Weekly Address: The Fight Against Al Qaeda

THE WHITE HOUSE

January 2nd , 2010

President Obama discusses the recent attempted act of terrorism on the Christmas day flight to Detroit, and his broader strategy to fight Al Qaeda.

Source: The White House

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This website shows the link about The Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor

Al-Qaeda is an Islamist group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989/early 1990. One of these was formed by Osama bin Laden with an initial meeting held on August 11, 1988. Al-Qaeda (Tanzim Qa`idat al-Jihad) is an Islamic group for global jihad. It has been designated as a terrorist group by most governments.

One of the Al-Qaeda's attack for the civilian and military targets in various countries which was the worst attack on September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. in 2001 which led by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri although it could not had happened worst behavior if the following note was the truth....

The wikipedia document is written: the notes of a meeting of bin Laden and others on August 20, 1988 shows different and it is complete different behavior "its goal is to lift the word of God, to make His religion victorious.' A list of requirements for membership itemized the following: listening ability, good manners, obedience and making a pledge (bayat) to follow one's superiors." The Al-Qaeda was a formal group: 'basically an organized Islamic faction.

Wikipedia document shows they are still in active in globally. The US government responded by launching the War on Terrorism. Between 3,000 and 4,000 members of the network have been captured, and many thousands more killed on the front in Afghanistan and the report shows that As of 2009, no more than two hundred to three hundred members are still active commanders.

The report shows that Al-Qaeda has carried out a total of six major terrorist attacks, four of them in its jihad against America. In each case the leadership planned the attack years in advance, arranging for the shipment of weapons and explosives and using its privatized businesses to provide operatives with safehouses and false identities.

The recent latest incident.

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009	Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian man, arrived at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. He has purchased his $2,831 Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit round-trip ticket with cash eight days earlier at the KLM office in Accra, Ghana, with a January 8, 2010, return date. He left Lagos that evening at 11 pm aboard KLM Flight 588, a Boeing 777 bound for Schiphol Airport (AMS) in Amsterdam.
Christmas Day, December 25, 2009.	Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was a flight from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Metro Airport in Detroit, Michigan, that was targeted in a failed al-Qaeda bombing attempt on Christmas Day, December 25, 2009. The incident occurred as the plane was on its final descent, 20 minutes from landing and with 290 people on board. After the attempt failed, the plane landed in Detroit without any fatalities. The airplane was a Delta Air Lines liveried (Northwest Airlines operated) Airbus A330-323E.
In Amsterdam	Report shows that he may have been able to check in without a passport with the help of an unknown "well dressed" man, who reportedly asked airline employees at Schiphol if Abdulmutallab could board Flight 253 without a passport, suggesting that Abdulmutallab was a "refugee from Sudan." This claim is disputed by Dutch authorities who state that Abdulmutallab presented a valid Nigerian passport and current U.S. visa. He left Amsterdam around 8:45 am local time on a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 twinjet, with 279 passengers, 8 flight attendants, and 3 pilots aboard. The plane was scheduled to arrive in Detroit at 11:40 am EST, and was painted in Delta Air Lines' livery, as Northwest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta.
Witnesses report	As the plane approached Detroit, a passenger, later identified as Abdulmutallab, went into the plane's bathroom for about 20 minutes. After returning to his seat at 19A (near the fuel tanks and wing, and against the skin of the plane), he complained that he had an upset stomach.He was then seen pulling a blanket over himself.
Witnesses report	About 20 minutes before the plane landed, while flying over Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada, he secretly ignited a small explosive device consisting of a mix of plastic explosive powder and liquid acid. He apparently had a packet of the plastic explosive sewn to his underwear, and used a syringe containing the liquid acid to cause a chemical reaction. Though there appears to have been an explosion, and the lower part of his body caught on fire, the device failed to detonate properly.Passengers heard popping noises resembling firecrackers, smelled an odor, and saw the suspect's trouser leg and the wall of the plane on fire. A passenger said: "there was smoke and screaming and flames. It was scary."
Witnesses report	While there were no air marshals on the flight, several passengers and crew noticed the attack. One of the passengers, who later identified himself as Jasper Schuringa from the Netherlands, ran forward and tackled and overpowered the suspect. Schuringa saw the suspect's trousers were open, and that he was holding a burning object between his legs. "pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away," said Schuringa, who suffered burns to his hands. Meanwhile, flight attendants extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and blankets, and a passenger removed the partially melted, smoking syringe from the suspect's hand"
Witnesses report	Schuringa grabbed the suspect, and pulled him to the front of the plane. A passenger reported that the suspect, though burned "quite severely" on his leg, seemed "very calm," and like a "normal individual." Schuringa stripped off the suspect's clothes to check for other explosives, and a crew member helped handcuff the suspect. "He was staring into nothing," Schuringa said. Passengers applauded as Schuringa walked back to his seat."
Explosive device	The suspect was isolated from other passengers until after the plane landed. A flight attendant asked the suspect what he had in his pocket, and the suspect replied: "Explosive device."""
The incident was initially declared an in-flight emergency	When the attack triggered a fire indicator light within the cockpit, the pilot requested rescue and law enforcement. The incident was initially declared an in-flight emergency, before being deemed an attempted terrorist attack by the White House. The plane made an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the Downriver Detroit community of Romulus, Michigan, just before 1 pm local time. The airport is about 20 miles southwest of Detroit and the adjacent international border."
The crew members decided to land in Detroit	Nick Rapagna, the secretary treasurer of the Canadian division of the Airline Pilots Association, said that the crew members decided to land in Detroit because the aircraft was in the process of descending for a landing in Detroit, where a Northwest crew base and Northwest infrastructure were located. Kevin Psutka, president of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, opined that many airports in southern Ontario would have had difficulty accepting an aircraft the size of the Airbus A330, and that if the plane had landed in Canada, the crew would have had to go to "Toronto or maybe London, Ontario."
Suspect and One other passenger: in University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor	While the plane itself suffered relatively little damage, the suspect suffered third-degree burns and two other passengers were injured. When the plane landed, the suspect was handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, and taken into custody for questioning and treatment of his injuries in a secured room of the burn unit of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Schuringa was also taken to the hospital. One other passenger incurred minor injuries."
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived	Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived at the airport after the plane landed. The aircraft was moved to a remote area so authorities could re-screen the plane, the passengers, and the baggage on-board. A bomb-defusing robot was first used to board the plane, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) interviewed all passengers. Another passenger from the flight was temporarily placed in handcuffs, searched, and released after a dog alerted officers to his carry-on luggage"

The suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is the youngest of 16 children of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab; one of the richest men in Africa—and the prominent former Nigerian Federal Commissioner for Economic Development, and Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria. His mother, who is from Yemen, is the second of his father's two wives. Abdulmutallab was raised initially in Kaduna, in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north

His father made a report to the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 19 regarding his son's "extreme religious views", and told the embassy that Abdulmutallab might be in Yemen. Acting on the report, the suspect's name was added in November 2009 to the US's 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. It was not added, however, to the FBI's 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list and the US's 4,000-name No Fly List. Abdulmutallab's name had come to the attention of intelligence officials many months before that, but no "derogatory information" was recorded about him. A Congressional official said that Abdulmutallab's name appeared in US reports reflecting that he had connections to both al-Qaeda and Yemen.

Two days after the attack, Abdulmutallab was released from the hospital in which he had been treated for burns sustained during the attempted bombing.

Alleged Christmas Day terrorist, 23 years old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to be charged on January 8th, 2009 and he is in Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, a federal prison in Milan, Michigan.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Released Statement on Jihadist Website Claiming Responsibility for Attempted Christmas Day Terrorist Attack.

Here are the part of the statements from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Released Statement on Jihadist Website:

"The unity of Islamic belief and fraternity is what propelled the rich youth of Nigerian origin, the mujahid brother Omar Al-Farooq, to respond directly to the oppressive American attack on the Arabian peninsula, in direct coordination with Allah's grace with the mujahideen in the Arabian peninsula, following the savage bombing using cluster bombs and cruise missiles that was launched from American ships that occupy the Gulf of Aden. All of this was launched on the noble Yemenite tribes in Abyan and Arhab, and finally in Shabwa, [in an attack] that killed scores of Muslim women and children, and families in their entirety. These operations were carried out through Yemenite-American-Saudi coordination, together with some of the neighboring countries.

"The mujahideen brothers in the department of producing weapons managed to produce, with Allah's grace, an explosive device of advanced technological [capabilities], which was tested and proven to be successful and effective, and it was passed through the [airport's] security screening equipment. The martyrdom seeker brother reached his goal, with Allah's grace, but due to Allah's will a malfunction happened which caused only a partial detonation rather than a full one. And we will continue in this path, Allah willing, until we reach our goal so that religion is all Allah's."

CBS: Revisiting the hidden body-bomb due to the Christmas thong bomber. I have watched this a few times and can't quite decide what to make of it, but thought it worth posting anyway.

Sources:

White House

Wikipedia

IsraelMilitary.net

The Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor

Yahoo

CBS

catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, January 2nd, Rev. Jan. 3rd, 2010

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 28 , 2009

Statement by the President on the Attempted Attack on
Christmas Day and Recent Violence in Iran

10:01 A.M. HAST

THE PRESIDENT: Hey, guys. Good morning, everybody. I just want to take a few minutes to update the American people on the attempted terrorist attack that occurred on Christmas Day and the steps we're taking to ensure the safety and security of the country.

The investigation is ongoing and I spoke again this morning with Attorney General Eric Holder, the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and my Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan. I asked them to keep -- continue monitoring the situation, to keep the American people and members of Congress informed.

Here's what we know so far. On Christmas Day, Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was en route from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit. As the plane made its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body, setting off a fire.

Thanks to the quick and heroic actions of passengers and crew, the suspect was immediately subdued, the fire was put out, and the plane landed safely. The suspect is now in custody and had been charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft. And a full investigation has been launched into this attempted act of terrorism and we will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable.

This was a serious reminder of the dangers that we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland. Had the suspect succeeded in bringing down that plane it could have killed nearly 300 passengers and crew, innocent civilians preparing to celebrate the holidays with their families and friends.

The American people should be assured that we are doing everything in our power to keep you and your families safe and secure during this busy holiday season. Since I was first notified of this incident I've ordered the following actions to be taken to protect the American people and to secure air travel.

First, I directed that we take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the traveling public. We made sure that all flights still in the air were secure and could land safely. We immediately enhanced screening and security procedures for all flights, domestic and international. We added federal air marshals to flights entering and leaving the United States. And we're working closely in this country -- federal, state and local law enforcement -- with our international partners.

Second, I've ordered two important reviews because it's absolutely critical that we learn from this incident and take the necessary measures to prevent future acts of terrorism. The first review involves our watch list system, which our government has had in place for many years to identify known and suspected terrorists so that we can prevent their entry into the United States.

Apparently the suspect in the Christmas incident was in the system, but not on a watch list such as the so-called no-fly list. So I've ordered a thorough review not only of how information related to the subject was handled, but of the overall watch list system and how it can be strengthened.

The second review will examine all screening policies, technologies and procedures related to air travel. We need to determine just how the suspect was able to bring dangerous explosives aboard an aircraft and what additional steps we can take to thwart future attacks.

Third, I've directed my national security team to keep up the pressure on those who would attack our country. We do not yet have all the answers about this latest attempt, but those who would slaughter innocent men, women and children must know that the United States will do more than simply strengthen our defenses -- we will continue to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle, and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us -- whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia, or anywhere where they are plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland.

Finally, the American people should remain vigilant, but also be confident. Those plotting against us seek not only to undermine our security, but also the open society and the values that we cherish as Americans. This incident, like several that have preceded it demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more resilient than an isolated extremist. As a nation we will do everything in our power to protect our country, as Americans we will never give in to fear or division, we will be guided by our hopes, our unity, and our deeply held values. That's who we are as Americans. And that's what our brave men and women in uniform are standing up for as they spend the holidays in harm's way, and we will continue to do everything that we can to keep America safe in the New Year and beyond.

Before I leave let also briefly address the events that have taken place over the last few days in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States joins with the international community in strongly condemning the violent and unjust suppression of innocent Iranian citizens, which has apparently resulted in detentions, injuries and even death.

For months the Iranian people have sought nothing more than to exercise their universal rights. Each time they have done so they have been met with the iron fist of brutality, even on solemn occasions and holy days. And each time that has happened the world has watched with deep admiration for the courage and the conviction of the Iranian people, who are a part of Iran's great and enduring civilization.

What's taking place within Iran is not about the United States or any other country -- it's about the Iranian people and their aspirations for justice and a better life for themselves. And the decision of Iran's leaders to govern through fear and tyranny will not succeed in making those aspirations go away. As I said in Oslo, it's telling when governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation.

Along with all free nations the United States stands with those who seek their universal rights. We call upon the Iranian government to abide by the international obligations that it has to respect the rights of its own people. We call for the immediate release of all who have been unjustly detained within Iran. We will continue to bear witness to the extraordinary events that are taking place there. And I'm confident that history will be on the side of those who seek justice.

Thank you very much, everybody, and Happy New Year.

END

10:07 A.M.HAST

Source: The White House.

Alleged Christmas Day terrorist,
23 years old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,
to be charged on January 8th, 2009

passenger terrorist ignited explosive Bomb in a terror terrorist attack on Christmas 2009	Delta Airlines Attempted Al Qaeda Terrorist Attack - Detroit from Amsterdam Bombing/ Explosives

A court hearing scheduled for Monday in which prosecutors were seeking to obtain permission to get DNA samples from Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound passenger jet, has been canceled.

Abdulmutallab is next scheduled to appear in the U.S. District Court in Detroit for a detention hearing on Jan. 8, 2010.

According to the New York Post, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab traveled with a valid U.S. visa although he was on a broad U.S. list of possible security threats, was overpowered by passengers and crew on the Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25th, 2009 after setting alight an explosive device attached to his body. He was treated for burns and is in federal prison awaiting trial in the incident. He set off a firecracker on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers..

Per CNN, Suspect identified: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab U.S. authorities believe an incident involving a small explosion aboard a Delta-Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit on Friday was an attempted act of terrorism, a White House official said.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports that the Northwest Airlines terror suspect has been identified as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Delta Airlines Attempted Terrorist Attack - Bombing suspect - Intento de atentado en U.S.A.

Explosive device set off in Airplane Intento de atentado en U.S.A. (E) Delta Airlines - Nieudany zamach terrorystyczny (PL) A passenger on a flight Friday from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, ignited a small explosive device shortly before landing and the White House is considering the incident an attempted terrorist attack, a senior administration official said. .

The Northwest passenger, identified as a Nigerian national "claiming to have extremist affiliation," was placed in custody and is being treated for burns suffered in the explosion, according to a federal government bulletin obtained by CNN from a source familiar with the investigation.

The explosive device "was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used," the bulletin said.

The FBI is investigating, bureau spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.

Airline officials described the explosives as resembling firecrackers. The Northwest Airlines flight, operated by Delta, was flying from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. It made a safe landing and all 278 passengers were vacated to safety.

The alleged assailant was taken into custody by US authorities, who said he had confessed to attempting to carry out a terrorist attack on behalf of al-Qaeda. One senior US official described the suspect as a 23-year-old Nigerian.

President Obama orders tighter security.

He has allegedly told investigators that he acquired the explosive in Yemen, along with instructions on how to use them.

Dutch officials said the man was not a resident or a national of the Netherlands, and boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 after arriving on a connecting flight.

The White House said President Barack Obama, who is currently on holidays, convened a conference call with his national security team and ordered tighter security for air travel.

He has told US authorities he was part of a network of plotters set to kill thousands in attacks on jets in the West and warned: "There are more like me".

The Sun told yesterday how 25 British Muslims are in terror instruction camps in Yemen. They are expected back in the UK early in the New Year - to await orders on carrying out attacks for al-Qaeda.

Speaking of the terrors, per VOAnews, dated 23rd, December, news report stated that India Says At Least 12 Possible Terror Attacks Thwarted in 2009. India's home minister has revealed that at least a dozen potential terror strikes on the country were thwarted this year. But he says, as part of a sweeping restructuring of India's intelligence apparatus, his own ministry needs to be split.

Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said "12 or 13 potential terrorist attacks" have been foiled in 2009. And, that any one of them could have led to a repeat of last November's siege of Mumbai, blamed on Pakistani militants, in which more than 160 people died.

"It could have become one," Chidambaram said. "But we were able to neutralize it and thwart it. But, as I've said, we have to be lucky every time. And, so, let's put it to both luck and better intelligence and better intelligence sharing and better coordination."

But the home minister says India still has a long way to go to improve such coordination, noting that different agencies still cannot share critical information in their respective data bases. He also is stressing that a single agency needs to be the coordinator and that such an entity, the National Counter-Terrorism Center, should be in place by the end of 2010. He is calling for the center to have sweeping powers to respond to terror attacks.

During a lecture on intelligence matters Wednesday, Chidambaram said the United States established such a center within 36 months of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The home minister says "India cannot afford to wait" that long.

"The home minister should devote the whole of his or her time and energy to matters relating to security," Chidambaram said.

At present, the Ministry of Home Affairs has a sweeping mandate, in addition to internal security. This include relations between the states and the central government, overseeing the police and legislative aspects of laws, handling human rights, issuing visas to foreigners, supervising the country's international borders and disaster management.

On October 28th, 2009, the White House For Immediate Release shows that President Obama Signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

President Obama accelerated or increased weapons programs needed to confront real and growing threats -- the Joint Strike Fighter, the Littoral Combat Ship, and more helicopters and reconnaissance support for the troops at the front.

Today, December 28th, 2009, President Obama expressed that The investigation is ongoing and he spoke again this morning with Attorney General Eric Holder, the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and his Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan. he asked them to keep -- continue monitoring the situation, to keep the American people and members of Congress informed.

President Obama appreciated to the quick and heroic actions of passengers and crew, the suspect was immediately subdued, the fire was put out, and the plane landed safely. The suspect is now in custody and had been charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft. President Obama orders tighter security and security protection to be expending and continued......See more detail in above.

Sources:

White House

VOA News: .

White House

CNN

Youtube

TheSun

catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, December 28th, 2009