Non Governmental Intelligence Agency
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On 9 August 9, 2001, a pregnant American graduate student, who was studying abroad in Israel, was murdered.
It seems the topic of WWII has found its way into our columns recently. A strange parallel between the story of Hollywood during WWII and our fight against terrorism is an interesting analysis that will probably make a good documentary one of these days. During WWII, Hollywood showed its support of the United States and their troops with films that displayed the patriotism of the soldier. These days, Hollywood insists on regaling us with movies that portray our government as cold and calculating and our troops as dupes who answer the call of patriotism.
A Somali born Canadian citizen, Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, was found dead of cyanide poisoning in a Denver hotel earlier this week. The 29-year old man was found dead in a fourth floor suite at the Burnsley Hotel. Found in the suite was a bottle, filling nearly a quart, containing cyanide.
Democratic hopeful Barack Obama continues to blaze a trail of connections between himself and terrorists. The latest connection comes from his Muslim Outreach Advisor, Mazen Asbahi, who served on a board that included radical Muslim Imam Jamal Said.
Yemeni born Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Gitmo detainee who is known for being Usama bin Laden's (UBL) personal bodyguard and driver, was convicted by a military tribunal of supporting terrorism. Salim was found guilty of five counts of supporting terrorism, but was not convicted of conspiracy.
The Director of Palestinian Media Watch, Itamar Marcus went to Norway to warn the Norwegians that the Palestinian Authority (PA) uses its money to promote and glorify terrorism, and aims this propaganda at children. Norway which contributes money to the PA, now has the "Progress Party", a popular political party calling for a freeze of any money in aiding the PA.
Yesterday, we pointed out the political "change of heart" that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had over the Iraq issue (read Obama's Short-Sightedness And Changing Political Messages For Polls). Obama continues to downplay the successes of the "surge" and is proud of the fact that he did not approve the additional troops because it would have been a disaster. A Briefing from Commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Colonel Tom James and Commander, 31st Iraqi Army Brigade General Abdul Amir shed a different light on the subject.
While Barack Obama continues to enjoy unprecedented media coverage, he was on a tour of Germany giving speeches showing his "presidential presence" abroad. Many of his followers, including Obama point out that he will change the way America is perceived and form strong alliances. The German magazine Der Spiegel provided this insight into how Barack Obama's message was being interpreted by our European allies:
The U.S. Government has taken further steps against the government of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe. these latest steps reflect the ongoing concern the world has over the illegitimate Mugabe government which continues to use political violence against opponents and hampers efforts of humanitarian aid to the Zimbabwe people.
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama claims to want to change the way things are done in Washington but is changing his political message to appease the masses. While the media still plays up the age of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Barack shows his lack of understanding of the military and foreign policy by his flip-flopping on Iraq. Barack recently changed his message about Iraq by removing the term surge from his website.
The U.S. listed four individuals as leaders in the terrorist organization, al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). AQIM has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the Algerians. On July 3, 2008, these four individuals were added to the United Nations Consolidated List of individuals and entities associated with Usama Bin Laden, al-Qa’ida, and the Taliban.
The Salafi extremists have arrived in Gaza and Der Speigel talked to one their leaders last week. While, Abu Mustafa dodges questions about whether there has been contact between al-Qa'ida and his group, he does say that they share the same thoughts and beliefs. It should come as no surprise that an "AQ" presence is in Gaza as the organization has failed to establish an Islamist country in Iraq. The two leaders of AQ, Usama bin Laden (UBL) and Zawahiri, have made a point of connecting themselves to the terrorism in Palestine.
An al-Qa'ida cell is suspected of planning an attack to shoot down the U.S. Presidential helicopter. President Bush visited Israel in January of this year and his travel plans were altered because of a missile attack threat. Israel have apprehended and charged six Israeli-Arabs, for planning an the al-Qa'ida attack.
Israel's Foreign Ministry released a video to the Arab world, in Arabic, blasting Samir Kuntar, Hezbollah, and the Arab listeners who continue to support terrorism.
Iran which has stepped up open hostilities (read Iran Plays A Deadly Game of Sword Rattling That Drives Up Oil Prices) towards Israel is now using its lackey terrorist organization, Hezbollah, to threaten the country with chemical weapons. On Monday of this week, the Kuwait daily Al-Siyasa, reported that Hezbollah had acquired the chemicals needed to make nerve gas and/or mustard gas from North Korean suppliers. The article further revealed that the assistance of Syria and Iran has been critical in Hezbollah's acquisition of chemical weapons capabilities. The Lebanese based Iranian backed terrorist organization is allegedly preparing to arm its Katyusha rockets with chemical warheads.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury added Syriatel, Syria's largest mobile phone operator, and Ramak, a chain of Syrian duty free stores, to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. All property and interests in property of these entities are blocked as a result of the direct or indirect ownership interest of at least 50 percent by Rami Makhluf in each entity.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated two leaders of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), an al-Qa'ida-affiliated terrorist organization with the goal of overthrowing the Uzbekistan government. Najmiddin Kamolitdinovich Jalolov and Suhayl Fatilloevich Buranov were designated under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing financial, technological, or material support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.
While eyes continue to focus on Iraq and Afghanistan, the regime in Iran continues to ratchet up the level of hostility between its nation and the world. Earlier this week, Iran tested the capabilities of the Shihab-3 missiles. The Iranians claim that the missile can reach a target up to 1,250 miles away. The range of this missile endangers U.S. Army bases and Israel.
The U.S. Government is taking action to further U.S. efforts to counter Iran’s pursuit of technology that could enable it to develop nuclear weapons and the missiles capable of delivering them. The Departments of State and Treasury designated six Iranian individuals and five entities of proliferation concern. These actions provide additional information that will help financial institutions in the United States and worldwide protect themselves from deceptive financial practices employed by Iranian entities and individuals engaged in or supporting proliferation.
