Hamas and Fatah close in on reconciliation deal

Hamas and Fatah, bitter rivals who violently split more than two years ago, appear close to a reconciliation deal that could lead to a Palestinian unity government. That would allow Palestinians to present a more unified position in peace talks with Israel, if negotiations aren't run aground by the Israeli government's vow not to talk to Hamas and Hamas's refusal to make a permanent peace with the Jewish state.

Top Hamas official Khaled Mashal told journalists in Cairo on Monday that the Islamist organization agreed "in principle" to an Egyptian proposal that reportedly calls for holding elections in the first half of next year and deploying a joint Fatah-Hamas security force in Gaza. Fatah agreed to the plan a month ago.

The Egyptians "will work on laying down a final draft for the reconciliation project in the coming few days," added Mr. Meshal, the movement's Damascus-based chief, whose statement seemed to indicate a deal was imminent.

But skeptics in both the West Bank and Gaza say that some aspects of the divide still feel insurmountable, and that implementation of such a deal is hard to fathom. Hamas members seek a bigger role in the West Bank, including "integration" into the West Bank security apparatus, which Fatah is unlikely to accept. And given their waning popularity in Gaza, they are unlikely to hold elections in the first half of 2010, says Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza.

"[Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas] said yes, Hamas said yes, but when it comes to implementation, I think both Hamas and Fatah will have excuses to run away from this agreement," he says. "We're still far away from ending the political divide."

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Disaster Checklist: How To Survive A Home Invasion

Home invasions are on the rise. A difficult economy and increased surveillance and security at many businesses is causing criminals to look elsewhere to perpetrate their crimes and sadly they see peoples homes and residences as much easier and less risky targets.

Home invasions are among the most insidious of crimes, shattering the sense of safety and security for children and families for many years after the crime, often for a lifetime. With the rise in these types of crimes it’s important to learn what you can do to safeguard your home and family.

In a recent episode of Spike TV’s Surviving Disaster, host Cade Courtley shows how to fight back if escape is not an option. Watching this episode you will learn how to get out of hand restraints, devise a plan for escape in a life-threatening hostage scenario and how to protect your home and your family when you are the one in danger.

• -“Surviving Disaster – How To Survive A Home Invasion”, National Terror Alert, 9/29/09.
• -"Checklist: How to Survive a Home Invasion", Spike TV, 9/23/09.
  

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Al Qaeda Recruits a Growing Number of Americans

Eleven days ago federal agents in Denver foiled an alleged plot on U.S. soil that, for the first time, appears to have posed a true and severe threat to the U.S. homeland. Najibullah Zazi, a permanent resident of Afghan nationality, who pled not guilty yesterday in his arraignment in Brooklyn to charges including for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. He is believed to have trained to make bombs with Al Qaeda in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan and to have initiated plans—apparently without assistance from undercover agents—with others in the United States to perpetrate a terrorist attack in New York City. The FBI, in other words, has just thwarted the most serious plot, by far, on U.S. soil in the last eight years.

And this is just the beginning. The threat from Al Qaeda to the U.S. homeland is arguably more acute now than at any time since September 11. This is not because Al Qaeda has become a stronger foe. (On the contrary, Osama bin Laden's terrorist network has actually been weakened in the last two years by intensified U.S. missile strikes against its leadership in FATA and a sharp backlash among Muslims worldwide against its violent excesses.) It is because a growing number of Americans have gone to FATA, the global hub of Al Qaeda's terrorist operations, to join the jihad in Afghanistan—something which was very rare until recently—and Al Qaeda, opportunistically, has recruited them for attacks on their country.

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Al Qaeda Bombers Learn from Drug Smugglers

Al-Qaeda has developed a new tactic that allows suicide bombers to breach even the tightest security. Inside a Saudi palace, the scene was the bloody aftermath of an al-Qaeda attack in August aimed at killing Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, head of Saudi Arabia's counter terrorism operations.

To get his bomb into this room, Abdullah Asieri, one of Saudi Arabia's most wanted men, avoided detection by two sets of airport security including metal detectors and palace security. He spent 30 hours in the close company of the prince's own secret service agents - all without anyone suspecting a thing.

How did he do it? Taking a trick from the narcotics trade - which has long smuggled drugs in body cavities - Asieri had a pound of high explosives, plus a detonator inserted in his rectum.

This was a meticulously planned operation with al-Qaeda once again producing something new: this time, the Trojan bomber. The bomber persuaded the prince he wanted to leave al-Qaeda, setting a trap.

Asieri tells the prince that more senior al-Qaeda figures want to surrender and convinces the prince to talk to them on a cell phone. The Trojan bomber hands the phone to Prince Mohammed. He's standing next to him, and 14 seconds later, he detonates.

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Domestic U.S. Terror Plots Uncovered

Three domestic terror plots have been uncovered by the FBI in recent days which points out that so much vigilance is necessary to keep ourselves safe. These home grown plots seem to be on the rise.

Denver man charged in plot to bomb civilian targets in the U.S.

Documents filed in Brooklyn against Najibullah Zazi, allege he bought the chemicals hydrogen peroxide, acetone and hydrochloric acid to build a bomb using homemade TATP explosives. Many of the ingredients were purchased off local beauty supply store shelves, which sell common household products that can be explosive. Zazi is alleged to be a legal immigrant from Afghanistan, who had carefully prepared for a terrorist attack. He attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan, received training in explosives and stored in his laptop computer nine pages of instructions for making bombs from the same kind of chemicals he had bought.

Convert to Islam Charged with Plotting to Blow up a Federal Building in Illinois

Michael C. Finton (aka Talib Islam) has been charged with plotting to blow up the federal building in Springfield, Illinois. Finton, who converted to Islam in prison, came to the attention of federal authorities in August 2007 when a search of his vehicle revealed a letter about his desire to be a martyr. Also discovered was a document about waiting for a return letter from John Walker Lindh, the American who was captured fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. Finton traveled last year to Saudi Arabia, where he stayed about a month, and received about $1,400 from a man in that country. FBI agents then posed as low-level operatives for al-Qaeda, which culminated in a sting operation last Wednesday, September 23, 2009, when Finton drove a van he thought was loaded with explosives to the Paul Findley Federal Building. He parked and locked the vehicle, then moved a few blocks away before twice making cell phone calls he believed would trigger an explosion.

Jordanian Teenager Arrested in Plot to Blow up Dallas Skyscraper

Hosam Smadi, a Jordanian national aged 19, allegedly plotted to blow up the Fountain Place Tower in downtown Dallas. He came to the attention of the FBI through tirades against Americans on extremist chat sites and desire to wage jihad. The criminal complaint stated that an agent posing as a senior member of an al-Qaeda sleeper cell befriended him. He pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and expressed anger over the invasion of Gaza by Israel, and said he was ready for the jihadi life. Over the next six months, he met with two agents who posed as terrorists and discussed plans to attack several buildings, settling on the Fountain Place, which contains several bank offices. On Thursday, September 24, 2009, FBI agents provided Smadi with a vehicle containing a fake bomb. He drove it to the parking lot under the tower, armed the fake explosives, and then drove with the agent several blocks away, where he used a cell phone that was supposed to ensure detonation.

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Islamist ex-baggage handler jailed for terror book

IT was a book called Provisions on the Rules of Jihad, a passionate justification of holy war complete with a step-by-step guide to assassinations and bomb-making. Its author, former Qantas baggage cabin cleaner Belal Saadallah Khazaal, compiled the document and put it on a website with links to al-Qa'ida, in the hope of reaching a wider and more radicalised audience.

Yesterday, five years after he was charged, Khazaal was jailed for a maximum of 12 years, with a minimum sentence of nine years, by a NSW Supreme Court judge who said the crime was close to the worst category of offending. Arrested in 2004, Khazaal was charged with two offences -- making a document knowing it could assist in a terrorist act and inciting terrorism.

In September last year, he was convicted of the first offence and became only the second person convicted under Australia's tough new anti-terrorism laws. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the second count.

In her judgment yesterday, judge Megan Latham said the book, which suggested high-ranking Western politicians as assassination targets, and advocated widespread and indiscriminate loss of life, serious injury and serious property damage within the countries identified as enemies of Islam. "It beggars belief that a person of average intelligence who had devoted themselves to the study of Islam over a period of some years would fail to register the nature of the material."

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Fusion Center Privacy and Security Quiz

To help a fusion center director determine their level of lawful operation, Chuck Georgo of nowheretohide.org prepared the following thought-provoking ten question quiz. The quiz is designed to reduce or eliminate criticism of Fusion Centers that have been circulating recently. This quiz is meant to be criterion based, meaning that ALL ten questions must be answered “yes” to pass the test; any “no” answer puts that fusion center at risk for criticism or legal action.

Chuck is suggesting that if a Fusion Center is not practicing appropriate intelligence management then they are not only creating major problems for themselves, but fusion centers in general. They are setting the whole concept up to fail and may be even breaking the law, something they are sworn to uphold. Time then, to pay attention and be appropriately self-critical.

The Quiz

1. Is every fusion center analyst and officer instructed to comply with that fusion center’s documented policy regarding what information can and cannot be collected, stored, and shared with other agencies.
2. Does the fusion center employ a documented process to establish validated requirements for intelligence collection operations, based on documented public safety concerns.
3. Does the fusion center document specific criminal predicate for every piece of intelligence information it collects and retains from open source, confidential informant, or public venues?
4. Is collected intelligence marked to indicate source and content reliability of that information?
5. Is all collected intelligence retained in a centralized system with robust capabilities for enforcing federal, state or municipal intelligence retention policies?
6. Does that same system provide the means to control and document every dissemination of collected intelligence (electronic, voice, paper, fax, etc.)?
7. Does the fusion center regularly review retained intelligence with the purpose of documenting reasons for continued retention or purging of outdated or unnecessary intelligence (as appropriate) per standing retention policies?
8. Does the fusion center director provide hands-on executive oversight of the intelligence review process, to include establishment of approved intelligence retention criteria?
9. Are there formally documented, and enforced consequences for any analyst or officer that violates standing fusion center intelligence collection or dissemination policies?
10. Finally, does the fusion center Director actively promote transparency of its lawful operations to external stakeholders, privacy advocates, and community leaders?

Together, these ten points form a nice set of “Factors for Transparency” that any fusion center director can use to proactively demonstrate to groups like the ACLU that they are operating their fusion center in a lawful and proper manner.

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Suicide bomber in Somalia lived in U.S.

An online report has identified a Somali-American from Seattle, Washington, as one of the suicide bombers who killed 21 peacekeepers in Mogadishu, Somalia, last week. The bomber allegedly lived in Washington until 2007. The report could not independently be confirmed.

An FBI spokesman in Seattle, Fred Gutt, said investigators are aware of the report, but he declined to comment about it in detail. When asked if the FBI was looking into the report, Gutt said only that "we have continuing outreach efforts with the [Somali-American] community."

Federal agents have been investigating possible recruiting efforts in the United States by al-Shabaab, a Somali group with ties to al-Qaeda that the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization.

In an attack September 17, suicide bombers drove vehicles with United Nations markings into the headquarters of an African Union peacekeeping mission in Mogadishu. The vehicles blew up inside the compound, killing at least 21 people, the mission said.

Last Tuesday, a Somali website reported that at least one of the bombers was a Somali-American who left the United States two years ago. The website is operated by members of the Murusude clan, who make up the majority of Al-Shabaab.

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Latin American drug cartels find home in West Africa

Colombian and Mexican drug cartels have jumped the Atlantic Ocean and expanded into West Africa, working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative European market.

The situation has gotten so out of hand that tiny Guinea-Bissau, the fifth-poorest nation in the world, is being called Africa's first narco-state. Others talk about how Africa's Gold Coast has become the Coke Coast. In all, officials say, at least nine top-tier Latin American drug cartels have established bases in 11 West African nations.

"The same organizations that we investigate in Central and South America that are involved in drug activity toward the United States are engaged in this trafficking in Western Africa," said Russell Benson, the Drug Enforcement Agency regional director for Europe and Africa. "There's not one country that hasn't been touched to some extent."

The calculus is simple: bigger profits in Europe than in the United States, less law enforcement in West Africa than in Europe. The driving force is the booming European market for cocaine.

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Mexican smugglers use Pacific as new route

Mexican smugglers trying to find new routes into the United States are turning increasingly to the Pacific Ocean for a short sail to the California coast, where they drop off illegal immigrants and marijuana, U.S. officials say. The water route has become particularly popular in the past year.

"We've seen a huge spike in smuggling by water," said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Diego, California. "It's become very, very risky and difficult to cross by land. Smugglers try to jump where they think we're not looking."

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Thomas Farris, the top-ranking Coast Guard official at the Port of San Diego, said interdictions of human cargo on the Pacific have doubled since last year. Drug busts -- all marijuana -- are even higher, he said. "Drug interdictions are six times above what they were last year.".

So far this year, he said, authorities have confiscated 60,000 pounds of marijuana and caught 400 people trying to sneak into the United States. The water route has become popular, because "the land border has been so severely closed by Customs and border agents."

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Has Piracy Spread to Europe's Waters? Update 8: 'Pirates' Welcomed Onboard

Eight alleged hijackers of the Russian ship the Arctic Sea were in fact welcomed on board after being rescued in the Baltic Sea, a lawyer claims. Konstantin Baranovsky, who represents one of the eight men, said the alleged pirates were testing a navigation system on a small boat.

They were then rescued after getting into difficulties, Mr Baranovsky said. The eight were arrested in mid-August by the Russian navy and taken to Moscow to face kidnapping and piracy charges.

According to Mr Baranovsky, the eight men were welcomed on board the Arctic Sea, as they were Russians, like the ship's crew. They were offered vodka, and allowed to use the ship's gym. There were many more parties after that first night as the boat continued its voyage from the Baltic Sea through the English Channel and out into the Atlantic Ocean, Mr Baranovsky said. That is where the alleged pirates were eventually arrested.

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US Closes Facilities in S. Africa Over Security Concerns

South Africa's top crime fighter says police are in control of the situation after the United States closed all its facilities in the country on security concerns.

Police Commissioner Bheki Cele told a media briefing in Cape Town the national police service is working closely with the US Embassy after all US facilities were closed Tuesday.

"Our intelligence has had meetings...with American personnel...and we are working on it. It happen[ed] [a] few hours, less than 24 [hours ago]. There are things that have happened, there are things that are happening and we are in constant contact with them, so we cannot begin to release, what have we done, and what is happening, as we are seated here," Cele said.

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Robbers Use Copter To Raid Swedish Cash Depot

Robbers used a helicopter Wednesday in a spectacular raid of a cash depot in Stockholm, breaking into the building through the roof and flying off with bags of cash, police and witnesses said. The pre-dawn heist stunned police in the Swedish capital, who were unable to deploy their own helicopters to the scene because of suspected explosives placed at their hangar.

Shortly after 5 a.m., the robbers jumped onto the roof of the cash depot belonging to security firm G4S and smashed a window to enter the building, police spokeswoman Ulrika Lonngren told broadcaster SVT. There were staff inside the building, but no one was injured. Witnesses reported hearing loud bangs during the heist, but it wasn't immediately clear whether any explosives had been used. Police were not sure if the thieves managed to steal any money, "but we have reports that witnesses saw them loading objects into the helicopter."

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Top News: Indonesians eliminate terrorist threat

The Indonesian National Police have announced that a DNA test has positively identified a man killed Sept. 17 as Noordin Mohammad Top. Top was killed in a raid on a safe-house in the outskirts of Solo, Central Java, that resulted in a prolonged firefight between Indonesian authorities and militants. Police said four militants were killed in the incident and three more were taken into custody. (Two of them were arrested before the raid.) Authorities also recovered a large quantity of explosives during the raid that they believe the militant group was preparing to use in an attack on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Indonesian National Police had reported Sept. 17 that the dead man’s fingerprints matched Top’s. But given several inaccurate reports of Top’s demise in the past, combined with reports that the body believed to be Top’s was headless — perhaps due to the explosion of a suicide belt — most observers were waiting for DNA confirmation before removing Top’s name from the pinnacle of the organizational chart of Tanzim Qaedat al-Jihad.

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Taliban suspected of stockpiling 'missing' Afghan opium

Enough Afghan opium to supply world demand for two years has effectively gone missing, with the Taliban suspected of stockpiling supplies in a bid to corner the market, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has revealed. Afghanistan is the world's leading narcotics supplier. Earlier this month, a U.N. study revealed Afghanistan's opium production had dropped dramatically this year partly because of new aggressive drug-fighting tactics in the country.

According to the UNODC report, production dipped by 10 percent this year while cultivation fell by 22 percent. However, a senior U.N. spokesman warned that this positive news should be treated with caution. "We figure the world needs around 4,000 tons of opium a year for licit and illicit purposes," Walter Kemp of the UNODC told CNN. Has enough emphasis been placed on drug trafficking? "But this year around 6,900 tons was produced, with 7,700 tons delivered last year and more than 8,500 the year before that. "So if the world only needs around 4,000 tons of opium and a further 1,000 is seized, where is the rest of it going?"

According to Kemp, world demand for opium remains stable yet prices are not crashing, which suggests a large amount of opium is being withheld from the market. "Our guess is that around 12,000 tons of opium has been stockpiled somewhere -- not all in one place but in and around Afghanistan," he added. "So while production might be coming down -- mostly because of market reasons -- there's still a lot of product around to satisfy demand for about two years."

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Russia, Plagued by Heroin Use, to Press U.S. on Destroying Afghan Poppy Crops

During talks this week with his American counterpart, Russia’s top drug enforcement official, Viktor P. Ivanov, will press the United States to step up efforts to destroy Afghan poppy cultivation, which he said was feeding a devastating drug problem in Russia.

The request comes just as American policy makers have swung sharply away from Bush-era programs to eradicate the opium poppy crop, which is used to produce heroin. After a visit to Afghanistan in July, the Obama administration’s special envoy for the region, Richard C. Holbrooke, said poppy eradication had alienated poor farmers and was “driving people into the hands of the Taliban.”

Mr. Ivanov, head of the federal drug control service and a trusted adviser to Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, said Tuesday that eradication programs had failed in Afghanistan because they were too weak, and that the United States should apply the more muscular methods it used recently in Colombia, where vast coca fields were sprayed aerially with the herbicide glyphosate.

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