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CIA Director Hayden Says Biggest Threat is a Nuclear Al-Qaeda

CitizenSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:00:24 -0700

Sometimes a news story doesn't allow for any ducking and covering, and this is one of those: the possibility of al-Qaeda acquiring nuclear weapons. While nuclear weapons in countries like Iran and North Korea are worrisome, CIA Director Michael Hayden said yesterday that the agency's top nuclear threat is al-Qaeda.

Hayden said, "There is no greater national security threat facing the United States than al-Qaida and its associates." The concern of course, is that al-Qaeda is more likely to use them. Talking about North Korea's off-again on-again nuclear relationship and Iran's complicated situation, Hayden said with them, "The question is not of capability, but intent."

The intent of course is clear with al-Qaeda. Hayden says, "Bin Laden has said repeatedly that he considers acquisition of nuclear weapons a religious duty. And we know that al-Qaida remains determined to attack our country in ways that inflict maximum death and destruction." It's believed that Osama bin Laden is no longer overseeing the day-to-day operations of al-Qaeda. Hayden added that the best thing the next president could do to help the CIA wrestle with these problems is to step aside and allow the agency to work.

To see the complicated state of Iran's program,

Know the Facts? Al-Qaeda Marks 20 Years of Terror

LibertySugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:00:19 -0700

Twenty years ago this week, Osama bin Laden and his cohorts founded the infamous militant group al-Qaeda. For two decades the terrorist network has sought to end foreign influence in Muslim countries, kill US citizens and their allies everywhere, and create a perfect Islamic form of government in the Muslim world.

The past 20 years have seen many gruesome al-Qaeda successes, but the group also faces feasible fragmentation and failure in the future. Do you know the facts on America's main enemy in the war on terrorism?

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General Petraeus: Al Qaeda May Be Shifting Focus Back To Afghanistan From Iraq

CitizenSugar — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:50:33 -0700

General Petraeus: Al Qaeda May Be Shifting Focus Back To Afghanistan From Iraq After intense US assaults, al-Qaeda may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are running higher than in Iraq, the top US commander in Iraq said Saturday. "We do think that there is some assessment ongoing as to the continued viability of al-Qaeda's fight in Iraq," said Gen. David Petraeus. Whatever the result, Petraeus said no one should expect al-Qaeda to give up entirely in Iraq.

Front Page: North Korea Declares Nuclear Program, Iraq Bombings, Immigration Raid

CitizenSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:02:25 -0700

North Korea Declares Nuclear Program:
North Korea has submitted for inspection the long-awaited declaration of the extent of its nuclear program. Immediately after the move, the Bush administration announced it would remove the country, formerly on the "axis of evil" list, from the list of states who sponsor terrorism, as well as lifting commercial restriction on the country. President Bush said, "this can be a moment of opportunity for North Korea. If it continues to make the right choices it can repair its relationship with the international community."

Attack Kills 33 in Iraq:
At least 33 people have been killed in two massive bombings in Iraq today, including 18 people hit by a car bomb in the northern city of Mosul. The US military gave initial reports from Mosul saying that another 71 civilians and nine policemen were wounded. The second attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, killing the mayor and 14 senior members of an anti-Qaeda group. US commanders have said that Mosul is the country's last urban stronghold of al-Qaeda.
Immigration Raid Leads to 160 Arrests:
Federal immigration agents raided a used clothing plant in Houston, leading to 160 arrests, 70 percent of whom were women. The raid was the largest ever in the area, and the second major raid in Houston in the past two months. Two hundred immigration agents were involved in what was part of a yearlong investigation. A lawyer for the company said, “We want to abide by the law, and we're going to abide by the law. If we have an illegal employee, we don’t know it. No way. Tell us what the law is, and we’ll obey it.”

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Happy Birthday "Mission Accomplished." Are We Even Close?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:00:32 -0700

Today marks the fifth anniversary of George W. Bush standing on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, with the now infamous banner declaring, "Mission Accomplished." Bush didn't utter those words himself — what he said was: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

In "prevailing", we've recently seen the fifth anniversary of US presence in Iraq, and seen more than 4,000 casualties. In convenient timing, the US State Department released a report yesterday confirming al-Qaeda is still the greatest terrorist threat to the US and its allies. The news is part of the department's annual Country Reports on Terrorism. In year five of "Mission Accomplished," the number of terror-related deaths rose by 8 percent in 2007, and says "the ability of [Iraqi] attackers to penetrate large concentrations of people and then detonate their explosives may account for the increase in lethality of bombings in 2007."The White House announced yesterday that they've paid the price for the banner. Press Secretary Dana Perino said the sentiment, which now seems laughably premature, was actually just not specific enough. The banner apparently was meant for the ship's crew. Perino said, "President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said `mission accomplished' for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission. And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner."Do you buy that explanation? Regardless of Bush's words on that day, saying combat has ended and the US has prevailed, did we all just misunderstand the intended recipient of the prominently located banner? Has the White House paid the price for the vagueness of the message? After five years, is the fact that the State Department is still calling al-Qaeda the greatest threat mean we're surprisingly far from accomplishing any mission?Source

Happy Birthday "Mission Accomplished." Are We Even Close?

If al-Qaeda is still the "greatest threat," then no. We have a lot of work left to do.

I'm not sure what the mission is exactly anymore, or how we'll know who's won.

We've come closer to accomplishing the mission than if we'd done nothing.

Until troops start coming home, we're not close to anything.

Yes. We're close. We need to stop doubting and rally behind the effort to seal the deal.

Other. I've got my own banner to hoist in the comments.

Front Page: Al-Qaeda Killed in Somalia, McCain Qualified For President, Maliki Is "Depraved"

CitizenSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:00:55 -0700

Al-Qaeda Killed in Somalia: One of al-Qaeda’s top agents in East Africa was killed this morning by a US airstrike, according to officials. Aden Hashi Ayro was the leader of the Islamist comeback in Somalia and a military commander for the Shebab — an Islamist militia recently classified by the US as a terrorist group. His removal is seen as the turning point for the war against extremists who've seized towns recently. Consul for Somalia’s embassy in Nairobi said, "this will definitely weaken the Shebab. This will help with reconciliation. You can’t imagine how many Somalis are saying, ‘Yes, this is the one.’ The reaction is so good.”

McCain Qualified For President: The US Senate voted on the question of John McCain being a natural-born citizen because of his birth in the Panama Canal Zone. The detail is one of the qualifications for the job of president. The Senate unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution recognizing that McCain is indeed a natural-born citizen.
Maliki Is "Depraved": A bloc of Iraqi MPs have denounced the government and used a passage from the Koran to describe Prime Minister Nouri Maliki as "depraved." The MPs support the Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Iraqi troops and US-led foreign forces have fought those loyal to Muqtada al Sadr in recent weeks. Nine people died today in a Baghdad bomb blast aimed at US troops, and in recent weeks, more than 400 have been killed and 2,500 injured in Sadr City.

Front Page: Osama bin Laden Fine, Mugabe, Missile Defense

CitizenSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:00:08 -0700

Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, says Osama bin Laden is alive and doing very well in a recording just released. In the 104-minute recording posted on the Internet, al-Zawahri said, “Sheik Osama bin Laden is in good health. The ill-intentioned always try to circulate false reports about him being sick.” He then went on to call the UN an enemy of Islam and promised more attacks saying, "we promise our Muslim brothers that we will do our utmost to strike Jews in Israel and abroad with help and guidance from God.” As a finale to the piece, he defended al-Qaeda's mission saying, “We do not kill the innocent. We fight those who kill the innocent — the Americans, the Jews, the Russians, the French and their agents.”

In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe says that he's ready to compete in a runoff election. This statement comes after the opposition candidate has declared victory and the opposition party has squeaked out a win of more parliamentary seats — though the official results showed that Mugabe's party won the popular vote. Independent counts are showing that the opposition candidate may indeed have won, 49 percent to Mugabe's 42 percent, but unless a candidate wins over 50 percent, a runoff is needed. The deputy information minister said, "President Mugabe is going to fight to the last, and he's not giving up, he's not going anywhere, he hasn't lost the election."
Amid debates over Afghanistan at the NATO summit, President Bush has won support for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe, despite Russian objections. The plan adopted states, ''ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to allied forces, territory and populations," and mentions the protection of allies to be provided by a US-led system. Bush however lost his appeal for the Ukraine and Georgia to be granted membership due to a block by Greece. Albania and Croatia were extended invitations to join.

Front Page: No Link Between Hussein/al-Qaeda, AOL, Peace

CitizenSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:55:12 -0700

There was no link between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. This fact was confirmed by a Pentagon-sponsored study released yesterday. After a review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that have come into American hands since the March 2003 invasion, the Institute for Defense Analyses found “no smoking gun.” The study's conclusion is significant as the finding comes from a federally funded research institution, and senior administration officials have used the belief of the existence of ties between Hussein and the terrorist network run by Osama bin Laden as a rationale for the invasion.

AOL said today it was set to buy Bebo, the third most popular social networking website in the United States, valued at $850 million. AOL is set to integrate the networking site with its AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), jumpstarting AOL’s social networking strategy.
The presidents of Sudan and Chad signed a peace agreement intended to end border rebel attacks in a region that includes Darfur. The agreement will hopefully quell the use of Darfur by Chadian rebels as a base for launching incursions into Chad. Sudan has repeatedly accused Chad’s government of backing Darfur rebel groups. The signing was witnessed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, following talks in Senegal.

Headline: Wave of Abductions in Pakistan

LibertySugar — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:01:36 -0800

Yesterday, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, disappeared, and it is believed he was abducted. At the same time, masked gunman also kidnapped two technicians from Pakistan's Atomic Energy Agency, which is in charge of the country's nuclear development. These recent abductions are just the latest outcome of fierce fighting between pro-Taliban Islamist militants and government troops in northwest Pakistan.

Pakistani authorities will not confirm any details surrounding the disappearance of Ambassador Azizuddin. Afghan security forces speculate that his capture may be reprisal for the capture of top Taliban leader Mansoor Dadullah, who was was wounded and arrested by Pakistani forces on Monday as well. Some sources report that local Taliban leaders have claimed responsibility for the abduction of the Ambassador Azizuddin, and are willing to exchange the ambassador for Maansoor Dadullah.

It is still unclear whether the atomic technicians were kidnapped by members of a criminal gang, or the Islamic militants. But, the mountainous tribal region, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border, has a strong presence of al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

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Headline: Arrests Made Over Bhutto Assassination

LibertySugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:15:58 -0800

Pakistani police arrested two alleged terrorists in connection with the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The suspects alleged involvement is unknown, but they are being held along with two previously arrested suspects — Aizaz Shah, 15, and Sher Zaman

The government in Pakistan has determined that Baitullah Mehsud orchestrated last December's assassination. Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban, also has connections to al-Qaeda. The CIA reached the same conclusion. Bhutto's family and party are accusing President Musharraf's government of being involved in Bhutto's death. Musharraf denies any involvement.

The arrests come at the end of the 40-day mourning period — a day when thousands of people have gathered at Benazir Bhutto's tomb in southern Pakistan.

Source

Headline: al-Qaeda Recruiting Children

LibertySugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:00:35 -0800

Recent footage released by the US military shows images of young Iraqi boys wearing suicide vests, kidnapping civilians at gunpoint, posing with automatic weapons, and chanting pro-al-Qaeda slogans. US officials claim that al-Qaeda is increasingly training children as young as 10 years old to kidnap and kill innocent people.

The videos, aired today during a joint US-Iraqi press conference, are being used by al-Qaeda as propaganda to recruit boys and send a broader message across Iraq that will indoctrinate a new generation. An Iraqi official also reported that militants kidnap children not only for recruitment purposes, but also to demand ransoms. The money collected funds the terrorist organization's operations.

The use of children as the pawns of terrorists is alarming and tragic — as was last week's news that two mentally retarded women strapped with remote-control explosives were used as homicide bombers. What do you think this says about the future of al-Qaeda?
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Headline: Top al-Qaeda Commander Killed

CitizenSugar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:25:48 -0800

Abu Laith al-Libbi has just been killed. He's said to be the No. 3 al-Qaeda operative in command, just below Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Islamist websites are said to have broken the news, calling him a martyr. He was killed in Pakistan.

Need to Know: Telling Apart the Taliban and al-Qaeda

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:01:30 -0800

Our news tends to report stories in a simple binary: good guys versus bad guys. And sometimes those cast as "bad guys" become interchangeable. Not to sound too Rudy Giuliani about the whole thing, but since September 11, we've had a pretty steady stream of appearances in the media by the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. Whenever they appear, the story is usually bad, so it's understandable that the distinction between the two might be blurry. Let's shake it out.

To meet these groups,