|
Obama's popularity abroad may not get him the extra forces
in Afghanistan from NATO allies. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
US is
adopting a more aggressive strategy to fight the growing insurgency that spans
the Afghan-Pakistani border. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
After many years of detention, the U.S. is charging six to
start 9/11 military trials. They are the first to be tried in Guantánamo's war
court for direct ties to plot. Among the defendants is alleged 9/11 mastermind
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. They were charged with involvement in planning or
helping to coordinate the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 individuals at New
York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard a hijacked airliner that
crashed in Pennsylvania. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Al Qaeda is still a threat according to U.S., intelligence
chiefs. The group's reputation has fallen in the Muslim world. But Western
recruits who can more easily enter the US are being trained in Pakistan camps.
See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Egypt's security state has pushed Islamic radicals who once
reigned in neighborhoods like Imbaba to the fringes. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Over objections from Republicans and the White House, House
Democrats pushed through two bills to implement most of the unfulfilled
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. See
story from Congress Daily See vote
While the Bush administration is on the defensive for its conduct of the war in Iraq, the real setback in the U.S. war effort is coming in Afghanistan where the Taliban is alive, well and thriving throughout the countryside and even in much of neighboring Pakistan See story from World Net Daily
Terror attacks and kidnappings worldwide exceeded 10,000 for the first time last year, propelled in part by a surge in Iraq. See story from Associated Press
The Moussaoui trial has shown that it is very difficult to prosecute terrorism cases in civilian courts. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The independent commission that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States has issued a new report highly critical of the Bush administration and Congress for their efforts to make the country safer from future attacks. See story from Voice of America
The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement. See story from Washington Post
A report submitted to the UN's Human Rights Committee and is designed to document U.S. compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), fails to mention a number of potential U.S violations of the treaty that took place off of U.S. soil in places like Guantanamo. See story from One World Net
According to American military officials, the US has either made key arrests or developed informants who have led to a cascade of actionable intelligence over the past month which has led to major inroads against Al Qaeda's network in Japan. How big a blow this is to the insurgency in Iraq remains unclear. While US human intelligence has clearly improved, no one has a clear understanding of the internal workings of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi's network, which is thought to be only a small portion of Iraq's decentralized and highly complex insurgency. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Despite numerous prognostications to the contrary, suicide Islamic terrorists have not launched an attack in the U.S. since September 11. There are several possible explanations. See story from USA Today
The rhetoric of Al Qaeda regarding the motivation for terrorist acts appears to have changed. Rather than calling for a global jihad attacking directed at general Western values, they are now framing acts of terrorism as justified by the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and are offering to end attacks on the West if a full withdrawal is made from "Muslim lands." See story from Christian Science Monitor
The back-to-back nature of the deadly attacks in Egypt and London, as well as similarities in the methods used, suggests that the al Qaeda leadership may have given the orders for both operations and is a clear sign that Osama bin Laden and his deputies remain in control of the network, according to interviews with counterterrorism analysts and government officials in Europe and the Middle East. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The London bombings are a product of a new breed of British radicals thriving at the margins of London's Muslim community. Young, independent, and streetwise, they are preaching in urban slang outside the confines of Britain's mosques. They are helping teens and 20-somethings beat drugs and alcohol. And they are inspiring a new pool of impressionable young Muslims to consider killing their fellow Britons. See story from Christian Science Monitor
After 9/11, many European voices criticized the United States for passing the Patriot Act, which they felt sacrificed too many civil liberties in the name of cracking down on terrorism. Now, one week after 7/7, European governments are wrestling with the balance between security and privacy as never before. And their efforts are giving new energy to counterterrorism cooperation. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The Senate yesterday failed to pass an amendment that would have added funding for mass transit security to reflect increased concern since the July 7 London subway bombings. See story from Washington Technology.com See vote
Investigators still don't know who carried out the London attacks. But they say those responsible were probably Islamist terrorists who viewed their assault as revenge for Britain's part in the Iraq war. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The available facts regarding the latest al Qaeda attack -- the British venue, the soft targets with economic importance, the timing during the Group of Eight summit in Scotland and the relatively simple operational techniques -- conformed almost precisely to the methods of what specialists describe as an evolving al Qaeda movement. Now more a brand than a tight-knit group, al Qaeda has responded to four years of intense pressure from the United States and its allies by dispersing its surviving operatives, distributing its ideology and techniques for mass-casualty attacks to a wide audience on the Internet, and encouraging new adherents to act spontaneously in its name. See story from Washington Post
Although the London bombings were universally condemned by Muslim leaders, analysts do not believe that the tiny sliver of Muslims who are now prosecuting what they see as a global jihad can be persuaded to change course by their religious leaders. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The Bush administration has launched a high-level internal review of its efforts to battle international terrorism, aimed at moving away from a policy that has stressed efforts to capture and kill al Qaeda leaders since Sept. 11, 2001, and toward what a senior official called a broader "strategy against violent extremism." The shift is meant to recognize the transformation of al Qaeda over the past three years into a far more amorphous, diffuse and difficult-to-target organization than the group that struck the United States in 2001. But critics say the policy review comes only after months of delay and lost opportunities while the administration left key counterterrorism jobs unfilled and argued internally over how best to confront the rapid spread of the pro-al Qaeda global Islamic jihad. See story from Washington Post
Under a new planned agreement, U.S. and Russian officials would accelerate long-delayed security upgrades at Russia's many poorly protected nuclear facilities, jointly develop emergency responses to a nuclear or radiological terrorist attack, and establish a program to replace highly enriched uranium in research reactors around the world to prevent it from being used for weapons. See story from Washington Post
The Senate voted 60 to 36 to confirm Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, but only a handful of Democrats backed him after days of often strident debate over his role in setting controversial interrogation policies for detainees. See story from Washington Post See vote
Despite the fact that Osama Bin Laden has apparently obtained a clerical blessing for his intention of using nuclear weaponry in terrorist activities, his likelihood of achieving this goal is technically very doubtful. See story from Washington Post
According to a report issued by the Defense Science Board, Muslims do not hate U.S. concepts of freedom, but rather they hate U.S. policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Congress approved landmark legislation to restructure the nation's intelligence community, creating a director of national intelligence and a counterterrorism center to better coordinate government assets and avert the type of intelligence lapses that occurred prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. See story from Washington Post See vote
An impending sharp increase in Border Patrol numbers is a first step in what could become a long effort to secure US land boundaries in today's terrorist age. See story from Christian Science Monitor
In early November 2001, with Americans still staggered by the Sept. 11 attacks, a small group of White House officials worked in great secrecy to devise a new system of justice for the new war they had declared on terrorism. The system gave the military the authority to detain foreign suspects indefinitely and prosecute them in tribunals not used since World War II. White House officials said their use of extraordinary powers would allow the Pentagon to collect crucial intelligence and mete out swift, unmerciful justice. Three years later, not a single terrorist has been prosecuted. Of the roughly 560 men being held at the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, only 4 have been formally charged. See story from New York Times
The politics of "fear over vision'" is explored on British television as a BBC documentary series says danger from Al Qaeda is "dramatically overstated". See story from Christian Science Monitor
Al Arabiya, the Arab satellite channel, which claims 20 million viewers, has often been attacked by US officials for allegedly serving as a propaganda conduit for terrorists. But the channel does take strong stand against violence, and also helps to make the channel a conduit for Arab voices who criticize both terrorists and the clerics who support them, thus creating space for a crucial dialogue. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The massacre of school children by Islamic terrorists in the North Osettian town of Beslan horrified the civilized world. Moreover, it is leading to the increasing realization that terrorist tactics are becoming a normal weapon of war, and large gatherings of people will from now on be potential targets. See story from Christian Science Monitor
A United States-French resolution telling Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and warning against foreign interference in Beirut's presidential election passed the UN Security Council. See story from BBC
A June poll by Zogby International in six Arab countries showed that America's already-limited esteem in the Arab world has plummeted since the invasion of Iraq. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Pakistan, with US help, has embarked on several initiatives to combat zealotry by broadening educational offerings. Most primary education in rural Pakistan is the conducted by Islamic schools called madrassahs which teach mainly the Koran and little else. Now over 300 madrassahs have introduced elementary subjects like English, math, science, and computers, and US funds have revitalized some government schools. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Pentagon officials have publicly cautioned against shifting too much budget power to a new national intelligence director. Among other things, they worry that a new layer of bureaucracy might block critical tactical intelligence from reaching warfighters in time. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The push for intelligence reform has hit substantial resistance on Capitol Hill in recent days - raising questions about whether changes in the US intelligence community recommended by the 9/11 commission will be able to survive the legislative process reasonably intact. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Leaders of an independent probe into the September 11 attacks said Tuesday that any fix for ailing US intelligence must be bipartisan to work. See story from Agence Presse France
President Bush signed executive orders putting into service parts of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations on overhauling United States intelligence operations. The orders take effect immediately. The president grants more power to the director of central intelligence, designating him to fill much of the role envisioned for a future national intelligence director, according to senior government officials who have been briefed on the plan. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Iraq's interim government, which began exerting influence even before it officially took political power last week, seems to be restoring a semblance of order to Baghdad's lawless streets. See story from USA Today
In a speech, Vice President Dick Cheney said Saddam Hussein had "long-established ties" with al Qaida, an assertion that has been repeatedly challenged by some policy experts and lawmakers. See story from Associated Press But the US commission investigating the September 11 attacks reported yesterday it had found no evidence that Iraq and al-Qaida cooperated in the plot or had any sort of "collaborative relationship", contradicting persistent claims from the White House. See story from Guardian
According to President Vladimir Putin, Russia warned the United States on several occasions that Iraq Saddam Hussein planned "terrorist attacks" on its soil. "After the events of September 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services several times received such information and passed it on to their American colleagues," he told reporters. See story from Guardian
The House refused to require inspections of all cargo shipped on passenger airline flights, heeding arguments that technology is not available, and losing the freight would drive carriers into bankruptcy. See story from Associated Press See vote
A 22-year CIA veteran who headed an anti-terror task force focusing on capturing Osama bin Laden said in an interview that "bureaucratic cowardice" impeded action against al-Qaeda before and after September 11. "Since there had only been one man or entity on the earth that had declared war on (the United States) since 1996 and had attacked us seven or eight times between (1996) and the World Trade Center (attack on September 11, 2001) I would've somehow hoped that the military would've been prepared to respond in some fashion", he said. See story from Agence France Presse
In a recent report the International Institute of Strategic Studies warned that the Al Qaeda organization is today "more insidious [than] and just as dangerous" as it was prior to September 11th. Its leader is Ayman al-Zawahri, a ruthless Egyptian believed to be the brains behind al-Qaeda and the mastermind of many of its most infamous operations. See story from BBC
President Bush was told more than a month before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that supporters of Osama bin Laden planned an attack within the United States with explosives and wanted to hijack airplanes, a government official said. See story from Associated Press
A Congressional Research Summary has concluded that equipping aircraft with missile countermeasure systems can protect the aircraft even when operating in areas where ground-based security measures are unavailable or infeasible to implement. However, this option has a relatively high cost, between $1million and $3 million per aircraft, and the time needed for implementation does not allow for immediate response to the existing terrorist threat. See Congressional Research Summary
|
