Ops and Intel update

Photo by Gerald © 2008

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has published several new items on its website which will be of interest to counterterrorism researchers. First, the NEFA Foundation has obtained video of a conversation with Taliban Deputy Commander Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of the infamous Afghan mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani. Though only in his early thirties, Haqqani is considered one of the most powerful Taliban military commanders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has been rumored as a possible internal political rival to the current Taliban administration of Mullah Mohammed Omar. Haqqani has freely acknowledged his role in organizing recent terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul, and his partnership with foreign fighters arriving from elsewhere in the Muslim world. This video was made by Rahimullah Yousufzai, a veteran reporter/analyst based in Peshawar.

Second, the NEFA Foundation has released a transcript of the latest audio message from Al-Qaida’s Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Addressing his plea to the Pakistani military, al-Zawahiri spoke for the first time in English and called upon low and mid-ranking soldiers to violently revolt against the leadership of Pervaiz Musharraf and his alliance with the United States. Al-Zawahiri also discussed at length his own experiences and knowledge of Pakistan, though he also conceded that his unfamiliarity with Urdu was forcing him to adopt English, the language of the “enemies of Islam.”

Third, the NEFA Foundation has obtained the responses provided by 9/11 planners Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and "Khallad" to questions submitted by Salim Hamdan's attorneys. Asked whether Hamdan had "any involvement in the planning of attacks outside Afghanistan," KSM stated, "he was not at all a military man." He added, "as a member in Al-Qaeda Council (Shoura) the highest executive committee in Al-Qaeda, I am certain of all who works in the field mentioned..." He later said, "I personally was the executive director of 9/11, and Hamdan had no previous knowledge of the operation, or any other one." Asked about information flow in Al-Qaida, KSM responded, "so many of UBL's inner circles have no knowledge of what he was planning and so many of Al-Qaeda members and even the trainers at the military camps do not have any knowledge of the works of the outside cells. That includes the civilian employees."

Finally, the NEFA Foundation has released additional content drawn from Al-Somood, a monthly Islamic magazine published by the Taliban’s media center. In this piece, dated July 2007, Al-Somood provides a biography of Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah, who was killed by NATO and Afghan troops in May 2007. The biography explains that "“One of the most dangerous (things) the martyr Dadullah had done against the worldwide crusader ally in Afghanistan is coaching the suicide youngsters who had overpowered the crusader forces as soldiers. The number of these youngsters reaches the hundreds and they have been spread in the different counties of Afghanistan. These youngsters have succeeded, with the kindness of the raised God, in filling the hearts of the enemy with fear from everything and in every place, and for that, the enemy saw him (Dadullah) as the master of the suicides and named him as the martyr Zarqawi, the master of the suicides in Iraq.”

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Surprisingly Candid Answers From the Muslim Brotherhood

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Officials at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) offer swift and vehement denials when anyone publicly links them to the Muslim Brotherhood, an international movement that seeks the spread of Shariah, or Islamic law, throughout the world.

This week, someone has made that connection again. And CAIR's reaction will be interesting to watch. The source this time? Mohammed Habib, the second-in-command of the Muslim Brotherhood. In an interview published by Pajamas Media, the Brotherood's Deputy Supreme Guide acknowledges the connection between his organization and CAIR.

Habib spoke candidly about the Brotherhood's relationship with affiliates - or, "Muslim Brotherhood entities," as he termed them - outside of Egypt.

For the full story, please visit the IPT's website.

August 27, 2008 11:02 AM Link

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By Jon Hemming - Analysis

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban were very clear about their strategy this year, declaring it for all to see on their Web site in March; more suicide bombs, isolating Kabul and hitting troop supply lines. So far they have not disappointed.

Given the firepower behind 70,000 foreign troops and 130,000 Afghan forces, long-haired bands of Taliban militants cannot be expected on the streets of the capital anytime soon. But the Taliban do not have to win, only wait for their enemies to lose.

"For besieging the Afghan and foreign forces in Kabul, we have begun the initial work on the main roads leading to Kabul from four directions," senior Taliban leader Mullah Brother said in an interview posted on the militant Web site.

Three of the four main roads out of Kabul are no longer safe for government employees, aid workers and foreigners to travel.

The Taliban even declared they would launch large attacks in the area where 10 French troops were killed last week after one French general admitted "we were guilty of overconfidence".

SOURCE:

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Human Terrain Team (HTT). Great read...in operation/action.G

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Russia successfully tests ICBM designed to beat anti-missile systems

August 28, 2008, 3:19 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russia's Topol RS-12M (SS-25 Sickle)

Reporting this Thurs. Aug. 28, Alexander Vovk, spokesman for Russia’s strategic nuclear forces said the Topol RS-12M was tested to “develop equipment for potential combat and use against ground-based missiles.”

Earlier this week, amid the crisis over Georgia, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned of a military response to the US missile shield to be installed in Europe.

The ICBM test follows Russia’s warning to NATO against sending more ships to the Black Sea and caution to Moldava to watch its step.
More...

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Hizballah high-up falls to his death at rocket pad on Israeli border

DEBKAfile Special Report

August 27, 2008, 12:47 PM (GMT+02:00)

A Hizballah bunker close to Israeli border

The geography of the accident Tuesday, Aug. 26, belied the reiterated claims of Israeli ministers and UN officials that Hizballah’s rockets had been pushed back from the Lebanese-Israeli border under the terms of the Resolution 1701 ceasefire. The Hizballah operative was discussing with his men how far inside Israeli territory the rockets installed at launch pads on the Israeli border could reach. In Jerusalem, Israeli ministers discussed measures for protecting the civilian population "by legislation."
More...

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Fringe 'Space Marines' Idea Gets First Official Meeting

By David Axe

Seven years ago in the Pentagon cafeteria, two sci-fi-loving Marines shared a vision: to build a Space Shuttle-like "spaceplane" that could "to instantaneously deliver Marine squads anywhere on Earth." The two Marines, Roosevelt Lafontant and Franz Gayl, and their mildly crazy idea were the subjects of my Popular Science cover story from last year. "The whole idea still rings of science fiction, and the question is whether its proponents can corral the various technologies together to make the project possible," I wrote.

But now the so-called Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion, or Sustain, has taken a step towards reality. Joe Rouge, director of the National Security Space Office, has scheduled the first official meeting to define Sustain's Concept of Operations:

SOURCE:

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Senior Special Groups leader captured at Baghdad airport

August 27, 2008 5:24 PM ET
By Bill Roggio

The unnamed leader has traveled to Iran and Lebanon to consult with Iranian agents and Hezbollah. He was also behind the June 24 bombing attack at the Sadr City District Advisory Council meeting that killed two US soldiers, two members of the US State Department, and six Iraqis.

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