Australian terrorist threat to airports

A group of Australians who are believed to be at terrorist training camps in Yemen pose a threat to airport security, a security expert has warned. 22 Australians have gone missing in Yemen and are believed to be at al-Qaeda training camps. Heading up the al-Qaeda regime in Yemen is an American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki who the ABC reported has been dubbed the Osama bin Laden of the internet. Al-Awlaki has been allegedly involved in a number of terrorist attacks and in his internet sermons - delivered in perfect English - he preaches contempt for non-believers.

The 22 Australians are believed to be receiving training at these camps where their value is their Australian passports and the access they can gain with them. "The authorities know who these people are," Homeland Security Asia Pacific director Roger Hennings told AAP. "The government of Australia is aware of the identity of 22 Australians who went missing about four months ago, in other words they just got to Yemen and disappeared," he said. "This constitutes a national security risk because all of these people left through Australian airports and when they return they will return through Australian airports."

Mr Hennings said these Australians were believed to be in al-Qaeda training camps in Yemen and there was nothing to stop them communicating with sympathisers in Australia. According to Mr Hennings, 66 Australian citizens and residents have already been trained by al-Qaeda or in Pakistan by other terrorist organisations.Major airports are areas of mass gathering which Mr Hennings says are critical to the security of the country. Yet the majority of people working in airports don't understand how security threat levels work and Mr Hennings says there is a daily threat level to Australia's airports.

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Yemen the new training ground for terrorists

US President Barack Obama warned in his speech about Afghanistan this week that the world would face new threats as Al Qaeda established a foothold in other parts of the world. One of the countries he singled out was Yemen. It is the poorest state in the Arab world and is rapidly running out of oil and water. There are now growing fears that the impoverished nation could become an increasingly attractive Al Qaeda base.

During his speech, Mr Obama singled out Yemen and Somalia as two nations where Al Qaeda's influence was increasing "We'll have to be nimble and precise in our use of military power," he said. Where Al Qaeda and its allies attempt to establish a foothold, whether in Somalia or Yemen or elsewhere, they must be confronted by growing pressure and strong partnerships." For many years, Yemen has faced political and economic crises. With a population of 23 million people, it is the poorest Arabic nation and security is a growing concern.

Dr Sarah Phillips works at the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney. She has just written a paper on Al Qaeda in Yemen for the Lowy Institute and says the country is an increasingly attractive base for the terrorist group. "Yemen is quite a desirable operating environment in a number of ways," she said. "For one, there is a strong tribal structure there, which if approached sensitively by people affiliated with Al Qaeda can afford some opportunity, particularly with regard to refuge, being able to hide while they plan operations both within Yemen but also abroad.

• "Yemen Funds Jihaddist Trainign Camps to Target Foes", Jawa Report, 3/1/09.
  
• "Terrorist Havens: Yemen", Council on Foreign Relations, 12/1/05.
• Yemen: Coping With Terrorism and Violence in a Fragile State", International Crisis Group, 1/8/03.
  

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Flow of Western terrorist recruits increasing

U.S. and European counterterrorism officials say a rising number of Western recruits -- including Americans -- are traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to attend paramilitary training camps. The flow of recruits has continued unabated, officials said, in spite of an intensified campaign over the past year by the CIA to eliminate al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders in drone missile attacks.

Since January, at least 30 recruits from Germany have traveled to Pakistan for training, according to German security sources. About 10 people -- not necessarily the same individuals -- have returned to Germany this year, fueling concerns that fresh plots are in the works against European targets. "We think this is sufficient to show how serious the threat is," said a senior German counterterrorism official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

German security services have been on high alert since last month, when groups affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaeda issued several videos warning that an attack on German targets was imminent if the government did not bring home its forces from Afghanistan

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US to open intelligence training center

General David Petraeus plans to open an intelligence organisation at US Central Command this week to train military officers, covert agents and analysts who are willing to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan for up to a decade, The Washington Times reported on Monday. The organisation, the Centre for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence, will be led by Derek Harvey, a retired colonel in the Defence Intelligence Agency who became one of the Petraeus’ most trusted analysts during the 2007-08 counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq by predicting in 2003 and 2004 that the Iraqi insurgency would spiral out of control.

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Times, Harvey said the centre would build on some of the lessons that he and the military had learned in Iraq, not just for counterinsurgency, but also in terms of intelligence analysis. He said he believed in two reforms in developing reliable intelligence; the first involves altering the methods of interpreting raw data. He said the intelligence community tends to rely too much on information from human sources, such as spies, to the exclusion of reports from people on the ground such as military officers and aid workers. He said the new centre would focus on integrating all sources of information to develop strategic products for both war fighters and decision makers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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