Cyprus to perform second search of suspected Hamas arms ship

AP reports that Cypriot authorities are scheduled to conduct another search of a suspected ship carrying arms from Iran to Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. military had stopped the ship en route in the Red Sea last week but could not search or detain it.

The Cypriot authorities had backed away from earlier suggestions that the ship was violating U.N. resolutions but are now scheduling another search, reportedly after Israel’s foreign minister got on the phone with his Cypriot counterpart to urge confiscation of any weapons found.

It is common knowledge that, unfortunately, Cyprus has become a transit point for smuggling and narco-trafficking and is no stranger to hosting members of organizations such as the PLO and Hamas.

The State Department website in its Country Reports on Terrorism comments that “Cyprus forms a transit and support hub for various organizations operating in the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant. The Kongra-Gel/PKK has an active presence in Cyprus on both sides of the buffer zone, which it reportedly uses as both a fundraising and transit point. The Kurdish community in the south of Cyprus is estimated at approximately 1,500.”

It breaks my heart to see such a beautiful place infested now by organized crime from the near east and Russia.

One of the many beautiful coastal beaches in Cyprus

First trial for ICC: Congo leader Lubanga tried for recruiting child soldiers

Ten years after its manate, the ICC’s first trial is underway in the Hague. The “test case” is one Thomas Lubanga, charged with recruiting and using hundreds of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo between five and six years ago.

Many are watching this case not only for a verdict but to see how competent and able the ICC is to fulfill its mission.  I would guess that its success would make it more likely that the U.S. policy toward the ICC might change under the Obama administration.

Click here for PBS’s Wide Angle full report.

UPDATE: internationallawobserver.eu reports that “for more information on the ongoing trial of Thomas Lubanga at the ICC, you may want to visit the newly created website lubangatrial.org, an initiative from the Open Society Justice Initiative. The website promises daily updates on the trial from the courtroom, as well as ‘regular legal analysis and commentary on the Lubanga case’”.

Former G’tmo detainee is now Al Qaeda leader in Yemen

NYT reports:

The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year. The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.

Infuriating. I guess the warm ‘n fuzzy Saudi rehab program for terrorists profiled in the wideangle PBS series, FOCAL POINT doesn’t really rehabilitate so much as act as a “revolving door”, similar to the one in Yemen, the home country of Salim Hamdan (bin Laden’s driver) and where he returned to after his stint in G’tmo to serve out his remaining time.

Click here to get to wideangle PBS series, FOCAL POINT audio broadcast, and here to get to video, “From Jihad to Rehab.”

In the face of Obama’s increasing popularity, Al Qaeda amps up the insults

Washington Post reports (here) that Al Qaeda’s Ayman al Zawahiri has been increasing the volley of insults against President Obama who, unlike President Bush, is well liked in the middle east.

Click here to read about how al Zawahiri’s shotgun blast rhetoric has been alienating other jihadi leaders for some time now.

We’ll see whether this opinion of Obama changes in the time ahead, as Obama seems to be more hard line than previously anticipated on certain counterterrorism policies, such as drone missile strikes against terrorist nests in Pakistan’s tribal regions.

How al Qaeda is different than the “thuggish bureaucrats” of the Cold War…

Via instapundit and NRO’s Uncommon Knowledge:

James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, speaks to Peter Robinson on intelligence and security measures and outlines how al Qaeda and other organizations are different than the “thuggish bureaucrats” of the Cold War era.

He emphasizes that unlike the organizations posing a current threat, the Soviets weren’t necessarily willing to  sacrifice themselves for their cause, and that understanding the “religiously motivated fanaticism” of these individuals and/or organizations is key to any success.

His advice to incoming administrations:  “You can’t outwit them without understanding that their fanaticism is, in a sense, honest. You have to have people who have either been there, know the culture, are extraordinarily empathetic…put yourself in the enemies’ shoes.”

He sold me when he invoked the name of Bernard Lewis, I’m that much of a fan.

Click here to view the video.

New on e-news stands! 2009 Counterterrorism Calendar

On January 7, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) released the 2009 Counterterrorism Calendar, available here.

Here’s additional info:

The National Counterterrorism Center is pleased to present the 2009 edition of the Counterterrorism (CT) Calendar. This edition, like others since the Calendar was first published in a daily planner format in 2003, contains useful information across a wide range of terrorism-related topics: terrorist groups, wanted terrorists, and technical pages on various threat-related issues. The Calendar marks dates according to the Gregorian and Islamic calendars, and contains significant dates in terrorism history, as well as dates that terrorists may believe are important when planning “commemoration-style” attacks.

Also included: mugshots and bios of prominent terrorists, even an altered photo of Usama bin Laden showing “what he might look like if he were to wear Western-style clothing and trim his beard and hair.”.

Take that, Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar!

“From Jihad to Rehab”

As part of the wideangle PBS series, FOCAL POINT interviewed Dr. John Horgan, director of the International Center for the Study of Terrorism at Penn State University, about “the Saudi program for the rehabilitation of former jihadists, and the common experiences of former terrorists from around the globe.”

Click here to get to audio broadcast.

Click here to get to video, “From Jihad to Rehab.”

Update: I wonder if this is similar to the “revolving door” rehab for terrorists in Yemen, the country where Salim Hamdan (bin Laden’s driver) returned to after his stint in G’tmo to serve out his remaining time…

Want to see movies about the “war on terror”?

Click here for the Rhetorican’s post on where to find “‘War on Terror’ movies with a well-defined moral center.”

Algerian al Qaeda killed by bubonic plague

The UK Sun reports that 40 members of a branch of al Qaeda training in Algers were killed by the bubonic plague (this blogger will resist the temptation to editorialize about any ironies here).

The terrorist group thought to be affected is “the AQLIM (al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), the largest and most powerful al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East…it trains Muslim fighters to kill British and US troops.”

The plague epidemic “began in the cave hideouts of AQLIM in Tizi Ouzou province, 150km east of the capital Algiers. The group, led by wanted terror boss Abdelmalek Droudkal, was forced to turn its shelters in the Yakouren forest into mass graves and flee.” The disease apparently spread through more insurgents “training at a forest camp in Algeria, North Africa. It came to light when security forces found a body by a roadside.”

I was looking for other news organizations reporting this story but couldn’t find any, apart from the Times of India which picked up the Sun’s story. I wonder who The Sun’s source is.

H/T to rhetorican.com for the tip and click here for full article.

Britain and other allies delay extradition of terror suspects to U.S.

The Washington Post reports that Britain and other allies have delayed extradition of terror suspects to the U.S. for trial, sometimes up to 10 years. In certain cases, they have allowed suspects to go free and return to their homelands (if different from the country where they were captured).

Further:

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings, the United States has managed to extradite a handful of minor terrorist figures. Oussama Kassir, accused of running terrorist Web sites and other crimes, was extradited from the Czech Republic in September 2007. Wesam al-Delaema, charged with trying to kill Americans in Iraq, was extradited from the Netherlands in January 2007. But most al-Qaeda leaders in U.S. custody have been apprehended overseas…

Obstacles to extradition have loomed especially large in Britain, where al-Qaeda suspects have exploited a cumbersome legal process and a slow-moving bureaucracy to stave off deportation.

Click here for full article.

ex-Sheriff Mike Carona acquitted of all charges except witness tampering

Ex-OC sheriff Mike Carona, lately on trial along with his wife and ex-mistress for scheming to ” illegally win office and use his position to enrich himself and his inner circle,” was acquitted by a jury today of all but one count of witness tampering.

As many of you will remember, Carona was dubbed “America’s Sheriff” by Larry King for his handling of the Samantha Runyon case.

Click here for OCRegister story.

Would-be terrorists use social networks to recruit, organize

PC World reports that would-be terrorists have been using social networks, including online forums and PalTalk “to recruit people who align themselves with the mission of Al Qaeda, creating global networks of would-be terrorists who pose a growing threat….many of these people never actually meet in person, but conspire online to launch both cyberterrorist and physical terrorist attacks such as suicide bombings.”

(via a reader’s tip)

Click here for article.

Intelligence court: yep, wiretapping is still legal, no court order necessary.

H to the urrah!  The NYT reports:

A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, issued a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a specific court order, even when Americans’ private communications may be involved.

The decision marks the first time since the disclosure of the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping program three years ago that an appellate court has addressed the constitutionality of the federal government’s wiretapping powers. In validating the government’s wide authority to collect foreign intelligence, it may offer legal credence to the Bush administration’s repeated assertions that the president has the power to act without specific court approval in ordering national security eavesdropping that may involve Americans.

The Aug. 22 appeals court decision upheld a secret ruling issued last year by the intelligence court that it oversees, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, or FISA, court. In that initial opinion, the secret court found that Congress had acted within its authority in August 2007 when it passed a hotly debated law known as the Protect America Act, which gave the executive branch broad power to eavesdrop on international communications.

Click here for full article.

Israel kills Hamas leader in Operation “Cast Lead”

As Operation Cast Lead intensifies its use of military force in Gaza against Hamas leadership, Israel has killed Said Siam, one of the senior Hamas leaders, during a bombing by an Israeli war plane.

Telegraph U.K. reports that this casualty “represents a major success for Israel which has committed itself to destroying the Hamas leadership. Siam is the most senior Hamas figure killed since Israel began Operation Cast Lead on Dec 27.”

The intensification of the ground combat saw Israeli tanks push deep into the heart of Gaza City, clashing with militants….Hamas militants continued to fire into Israel, launching the largest barrage of rockets and mortars seen in days. Four Israelis were injured, one seriously, when a rocket struck the town of Beer Sheva.

Click here for full report.

Iran buying bomb parts from U.S., using “front” companies

In early November, the IHT reported that Iran has enough material for a nuclear weapon, although it has more steps to take before it actually is able to manufacture it.

It would seem they are making steps toward progressing to the next stage. The Washington Post reports that Iran has been using other companies, many newly created for that purpose, to buy components for bombs from the U.S. This alarming trend is “what U.S. officials and weapons experts describe as Iran’s skillful flouting of export laws intended to stop lethal technology from reaching the Islamic republic.

Despite multiple attempts by the Bush administration to halt illegal imports — including sanctions against several Dubai-based Iranian front companies in 2006 — the technology pipeline to Tehran is flowing at an even faster pace. In some cases, Iran simply opened new front companies and shifted its operations from Dubai to farther east in Asia, the officials said.

Click here for related information on Pakistan’s revitalized Taliban and their efforts to manufacture a dirty bomb, as well as rogue Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is under increasingly loose house arrest (among other things, Khan had been operating a nuclear smuggling ring).

Live discussion with Washington Post Intel reporter Dana Priest

At Washingtonpost.com, the newspaper’s staff intelligence reporter Dana Priest was online Thursday, Jan. 8 to discuss national security issues, ranging from the war in Afghanistan to Obama’s recent nomination of Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

“Dana Priest covers intelligence and wrote “The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace With America’s Military” (W.W. Norton). The book chronicles the increasing frequency with which the military is called upon to solve political and economic problems.”

Click here for full transcript.

2 high ranking al Qaeda operatives reported dead after U.S. airstrike

Wow. Looks as if Ayman al-Zawahiri’s revenge schemes aren’t exactly going as planned thus far this New Year.

“Two top al Qaeda officials are believed dead following a New Year’s Day drone attack in northern Pakistan, ABC News has confirmed. U.S. officials said Fahid Mohammed Ali Msalam and Sheikh Ahmed Salem Swedan, both on the FBI’s most wanted terrorists list, were killed in the CIA strike.”

They were indicted for the Tanzanian and Kenyan bombings in 1998 and were believed to be running the network in Pakistan.

Click here for full story.

Italian law enforcement decimates Sicilian mafia leadership in massive arrest operation

Ah, news on the Sicilian Mafia, one of my favorite subjects.

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? (courtesy of AFP/Getty images)

According to CNN’s newsblog, in mid -December Italian paramilitary police conducted a large scale operation against the Sicilian mafia in Palermo, with 1200+ Carabinieri officers carrying out  more than 90 arrests and “‘decapitating’ the organization’s leadership structure.”

Afterward, Colonel Teo Luzzi issued a lengthy statement about the goals of this operation. Presumably referring to the Mafia leadership which was targeted, he commented,

Their aim was to reconstitute the Sicilian Mafia’s decision-making body, known as the ‘Commissione,’ which was disbanded in the early 1990s following the arrest of the top boss Toto Riina.

“Since then the Mafia didn’t really have a decision making body,” Luzzi said, “and with these arrests we decapitated the top brass of the Palermo Mafia.”

More from the CNN newsblog article:

The Commissione was the executive body of the Mafia, uniting the most powerful bosses of the Mafia clans operating in Sicily. It was the Commissione that decided to carry out the killings of Italy’s top anti-Mafia magistrates in May and July 1992.

The high-profile killings prompted the Italian government to deploy the army in Sicily to fight the Mafia, and Toto Riina was arrested in January 2003.

Sicily’s most wanted Mafioso, Matteo Messina Denaro, was not among the arrested.

Palermo officials said charges would include association with the Mafia, extortion, and arms and drug trafficking.

View full story here.