The King of The "North" Is Coming!

[Madmary1]

AL QAEDA IN IRAQ ISSUES VIRULENT MANIFESTO

Document calls for violence, destruction of 'American empire'

Friday, August 26, 2005; Posted: 6:20 p.m. EDT (22:20 GMT)
Source of Article

(CNN) -- The group al Qaeda in Iraq -- which has been behind many of the worst attacks, beheadings, and kidnappings in Iraq -- has issued a manifesto in which it calls for violence and hate for all but "true Muslims."

Shiites do not belong among "true Muslims," the group says, calling their faith "a confession of polytheism and rejectionism."

It also declares: "We vow by the name of God that we are determined to destroy the American empire," adding that the insurgency is stronger than Washington acknowledges.

The document also warns there will be no end to the insurgency.

"The call for jihad goes on until doomsday, whether there is an imam calling for it or not."

The group's e-book surfaced on an Islamic Web site this week and offers links to three issues of al Qaeda in Iraq's e-magazine, a forum often used to claim responsibility for attacks. In numerous sections totaling dozens of pages, the e-book covers topics from the justification of beheadings in the Quran and why democracy is wrong.

No date was given for the document, and no author was listed. The reference to its Jordanian-born leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in the third person suggests he did not write the document.

Iraq and the United States call him the most wanted terrorist in Iraq. The United States has posted a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture.

While part of the document seems to have been written relatively recently, another part refers to to the government of Ayad Allawi, who was interim leader in Iraq until April.

The document also called President Bush's insistence on staying in Iraq "until we accomplish our mission" a "desperate catchphrase ... used to make the public believe that the mujahedeens are in bad shape."

The document repeatedly urged Muslims to launch attacks against foreign forces in Iraq and their allies and for Iraqi troops and police to turn their backs on the new elected government.

"You who betrayed Muslims and in humiliation became one of many collaborators, a servant under the command of the cross, we ask you to return to your Islamic instinct or cutting your neck will be your only punishment for your treason against your religion and your people."

It adds this warning: "Repent or else."

The group calls its doctrine and mission guided by "our agreement to believe in and fight for the religion of God. We believe that those who follow these beliefs and the provisions of faith are true Muslims, and anyone who denounces any of these beliefs and conditions is an infidel even if he still claims to be a Muslim."

The central image of the e-book is the group's logo: a globe with an open book, presumably the Quran. Emerging from the center of the Quran are a spear, a Kalashnikov rifle, a hand with the index finger sticking up -- a symbol of unity -- and a banner reading, "There is no God but God; Mohammed is the messenger of God."

CNN's Octavia Nasr contributed to this report.

[Madmary1]

IRAQI MINISTER: AL-QAEDA PLANS MAJOR ATTACKS IN EUROPE

August 27, 2005 3:55 p.m. EST
Source of Article

Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Reports are surfacing Saturday morning that intelligence in Iraq had uncovered plans that include major attacks across Europe.

"Osama Bin Laden has asked the head of Al Qaida in Iraq, Al Zarqawi, to organize an attack in Europe, more devastating than that of Sept. 11, 2001," Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Al Bayati tells Italian daily Il Messaggero.

Al-Qaeda ring leader, Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, has reportedly moved operatives to Europe for a series of attacks against NATO states, the report says.

Sources say the strikes are meant to pressure members of the U.S.-led coalition to leave Iraq.

Al Bayati told the Italian newspaper that Al Zarqawi has established a network throughout Europe for imminent strikes. Bayati says Italy is a leading target of the Al Qaida network.

[Madmary1]

'LONDON BOMBER' VIDEO AIRED ON TV

Story from BBC NEWS:
Source of Article

Published: 2005/09/01 20:37:09 GMT


A video of a man claiming to be one of the four bombers behind the 7 July Tube attacks which killed 52 people has been shown on Arab TV.

The man, who said he was Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, talked about his motives on a tape on al-Jazeera.

Khan said the UK government had committed atrocities against Muslims and he hailed Osama Bin Laden.

In a second video, al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri claimed responsibility for the blasts and threatened new attacks.

[Madmary1]

VIDEO: AL-QAIDA BEHIND LONDON BLASTS


By SALLY BUZBEE, Associated Press Writer
14 minutes ago
Source of Article


Al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, claimed responsibility for the July 7 London bombings in a video aired Thursday on Al-Jazeera that included a farewell statement by a man identified as one of the four suicide attackers.

It was the first explicit claim of responsibility for the blasts by the terrorist group headed by Osama bin Laden.

Al-Zawahri, who is thought to be hiding along the rugged Afghan-Pakistani border, threatened the West with "more catastrophes" in retaliation for the policies of President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Al-Jazeera newscaster who presented the al-Zawahri tape said it contained a "testament" by one of the suicide bombers who attacked the London transport system on July 7, killing 56 people.

Speaking with a heavy Yorkshire accent, the bomber, Mohammad Sidique Khan, said he was inspired by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, al-Zawahri and the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi.

"Until you will stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight," said Khan, wearing a red-and-white checked keffiyeh and a dark jacket. "We are at war, and I am a soldier and now you too will taste the reality of this situation."

In his tape, Al-Zawahri did not say outright that his terror group carried out the bombings on the London transport system that killed 56 people including the four bombers, but said they were a direct response to Britain's foreign policies and its rejection of a truce that al-Qaida offered Europe in April 2004.

After the March 2004 train bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid, Spain, bin Laden was reported to have offered European countries a three-month cease-fire to consider his demands to withdraw their troops from Muslim countries. Effectively it meant that European forces should leave Afghanistan and Iraq.

"I talk to you today about the blessed London battle which came as a slap to the face of the tyrannical, crusader British arrogance," al-Zawahri said. "It's a sip from the glass that the Muslims have been drinking from."

"This blessed battle has transferred — like its glorious predecessors in New York, Washington, and Madrid — the battle to the enemies' land, after many centuries of the battle being on our (Muslim) land and after (Western) troops have occupied our land in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine."

In a clear bid to turn Britons against the government, al-Zawahri said: "Blair not only disregards the millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he does not care about you as he sends you to the inferno in Iraq and exposes you to death in your land because of his crusader war against Islam."

Al-Zawahri appeared in black turban and white robes with an automatic weapon leaning against the wall beside him.

In his part of the tape, Khan said he had forsaken "everything for what we believe" and went on to accuse Western civilians of being directly responsible for the terror attacks that befall them.

"Your democratically elected governments continuously perpetuate injustice against my people all over the world, and your support of them makes you directly responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters," Khan said.

The image of Khan, a 30-year-old Leeds resident who died in the bombing of the London Underground train near Edgware Road, resembled photos of him published after the deadly attacks.

Khan was shown in the video with a trimmed beard and appeared to be sitting against a wall lined with an ornate carpet.

Al-Zawahri appeared in black turban and white robes with an automatic weapon leaning against the wall beside him.

Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the message's sensitive nature, said any claim of responsibility does not necessarily indicate that al-Qaida planned or directed the attack.

The officials said al-Qaida would regard the London bombings as a victory whether they were directly involved in them or not.

It was not the first time al-Zawahri has addressed the London bombings on videotape.

In a tape aired Aug. 4 by Al-Jazeera, al-Zawahri did not directly claim that al-Qaida carried out the July 7 bombings or the failed July 21 attacks, but he brought the July 7 attacks under al-Qaida's wing and depicted the terror network as still capable of delivering strikes around the world despite arrests in Europe and blows against its leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He presented the attacks as a result of Blair's decision to deploy troops in Iraq.

Nor was it the first time that a group has claimed responsibility for the July 7 attacks. On the day of the blasts a group calling itself "The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe" posted a claim of responsibility on a Web site popular with Islamic militants. The group purportedly said the London bombs were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Another al-Qaida-linked group, Abu Hafs al Masri Brigade, also claimed responsibility in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site shortly after the attacks.

___

Associated Press writer Katherine Shrader in Washington contributed to this report.

[Madmary1]

Hurricane Katrina:

AL QAEDA LEADER IN IRAQ SEES "START OF US COLLAPSE"


Posted: 04-09-2005 , 12:44 GMT
Source of Article


Al Qaeda group in Iraq, which is led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, on Sunday praised in an Internet statement what it said was the "start of the collapse" of the United States after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

"Congratulations to the Islamic nation, to our sheikh Osama abu Abdullah (Osama bin Laden) and to sheikh Ayman Zawahiri (bin Laden's deputy) for the destruction of America, which is at the forefront of evil. It is the start of its collapse."

The statement was referring to the hurricane which left some 10,000 dead.

In recent days, Islamists website connected between the storm and the "US war against Islam." According to them, Katrina was sent by God to torment the American empire.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

[Madmary1]

AL-QAEDA CLAIMS LONDON BOMBINGS

BBC World Edition
Source of Article

Al-Qaeda's deputy leader has said for the first time the group carried out the 7 July suicide bombings in London, in which 52 people were killed.
In a videotaped message aired on Arab television station al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahri said al-Qaeda had the "honour" of carrying out the attacks.

Osama Bin Laden's lieutenant had previously praised the bombings, and blamed them on the UK's foreign policy.

On the new tape, he also criticised Afghanistan's parliamentary elections.

[Abaddon (Revelation 9:11)]

SAUDI STORMS

As hurricanes batter the American coast and send oil prices up, Al Qaeda is watching, and drawing lessons.

By Christopher Dickey
Newsweek

Source of Article

Oct. 3, 2005 issue - The shoot-out earlier this month around a seafront villa in the Saudi Arabian city of Ad Dammam lasted almost 48 hours, and ended only when security forces brought in light artillery. They blasted the opulent home until the roof came down on the people inside. In the immediate aftermath police said they couldn't tell from the charred remains just how many members of "a deviant group" had died in the battle. Finally, with DNA tests, they counted five. Police also found enough weapons for a couple of platoons of guerrilla fighters. The inventory given out by the Saudi Interior Ministry included more than 60 hand grenades and pipe bombs, pistols, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, two barrels full of explosives, video equipment, a large amount of cash and forged documents.

It was the documents that really set off alarms. According to a Saudi Interior Ministry statement, they included forged passes to enter "important locations." The Saudi daily Okaz quoted the minister, Prince Nayef, saying the cell—which was linked directly to Al Qaeda—had planned major attacks on some of Saudi Arabia's key oil and gas facilities. "There isn't a place that they could reach that they didn't think about," said Nayef. And their ultimate target was the global economy. Saudi Arabia is the greatest source of oil on earth, with a quarter of known reserves and a proven policy of trying to stabilize prices even in today's volatile markets.

If the incident made few headlines at the time, it's because it ended on Sept. 6, when the United States—and oil traders—were focused on the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Yet precisely because of the shortages brought on by that storm and the damage still being counted from Hurricane Rita, Saudi Arabia is more important than ever to world oil supplies. What's worse, according to several analysts, Al Qaeda knows it. "They're watching Katrina. They're watching Rita. They're watching what it's doing to the United States," says former CIA agent Robert Baer, who has written extensively on Saudi Arabia's vulnerabilities. A few ruptured pipes could be repaired quickly, says Baer, but a concerted attack at several points could bring on the kind of nightmare scenario that U.S. officials have been dreading since the Reagan years, pushing oil prices up from their current prices in the range of $60 to $70 a barrel to well over $100 for weeks or even months.

Since Al Qaeda's campaign of terror inside Saudi Arabia began in 2003, the Saudis have dramatically stepped up protection of their oil installations. Security forces have issued several lists of their most-wanted terrorists, and tracked down or killed most of them. (Four of the five in Ad Dammam were on the latest lists.) Officials have sought to reassure the world that the terrorists are on the run. Anthony Cordesman at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, among others, has backed up that basic analysis.

Yet the cells seem to be replaced almost as quickly as they're taken down. The brother of one of those killed in Ad Dammam, himself a wanted terrorist named Muhammad Abdelrahman Al-Suwailimi, put a voice message on the Web afterward claiming the incident was exaggerated by authorities. He also thanked the infamous terrorist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, in neighboring Iraq, for his support. Saudi Arabia now is increasingly concerned about the potential blowback of disintegration in Iraq. "I don't see how the Arab countries are going to be left out of the conflict in one way or another," said Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal last week. "I think this is what is going to happen if things continue as they are."

Precisely what the Dammam cell intended to hit, if known, has not been revealed in any detail. But, as Baer points out, Saudi Arabia is a target-rich environment. Certain critical nodes in the general vicinity of Ad Dammam have worried American strategists for years. Past studies suggest a moderate-to-severe attack on the Abqaiq oil-processing facilities, for instance, could cut Saudi output (now about 9.6 million barrels a day) by more than 4 million barrels for two months or more.

Al Qaeda has used suicide boats before. A successful hit against a major offshore loading facility at either Ras Tanura or Juaymah would knock millions of barrels off the market. Baer wrote in 2003 that "a single jumbo jet with a suicide bomber at the controls ... crashed into the heart of Ras Tanura, would be enough to bring the world's oil-addicted economies to their knees." After the one-two punch from Katrina and Rita, it might not take that much.

6th Angel

[Madmary1]

WEBCAST NEWS GIVES AL-QAEDA VIEW


By Sebastian Usher
BBC World media correspondent

Source of Article

On-screen graphics and images make the producers' message clear
Radical Islamists have started webcasting their own weekly news bulletin.

It is the latest effort to use cyberspace to get their anti-American and anti-Western message across, bypassing mainstream media outlets.

The webcasts have been posted on a variety of forums on Islamist websites - the customary mode of getting news and video material across to its intended audience.

They have been produced by a group calling itself The Global Islamic Media Front, which wants to act as a clearing house for the many communiques coming from Islamic extremists linked to or inspired by al-Qaeda.

The first bulletin featured a masked newsreader, with a video screen showing news footage in the background.

"First, the Sawt al-Khilafa team sends its best wishes to the Islamic nation for the defeat of the Zionist occupation in the land of Palestine," he says.

Aside from the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the other stories featured in the bulletin are the latest militant attacks in Iraq and statements from the man believed to be behind many of them, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

'Wrath of Allah'

The third item is on the hurricanes in US, with the newsreader openly gloating over the suffering of Americans, calling Hurricane Katrina a "divine punishment".

Senior Al-Qaeda figures regularly release video broadcasts
"Broken and completely humiliated, George Bush, a fool who is being obeyed, announced his obvious incapability of dealing with the wrath of Allah that visited the city of homosexuals."

The producers of this and a subsequent shorter broadcast say they will produce them weekly.

An advertisement for The Voice of the Caliphate on Islamist websites shows the logos of news channels such as CNN and Fox News in flames alongside those of Arab broadcasters like al-Arabiya.

The slogan reads: "An accurate word in the face of injustice".

Exposure

Neil Doyle, a British analyst who studies Islamist websites, told the BBC what he believed to be the aim of the group behind the broadcasts, the Global Islamic Media Front.

"They have decided to wrap up all the different communiques and videos from radical Islamic networks in a weekly broadcast."

It is not clear where the group is based, though there are suspicions that it may be operating from western rather than Arab countries.

It remains difficult for intelligence services to trace the source of such videos, although in recent weeks a number of the sites hosting extremist material appear to have been targeted and closed down.

Beyond its immediate audience of radical Islamists, the Voice of the Caliphate appears to be trying to appeal to the wider Muslim community.

But the editor of the UK-based magazine Muslim News, Ahmed Versi, told the BBC that he did not believe that they would succeed in this.

He said their key aim, though, was to get publicity for their views and in this - thanks to a number of articles about the site in the Western media - they had been more successful.

[Madmary1]

REPORT WARNS OF TERRORISTS' "GREAT RAMADAN OFFENSIVE"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted GMT 9-8-2005 15:39:3
By Sherrie Gossett
www.CNSNews.com
Source of Article
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Al Qaeda's plans for a series of spectacular terrorist strikes in October, targeting American interests as well as U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East and said to be coordinated by Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- are the subject of a non-public report issued by terrorism experts this week.

The attacks, planned to coincide with the Muslim observance of Ramadan and dubbed the "Great Ramadan Offensive," are designed to create a "fateful confrontation" with the U.S. and Israeli forces in the Middle East, according to a May 30 letter from Zarqawi to bin Laden. The contents of the letter are referenced in the report written by Yossef Bodansky, the former director of the U.S. Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.

The Sept. 2 report is accessible only to government officials on the Global Information System (GIS) database. Cybercast News Service obtained the report on the same day as its release. It warns of planned attacks in Western Europe, Russia and perhaps the continental U.S. The specific targets are believed to include airports at Schiphol in the Netherlands and Fiumicino in Italy.

Italy remains on high alert and barricades have been placed around Rome's Colosseum. "Terrorism is coming home," the GIS report quotes one unnamed German senior official. "And it's coming home to those countries whose governments may have believed they were immune from terror because for years they have provided safe haven to notorious Islamic extremists."

An associate of Zarqawi named Abu Abdul Rahman al-Jazaeri, was said to be in Italy, but could not be located by authorities, according to Bodansky, who added that Jazeiri was believed to have recently received from a Zarqawi messenger "the definitive mandate to plan and carry out a major terrorist operation in Italy."

In late August Italy announced that it was at an elevated risk for a terrorist attack. The country expelled 700 suspected militants and arrested 141 others. News organizations reported that locks to the entrances of 49 subway stations had been changed and metal barricades erected around the 2,000-year old Colosseum in Rome.

Piecing it all together

Details of the planned attacks were pieced together from intercepted communications between top al Qaeda leaders in the latter part of August, analysis of what counter- terrorism experts described as a dramatic increase in the volume of communication among jihad forces and the observation of an unprecedented movement of jihadists and messengers around the world apparently delivering instructions.

Zarqawi, linked to numerous bombings and the beheadings of several Western hostages in Iraq, reportedly titled his letter to bin Laden, "A Message from a Soldier to His Commander." According to the GIS report, Zarqawi's letter to bin Laden alluded to "the forthcoming grand offensive comprised of escalation in the Middle East and a series of spectacular terrorist strikes" meant to overshadow the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes in New York City and Washington, D.C.

The letter also indicated Zarqawi was expecting bin Laden to approve and authorize the escalation: "I think that the plan for the next stage that was drawn up has reached you or is on its way to you. O God. Make the expedition of Osama proceed toward its goal ... We await your orders as to the next stage of the plan," Zarqawi wrote.

An Aug. 8 televised message from bin Laden's overall second-in-command -- Ayman al-Zawahiri - is now viewed as the approval Zarqawi was anticipating. "What you have seen, O Americans, in New York and Washington and the losses you are having in Afghanistan and Iraq, in spite of all the media blackout, are only the losses of the initial clashes ... You will see the horror that will make you forget what you had seen in Vietnam," Zawahiri said.

The al Qaeda official's threat, according to the report, wasn't delivered until the jihad forces were organized and ready to strike.

The GIS report also cites an Aug. 21 message recorded by Zarqawi, which references the next phase of the terrorist jihad. "The [mujahedeen] in Iraq, have, praise be to God, moved the battle from the ground (in Iraq) to the land of the cross."

Zarqawi's message claimed that "[J]ihadist units have been founded in all of Western Europe, to defend the powerless within the nation. For the crimes the Crusaders have committed against the Muslims, they will reap in their own homes, God willing."

A few days later, according to GIS, a doctrinal statement from Zarqawi emerged, which stressed the priority of al Qaeda in Iraq establishing "another base that will export jihad to all parts of the world the same way the mother al Qaeda in Afghanistan was."

'The heart and lair of the Great Satan'

Bodansky's report states that "concrete preparations for the consolidation of Islamist-jihadist springboards against the heart and lair of the Great Satan are being completed -- for Western Europe in the Balkans, for Russian and Eastern Europe in Chechnya, and for the United States in the tri-border area in Latin America."

Widespread anticipation throughout the Muslim world of the Great Ramadan Offensive was being picked up by intelligence analysts in August and then was reinforced by a slew of theological statements -- all buttressing what the GIS report calls "a forthcoming, well-coordinated global onslaught."

The marked increase in the volume of communication, both encrypted and open, exceeded that of the months prior to September 2001, the report states.

Bodansky said there is a growing awareness among Western European intelligence services of the "chatter" and activation of jihadist units, led by veterans of Iraq and Chechnya. In early August 2005 Pakistanis arrested a senior operative called Osama bin Yussaf who had detailed maps of Italian, German and British cities stored in his computer.

Germany faces the challenge of second and third generation immigrants inspired by the idea of a global jihad, the GIS report notes. Such young jihadists often hold down a regular job, have European passports and are valued assets due to their low profile, and easy mobility.

Bodansky also points to the Aug. 23 decree by Islamist rebels in Chechnya establishing an "emergency government." Details of the decree, not previously reported, inidcate that a "war leadership council" was established and would likely "implement the next cycle of terrorist strikes against Russia" as part of the coordinated global attacks.

Hurricane Katrina's message

Terrorist leaders may also have taken the devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina as a symbol that God is pleased with their plans to launch the "Great Ramadan Offensive," according to the GIS report.

"Allah has punished America with winds and water," said one imam quoted in the report. America is under "the curse of the Jews," said another.

"It's clear the jihadists regarded Katrina as a sign from God they're doing the right thing," said Gregory R. Copley, president of The International Strategic Studies Association in Washington, D.C.

In a separate analysis, Christopher Brown, research associate with the Hudson Institute's Transitions to Democracy project, warned of the strategic opening that the hurricane aftermath offers jihadists.

"If this attack is launched soon, the devastation to the American economy alone could easily far exceed that of the September 11th attacks and could be equivalent in terms of economic impact to the detonation of a small nuclear device on American soil," Brown said.

He also suggested that the timing of Zawahiri's past video messages indicates a terrorist attack may be imminent.

His first messages, on Sept. 9 and Nov. 9 of 2004, preceded the Dec. 6, 2004 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Feb. 20 and June 17, 2005 video messages by Zawahiri preceded the July 7 series of bombings in London. A third set of messages - on Aug. 4 and Sept. 1 - also creates cause for concern, Brown contends.

"If the pattern that has been outlined holds true," says Brown, "then al Qaeda is very likely about to launch a new major or series of major attacks within the next month."

Copley agreed, telling Cybercast News Service that, "I think Europe is going to be a prime target, but I think there's no question the U.S. is very much on the schedule.

"There will be big things happening over the next few months," he added.

Ramadan, a religious observance which includes a period of fasting, is scheduled according to the Islamic calendar. This year it is scheduled from Oct. 4 to Nov. 2. Muslim soldiers on the battlefield are exempt from Ramadan.

[Madmary1]

IRAQ QAEDA CALLS FOR MORE ATTACKS IN RAMADAN-WEB


04 Oct 2005 09:47:01 GMT
Source of Article
Source: Reuters

DUBAI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Iraq's al Qaeda urged Sunni Muslims on Tuesday to step up attacks on U.S. forces during Ramadan, the holy month which has seen some of the bloodiest attacks by militants hoping for rewards in paradise.

The group, led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said in a statement that the "gates of heaven are open" during the fasting month, which began on Tuesday for most Sunnis in the Middle East. Shi'ites mark the start of the month on Wednesday.

"Al Qaeda Organisation in Iraq announces that Tuesday is the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan ... a month of serious work, jihad and initiative," said the statement posted on an Islamist Web site often used by the group.

"Gather your strength and we incite the believers to kill the slaves of the cross who have ... demolished mosques and houses, burnt the Koran and sowed corruption in the land."

In 2003, major attacks were launched during Ramadan in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, bearing the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

Muslims scan the sky at night after the end of their lunar calendar's eighth month in search of the new moon to proclaim the start of Ramadan -- Islam's holiest month when practising Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk and believe that good deeds are rewarded 10-fold.

Zarqawi's group has already declared an all-out war on Iraq's majority Shi'ite Muslims and has intensified attacks ahead of an Oct. 15 referendum on a new constitution, opposed by most Iraqi Sunni Arabs.

Tuesday's statement follows a new offensive launched by U.S. troops in western Iraq near the Syrian borders to hunt for al Qaeda militants.

[Madmary1]

BIN LADEN TO SURFACE AFTER NEW ATTACK ON US SOIL: ex-CIA expert


(AFP)

6 October 2005
Source of Article


WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden is expected to remain in hiding until he stages another attack on the United States, an ex-CIA expert who had tracked the terror mastermind for two decades warned in an interview on Wednesday.

“As soon as he hits us in the United States again we’ll see how important he is in the Islamic world,” Michael Scheuer, the former head of the “bin Laden unit” at the CIA, told AFP in an interview.

Despite his low profile, bin Laden remains powerful, Scheuer said, shrugging off reports that the Al Qaeda chief was isolated and his communication network shattered due to a relentless hunt for him.

“We mistake quiet for defeat or irrelevance. And all quiet is disquiet,” said Scheuer, a fierce critic of the Bush administration and its “War on Terror” policy since he left the CIA in November last year.

Scheuer said that bin Laden’s right-hand-man Ayman Al Zawahiri, who last appeared on a video aired 10 days before the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, seemed to have temporarily taken over the Al Qaeda leadership apparently for the boss to prepare for another US strike.

Bin Laden last surfaced in a video footage aired on the eve of the US presidential elections in November last year. In the tape, declared authentic by the authorities, the Saudi-born radical directly admitted he ordered the September 11 attacks.

Asked why he thought the Al Qaeda leader had not resurfaced since then, Scheuer said: “I don’t think we are going to hear from him until he attacks us again.

“His feature on the eve of the election was simply to say that: This is it, I have warned you four times. I punched my ticket in the Islamic world, I’ve given you all the warning that the religion requires me.

“I think that’s why Zawahiri is taking the lead at the moment,” said Scheuer, the author of the best-selling book “Imperial Hubris,” which was originally published anonymously as required by the CIA.

The United States has offered rewards of up to 25 million dollars each for bin Laden and Al Zawahiri.

Pakistan said last month that bin Laden was now isolated as his communication network had been shattered.

One key Al Qaeda suspect revealed under interrogation that bin Laden was using couriers travelling on foot or horseback instead of communicating by satellite telephone or the Internet to avoid being detected, according to Pakistan’s chief military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan.

But Scheuer, currently an adjunct professor of security studies at Georgetown University, said, “I’m one that believes that we have not destroyed their (Al Qaeda’s) capability to attack us.

“I think bin Laden still commands the international media at a moment’s notice if he decides to make a media appearance. He is very important. So, I think again there is lot of whistling past the graveyard at the moment.”

Scheuer earlier Wednesday told a forum organized by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, that Al Qaeda would survive even without bin Laden, “who is a unique combination of a 12th century theologian and a 21st century CEO.”

Ersel Aydinli, a former counter-terrorism expert with the Turkish police, said bin Laden failed in his bid to drum up support from Muslims to join his jihadist struggle.

“But even if he is captured or killed, probably we still have to deal with the legacy beyond him,” he said, adding that the Al Qaeda had broken up into various “splinter groups with potential for multiple attacks.

“The good news is that it looks like Osama bin laden and Al Qaeda have really failed in terms of getting enough attention for their call for jihad in a violent way,” he said.

Aydinli, who teaches at George Washington University, said field research he conducted last summer among Muslim communities in the Middle East and Europe revealed that there was still continuing debate over bin Laden’s role.

“There is a huge debate whether he served or he really hindered the Muslim world’s interests,” he said.

[Madmary1]

Ramadan and nuke terror

IS 'AMERICAN HIROSHIMA' SET FOR THIS MONTH?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source of Article
Posted: October 7, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Paul L. Williams


The next terrorist attack on the United States – a "nuclear hell storm" planned for seven major cities – is set to occur this month.

That's the word from al-Qaida.

In a communiqué to Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top al-Qaida lieutenant in Iraq, mentions the "Great Ramadan Offensive" that will create a "fateful confrontation" with the United States and Israel.

"I think that the plans for the next stage of the jihad has reached you or will reach you in a few days," Zarqawi writes in the letter. "O God, make the plans of Osama come to fruition!"

The communiqué, dated May 30, was intercepted by CIA officials and remains on the Global Information System database that is accessible only to government officials with high-security clearance.

Most U. S. intelligence officials dismissed Zarqawi's letter as wishful thinking until Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's second in command, appeared on al-Jazeera, the official television network of Saudi Arabia, to deliver a message to the American people.

In the message, which was broadcast Aug. 8, al-Zawahiri said: "What you have seen, O Americans, in New York and Washington and the losses you are having in Afghanistan and Iraq, in spite of the blackouts by your media, are only the losses of the initial clashes. ... You will soon experience horrors that will make you forget the horrors you have encountered in Vietnam."

The al-Qaida chieftain went on to say: "Jihadist forces have been established in all of Western Europe to defend the powerless within the nation. For the crimes that the Crusaders have committed against the Muslims will be reaped by Christians and Jews throughout the Western world."

Zawahiri's video messages are viewed by intelligence officials as telling signs that a terrorist attack is imminent. His televised message Sept. 6, 2004, took place before the December 6, 2004, bombing of the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while his message of June 17, 2005, preceded the London bombings.

Concerns about an October attack were heightened even more by reports that the radical Islamic community viewed the ravages of hurricanes Katrina and Rita as signs that Allah was pleased with the plans for "the American Hiroshima."

"Allah has punished America with winds and water," one imam is quoted in the GIS report as saying. Another imam reportedly quipped that America, as evidenced by the natural disasters, is "under the curse of the Jews."

Christopher Brown, research associate with the Hudson Institute's Transitions to Democracy project, maintains that the hurricanes have presented al-Qaida with a unique strategic opportunity.

"If this attack is launched soon," Brown said, "the devastation to the American economy alone could easily far exceed that of the September 11 attacks and could be equivalent to the detonation of a small nuclear device on American soil."

Ramadan represents the ninth month of the Islamic year, the month in which the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. According to Muslim tradition, the actual revelation occurred on the night between the 26th and 27th days of the month. On this "Night of Determination," Allah determines the fate of the world for the coming year.

The fate of the world for the next Islamic year, if bin Laden has his way, will include the nuclear destruction of the United States.

Bin Laden has been amassing nuclear weapons and materials since 1992, when he was in the Sudan. This was substantiated by the testimony of al-Qaida officials in federal court during the hearings of "The U.S. v. Osama bin Laden."

When he returned to Afghanistan, bin Laden purchased tactical nuclear weapons from the Chechen Mafia. News of the sale was confirmed by Saudi, Israeli, British, Saudi and Russian intelligence and reported in The Times of London, the Jerusalem Report, Al Watan al-Arabi, Muslim Magazine, Al-Majallah (London's Saudi weekly) and by the BBC.

In 1997, bin Laden made additional small nuclear weapons from materials bought not only from the Chechens but also black market sources in Russia, China, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.

In 1998, he purchased large quantities of highly enriched uranium from Simeon Mogilevich, a Ukrainian arms dealer. For one delivery of fifteen kilos of uranium-236, Mogilevich was paid $70 million. Bin Laden also purchased several bars of enriched uranium-138 from Ibrahim Abd, an Egyptian arms dealer and several Congolese opposition soldiers.

From 1999 to 2001, bin Laden hired scientists and technicians from the A.Q. Khan Research Facility in Pakistan not only to build new nukes from the highly enriched uranium and plutonium but also to maintain, upgrade, reconfigure, and redesign his "off-the shelf" nukes, including nuclear mines, so that they could be packed into lightweight (less than eight pounds) suitcases and backpacks or molded into warheads that could be launched from 120 or 155 millimeter recoilless rifles.

Upon the arrests of Dr. Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Dr. Chaudry Abdul Majid, two top officials from the Khan facility, the CIA discovered that several of bin Laden's tactical nukes had been forward-deployed to the United States from Karachi.

More information concerning al-Qaida's nukes came with the arrest in Pakistan of Sharif al-Masri, a key al-Qaida operative. Al Masri, an Egyptian national with close ties to al-Zawahiri, operative, informed CIA and ISI (Pakistani intelligence) officials that several tactical nukes for use in the American Hiroshima had been forward deployed to Mexico for transportation across the border by members of Mara Salvatrucha ("MS-13"), a Salvadoran street gang.

These developments caused both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry to speak of nuclear terrorism in the 2004 presidential campaign as "the single greatest danger facing the American people," and for Vice President Cheney to say that a nuclear attack from al-Qaeda appears "imminent."

The seven cities targeted by al-Qaida for nuclear destruction are New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Chicago.

Several Islamic scholars say that Ramadan is an unlikely time for al-Qaida to strike since it is the holiest month of the year, a time in which Muslims traditionally refrain from warfare to spend time in fasting, meditation, and prayer. But many Islamic battles throughout history took place during Ramadan, including the following:

624 – The Battle of Badr occurred on 17 Ramadan when the Prophet Mohammed led his forces to victory over the Arabian tribes who opposed him.

627 – The Muslims trained for the Battle of Ditch during Ramadan

630 – The soldiers of Islam, under Mohammed, established a training camp in Tabouk during the month of fasting and attacked the Byzantine army.

653 – During Ramadan, the Muslim army conquered Rhodes and melted the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, into weapons for the soldiers.

1187 – The Battle of Hattin in which a combined force of Sunnis and Shiites destroyed the Christian army occurred the morning after the "Night of Determination."

1973 – On Oct. 6, Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a surprise offensive against Israel to launch the Yom Kippur or the 10th of Ramadan War.

2000 – Al-Qaida launches the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbor Yemen. The attack of Oct. 5 kills 17 and wounds 39 American sailors.

In 2001, Dr. Fuad Mukheimar, secretary-general of the Egyptian Sharia Association, published an article in which he encouraged bin Laden to launch an attack against the U.S. during the holy month.

"During the month of Ramadan," Mukheimar wrote, "a great Muslim victory was won over the Crusaders under the leadership of Saladin. His advisers counseled him to rest from the jihad during the month of fasting, but Saladin insisted on continuing the jihad during Ramadan because he knew ... that fasting helps to [achieve] victory, because during Ramadan the Muslims overcome themselves through fasting, and thus their victory over their enemies is certain."

Bin Laden, who views himself as Saladin's successor, could opt to heed this advice.

Ramadan began Tuesday, Oct. 4, and ends Nov. 2. The Night of Determination will occur Oct. 29.

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© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

[Madmary1]

MESSIANIC MADNESS OF NUCLEAR OSAMA

Heavenly Signs, Bin Laden's Mahdi Complex Raise Current Threat Of 'American Hiroshima'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 23, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Source of Article
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

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Signs in the heavens and a popular notion in the Islamic world that Osama bin Laden is the "Mahdi," a long-awaited messianic deliverer, increase this month's risk of mega-terror attacks on the U.S. – including raising the threat of al-Qaida's nuclear "American Hiroshima" plan, says an author and expert in a report released today to WND.

Paul L. Williams, author of "The Al Qaeda Connection" and a former FBI consultant, warns in a report that first appeared in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin terror attacks on the U.S. before Nov. 2 would have special spiritual significance.

"Islamic clerics point out that the signs in the heavens are propitious for such an event," writes Williams. "This year, Muslims will experience solar and lunar eclipses during the holy month. These great heavenly signs, according to Islamic visionary Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Sahib, foretell the coming of the "Mahdi," the mighty warrior of the Apocalypse, who will defeat the army of Yajuj wa-Majuj ("the infidel unbelievers"), led by the Dabbah or "the Beast." He will lead the Muslims to great victory and bring forth the Day of Islam, when all of creation falls before the throne of Allah."

Millions of Muslims worldwide already regard bin Laden as the "Mahdi," say Williams and other analysts of Islam.

"Islamic tradition says that the Mahdi will be a descendant of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima," writes Williams. "He will have a distinctive forehead, a prominent nose, and a black mole on his face. He will arise from Arabia and will be called from a cave by Allah to serve as the savior of all true believers."

Williams points out bin Laden's followers see significance in his high forehead, the prominent nose, the black mole, his origins in Arabia and his calling from a cave in Afghanistan.

"Bin Laden speaks of the president of the United States as Dabbah, the beast he must slay, and of the American people as the Yajuj wa-Majuj, the nation of Gog that he must destroy," reports Williams. "In his edicts and official correspondence, he no longer signs his name as Osama bin Laden but as Osama bin Muhammad bin Laden."

Is bin Laden the "Mahdi"? Many Muslims think so. And these are prophetically significant times for those who believe. A solar eclipse occurred Oct. 3 and a lunar eclipse followed Oct. 17. This is a unique phenomenon that only occurred once before -- during the Ramadan of 1894. At that time, Muslim scholars said that the next occurrence of twin eclipses will signal the appearance of "the divinely guided one" and the end of human history.

"One Muslim, who views bin Laden as the Mahdi, is Sheikh Nasir bin Hamid al Fahd," explains Williams. "Al Fahd recently issued a religious ruling or fatwa on behalf of the clerics of Saudi Arabia that granted bin Laden and other terrorists the permission to use nuclear weapons against the United States."

In the fatwa, titled "A Treatise on the Legal Status of Using Weapons of Mass Destruction against Infidels," al Fahd ruled that international law should not be taken into consideration while determining if America should be nuked. Islamic law, he says, overrides all man-made laws.

"Al Fahd justifies the mass casualties and destruction that would be caused by the 'American Hiroshima' -- the al Qaida plan to detonate seven tactical nuclear weapons in seven major U.S. cities -- by arguing that an estimate of the number of Muslims killed by Americans would total almost 10 million," writes Williams.

In addition to the Double Occultation of the sun and the moon, many Muslims see other signs that Allah seeks the destruction of the United States, including the devastation wrought by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Williams points out that, in a communiqué to bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top al-Qaida lieutenant in Iraq, mentions the "Great Ramadan Offensive" that will create a "fateful confrontation" with the United States and Israel.

"I think that the plans for the next stage of the jihad has reached you or will reach you in a few days," Zarqawi writes in the letter. "O God, make the plans of Osama come to fruition!"

The communiqué, dated May 30, was intercepted by CIA officials and remains on the Global Information System database that is accessible only to government officials with high-security clearance.

"Most U. S. intelligence officials dismissed Zarqawi's letter as wishful thinking until Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's second in command, appeared on al-Jazeera, the official television network of Saudi Arabia, to deliver a message to the American people," explains Williams.

In the message, which was broadcast Aug. 8, al-Zawahiri said: "What you have seen, O Americans, in New York and Washington and the losses you are having in Afghanistan and Iraq, in spite of the blackouts by your media, are only the losses of the initial clashes. ... You will soon experience horrors that will make you forget the horrors you have encountered in Vietnam."

The al-Qaida No. 2 man went on to say: "Jihadist forces have been established in all of Western Europe to defend the powerless within the nation. For the crimes that the Crusaders have committed against the Muslims will be reaped by Christians and Jews throughout the Western world."

"Zawahiri's video messages are viewed by intelligence officials as telling signs that a terrorist attack is imminent," says Williams. "His televised message Sept. 6, 2004, took place before the December 6, 2004, bombing of the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, while his message of June 17, 2005, preceded the London bombings."

Williams says concerns about an October attack were heightened more by reports that jihadists viewed the ravages of hurricanes Katrina and Rita as signs that Allah was pleased with the plans for "the American Hiroshima."

"Allah has punished America with winds and water," one imam is quoted in the GIS report as saying. Another imam reportedly quipped that America, as evidenced by the natural disasters, is "under the curse of the Jews."

[Abaddon (Revelation 9:11)]

IRAN LEADER CALLS FOR ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Wed Oct 26, 3:34 PM ET

Source of Article

TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Wednesday that Israel is a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map" — fiery words that Washington said underscores its concern over Iran's nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad's speech to thousands of students at a "World without Zionism" conference set a hard-line foreign policy course sharply at odds with that of his moderate predecessor, echoing the sentiments of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.

The United States said Ahmadinejad's remarks show that Washington's fears about Iran's nuclear program are accurate.

"I think it reconfirms what we have been saying about the regime in Iran," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters in Washington. "It underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions."

Ahmadinejad also condemned Iran's neighbors which seek to break new ground in their relations with Israel. "Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury," state-run television quoted him as saying.

Relations between Israel and several Persian Gulf states have been thawing amid Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September. Bahrain announced in September it was ending a decades-old law banning trade ties with Israel. In October, Qatar said it was donating $6 million to help build a soccer stadium for a mixed Arab-Jewish team, the first such financial assistance by an Arab state for any town inside Israel.

Israel has been at the forefront of nations calling for an end to Iran's nuclear program, which the United States and many others in the West say is aimed at acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Iran insists the program is for generating electricity.

Referring to Palestinian suicide bomb attacks in Israel, Ahmadinejad said: "there is no doubt that the new wave in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot from the face of the Islamic world."

Ahmadinejad's speech came hours before a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in the Israeli town of Hadera, killing five people. Iran aids several militant Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with support and training through proxies among Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

"Ahmadinejad has clearly declared the doctrine of his government," said Mohammad Sadeq Hosseini, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. "He is returning Iran to the revolutionary goals it was pursuing in the 1980s."

Reacting to the Iranian president's speech, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Ahmadinejad and Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar "speak openly about destroying the Jewish state ... and it appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on their violent declarations with violent actions."

Ebrahim Yazdi, a former Iranian foreign minister, said Ahmadinejad's remarks harmed Iran.

"Such comments provoke the international community against us. It's not to Iran's interests at all. It's harmful to Iran to make such a statement," he said.

In Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos summoned Iran's ambassador to protest Ahmadinejad's comments. Moratinos said he rejected the remarks in the strongest possible terms.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Baptiste Mattei also condemned the remarks "with the utmost firmness."

Ahmadinejad became president in August after winning elections two months earlier. He replaced Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who advocated international dialogue and tried to improve relations with the West.

Iran announced earlier this year that it had fully developed solid fuel technology for missiles, a major breakthrough that increases their accuracy. The Shahab-3, with a range of 810 miles to more than 1,200 miles, is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East.

End of article

6th Angel

[Madmary1]

SYRIA CALLS FOR BACKING OF ARAB LEAGUE


by Aljazeera

Source of Article
Tuesday 01 November 2005 10:51 AM GMT


Syria has called on the Arab League for an urgent summit to adopt a pro-Damascus position to counter international pressure imposed on the country due to the al-Hariri probe.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has sent two delegations to the Gulf countries regarding the recent United Nations Security Council resolution, Arab diplomats at the Arab League said on Tuesday.

Syrian and some Lebanese groups have rejected and condemned the UN Security Council resolution threatening Syria.

Speaking to Aljazeera, Numair Ghanim, Head of Syria's parliamentary committee on international relations, said: "Syria has demanded an urgent session of the Arab League to hold talks among Arabs and transfer the dangers behind the current events in the Middle East, particularly the pressure imposed on Syria."

US plan

"All our Arab brothers should be aware of what is going on, as this series, which the United States wants to play in the area, would not stop in Syria and Lebanon," he said.

"Al-Hariri's blood has been used as a tool to achieve their [US] previously planned objectives," he added.

"In addition, they have now exceeded the limits of revealing the truth," Ghanim said.

"Therefore, Syria wants to hold talks with its Arab brothers to be put in front of their responsibilities," he added.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had previously sent an envoy, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim, to some Gulf Arab countries to deliver his message and inform them of the situation while garnering support, Ghanim said.

"Syria's policies are clear. It has a definite position towards this case and wants to inform all its Arab brothers of the truth taking place on the ground," he added.

Full cooperation

"Syria has previously announced it would fully cooperate in order to achieve the main objective of the probe committee which is to reveal the truth behind al-Hariri's assassination," Ghanim said.

He believes that the use of the word cooperation is relative and open to interpretation and is the key in this case.

Ghanim said if this cooperation serves the objective of revealing the truth, then Syria would cooperate fully with the committee.

"However, if this cooperation is meant to achieve objectives other than revealing the truth behind al-Hariri's assassination, Syria will then adopt a different position," he added.

Mehlis back in Beirut

Meanwhile the UN team investigating the February murder of five-time Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri was back in Beirut on Tuesday buoyed by the unanimous backing of the Security Council for its demands for better cooperation from neighbouring Syria.

UN chief investigator Detlev Mehlis flew into Beirut on Monday evening as Resolution 1636 was being passed in New York, Lebanese officials said.

Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, whose government was praised by Mehlis's report to the Security Council last week, welcomed the new resolution.

"I hope our Syrian brothers will now match words with deeds and cooperate fully with the international inquiry," said Siniora, who was for years the slain al-Hariri's right-hand man in both politics and business.

Further extension

Siniora expressed satisfaction with the resolution, even though it had been watered down from earlier drafts circulated by Britain, France and the United States, saying it would help the UN team's inquiry.

He also raised the possibility that the commission's mandate might be extended beyond its current 15 December expiry date "if the Lebanese government requests it".

Mehlis's team was already given one three-month extension to allow it more time to complete its investigation, and in particular to interview senior Syrian officials.