15 January 2010By Lori Price
In 2008, the ACLU
estimated the US 'No Fly List' to have grown to over
1,000,000 names -- heck, even Cat Stevens and the late
Senator Ted Kennedy were on it -- and it continues to
expand. But, suspected terrorist Abdul Farouk
Abdulmutallab, who was curiously able to obtain
military-grade high explosives --80 grams of PETN
(Gee, where'd he get that?) -- managed to escape
airport security and detonate his underwear bomb!
In April 2009, American authorities reportedly refused
an Air France flight from Paris to Mexico entry into
US airspace because a left-wing journalist writing a
book on the CIA was on board. Hernando Calvo Ospina,
who works for Le Monde Diplomatique and has written on
revolutionary movements in Cuba and Colombia, figured
on the US authorities' 'no-fly list.' Air France said
the April 18 flight was forced to divert to the French
Caribbean island of Martinique before continuing its
journey (telegraph.co. uk).
Got it? Write a book critical of the CIA -- you cannot
fly. Carry explosives (allegedly from Yemen) on board
when the US is trolling for an excuse to invade and
occupy Yemen for its oil -- yes you can! The US needs
false flags to provide cover for illegal invasions and
occupations. The 9/11 terrorist attacks (aka inside
job, six ways to Sunday) worked well for the US
government; the security-industrial complex made
billions and US corporaterrorists were able to
negotiate the wholesale theft of Iraq's oil.
According to CNN, the terror suspect's father tried to
warn authorities. CNN reported: The father of a man
suspected in a botched terror attack aboard a
Northwest Airlines flight contacted the U.S. Embassy
in Nigeria recently with concerns his son was planning
something, a senior U.S. administration official said
Saturday. The father -- identified by a family source
as Umaru Abdul Mutallab -- contacted the U.S. Embassy
"a few weeks ago" saying his son, Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, had "become radicalized, " the senior
administration official, who is familiar with the
case, told CNN.
And yet, Abdulmutallab was not obliged to undergo any
additional airport screening layers, prior to boarding
for the last leg of his journey to Detroit.
Also, lest we forget: Three key provisions of the
Patriot Act are scheduled to expire 31 December 2009.
Hmm. I wonder if post-Abdulmutallab they will get
renewed?
Abdulmutallab was thwarted by a quote, unquote
vacationing movie producer, Jasper Schuringa, who,
within seconds, asserted that he not only tackled the
suspect and put him in a headlock but also tried 'to
search his body for any explosives' (CNN). Unless one
was a bona-fide law enforcement professional or a
military agent, who on earth would think of searching
a man who had just set himself on fire, in a matter of
seconds, for more explosives?
The goal is Yemeni oil. Hence the reason for the
destabilization and the purported need for the US to
stop al-Qaeda (literally, 'the database'). The Yemeni
national security chief has declared that the country
is receiving assistance from the US in the crackdown
on what he called 'al-Qaeda operatives' in southern
Yemen (Press TV). Translation: US corporaterrorists
want Yemen's oil and they want it NOW.
Israeli firm blasted for letting would-be plane bomber
slip through 10 Jan 2010 The Israeli firm ICTS
International (not to be confused with ICTS Europe,
which is a different company), and two of its
subsidiaries are at the crux of an international
investigation in recent days, as experts try to
pinpoint the reasons for the security failure that
enabled Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to board Northwest
flight 253 and attempt to set alight explosives hidden
in his underwear. A Haaretz investigation has learned
that the security officers and their supervisor should
have suspected the passenger, even without having
early intelligence available to them.
Canada ordered airline scanners months ago --Scanner
technology was in the works well before events in
recent weeks 06 Jan 2010 Transport Minister John Baird
told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday morning that Canada
chose to pursue the high-tech scanner technology
months ago, putting an order in to manufacturers
"before the United States were in the queue...and
before some of the countries in Europe." He said the
scanner technology was in the works well before the
events in recent weeks, leaving Canadian authorities
well-informed about the practical concerns of
implementing them at nationwide airports. "This is
something we've been working on for about 15 months,"
said Baird.
Airline Bombing Suspect Flagged For Check At Landing
07 Jan 2010 As the White House prepared Thursday to
release a preliminary report on the Christmas Day
bombing attempt aboard a Northwest Airlines flight
from Amsterdam to Detroit, there was word that
security officials had flagged the name of the bombing
suspect after he was already on his way. U.S.
officials say the Nigerian man was supposed to get
extra screening once he arrived, because of his
apparent ties to extremists. Customs and Border
Protection officials screen passengers against
terrorist watch lists before international flights
leave for the U.S., and then check names against a
different database while the flight is in the air.
[LOL!] It was during this second check that officials
flagged the alleged bomber.
Obama security adviser says bomb report a shocker 07
Jan 2010 Americans will feel "a certain shock" from a
White House report to be released on Thursday on
security lapses in the attempted December 25 bombing
of a Detroit-bound airliner, U.S. national security
adviser James Jones said in a USA Today interview.
President Barack Obama "is legitimately and correctly
alarmed that things that were available, bits of
information that were available, patterns of behavior
that were available, were not acted on," Jones said in
the interview published on Thursday. ['A certain
shock.' Oh, that a Cheney 'burrower' ensured that
Abdulmutallab was not on the 'No-Fly' list, so that
the US would be attacked under Obama? Odd, as Obomba
is funding and fomenting more rage and possible acts
of terrorism (through killer drone attacks, etc.) than
Bush. See: Administration Moves to Protect Key
Appointees 18 Nov 2008.]
U.S. learned intelligence on airline bomb suspect
while he was en route 06 Jan 2010 U.S. border
enforcement officials came close to stopping the
attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet while
the suspect was en route to Detroit on Christmas Day,
new data show. U.S. border security officials learned
of intelligence about the alleged extremist links of
the suspect in the Christmas Day airline bombing
attempt as he was en route to Detroit and had decided
to question him when he landed, officials said in new
disclosures today.
Obama Says Government Knew of "Other Red Flags" in
Terror Threat 06 Jan 2010 President Obama said Tuesday
that the United States government had sufficient
information to uncover the terror plot to bring down
an airplane on Christmas Day, but intelligence
officials "failed to connect those dots" that would
have prevented the young Nigerian man from boarding
the plane in Amsterdam. "This was not a failure to
collect intelligence, it was a failure to integrate
and understand the intelligence that we already had,"
Mr. Obama said after a two-hour meeting with his
national security team at the White House.
Ah, then came the dawn. Yemen seizes 'Israel-linked'
cell 07 Oct 2008 Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
has said the security forces have arrested a group of
alleged Islamist militants linked to Israeli
intelligence. Mr Saleh did not say what evidence had
been found to show the group's links with Israel, a
regional enemy of Yemen. The arrests were connected
with an attack on the US embassy in Sanaa last month
which killed at least 18 people, official sources were
quoted saying. [Hmm. Guess they didn't get the whole
cell.]
U.S. Customs: Second person handcuffed on Christmas
Day was on Flight 253, after all 02 Jan 2010 A
spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection now
says that a man who was handcuffed and questioned by
authorities on Christmas Day was a passenger on
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 -- just days after
saying that person arrived to Detroit aboard a
different flight. In an email to The Detroit News
Thursday night, Customs spokesman Ron Smith
acknowledged that a person from Flight 253 was
handcuffed after search dogs found something in his
carry-on bag. Smith said the email was based on new
information he had received. The passenger was not
arrested or detained, and was allowed to leave Detroit
Metro Airport with the rest of the Flight 253
passengers, according to WWJ.
Official confirms 2nd man interviewed from Flight 253
--Couple on 253 did see 2nd man in cuffs, customs
officer says 02 Jan 2010 A U.S. Customs official
reversed himself Friday, admitting a passenger from
Northwest Flight 253 was placed in handcuffs, searched
and released after a security dog alerted officers to
the passenger's carry-on luggage. Ronald G. Smith,
chief U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in
the Detroit area, sent an e-mail to The Detroit News
late Thursday apologizing that the information on the
passenger -- which was made public by a pair of Taylor
attorneys, Kurt and Lori Haskell, who were passengers
on the flight -- was not officially announced earlier.
FBI officials had said only one man from the flight
was arrested.
White House Adviser Briefed in October on Underwear
Bomb Technique 03 Jan 2010 White House
counterterrorism adviser John Brennan was briefed in
October on an assassination attempt by Al Qaeda [al-CIAduh]
that investigators now believe used the same underwear
bombing technique as the Nigerian suspect who tried to
blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas
Day, U.S. intelligence and administration officials
tell NEWSWEEK. The briefing to Brennan was delivered
at the White House by Muhammad bin Nayef, Saudi
Arabia's chief counterterrorism official. In late
August, Nayef had survived an assassination attempt by
an operative dispatched by the Yemeni branch of Al
Qaeda who was pretending to turn himself in.
MI5 knew of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab' s UK extremist
links 03 Jan 2010 The security services knew three
years ago that the Detroit bomber had "multiple
communications" with Islamic extremists in Britain, it
emerged this weekend. Counterterrorism officials said
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was "reaching out" to
extremists whom MI5 had under surveillance while he
was studying at University College London. None of the
information was passed to American officials, which
will prompt questions about intelligence failures
prior to the attack. British officials have now passed
a file to their US counterparts on Abdulmutallab' s
activities in Britain while he was a student from 2005
to 2008. It shows his repeated contacts with MI5
targets who were subject to phone taps, email
intercepts and other forms of surveillance.
Flight 253 passenger Kurt Haskell: 'I was visited by
the FBI' 31 Dec 2009 Following up on a visit from FBI
officials about an eyewitness account first described
to MLive.com, Michigan attorney Kurt Haskell described
the visit in comment sections across MLive on
Wednesday. Haskell and his wife, Lori, were aboard
Flight 253 when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly
tried to destroy the plane. They say another man tried
to help Abdulmutallab board the plane in Amsterdam.
Airline bomber suspect studied in Houston 31 Dec 2009
The Nigerian man accused of trying to bomb an airliner
on Christmas Day over Detroit attended an intensive,
Islamic education seminar in Houston last year
designed for top student scholars, an organization
confirmed Wednesday. Shaykh Waleed Basyouni, vice
president for the AlMaghrib Institute in Houston, said
23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was living in
London in the summer of 2008 when he attended the
nonprofit institute's annual "IlmSummit" with about
150 other students. Basyouni said other participants
in the seminar, which was held in Houston during the
first two weeks of August 2008, remembered
Abdulmutallab as being very quiet and keeping to
himself.
US aware 'Nigerian' prepared for terror attack 30 Dec
2009 The US was aware that "a Nigerian" in Yemen was
being prepared for a terrorist attack - weeks before
an attempted bombing on a US plane. ABC News and the
New York Times say there was intelligence to this
effect, but its source is unclear. Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab flew from Lagos to Amsterdam before
changing planes for a flight to Detroit on which he
allegedly tried to detonate a bomb.
Second person was detained by U.S. Customs after
alleged attack on Flight 253 29 Dec 2009 A person was
detained by customs at Detroit Metro Airport on Friday
following Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab' s alleged attack
on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, according to a
spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It
is unknown why the person was detained or whether the
person will face any charges, spokesman Ron Smith told
MLive.com. Bill Carter, a spokesman with the FBI in
Washington, D.C., said in an interview Tuesday that
Abdulmutallab was the only person arrested or charged
in relation to Friday's foiled attack.
Report: Dutch police investigating report of
accomplice in Northwest Flight 253 terror plot 28 Dec
2009 Reuters reports Dutch military police are
investigating claims that an accomplice may have
helped Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab board Northwest
Flight 253 in Amsterdam on Christmas day without a
passport, a story first told here on MLive.com.
Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up the
Detroit-bound plane with an explosive chemical he
smuggled through security.
Man videotaped entire false flag, including
detonation: Oconomowoc Family Survives Terrorist
Attempt 28 Dec 2009 (WI) Patricia "Scotty" Keepman
still has a sense of humor after the harrowing
experience she, her husband, daughter and two new
adopted children from Ethiopia had as a man tried to
detonate an explosive device while their plane was
getting ready to land in Detroit on Christmas Day.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria was charged
Saturday in the Christmas Day attempt that only
sparked a fire on the flight from Amsterdam. They were
sitting about 20 rows behind Abdulmutallab, in a
center aisle... Her daughter said that ahead of them
was a man who videotaped the entire flight, including
the attempted detonation. "He sat up and videotaped
the entire thing, very calmly," said Patricia. "We do
know that the FBI is looking for him intensely. Since
then, we've heard nothing about it."
Detroit bomber linked to MI5 suspect 30 Dec 2009 The
Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was linked to
a Muslim extremist under surveillance by MI5 while he
was living in Britain, it has emerged. The Security
Service have found that the 23-year-old was connected
to a suspect it was investigating while he was
studying at university in London. The connection was
discovered after record checks by MI5 following the
attempted suicide bombing on Christmas Day by
Abdulmutallab on a US-bound plane. Until now, it was
thought that the first time MI5 had any evidence of
Abdulmutallab was when he was put on a "watch list"
earlier this year after being refused a student visa
because he had given details of a bogus college. But
MI5 has now discovered he was on the "periphery of a
past incident" sources said, although he was not said
to have been under surveillance himself.
U.S. Had Information Before Christmas of a Terror Plot
--The government also had more information about where
Mr. Abdulmutallab had been and what some of his plans
were. 30 Dec 2009 President Obama was told during a
private briefing on Tuesday morning while vacationing
here in Hawaii that the government had a variety of
information in its possession before the thwarted
bombing that would have been a clear warning sign had
it been shared among agencies, a senior official said.
Two officials said the government had intelligence
from Yemen before Friday that leaders of a branch of
Al Qaeda there were talking about "a Nigerian" being
prepared [by his CIA handlers] for a terrorist attack.
'The information on AbdulMutallab had been sent to CIA
headquarters in Langley, Virginia.' Source: CIA failed
to circulate report about bombing suspect 29 Dec 2009
The father of terrorism suspect Umar Farouk
AbdulMutallab talked about his son's extremist views
with someone from the CIA and a report was prepared,
but the report was not circulated outside the agency,
a reliable source told CNN on Tuesday. Had that
information been shared, the 23-year-old Nigerian who
is alleged to have bungled an attempt to blow up a
jetliner as it was landing in Detroit, Michigan, on
Christmas Day might have been denied passage on the
Northwest Airlines flight, the source said. U.S.
officials said the father, a former Nigerian banker,
expressed his concerns about his son's radicalization
during at least one meeting and several calls with
officials at the embassy in Nigeria. The information
on AbdulMutallab had been sent to CIA headquarters in
Langley, Virginia, but it sat there for five weeks and
was not disseminated, the source said.
Two al Qaeda Leaders Behind Northwest Flight 253
Terror Plot Were Released by U.S. [by Bush] --Former
Guantanamo Prisoners Believed Behind Northwest
Airlines Bomb Plot; Sent to Saudi Arabia in 2007 28
Dec 2009 Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the
al Qaeda [al-CIAduh] plot to blow up a Northwest
Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by
the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007,
according to American officials and Department of
Defense documents. American officials agreed to send
the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia
where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation
program" and were set free, according to U.S. and
Saudi officials. Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad
Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner #372, Said Ali Shari,
were sent to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 9, 2007, according
to the Defense Department log of detainees who were
released from American custody. Al-Harbi has since
changed his name to Muhamad al-Awfi.
US jet plot suspect 'was in Yemen in December' 29 Dec
2009 The Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a
jet over the US on Christmas Day was living in Yemen
until earlier this month, Yemeni officials have said.
The foreign ministry said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
was in Yemen from August until the beginning of
December, the official Saba news agency reported. He
had a visa to study Arabic at an institute in the
capital Sanaa.
Anti-terror officials let terror suspect keep visa 28
Dec 2009 The State Department says counterterrorism
agencies were warned that the Nigerian man who
allegedly tried to blow up an airliner Christmas Day
may be under extremists' influence. State Department
spokesman Ian Kelly says it was up to the National
Counterterrorism Center to block Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab from entering the U.S. He says U.S.
counterterror agencies received the information on
Nov. 20, a day after it was provided by the father,
but it was not enough to revoke the visa.
Father of terror suspect reported Mutallab to US
Embassy 6 months ago 27 Dec 2009 The father of the al
Qaeda terrorist behind Friday's attempted explosion
aboard a Northwest flight bound for Detroit reported
his son's fanatical religious views to the U.S.
Embassy six months ago, according to a Nigerian news
outlet. The young man, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, is
the son of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former Nigerian
minister and bank chairman. He became wary of his
son's religious beliefs and reported his activities to
the U.S. Embassy as well as Nigerian security services
half a year ago, according to the Nigerian newspaper
This Day.
Source: Terror suspect's father tried to warn
authorities 27 Dec 2009 The father of a man suspected
in a botched terror attack aboard a Northwest Airlines
flight contacted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria recently
with concerns his son was planning something, a senior
U.S. administration official said Saturday. The father
-- identified by a family source as Umaru Abdul
Mutallab -- contacted the U.S. Embassy "a few weeks
ago" saying his son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had
"become radicalized, " the senior administration
official, who is familiar with the case, told CNN.
Abdulmutallab, 23, was charged in a federal criminal
complaint Saturday with attempting to destroy the
plane Friday on its final approach to Michigan's
Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and placing a
destructive device on the aircraft, the Department of
Justice said.
Father alerted US about Nigerian plane bomb suspect 27
Dec 2009 The father of a Nigerian man charged with
trying to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day
had voiced concerns to US officials about his son. The
father, a top Nigerian banker, warned US authorities
last month about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab' s extreme
views, say officials. US sources confirm a file was
opened, but say the information did not warrant
placing the accused on a "no-fly" list.
Airline bomber was barred from Britain --Man who
allegedly attempted to blow up US jet had UK visa
request refused in May 27 Dec 2009 The son of a
prominent Nigerian banker, who allegedly attempted to
blow up a transatlantic flight over America, was
barred from returning to Britain earlier this year.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, graduated from a
university in London last year but his visa request
was refused in May when he attempted to apply for a
new course at a bogus college. Abdulmutallab,
described as a devout Muslim, attempted to ignite an
explosive device on a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit
on Christmas Day after shouting about Afghanistan.
Flight 253 passenger: Sharp-dressed man aided terror
suspect Abdul Mutallab onto plane without passport 27
Dec 2009 A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest
Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk
Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam
without a passport. Kurt Haskell and his wife, Lori,
of Newport, Mich., were returning from a safari in
Uganda when they boarded the NWA flight on Friday.
Haskell said he and his wife [attorneys with Haskell
Law Firm in Taylor] were sitting on the ground near
their boarding gate in Amsterdam, which is when they
saw Mutallab approach the gate with an unidentified
man. While Mutallab was poorly dressed, his friend was
dressed in an expensive suit, Haskell said. He says
the suited man asked ticket agents whether Mutallab
could board without a passport. "The guy said, 'He's
from Sudan and we do this all the time.'" Mutallab is
Nigerian. Haskell believes the man may have been
trying to garner sympathy for Mutallab's lack of
documents by portraying him as a Sudanese refugee.
Unclear If Suspect's Name Was On Terrorist Identities
Datamart Environment List --The list, maintained by
United States National Counterterrorism Center,
includes about 550,000 names 27 Dec 2009 The Nigerian
man accused of trying to ignite an incendiary device
aboard a trans-Atlantic jetliner on Friday came to the
attention of American officials at least "several
weeks ago," but the initial information was not
specific enough to raise alarms that he could
potentially carry out a terrorist attack, a senior
Obama administration official said on Saturday... It
was unclear whether Mr. Abdulmutallab' s name was
entered into the Terrorist Identities Datamart
Environment list, which includes people with known or
suspected contact or ties to a terrorist or terrorist
organization. Those people, however, are not
necessarily placed on the federal government's
so-called no-fly list, which prohibits persons
entering the United States because of known or
suspected [or imagined] terrorists links. Mr.
Abdulmutallab was not on that list, federal officials
say.
US authorites divert Air France flight carrying
'no-fly' journalist to Mexico --American authorities
reportedly refused an Air France flight from Paris to
Mexico entry into US airspace because a left-wing
journalist writing a book on the CIA was on board. 29
Apr 2009 Hernando Calvo Ospina, who works for Le Monde
Diplomatique and has written on revolutionary
movements in Cuba and Colombia , figured on the US
authorities' "no-fly list". Air France said the April
18 flight was forced to divert to the French Caribbean
island of Martinique before continuing its journey and
that it might ask the US Transportation Security
Administration for compensation. A spokesman for Mr
Ospina's French publisher, Le Temps des Cerises, said:
"Hernando, who was heading to Nicaragua to research a
report, thus found out that he is on a 'no-fly list'
that bans a number of people from flying to or even
over the United States." Some 50,000 people are said
to be on the list set up under George W. Bush, the
former US president [sic]. The publisher accused the
Central Intelligence Agency of being behind Mr
Ospina's blacklisting, pointing out that the
journalist was currently researching a book about the
spy agency. "It shows to what degree its paranoia (has
reached)," it said.
'I was trying to search his body for any explosives.'
Passenger says he helped thwart terror attack 27 Dec
2009 Passenger Jasper Schuringa told CNN that with the
aid of the cabin crew, he helped subdue and isolate
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was charged Saturday
with trying to destroy a plane. Schuringa of
Amsterdam, Netherlands, said he was traveling to
Florida to visit friends. The journey aboard Northwest
Airlines Flight 253 had been mundane, he said. But as
the plane neared its destination of Detroit, Michigan,
he heard a pop that sounded like a firecracker going
off, and someone started yelling: "Fire! Fire!" Then,
there was smoke. "Around 30 seconds later the smoke
started to fill up on the left side beneath this
person," he said. That's when Schuringa said he knew
something was wrong. "I basically reacted directly. I
didn't think. When you hear a pop on the plane you're
awake, trust me," Schuringa said. When he noticed that
Abdulmutallab was not moving, he grew suspicious. "I
was on the right side of the plane and the suspect was
on the left side, there were quite some seats in
between." He jumped over the passenger next to him and
lunged over Abdulmutallab' s seat, "Because I was
thinking he's trying to blow up the plane, and I was
trying to search his body for any explosives."
Airports intensify security measures worldwide in wake
of failed bomb attack aboard U.S.-bound jetliner
--Terror suspect charged in jetliner bomb plot 26 Dec
2009 Federal authorities have charged Abdul Farouk
Abdulmutallab, of Nigeria, with attempting to destroy
Northwest flight 253 with a "destructive device" as it
descended into Detroit on Christmas Day. In a case of
attempted terrorism that has sparked a worldwide
intensification of security at airports, U.S.
officials said Saturday afternoon that a preliminary
FBI analysis found a bomb-making chemical called PETN
in the device Abdulmutallab tried to detonate. The
affidavit, filed in the Eastern District of Michigan,
also said FBI agents discovered the remnant of a
syringe near the suspect's seat, part of what the
agents believe was part of the explosive device.
Investigators: Northwest Bomb Plot Planned by al-Qaeda
in Yemen --Officials Say Bomb Materials Sewn Into
Suspect's Underwear by Top Terror Bomb Maker 26 Dec
2009 The plot to blow up an American passenger jet
over Detroit was organized and launched by al-Qaeda
[al-CIAduh] leaders in Yemen who apparently sewed bomb
materials into the suspect's underwear before sending
him on his mission, federal authorities tell ABC News.
Investigators say the suspect had more than 80 grams
of PETN, a compound related to nitro-glycerin used by
the military. The so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid,
had only about 50 grams kin his failed attempt in 2001
to blow up a U.S.-bound jet.
Yemen is focus of new US front against al Qaeda --The
Pentagon is to spend more than $70 million over the
next 18 months, and use teams of Special Forces to
train and equip Yemeni military, Interior Ministry and
coast guard forces. 28 Dec 2009 The United States has
quietly opened a third, largely covert front against
the Al-Qaeda terror network in Yemen, accoding to The
New York Times newspaper. A year ago, the Central
Intelligence Agency sent a number of its top field
operatives with counter-terrorism experience to the
country, the newspaper said. At the same time, some of
the most secretive special operations commandos have
begun training Yemeni security forces in
counter-terrorism tactics, the report said.
Officials Point to Suspect's Claim of Qaeda Ties in
Yemen 27 Dec 2009 Federal authorities on Saturday
charged a 23-year-old Nigerian man with trying to blow
up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, and
officials said the suspect told them he had obtained
explosive chemicals and a syringe that were sewn into
his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen associated
with Al Qaeda [al-CIAduh]. The authorities have not
independently corroborated the Yemen connection
claimed by the man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was
burned in his failed attempt to bring down the
airliner and is in a hospital in Michigan. But a law
enforcement official briefed on the investigation said
on Saturday that the suspect's account was
"plausible," and that he saw "no reason to discount
it."
US bombs Sa'ada governor's house, Houthis say 27 Dec
2009 A US fighter jet has carried out multiple
airstrikes on the home of a senior official in Yemen's
northern rugged province of Sa'ada, Houthi fighters
say. The Yemen-based Houthi fighters say the warplane
struck the home owned by the governor of Sa'ada
province, Hassan Mohammad Manna in five blitzes. There
were no reports on possible casualties in the attacks.
Yemen confirms receiving US military support 27 Dec
2009 The Yemeni national security chief has declared
that the country is receiving assistance from the US
in the crackdown on what he called 'al-Qaeda
operatives' in southern Yemen. Mohamed al-Anisi has
told the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz that Yemeni
forces were cooperating with the US military on
attacks against al-Qaeda camps, DPA reported on
Saturday. Yemen's confirmation comes as an ABC report
revealed that US President Barack Obama had signed the
order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which
scores of civilians, including children, were killed.
Yemen oil min- oil majors mull investments- paper 21
Feb 2009 Yemen has received investment offers from oil
majors including Exxon Mobil Corp and Total, Oil
Minister Amir al-Aidarous said in remarks published on
Saturday. Yemen's Ministry for Oil and Mineral
Resources has received eight oil investment bids from
international companies, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat
quoted Aidarous as saying, four of which were from oil
majors seeking direct negotiations with Yemen. The
companies include Exxon Mobil, Total, and BP, the
minister said, but did not elaborate on the nature of
the investments. Other companies that made bids
included Austrian oil and gas group OMV, Nexen, and
Occidental, he said.
House Delays Patriot Act Spy Vote By David Kravets 16
Dec 2009 The House of Representatives tabled on
Wednesday legislation to reform U.S. surveillance law.
The two-month delay puts off a collision with a
competing Senate version. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
declined to include a vote on the Patriot Act in a
Pentagon funding bill. The move automatically extends
provisions of the Patriot Act that would otherwise
expire at year's end. The Senate is likewise expected
to delay the matter. The act, hastily adopted six
weeks after the 2001 terror attacks, greatly expanded
the government's ability to spy on Americans in the
name of national security. A key difference between
the House and Senate packages concerns the standard by
which the FBI may issue so-called National Security
Letters -- although Wednesday's vote prolongs the time
for more backroom negotiations. Reforming NSL powers
is a key bone of contention in the Patriot Act debate,
even though it is not one of the three Patriot Act
provisions that was scheduled to expire Dec. 31.
Police lose battle over evidence of 'British 9/11'
plot --Scotland Yard must reveal whether it had CIA
intelligence 26 Dec 2009 Scotland Yard has been
ordered to reveal whether it has any evidence to
support America's claim that Britain was saved from a
9/11-style disaster by the CIA's secret foreign
interrogation centres. The Times has won a case under
the Freedom of Information Act forcing British police
to say whether the US stopped a plot to fly planes
into Canary Wharf and Heathrow. The claim was made by
President [sic] Bush when he first acknowledged the
existence of a clandestine CIA prison network created
to fight his War on of Terror. Scotland Yard has been
given 35 days to comply or appeal. If it admits that
there is no such intelligence, it would undermine any
political defence for America's strong-arm tactics in
fighting terrorism.
BTW, I hope the FAA enjoyed this page as much as
the DHS and the Navy Network Information Center did,
etc.
204.108.0.11 - - [28/Dec/2009: 21:45:49 -0500] "GET /northwest_bomb_
plot_oddities. html HTTP/1.1" 200 32177 "http://www.[redacted].com/
" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1;
SV1; GTB5; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET
CLR 3.0.4506.2152; .NET CLR 3.5.30729)"
204.248.24.163 - - [28/Dec/2009: 14:20:06 -0500] "GET
/northwest_bomb_ plot_oddities. html HTTP/1.1" 200
10170 "http://www.[redacted].com/ " "Mozilla/4.0
(compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; DHSI60SP1001;
.NET CLR 2.0.50727; InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.30;
DHSI70; DHSI70)"
138.162.8.57 - - [28/Dec/2009: 07:24:51 -0500] "GET /northwest_bomb_
plot_oddities. html HTTP/1.1" 200 31220 "http://www.[redacted].com/
" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1;
SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727;
InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.648; .NET CLR
3.5.21022)"
Oh yeah. And treas.gov, the DoD Network Information
Center and tons of other .govs and .mils.
199.196.144. 11 - - [30/Dec/2009: 16:48:32 -0500] "GET
/graphics/logosmalr .gif HTTP/1.1" 200 5526 "http://www.legitgov
.org/northwest_ bomb_plot_ oddities. html" "Mozilla/4.0
(compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; GTB6.3; .NET
CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR
3.0.4506.2152; .NET CLR 3.5.30729)"
63.167.255.151 - - [28/Dec/2009: 10:51:19 -0500] "GET
/northwest_bomb_ plot_oddities. html HTTP/1.1" 200
31220 "http://www.[redacted]com/ " "Mozilla/4.0
(compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR
2.0.50727; InfoPath.1)" ...etc.
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