Feiz Muhammad: Pro-Jihad Ideologue with Influence in the U.S.

By Madeleine Gruen

Al Qaeda has been calling for Muslims to attack the U.S. and U.S. interests for years. The message has never been heard as clearly or as threateningly as it has in the past few weeks after two American al Qaeda affiliates, Anwar al Awlaki and Adam Gadahn, released audio messages. These messages have been covered intensively in the mainstream American media for two main reasons:

1. Particularly after the deadly attack Fort Hood last November, Americans realize painful result of unfiltered violent rhetoric circulated via the internet by spiritual figures who are regarded as credible in some circles: People listen, then believe that they have been provided justification to kill others.

2. The messages were delivered in plain English. American English. These were not messages made distant because they had been delivered through the gauze of translation. These are words that were spoken directly to Americans by fellow Americans.

Adam Gadahn and Anwar al Awlaki are not the only radicalizing agents who speak English as a first language. Australian, Feiz Muhammad may have equally grim potential to incite terrorism.

The NEFA Foundation has released the third in a series of backgrounders on extremist ideologues; taking a close look at the personalities, doctrine, scope of influence, and methods of communication of some of the most influential purveyors of radical Islamist ideology to English-speaking audiences. As U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies become increasingly concerned about homegrown terrorism at a time when Al-Qaeda is actively encouraging American Muslims to commit terrorist acts, understanding the sources of radicalization becomes an essential component of combating the threat.

Feiz Muhammad is an Australian citizen now residing in Malaysia. He has been labeled Australia's "most dangerous sheikh" due to the number of connections he has to known and suspected terrorists.

Muhammad’s target audience is young Muslims who feel disaffected and disassociated from local Muslim communities, where mosque clerics show "a lack of interest toward the youth." His lectures frame the United States as the enemy of all Muslims, including those living in the United States and Americans living in other Western countries. He emphasizes that Muslims should regard Western culture as corrupt and immoral, and Muslims should not associate with non-Muslims.

The full report on Feiz Muhammad can be read here.

LeT’s David Headley Pleads Guilty, Escapes Death and Extradition

By Animesh Roul

The other Mumbai terror conspirator, also the mastermind of infamous Chicago Conspiracy, David Coleman Headley (a.k.a. Daood Geelani) has pleaded guilty on all twelve charges, including plotting the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He admitted to have conducted surveillance for Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Mumbai Attacks. It seems the plea agreement might not allow Headley to be tried in India. Widely believed in India as a double agent, Headley has now dodged the capital punishment and perhaps he will remain in US prison rest of his life.

Headley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bomb public places in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India; six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.

Attorney General Eric Holder said, "Today’s guilty plea is a crucial step forward in our efforts to achieve justice for the more than 160 people who lost their lives in the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Working with our domestic and international partners, we will not rest until all those responsible for the Mumbai attacks and the terror plot in Denmark are held accountable.”

Headley also plotted to bomb the office of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper which had published a cartoon about the Prophet Mohammed. It would be setback for India as well as the Danish government who would like Headley to be extradited. However, both governments can have access to Headley and question him in connection with the bombing plots. Another co conspirator Tahawwur Rana was indicted in January 2010 on three counts: conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks; conspiracy to provide material support to the Denmark plot; and providing material support to Lashkar. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody in Chicago while awaiting trial.

Abdur Rehman and Ilyas Kashmiri, who were charged in the same indictment with conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark and providing material support to the Denmark plot, are still at large.

Highlights of the Press Release (March 18, 2010) given below:

According to the plea agreement, Headley attended the following training camps operated by Lashkar: a three-week course starting in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad; a three-week course starting in August 2002 that provided training in the use of weapons and grenades; a three-month course starting in April 2003 that taught close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades and survival skills; a three-week course starting in August 2003 that taught counter-surveillance skills; and a three-month course starting in December 2003 that provided combat and tactical training.

Mumbai Terror Attacks

After receiving instructions from three Lashkar members in late 2005 to travel to India to conduct surveillance, in February 2006, in Philadelphia, Headley changed his name from Daood Gilani to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.

Headley eventually made five extended trips to Mumbai — in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 — each time making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance videos.

Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Headley met with co-conspirators in Pakistan and discussed potential landing sites in Mumbai for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea. Headley returned to Mumbai with a global positioning system device and took boat trips around the Mumbai harbor and entered various locations into the device, according to the plea agreement.

Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims and wounding hundreds more.

The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.

In March 2009, Headley made a sixth trip to India to conduct additional surveillance, including of the National Defense College in Delhi, and of Chabad Houses in several cities.

Denmark Terror Plot

Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley admitted that in early November 2008, he met with a Lashkar member in Karachi, Pakistan, and was instructed to conduct surveillance of the Copenhagen and Aarhus offices of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten in preparation for an attack in retaliation for the newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. After this meeting, Headley informed co-defendant Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), also known as “Pasha,” of his assignment. Abdur Rehman stated to Headley words to the effect that if Lashkar did not go through with the attack, Abdur Rehman knew someone who would. Although not identified by name at the time, Headley later learned this individual to be co-defendant Ilyas Kashmiri. Abdur Rehman previously had told Headley that he had been working with Kashmiri and that Kashmiri was in direct contact with a senior leader for al Qaeda, the plea agreement states.

In late December 2008 and early January 2009, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. In January 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and scouted and videotaped the surrounding areas.

In late January 2009, Headley met separately with Abdur Rehman and a Lashkar member in Pakistan to discuss the planned attack on the newspaper and provided them with videos of his surveillance. About the same time, Abdur Rehman provided Headley a video produced by the media wing of al Qaeda in approximately August 2008, which claimed credit for the June 2008 attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the offending cartoons.

In February 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman meet with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, where they discussed the video surveillance and ways to carry out the attack. Kashmiri told Headley that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar’s participation was not necessary. In March 2009, a Lashkar member advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure resulting from the Mumbai attacks. In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman again met with Kashmiri in Waziristan. Kashmiri told Headley to meet with a European contact who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the newspaper attack, and relate Kashmiri’s instructions that this should be a suicide attack and the attackers should prepare martyrdom videos beforehand. Kashmiri also stated that the attackers should behead captives and throw their heads out of the newspaper building to heighten the response from Danish authorities, and added that the “elders,” whom Headley understood to be al Qaeda leadership, wanted the attack to happen as soon as possible.

In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe, and met with and attempted to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts and, while in Copenhagen, he made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos. When he returned to the United States on Aug. 5, 2009, Headley falsely told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector in Atlanta that he had visited Europe for business reasons.

After returning to Chicago, Headley spoke with Abdur Rehman by phone and, using code, described his surveillance activities and his meeting with Kashmiri’s European contact. On multiple occasions throughout August and September 2009, Headley communicated with Abdur Rehman about planning the attack and media reports that Kashmiri had been killed. On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri, the plea agreement states.

For Full Text of the Plea agreement, Read Here: Headley plea agreement final.pdf

The De-Listing of Yousef Nada

By Douglas Farah

I wrote a couple of days ago, before the other (or what appears to be another in many drops concerning the Muslim Brotherhood) shoe dropped: Yousef Nada, the godfather of the international Muslim Brotherhood was taken off the United Nations Security Council sanctions list

Mark Hosenball at Newsweek, being one of the few reporters left in the business who has any idea who Nada is and why he is important,wrote a good summary of the issue, including the fact that the U.S. had to sign off on the action at some level.

Despite the sign-off at the UN, Nada remains a designated individual on the U.S. sanctions list. Who knows for how long?

Nada was a seminal figure in the international MB movement, and his Bank al Taqwa, in the Bahamas, was one of the financial centers for Hamas (and, according to U.S. public statements at the time, al Qaeda), before being shut down.

He has funneled millions of dollars to Islamist causes around the world in the course of his long career. In addition, he has appeared in numerous important roles trying to bridge the Sunni-Shiite divide in the Muslim world, befriending Khomeini in Iran, Saddam in Iraq (and unsuccessfully working to broker a peace deal in the Iran-Iraq war), and has identified himself as the Muslim Brotherhood's foreign minister.

There is much more, but one will have to read Hosenball, Isikoff and my older stuff about that. One measure of how important he is in the MB world, even though few in the U.S. had ever heard of him: shortly after 9/11 al-Jazeera TV did a 10-hour interview session with him (two hours a night for five nights).

Chalk up another victory in the MB fight to return as the voice of reason in the Islamist world.

Defensiveness Dominates Homeland Security Session

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Rebutting criticisms that were not made, and often ignoring those that were, witnesses and representatives in a House subcommittee hearing on disrupting terror plots through community engagement often lost focus on their task Wednesday.

The digressions began when Jane Harman, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, read an excerpt from an article published Tuesday by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. It raised concerns about the hearing's absence of Muslim voices who are detached from national political organizations which have a record of extremist rhetoric and hostility toward law enforcement.

Reading from the IPT story, Harman, (D-CA), said the committee tried to include witnesses with varying ideas:

"One of the criticisms today says that 'the committee is seeking input from a narrow viewpoint – one that is sympathetic to Islamist extremist organizations here in America.' Well I'll state my own view, that is not my own view. I am not sympathetic to extremist organizations in America."

The objective, she said, was to build public trust and encourage people to work with authorities to identify possibly dangerous elements in their communities. It is not about silencing extreme rhetoric:

"Extreme views are protected by our Constitution. We're not talking about extreme views. We're not talking about so-called radicals, either on the left or the right of the spectrum. We're talking about people who intend to engage in violent behavior. Behavior is not protected – violent behavior is not protected in our Constitution ... only the expression of extreme views is protected under our First Amendment."

To be clear, the IPT story never advocated silencing anyone's speech. It recommended that other voices be included and included some suggestions. The testimony seemed to validate the concern that the hearing offered a limited perspective on how to court Muslim-American communities.

Harman's response, meanwhile, ignores the link between extremist rhetoric and the radicalization process that may lead to violence. Radical clerics like Anwar Al-Awlaki are creating waves of terrorists through charismatic sermons and a message that America is at war with Islam and Muslims.

One of the most important factors in radicalizing young Muslims is "the perception that Islam is under attack from the West." Many of the groups at the center of government outreach efforts perpetuate that message.

In a way, witness Mohamed Elibiary did too during his testimony. Elibiary, President and CEO of The Freedom and Justice Foundation, criticized federal law enforcement for targeting "low-hanging fruit" and using "agent provocateurs" to infiltrate mosques. That line has been pushed by Islamist organizations for more than a year, despite a growing record of informants disrupting significant terror plots throughout the country.

Read more about the hearing and the witness testimony here.

The Return of IIRO?

By Douglas Farah

The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report has found that the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), the Saudi charity whose Philippine and Indonesian offices have been designated as terrorist entities by the U.S. Treasury Department, has reopened a U.S. office, this time in Florida.

IIRO was not a run of the mill Saudi charity, but one backed strongly by the Saudi government. As described by Matthew Epstein and Evan Kohlmann in March 2003 Congressional testimony:

U.S. counterterrorism investigators have discovered a letter under the MWL/IIRO
letterhead among numerous Al-Qaida documents recovered in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The letter, dating from the late 1980s, summarized a meeting held between Al-Qaida leaders and representatives of Muslim charitable organizations in which the attendees ultimately agreed to launch “attacks” from MWL offices in Pakistan.

The two presented evidence from Canadian trials of an al Qaeda supporter where an IIRO leader confirmed the direct links between IIRO and the Saudi government, saying, "Let me tell you one thing. The Muslim World League, which is the mother of IIRO,
is a fully government funded organization. In other words, I work for the Government of
Saudi Arabia. I am an employee of that government."

As a result of the overwhelming evidence assembled against IIRO, the Canadian
government (among others) has classified it as “secretly fund[ing] terrorism,” officially branding it a terrorist charity, the two testified.

The 2006 Treasury designation stated that the reason for the action:

the Philippine and Indonesian branch offices of the Saudi-based International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) for facilitating fundraising for al Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups. Treasury additionally designated Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, the Executive Director of the Eastern Province Branch of IIRO in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"It is particularly shameful when groups that hold themselves out as charitable or religious organizations defraud their donors and divert funds in support of violent terrorist groups," said (Stuart) Levey. "We have long been concerned about these IIRO offices; we are now taking public action to sever this link in the al Qaida network's funding chain."

According to the GMBDR, the new IIRO was registered in Hialeah, Florida, on April 28, 2009. The previous, now defunct U.S. branch was the IRO (Islamic Relief Organization). The GMBDR notes that

After appearing dormant since the 2002 raids, and its DC corporate registration revoked, the new IIRO presence in the US seems designed to preserve the organization’s ties to the Muslim World League (MWL), the IIRO’s parent organization. The registered agent for IIRO USA, is Malik Sardar Khan who listed a residential address in Miami and who also serves as IIIRO USA Secretary-Treasurer.

It is hard to imagine why an organization with recognized ties to terrorist organizations, and one whose U.S. branch was under serious investigation since the late 1990s (see Glenn R. Simpson, "US Had Data on Virginia Group in Terror Probe as Early as 1997, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 16, 2002, p. A4 for details), would be allowed to reopen, or that such a reopening would escape official notice.

Yet, as with all things associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and its legacy organizations in this country, the official attitude has been to retreat and reach out, in the face of overwhelming evidence such tactics do no good. We knew who these groups were before, and only grudgingly took action against them. We now have forgotten who they are and seem to be unwilling to take any action whatsoever.

"Jihobbyists" No More: English-Speaking Western Jihadists Coming of Age

By Evan Kohlmann

Perhaps the most ironic aspect of all the media attention in the latest criminal allegations against "Jihad Jane" is that Colleen LaRose of Pennsylvania is only the latest example of this odd emerging trend in homegrown terrorism. Indeed, LaRose is hardly alone in this category, whether we speak of London resident Samina Malik, an active user on jihadi social networking forums who busied herself with transcribing Al-Qaida training manuals into English during spare time at her job working in secure areas of Heathrow Airport--or Canadian citizen Beverly Giesbrecht (a.k.a. Khadija Abdul Qahhar), who was taken hostage by the Taliban during rather suspicious travels through North Waziristan. Both men and women who were once written off as hapless wannabes and mere "jihobbyists" are unexpectedly rising to the occasion, in often quite desperate bids to prove their total commitment to the cause.

These individuals are, more frequently than not, English-speaking with only a cursory knowledge of Arabic or the Middle East. Their pedigree is less than elite, and they lack the traditional connections back to Al-Qaida's central leadership. Yet, even Al-Qaida's senior echelon now openly recognizes the critical value of these potential "lone wolf" operatives. In several prominent publications--including both the latest video from American Al-Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn and the most recent official magazine from Al-Qaida in Yemen--the terror group has openly broadcast its pleasure and interest in the actions of such independent actors as Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan and Jordanian webmaster and CIA bomber Humam al-Balawi (a.k.a. Abu Dujanah al-Khorasani). Gadahn specifically pointed to the example of Ft. Hood and urged American Muslims, "it is rapidly becoming clear that this already hot global battle is about to get even hotter. This is a war which knows no international borders and no single battleground, and that’s why I am calling on every honest and vigilant Muslim in the countries of the Zionist-Crusader alliance in general and America, Britain and Israel in particular to prepare to play his due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam. This is the golden, once in a lifetime opportunity to reap the rewards of Jihad and martyrdom we have been waiting for, so unsheathe your sharpened sword and rush to take your rightful place among defiant champions of Islam like Mir Aimal Kansi, Muhammad Bouyeri, Nidal Malik Hasan and many others like them... it is for you – like your heroic Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan – to decide how, when and where you discharge this duty."

In this regard, I draw particular emphasis to the words of the "media emir" of the now-infamous Ansar al-Mujahideen web forum, Abu Omar al-Maqdisi:

"We were ordinary members at the al-Ekhlaas forum and we learned a lot from the brothers who took charge of jihadi media work before us—and it is only normal for us to start our own active campaign at the first chance we got. And that’s what we did, so we established this site, and told everyone we knew from the al-Ekhlaas network about this forum…We went outside the usual jihadi media route, but we terrorize in the real world as much as we terrorize online, so whoever wishes to join is welcome, and those who don’t should hold their tongues about us and go away. And although low in number, we are strong in determination, and anyone who joins us will realize that immediately.. say, if any of the brothers at al-Fajr Media wishes to receive assurances about us and if you are in communication with them, then inform them that we would like to meet with them. We ask them to come here and distribute a bulletin outlining the action plan for the al-Ansar network—and we are willing to blow ourselves up near the infidels at any moment, and if they have enough resources to provide us with the necessary financing, then a terrorist is ready."

Indonesia Counter-Terrorism Raids Continue

By Kenneth Conboy

For more than a week, there has been a flurry of counter-terrorism raids across the country. This comes just ten days before President Barack Obama is set to make his first visit to Indonesia since spending part of his elementary school years in Jakarta.
Initially the police focused their attention on a 50-strong group of militants that was allegedly conducting paramilitary training at the foot of a mountain on the border of Pidie and Aceh Besar districts in Aceh province. As of this week, the police had killed or arrested nearly 20 persons tied to this group. They have also confiscated a small number of assault rifles, military uniforms purchased in Malaysia, and videotapes of various deceased Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members.
Although the police investigation in Aceh is ongoing, it would appear like several of the members were not ethnic Acehnese and could instead be traced to the island of Java. This is an interesting development, as the Acehnese have traditionally exhibited fierce animosity toward those from Java, and many have found it hard to believe that the two sides have now put aside their long-standing differences to conduct risky paramilitary training in a relatively populated area of Aceh. Others have noted that the Acehnese, while pious and prone toward separatism, have rarely shown any radical tendencies along the Wahhabist lines pushed by JI.
But the questions raised by all this pale in comparison to developments yesterday. After the Indonesian authorities earlier announced that some of the Aceh gang could be traced back to Banten province on Java, and specifically the area of Pamulang (which is just outside the Jakarta city limits), the police conducted a pair of raids in Pamulang. The Indonesian media has since been speculating that at least one of the dead is Dul Matin, a JI electronics expert linked to the 2002 Bali bombings. It had been thought that Dul Matin had been in the southern Philippines since at least 2003, where he had been given sanctuary by both the MILF and Abu Sayyaf Group. But the media is now speculating that he made his way into Indonesia and was hiding out in a Pamulang house owned by a medical doctor that he had befriended during the communal violence in Ambon during 1999. That Dul Matin would risk taking up shelter on the outskirts of Jakarta on face appears to be out of character for a terrorist known for his caution as much as his extremism. The police expect the result of a DNA test to confirm the identity of the corpse later today.

Hezbollah's Penance--Hizballah works to rebuild its Tarnished Image

By David Schenker

In 2006, Hizballah's popularity peaked in the Arab world as a result of its military performance against Israel. That summer, the Lebanese Shiite terrorist organization fought Israel to a standstill in south Lebanon. Since then, however, the organization's popularity has plummeted in the region, largely due to a series of miscues in Lebanon and abroad.

I wrote a lenghty article in the Weekly Standard online describing the drop in Hizballah's regional popularity since 2006, and the steps the organization has taken to get its mojo back. Bottom line: when the "Islamic Resistance in Lebanon" (as it calls itself) is not actively "resisting" Israel, the Shiite militia appears to hold little appeal in the Arab world. The article can be found here, and below.

India’s strategic role in countering Jihadism

By Walid Phares

The confrontation in the sub Indian continent between al Qaeda, the Taliban and their allies on the one hand and the three democracies they target, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, on the other hand must be reevaluated in terms of international cooperation against the Jihadi threat. A regional system should be established to integrate the struggle against all Jihadi forces in the subcontinent. There needs to be a separation between the ethnic and territorial questions from the fight against Terrorism. Once that distinction is made the possibilities of internationalization of counter terrorism will be high. Jihadists based in any country of the subcontinent must not be given legitimacy by any Government on the ground of a local ethnic issue. Jihadi forces must be confronted collectively, while diplomacy and international mediations assist in solving the local problems.

Closing Loopholes: Another Vital Aspect of Sanctions on Iran

By Michael Jacobson

In the coming weeks, the United States and its allies will attempt to push additional Iran sanctions through the UN Security Council. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has indicated that "the United States and like-minded countries" could also impose at least some additional sanctions on their own. Although stronger sanctions are certainly needed to deter Iran on the nuclear issue, they alone are unlikely to pressure Tehran into changing its behavior. Just as important are efforts to plug the gaps and loopholes in the current sanctions regime.

Iranian Evasion

A number of overlapping sanctions are already in place against Iran, imposed by the UN, European Union, Britain, and the United States. One of the primary means of evading these regimes is through re-exports. Generally, export-control laws distinguish between different countries in determining the legality of a specific transaction. For example, dual-use goods, which can have commercial or military applications (including in the nuclear sector), may be sent to some countries but not to others. Iran often takes advantage of this framework, evading U.S. laws and international sanctions by setting up front companies and middlemen in countries to which these types of items can be legally exported. In most cases, the sellers are not told that the goods will be re-exported to Iran -- though many other sellers are willing to turn a blind eye.

The best known of these re-export hubs is Dubai, where thousands of Iranian businesses engage in illicit trade. Extensive re-export networks can also be found in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Europe. These networks allow Iranians to procure much-needed American and European technology that they would otherwise be unable to obtain. A recent Associated Press report described a case in which a Chinese company used a Taiwan-based agent to divert more than a hundred pressure gauges (a device with both commercial and nuclear applications) to Iran, misleading the Swiss seller about the ultimate destination.

Iran's procurement networks extend to U.S. shores as well. In December 2009, for example, California-based suspect Jirair Avanessian was indicted for illegally exporting a specialized vacuum pump -- a device with potential nuclear applications -- to Iran via the United Arab Emirates. According to the Justice Department, he was directed by an individual in Iran.

To read the rest of the piece, click here.

The Unraveling of Hugo Chávez and His Terrorist Ties

By Douglas Farah

While Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has long viewed criticism of his autocratic rule and growing abuses as part of the impending Yanqui invasion, he has suffered two significant blows in the past week and the United States was not part of either. The developments are further signs that Chávez is finally being understood as an anti-democratic strongman who consistently supports terrorist groups that the rest of the world shuns.

The most recent blow came from a Spanish judge who linked the Chávez government to support for the Basque terrorist organization ETA, as well as the Colombian FARC, in attempts to assassinate senior Colombian officials.

The allegations, made in a court document by investigating magistrate Eloy Velasco, said that the Chávez government had acted as an intermediary between Eta and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group.

"There is evidence in this case which shows the Venezuelan government's co-operation in the illegal association between Farc and Eta," the magistrate said as he issued international arrest warrants for six alleged Eta members and seven Colombians believed to be members of Farc.

At the center of the controversy is Arturo Cubillas, an alleged Eta member who works in Venezuela's ministry of agriculture, who was named as the main link among the three groups: the Venezuelan government, FARC and ETA. Cubillas, who has lived in Venezuela since 1989, is married to a senior member of Chávez's government.

The allegations appeared to confirm Colombian intelligence reports that the FARC and ETA have worked together often and exchanged technological know-how and training.

The judge said that two Farc members, Victor Vargas and Gustavo Navarro, had travelled to Spain twice to identify possible targets among the Colombian community for assassination.

He said the Farc members had relied on Eta for support during their visit, and attempts had also been made to find a way of killing President Alvaro Uribe during a visit to Spain.
My full blog is here.

Dinner in Damascus: What Did Iran Ask of Hizballah?

By Matthew Levitt

My colleague David Schenker and I argue in an article on the state of Hizballah that a successful Hizballah attack against an Israeli target -- whether on the Israeli-Lebanese border or abroad - to avenge the assassination of Imad Mughniyah two years ago last month could set off another round of fighting similar to that of 2006. Several Hizballah plots abroad have been thwarted, but the group seems intent on trying again and is rearming in Lebanon as well. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at a recent dinner in Damascus ....

On February 26, Syrian president Bashar al-Asad hosted Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad and Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah for a dinner in Damascus. Nasrallah is a routine guest in the capital, but the timing of this high-profile trip -- just a week after the United States dispatched Undersecretary of State William Burns to Damascus and nominated its first new ambassador in five years -- seemed calculated not only to irritate Washington, but also to highlight the central role Hizballah plays in Iran and Syria's strategic planning. Apart from serving as a pivot between Tehran and Damascus, however, the group also holds the power to engulf Lebanon and perhaps the entire region into another war through actions of its own.

The complete article is available here.

The Internationalization of the fight against the Jihadists

By Walid Phares

Asian Security Conference 2010

In an address to the Asian Security Conference 2010 under the theme “Asian Strategic Futures 2030: Trends, Scenarios and Alternatives.” I made a presentation under the title: “The Future of Terrorism: Jihadi threat in the Indian Subcontinent.” The Conference, organized by the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, was addressed by India's Prime Minister, Defense Minister and officials as well as international experts live and via satellite. In this adapted piece I argue that the fight against the Jihadists must become internationalized.

"Threat from Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh": ICG Report

By Animesh Roul

I wish to flag the latest Crisis Group report on the threat emanating from the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) which remains active and dangerous despite continuous government crackdowns. Undoubtedly a well researched report titled "The Threat from Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh" (Crisis Group Asia Report No. 187, 1 March 2010), assesses the ongoing danger JMB poses to the state and possibly to the region.

Here is a brief excerpt for CTBlog readers:

The danger from JMB is exacerbated by its links to other Bangladeshi and international jihadi groups and to members of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Britain. New information has revealed operational ties to LeT and to al-Muhajiroun, the groups whose members took part in the London underground bombings of July 2005. There has also been collaboration between JMB and a splinter of the once formidable but now diminished Harkat-ul-Jihadal- Islami, Bangladesh (HUJI-B).

Bangladesh’s political mainstream has long understood the danger posed by JMB but has either deliberately used it for narrow political ends, as during the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) from 2006 to 2007, or been distracted by other concerns. The current Awami League government is especially aware of the problem as its members have been victims of attacks. But internal wrangling, lack of coordination between security agencies and the absence of a single
counter-terrorism force have undermined any sustained effort to dismantle the organisation.

For the Executive Summary, Read Here.

For Full Text, Read Here.

Al Qaeda's Safe Havens

By Michael Jacobson

On February 25, the Washington Institute held an event on Al Qaeda's safehavens -- a topic of growing concern in Washington since the failed Christmas day attack revealed how the group has been exploiting the undergoverned territory in Yemen to plot attacks against the US. Tom Krajeski, the former US Ambassador to Yemen, covered the factors that have enabled AQAP to operate in that country, but was optimistic that with increased US-Yemeni cooperation, we would succeed in dramatically weakening the group.

Seth Jones, a political scientist at RAND, spoke about the al Qaeda/Taliban presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan and how these governments are responding, and Andre Le Sage, a professor at the National Defense University, discussed the state of al Qaeda and al-Shabab in Somalia.

Here is a rapporteur's summary of the event:

Al Qaeda's affiliates and safehavens is an area of increased focus for the Washington Institute. We have recently published a series of articles on this subject, including: a piece by Gregory Johnsen of Princeton University on AQAP; a piece by Stephen Tankel of Carnegie on Laskhar e -Taiba, and a two part piece by Andre Le Sage on al Qaeda/al Shabab in Somalia (click here and here).

Taliban and Al Qaeda Financiers Are Tied at the Hip!!

By Victor Comras

Could it be that while the Taliban is awash with cash, Al Qaeda is struggling for every dime? This is the supposition that emerges from recent assessments by different sets of experts. But can such a thesis stand in the face of the continuing close cooperation between the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and with what is now occurring in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa? International terrorism alerts are now at their highest levels since just after 9/11. And senior US officials are warning that a major terrorist attack against the United States should be considered imminent.

The thesis that Al Qaeda may be running out of cash has been given increased credence recently at the Council of Foreign Relations and several other think tanks. The fall-off in donations to al Qaeda, they maintain, stems largely from the increased pressure being placed on potential terrorist financiers by national and inteernational regulators, and may also reflect the general international economic downturn. After all, money is now tight all over. According to Treasury Assistant Secretary David Cohen “al-Qaeda is in its weakest financial condition in several years (and)…as a result, its influence is waning." Similar claims have been made by Richard Barrett who leads the group of experts supporting the work of the UN’s Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

At the same time there are clear indications that Taliban cash reserves remain solid. According to a recent well sourced story in the New York Times, the Taliban continues to bring in huge sums from “the illicit drug trade, kidnappings, extortion and foreign donations.” While the Taliban’s cash flow from Afghanistan’s poppy fields comes as no surprise, the amount of foreign donations they continue to receive is a real eye opener.

According to the CIA (as reported in the Washington Post), Taliban leaders and their allies received some $106 million in the past year from donors outside Afghanistan. Soliciting, collecting, transferring, distributing and masking such transactions requires a very extensive, sophisticated and well camouflaged financial network. And, such a network could not have been constructed overnight. Let’s be clear. The Taliban inherited, and built upon, the extensive financial network already established by al Qaeda during its heyday in Afghanistan. With al Qaeda’s leaders in deep hiding, it was in the interest of both groups to turn control over this network to Taliban intermediaries. The Taliban continues to draw funds today from those same donors in Pakistan, the Gulf region, Southeast Asia and Europe that long supported al Qaeda. And, these donors continue to include a variety of Muslim fundamentalist organizations and charities, as well as wealthy Al Qaeda/Taliban supporters.

There is nothing new to claims that local al Qaeda cells are now left to fend for themselves financially. That has long been the case since al Qaeda morphed many years ago into the loose network of cells that now carry out its terrorist attacks. They have always had to rely on their own financial sources, except when it comes to mounting a major attack. The situation in Yemen is quite different. There al Qaeda remains well organized and well funded. “Those who finance al-Qaeda in Yemen are the same who finance it in Afghanistan and Iraq, and used to finance it in (Saudi Arabia) before they were defeated," according to Yehia Ali al-Rai the speaker of the Yemeni parliament. So, lets withhold declaring our success in strapping al Qaeda for cash, at least until we can make the same claim vis a vis the Taliban.

The Death of Edgar Tovar and the FARC Cocaine Pipeline

By Douglas Farah

Relatively unnoticed in Colombia, the government confirmed the death of Edgar Tovar, a senior FARC commander and one of the group's chief ties to Mexican drug cartels.

Tovar, AKA Gentil Gomez Marin or Angel Gabriel Losada Garcia, was the commander of the FARC's 48th Front, which operates primarily along the Ecuador/Colombia border, which has recently grown into the main cocaine conduit for supplying Mexican drug cartels. This makes him a key figure in the FARC's financial structure.

With the FARC leadership being relatively unable to communicate with each other and the contacts with the Mexican organizations a closely guarded among a few members of the 48th Front, Tovar's death is a significant blow. It removes one of the key facilitators of a terrorist group in dealing with transnational organized criminal groups.

Because of these ties, as outlined in my recent Ecuador study Tovar was a primary target for the Colombian police and military. Tovar had also been in charge of the security of Raul Reyes, the FARC's second-in-command, killed in Ecuador on March 1, 2008 by a Colombian attack.

One of the most interesting elements about the FARC in recent times is how groups like the 48th Front, which provide much of the logistical support for the rest of the FARC while collecting most of the cocaine money, have become more independent from the General Secretariat.

Internal intercepted communications of the FARC in recent months have shown that, despite pleas for money by the Secretariat, the 48th Front has simply refused to comply, and has shown in marked disinterest in fighting the Colombian military.

Given the FARC's dependence on the 48th Front's trafficking network (it works closely with the 29th Front, which is in charge of much of the weapons procurement), such defections could be lethal.

I and others have predicted the core FARC that still claims to have an ideological compass will be greatly reduced over time as the group becomes more and more criminalized. As the illicit trade becomes an ever-more dominant reason for existence - no longer tied to benefiting the revolution but entirely tied to personal gain - this fracturing will continue.
My full blog is here.

West Point CTC Sentinel: "A Beacon for Extremists: The Ansar al-Mujahideen Web Forum"

By Evan Kohlmann

The Counter Terrorism Center at West Point has released the February 2010 edition of the "Sentinel" Journal, featuring a new paper that I have written on the subject of the Ansar al-Mujahideen web forum, and the linked problem of English-speaking jihadists on the Internet. An excerpt from the paper:

"During the last decade, a virtual revolution has quietly taken place in the world of international terrorism. The tradition hubs of logistical activity--radical mosques, bookstores, and guesthouses--have been strictly monitored by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. As a result, in a strategy pioneered by eager cyber-savvy youth such as London resident Younis Tsouli (known as 'Irhaby 007'), aspiring terrorists have taken to the Internet in force, employing jihadist-themed social networking forums as a new base for propaganda, communications, and even recruitment. It was only in retrospect, years after this phenomenon began, that governments recognized the degree to which al-Qa'ida's leadership was aware of the existence of these social networking forums--and the extent of their interest in using them to harness the power of the web. Although official scrutiny initially focused on Arabic-language websites with clear connections to al-Qa'ida, recent events have forced a reappraisal of this relatively limited approach... It is increasingly second and third-tier extremist social networking forums managed by unaffiliated fringe activists--many of them offering dedicated English-language chat rooms--that appear to play pivotal roles in the indoctrination and radicalization of some of today's most notorious aspiring terrorists. This is a significant shift that has yet to be fully understood, as it could herald in a new generation of English-speaking or Westernized violent extremists."

Update (2/26/10 - 9:30am): I neglected to note that the latest Sentinel issue is not yet available on the CTC website. It should be available online shortly.

New System of Profiling at Lebanon’s Borders?

By David Schenker

Since the 2005 Cedar Revolution, Washington has obligated nearly $500 million in military and economic assistance to Lebanon. Much of this funding is going to the Lebanese Armed Forces and to the Internal Security Forces—none of it is going to the Surete General (SG), the General Security forces. It’s not difficult to see why.

Major General Wafik Jezzini, who is close to Hizballah, heads the SG, the agency responsible among other duties for issuing passports, surveilling the borders, and keeping an eye on foreign visitors and residents in Lebanon. (His predecessor, Jamil Al Sayed, was one of Syria’s top operatives in Lebanon from 1998-2005, when he was imprisoned in connection to the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri).

In the aftermath of the assassination of a top Hamas operative in Dubai last month, and the ongoing discovery of Israeli surveillance equipment and alleged spy networks in Southern Lebanon, this week the SG decided to get tough on border security. During a friendly interview with Hizballah’s Al Manar satellite television station yesterday, Jezzini rolled out a new plan to keep Lebanon free of Israeli infiltrators:

“We employ in our border centers distributed lists of names of Jewish families. When someone arrives in Lebanon with a foreign passport and his family name suggests that he is of Jewish origin, then the border center sends his information to the central information office at the General Security Directorate, which specifically takes responsibility for following this individual…”

So Lebanon—courtesy of Hizballah’s man in General Security—is now innovating new methods of profiling on the border. One wonders what this means for the Obama Administration’s Middle East NSC director, Daniel Shapiro, a frequent visitor in Beirut.

New Multilateral Consensus Emerges on Iran

By Matthew Levitt

In an article co-authored with my colleague Patrick Clawson, I argue that two new reports indicate that a new multilateral consensus is emerging on Iran. A February 18 report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based organization that sets global standards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing, revealed new details about Iran's ongoing activities in both realms. The same day, a new report from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached disturbing conclusions about Iran's past nuclear efforts while raising intriguing questions about technical problems the regime may be encountering. As global powers debate a fourth round of UN sanctions on Iran, these reports demonstrate growing international consensus on the nature of Iran's illicit conduct.

To support its weapons programs, democracy crackdown, and terrorist proxies, Tehran has continued to engage in deceptive financial conduct aimed at raising, moving, hiding, and accessing funds internationally. Last week, FATF took an important step when it named Iran to its new blacklist. In line with the G-20's call to protect the international financial system from abuse, the blacklist identifies countries with deficient "anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism" (AML/CFT) measures. In fact, Iran received special designation on the blacklist -- it is the only country whose illicit financial conduct merited a call for international countermeasures. The revitalization of the controversial but highly effective blacklist tool underscores FATF's past assessment of Iran and echoes warnings from the United States and elsewhere about the potential costs of doing business with Iran.

The full article is available here.

Indonesian Police Raid Terror Group in Aceh

By Kenneth Conboy

The Indonesian police arrested three persons in Aceh on Tuesday thought to have ties to the late JI terrorists Imam Samudra and Noordin Top. The three were detained following a firefight in the jungles of Aceh Besar district. In addition, one local resident was killed and his son injured as a result of the crossfire.

Two of the suspects are from Pandeglang district, Banten province. The third was from Aceh. The raid lasted fourteen hours and involved 100 police officers.

The police announced that they had been watching the group since September 2009 after locals reported paramilitary-style training in the jungle. In the raid, the police confiscated a Malaysian Army uniforms, knives, a telescope, and a large amount of cash. There was no initial mention of any firearms captured from the suspects.

The police believe that the three detained suspects are part of a larger group of 50 who often hold military drills at a number of jungle camps across Aceh.

Zazi: Genome of the homegrown Jihadist

By Walid Phares

When are we detecting them? Almost at the end..

In a confrontation with a force like al Qaeda, whom the US is fighting in two major battlefields (Afghanistan and Iraq), and as allies are battling within a couple dozen countries on five continents, the guilty plea entered by a US Jihadist who admitted links to this Terror group and detailed his war mission against the homeland. This case deserves high level analysis. Najibullah Zazi is not just an "isolated extremist" caught in September 2009 while crossing a New York bridge with plans to bomb few tunnels - end of the story. Zazi's “Jihad” story is way more than the impressive facts the Justice Department has already revealed. If we focus more on the journey of this determined Jihadist, we would discover that one of the "genomes" of homegrown Terror. In this essay, I'll only follow the Government's release:

The Justice Department announced that Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty in a "conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in the United States," in connection with al-Qaeda. His main attack targeted the New York subway system.

Countering Violent Extremist Narratives

By Michael Jacobson

The Dutch counterterrorism agency the NCTb, and the University of Leiden have released a volume of essays, focusing on how to more effectively counter al Qaeda's dangerous narrative. While al Qaeda's popularity has slipped over the past year, it remains a serious threat to the US and its allies. The organization has demonstrated that it can still plot potentially devastating attacks, as the Najibullah Zazi case illustrated, and it still is able to spread its destructive propaganda and message.

I wrote a piece for this volume, analyzing how we could use the cases of terrorist dropouts to improve our counternarrative. Figuring out why people have voluntarily walked away from al Qaeda and like minded groups can help us determine what messages and strategies are likely to be effective in persuading others to turn their backs on this cause.

To read my piece, click here

To read my longer study on terrorist dropouts, click here.

The full Dutch report is available here

What Europe Can Do to Secure a Deal with Iran

By Matthew Levitt

Against the backdrop of the Iranian government's continuing crackdown on its critics, Western powers are preparing for a fourth round of multilateral sanctions and other measures in the hopes of persuading Tehran to alter course on its controversial uranium enrichment policy. But even with Russia now apparently on board, will more sanctions work? And is there a specifically European role to be played in such a strategy?

There is convincing new evidence that the Islamic Republic has continued pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme in defiance of the IAEA and UN Security Council resolutions. Last September, the United States and some European allies exposed a new secret enrichment facility near Qom which, according to a recent IAEA report, suggested Iran may have additional secret sites. Iran acknowledged building "contingency centres" like the Qom facility in response to "the augmentation of the threats of military attacks against Iran." In December, The Times of London reported that Tehran had been working on a triggering device for a nuclear bomb. Iran responded by test firing the Sajjil-2, the latest version of its 1,200 mile range missile that brings south eastern Europe within range.

Targeted financial measures have, of course, so far not stopped Iran from pursuing its nuclear programme. But sanctions were never intended to do so. As a former U.S. Treasury official who was involved in crafting the campaign of targeted financial measures aimed at Iran, I know that sanctions are no silver bullet. On their own they can only do so much, but coupled with such other tools as robust diplomacy and a credible military presence in the region, financial measures can create diplomatic leverage that should also focus on Russia, China, the Gulf States and America's European and Asian allies. Sanctions can help to accomplish three goals; to disrupt Iran's illicit activities; to deter third parties from either knowingly or unintentionally facilitating Iran's illicit activities; and to make Iran re-consider these activities. This last involves convincing the revolutionary and unelected leadership that the nuclear programme is a threat to regime survival, not a guarantee of that.

But negotiation and diplomacy alone will not convince Iran to abandon its nuclear programme. The EU could therefore become a critically important player. Here's how.

The complete article, published in the European journal Europe's World, is available here.

One Year On, Washington’s Engagement with Syria Not Particularly Promising

By David Schenker

Last week, the Obama Administration sent Under Secretary of State William Burns to Damascus to meet Syrian President Bashar Asad, and announced the selection of a new US ambassador to Syria, a post that had been vacant since former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri was murdered in 2005. These developments appear to be linked to Washington’s efforts to diplomatically isolate Iran vis-à-vis the nuclear weapons file.

There has been little change in Syrian support for terrorism and the regime's generally unproductive behavior on Iraq, Palestinians, and Lebanon since the Obama Administration renewed senior-level contacts a year ago. Not coincidentally—but perhaps predictably--the same day that Burns arrived in Damascus, the Asad regime rejected the IAEA recommendation that Syria adopt UN nuclear watchdog's Additional Protocol, which permits unfettered inspections beyond declared nuclear site.

I had an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times this past Friday discussing the Obama Administration’s latest efforts to diplomatically engage with Damascus. It can be found here.

Mali, a new Al Qaeda haven?

By Olivier Guitta

The Sahel — this vast semi-arid region of North Africa south of the Sahara desert — is viewed by some experts as a “second Afghanistan.” This might be a stretch, but it is true that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is very active in the area, especially in Mali.

Mali enjoys a very good reputation around the world. It boasts a vibrant democracy with a multi-party system, a market economy and a tradition of a moderate Islam. But things might be changing: Since 2001, worrying signs have emerged— for example, the proliferation of Osama bin Laden's photo in stalls at the Bamako market and the exponential increase of radio stations preaching radical Islam.

AQIM has organized numerous kidnappings of Western citizens in the region. Interestingly, kidnapped hostages from all over the region usually end up in northern Mali. AQIM has been using northern Mali (in particular Timbuktu and Kidal) as a sanctuary for three reasons: first, it is a very inhospitable area with a difficult terrain making it tough for nations to monitor it; second, some Arab tribes are located there; and finally, the Malian regime is weak and has almost no financial resources.

AQIM’s charm offensive — which includes distributing antibiotics when children are sick and buying goats for double the going rate — has won the hearts and minds of many locals in the Sahel. AQIM buys off local tribes and forms alliances with them, often through marriage.

To make matters more complicated, the area is home to the Tuaregs, a Berber group composed of 200,000 people, who are motivated by territorial claims and bad blood with the Malian authorities to side with AQIM.

To read the rest, please click here.

Material Support at the Supreme Court

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday on a challenge to a critical national security tool—the material support statute. In anticipation, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has analyzed the arguments on both sides, focusing on the practical effect that the eventual ruling may have on America’s fight against international terrorist organizations.

Despite its effectiveness, the material support provision has been attacked numerous times since its enactment, resulting in a multitude of legal challenges and legislative amendments, all aimed at producing a statute that could be used to destroy the terrorist support structure while not infringing on Constitutional rights.

Now, with the Supreme Court set to rule on the validity of certain provisions of the statute, we finally have an opportunity to shut the door to frivolous litigation from individuals who simply want to provide support to groups that they sympathize with, regardless of their status as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The petitioners in this case—a retired judge, a doctor, a human rights organization, and several nonprofit groups—were engaged in advocacy and support for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Although the petitioners were engaged in these activities for quite some time, they were forced to cease on October 8, 1997, once the U.S. State Department designated the PKK and LTTE as "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (FTO). Realizing that U.S. law now proscribed their efforts on behalf of the PKK and LTTE, on March 18, 1998 petitioners filed a complaint in federal court to bar the government from enforcing the statute against them. Now, after more than a decade of legal wrangling, the case has made its way to the Supreme Court. While a more detailed analysis of the policy arguments involved can be found in IPT's report, we briefly summarize the primary arguments.

Opponents of the law are seeking to have it struck down, arguing that it is infringing on their ability to provide support to groups designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. While there are few people who would argue that they should be able to provide "safe houses," "false documentation or identification," "communications equipment," "facilities," "weapons," "lethal substances," or "explosives" to terrorist groups, there are plenty of people who continue to believe that they should be able to provide other support to these groups—typically because they want to support the non-violent activities of the group.

Those in support of a broad ban on support to terrorist groups recognize, as Congress did when it passed the material support law, that the designation process was intended to make FTOs "radioactive." While providing an exception for legitimate First Amendment protected activities, the law is intended to ban practically all other support, whether violent or non-violent, to designated FTOs.
Read our summary of the case here and our full report here.

Leadership vs. Leaderless Resistance: The Militant White Separatist Movement's Operating Model

By Madeleine Gruen

White separatism today bears little resemblance to the movement a decade ago. At that time, the movement could have been described as inhabiting the furthest political margins, yet it was visible due to its outspoken leadership and controversial public demonstrations. The major groups, such as the Aryan Nations, National Alliance, and the World Church of the Creator (now known as the Creativity Movement) were structured hierarchically with big personalities at the top. These groups' leaders, and the leaders of other prominent white power groups, have either died or been incarcerated; and their organizations fractured, either due to infighting or lack of confidence in the systems of operation.[1] The movement has become less clearly organized: there are now no major compounds, very few leaders whom the general public would recognize (such as William Pierce or David Duke), and little evidence of solid organizations with bosses, lieutenants, and foot soldiers.

Some observers think the apparent lack of cohesion within the movement indicates its overall weakness; others believe that it instead means militant white separatists are adopting a "leaderless resistance" or "lone wolf activist" model of operation. Though it is unwise to overestimate the movement's adoption of leaderless resistance,[2] it is clear that leaderless resistance as a concept is widely discussed and promoted in white separatist circles. Moreover, this strategic idea has been put into practice by some white separatists in recent years. There are distinct disadvantages to leaderless resistance in comparison to a pyramidal leadership model, in that a more diffuse model makes it difficult to attain major strategic objectives due to a lack of coordination. However, leaderless resistance also offers the movement several clear advantages by making civil lawsuits or RICO prosecutions more difficult, and helping adherents maintain their eligibility for military service and other sensitive jobs that prohibit participation in racist organizations. This article examines the theory and practice of leaderless resistance.

Leaderless Resistance in Theory

The most frequently-cited work on the concept of leaderless resistance in relation to white separatism is Louis Beam's essay "Leaderless Resistance," which he self-published in his Inter-Klan Newsletter & Survival Alert in 1983, and again in his journal The Seditionist in 1992. Beam's essay argues that the federal government is the foremost threat to liberty, stating morosely that "[t]he writer [Beam] has joyfully lived long enough to see the dying breaths of communism, but may, unhappily, remain long enough to see the last grasps of freedom in America."[3] Beam argues that the government is already oppressive, but has far worse planned: white separatists will be unjustly labeled "domestic terrorists" or "cultists," and their views will be suppressed. (Interestingly, Beam does not actually discuss the white separatist movement or his own racist views in the essay other than a single reference to "those who love our race, culture, and heritage"; but the scope of his biography and thinking makes the context clear enough.)

To Beam, the problem this poses for the traditional hierarchical methods of organizing the white separatist movement is that the government is well positioned to stifle dissent-and beyond that, it is clear to him that "the most powerful government on earth" will surely "crush any who pose a real threat to that power." For that reason, he believes that at some point white separatists simply will not have the option of belonging to a group. His solution is "leaderless resistance," which he describes as modeled after "committees of correspondence" that existed throughout the thirteen colonies during the American Revolution. "Each committee was a secret cell that operated totally independently of the other cells," he writes. "Information on the government was passed from committee to committee, from colony to colony, and then acted upon on a local basis." Similarly, he argues that the white separatist movement should be organized around "very small or even one man cells of resistance." Though Beam concedes that there are many disadvantages to leaderless resistance, he argues that it is "a child of necessity," the only hope of preventing the movement from being crushed. Pyramidal organizations are "an easy kill" for the government, he writes, in light of federal informants and intelligence-gathering capabilities, while in contrast "the last thing Federal snoops" would want is "a thousand different small phantom cells opposing them."

This article, co-written by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, will be included in the upcoming issue of CTR Vantage.

To continue reading this article, please follow this link.

The Long Arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba

By Matthew Levitt

In an article written for The Washington Institute, LeT expert Steve Tankel notes that in his February 2 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair highlighted the growing danger posed by Pakistani militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Calling the group a "special case," he asserted that it is "becoming more of a direct threat and is placing Western targets in Europe in its sights." He also expressed concern that it could "actively embrace" a more anti-Western agenda. Given its global capabilities with regard to fundraising, logistics, support, and operations, LeT could pose a serious threat to U.S. interests. Consequently, weakening it should be a high priority for Washington.

Tankel's full article is available here.

Assad on top of the world

By Olivier Guitta

Five years ago, Rafik al-Hariri — the billionaire Lebanese businessman-turned-politician who was prime minister on and off until September 2004 when he joined the opposition to Syria — was murdered in a spectacular terror attack in Beirut.

Right away all signs pointed to Damascus’ involvement in the attack — from Syria’s personal open threats to Hariri to the first results of the international investigation. This event triggered the Cedar revolution that caused Syrian troops to leave Lebanon and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to be viewed as a pariah by the 
international community.

Fast forward to today: Assad has become the hottest ticket in town, from Washington to Paris, from Brussels to Ankara and from Riyadh to Cairo. Everybody wants to meet him, be seen with him and get on his good side.

Syria has suddenly become the key to solving the insoluble problems of the Middle East. In 2008, Assad started his charm offensive with French president Nicolas Sarkozy who had been lending a friendly ear thanks to the constant advice and friendly pressure of Qatar to do so.

This French diplomatic move was not well-viewed at the time by the Bush administration because since 2004, France and the US had worked hand-in-hand in isolating Assad. Assad knew quite well that a new incoming Obama administration would be very much inclined to reach out. Something that was just recently proved by the appointment of a US ambassador to Syria after five years of void.

One of the reasons behind that overture was that Syria is the weakest link to getting at Iran and if a wedge could be driven between the two countries, then it would be much easier to pressure Teheran and decrease the mullahs’ leverage on the international community.

In fact, by getting Syria to switch camps, Hezbollah and Hamas, Teheran’s two most powerful proxies would be dramatically weakened. But easier said than done, Damascus is not ready to give up its alliance with Teheran. The reason why is that Iran is bankrolling Syria’s economy and Assad will have to find a way to replace Teheran’s funding at some point.

To read the rest, please click here.

A New Indictment for Viktor Bout and his American Partner

By Douglas Farah

The U.S. Justice Department today handed down a new indictment against Viktor Bout and his Syrian-American partner Richard Chichakli, alleging the Merchant of Death with laundering money and attempting to buy two aircraft in the Unites States through a series of front companies.

The indictment may add to Bout's legal woes, and certainly is a blow to Chichakli, who has been happily holed in Moscow, with occasional trips to Damascus while using his website to mock the U.S. government, along with you truly and others. The indictment and Interpol alert will likely keep him holed up in Moscow, at least for a while.

Chichakli, who prided himself on his ability to create fetching fruit platters, fled the United States when his assets were frozen by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets control. He used Lufthansa frequent flier miles to purchase his ticket, as he had no money available, and then proceeded on to Syria, before joining Viktor in Moscow.

Bout, of course, is still in a Thai jail, awaiting an appeals court decision on whether he can be extradited to the United States to stand trial for attempts to knowingly sell surface to air missiles and other lethal equipment to undercover agents posing as FARC operatives. Last year a lower court ruled that Bout could not be extradited, and the appeals court ruling will be final.

The charges may be used to try give the Thai court more reason to authorized Bout's extradition to the United States. It will also certainly make Chichakli, who helped Bout set up his operations in the UAE in the 1990s while acting as his accountant, a less mobile figure.

Bout's attempt to buy the aircraft show how mobile his network - which supplied the Taliban in Afghanistan, the FARC in Colombia and other terrorist groups - had become. The indictment alleges Bout and Chichakli wired some $1.7 million through the United States on behalf of a front company named Samar Airlines, to purchase two Boeing aircraft in the United States. My full blog is here.

The Massacre at Fort Hood: NEFA PowerPoint

By Madeleine Gruen

The NEFA Foundation has released the 24th report in the "Target: America" series, a PowerPoint examining the November 5, 2009 massacre at Fort Hood and the background of the perpetrator, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood's Soldier's Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers are processed for deployment overseas, killing 13 and injuring more than 30 others. The 10-minute long shooting spree was ended when Hasan was confronted by two civilian police sergeants, one of whom shot and paralyzed Hasan. This report examines lesser-known aspects of Hasan’s background, personal associations, and places of worship, which may contribute to further understanding how an American-born medical doctor serving in the military could have embraced an ideology that would lead him to believe that killing fellow American soldiers was justified as an act of defense of Islam.

The PowerPoint can be viewed by clicking here.

The FARC and the Quest for Surface to Air Missiles

By Douglas Farah

he Miami Herald today reports that the Colombian FARC has likely already fulfilled its long-time goal of purchasing surface to air missiles to be used against U.S.-supplied helicopters in Colombia.

The FARC has long placed a very high strategic priority on acquiring SAMs, going back to at least 2003. The commanders officially requested money from Libya and Nicaragua at that time to purchase the weapons because the insurgency was being so badly hurt by helicopters acquired by the military and police.

The helicopters allowed the military and police to extend their supply lines, increase mobility and pursue the FARC and other groups from the air, something that helped fundamentally shift the dynamics of the war.

It is not a good weapon to have in the hands of a terrorist organization that derives its revenue from cocaine trafficking, kidnapping and extortion. The FARC is on the ropes militarily, and one of the few things that could give the group an immediate boost is the acquisition of SAMs. Other terrorist groups have acquired the missiles, including radical Islamist groups that tried to down an Israeli jetliner.

The information on this case originates in a Peruvian court case, where 12 men are on trial for the illicit sales.

The Peruvian prosecutors' records detail the sale of at least four Russian-made Strela and Igla ground-to-air missiles between May and October 2008 and another three in 2009, ``each one for the sum of 45,000 US dollars.''

They were sold by Jorge Aurelio Cerpa, a Peruvian air force official, and were delivered to Freddy Torres, an Ecuadorean who had been buying weapons for the FARC since 2007, according to the records. They and nine others were arrested and charged with collaboration with terrorism, and several have confessed.

Note the transnational nature of the arrangement. From corrupt Peruvian officials to a FARC middleman operating in Ecuador, to the FARC. Again, an Ecuadoran and Ecuador appear as vital pieces in the FARC's strategic resupply network, as outlined in the recent paper I co-authored titled Ecuador at Risk: Drugs, Thugs, Guerrillas and the Citizens' Revolution.

It was not a one-off deal by Torres, but part of a long string of sales he helped engineer in order to keep the FARC well armed and lethal. My full blog is here.

India: Terror Returns After Brief Quiescence

By Animesh Roul

After almost 14 long months, terrorists have succeeded in perpetrating a major attack in India and this time they targeted a popular ‘German Bakery’ in Pune city frequented by both well-heeled Puneites and foreigners. As per the official sources, nine people have been killed and 57 others injured that include four Iranians, two Sudanese, one Taiwanese, one German and two Nepalese nationals. Preliminary forensic investigations suggested that RDX was used for the blast.

The epicenter of the blast is located in Koregaon Park near the Osho (Rajneesh cult) Ashram and a Jewish Chabad house.Lashkar- e-Taiba's David Coleman Headley who is presently under FBI custody, is believed to have visited the Osho Ashram during his previous visit.

Who could be behind the Attack?

Indian Mujahideen:
This blast could be the handiwork of Indian Mujahideen terror group who has definitely a strong base in the city. Remember, the media wing of IM is based in the city. But surprisingly, even though the wing used to alert media with press communiqué before or after the blasts, nobody from IM has taken the responsibility so far. Meanwhile, the investigating agencies have released the photograph of one IM suspect, Mohsin Choudhary who is also wanted in Ahmadabad and Delhi serial explosions bomb blasts.

Hindu Extremist?
The incident took place just ahead of the Valentine day celebration. That leads many of us to speculate involvement of Hindu extremists or vigilante groups to target this type of popular watering hole for youths and lovers. However, looking at the explosive used in the Germany bakery blast and the scale of devastation there, it can be easily ruled out. Neither they have the sophistication nor they have such jihadi motivation to kill people.

Late last month I published one article on the status of Indian Mujahideen and the threat emanating from our very own home grown terror group. Of course the role of Pakistan based terror groups behind forming IM is very much well known to the world.

The following is an excerpt of that paper titled: "Hybrid, Homegrown and Transnational: The Indian Mujahideen and the Islamist Terror Matrix" (Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 8 (3) January 21, 2010).

Though IM, a relative newcomer to the South Asian jihadi landscape, claims to be an indigenous terror group, IM’s working relations with transnational terror groups (primarily Pakistan and Bangladesh-based) calls for close scrutiny. Even if the indigenous tag of IM is well suited, it is becoming clearer by the day that IM is a hybrid terrorist group with militants from a number of other terrorist outfits (including SIMI, LeT and HuJI) comprising the group’s core. Recent Gujarat police investigations established the existence of this lethal combination when they concluded that IM operatives had carried out blasts under the direction, guidance and assistance of Pakistan-based HUJI operative, Amir Raza Khan (Ahmadabad Mirror, January 12). Khwaja’s confession has now substantiated that assertion.

Following the countrywide crackdowns and the well-executed September 2008 Batla House encounter in Delhi (in which two IM members were killed by police), many IM militants are in custody while others are still evading arrest. A number of IM operatives with obvious SIMI backgrounds were arrested from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Others, including Zahid Shaikh, Yunus Mansuri, Abu Bashar Kazmi, Qayamuddin Kapadia, Abdul Raziq, and Asghar Peerbhoy, were arrested in the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala. However, the top leadership and the masterminds of the attacks, Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz Bhatkal, Abdul Subhan Qureshi (a.k.a. Taqueer), are still at large, with as many as 29 others who have been identified by the investigating agencies (Indian Express, January 9).

A Record of Terrorist Attacks
IM has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist acts across India between 2006 and 2008, including the Mumbai commuter train blasts (July 2006); the serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh (November 2007); serial explosions in northeast India’s Assam and Tripura states, (October 2008); and attacks in Jaipur city (May 2008), Bengaluru (July 2008); Ahmadabad (July 2008); and Delhi (September 2008). The Assam and Tripura (Agartala) attacks were claimed by the previously unknown Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahideen (ISF-IM), which appeared to be IM’s northeastern franchise. Lastly, investigations into the November 2008 Mumbai episode reveal tell-tale signs of IM’s footprint, though the evidence is not yet conclusive. According to intelligence sources, a huge amount of money was sent from the Gulf through IM's Riyaz Bhatkal to execute the Mumbai carnage. The recent probe into LeT’s Chicago conspiracy (which is directly linked to the Mumbai terror events) revealed that prime suspect David Headley and Tahawwur Rana received logistical support from IM operatives while they were in India. IB believes that Bhatkal knew about the Mumbai attack plan and helped arrange local logistics through his underworld links in the city.

For Complete Paper, Read Here.

A joint Arab force against Terror is needed

By Walid Phares

In a discussion with American and European legislators as well as with counter terrorism experts from the Arab world I suggested the formation of an "Anti-Terror Joint Force" as appropriate response to the expansion of Terror organizations both al Qaeda and Iranian backed, throughout the region. Over the past few years I gave briefings to the Anti-Terror Caucus of the US House of Representatives as well as to several defense agencies on how can such an initiative start among Arab Governments and expand later to Muslim countries. These countries in the Arab world are already fighting Terrorism in general and al Qaeda in particular. Yemen, Saudi, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, and several Gulf states. They are already confronting al Qaeda and Jihadi Takfiris in their homelands and in some cases they are fighting networks backed by the Iranian regime, as is the case in Yemen, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Hence an Arab leadership on counter terrorism is the best idea to put all these resources together. The creation of an Arab special forces corps would benefit all countries involved and would be backed by many Western countries.

European Parliament Vote Undermines Counterterrorism Efforts

By Dennis Lormel

Since shortly after 9/11, the U.S. Treasury Department has run a successful terrorist financing investigative program in conjunction with the CIA and FBI. The program known as the Terrorist Financing Tracking Program (TFTP) has not only benefited the U.S. but has served to provide valuable financial intelligence to European law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as agencies in other parts of the world. According to Stuart Levey, Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, U.S. Treasury Department, the TFTP provided more than 1,500 reports and countless leads to counterterrorism investigators in Europe and more to other countries. This included information provided during the investigation of the foiled 2006 Al-Qaeda plot to attack transatlantic flights between Europe and the U.S.

Unfortunately, the European Parliament overlooked the important value of the TFTP regarding international counterterrorism efforts when it voted to nullify an agreement between the U.S. and the European Council that would have allowed the U.S. to have access to financial data stored with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). In this situation, an interesting question manifests itself. Did the European Parliament bite its nose to spite its face?

SWIFT provides electronic messaging services that direct financial transactions worth trillions of dollars a day among over 8,300 financial institutions in 208 countries. SWIFT maintained an information storage facility in the U.S. Following 9/11 and until January 2010, when SWIFT moved the storage facility to Switzerland, the U.S. Treasury Department served administrative subpoenas on SWIFT giving Treasury access to SWIFT messaging information on a monthly basis.

The information accessed by the U.S. government was tightly monitored by independent auditors. The TFTP was only able to access terrorist specific financial data. In 2003, the SWIFT Governing Board visited senior U.S. government officials to ensure the integrity of the program. French Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere recently reviewed the TFTP. He concluded the program was effective and contained sufficient privacy safeguards.

Because of the move to Switzerland, the U.S. negotiated a deal with the European Council to continue to maintain access to SWIFT data in order to sustain the TFTP. This deal was made in November, 2009. The European Council is composed of the heads of European States.

The European Parliament is an elected body that usually acts in conjunction with the European Council. However, in this case the European Council acted without including the European Parliament. Consequently, for the right or wrong reason, The European Parliament voted against an important anti-terrorism program. Let’s hope they didn’t bite their nose to spite their face.

IPT Investigative Report: The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Far from being the zealous champion of civil rights that it presents itself to be, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) has followed a consistent pattern of defending designated terrorist organizations and their supporters, opposing U.S. counterterrorism efforts and spouting anti-Semitic rhetoric.

That is the key conclusion drawn in a thorough, carefully documented 88-page report on the organization prepared by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).

The first of a three-part breakdown of that report can be found here.

Part two can be found here.

And part three can be found here.

Can Gaza Become a Somalia or Yemen?

By Matthew Levitt

The recent arrest of an organized cell in the northern West Bank inspired by al-Qaida's ideology is a stark reminder of the expanding nature of the threat facing Israel. Today, threats come not only from the enemies it has long known, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad which target Israel at home, but from new and potentially more dangerous ones, such as radicalized individuals in the West Bank or formalized groups such as Jaish al Islam and Jund Ansar Allah in the Gaza Strip, that are ideologically aligned with al-Qaida and are eager to globalize the assault on Israel.

In the West Bank, where intelligence and law enforcement agencies can keep close tabs on terrorist recruitment in general, and Salafi-Jihadi elements in particular, al-Qaida-inspired terrorism has appeared only sporadically through individuals radicalized from the Internet or traveling abroad. The ability of West Bank Arabs to travel and study abroad creates opportunities for radicalization and recruitment, but the area's relatively strong and growing civil society makes it less amenable to the development of organized Salafi-Jihadi groups. While even small cells or lone wolves could potentially carry out significant terrorist attacks, the threat is minimized by the strong Israeli and growing Palestinian security presence in the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip, however, is another story. In fact, even as Gazan terrorists floated barrel bombs toward Israel last week, a virtual terrorist salvo was also being directed out of Gaza.

The full article, which ran in The Jerusalem Post, is available here.

Hizb ut-Tahrir America Publishes Archive of Newsletters Online

By Madeleine Gruen

Hizb ut-Tahrir America (HTA) has launched a web site featuring a full archive of its newsletter The Shield. Since June 2006, HTA members have distributed The Shield outside of Chicago area mosques and at Islamic conferences. Until June 2009, HTA did not operate openly. That month, the group announced its July 2009 Khilafah conference outside of Chicago, and with that officially revealed its existence in the United States.

Shield articles are a roster of HTA's judgments about the U.S. and its foreign policies. The lead article in the June 2006 inaugural issue posits that American Muslims should not feel safe in their own country, and that the U.S. government is their enemy. In later issues, The Shield returns to the same theme; asking Muslims to question their identity as Americans. This is the same propaganda tactic used by HT in the U.K. in 2005/2006. Continually posing the question "Are you British or are you Muslim" was meant erode British Muslims' sense of belonging.

Other frequent topics and themes covered in current and past issues of The Shield include; Jews and Christians are the enemy of Muslims; it is immoral for Muslims to serve in the military; and it is the long-term plot of Americans to continue killing and oppressing Muslims around the world.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a transnational political Islamist movement, with a presence in more than 45 countries. It advocates for the establishment of an Islamic state to be ruled according to Sharia law. Although its stated methods are non-violent, HT does not condemn terrorist acts perpetrated by other jihadi groups absolutely.

HTA is headquartered in the Chicago area, with members in most major cities and university towns all across the country. HTA intends to expose American Muslims to its ideology via overt and covert means. While its presence is now publicly known, HTA will likely continue to use covers to reach its target support audience (school-aged American Muslims).

A Downward Spiral in Latin America

By Douglas Farah

Several developments over the past week add to my growing sense of pessimism over certain parts of Latin America.

The first is the decision of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez to bring on board a senior Cuban official with a long time specialty in internal security and torture to act as a consultant on Venezuela's energy crisis.

What Ramiro Valdes, one of the four remaining "originals" of the 1959 revolution, can bring on the electrical side is open to question, given that Cuba is not a model of electrical efficiency and management. What he can bring is a strong sense of how to control the internal opposition and make repression more efficient, which is his specialty.

This leads to my second concern. As Chávez grows more beleaguered and under siege, the one card he holds to wreak havoc in the region is his relationship with the FARC in Colombia.

Valdes, the old guerrilla with a strong penchant for supporting armed movements, is a likely candidate to help escalate that relationship at a time when the FARC, a designated terrorist organization, has money from cocaine sales to pay for increased training and access.

Another desperate regime, that of Iran, is also scrambling to survive, and the two friends are likely to jointly seek ways to save themselves while sinking their own countries and others.

A third area of concern is increasing violence in Juarez, Mexico, where I just was. The massacre of the 16 young people has brought to the forefront the sense of despair and hopelessness people feel, and the profound disillusionment with the government and its counter-drug efforts.

When people lose all faith in a government, the situation will be very difficult to reverse. The narcos and allied gangs such as Barrio Azteca and Artistas Asesinos feel a complete sense of impunity that is well-deserved. Less than 2 percent of all homicides in Mexico are ever prosecuted and in Ciudad Juarez the numbers are even lower. The military is widely viewed as corrupt and abusive, the federal police generate little trust and the municipal police are viewed as handmaidens of the cartels.

This leads to the type of terror on the streets of a once lovely city, with 2,600 homicides last year and already on pace to surpass that by a significant amount.

A fourth issue is the eroding freedom of expression across the Bolivarian sectors of Latin America. It was driven home to me after the release of our new report on Ecuador, Ecuador at Risk. Not only has the ordered his ambassador in Washington to see if he can sue us, his government has threatened to try to find my sources.
My full blog is here.