Terrorism: News & Updates

[Sean Osborne]

Al Qaeda fiend targeted Bush
By JAMES GORDON MEEK WASHINGTON -

Before he was captured last spring, Osama Bin Laden's top operational commander was solely focused on killing President Bush and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharaff, the Daily News has learned.The capture last May of Al Qaeda's No. 3 leader, Abu Faraj Al-Libi, apparently thwarted plots to assassinate the two partners in the global war on terror, said a senior Pakistani official, whose information was corroborated by two senior U.S. counterterrorism officials."Al-Libi had one mission: Kill Bush and Musharraf," the Pakistani official told The News. "He wanted to kill Bush in the White House, preferably.""It was clearly something they wanted to do. There's no question about that. It's the holy grail of jihad," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official confirmed.Al-Libi organized several failed assassination attempts on Musharraf before he was nabbed, officials have said. But the plot by Al Qaeda's international operations chief to send assassins to the U.S. to kill Bush was only disclosed this week.The officials asked for anonymity because details of the Bush plot are still highly classified. The officials added that there is little evidence the U.S. mission advanced beyond initial planning by Al-Libi in Pakistan.Two years before Al-Libi's capture by Pakistani and CIA operatives in Pakistan's mountainous North-West Frontier province, near where many believe Bin Laden is hiding, American officials were informed by Musharraf envoys that the top Al Qaeda thug was bent on assassinating Bush, officials said.Officials said it was not known if Bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, personally ordered Al-Libi to hit the U.S. President.Al-Libi replaced 9/11 attacks mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in March 2003. Al-Libi's aide and successor, Abu Hamza Rabia, was killed this month in Pakistan by a missile fired from an unmanned CIA predator drone, sources said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-320445c.html

[Sean Osborne]

The Nexus of Susanne Osthoff, former-US Navy SEAL Robert Dean Stethem and Islamic terrorist Mohammad Ali Hammadi.

**************************************

Germany deny Hammadi release tied to Osthoff

December 20 2005 at 05:41PM

By Louis Charbonneau Berlin - Germany has quietly released a Hizbollah member jailed for life for the murder of a US Navy diver, apparently disregarding Washington's wish to extradite him, diplomats and German officials said on Tuesday. "He served his term," Eva Schmierer, a spokesperson for Germany's justice ministry, told a news conference. Sources in Berlin and Beirut said earlier that Mohammad Ali Hammadi, convicted of killing Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem in Beirut during the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight and sentenced to life in prison, was flown back to Lebanon last week. German Foreign Ministry denied any link between the Hammadi and Osthoff releases German legal sources said he had been released on Thursday and travelled to the Lebanese capital on Friday. Hizbollah sources confirmed that Hammadi had returned. Schmierer said her ministry had never received a formal extradition request from Washington. But diplomats in Berlin said the German government was well aware that the Americans would have liked Hammadi extradited to the United States, where he is under indictment for Stethem's murder.

The diplomats said Hammadi's release could complicate relations between Germany and the United States, which have pledged to cooperate closely in anti-terrorism efforts.

The US embassy in Berlin had no immediate comment on Hammadi's release.

Hammadi, now in his late 30s, was captured in 1987 and all attempts to have him exchanged with German hostages held in Lebanon in the late 1980s and early 1990s failed.

Hammadi's brother, Abdul-Hadi, was a senior security official of Hizbollah at the time.

A Lebanese source said a senior German intelligence officer visited Damascus early this month but did not disclose the purpose of the trip. Syria is a key backer of Hizbollah.

A German court convicted Hammadi in 1989 of murder, air piracy and other crimes for his role in the June 1985 hijacking of the TWA passenger jet that was diverted to Beirut and Algiers. The court sentenced him to life in prison.

His life sentence was one that Germany reserves for the most serious and cruel crimes, but it did not necessarily require that he spend the rest of his natural life in jail.

Stethem, a native of Waldorf, Maryland, was based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, at the time of the hijacking.

Hammadi's other brother, Abbas Ali, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for plotting the kidnapping of two Germans in Lebanon in the hope of forcing the release of his brother. He was released after serving his term.

Hammadi's release occurred shortly before German hostage Susanne Osthoff was freed in Iraq. The archaeologist had disappeared on November 25. Germany said on Sunday she was in safe custody. She has made no public statement since.

The German Foreign Ministry denied any link between the Hammadi and Osthoff releases.

"There is no connection between these two cases," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Jaeger said.

Doris Moeller-Scheu, spokesperson for the Frankfurt prosecutors office also denied any link. She said Hammadi was released after a standard review of his case.

Under German law, he became eligible for release after serving 15 years. He spent over 18 years in jail in Germany.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?s...5091521566B241

More on German ex-hostage Susanne Osthoff...freed by German release of murderer of American Navyman & Seal

21 December 2005 BERLIN - Susanne Osthoff, 43, who spent more than three weeks in the hands of Iraqi abductors, has left Iraq, the Foreign Office in Berlin said Wednesday, three days after she reached the safety of the German diplomatic mission in Baghdad. Osthoff, a solo aid worker and archaeologist who has been a longtime resident of Iraq, has told German diplomats she does not want to meet the media. Her family in Germany said they had not heard from her yet. In a phone conversation with senior Foreign Office official Klaus Scharioth, Osthoff said she wanted to spend a few days in privacy with her 12-year-old daughter, who attends a German boarding school, in a third country. A German weekly magazine, Stern, reported Wednesday that the abductors had been identified as members of a western Iraqi tribe, the Duleimi. It said German envoys had apparently been in talks with Duleimi mediators for a period of two weeks. While the kidnappers did make political demands, telling Berlin it should stop helping the Baghdad government, they were ultimately mainly concerned to receive a ransom, Stern said. Germany has not disclosed if any was paid. Anja Osthoff, 35, sister of the ex-hostage, told Germany's Munich- based BR television the family had not heard from her. "It would be lovely to see her. Then we could come to terms with it all," said the sister. She said she could understand Susanne Osthoff's decision to stay away from Germany, as it was probably for the sake of the 12-year-old daughter. "If they were both to come here, the media would waylay them, and that would be terrible for the child." Susanne Osthoff, who is a convert to Islam, has little contact with her German relatives. Her mother, Ingrid Hala, says she has not spoken with her daughter for five years. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier thanked Wednesday the emergency team in Berlin that managed the abduction crisis.

[Sean Osborne]

Nuclear Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants

EXCLUSIVE: Nuclear Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants
Posted 12/22/05
By David E. Kaplan


In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.

Federal officials familiar with the program maintain that warrants are unneeded for the kind of radiation sampling the operation entails, but some legal scholars disagree. News of the program comes in the wake of revelations last week that, after 9/11, the Bush White House approved electronic surveillance of U.S. targets by the National Security Agency without court orders. These and other developments suggest that the federal government's domestic spying programs since 9/11 have been far broader than previously thought.

The nuclear surveillance program began in early 2002 and has been run by the FBI and the Department of Energy's Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST). Two individuals, who declined to be named because the program is highly classified, spoke to U.S. News because of their concerns about the legality of the program. At its peak, they say, the effort involved three vehicles in Washington, D.C., monitoring 120 sites per day, nearly all of them Muslim targets drawn up by the FBI. For some ten months, officials conducted daily monitoring, and they have resumed daily checks during periods of high threat. The program has also operated in at least five other cities when threat levels there have risen: Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York, and Seattle.

FBI officials expressed concern that discussion of the program would expose sensitive methods used in counterterrorism. Although NEST staffers have demonstrated their techniques on national television as recently as October, U.S. News has omitted details of how the monitoring is conducted. Officials from four different agencies declined to respond on the record about the classified program: the FBI, Energy Department, Justice Department, and National Security Council. "We don't ever comment on deployments," said Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages NEST.

In Washington, the sites monitored have included prominent mosques and office buildings in suburban Maryland and Virginia. One source close to the program said that participants "were tasked on a daily and nightly basis," and that FBI and Energy Department officials held regular meetings to update the monitoring list. "The targets were almost all U.S. citizens," says the source. "A lot of us thought it was questionable, but people who complained nearly lost their jobs. We were told it was perfectly legal."
The question of search warrants is controversial, however. To ensure accurate readings, in up to 15 percent of the cases the monitoring needed to take place on private property, sources say, such as on mosque parking lots and private driveways. Government officials familiar with the program insist it is legal; warrants are unneeded for monitoring from public property, they say, as well as from publicly accessible driveways and parking lots. "If a delivery man can access it, so can we," says one.
Georgetown University Professor David Cole, a constitutional law expert, disagrees. Surveillance of public spaces such as mosques or public businesses might well be allowable without a court order, he argues, but not private offices or homes: "They don't need a warrant to drive onto the property -- the issue isn't where they are, but whether they're using a tactic to intrude on privacy. It seems to me that they are, and that they would need a warrant or probable cause."

Cole points to a 2001 Supreme Court decision, U.S. vs. Kyllo, which looked at police use -- without a search warrant -- of thermal imaging technology to search for marijuana-growing lamps in a home. The court, in a ruling written by Justice Antonin Scalia, ruled that authorities did in fact need a warrant -- that the heat sensors violated the Fourth Amendment's clause against unreasonable search and seizure. But officials familiar with the FBI/NEST program say the radiation sensors are different and are only sampling the surrounding air. "This kind of program only detects particles in the air, it's non directional," says one knowledgeable official. "It's not a whole lot different from smelling marijuana."

Officials also reject any notion that the program specifically has targeted Muslims. "We categorically do not target places of worship or entities solely based on ethnicity or religious affiliation," says one. "Our investigations are intelligence driven and based on a criminal predicate."
Among those said to be briefed on the monitoring program were Vice President Richard Cheney; Michael Brown, then-director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration; and Richard Clarke, then a top counterterrorism official at the National Security Council. After 9/11, top officials grew increasingly concerned over the prospect of nuclear terrorism. Just weeks after the World Trade Center attacks, a dubious informant named Dragonfire warned that al Qaeda had smuggled a nuclear device into New York City; NEST teams swept the city and found nothing. But as evidence seized from Afghan camps confirmed al Qaeda's interest in nuclear technology, radiation detectors were temporarily installed along Washington, D.C., highways and the Muslim monitoring program began.
Most staff for the monitoring came from NEST, which draws from nearly 1,000 nuclear scientists and technicians based largely at the country's national laboratories. For 30 years, NEST undercover teams have combed suspected sites looking for radioactive material, using high-tech detection gear fitted onto various aircraft, vehicles, and even backpacks and attaché cases. No dirty bombs or nuclear devices have ever been found - and that includes the post-9/11 program. "There were a lot of false positives, and one or two were alarming," says one source. "But in the end we found nothing."

[Sean Osborne]

Okay... new news on the AQ front... I am still collating data I'm getting and analysis is far from complete but here is what I have so far that I want to post here ...the reason I am posting this here is or safekeeping and informational purposes which will be made clear tomorrow evening at the latest.


******


I was looking at a SITE Institute write up about an AQ Op Plan which apparently has been in effect regarding al-Zawahiri's recent call for Jihadist targeting of US oil infrastructure. This post is most recent and comes directly from a password protected AQ server/website. the coincides with what Laura Mansfield and myself concluded from indepth analysis of AQ translations from late 2004.

One literally translated sentence stands out like a sore thumb and I think we will absolutely want to highlight it on the NEIN main page in the very near immediate future because these events have been occuring, as we all know, within the continental US throughout the past year (2005). They events and incidents will continue into 2006 and beyond most likely at an accellerated pacce.

Here is my paraphrase of that sentence:

Al Qaeda is targeting oil infrastructure and reserves in the continental United States. Oil Infrastructure within Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, California, and Oklahoma are specified within the multi-page text in a password protected Al Qaeda forum.


Based upon analysis of collected, collated and corrobarated data from multiple LE and open-sources the targeted oil infrastructure within CONUS seems apparent as follows.

The five US states are specifically cited in the AQ text because:

A. They are the primary areas where US crude reserves are located

and,

B. The infrastructure is the most developed in these specific areas.

*****

Alaska: Pipeline, pumping stations

Texas: BP in Texas City (twice in one year, plus caught-in-the-act reconnaissance of the plant the previous year). Houston, Galvston, and gulf coast tank farms.

Louisiana: a 2005 explosion and fire in a small plant in Meroux where sulfur is removed from diesel fuel. Same area where Hurricane Rita came ashore.

California: San Joaquin Valley (SJV) and the Los Angeles Basin (LAB) where there are two common carrier pipelines, tank farms, distribution and marine terminus at Port Long Beach.

Oklahoma: Key centers of infrastructure are found in Bartlesville-Dewey, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and near the Sooner trend and the Golden trend.

[Sean Osborne]

Military Vehicle and Uniforms Stolen in Wisconsin
Jan 3, 2006, 06:34 PM EST
WFIE-TV (IN)
New Media Producer: Rachel Chambliss
Police say a military vehicle and uniforms have been stolen from a recruiting center in suburban Milwaukee.
The break-in follows the theft of a car from a recruiting center in Indianapolis over the weekend. FBI Special Agent Mike Johnson says that car was found at the same recruiting center in Brookfield, Wisconsin where the new thefts were reported.
In the Town of Brookfield, police say a 2003 Olds Alero was taken, also two Marine dress coats and some military fatigues and boots.
Police warn that the thieves may try to impersonate military personnel.

[Sean Osborne]

Collate this report in the reports in the Iran thread. The recent visit to Iran of DIRCIA Goss, DIRFBI Mueller and the visit to the US of the Turkish Cheif of Staff is extremely ominous. The locus of those mettings and briefings was Iran. I firmly believe war is imminent.

CIA Warns Turkey of Al-Qaeda's Action Plan


By Sedat Gunec, Ankara
Published: Thursday, January 05, 2006
zaman.com

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) warned Turkey that the terrorist network, al-Qaeda plans to attack the country with high rate radiation-nuclear materials.

CIA Director Porter Goss held top-level meetings with the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and visited the General Security Directorate during his three day-visit to the Turkish capital Ankara recently.

Goss mentioned terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) could easily be destroyed with the help of shared intelligence, and steps to further share information were undertaken upon his return to the United States.

CIA sent the MIT a secret al-Qaeda cryptic message last week, in which reportedly the terror organization will send nuclear materials including high rate-radiation to selected targets by using international cargo companies such as UPS and FedEx.

Turkey’s Intelligence Undersecretary warned the Security Directorate about the CIA’s coded message.

MIT and the General Security Directorate investigated the cargo packages sent to Turkey through international transport companies.

Top-level security precautions were taken in the cargo departments of international airports such as Istanbul Ataturk, Sabiha Gokcen, Ankara Esenboga, Izmir Adnan Menderes and Antalya.

Al-Qaeda is claimed to have developed such action plans in order to not lose members.

Friday , 06 January 2006

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=24777

[Malsua]

Nuclear Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants
.....

I for one am quite thankful they were doing this. I hope they are still doing this. I hope the one who leaked it to the NYTs gets hung by the neck until dead.

-----
As to the Oil infrastructure, let's hope that doesn't get hit. Gas is already up again to $2.15 in NJ. I do know a couple folks still in the industry, I'll ask around see if they've heard anything.(I used to work in the Oilfield, many moons ago, mid 80s)

-Mal

[Sean Osborne]

I hope the one who leaked it to the NYTs gets hung by the neck until dead.

They may need several gallows to make sure all the guilty parties pay the price. The NYT will probably be indicted for Treason. Ditto the leaker.

I hear that POTUS is fit to be tied. He read the riot act to the members of previous administrations yesterday; told them point blank what is at stake and said he will act to defend this nation AT ALL COSTS, PERIOD.

[Sean Osborne]

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigat...ory?id=1499905

Surge in Sale of Disposable Cell Phones May Have Terror Link


Jan. 12, 2006 — Federal agents have launched an investigation into a surge in the purchase of large quantities of disposable cell phones by individuals from the Middle East and Pakistan, ABC News has learned.
The phones — which do not require purchasers to sign a contract or have a credit card — have many legitimate uses, and are popular with people who have bad credit or for use as emergency phones tucked away in glove compartments or tackle boxes. But since they can be difficult or impossible to track, law enforcement officials say the phones are widely used by criminal gangs and terrorists.

"There's very little audit trail assigned to this phone. One can walk in, purchase it in cash, you don't have to put down a credit card, buy any amount of minutes to it, and you don't, frankly, know who bought this," said Jack Cloonan, a former FBI official who is now an ABC News consultant.
Law enforcement officials say the phones were used to detonate the bombs terrorists used in the Madrid train attacks in March 2004.
"The application of prepaid phones for nefarious reasons, is really widespread. For example, the terrorists in Madrid used prepaid phones to detonate the bombs in the subway trains that killed more than 200 people," said Roger Entner, a communications consultant.

150 Phones in One Sale, 60 Phones in Another


The FBI is closely monitoring the potentially dangerous development, which came to light following recent large-quantity purchases in California and Texas, officials confirmed.
In one New Year's Eve transaction at a Target store in Hemet, Calif., 150 disposable tracfones were purchased. Suspicious store employees notified police, who called in the FBI, law enforcement sources said.

In an earlier incident, at a Wal-mart store in Midland, Texas, on December 18, six individuals attempted to buy about 60 of the phones until store clerks became suspicious and notified the police. A Wal-mart spokesperson confirmed the incident.
The Midland, Texas, police report dated December 18 and obtained by ABC News states: "Information obtained by MPD [Midland Police Department] dispatch personnel indicated that approximately six individuals of Middle-Eastern origin were attempting to purchase an unusually large quantity of tracfones (disposable cell phones with prepaid minutes attached)." At least one of the suspects was identified as being from Iraq and another from Pakistan, officials said.
"Upon the arrival of officers, suspects were observed moving away from the registers — appearing to evade detection while ridding themselves of the merchandise."
Other reports have come in from other cities, including Dallas, and from authorities in other states. Authorities in Pennsylvania, New York and other parts of Texas confirmed that they were alerted to the cases, and sources say other jurisdictions were also notified.
The growing use of the throwaway cell phones has been cited by President Bush as an important justification for expanding the wiretap laws under the Patriot Act.
"Law enforcement officials can now use what's now called roving wiretaps, which will prevent a terrorist from switching cell phones to get a message out to one of his buddies," Bush said on April 20, 2004.

Legitimate Uses May Have Spurred Sales, Too


Law enforcement sources say it is possible some large purchases that have been identified as being sent to the Middle East could have been sent for resale in a sellers' market for handsets, or simply given to friends and relatives. Officials are also investigating these possibilities.
Managing the complex balancing of these two issues — significant and legitimate uses and their potential for misuse has been an ongoing dilemma for law enforcement.
For now, both intelligence officers and bomb technicians have been monitoring reports of large-quantity purchases.
Some such purchases may have innocent explanations, but even law enforcement officials themselves say disposable phones are sometimes their own phones of choice when operating in hostile environments. The CIA recently used them in a kidnapping in Milan, Italy. Italian authorities were able to track the telephones. But they mostly tracked them to a dead end — the false identities in which they were purchased.
Possible purchasers of disposable cellular phones could also include political extremists, terrorist supporters, sympathizers or others simply shaken by the recent revelations of the spy agency's widespread monitoring of calls, including calls to and from the United States to foreign countries.

Police Report Identifies Terror Links


The Midland, Texas, arrest report police also identified the individuals as linked to a terror cell:
"Evasive responses provided by the subjects, coupled with actions observed by officers at the onset of the contact prompted the notification of local FBI officials to assist in the investigation," the report said. "Upon the arrival of special agents, and as a result of subsequent interviews, it was discovered that members of the group were linked to suspected terrorist cells stationed within the Metroplex.
Law enforcement officials have not elaborated on the information in the report or specified which terrorist group the individuals were allegedly linked to.
In addition, special agents reported that similar incidents centering on the large-scale purchases of tracfones had been reported throughout the nation — identifying individuals of Middle-Eastern descent as the purchasers."
ABC News is working to confirm the details in the police report.
"Upon conclusion of the initial investigation, three of the suspects were taken into custody on immigration violations, with one individual arrested for possession of marijuana — the drug having been discovered during the search of the group's vehicle. Also found within the green 2002 Kia van were additional cell phones, the total believed to be approximately 60."

FBI officials told ABC News that while the cases may wind up in the hands of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the FBI would benefit from any intelligence gleaned and would take the lead if a solid terrorist connection emerged.

[ExplodedMind]

http://www.floppingaces.net/2006/01/...ck-on-us-soil/


Imminent Al-Qaeda Attack On US Soil?
Posted by Curt on January 12, 2006 at 10:35
Thanks to Christine for bringing my attention to this interesting article that is alleging the recent Al-Qaeda video is a sign a major US attack is imminent:

The recently released video message from al Qaeda’s number two leader is part of a pattern that signals a countdown to a major terrorist attack within the next 30 days, warns a Washington D.C.-based analyst.
[snip]

Read the rest at the link. 30 days from January 6, the release of the last tape, is February 5. February 5 is Super Bowl day.

EM

[ExplodedMind]

There is just too much (maybe) going on.

Now, we have a report from ABS news that Zawahiri may have been bombed to death at a "safe" house. Waiting for body pickup and DNA tests.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1504096

EM

[Malsua]

Woohoo, Die dirtbag!

Hopefully this greasy smear doesn't have 9 lives.

[Sean Osborne]

I have this from a couple of folks... still it is not corroborated.

I am also not too pleased to hear that this reported US strike occured on Pakistani soil. I would really prefer a cover story that it was a Pakistani AF strike on Pakistani soil.

Pervez Musharraf has enough problems. An Islamic revolution in Pakistan would make Iranian nukes a moot point almost immediately.

[Sean Osborne]

I have some very bad vibes concerning the turn of events regarding this strike.

My "gut" reservation of this report at 9 PM EST last evening was
dependent upon offical word or released results of DNA analysis,
which would come from a reputable Pakistani source if not from
President Musharraf himself.

Pakistan is rife with hard-core, radical Islamists within the government, be it ISI or the Pakistani military. I tend to take anything from many of them with ahuge grain of salt because their allegiance is first and foremost to Islam.

My very serious reservations about this event are simply stated
as:. THIS COULD BE AN OPERATION WHOSE INTENT IS TO BRING DOWN THE NOMINALLY-SECULAR MUSHARRAF GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN.

The ultimate objective of such an operation would be:

HOW WOULD YOU GAIN OVERNIGHT NUCLEAR CAPABILITY SHORT OF ENDURING WHAT IRAN IS GOINGTHROUGH RIGHT NOW?

OVERTHROW A NUCLEAR-ARMED GOVERNMENT LIKE PAKISTAN.

Add in the pro-Islamist's and a deep hatred from the people vast
majority of Islamic citizenry for the "Great Satan" (USA) and top it
off with a military strike by the "Great Satan" which kills a slew of
innocents people on Pakistani territory, and then point the finger at
President Musharraf's government who allowed this to take place.

This is a recipe for Islamic revolution in Pakistan orchestrated by the enemies of freedom.

At face value in the current media reports we have a high-ranking
Pakistani Intel officer saying that THE CIA ACTED ON BAD INTELLIGENCE, AND INTIMATES A "COMMON KNOWLEDGE"
THAT AL-ZAWAHIRI WAS KNOWN TO BE ELSEWHERE.

Say what?!

The CIA unilaterally attacks a village in the sovereign territory of Pakistan without offical Pakistani government sanction or corroboration of the intelligence driving such an operation???

On the surface, this defies credulity.

However, then again, we do have a rogue element of the CIA openly at war with the Bush Administration since his election in November 2000. We also have any number of Islamist's in high-level positions in Pakistan who could do the same thing.

This is not passing the "Smell test". I await offical Pakistani government word.

[ExplodedMind]

How about, Pakistan has made this deal with the USA:

"You may strike within our borders in special agreed situations, we will even help with intelligence, but you must agree that we can protest to cover ourselves."

The USA then notes that we long ago announced we will kill Al Qaeda leaders wherever and whenever we find them.

Also, every strike of this type is followed by claims that no one but innocent women and children were killed. Statements made by locals to news media are meaningless, and should be ignored.

Let's see when the next Zawahiri video which can be dated as produced after January 13, 2006 makes an appearance. We've had no Osama tape in over a year, and come to think of it...have we seen a verified current Zarqawi video or tape since a similar "safe house" attack in Iraq that only killed "innocents?"

EM

[ExplodedMind]

It didn't take long for this to get more interesting...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/...ike/index.html

Pakistani officials are protesting, summoning the US ambassador for consultations.

And, they are putting out the amazing statement that Zawahiri was not present at the attack site. Oh really?!! This is the same Pakistani government that constantly insists it does not know the specific whereabouts of Bin Laden or Zawahiri, but now they quickly know where Z was NOT?!! So, they have searched the rubble? Locals didn't remove any bodies before the Paks got there? How do they know these things, and know them so quickly?

Sean is right about one thing, reports on this event don't pass the smell test.

Bill Roggio says:

http://inbrief.threatswatch.org/2006...zawahiri-dead/

EM

[ExplodedMind]

Snips from the link below...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060114/...ity_zawahri_dc

ABC News quoted Pakistani military sources as saying five of those killed were "high-level" al Qaeda figures.
The attack killed at least 18 people, including women and children, locals say.

U.S. sources in Washington knowledgeable about the strike, believed to have been conducted by CIA-operated unmanned drones armed with missiles, told Reuters it would not be known whether Zawahri was killed until the remains of the dead were examined.

While 18 villagers were killed -- eight women, five men and five children -- another five bodies were thought to have been removed after the attack and Pakistani agents were uncertain where they had been taken, said the first intelligence source, who declined to be identified.

EM

[Sean Osborne]

What attack? What CIA attack? The unexploded ordnance displayed in media that i have seen is not what a Predator drone carries. Predator's carry the Hellfire missile. What I have seen is an ordinary artillery round.

I believe this so-called CIA strike is a fraud, a hoax. The dead are really dead, but I seriously, seriously doubt that we did it.

I think we've been had by Pakistani ISI and Russian FSB in the person of Ayman al-Zawahiri.

[Aplomb]

Snips from Pakistan Dawn News:

Besides Zawahiri, the source said, two local clerics, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad and Maulvi Liaqat, both wanted for harbouring foreign militants, had also been invited to the feast.

Incidentally, it was Faqir Mohammad who delivered a fiery anti-Pakistan and anti-US speech at the collective funeral of the civilians killed in the Friday action.

The clerics left the village at around 12.30am and the air strike came at around 3.15am.

snip
While intelligence officials desperately searched for clues and indications of Zawahiri’s presence during or before the strike, confusion was further compounded by reports that some bodies, apparently those of foreigners, might have been removed by elements close to them soon after the attack.

A senior security official said foreign militants had frequently been visiting Bajaur and even Abu Faraj al-Libbi, said to have been No. 3 in Al-Qaeda hierarchy, had told interrogators that he had lived in Bajaur.

He recalled that an Uzbek militant had been arrested from Faqir Mohammad’s house in last April with laptop computer and improvised explosive devices.

The source said Maulvi Liaqat, soon after the attack, removed seven bodies, said to be of foreign nationals.

Investigators are trying to ascertain the veracity of this report and establish the identity of the foreign ‘guests’ killed in the attack. There is another report that another cleric, Maulvi Atta Mohammad, removed four bodies, said to be of people from Punjab, and buried them at an undisclosed location.

If true, it would put the death toll in Friday attack at 29, including the 18 civilians.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/01/15/top3.htm

[ExplodedMind]

Aplomb: Thanks for the input.

Sean: I agree that the shell shown in the pic I saw was an unexploded artillery shell. If the CIA or US military was not involved in this attack, I would think there would be some public and vehement denials out by now. A lot of the local accounts don't make any sense.

ABC news needs to explain its' "Pakistani military sources."

"U.S. sources in Washington knowledgeable about the strike, believed to have been conducted by CIA-operated unmanned drones armed with missiles, told Reuters it would not be known whether Zawahri was killed until the remains of the dead were examined."

Did Reuters just creat the statement above out of thin air? Again, where are the denials? Who leaked the report of this event in the first place?

EM