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Thread: Terrorism in the USA:threat & response

  1. #421
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AdamG View Post
    They got their cracka.
    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-...-grid-attacks/
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


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  2. #422
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Nada Bakos, an ex-CIA analyst, draws attention to the apparent USG and beyond failure to counter non-Jihadist violence, this time citing the LAX incident. She starts with:
    Early warning intelligence looks a lot like this DHS report from 2009; Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization. That early warning analysis is directly related to the LAX shooting among others. The problem is, as with other early warning analysis, it wasn’t given the proper public discussion and government action because it was perceived as controversial. It got swept under the rug because no one wanted to acknowledge the dark side of extreme/fringe right politics in the US.

    (And ends with) We have the information and forewarning to develop a strategy and not be caught on our heels by rightwing extremist armed gunmen. Just because they look like us, talk like us and reside in the US, doesn’t make them any less of a threat than Islamic extremists.
    Link:espionneanalyst.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/early-warning-of-the-lax-shooting/
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    Seems premature to assume the shooter was on the extreme right, he easily could have been an anarchist, or simply disturbed. In the bigger picture it was a very minor event, just like the bombing in Boston, yet our media will enlarge it to the point that it has a strategic impact. In the case of Boston, some politicians will jump on board and milk it for all it worth. All this plays into the hand of our adversaries and encourages more pin prick attacks that often hard to detect and disrupt.

  4. #424
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default EOD @ Boston

    An interesting article, based on interviewing Boston Police's Bomb Squad; with some details I have not seen before, notably the devices found after the initial attack:http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...omb-squad/all/
    davidbfpo

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    Default Power Plan Attack

    This was in the SWJ News round up today, but based on the video link it appears this attack took place in April. Based on the description of the attack it was not simple vandalism. It was likely conducted by an insider with a grudge, or an individual/group that received some professional level sabotage training. I'm surprised there not was more damage, but since there were no reported follow on attacks I'm guessing this was a grudge attack.

    http://complex.foreignpolicy.com/pos...litary-assault

    "Military-Style" Raid on California Power Station Spooks U.S.

    "These were not amateurs taking potshots," Mark Johnson, a former vice president for transmission operations at PG&E, said last month at a conference on grid security held in Philadelphia. "My personal view is that this was a dress rehearsal" for future attacks.
    He isn't correct about .22, but his point is still valid, and apparently he doesn't work for the government because he actually has a common sense recommendation.

    A shooter "could get 200 yards away with a .22 rifle and take the whole thing out," Wellinghoff said last month at a conference sponsored by Bloomberg. His proposed defense: A metal sheet that would block the transformer from view. "If you can't see through the fence, you can't figure out where to shoot anymore," Wellinghoff said. Price tag? A "couple hundred bucks." A lot cheaper than the billions the administration has spent in the past four years beefing up cyber security of critical infrastructure in the United States and on government computer networks.

  6. #426
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    The existence of an Islamic jihadist enclave in Texas have been confirmed by the declassified FBI documents. It has been stated that enclave is part of a terrorist organization as it was identified by the Department of Homeland Security.

    The group is part of the Muslims of the Americas, which in their turn belong to the Pakistani-based militant group Jamaat al-Fuqra.

    It is known that Jamaat al-Fuqra was founded in New York in 1980 by Sheik Mubarak Ali Gilani. Previously, Sheik Mubarak Ali Gilani was kept in Pakistani custody as he was found in connection with the abduction of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
    http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_21/...in-Texas-9905/
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

  7. #427
    Council Member slapout9's Avatar
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    Nice find Adam. This guy was on FOX news talking about the situation in Texas just a short while ago. Here is a link to video he is making on Jihad in America.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPu7iVLSyX8
    Last edited by slapout9; 02-21-2014 at 10:33 PM. Reason: stuff

  8. #428
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    Los Angeles Gang Members Fight In Syria Alongside Pro-Hizbullah, Pro-Assad Forces


    The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

    Videos and images that surfaced recently show members of Los Angeles gangs fighting in Syria alongside pro-Hizbullah and pro-Assad forces. Two gang members, "Creeper," from the G'd Up-13 gang and "Wino," from the Westside Armenian Power gang, filmed themselves shooting AK-47s and boasting of being on the "front lines." Wino, aka "Wino Ayee Peeyakan," whose real name is Nerses Kilajyan, uploaded the images and videos to his Facebook profile.[1]

    The images on Wino's Facebook page include multiple photos of him brandishing weapons; in one he is seen standing beside a Hizbullah operative, and in another he himself is wearing Hizbullah garb. Creeper is photographed and filmed alongside Wino in multiple photos and videos posted on the page.

    Judging by the photos, Wino seems to have been fighting in Syria since December 2012. Comments by Wino's Facebook friends suggest that the two were deported from the U.S. due to their involvement in criminal activity.

    To view a video clip of the gang members on MEMRI TV, click here
    http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/7861.htm
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

  9. #429
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default Bratton's back on the NYC Transit beat

    Yes the article is a PR piece, but I actually think he does good as a leader:http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...l-bratton.html
    davidbfpo

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    InSightCrime, 9 April 2014: Terrorism and Crime in the Americas - "It's Business"
    ...If we were to put a label on any of this activity, it would probably be just that: it's business. These interactions appear to be, more than anything else, a way to achieve short-term monetary goals. Drug trafficking, contraband, weapons trafficking, diamond smuggling and numerous other activities help the terrorist groups reach these goals. Intermediaries like Harb and Joumaa facilitate these deals and perhaps have some ideological affinity to one or more of these organizations. But this does not mean these organizations have developed longstanding or even short-term working relationships. Security analyst Douglas Farah has aptly described them as "one-night stands."...
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 04-09-2014 at 08:13 PM. Reason: Copied here from thread on the plot

  11. #431
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    Default NYPD changes tack on watching Muslim

    A controversial NYPD programem gathering information on the local and regional Muslim communities has been stopped; citing the Mayor:
    a critical step forward in easing tensions between the police and the communities they serve, so that our cops and our citizens can help one another go after the real bad guys....

    ....a review of the unit – renamed the zone assessment unit in recent years – under the new police commissioner, William Bratton, found the same demographic information could be better collected through direct contact with community groups, officials said
    Links:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...disbanded-nypd
    and a longer report (maybe behind a registrationw all):http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/16/ny...isbanded.html?
    davidbfpo

  12. #432
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    Just found, this was published in January 2014 and originates from the New America’s National Security Program:
    ...shows the NSA’s bulk surveillance programs have had a negligible impact in preventing terrorism in the United States.....an in-depth analysis of 225 individuals recruited or inspired by al-Qaeda or like-minded groups, and charged with a terrorism-related crime since 9/11. It notes that the contribution of the NSA’s bulk surveillance programs to these cases was minimal compared to more traditional law enforcement methods, which initiated the majority of cases. The report also found that the collection of American phone metadata has had no discernible impact on preventing acts of terrorism and only the most marginal of impacts on preventing terrorism-related activity, such as fundraising.
    Nice graphic which will not copy:http://natsec.newamerica.net/nsa/analysis
    davidbfpo

  13. #433
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    Default Oklahoma City bombing 1995

    John Schindler raises questions over this bombing and asks why are teh US authorities to reluctant to investigate:http://20committee.com/2014/11/17/li...omb-questions/

    He asks:
    It’s perhaps even more worthwhile to ask why certain sensational stories never seem to develop public traction at all, despite the existence of important evidence indicating there’s something we should be talking about....almost from the outset there have been nagging concerns about whether the full extent of the McVeigh-Nichols conspiracy was uncovered. Despite the expenditure of millions of man-hours on OKBOMB, questions have lingered for nearly two decades about how two hard-right ne’er-do-wells, neither of whom possessed bomb-making skills worth mentioning, managed to pull off such a spectacular attack on their first try — doubts that have lingered after 9/11, with many cases of failed bomb-making by self-starting jihadists across Europe and the United States.
    He provides a number of links to sources and people who dispute the investigation.

    Then he comments on two puzzling aspects, which I was not familiar with:
    First, the visits by McVeigh and Nichols to the southern Philippines remain mysterious, and perhaps will in perpetuity. Their connections to Ramzi Yousef are weak but visible, while the hand of a Middle East intelligence service, one known for its support to international terrorism, was detectable in outline, if not in detail.

    Second, Strassmeir (a German national, Zionist and right wing extremist) — who seems to be the key to much of the remaining mystery surrounding OKBOMB — appeared to be an intelligence source, and possible agent provocateur, for as many as three different intelligence services, all of which are known to watch neo-Nazi activities in the United States with interest.

    Across the Atlantic the UK, in particular the city of Birmingham is nearing the 40th anniversary of the B'ham Pub Bombings, on November 21st 1974, which killed 21 and injured 182. That too had suspects quickly arrested, charged and convicted - known as the 'B'ham Six' - who were later freed on appeal.



    There is a local campaign seeking justice for those killed, whose calls for a renewed criminal investigation have fallen on deaf ears. The bombings have some riddles, if not puzzles; such as the third bomb that was found that night, defused, but rarely mentioned for years and disposed of years later.


    A short background:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_pub_bombings


    No-one in government, the local police, Irish Republicans and others want this apparent "can of worms" re-opened. Which sounds similiar to the Oklahoma City bombing.
    davidbfpo

  14. #434
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default Haystacks and Havens

    Two useful articles today. Their focus is on the USA, although a number of aspects have a wider application.

    A long piece in The New Yorker, with a title and sub-title:
    The Whole Haystack; The N.S.A. claims it needs access to all our phone records. But is that the best way to catch a terrorist?
    Link:http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...whole-haystack

    taken from the opening passages:
    Almost every major terrorist attack on Western soil in the past fifteen years has been committed by people who were already known to law enforcement....In each of these cases, the authorities were not wanting for data. What they failed to do was appreciate the significance of the data they already had.... He cited a statement by Alexander’s deputy that “there’s only really one example of a case where, but for the use of Section 215 bulk phone-records collection, terrorist activity was stopped.” “He’s right,” Alexander said.
    The second FP essay has the title:
    The Myth of the Terrorist Safe Haven; A pernicious and persistent theory that America’s enemies flourish in foreign sanctuaries -- and that only military means can rout them -- has led us abroad in search of monsters to destroy.
    Link:http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/26/...st-safe-haven/

    A taster from the penultimate paragraph:
    ..evidence of the true threat of terrorism to Americans suggests that a hotel room in Hoboken can be just as much a safe haven as a hut in Helmand — and more dangerous too, given the proximity to American targets.
    davidbfpo

  15. #435
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    Default The Myth of the Terrorist Safe Haven: a riposte

    A short reply to the cited FP article (in the previous post) from Lawfare; which ends with:
    ..safe havens will continue to matter, and their threat is no myth.
    Link:http://www.lawfareblog.com/2015/01/s...-still-matter/
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    A short reply to the cited FP article (in the previous post) from Lawfare; which ends with:
    Link:http://www.lawfareblog.com/2015/01/s...-still-matter/
    Cody Poplin's attack on the safe haven myth article could have served as a corrective, but his own counter piece was equally flawed. I think the underlying problem is identifying our adversaries as terrorists, and how that paradigm limits our view of the various movements associated with al-Qaeda (directly or indirectly). I agree al-Qaeda did not need Afghanistan to plan and conduct 9/11, but on the other hand at that stage of the movement they did need a safe haven to organize their global network (now it is probably robust enough to survive without a designated safe haven, since there are adequate safe havens (smaller scale) in many large cities and remote areas around the world.

    Cody cited the Management of Savagery

    “The Management of Savagery,” which is currently the homework of aspiring jihadis of the Islamic State, suggests that groups must establish safe havens, or regions where they can administer savagery. Key factors for site selection include “the presence of geographical depth;” the weakness of the ruling regime and the weakness of the centralization of its power in the peripheries of the borders of its state;” and the prior “distribution of weapons in the region.” Based on this criteria, Naji suggests Pakistan, Nigeria, Libya, and Yemen are all suitable places from which to spark the fire of jihad, concluding: “Before its submission to the administration, the region of savagery will be in a situation resembling the situation of Afghanistan before the control of the Taliban, a region submitting to the law of the jungle in its primitive form, whose good people and even the wise among the evildoers yearn for someone to manage this savagery.”
    Point taken, but they're not talking about planning external attacks from these locations, though they certainly can and do. They're talking about unconventional warfare where AQ as an external sponsor exploits (and creates) conditions to establish their base. If you read about the theory on "competitive control" it is clear that both the communists and al-Qaeda do this better than the U.S. We have a difficult time understanding why it works, since it runs counter to our deeply held worldview based on "The End of History."

    Cody made several good points, but the biggest shortfall in his argument was what he didn't cover. Al-Qaeda wanted us to invade Afghanistan. We certainly fought better than they expected, and it could have the end game if we were successful in killing their senior leadership before the movement went global. Instead it became a quagmire where we ended up wasting billions of dollars while AQ expanded elsewhere. Al-Qaeda's current strategy (articulated years ago, but most recently in their latest version of Inspire) is to get the West to over extend.

    I think the correct answer is somewhere between these two arguments. We can't afford to pursue ineffective COIN approaches to eliminate safe havens. This approach has reduced our focus on the larger strategic picture and narrowed it down to one geographical spot that we look at through the lens of counterterrorism instead of strategically. This approach is simply unsustainable, yet these safe havens can't be ignored. Cody is right they must addressed, but we need a new sustainable approach for doing so. To be more provocative, even if we invested another five years of surge level effort in Afghanistan and actually stabilized the country (we would have to assume an enduring fight along their border with Pakistan) so what? How many countries can we afford to do this in? While we compressed our strategic world view to a tactical problem centered on Afghanistan (once again the failure of the center of gravity concept), the rest of the world continued to evolve in ways not beneficial to U.S. interests. A few examples of other problems include, Russia's aggression in Ukraine, China's aggression in the South China Sea, and AQ expanding through much of the Middle East and North Africa.

    We need to take two steps back and look at the larger picture and have a more informed discussion on feasibility and strategic risk. In some ways I think the authors' are talking past one another and could come to a mutual agreement if they were sitting at a table discussing it.

  17. #437
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    ST. LOUIS — Six people, including three St. Louisans, are facing charges of providing support and resources to terrorists.

    An indictment has been unsealed charging Ramiz Zijad Hodzic, 40, his wife, Sedina Unkic Hodzic, 35, and Armin Harcevic, 37, all of St. Louis County. Nihad Rosic, 26, of Utica, N.Y., Mediha Medy Salkicevic, 34, of Schiller Park, Ill., and Jasminka Ramic, 42, of Rockford, Ill., were also named in the indictment.

    The United States attorney's office says all six suspects are natives of Bosnia who immigrated to the United States and are either naturalized citizens or have refugee or legal resident status.
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...rism/23032923/
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

  18. #438
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    Default NYPD CT data analysis

    A 10 pg article via Lawfare 'Analytics in Action at the New York City Police Department’s Counter-terrorism Bureau':http://www.lawfareblog.com/wp-conten...2/Levine_5.pdf

    he New York City Police Department’s Lower Manhattan Security Coordination Center integrates data from a variety of sources, including sensors (cameras, license plate readers, and environmental detectors) and records (arrests, complaints, summonses, 911 calls, etc.). Analyzing this data to inform decision making has required the development of several coordinated processes. These processes are leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness as well as improved situational awareness for senior leadership.
    davidbfpo

  19. #439
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    Default AAR on LE response to Boston bombings

    A long-awaited report on law enforcement’s response to the Boston Marathon bombing has been released Friday.

    The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency found “weapons discipline” was lacking by law enforcement officers during the Watertown shootout on April 18 with the Tsarnaev brothers and the operation the next day to capture Dzhokhar.

    The absence of organized, universal public safety procedures led to confusion among first responders in the wake of the bombings.
    The press report has a copy of the 130 page report to read or download:http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikehayes/bo...cement-report?
    davidbfpo

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    Default ISIS Camp a Few Miles from Texas, Mexican Authorities Confirm

    ISIS is operating a camp just a few miles from El Paso, Texas, according to Judicial Watch sources that include a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police Inspector.

    The exact location where the terrorist group has established its base is around eight miles from the U.S. border in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Another ISIS cell to the west of Ciudad Juárez, in Puerto Palomas, targets the New Mexico towns of Columbus and Deming for easy access to the United States, the same knowledgeable sources confirm.
    http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/20...ities-confirm/

    Separate thread for maximum visibility.
    Dual posted in the Mexican cartel thread as well.
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

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