A federal judge ruled Monday that some foreign terror suspects held in Cuba can challenge their confinement in U.S. courts and she criticized the Bush administration for holding hundreds of people without legal rights.

Judge Joyce Hens Green, handling claims filed by more than 50 detainees, said the Supreme Court made clear last year that they have constitutional rights that lower courts should enforce.

The War on Terror “cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over 200 years,” she wrote.

Read more…

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• China is purchasing the capability to destroy entire carrier battle groups, the backbone of the US ability to project power globally. That turns out to be what the strategic bomber purchase from Russia we reported recently was about.

• Russia officers are implicated in the Belsan massacre. Two high ranking officers have been arrested.

• Al Qaeda failed to thwart the Iraq elections as it vowed to do.

• North Korea is reported to have purchased a complete nuclear bomb from a former Soviet Republic or from Pakistan. Speaking of which, is the Juche regime finally starting to collapse?

Other Topics Today Include:
U.S. possibly testing Iran’s air defenses; Iran is manufacturing chemical weapons; EU negotiations with Iran hit a wall; Iran nearing nuclear point of no return; El Baradei wants more intelligence on Iran; Turkey sounding alarm over Kurds in Kirkuk; Oman roundup; Hamas, Hezbollah stick to their suicide belts; Israel considering freeing schoolbus bombers; Iran, Russia equip Hezbollah, Syria with missiles respectively; contract awarded for new fleet of Marine One helicopters; domestic sabotage reports examined; Islamic charity terror links probed shocka; somebody set us up the antimatter bomb; Lenovo purchase of IBM PC division in jeopardy; tighter border security; Qaddafi whines; Sudan bombs Darfur; Phillippines bombs JI/Al Qaeda camps killing 40; Congress waking up to China threat; Pakistan breakup coming?; China wheels and deals with Chavez; Get your national security documents on Kazaa; UK officials lament loss of terrorist detention powers; Israelis develop TATP-explosives detection device; China reselling missile designs it developed for Iran; Hezbollah hiring European spies; bioterror response wargame shows preparedness gaps, Albright involved for unfathomable reasons; rogue elements in Nicaragua dealing in MANPADs and more…

A bomb exploded Sunday in a Mediterranean resort hotel in southeast Spain after a telephone warning from the Basque separatist group ETA , Interior Ministry officials said.

The ministry office in the southeast Alicante region said it did not know whether there were any casualties.

The bomb detonated in the Hotel Port Denia around 3:15 p.m., the news agency Efe reported. The town of Denia is located in the Spanish region of Alicante on the Costa Blanca and is popular with tourists.

Efe quoted police as saying the warning call was placed to police in the Basque region. The hotel was immediately evacuated and the bomb exploded about 30 minutes later.

More…

From Reuters via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

A gun battle just outside Kuwait City has left five people dead.

State television says a policeman, three suspected militants and a civilian were killed during a raid on a suspected Islamic militant hideout.

One militant suspect is reported to have been arrested.

Witnesses say police fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at two buildings they had surrounded in the Salmiya district near the largest American military base in Kuwait.

The gun battle came just days after another clash left three people dead and a day after the Government and the US embassy warned more militant attacks were possible.

The British and French embassy had also warned their citizens to be vigilant. Two Kuwaiti security officers and two gunmen were killed in clashes between police and militants earlier this month.

One might say,”It’s about d@mn time!”…

From CounterTerror blog, the folks who brought us Diplomad.

Treasury {Dept} Designates al-Zarqawi & al Qaida Financier - Involved in Jordan Chemical Bomb Plot

Asa Hutchinson told a newspaper he plans to resign his post with the Homeland Security Department on Monday after he was passed over twice by the Bush administration to be secretary of the department.

Hutchinson, a former Arkansas congressman and former federal drug czar, is the undersecretary for border and transportation security issues. He said his resignation would be effective March 1 to allow a more seamless transition when secretary-designate Michael Chertoff takes over the department from Tom Ridge ).

“It was just a good time to change for me personally and for the department,” Hutchinson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

More…

Is the White House about to double the bounty on Osama bin Laden’s head to $50 million? TIME magazine thinks so.

Anyone think this will help? Suppose there’s someone, huddled in north Pakistan, who’s now going to say, “For $25 million, I wouls never give up brother Osama. But $50 million? Hmmm …”

John Venlet doesn’t think so. Further, a careful reading of social network analysis would also prompt an answer of “No.” Close networks, like al Qaeda, like clans, are not prone to this type of influence.

Still, it can’t hurt, can it? I just hope we’re not banking on that particular solution (pardon the pun).

While on the topic of social network analysis an AQ, see this Global Guerrillas post, which points to Connecting The Dots—a social network analysis of the terror network.

This from a tip on our Tip Line Forum: Arab News reports that Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, warned millions of pilgrims honoring Eid Al-Adha against heeding militant calls to wage terrorist attacks in the name of Islam.

He also advised Islamic scholars to preach moderation.

Islam is the religion of moderation. There is no room for extremism in Islam …

… protect non-Muslims in the Kingdom and not to attack them in the country or anywhere. Islam is a religion of peace that abhors attack on innocents …

… Because Muslims have strayed from moderation, we are now suffering from this dangerous phenomenon of branding people infidels and inciting Muslims to rise against their leaders to cause instability.

Well. That’s certainly what one would hope to hear preached to the masses, is it not? Let’s just hope someone is listening.

I also notice this story isn’t getting much attention. A quick Technorati search shows that Untold Millions has linked to it, but among MSM not one … not one … US outlet has noted his comments save Reuters. India, UK, South Africa, and Arab press only.

International counterterrorism authorities are looking for a Moroccan fugitive who may have attended a pivotal meeting with the plotters of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and is believed to have played a logistical role in the train bombings last year in Madrid, Spain.

The fugitive, Amer Azizi, appears to connect a group of terror operatives and may exemplify al Qaeda’s decentralization — a trend about which U.S. intelligence officials have warned.

New information from federal authorities indicates Azizi may have provided lodging to people involved in the backpack bombings of the Spanish commuter trains, according to U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

More…

Update to this post.

A Chinese woman wanted in connection with an alleged terror plot against Boston has been in U.S. custody since mid-November and has no known ties to terrorism, the FBI said Saturday.

Mei Xia Dong, one of 14 people being sought by the agency, was arrested November 11 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on a suspected immigration violation, the FBI said in a statement posted on its Web site.

She is being held at a facility in San Diego, California, the release said.

A federal investigation “has determined that Mei Xia Dong paid an undisclosed sum to human smugglers to be brought into the United States through Mexico. It appears at this time that Mei Xia Dong’s motives for entering the U.S. may have been for economic reasons. The investigation thus far does not tie her to any terrorist group.”

She had been identified originally by the FBI as a man.

More…

Just breaking on Fox, no link yet

Previous story about Boston terror plot….

Although, this story says that the terror plot was a hoax set up for revenge.

Fox now has the story:

One of the 13 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in a terror plot against Boston was in custody and being questioned by authorities on Saturday, FBI sources told FOX News.

Authorities were interrogating Mei Xia Dong about her involvement in a possible terrorist plot against Boston that was made public in an FBI report Friday. Airport and transit authorities responded to the report by boosting security — adding patrols, activating radiation detectors and posting pictures of some of the suspects.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Joe has a good round-up of news and analyses surrounding the possible dirty bomb threat.

• Syria and Hezbollah are in the Zionist-Crusader crosshairs. Israel is considering an air attack on Syria, and the Israeli cabinet has approved, in principle, an IDF operation in Lebanon. On the American side of things, the 20th January deadline for Syria to close terrorist camps has been and gone, if we go by Damascus time.

• The commander of the Army of Mohammed says his group received money and arms from Iran and Syria.

• Iranian president Mohammed Khatami has said that the chances of a U.S. attack on Iran is “very low”.

• One of Saddam’s cousins has been bankrolling the insurgency from Leeds, to the tune of $35 million.
  
  Other Topics Today Include: Hezbollah to bomb London; Iranian rapid reaction force; 20km rockets in Gaza; Martyrs ceasefire; Dane detained in Israel; Jordan boosts security; Jersey Jihad; FBI watches Islamic missionaries; Basayev not in Chechnia; Omar Bakri Mohammed joins al-Qaeda; Spain holds 9/11 man; Germany tackles immigration; France helps peace; US/UK special forces in Karachi; Omar statement; and much more.

Jeffrey Imm is kind enought to send this along, which I’ve augmented with information from the page at FBI.

The FBI today is alerting the public to new persons of interest in the unspecified potential threat to the City of Boston , beyond the names and photographs of four Chinese nationals released in a January 19, 2005 , press release in Boston.

The names of these new persons, identified through our ongoing investigation, are:

1. Yu Xian Weng , female, possible date of birth (DOB) 4/5/64 and Chinese passport #P5997636 or DOB 10/4/63 and Chinese passport #G07457027
2. Qinquan Lin , or Qiquan Lin, male, possible DOB 3/6/83 and Chinese passport #G04152197
3. Liqiang Liang, male, possible DOB 9/1/76 and Chinese passport #G07074257
4. Min Xiu Xie, male, possible DOB 11/21/77 and Chinese passport #G08386268
5. Xiang Wei Liu, or Xing Wei Liu, male, possible DOB 5/30/82 and Chinese passport #G053490L8
6. Mei Xia Dong, male, possible DOB 10/25/83
7. Xiuming Chen, male
8. Cheng Yin Liu, male
9. Zao Yun Wang, male
10. Jose Ernesto Beltran Quinones, male

Photographs of these individuals are not available. None of the names has been validated as a “person of interest” on any previously existing “watch list”.

We ask that members of the public, if they have any information about these individuals, bring it to the attention of the FBI at (617) 742-5533; to their closest FBI office (contact information for field offices is located at http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm ); or to the FBI tipline at http://tips.fbi.gov.

Although the FBI and White House continue to downplay rumors concerning a "dirty bomb" in Boston, additional information indicates that state agencies and officials are taking it quite seriously. New Hampshire's Seacoast Online reports:

Authorities insisted there was no confirmed threat, but Massachusetts officials asked New Hampshire to put its radiological response teams on standby. Those are the people who would respond to nuclear incidents, such as a "dirty" bomb that releases radioactive material. The FBI tip mentioned a dirty bomb attack. Bruce Cheney, director of New Hampshire Emergency Services, said Massachusetts authorities asked his agency to be ready with radiological testing technicians. Emergency Management spokesman Jim Van Dongen said New Hampshire is ready to respond with specific equipment that could be used in a nuclear incident. "The reason they called New Hampshire, besides being next door, is because of the nuclear plants," Van Dongen said, referring to the plant at Seabrook and in Vernon, Vt., just over the New Hampshire border. "We have radiological equipment that could be used. They wanted to give us a heads up."

Investigators are also continuing their efforts to corroborate the anonymous caller's tip about the two Iraqis and four Chinese nationals allegedly smuggled across the U.S.-Mexican border.

In attempts to determine the caller's credibility, the Joint Terrorism Task Force in San Diego was trying to locate a tunnel in Imperial County identified by the smuggler as a route for either the Chinese nationals or for the nuclear material, San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne said yesterday. Other agencies declined to comment on the possibility of a tunnel. (From SignOn San Diego)

The Associated Press reports that federal judge threw out a lawsuit by foreign-born terror suspects challenging their detention in Guantanamo Bay. ruling that last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling did not provide them the legal basis to win their freedom:

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Congress had authorized the president to order the detention of “enemy combatants” for the duration of the war on terror.

The lawsuit by seven of the roughly 550 detainees being held at the U.S. Navy base failed to show valid legal grounds to overturn that power, Leon said. As a result, the proper place to contest their detainment is before military review boards, not federal courts.

The government’s lawyers have argued that the detainees have no rights at all, so their challenges should be dismissed outright. Judge Leon agreed.

From California Yankee.

J. Quinton blogs the rumours and updates re: a dirty bomb search underway in Boston. There are a couple things about this story that don’t quite add, and our advice in these cases is always to treat such reports with extreme caution and skepticism… having said that, something is clearly up.

If you want to know more about the subject in general, Winds of Change.NET has a detailed briefing re: “dirty” bombs contaminated with radioactive material or chemical/biological agents. It deals with past experiences, the limitations of these weapons, and the potential damage. The BBC later ran a short bit in February 2003 called What If a Dirty Bomb Hit London? The extremely brief summary: the public reaction to a radioactive dirty bomb is probably a bigger danger than the weapon.

In Feb. 2004, Trent Telenko offered evidence that key U.S. cities may be difficult targets for radioactive dirty bombs. But if you ever do face this kind of emergency, you’ll wish you had listened to Armed Liberal and assembled a Bug Out/Get Home kit. Got yours yet?

UPDATE: This article offers some mug shots, and also puts the current goings-on in context. Good journalism. Martinipundit has better pictures.

The original Drudge headline said “search on for dirty bomb.” It’s since changed and this story appears above the fold:

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has partially activated its emergency response team this afternoon after the FBI triggered a massive manhunt yesterday for six people who may pose a terrorist threat to the city of Boston. Public safety officials are now holed up in the emergency bunker in Framingham until the threat has passed…. Developing.

The linked story says this:

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has been placed on standby, and public safety officials are meeting at the bunker, according to a published report Wednesday.

There have been reports that the FBI office in Boston received a call from an FBI office in California warning officials about a suspicious person that may be in the area, according to the Boston Herald’s Web site.

No specific threats have been confirmed, but FBI agents in Boston have been put on alert, and officials started to gather at MEMA at about 1:30 p.m.

NewsCenter 5 and TheBostonChannel.com will have more information as it becomes available.

This one is a bit more specific:

Boston terror threat probed

Federal and state authorities are investigating a nuclear terrorist threat against Boston after a man calling from Mexico told California police that he smuggled two Iraqis and four Chinese over the border, the Boston Herald has learned.
“They got a call from across the border in Mexico to the California Highway Patrol and he said he brought two Iraqis and four Chineses (individuals)across the border and according to him, they stated soon to follow behind them would be some sort of material,” said a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

“He refers to some sort of nuclear material that will follow them through New York up into Boston.”
According to the source, the caller has not identified himself and did not show up for a meeting with federal investigators in California but he did leave pictures of four Chinese men and some names at a “drop” site at the Mexico-California border.
“They were dropped by the source at a location. He literally threw them over a fence from Mexico to the U.S. side,” said the source. “There are pictures of the four Chinese and some names but just how accurate they are remains a question”

More here:

“There is no specific threat or target indicated.”

More at Boston.com

Update: Fox has finally picked up the story:

Boston on Alert for Four Terror Suspects

The FBI notified area law enforcement Wednesday to be on the lookout for four possible terror suspects who may be headed to Boston.

A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter remains under investigation, told The Associated Press that the FBI’s joint terrorism task force has not yet corroborated a tip that the suspects entered the United States through Mexico in recent days, possibly bound for Boston.

Update: This story says they are searching for six men, not four.

For those who are interested, Weaponsurvey.com offers an overview of “Palestinian weapons production and smuggling.”

Palestinian security forces intend to disarm militant factions as part of a plan to prevent attacks on Israelis. Reuters reports that Bashir Nafe, commander of Special Forces and tipped as a possible security chief for the West Bank and Gaza, said:

“The instructions are clear … Weapons that don’t belong to the Palestinian police are illegal. So wherever illegal weapons are found, we will collect them,” Nafe told Reuters.

“There is no leadership in the world that gets elected on a peaceful program and leaves arms in the hands of militias and other groups,” he said.

From California Yankee.

Bloomberg reports that the Supreme Court refused to review of the constitutionality of procedures for the military tribunals set up to try Guantanamo Bay detainees.

The justices made no comment in turning away arguments by Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who asked the court to prohibit military trials that don’t adhere to the requirements of the Geneva Conventions. The Bush administration says the Geneva Conventions don’t apply to its fight against bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.

The Court rejection of Hamdan’s case means the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider the case first. The Circuit Court will hear the case on March 8.

From California Yankee.

From the BBC:

A car bomb explosion has injured a police officer in a town near Bilbao, in the Basque region of northern Spain.

The blast rocked Getxo as police were sealing off the area, 10 minutes after a tip-off from a caller claiming to represent the Basque separatists Eta.

The explosion, at 1430 (1330 GMT) on Tuesday, shattered many windows, the Spanish TV station Telecinco reported.

It came amid growing speculation that Eta might call a ceasefire. Madrid has ruled out talks unless Eta disarms.

Posted by Franco Aleman at 11:32 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Agence France Presse reports that Russian security forces foiled a mass hostage-taking by pro-Chechen rebels in southern Russia on the scale of the bloody Beslan school massacre.

AFP quoted Nikolai Gryaznov, head of the FSB security service in Dagestan:

“The bandits destroyed in Kaspiysk and Makhachkala were preparing a terrorist act similar to Beslan,” the Interfax news agency quoted Gryaznov as saying.

“We made use of intelligence information, carried out dozens of raids and searches. This allowed us to corner the criminal group preparing terrorist acts,” he said.

According to AFP a member of the Russian parliament from Dagestan told journalists that the militants had planned to seize a school:

“It was the same plan as Beslan, they were preparing to seize a school,” lawmaker Gadzhi Makachev told the NTV channel.

From California Yankee.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• This analysis argues that Syria is building a potent nuclear program with Iran’s assistance and help.

• Was the Western ban on missile technology export to India counterproductive? India’s indigenous precision and nuclear-warhead armable missiles are now of sufficient quality that they can be proliferated to other states.

• Israel has asked Moscow to call off its reported deal to sell Syria Igla surface to air missiles. So has the US-in fact, the US is threatening Russia with sanctions if the sale goes through. Cum grano salis: DEBKA says it all starts with Putin’s resentment that Sharon won’t move against Russian oligarchs plotting against him in Israel.

• Russia and China continue to edge closer to strategic partnership as Russia offers to sell China strategic bombers.

• A surprisingly sophisticated Al Qaeda strategy and policy document from September 2003 advocated bombing Spain as the weakest link in the Coalition.

Other Topics Today Include:
Iran soon to enrich uranium;Iranian agent arrested in Kuwait;IAEA finally to inspect Parchin;Nobelist Shirin Ebadi summonsed to Revolutionary Court;overview of Iranian terror sponsorship;IDF resumes operations in PA;US makes cross eyes at Syria;Israel to build an antitunneling moat;diminishing returns for Al Qaeda in Saudi;Israeli contacts with Abu Mazen suspended;GIA, GSPC and ETA dying;GIA’s lessons for the Iraq situation;EU prepares to resume arms sales to China;Azerbaijan soon to war with Armenia?;US forces redeploying very soon in Eastern Europe;Bali style bombing threatened in London;USA-Russia MANPAD control accord and more…

Palestinian militants set off a large truck bomb as gunmen stormed an Israeli base at a vital Gaza crossing Thursday, killing five Israelis and wounding five others in an attack that defied peace efforts by new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

The assault, in which three Palestinians attackers were also killed, was by far the biggest since Abbas won an election Sunday to succeed Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas has been trying to persuade militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad to agree to a cease-fire, but so far with no success.

Read more..

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

Apologies for missing the last two weeks - work and exam pressures got in the way of blogging. I got evariste for you though, and he did a great job. Many thanks to him.

Anyways, on with the news.

Top Topics

• The U.S. is set to attack Syria, said Debka. Yes, I was skeptical, too. But then UPI reported something not too different at all. Add to that the warning I noted back in December. Now Syria has ruled out a confrontation with the U.S. I‘m told that Deputy Secretary of State Armitage set a deadline of January 20th for Syria to shut down terrorist training camps.

• Syria again, this time buying various missiles from Russia. Naturally, the Israelis are concerned. The deal includes the SA-10, the SA-18 and the replacement for the Scud, the Iskander-E surface-to-surface missile. While the Iskander could tip the balance in the region, the prospect of advanced SAMs falling in to terrorist hands is what’s keeping the Israeli generals awake at night. The U.S. is warning Russia against the deal. The Russians are denying that any such deal exists, which might be easier to believe if Russian arms experts weren’t defending the sale.

• The search is over. The weapons inspectors are coming home from Iraq. The Debka ticker says the Washington Post will report that the search ended two months ago. The U.S. stands by its claims that Iraq was planning to build WMD.

Other topics today include: Iran to enrich uranium again; Israeli MI - Iranian nukes by 2008; Karni checkpoint attack; Hamas wants suicide bombers and two-state solution {snicker}; Navy diverts supply ships away from Suez; shootout in Kuwait; Saudis jail, lash opponents; EU makes progress wooing Syria; mole in AIVD helped Theo killers; Germans capture 22; Kosovo car bomb; Al-Muhajiroon calls for jihad in Britain; LeT romantic meets his end; Pakistan considers operation in Baluchistan.

Read the Rest…

Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, self described Judge of the Sharia Court of Britain says,

” And I declare we should ourselves join the global Islamic camp against the global crusade camp,”…”The response from the Muslims will be horrendous if the British government continues in the way it treats Muslims,” he said, adding that suicide bombings were a possibility.

Sheikh Omar is listed in the Jewish Virtual Library with a BIO . Interesting fellow.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• Ansar al Islam is seeding Europe with battle-hardened Iraqi veteran terrorists.

• Regime change is in the air as a once-defunct, now-revived Committee On The Present Danger, staffed by such luminaries as George Schultz and James Woolsey, advocates a comprehensive reengagement approach to overthrowing the mullahs.

• At Asia Times, an overview of the faultlines that could shake Asia in the next few years.

• James Dunnigan looks at the wars of 2004.

• A Kuwaiti intellectual asks why the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t on US terrorism lists.

• China’s Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan warned the United States to “mind its own business” in the three-way spat between China, Israel and the United States over Israeli-made Harpy drones that Israel is refurbishing and upgrading for China, and that the US is demanding Israel keep.

Other Topics Today Include:
Iran threatens Europe; Iran continues to brutally quash free speech; New group claims to hold missing Israeli woman; Libya ambassador asked to leave Saudi; 1st video of Dimona reactor; Belligerent Egyptian incursions into Israeli airspace; US gets foreign advice in the war on terror; Mideasterner tries to purchase McVeigh fertilizer explosive; Illegal immigrant detentions, crossings up; Threat chatter level down; Sudan - 1 war ended, 1 genocide ongoing; Philippines; 1st Aussie airport antiterror team; Turkey facing Islamist blowback; Stratfor 9/11 commentary; Afghan judge helped terrorists kill 10 Americans; UK closes Yemen embassy; Pakistan strife reports; US to sell Taiwan Hellfires, purchase 300mn bullets; Spain arrested 130 terrorists in 2004; Belarus authoritarian mocks democratic revolutions; New robotic warriors are coming to the battlefield and much more…

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• Ansar al Islam is seeding Europe with battle-hardened Iraqi veteran terrorists.

• Regime change is in the air as a once-defunct, now-revived Committee On The Present Danger, staffed by such luminaries as George Schultz and James Woolsey, advocates a comprehensive reengagement approach to overthrowing the mullahs.

• At Asia Times, an overview of the faultlines that could shake Asia in the next few years.

• James Dunnigan looks at the wars of 2004.

• A Kuwaiti intellectual asks why the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t on US terrorism lists.

• China’s Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan warned the United States to “mind its own business” in the three-way spat between China, Israel and the United States over Israeli-made Harpy drones that Israel is refurbishing and upgrading for China, and that the US is demanding Israel keep.

Other Topics Today Include:
Iran threatens Europe; Iran continues to brutally quash free speech; New group claims to hold missing Israeli woman; Libya ambassador asked to leave Saudi; 1st video of Dimona reactor; Belligerent Egyptian incursions into Israeli airspace; US gets foreign advice in the war on terror; Mideasterner tries to purchase McVeigh fertilizer explosive; Illegal immigrant detentions, crossings up; Threat chatter level down; Sudan - 1 war ended, 1 genocide ongoing; Philippines; 1st Aussie airport antiterror team; Turkey facing Islamist blowback; Stratfor 9/11 commentary; Afghan judge helped terrorists kill 10 Americans; UK closes Yemen embassy; Pakistan strife reports; US to sell Taiwan Hellfires, purchase 300mn bullets; Spain arrested 130 terrorists in 2004; Belarus authoritarian mocks democratic revolutions; New robotic warriors are coming to the battlefield and much more…

Note: Also available at the “Opinion Journal” and Chrenkoff. Thanks to James Taranto and Joe Katzman for their support for this project, and thanks to readers and bloggers who have done so much to publicize the series and make it better.

Stephen Hayes from “The Weekly Standard”, who has traveled to Afghanistan to witness the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai, quotes from the speech by the country’s first democratically elected leader:

Whatever we have achieved in Afghanistan—the peace, the election, the reconstruction, the life that the Afghans are living today in peace, the children going to school, the businesses, the fact that Afghanistan is again a respected member of the international community—is from the help that the United States of America gave us. Without that help Afghanistan would be in the hands of terrorists—destroyed, poverty-stricken, and without its children going to school or getting an education. We are very, very grateful, to put it in the simple words that we know, to the people of the United States of America for bringing us this day.

Sounds familiar? It shouldn’t. As Hayes writes, “Sadly, most Americans never heard these words. Gratitude, it seems, is not terribly newsworthy. Neither is democracy. The Washington Post played Karzai’s inauguration on page A-13, a placement that suggested it was relatively less important than Eliot Spitzer’s decision to run for governor of New York or the decision of the U.S. government to import flu vaccine from Germany.” As columnist Charles Krauthammer commented on the mainstream media’s reaction to the inauguration, “Miracle begets yawn.”

Yet, ironically, one of the most comprehensive and most optimistic overviews of the tremendous progress achieved in Afghanistan over the past three years comes, of all places, from an official Chinese press agency Xinhua (just consider the surreal picture of Chinese newsmen celebrating democratic election and defeat of “anti-US” Taliban). If you want to read the “good news from Afghanistan” in one short, sharp piece, go Xinhua; if you are after more detail about all the positive - and under-reported, yawn-inducing - developments in Afghanistan over the past month, read on.

• Society
  
• Reconstruction
  
• Humanitarian Aid
  
• The Coalition troops
  
• Security

The Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades in Khan Yunis kidnapped Saturday afternoon two Spanish journalists, sources in the Gaza Strip told The Jerusalem Post.

According to sources based in Gaza, representatives of the PA Preventive Security Service are currently conducting negotiations with Aksa Brigades members for the release of the journalists.

The abduction apparently took place at the Tufrah Junction in the southern Gaza Strip.

Sources told the Post that the abductors are the same militants who took part in the July kidnapping of four French nationals. The French, two men and two women, were kidnapped as they were drinking coffee at a cafe in Khan Yunis.

Read more…

[via TBIFOC]

From the Sydney Morning Herald :

Radical Islamic groups best known for smashing bars and violent support of the jailed cleric Abu Bakar Bashir have sent large contingents of their members to Aceh with funding provided by the Indonesian Government.

At Banda Aceh’s airport, trucks with supplies to be ferried to disaster-struck areas by US Navy helicopters have been unloaded by members of Bashir’s group, the MMI, including one man proudly wearing an Osama bin Laden T-shirt.

Members of the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front), famous for its attacks on nightspots in Jakarta, are now living in Banda Aceh in tents provided by the army and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The head of the FPI contingent, Hilmy Bakar Almascaty, said about 250 members had come to Aceh with tickets provided by the Government; 800 more on board an Indonesian warship would help clean up the devastated province.

“FPI is not only an organisation that destroys bars and discos, it has a humanitarian side as well that the media is not happy to expose,” Dr Almascaty said.

Early yesterday 50 of his troops wearing FPI shirts went through a series of military drills before heading off to the city to help collect corpses still not recovered from the millions of tonnes of rubble.

Dr Almascaty said his group had held discussions with the head of the army, General Ryamizard Ryacudu, the Defence Minister, Juwono Sudarsono and the Vice-President, Jusuf Kalla, and had come to Aceh with the full backing of the Government.

He said his members were in Aceh to help, although the army in the past has often been accused of using Islamic groups to fight its battles, especially in divided communities like Aceh.

Dr Almascaty agreed that, as well as helping gather corpses and clean up mosques, the FPI had come to play another role.

He said he was determined to ensure the arrival of foreign soldiers and aid workers did not lead to a breakdown in the system of syariah, or Islamic law, which has been in nominal operation in Aceh for several years.

“Nominal” is the keyword here, rather than “actual”. It’s never actually been practiced by the majority.

“If anyone who comes here does not respect the syariah law, traditions and constitution, we must give them a warning and then we must attack,” he said.

Dr Almascaty said his group was co-ordinating with MMI and with another hardline group banned in many countries, Hizbut Tharir, in a plan to curtail Western influence.
[…]
The head of the MMI contingent, Salman al Furizi, said his group of 50 young men from central Java had flown to Banda Aceh on a military aircraft. He was prepared to put aside his vehement opposition to the US because of the help it was providing.

“We have to understand this is a disaster, so we are not talking about other problems,” he said.

Dr Almascaty also welcomed the Americans and other traditional enemies of his group. “At the moment they have come as an angel,” he said. “We don’t know about tomorrow.”

I can assure Dr Almascaty that in view of his words, in Australia the feeling is entirely mutual.

From The Australian :

Indonesia has promised Australia it will boost security in the war-torn province of Aceh amid fears aid workers at the centre of the world’s tsunami humanitarian mission may be caught in the crossfire of the separatist struggle.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday there would be growing concerns for safety in the coming months as Australians helped rebuild the devastated western Sumatran coast.

Fuelling the volatility of the region, fundamental Islamic activists are also flooding into the region in a bid to guard against what they regard as dangerous Western influences.
[…]
Indonesian sources say the chief concerns for the safety of aid workers and unarmed defence personnel are Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists looking for publicity, criminal gangs attached to GAM, and Islamic fundamentalists concerned about the influx of Westerners. One hardline Islamic group took aim yesterday at an Australian Catholic charity, Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the Streets, planning to set up an orphanage in tsunami-ravaged Aceh, warning it not to try to convert Muslim children.

Chief of the radical Islamic Defenders Front, Hilmy Bakar Almascaty, warned the group to stick purely to humanitarian work in Aceh — the only Indonesian province to have fully implemented Muslim sharia law.

Mr Downer said while it was “political suicide” for Islamist militants to attack now, there would be concerns for Australians as the program dragged on. “The assessments of our agencies is that it is very unlikely that Islamists groups would commit acts of violence against people providing humanitarian aid simply because it would be an act which would be enormously unpopular in Indonesia, would set their cause back a very long way, even if it was some sort of an attack on foreigners,” he said.

Almost as unpopular as the attack on Bali. And more so than 9/11, the Jakarta Hyatt and Embassy bombings. Oh wait, they did those anyway…

Michel Brugiere, director of Medecins du Monde, or Doctors of the World, said that “given the context of the area where we are operating, we have very strict security measures in place”. He said: “Our teams are told that they should not fly in American army helicopters, since we’re concerned that they could be a particular target.”

The Boston Herald reported yesterday that federal law enforcement agencies have warned the Boston police that an East Boston street gang with roots in El Salvador is cooperating with Al Qaeda:

A burgeoning East Boston-based street gang made up of alleged rapists and machete-wielding robbers has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, prompting Boston police to “turn up the heat” on its members, the Herald has learned.

MS-13, which stands for La Mara Salvatrucha, is an extremely violent organization with roots in El Salvador, and boasts more than 100 “hardcore members” in East Boston who are suspected of brutal machete attacks, rapes and home invasions. There are hundreds more MS-13 gangsters in towns along the North Shore, said Boston police Sgt. Detective Joseph Fiandaca, who has investigated the gang since it began tagging buildings in Maverick Square in 1995.

In recent months, intelligence officials in Washington have warned national law enforcement agencies that al-Qaeda terrorists have been spotted with members of MS-13 in El Salvador, prompting concerns the gang may be smuggling Islamic fundamentalist terrorists into the country. Law enforcement officials have long believed that MS-13 controls alien smuggling routes along Mexico.

The warning is being taken seriously in East Boston, where Raed Hijazi, an al-Qaeda operative charged with training the suicide bombers in the attack on the USS Cole, lived and worked, prosecutors have charged.

[snip]

The theory that Salvadoran criminals manage to smuggle people over the border was bolstered this month when two Boston men described as MS-13 leaders were spotted on the North Shore days before Christmas - a year after they were deported by Boston Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators for gang-related crimes.

Read the whole thing.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• What foreign nation is a retiring top Indian commander hinting has taken over the Assam insurgency?

• Phantom at The Daily Brief says the real airplane laser threat is target acquisition for MANPADs, not blinded pilots. Defensetech looks at military laser technology. Perhaps the pilots should get some anti-laser contacts lenses soon, or the planes should get some anti-aircraft missile countermeasures installed soon.

• Ariel Sharon’s former National Security Advisor until late 2003 warns that Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt probably received nuclear materials from AQ Khan’s proliferation effort.

Other Topics Today Include:

• Iran Reports; Iraq is Communism’s last stand?; Saudi attackers ID‘ed; Near miss by Israeli SF; Palestinians accept Hezbollah aid; A al Qaeda tape; Venezuela aligns with Communists; Ceasefire in Sudan?; Reforms in North Korea?; Holland ignores Islamic threats; Ignorance protecting us from bioterrorism; A look at Osama’s tape; Tsunamis and the Oil and more….

Read the Rest…

According to the BBC, while campaigning in Hammas strongholds, the front-runner to replace Arafat has vowed not to fight militant groups…

Mahmoud Abbas, tipped to become the new Palestinian president, says he will not fight against militant groups.

After receiving a hero’s welcome by militants in the Gaza Strip, Mr Abbas said he would use persuasion to bring about a ceasefire with Israel.

At one point during the visit at Rafah refugee camp he was hoisted on the shoulders of gunmen clad in black.

… Abbas did suggest that we would attempt to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and militants, but insisted that he would not oppose them with force…

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Abbas said he believed that he might be able to persuade the militants to agree a ceasefire, if elected.

“We will not use force with Hamas but we will use the way of persuasion and negotiation,” he said.

“We consider that fighting among Palestinians is a red line that must not be crossed.”

… In addition, he praised the militants and suggested he would defend them against attacks by the Israeli army…

When we see them, when we meet them, and when they welcome us, we owe them,” AP quoted him as saying.

“This debt always is to protect them from assassination, to protect them from killing, and all these things they are subject to by the Israelis.”