Terrorism Today

The Tragedy of Afghanistan - A Poem

2010-01-07T11:13:00.001-05:00

The Tragedy of Afghanistan - A Poem

A poem by Theodor Fontane, translated by Gabriele Campbell.

Das Trauerspiel von Afghanistan

Snow like powder from the sky softly falls,
When before Djelalabad a rider halts.
"Who's there" - "A caval'rist from Britains army
A message from Afghanistan I carry."

Afghanistan. So weakly he'd said.
Half the town around him had met;
The British commander, Sir Robert Sale,
Helped to dismount the man who's face was so pale.

Into a guard-house they guided him
And made him sit at the fire's brim;
How warm was the fire, how bright was its shine,
He takes a deep breath, and begins to explain.

"Thirteen thousand men we had been,
When our outset from Kabul was seen -
Now soldiers, leaders, women and bairn
They are betrayed, and frozen and slain.

"Dispersed is the entire host,
Who is alive, in the darkness is lost.
A God to me salvation has sent -
To save the rest you may make an attempt."

Sir Robert ascends the castle wall,
And soldiers and officers follow him all,
Sir Robert speaks "How dense the snow falls,
How hard they may seek, they'll never see the walls.

"Like blindfold they'll err and yet are so near,
The way to their safety, now let it them hear,
Play songs of old, of the homeland so bright;
Bugler, let thy tune carry far in the night."

And they played and sang, and time passed by,
Song over song through the night they let fly,
The songs of their home so far and so dear,
And old Highland laments so mournful to hear.

They played all night and the following day,
They played like only love made them play;
The songs were still heard, but darkness did fall.
In vain is your watch, in vain is your call.

Those who should hear, they'll hear nevermore,
Destroyed, dispersed is the proud host of yore;
With thirteen thousand their trail they began.
Only one man returned from Afghanistan.

Heading off Chaos in Yemen, or Making it Worse?

2010-01-04T18:49:00.002-05:00

Ok so one lonely maladjusted young man with $2000, a plane ticket, and PETN in his panties has now strangled the American air system. His patrons, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) hail from Yemen and there is talk of opening another front in the Global War on Terror. Should it be done? Yes, but we should watch how we tread. During the Cold War Uncle Sam made friends with a lot of tinpot dictators who we showered with cheap loans, cheap weapons, and then turned a blind eye as they used them on their own people--all in the name of anti-communism. The world became rife with the likes of Pinochet, the Shah of Iran, Ferdinand Marcos, Batista, and Noriega and we know what history has done to them. We shouldn't let that history repeat itself as we prosecute the GWoT. Our efforts have to be as much about defusing the causes of hate and anti-Americanism as it is about getting the bad guys. Food, medicine, technology, and aid should follow right behind the guns and grenades. Doctors and engineers should hit the sand right alongside the Marines and soldiers.

Who is Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula?

2010-01-02T19:42:00.003-05:00

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the wing of Al Qaeda
operating in Saudi Arabia and Yemen and is led by a Yemeni who
was once an aid to Osama bin Laden.
The group is growing in the region, especially in Yemen which
even long after its civil war remains a troublespot in the region.
AQAP is made up of groups in the two countries who merged under
Nasir Wuhaishi's leadership in January 2009.
Wuhaishi was given the job by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's
number two man. In 2006 he escaped a Yemeni prison along with
23 other Al Qaeda members. He is now one of Saudi Arabia's
most wantedmen. Under him is Abu al-hareth Muhammad al-Oufi (above left) who
has been identified as the field commander and Said Ali al-Shiri (above right),
who was in Guantanamo Bay until sent to Saudi custody and released
by them in 2007, acts as deputy leader.
The group has several hundred members and hides among the Yemeni tribes
in the eastern provinces.
Of key import to Al Qaeda is Yemen's use as a training area and crossing point
for operations in the peninsula as well as Iraq, Somalia, and East Africa.
Of the Al Qaeda off-shoot groups the AQAP is not the best funded or trained which
may have been the saving grace for the travelers on the plane on Christmas Day.
That attack has been claimed by AQAP who has said it was in response to military raids
by the Yemeni government that killed 30 al-Qaeda personnel December 17 and the American
support for the raid.
"We tell the American people that since you support the leaders who kill our women and
children ... we have come to slaughter you [and] will strike you with no previous
[warning], our vengeance is near," a statement released by the group said.

"We call on all Muslims ... to throw out all unbelievers from the Arabian
Peninsula by killing crusaders who work in embassies or elsewhere ... [in]
a total war on all crusaders in the Peninsula of [Prophet] Muhammad."

2008-09-28T20:06:00.002-04:00

According to the BBC: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7640837.stm)

"Sudanese officials say their forces have shot and killed six of the kidnappers who abducted a group of European tourists in Egypt last week.

Two other suspected kidnappers have been taken into custody, but the tourists themselves remain in captivity in Chad, the officials say.

The hostages - 11 tourists and eight Egyptian guides - were taken on 19 September and are said to be unharmed.

They include five Germans, five Italians and a Romanian.

A spokesman for Sudan's military said that the kidnappers had been killed following a high-speed desert chase.

The spokesman, Sawarmy Khaled, said the missing Europeans, who were abducted in south-western Egypt but thought to have been taken first to Sudan and then to Chad."

MY TWO CENTS:

So the good news is the bad guys are dead. The bad news: no one knows where the hostages are. Still. I'm not one to advocate torture but when there is a life in imminent danger I think there should be exceptions allowed within certain guidelines. The old adage of "stooping to their level" or "we'd be no better than they are"; while sentiments I appreciate, only serve our enemies' purposes. The only thing worse than an enemy's hatred of you is their disdain.

Marriott Attack

2008-09-21T19:07:00.002-04:00

With the recent horrible attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad we again see a repetition of terrorists taking advantage of a change in regime. Only a few weeks after the ousting of Musharraf the new democratic government is being tested in the worst way. Attacks like the one this week only beg the question: will we see more after the US elections?

Colombia Raid

2008-07-04T20:40:00.002-04:00

The recent successful hostage rescue in Colombia highlights an often forgotten theater in the War on Terror, South America. In terms of numbers FARC is the largest terrorist group in the world. At one time they controlled a section of the country larger than Connecticut. They not only have small arms but their narcotics money has bought artillery, helicopters, and they even tried to buy a submarine. The raid this week shows what a little bit of luck and a lot of audacity coupled with expertise and training can accomplish.

Sorry its been a while

2006-04-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry its been so long, been busy with real life.
IMHO Iran is a lot closer than to a nuclear capability than anyone realizes or admits. The balance of world power is about to shift.

CIA has "excellent idea" where Bin Laden Is

2005-06-20T09:05:00.000-04:00

CIA Director Porter Goss says the Agency has an excellent idea where Osama bin Laden is, but the U.S.' respect for other countries' borders prevents any action. They believe he is in the rugged broder region of Pakistan/Afghanistan and our delicate relationship with Pakistan and President Musharraf's domestic security problems makes it difficult to operate directly.
My @.02: I thought the CIA has COVERT operative who could do things like sneak into a foreign country and get information and maybe take out a target. If I were a terrorist I would feel much better knowing the CIA is back to being the waffling pussies they were pre-9/11.

Terrorism Today, Sorry for delays, Screw Lockheed

2005-06-15T17:31:00.000-04:00

First I'm sorry for the delay in getting anything new out. Had a lot of problems here lately.
A midday suicide bomb at a restaurant on an Iraqi military base killed 23 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 28 other people -- mostly soldiers, police say. This is the latest in the ongoing insurgency which has more and more focused on the Iraqi military and police.
My $.02: these kinds of attacks are blatant attempts to cow the few Iraqis willing to fight for the future of their country. They deserve our respect and aid now more than ever.

More and more politicians are calling for a review of procedures at the Guantanamo Bay detaining facility. Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has challenged the Senate to define the legal positions of detainees and called the current system a "crazy quilt".
My$.02: I was hired to go to GTMO to work for ACS Defense but when the contract was bought out by Lockheed Martin they fiddled around and decided they did not need me. Now let me say I realize the problems at GTMO represent a very small minority of the guards and officials there, it only takes a couple of rotten apples to spoil the whole bunch. Look at the furor over the allegations by Newsweek in recent weeks. I don't know who Lockheed saw fit to hire instead of me, but at least I speak Arabic and understand Islam and have studied terrorism for almost ten years. Who do they have that can say the same? And does that even make them the personality type they need to deal with proud, deeply religious, people devoted to an intractable cause? Can someone explain this idiocy to me?

Blast in Pakistan Shrine

2005-05-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

A bomb at the Bari Imam shrine in the outskirts of Islamabad has killed at least 18 and wounded many others. The shrine is near several government buildings and foreign embassies. Who set off the bomb is unclear and no groups are taking responsibility. Some 4,000 people have been killed in Pakistan via terrorist violence in the last several years.
My $.02: The fact that no one is claiming the bombing is disturbing. When they don't make a claim it only aids their efforts since police have no names to go on. The bombing was committed by a single suicide bomber who just walked into the mosque crowded with 1,000 worshipers. It may have been a lone act, but those are rare in Pakistan. The act only underlines the deep religious split in Pakistan between the 20% Shia minority, many of whom are radicalized fundamentalists the government has been keeping busy in Kashmir, and the 70% Sunni majority.

Iraqi Offensive/Al-Zarkawi wounded

2005-05-26T18:01:00.000-04:00

Over 40,000 newly trained Iraqi troops are participating in an effort to dragnet Baghdad to find and either capture or kill any insurgents. This comes on the heels of increasing frequency of car bombings and other attacks.
In other news it has been confirmed that Al Qaeda's man in Iraq, Abu Al-Zarkawi has been wounded in a firefight with troops. However, it has not been determined how serious or what kind of injury he sustained.
My $.02: This dragnet has two startling problems--First, they should have been doing it on a weekly basis for the last year, and second its now been on every news media on the planet that it doesn't start until next week. Do they not think bad guys watch BBC news and CNN? A surprise raid is only effective if its a fucking surprise. DUH!
Al-Zarkawi's being wounded could be the intelligence boon they have been waiting for if they press their advantage. If they can find out how he's wounded, maybe he'll need advanced medicine and then just watch the hospitals and clinics for anything out of the ordinary. Also, keep an eye out for air traffic. He may well be spirited to Iran or Syria for treatment. If he should die, I don't think it would have too much of a mitigating effect on the insurgency. These people are not motivated by a single leader, or even really a single ideology. They are motivated by the twin facts that we exist as we do and that we are there. Additionally, groups like Al Qaeda do not rest on one person. That was largely the case for many of the communist groups in the mid-twentieth century, but not so today.

Recent Iraq Bombings/Star Wars Rebels as Terrorists

2005-05-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

A wave of car bombings have struck Iraq over the two weeks. 400 have been killed and many more injured in attacks linked to Al Qaeda and the Iraqi cell's leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. A series of attacks by American forces in the nothern border area with Syria have netted some intelligence information, but only one notable capture. Nine Marines were killed and over a hundred insurgents. However, authorities remain hopeful of Zarqawi's capture. In May there have been 21 such bombings and there has been an uncomfirmed report that Zarqawi was wounded.
Authorities have been finding evidence that people were forced to conduct the car bombings. One person's foot was taped to the accelerator of the car. There have been reports of kidnapped relatives used as leverage to get people to help with bombings.
My $.02: The duct taping of the foot on the gas pedal is an unsettling development in their overall tactics. The terrorists, never really overly concerned with their Muslim brethren Iraqis anyway, are now using them as unwilling martyrs in their twisted cause. How many Iraqis have to die before the good people of that country wake up and see these people for the monsters they really are? And how long will it take for the world community to see Syria as the inheritor of Saddam's twisted Baath party doctrine and Iran's Mullahs for the powermad corrupt thugs they have become since the revolution?

STAR WARS REBELS AS TERRORISTS
Since Episode 3 is out tonight (I got my tickets weeks ago tee hee) I thought it be fun to give thought to the question of whether or not the Rebel Alliance were terrorists. Seeing as how they are fighting to overthrow a tyrannical regime that took power over a weak democracy via a military coup (like Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, et al) the rebels are by definition freedom fighters. However, since the Empire DID establish a sort of order on the galaxy that seemed to have the tacit approval of commerce, banking, industry, and the oligarchy that would make them terrorists. Seeing as how they have numerous secret bases, tens of thousands of soldiers and pilots, not to mention space technology they are very well connected terrorists, kind of like the avant garde groups in Europe in the 1970s. Pretty to look at, but not overtly dangerous. At least until they got their Messiah in the form of farmboy Luke Skywalker.
Sidenote, if Anakin was this big honkin Jedi, why did no one seem to mention this to Luke in 4-6 other than Obi Wan and Yoda? I mean I bet Jamie Lee Curits hears about HER dad and mom all the time.
But the question remains: are they terrorists or freedom fighters?

Blasts in Burma

2005-05-08T12:19:00.000-04:00

Two bombings in Burma have been denied by the country's opposition leadership. Karen and Shan ethnic groups quickly denied any part in the bombings which left 11 people dead and over 150 wounded. The blasts are the latest in renewed attacks against the military junta which has been largely influenced by narcotics trafficking

Al-Libby captured, sorry for delay

2005-05-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, my internet has been down.
Abu Farraj Al Libbi, Al-Qaeda's "#3" was captured Monday by Pakistani forces in northwest Pakistan. Interrogation of al Libbi has revealed disturbing information on Al Qaeda's efforts to steal nuclear technology from Pakistan. Al Libbi is also believed to have been behind two assassination attempts on Pervez Musharraf. Authorities hope Al Libbi will be a gold mine of info and may help find Osama bin Laden himself.
My $.02: Al Libby is the third #3 man they've caught. OK he may be a big fish, but calling someone #3 or #2 or whatever in a terrorist group that uses a cell structure is misleading. He's the first capture in a while so naturally they want to make as much out of it as possible. Al Libby is on the Most Wanted List and his capture is definitely a feather in the cap. However, the capture of these leaders negates any surveillance opportunities to further knowledge of the overall network. Nevertheless, he's one more bad guy off the street and the info he may give up will hopefully put us ahead of any disasters.
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOM!

Rice Cooks in Colombia

2005-04-28T08:10:00.000-04:00

Sec of State Condaleeza Rice visited Colombia where she pledged support to that country's fight against narcotics trafficking and the left wing groups FARC and ELN among others. $600 million has been sent in the past and the Colombian government has had a sea change in the effectiveness, trustworthiness, and competency of their military and police. She also addressed the recent Venezuelan purchase of 100,000 AK-47 and Ak-74 rifles from Russia. Seen as a growing destablizing force in the region Venezuela's leadership had little good to say about the cozy relationship between the US and Colombia and more or less laughed off the assertion. The stop in Colombia is part of a tour of the region by Rice.
My $.02: FARC is the largest terrorist group in the world. In the past they have bought SAM systems, and even tried to buy old submarines from the Russians! Until recent attacks by goverment forces, FARC controlled an area the size of Connecticut. They still have considerable support in the countryside and are awash in money from selling or protecting the cocaine trade. In recent years however, the Colombians have been more effective and the money from the US has allowed an increase in the salaries of Colombian military which does some to mitigate the corruptive influence of narco-dollars. While it looks better Colombia is one of those "Wars in Waiting" that could become front page news at any time.

Moussaoui Pleads Guilty

2005-04-23T00:24:00.000-04:00

Zacharias Moussaoui, the so-called 2oth hijacker on 9-11, has pled guildy on six counts of conspiracy in connection with the attacks in 2001. The U.S. government has said they will seek the death penalty in the case. Moussaoui's lawyers have tried to stop him from pleading guilty, citing his mental state. Moussaoui says he was not part of the 9-11 plot but was involved in a wider plot to attack the White House. In court he said that he was handpicked by Osama bin Laden to train to fly 747s and he was to target the White House. In 2002 the Moroccan-born French citizen pled guilty then quickly changed his plea to not guilty. He was arrested in Minnesota on immigration charges in August 2001 and was being held there when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania after it was retaken by passengers. Many contend the fourth plane was targetted at the White House. Moussaoui also live for nine years in London where he attended the Finsbury Park Mosque, which has been connected to several terrorist plots and was the mosque of shoe-bomber Richard Reid. A guilty plea moves the case around the trial stage and directly to sentencing which is decided by a jury.
My $.02: My first reaction was "Yeah hang the bastard!" then my second thought was "Wait, there may still be things we can learn about the plot and the group's operations to help law enforcement", but then I thought "What with death sentences taking years to carry out we have plenty of time to question him." My liberal friends say the death penalty lowers us to their level of barbarism and the terrorists win. But isn't it nice to know a few of their boys won't be at the victory party? Also, kudos to whoever or whatever agency was on the ball and arrested his ass in Minnesota. Too bad there weren't more of you all in the FBI, CIA, and NSC. Its like what Harry Truman said about government: the best people to run the country are all plumbers, taxi drivers, and iron workers. Not the Harvard and Yale crew teams.

12 Afghan Militants Killed in Clash

2005-04-21T08:05:00.000-04:00

At least a dozen fighters, described only as Afghan militants, were killed by coalition troops in southeastern Afghanistan yesterday. The militants launched a rocket at the American base Salerno and the base responded with ground troops and air support. The attack came after the usual lull in fighting during the rough Afghan winter. The four rockets fired at the base did no damage and no injuries were reported. American forces responded with artillery and two 500-pound bombs following the contrails of the rockets back to their source. On Monday eight suspected Taliban fighters were killed and another 16 captured.
My $.02: While the Taliban has been largely broken there is still a venomous hardcore that obviously can still launch attacks. The rapid response to their attack yesterday shows the level of readiness and training of our troops but also highlights the dangers still faced by Americans in what the media, and I'm afraid an increasing number in the government, consider the backwater of the War on Terror. Complacency and underestimating the enemy can be just as dangerous as guns and bombs.

OKC Bombing 10 Years Later/GTMO Prisoners Handed Over

2005-04-19T18:25:00.000-04:00

Today marked the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Everyone on TV has recounted the bombing and it was good to see the survivors overcoming the effects of that day. The memorial in OKC and the one being built in NYC are not just memorials to the dead and wounded. Like the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, the cemetaries of white crosses in Arlington and Normandy, they are testaments to the American spirit. Not the get-rich-quick spirit, not the do-at-all-costs spirit of the Apollo missions. It is the same spirit that urged the American Colossus to get up, push ahead, and fight on in spite of the sucker punches of the cowardly, or the sneak attacks of the conniving.
My $.02: In remberance of those lost in 1995 could anyone, no matter who or where you are or when you read this, take a moment of silence or say a small prayer for those lost and for those who go on. Thank You.

In Guatanamo Bay, Cuba seventeen Aghans held there since 2001 were handed over to Afghan authorities today. The men will be re-united with their families and will be returning to a country vastly different from the one the left. Over 200 prisoners have been repatriated in recent months. Some 500 remain.
My $.02: Repatriating these guys was definitly a good idea. The analysts down in Cuba finally understood that the reward for Taliban and Al Qaeda offered in late 2001 led to a lot of score settling by neighbors against guys who had little to do with the war. Of those left though they have to be mindful of the Sufi idea of Taqiya. Under Taqiya a believer will hide his faith, completely, so as to hide and move about the infidels until the time is right. It may be a good idea to have the local police keep an eye on those released for a while. Remember what Reagan said about the Russians regarding arms inspections? "Trust, but verify."

Dual Car Bombs in Baghdad Kill 18

2005-04-14T13:53:00.000-04:00

After a brief lull, insurgents belonging to Al Qaeda cells in Iraq set off two car bombs near the interior minstry office. Eighteen people were killedand more than three dozen were killed. The bombs were targetted at police guarding the building, a tactic more and more common in Iraq. A third car failed to explode. Students in a nearby school vowed not to return to classes due to the danger and seeming inability of Iraqi police and American forces to secure the city. Elsewhere in Iraq patrols were hit with small arms fireand the Kirkuk police stations was shot at in a drive-by incident. The group Ansar al-Sunnah has claimed it is cooperating with Al-Zarqawi's group, a disturbing change in the often rivalrous relationships between these groups.
My $.02: As has been said before, lulls are not just picking oneself back up, it is also an opportunity to fight with renewed strength. Whatever security measures the Iraqi and American forces have in place for force protection DO NOT WORK. Whomever personnel they have or whatever agency or contractor they have working on this needs to find a new plan, and fast.

Aceh Peace Talks, Iraq Insurgency Down

2005-04-12T09:32:00.000-04:00

Talks are underway in Finland to maybe end the 30 year war in India's Ache province. Before talks began the two sides, rebels and India's government, had not met in over two years. After the devastating tsunami that hit late last year the Free Aceh Movement and the government became rahter warm to a sitdown.
My $02: Both sides seem to understand that only in a climate of peace could any aide make it to the people who need it and only the government they hated so much had the infrastructure and wherewithall to get it to them. After 30 years of internicine warfare, ambushes, snipings, murders, etc. the Aceh people may be getting the point that India has all the guns, while what with Aceh producing most of the world's tea, India may finally understand they can't take advantage of their neighbors and have to treat all provinces with respect. Of course any peace plan will produce a hardcore n both sides who want to continue the fight.
In Iraq todday insurgency fighting has declined leading many American leaders to hint a reduction in US forces.
My $.02: This is a bad idea. Ever box or watch boxing? Toward the end of a fight they are both getting tired and one drops his hands, and the other drops his, and the first guy pops the second and knocks him right out? The insurgents may be on the run, but more likely they are recouping, replanning, retraining, and are going to keep our boys busy for some time to come. Want to stop the bad guys? Stop their money, their supply or jihadists coming from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and elsewhere, and punish the countries that don't control these people, that just send them away to be someone else's problem.

Rampage in Darfur

2005-04-09T15:08:00.000-04:00

In the troubled region of darfur in western Sudan 350 militia burned all but two buildings in Khor Abeche near Nyala on Thursday. The groups named nasir al-Tijani as their leader and demanded government action. The two year civil war between Arabs and Blacks has left 180,000 dead and many more displaced. Seventeen people were killed by men on horses and camels as they ran through the village killing, burning, or destroying anything and everything. The raid was revenge for the supposed theft of 150 cattle.
My $.02: The whole civil war in Darfur is just one of several horrifying examples of how the maps and borders drawn by the imperial powers of Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, and to a lesser extent United States, Germany, and Japan. They drew their maps and borders with no clue at what kind of friction the natives had between each other. Imperial hubrus at its worse is drawn on the maps that are on every schoolroom wall.

Fifteen Iraqi soldiers were killed by insurgents on Friday during a convoy south of Baghdad. The attack was near the town of Latifiya in the 'triagle of death'. The attack came on the heels of the second anniversary of the American overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Tens of thousands joined in a anti-American protest. The demonstrators were egged on by Sunni clerics from the Association of Muslim Scholars.
My $.02: The Sunnis are pissed because, what with a Kurd president and Shia Prime Minister, they are completely out of power. While they were big cheese under Saddam many are now desperate and angry. Unless the government has something for everyone, Sunni, Shia, Kurd, whomever, a united Iraq will not survive an American pullout. That said, if you want to win against the asshole insurgents and powerhungry mullahs you have to have a superior message. First get the damn electricity to work.

Saudi Shootout/Terror Excerisize for Matha Stewart and Tony Soprano

2005-04-05T08:02:00.000-04:00

Saudi security forces are currently fighting militants in one of the biggest firefights in recent Saudi history. Two of the most wanted men in Saudi Arabia--Abdulkarim al-Mejjati and Saud Homoud al-Oteibi--are believed to be among those killed. Some 50 Saudi officers have been wounded, but none have died. The fighting started in a house in Al-Rus Sunday morning when they were surrounded and asked to surrender. The men fled the building and went to an adjacent building under construction and began fighting.
Al-Rus is in the province of Al-Qassim, one of the most fundamentalist in Saudi Arabia.
My $.02: Seeing this kind of fighting in Saudi Arabia gives hope that maybe, just maybe, the younger generation in the Saudi royal family are taking these militants more seriously than their fathers did. However, despite all the fighting, arrests, and imprisonments Saudi Arabia will be a battleground for militants until the monarchy releases some of its hold on power and mitigates its religious and social conservativism with some liberal democracy and a better education system which urges the people to see the militants as the self-righteous fools they are.

In Connecticut and New Jersey the Dept. of Homeland Security and state and local officials along with those in Canada and the UK conducted Operation TopOff 3. In it a chemical attack was staged in New London, Connecticut while a biological attack was staged on a university campus in New Jersey. The operation cost more than $16 million and used thousands of professionals, first responders, and volunteers.
My $.02: These exercizes, the last was in 2003, are necessary to find weak links in the chain, but I'd bet a dollar to your donut that the effects and results will not be made public. These excersizes are predicated on two fallacies: one, that terrorists and the good guys operate from the same playbook, which they don't; and two, that the media won't swarm onto the scene further exacerbating the situation and all the immediate effects on the stock market, communications systems (did anyone's cell phones work on 9-11?), and long-term after-effects like economic recovery (suburban CT and NJ stand a better chance at bouncing back from such an attack as would Martinsburg, WV or some other city under 100,000). However, it is good to know that if terrorists tried to attack Martha Stewart's or Tony Soprano's neighborhoods the state and local authorities have enough money and manpower to handle the situation. Too bad the same is not true for places like WV, where I live, whose law enforcement has no SWAT team, only one or two helicopters, and only and handful of dogs. Until we are all safe, no one is safe. Get it?

Finished Manuscript Who's Who in Terrorism

2005-03-31T02:30:00.000-05:00

I just finished the manuscript for my book: Who's Who in Terrorism. I am agented by Authentic Creations, www.authenticcreations.com. It is 915 pages with over 1000 articles covering groups and persons from all over the world. Its taken over two years to research and write, with material drawn from hundreds of web sites, dozens of books and articles, in 5 languages. If anyone is interested let me know.