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Showing posts from November 1, 2009

THE FORT HOOD INCIDENT IN THE US

Source: Raman strategic analysis blog B.RAMAN The dilemma and the problems posed by the existence of pockets of qualms of conscience and divided loyalties in the Muslim communities of the non-Muslim world has been tragically illustrated by an incident in a US military base in Fort Hood, Texas, on November 6,2009.Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist of the US Army born to Palestinian migrants to the US from Jordan, suddenly went on a killing spree killing 13 soldiers with a handgun before he was injured and overpowered. He is presently under interrogation. 2.It has been reported that the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been sought in the investigation to rule out any terrorist conspiracy behind the incident. The indications till now are that it was the act of a lone Muslim with a mind troubled by conflicting loyalties to the US and Islam and angered by his own allegedly negative experiences as a Muslim in the US as well as in the Army and by the US

Hasan Called War on Terror an Attack on Islam, Classmate Says

Source: Bloomberg By Justin Blum Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Major Nidal Malik Hasan , the Army psychiatrist accused of a shooting spree that killed 13 people at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, called the war on terrorism “a war against Islam,” said a doctor who was in a graduate program with him. While studying for a masters degree in public health in 2007, Hasan used a presentation for an environmental health class to argue that Muslims were being targeted by the U.S. anti-terror campaign, said Val Finnell, a classmate. “He was very vocal about the war, very upfront about being a Muslim first and an American second,” said Finnell, 41, a preventive medicine doctor in Los Angeles, in an interview yesterday. “He was always concerned that Muslims in the military were being persecuted.” Hasan , 39, opened fire on fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood Army Base on Nov. 5 before he was shot several times, Lieutenant General Robert Cone, the b

Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect

Source: AP on Google By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE (AP) – 53 minutes ago WASHINGTON — His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients. There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling. For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. While an in

LeT targeting top schools

 Source: ET 5 Nov 2009, 0309 hrs IST, ET Bureau NEW DELHI: The Lashker-e-Toiba is plotting overtime to unleash some high-profile attacks on India. Among targets are some of the country’s leading schools, the National Defence College here and tourist spots and places frequented by foreigners. While the LeT plot to strike the National Defence College premises on Tees January Marg here was uncovered during the interrogation of arrested US national and LeT recruit David Coleman Headley by FBI, independent inputs with Indian security agencies point to planning by the Pakistan-based outfit to launch attacks that would fetch wide publicity. It is in this light that LeT bosses have picked schools, where children of influential persons study, to unleash their terror agenda. The plans include hitting tourist spots as well as facilities frequented by foreigners — including five-star hotels, beaches and bars — as LeT believes this would give them wide coverage in the international media. In

Five injured in bomb explosion in Manipur

Source: Express India Five persons were injured in a bomb blast in front of the office of a local daily at Keisampat Tiddim Road in Imphal (West) district tonight, police said. Police said unidentified people hurled the bomb at a group of security personnel on duty in the area. Though no injury was caused to the jawans, one sub-editor of a local daily and four passers-by were wounded. The injured were admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital here, they said.

US strike kills five militants in Pakistan: officials

Source: Google AFP By Hasbanullah Khan (AFP) – 6 hours ago MIRANSHAH, Pakistan — Suspected US missiles killed five militants in Pakistan's Al-Qaeda-infested tribal belt on Thursday, not far from where 30,000 troops are battling a major offensive against homegrown Taliban. The attack, which Pakistani officials said was carried out by a US drone, targeted a house in North Waziristan, where Washington says Islamist militants fighting 100,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan are hiding. "It was a US drone attack which targeted a compound of a local tribesman, Musharraf Gul, in Norak village," a senior security official told AFP. Two missiles were fired from a US drone at 1:30 am (2030 GMT Wednesday). Another security official confirmed the attack and said "Taliban rebels were using the compound. Five militants were killed and four others wounded." "It is not clear if there was any high-value target," the official said, adding: "We also do not

Is the Strategy Against the Naxals Working?

Source: India Today The BEST (India Today's Board of Experts on Security and Terror) warns the Government that its hardline Naxalite policy should not escalate into military action. It wants the focus to also be on strengthening local governance. Ajit Kumar Doval, former Director, Intelligence Bureau: They are giving an impression that they are going to conquer their own land and vanquish their own people. That's a wrong message. The message that should go out is that we are keen on their development. And for supporting their developmental needs we will reinforce the region security-wise that they can get schools, roads and hospitals. Just as the ITBP is making a road in Afghanistan, we are sending 70,000 CRPF troops there to ameliorate the conditions of the people and save the tribals from exploitation. We are not sending the troops to conquer. Ved Marwah, former Governor, Jharkhand: Very briefly about China. I agree that hysteria is the last thing that the Government sh

Judge orders: Return 'Muslim Mafia' docs

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Source: WND Incriminating material obtained in probe of CAIR's connection to Islamic terrorism Posted: November 03, 2009 9:46 pm Eastern By Art Moore © 2009 WorldNetDaily CAIR's national headquarters, three blocks from the U.S. Capitol A federal judge in Washington today ordered a co-author of the book "Muslim Mafia" and his son to return internal documents, recordings and records obtained in a six-month undercover operation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that presented further evidence of the D.C.-based group's ties to terrorism. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted CAIR's request for a temporary restraining order barring P. David Gaubatz and his son, Chris Gaubatz, from further use or publication of the material and demanding that they return it to the Muslim group's lawyers by midnight Nov 18. Kollar-Kotelly – who as head of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court made several controversial decisions against t

Post-amnesty: Ex-militants report to camp

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Headlines Nov 4, 2009 FG releases N2bn for roads in N-Delta, To construct  rail line from Calabar to Warri By Chris Ochayi & Oscarline Onwuemenyi ABUJA — THE Federal Government, yesterday, commenced the post-amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region as it directed 3,000 former militants who had accepted the amnesty offer to report to camp between now and November 11 towards rehabilitating them just as the government approved N2 billion for immediate construction of physical development projects in the region. Some of the ex-militants however expressed regrets over their decision to lay down their arms citing insincerity on the part of the government. Chairman, Presidential Committee on Amnesty and Minister of Defence, Major-General Godwin Abbe (rtd) who spoke yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with leaders of ex-militants, assured that the region will witness aggressive physical development if the current peace is sustained. Ex-militant leader

Feds: Chicago men discussed terror attack in India

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Source: Kentucky By MIKE ROBINSON - AP Legal Affairs Writer CHICAGO -- A Chicago man charged with scheming to launch a terrorist attack on a Danish newspaper also discussed a possible attack against a military college in India and advised a member of a Pakistan-based terrorist group on how to slip people into the U.S., prosecutors said Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said in court papers that Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana in September talked with another man charged in the case about designating the National Defense College of India as among possible targets they might pursue. "Recorded conversations involving the defendant, emails and other documentary evidence demonstrate that the defendant conspired to provide and did provide material support to the conspiracy," prosecutors said in court papers. Lou Chuckman AP Photo - This

Is Saif and Kareena's Kurbaan just another terrorism movie?

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Source: SIFY IANS  | Monday, 02 November , 2009, 11:51   Questions are being raised about Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor's latest flick, Kurbaan , which seemingly revolves around terrorism, a theme which has been explored by films earlier. Karan Johar's upcoming Kurbaan is being likened to films on terror such as New York and Fanaa but the filmmaker is no longer giving the straight-jacketed , 'it's truly different' reply. He has instead left it to the audiences to find out if there are any similarities between the movies. Saif and Kareena reveal Kurbaan details "That's because this isn't the first time that it's happening to a film coming from Dharma Productions. When Wake Up Sid was being made, people asked whether it had any similarities to Lakshya . Now when the movie has released and is finding so much appreciation, the same people are coming back and telling me that

Police, broker partner to identify terrorist targets

Business Nov 3, 2009 By Patience Saghana Nigerian Police in collaboration with Pinnacle Insurance Brokers Limited has concluded arrangement for a dialogue to identify probable targets of terrorism with the aim of exploring grey areas and proffering solutions on counter measures. The parley between the police and the broker present a welcome opportunity to correct shortcomings and fill gaps in the fight against terrorism by offering a comprehensive framework for a coherent international response to terrorism. The dialogue which is billed for December at the Musa Yar’ Adua Conference Centre, Abuja will give priority attention to addressing underlying conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, such as poverty, prolonged unresolved conflicts, dehumanization of victims of terrorism, ethnic, national and religious discrimination, political exclusion, socio-economic marginalization and lack of good governance among others. Nigerian government has continued

Most Pakistanis back war against Taliban: poll

Source: Daily Times ISLAMABAD: A majority of Pakistanis support military action against the Taliban although more people blame the US for the violence, a poll released on Tuesday showed. According to a Gilani Research Foundation poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan, an affiliate of Gallup International, 51 percent of people support the offensive. A majority supported the action, only 25 percent of respondents said the Taliban were responsible for the offensive with 35 percent blaming the US and 31 percent the government. Thirty-six percent of people thought the offensive would improve security while 37 percent said it would lead to deterioration, the poll found. 37 percent of people considered it Pakistan’s war while 39 percent saw it as America’s war. reuters

Financing terrorism declared an offence

Source: DailyTIMES * Companies, employees can be fined upto Rs 5m for offences under proposed legislation By Sajid Chaudhry ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday approved the Anti-Money Laundering Bill 2009, declaring “terrorism financing” a criminal offence. Officials of the Finance Ministry and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) informed the committee members that Pakistan, being a signatory to various UN conventions, required laws in line with international standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The committee meeting, presided by Fauzia Wahab, was attended by Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, Finance Secretary Salman Siddique, the SBP deputy governor, SBP Banking Policy director and other senior officials. The committee also approved increase in penalty from Rs 1 million to Rs 5 million for a company or its employees found guilty of an offence under the proposed bill. The committee was informed that the amendments

Striking Red

The youth, it seems, was all set to strike red. About 20 of them were crowding around to catch the action on a carrom board, balanced on a lorry tyre. The players were on stones that served as seats. That's when our vehicle entered Ambatpally village and to my surprise, all of them scattered just in a matter of a minute. I got off our vehicle to find out what happened. It took some time for us to figure out that the youth had mistaken us for police in mufti. "No. No. We are from the press. I am from NDTV, from Hyderabad,'' I explained, pointing to our video camera. As we got talking, the youth slowly started gathering around us. "Why are you so scared of the police?'' I asked. Suresh, who was playing the game, and runs a chicken shop replied. "You never know how they would react to all of us huddled together.'' The fear here is real. Ambatpally has been home to a number of naxals in the past. And the people have paid the price for it. Wi