A global security alert follows a series of coordinated prison breaks over the past month which freed hundreds of terrorists in nine different countries
US State Department put out a worldwide travel alert and closes 21 embassies and consulates across the Muslim world
UPDATE: Robert Spencer has made an analysis of the culture in US diplomatic and counter terrorism circles and is comparing the actors with fifth graders. We know the phenomenon as 'mental babies with razors' (nominalism). This is how the minds of postmodernists work. In the meantime we hear about Dempsey's Bombshell, a letter about Syria that is really a smokescreen for a message to Israel about "No US Attack on Iran, Ever" (Source)
Mark Stein is commenting on the situation in this audio. It is hardly conceivable that a high tech terror organization like Al Qaeda would be stupid enough to discuss their plots over a telephone line. It is well known that mobile phones are used only once because the whereabouts of the user can be traced. Of course security organisations are well aware. So what is this? Either the conference call was a plant, or the Obama administration is playing a very strange game.
Aug. 7, 2013
The threat picture in Yemen grows ever murkier. First came the hurried withdrawal of nearly all the Western diplomatic corps from the country on Tuesday, prompted by fears of a major al-Qaeda attack against US or Western embassies and their staff. Now the Yemeni authorities have announced what appears to be a separate plot by al-Qaeda to target Yemen's own government installations, including ports, pipelines and the military. Since the Arab Spring upheavals, al-Qaeda in Yemen has profited from a security vacuum in remoter provinces and continues to try to stage spectacular attacks. Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi said the plot involved blowing up oil pipelines and taking control of certain cities - including two ports in the south, one of which accounts for the bulk of Yemen's oil exports and is where a number of foreign workers are employed. (Source)
Aug. 6, 2013
It is highly unusual for senior Qaeda leaders in Pakistan to discuss operational matters with the group’s affiliates, so when the intercepts between the 22 senior Qaeda leaders were collected and analyzed last week, senior officials at the C.I.A., the State Department and the White House immediately seized on their significance. Members of Congress were quickly provided classified briefings on the matter, American officials said. The Times says it knew that Zawahiri and Wuhayshi were the sources of the threat as early as Friday but sat on the information at the request of U.S. officials.
McClatchy, however, did not — they published it last night. A Twitter buddy raises a point I was mulling myself: Could this mean that the U.S. knows where Zawahiri is and has held off on moving in so that they can continue to monitor his communications surreptitiously? If they’re incepting conference calls, then arguably the country’s safer with him out in the field, unwittingly telegraphing AQ’s moves to the NSA, than he is at Gitmo. But that’s all gone now, thanks to the bragging and leaking to McClatchy. If they do know where he is, presumably they’re now prepared to move in with drones or troops. No use having him running around in Pakistan now that he knows we’re listening in. As for who Wuhayshi is, if you believe CNN, he’s the new second-in-command. Not for Al Qaeda in Yemen, but for Al Qaeda globally. (Source)
Aug. 5, 2013
The dramatic embassy closings are a far cry from the Administration’s misguided assurances of al-Qaeda’s demise, a line that was persistently peddled by the President in the run-up to November’s presidential election. As recently as this May, he argued before an audience at National Defense University that the war on terrorism, “like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. That’s what our democracy demands.” In addition, Secretary of State John Kerry is promising to end America’s successful drone strike program “very, very soon.” Yet, in the State Department travel alert, Kerry’s own department states that there is “continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.” In other words, al-Qaeda is alive and well. (Source)
Aug. 4, 2013
What's Up With the Global Terror Panic?
The situation with the global terror alert is getting murkier by the day. According to the Nigerian Telegraph and a number of other sources, the conference call of the leader of Al Qaeda, Al Zawahiri with the leaders of Boko Haram, his second in command in Yemen, and 20 other kingpins of the terror organization, was the source of the panic last week in which 21 US embassies all over de Middle East as well as a number of diplomatic missions in Yemen of an untold number of Western countries were closed down and abandoned until some time later this week.Mark Stein is commenting on the situation in this audio. It is hardly conceivable that a high tech terror organization like Al Qaeda would be stupid enough to discuss their plots over a telephone line. It is well known that mobile phones are used only once because the whereabouts of the user can be traced. Of course security organisations are well aware. So what is this? Either the conference call was a plant, or the Obama administration is playing a very strange game.
Aug. 7, 2013
Plot by AQ in Yemen Focus of Global Terror Alert?
Yemen was at the centre of a complex and audacious plot which - had it succeeded - would have given al-Qaeda control over a crucial aspect of the country's infrastructure. Yemen says it has foiled an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize some of the country's main ports. Security remains tight and hundreds of armoured vehicles have been deployed to protect key sites. Both the US and UK have withdrawn diplomatic staff from Yemen, prompted by intelligence reports of renewed terrorist activity. The US is reported to be preparing special operations forces for possible strikes against al-Qaeda in Yemen. Suspected US drone strikes killed seven alleged al-Qaeda militants in Yemen on Wednesday - the fifth such strikes in less than two weeks. The drones also destroyed two vehicles in the town of Nasab, in the southern province of Shabwa.The threat picture in Yemen grows ever murkier. First came the hurried withdrawal of nearly all the Western diplomatic corps from the country on Tuesday, prompted by fears of a major al-Qaeda attack against US or Western embassies and their staff. Now the Yemeni authorities have announced what appears to be a separate plot by al-Qaeda to target Yemen's own government installations, including ports, pipelines and the military. Since the Arab Spring upheavals, al-Qaeda in Yemen has profited from a security vacuum in remoter provinces and continues to try to stage spectacular attacks. Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi said the plot involved blowing up oil pipelines and taking control of certain cities - including two ports in the south, one of which accounts for the bulk of Yemen's oil exports and is where a number of foreign workers are employed. (Source)
Aug. 6, 2013
Zawahiri conference call with 21 members of the AQ staff is source of the global terror threat
The intercepted conference call last week between Ayman al-Zawahri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as the head of the global terrorist group, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the head of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and 20 other members of the AQ staff, revealed one of the most serious plots against American and other Western interests since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, American intelligence officials and lawmakers have said.It is highly unusual for senior Qaeda leaders in Pakistan to discuss operational matters with the group’s affiliates, so when the intercepts between the 22 senior Qaeda leaders were collected and analyzed last week, senior officials at the C.I.A., the State Department and the White House immediately seized on their significance. Members of Congress were quickly provided classified briefings on the matter, American officials said. The Times says it knew that Zawahiri and Wuhayshi were the sources of the threat as early as Friday but sat on the information at the request of U.S. officials.
McClatchy, however, did not — they published it last night. A Twitter buddy raises a point I was mulling myself: Could this mean that the U.S. knows where Zawahiri is and has held off on moving in so that they can continue to monitor his communications surreptitiously? If they’re incepting conference calls, then arguably the country’s safer with him out in the field, unwittingly telegraphing AQ’s moves to the NSA, than he is at Gitmo. But that’s all gone now, thanks to the bragging and leaking to McClatchy. If they do know where he is, presumably they’re now prepared to move in with drones or troops. No use having him running around in Pakistan now that he knows we’re listening in. As for who Wuhayshi is, if you believe CNN, he’s the new second-in-command. Not for Al Qaeda in Yemen, but for Al Qaeda globally. (Source)
Aug. 5, 2013
Global Terror Alert Growing From Benghazi Attack
The closing of 21 U.S. embassies throughout the Middle East grows out of the September 11, 2012, Benghazi attack in at least two ways: The failure of the Obama Administration to retaliate in any way against those who attacked our consulate and killed a U.S. ambassador has emboldened the enemies of the United States. By adopting a risk-averse strategy against al-Qaeda, we emboldened resurgent terrorists. Benghazi gave ample evidence of that. The Obama White House has learned to play it safe when credible terrorist threats are detected. On Thursday, the State Department announced the closure of U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified threats made by al-Qaeda and its affiliates.The dramatic embassy closings are a far cry from the Administration’s misguided assurances of al-Qaeda’s demise, a line that was persistently peddled by the President in the run-up to November’s presidential election. As recently as this May, he argued before an audience at National Defense University that the war on terrorism, “like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. That’s what our democracy demands.” In addition, Secretary of State John Kerry is promising to end America’s successful drone strike program “very, very soon.” Yet, in the State Department travel alert, Kerry’s own department states that there is “continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.” In other words, al-Qaeda is alive and well. (Source)
Aug. 4, 2013
Global Terror Alert Prompted by Serial Prison Breaks
The recent terror alert and the closing of the US embassies and other diplomatic missions over the weekend in the Middle East may have been prompted by chatter picked up by NSA type surveillance, but Interpol has also issued a global security alert, following a series of coordinated prison breaks over the past month which freed hundreds of terrorists in nine different countries.An elaborate raid earlier this week freed 252 inmates from a prison in Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan. Rocket-propelled grenades and bombs were used in the assault, with the Taliban claiming that two dozen newly-liberated militants had been smuggled into its tribal heartland.
Yemen has become a stronghold of al Qaeda over recent years, with local offshoot al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula believed to have several hundred members. This was despite efforts by the country's authorities to suppress the group and US drones killing leaders including Anwar al Awlaki.
The US State Department measure was in response to non-specific information suggesting the terror network was planning attacks during the month of August.
Britain is shutting the doors of its embassy in Yemen for two days starting today due to increased security concerns. France is also closing its embassy for the same reason.
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) recommended particular vigilance during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends on August 8, when "tensions could be heightened".
The latest alert by the US warned that al Qaeda or its allies may target American government or private US interests.
It cited dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists.
(Source)