washington Institute hosted Dr. Tom Fingar, the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, as part of a speaker series we've been running with senior US government counterterrorism officials. Dr. Fingar gave a preview of the soon to be released report, "Global Trends 2025," which will offer the US government's assessment about what the world may look like in 17 years from now. Dr. Fingar focused his remarks on the Middle East, which Fingar noted will still be an "arc...(read more)

NEFA Foundation: Ayman al-Zawahiri on the "Parting of Bush and the Arrival of Obama"

Counterterrorism Blog — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:54:12 GMT

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on November 19, 2008, titled "On the Parting of Bush and the Arrival of Obama .” During the recording, al-Zawahiri issued a message to U.S. President-Elect Obama, warning him of the "heavy legacy of failure and crimes [which] awaits you" and accusing Obama of having the "same criminal American mentality towards the world and towards the Muslims" as the Bush administration. Zawahiri...(read more)

Mobile Opportunities

Counterterrorism Blog — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:30:22 GMT

Last week, Andy Cochran, wisely urged the incoming administration to develop the legal and institutional capabilities needed to deal with mobile banking. There is no question that terrorists and criminals will demonstrate tremendous creativity in stealing from mobile banking or cel-phone payment systems or using these new technologies to transfer and launder money. Time and again, the Internet being only the latest example, terrorists and criminals have shown themselves extraordinarily talented at...(read more)

Aarvark's and Avatars

Counterterrorism Blog — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:22:57 GMT

There continues to be some discussion and rejection of the idea that terrorists would be able to exploit new technology platforms such as social networking and virtual worlds. In a recent post the blogger Abu Aardvark (aka Marc Lynch from GW University) goes some way in debunking ideas surrounding terrorist use of social networking, Wiki’s and virtual worlds. He further states that Al Qaeda is now behind the curve in using the area of user-generated content and interactivity. While, the aardvark’s...(read more)

NEFA Foundation: Al-Qaida Faction in Gaza Claims Rocket Attacks on Israeli Targets (VIDEO)

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:36:09 GMT

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a video recording from an emerging Palestinian Al-Qaida faction based in the Gaza Strip, Jaish al-Ummah ("The Army of the Islamic Nation"), claiming responsibility for rocket attacks on the town of Ashkelon and other Israeli targets on November 14, 2008 . The video includes footage of the purported launch of the rockets, and a statement read by two masked militants in front of the official banner used by Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI). The spokesmen indicated...(read more)

Hizb ut-Tahrir America May Be Ready for Its Public Debut

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:02:00 GMT

Hizb ut-Tahrir America (HTA) may perceive itself as ready to emerge from the shadows. A leaflet credited to HTA was posted today to Khalifah.com, one of the few official Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) web sites. It is the first time that the global organization has formally acknowledged the existence of HTA. The leaflet, originally dated October 28, 2008, is titled " Cooperate in Piety or Sin? Participation in the American Election ." It calls for American Muslims not to participate in the U.S. presidential...(read more)

NEFA Foundation: Lessons Learned From the Campaign Against the FARC in Colombia

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:59:28 GMT

The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by NEFA Senior Investigator Douglas Farah titled "Lessons Learned from the Campaign Against the FARC in Colombia." This paper is the fourth NEFA Foundation report on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-FARC), Latin America's oldest and largest insurgency. The FARC was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997 and by the European Union in 2005. The Colombian government's successful...(read more)

Somalia's Collapse (Again)

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:15:39 GMT

Perhaps no venue outside the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region is a more important venue for radical Islamists than Somalia. Somalia is viewed as an historic battleground where the United States and United Nations were defeated once, and where al Qaeda and like-minded groups can build the beginning of the caliphate, that will rule the world according to Sharia law. Now, it seems the jihadists have made an improbable comeback are again on the verge of taking power. How this has come to pass is a...(read more)

Holy Land FoundationThe Retrial

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:57:53 GMT

The second Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial was completed last week and went to the jury for deliberation. The first trial ended in October 2007, when the jury could not reach a verdict and the judge had to declare a mistrial. This case is extremely complex and challenging in many respects. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) should be commended for not backing away from the complexities, risks and challenges posed and for being committed to rightfully retry this matter. The reality is, regardless...(read more)

Hizballah Calls for Referendum on its Weapons?

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:48:24 GMT

This week, a Hezbollah official said his organization would call for a referendum in Lebanon over the Iranian-backed militia. This unprecendented statement signals a new stage in Hezbollah's gradual moves to dominate the country's defense and security apparatuses. After having crumbled the first Seniora cabinet in May 2008 and succeeded in forcing the Government -after the Doha agreement- to recognize the "legality of the resistance," the group is exploring the possibility of bypassing the UN resolution...(read more)

Obama: Killing Bin Laden 'Top Priority'

Counterterrorism Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:01:50 GMT

President-Elect Obama didn’t mince words about his plans for Al Qaeda’s top thugs in an interview broadcast tonight. “I think it is a top priority for us to stamp out al Qaeda once and for all,” Obama told CBS’ “60 Minutes.” “I think capturing or killing (Osama) Bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out Al Qaeda. He is not just a symbol, he’s also the operational leader of an organization that is planning attacks against U.S. targets.”...(read more)

If Not Now, When?

Rubicon — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:56:00 GMT

It is a fact that conservatives have remained loyal to Republican politicians who have sold our liberties like drug addicts sell their family members’ possessions for a fix. And like drug addicts, when Republicans were called on this treachery conservatives got lies, promises and empty gestures in response. ...(read more)

First Unofficial Obama Positions on New War Strategies: A Discussion

Counterterrorism Blog — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:52:33 GMT

In an effort to engage in an early discussion of the forthcoming Administration's policies regarding the War Strategies, I have reviewed and analyzed comments made by sources representing the national security team to the Washington Post about the "new strategies" to be explored regarding Afghanistan and Iran. Since the transition is taking place during an ongoing global conflict, it is important to discuss the propositions made by the forthcoming Administration, including at an exploration stage,...(read more)

Employment Application

NRANews Channel — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:00:00 GMT

The Obama administration's employment application proves what NRA has been saying: the Obama administration is anti-firearms ownership and anti-Second Amendment. And as this litmus test shows, they have every intention of putting together an administration that is hostile to firearms ownership and to Second Amendment rights. One of their first official acts is to make a list of gun owners among their own employees. It proves where their hearts are. It shows what their philosophy is. This is more...(read more)

It Doesn't Take Intelligence: 'Change' Is Coming

Counterterrorism Blog — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:31 GMT

It’s a curious thing about elections: they have consequences. Still, Washington’s favorite parlor game (for those who have parlors) at the moment is the peculiar effort to divine which Bush appointees will be sticking around in Barack Obama’s first term. The slogan was “Change We Need,” folks, not “Bush Act III.” Of course, with Rahm Emanuel and John Podesta as the President-Elect’s sherpas, you could argue this is really, “Star Wars: Return of...(read more)

Getting the Big Ideas Right: The Strategic Concepts that Helped Achieve Substantial Progress in Iraq

The Heritage Foundation Papers: Middle East — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:06:02 GMT

U.S., coalition, and Iraqi forces have made substantial and durable progress in providing security and stability for the Iraqi people; but security alone is an insufficient foundation for maintaining the hard-fought successes achieved to date, and any assessment should be tempered by an understanding of the numerous economic, diplomatic, political, informational, rule of law, and capacity-building challenges the Iraqis must still address....(read more)

A Treasury Designation and a Curious Omission

Counterterrorism Blog — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:57:09 GMT

The Treasury Department's decision to designate the Union of Good for funding Hamas is welcome and overdue. What is interesting, however, as noted by the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report (free registration required) is that the designation does not directly touch Yousef al-Qaradawi, the head of the organization and the leading theologian for the Muslim Brotherhood. Here is his website where he is listed with the Union of Good president. The reasons for the OFAC designation is stated as: The...(read more)

NEFA Foundation: Taliban Reaction to Obama Presidency

Counterterrorism Blog — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:19:24 GMT

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new statement from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban) addressed to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama . The Taliban assess that "the overwhelming victory of Barrack Obama, the candidate of the Democrats in the US Presidential Election and his assumption of US presidency reveals the collective willingness of American people not to continue the current despicable and anti-human wars in Afghanistan and Iraq --- wars that have been launched by W. Bush."...(read more)

Target: America: JFK Plot

Counterterrorism Blog — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:13:03 GMT

The NEFA Foundation has released the sixteenth installment in the “Target: America” series, which examines the 2006/07 plot to attack jet fuel tanks and the adjoining fuel pipeline at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The attack was conceived by Guyanese-American Russell Defreitas, a former cargo handler at JFK. Defreitas conspired from New York, with others located in Guyana, and with an FBI informant he befriended in New York. Defreitas and the informant...(read more)

The Return of the Shining Path and the Criminal-Terrorist Nexus

Counterterrorism Blog — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:00:30 GMT

For those of us who were covering the conflicts in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s, there was no group more terrifying than Peru's Shining Path ( Sendero Luminoso ) an Maoist organization intent on causing rivers of blood to flow in order to achieve the proletariat utopia. After many years and countless dead, Sendero was largely dismantled and its chief ideologue , Abimael Guzman, who ran a horrific cult of personality, was jailed. The group was widely thought to have been put out of business...(read more)

Iraqi Insurgents Issue Open Letter to President-Elect Obama

Counterterrorism Blog — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:13:56 GMT

The NEFA Foundation has obtained an Arabic-language communiqué issued by the Political Council of the Iraqi Resistance (PCIR), an umbrella organization which oversees the political interests of several major Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq—including the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), the Salahudeen al-Ayyubi Brigades (JAAMI), Hamas al-Iraq, and the breakaway “Shariah Committee” from the former Ansar al-Sunnah Army . The statement from the PCIR, addressed to U.S. President-elect Barack...(read more)

Steel Yourself

NRANews Channel — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:00:00 GMT

The inauguration of Barack Obama hasn't even taken place yet, but already the gun control advocates are demanding action from the next president. The Brady Campaign is already demanding action on a semi-auto ban ... a ban that Barack Obama supports. We can't wait until Carolyn McCarthy or Chuck Schumer introduces a gun ban in Congress. Now's the time for us to talk to our elected representatives and remind them of the importance of our Second Amendment rights. We need to remind them that they represent...(read more)