24 Sep 2001: WAR ON TERROR-2001; What We Expect in The Coming "War on Terrorism" (Includes numerous related references)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release October 1, 2001

FACT SHEET

Campaign Against Terrorism Results; Period Covered: September 14-30, 2001

Department of State

* Russia offered to share information and the use of their airspace for humanitarian flights.
* China offered to share information. * India offered to share information and pledged support of U.S. actions.
* Japan offered diplomatic and military (logistical) support, and assistance to Pakistan.
* Australia offered combat military forces and invoked Article IV of the ANZUS Treaty, declaring September 11 an attack on Australia. * South Korea offered military medical and air and naval logistics support.
* United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic relations with the Taliban.
* Pakistan agreed to cooperate fully with the request for assistance and support.
* Secured over-flight and landing rights from 27 countries.
* Obtained 46 multilateral declarations of support.
* 19 nations of NATO invoked Article V declaring an attack on one as an attack on all.
* The United Nations Security Council unanimously enacted a binding resolution requiring all member states to pursue terrorists and those who support them, including financial support systems.

Department of the Treasury

* Adoption of Terrorist Financing Executive Order.
* Froze approximately 30 al-Qaeda accounts in the U.S. and almost 20 overseas.
* Put 27 names on the Terrorist Financing list. * Reviewing additional persons and entities for possible inclusion on the Terrorist Financing list.
* Froze approximately $6 million linked to terrorists.

Department of Defense

* Approximately 29,000 military personnel, 349 military aircraft, 1 Amphibious Ready Group, and 2 Carrier Battle Groups currently deployed in Theater.
* Approximately 17,000 members of the Reserve have been called to active duty, as well as several thousand National Guard operating under State authority.

Department of Justice

* Analyzed 241 serious/credible threats.

Order Your Copy Today! Usama Bin Laden & Al-Qaeda -- Compendium of Reports by the EmergencyNet News Service, with analysis by the Emergency Response  & Research Institute (ERRI) February 1997 to December 2000 (Softcover, 110 pages,  Last Revised and Updated January 2001) ONLY $39.95 & $4.50 shipping and handling Go now to our on-line order facility and make your purchase with your credit card and our secure ERRI Super Store...uses a SSL secure server to immediately process your order.

* Conducted 540 interviews.
* Conducted 383 searches.
* Issued 4,407 subpoenas.
* Arrested/Detained 439 persons.
* Approximately 30-plus countries offered support in criminal investigations.

Intelligence

* Over 100 countries have offered increased intelligence support.
* Approximately 150 arrests and detentions of terrorists and suspected supporters of terrorism in over 25 countries.
* Intensified counterterrorist operations with over 200 intelligence and security services worldwide.

October 1, 2001 16:00 Eastern

From: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND

TERRORIST ATTACKS:
NEW YORK CITY, NY: WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS
ARLINGTON VA: THE PENTAGON - AIRPLANE CRASH
SOMERSET COUNTY, PA: AIRPLANE CRASH

SITUATION REPORT #23

BACKGROUND

At approximately 0845 hours Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, September 11,  a commercial airplane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center  complex in New York City. Initially, the severity of the incident, the  numbers of people involved, and the reason for the crash were all unknown.  Shortly after 0900 hours, a second plane hit the south tower of the World  Trade Center. Around 1000 hours, reports came in that another commercial  plane hit the Pentagon, in Washington, DC, and a fourth commercial plane was  downed in Somerset County, PA, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The  south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed followed within thirty  minutes by the north tower. Reports indicated that at approximately 1730  hours a third tower in the World Trade Center complex, Building #7, also  collapsed. Wednesday evening, September 12, another building within the  World Trade Center Complex collapsed. Additional casualties were not  expected due to this. However, it may make recovery more difficult. In New  York City the Department of Health determined that no hospitals sustained  damage.

TOTAL HHS PERSONNEL

TOTAL PERSONNEL

Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Rockville, MD 20

New York City 594

FEMA Response Headquarters: Washington, DC 11
FBI Command: Washington, DC 2
Regional Operations Centers (I, II, III, IV): Various 9

TOTAL 636

New York City

PERSONNEL: NEW YORK CITY

Management Support Team (MST): Sheraton Hotel 49
DMAT: TOTAL 172
DMAT: Four Clinics 102
DMAT: Management and Support 40|
DMAT: Staging 30
Presbyterian Hospital Burn Center 14
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)- Epidemiologists 40
CDC, Other 16
Veterinary Medical Assistance Team (VMAT) 14
DMORT: TOTAL 260
DMORT: New York City Medical Examiners Office (NYCME) 146
DMORT: Management & Marriott 9
DMORT: Family Assistance Center (United and American Airlines Site) 1
DMORT: FAC (Pier 94) 5
DMORT: Ground Zero 15
DMORT: Landfill 6
DMORT: Processing Data Information - Pier 92 56
Disaster Portable Morgue Unit (DPMU) Staff 6
Disaster Portable Morgue Unit (DPMU) DMORT West Reception Area 16
DMORT: Staging N/A
CCRF Mental Health 7
Mental Health 9
Pharmacists Staging 2
Specialty: CCRF Forensic Dentists 6
Department of Veterans' Affairs: Various Other Assistance and Support 5

 TOTAL 594

 Clinical Data (Past 24 hours / Total)

 Human Patients Treated 161 / 5,735

 Animal Patients Treated by VMAT for acute symptoms 14 / 893

 Recovered Remains as reported by the State of New York: 0800 hours,  September 29

 Remains 4,735

 Identified 214

The Management Support Team (MST) established in New York City is located at  a hotel at 7th Avenue and 52nd Street. There continues to be daily-in and  out-processing of personnel. The next rotation of DMAT teams is in process.

Inter-Departmental Cooperation

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Emergency  Preparedness (OEP), continues to work in cooperation with their partners in  the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). The Department of Veterans'  Affairs (VA) is providing support to the city through its New York City VA  health care facilities as well as through Emergency Support Function (ESF)  #8, Health and Medical Services, of the Federal Response Plan.

Under the Federal Response Plan, through ESF # 8, VA has deployed 2 burn  nurses to the Cornell University Medical Center Burn Unit; a radiology technician to the scene of the plane crash in Western Pennsylvania; and an emergency manager to the USPHS/EOC. Two emergency managers are on duty at the ESF 8 Management Support Team (MST) in NYC. A clinical psychologist at  the Oklahoma City VAMC was requested by the American Red Cross National  Headquarters to travel to Washington, DC and provide consultation on CISM.

 In the aftermath of the attack, the VA Manhattan received and treated a  total of 76 victims with an additional 17 treated at the VAMC Brooklyn,  three at the VAMC in the Bronx and two at the Northport VAMC for a total of  98. VA received two additional mission assignments from the HHS/United  State Public Health Service (USPHS), lead agent for ESF # 8 (Health and  Medical Services) for the Federal Response Plan (FRP). One stress counselor  is assisting the deployed mental health teams to provide support to federal  workers in New York City (NYC).

 Five (5) VA emergency managers began working with the Management Support  Team (MST) in NYC on Monday, October 1, 2001. The Federal Emergency  Management Agency (FEMA) provides leadership in all aspects of the rescue  mission and liaison officers. The Department of Defense deployed the USNS  Comfort to New York City. The 250-bed USNS Comfort arrived at Pier 92 on  September 14 and departed on October 1, 2001. It was used as a rest  facility for responders and served hundreds of rescue personnel daily.

DoD  provided liaison officers to several federal entities agencies and  departments.

 Epidemiologists

The epidemiologists from CDC were deployed by request of Secretary Thompson and are assisting the New York City Department of Health, to determine any  patterns of later developing ailments caused by the terrorist attacks. They are taking daily data analyses at New York City hospitals. Over 35,000 medical charts have been reviewed. Staffing levels and schedules will be developed to accommodate the times of greatest need in the hospitals.  Ongoing surveillance both in New York City and Washington, DC, has not  indicated any anomalies to date.

Most of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams have been deactivated by  the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Currently only one USAR  team remains in New York City. DMAT and DMORT will assess how that decision  impacts on their missions in New York City over the coming days.

DMAT

There are currently four operating clinics all within two blocks of the  World Trade Center (WTC) site. They are operational in the four sectors  around ground zero.  DMAT rotations are progressing according to schedule.

Fourteen burn nurses are deployed to provide staffing relief for critical patients at the NY Presbyterian Hospital Burn Center. A plan for  demobilization of the nurses at the end of the mission is being developed.  The demobilization is expected to occur on October 14.

 According to the New York State Department of Health sufficient quantities of vaccines are available and air and water quality have been tested and  meet or surpass existing standards.

DMORT

 DMORT personnel are on duty at the World Trade Center site, the City Medical Examiner's Office, the United Airlines and American Airlines Family  Assistance Center (FAC), and the FAC at Pier 94 and the Staten Island  Landfill. DMORT-FAC personnel are currently conducting family interviews,  collecting records, and performing other administrative duties.

 DMORT personnel are in the process of expanding the site at the Landfill on  Staten Island. Much of the material from the World Trade Center site is being shipped there. DMORT personnel are on site to review the wreckage being brought to the site.

DMORT personnel are providing 24-hour support to the city Medical Examiner.  Their duties include: data entry, morgue activities, photo/scanning, supervisors, and liaison officers. Operations in the Medical Examiner's  Office will increase as the recovery continues.

 USNS Comfort

 The 250-bed USNS Comfort left for their homeport on October 1, 2001.

 VMAT

Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams are operating veterinary clinics in New York City. They are caring for the search dogs assisting with the search and recovery mission. They are also providing care for the federal search  and recovery dogs and to non-federal search dogs on site. VMAT personnel at  Staten Island have been reassigned temporarily until after a meeting with  the New York City Office of Emergency Management on the status of resuming that operation.

NMRT-E

The National Medical Response Team-Weapons of Mass Destruction- EAST (NMRT-E) is a specialized response force sponsored by the U.S. Public Health  Service that is designed to provide medical care following a nuclear,  biological, and/or chemical incident. They are specially trained to work  towards decontamination of sites, and can provide medical care in contaminated areas if needed. As of September 17, NMRT-E, in New York City,  was deactivated and returned to North Carolina.

Mental Health

Ten Federal mental health personnel are on site serving the mental health  needs of federal responders (SAMHSA, CCRF, and VA personnel). Mental Health Assistance Team (MHAT) personnel have established a plan to rotate in new  personnel and demobilize existing personnel. Mental health needs will be continually assessed throughout the deployment.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) personnel are currently coordinating operations at four sites for mental health counseling. They continue to provide mental health care to many of the responders every day. Mental health personnel also provide an orientation as well as debriefing for DMAT and DMORT members arriving and department New > York City. Over the past 24 hours 70 mental health contacts were made, bringing the mission total to 2,553 contacts.

PENNSYLVANIA

 There has been no change since SITREP #19.

As of September 26, the DMORT operation in Somerset County, Pennsylvania,  has been completed. Most DMORT personnel have returned home, some have been redeployed to New York City as needed. Prior to closing operations, a 100% record audit was completed. Victim DNA is being processed to confirm identities.

THE PENTAGON

 There has been no change since SITREP #19

Immediately following the incident, the NMRT-DC was deployed to the Pentagon to assist with the recovery mission. The 36-member NMRT was assisting with washing-down workers returning from the site. They were working 2-12 hour shifts of 18 people, washing down approximately between 800-1,000 workers every 24 hours. In addition, NMRT washed down equipment and dogs leaving the site. The NMRT-DC and MST were demobilized on September 26, 2001.

29 Sep 2001

SPECIAL OPERATIONS-AFGHANISTAN

Al-Jazeera TV Stands by Its Story That "US Special Forces" Were Captured

DOHA -- Even though the Taliban themselves deny the story, Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV stood by its report on Saturday that three members of the US "special forces" had been captured in western Afghanistan. Al-Jazeera's correspondent in the Pakistani border city of Peshawar, Ahmad Zaidan, said in a live broadcast that "three members of the US 'special forces' and two Afghans holding US citizenship were captured by the Al-Qaeda organization in Helman, near the border with Iran." The correspondent attributed his information to "unimpeachable sources." He said "the sources, citing a military official in Al-Qaeda, called Al-Jazeera's office in Peshawar to announce the capture.

"The alleged Bin Laden associate told the Agence France-Presse that five men, who were on a reconnaissance mission, were in possession of sophisticated weapons and maps of locations of the Al-Qaeda organization" of Osama bin Laden.

The correspondent said pictures of the detainees would be published "soon," adding that the two Afghans holding American citizenship had "trained with US 'special forces'." The Taliban, who control most of Afghanistan, have denied the report through their official news agency. Furthermore, a senior Taliban cleric expressed his disbelief that any foreign forces were even operating in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials have also refused to comment on the allegations by Al-Jazeera TV, saying that "they did not intend to respond to or dignify every report coming out of the region."

An purposefully unnamed U.S. military officer, familiar with such matters, told EmergencyNet News today that he is waiting for the publication of the Al- Jazeera pictures before he would have further comment. "I would view these reports with skepticism and believe that the Al-Qaeda and/or Al-Jazeera TV would have broadcast them around the world by now...if they had any real pictures of captured American troops," the officer said.

*****

INFRASTRUCTURE/SUPPORT FOR FIELD OPERATIONS

Pentagon Rescue Services May Have Taken A Page From Previous ERRI Technology Study

According to a report in this week's "Information Week" (pg. 13, Sep 24, 2001 - Issue #856), it would appear that Arlington County, VA rescue personnel may have (and probably unknowingly) taken a page from a report produced by the Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) in 1996.

According Jack Belcher, Arlington County CIO, rescue officials contacted a local network service provider to establish a wireless network that would allow on-site emergency personnel to access their agency databases, send/receive e-mail with other agencies and personnel, and marshal resources that were needed at the scene of the disaster.

ERRI's Clark Staten complimented Arlington County officials for their innovative approach to the disaster problem at the Pentagon and said that it appeared what was done was a "real world" demonstration of an ERRI concept that was originally called "Virtual Disaster Networks." Unfortunately, Staten said that the concept, when originally proposed, did not obtain the necessary funding for additional development. The preliminary "lessons-learned" in Arlington County would suggest that the concept could still provide useful in future terrorist/disaster events, Staten added.  ERRI Reference: http://www.emergency.com/vdstrnet.htm

28 Sep 2001

Chemical Safety Advisory

1. As a precaution during this heightened state of alert, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suggests that those who manufacture, distribute, transport or store hazardous chemicals should be especially vigilant regarding the physical security of those chemicals. Toward that end, EPA recommends that you review EPA's Chemical Safety Alert entitled: "Chemical Accident Prevention: Site Security," published by EPA on February 2000 and available on the EPA website at: http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/pubs/secale.pdf. (requires Adobe .pdf readers)

2. In addition to this advisory, DOT has produced a separate advisory for transporters, available by contacting DOT at (202) 366-6525. The FBI requests that you expeditiously report any threats or suspicious behavior to your local FBI field office. If you have questions regarding this advisory or EPA's Chemical Safety Alert, please contact George Hull of EPA's Office of Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention at (202) 564-9469.

Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) may experience increased interest from members of their communities regarding the physical security of local chemical facilities. In order to better respond to inquiries, LEPC members may also wish to review EPA's Chemical Safety Alert on site security, referenced above. LEPCs may wish to discuss inquiries regarding a specific facility with the facility's emergency coordinator.

PETROLEUM/CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SECURITY

Chemical Facility Vulnerability Assessment Project

Sandia National Laboratories, under the direction of the Office of Science and Technology, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is conducting the Chemical Facility Vulnerability Assessment (CFVA) project. This project is in response to the FY2001 Appropriations Bill, signed December 2000, which references Public Law 106-40 (Chemical Safety Information, Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act, August 1999). NIJ is to develop, test and validate a prototype VA Methodology (VAM) for assessing the security of chemical facilities (CF) against terrorist and criminal attacks.

NIJ is to report to Congress, by December 21, 2001 on the findings derived from the development of the VAM. A CFVA project web site has been developed with the primary purpose of providing a means for the public and other stakeholders to provide input on this effort. For more information and to provide comments, please contact the CFVA web page. The CFVA website is linked from the Center for Civil Force Protection website http://www.nlectc.org/ccfp, or you can also access it directly at http://www.nlectc.org/ccfp/cfva.html

Issued by ERRI on 26 Sep 2001 to affected clients:

Analysts Issue Advisory Concerning Petroleum, Chemical, Bio-Technology Facilities and Transportation

ERRI emergency/security analysts are recommending greater than normal security measures for all petroleum, chemical, and biotechnology facilities at this time. Given an increasing amount of information concerning a possible terrorist intent to undertake a chemical or biological attack within the United States, it is suggested that additional security awareness, assessment, and preparedness is warranted now. Perimeter security for tanks containing toxic products and greater security for hazardous materials in transit should be given additional attention at this time. It is also recommended that tankers carrying poisonous/combustible/reactive chemicals not be left unattended or outside secured areas while in-transit. It is recommended that hazardous materials shippers, manufacturers, and storage facilities should contact their local police or the FBI in the event of suspicious activity regarding hazardous material facilities or transportation.

Public Information, posted 27 Sep 2001:

Guidance For Citizens: What Can You Do To Prepare For Terrorism?

Public Information -- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) FACT SHEET ON TERRORISM

September 27, 2001: Latest Release by the FBI on the PENTBOMB Case, to include pictures of the alleged hijackers: http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/penttbom/penttbomb.htm

Excerpted from: EmergencyNet News DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Tuesday, September 25, 2001-0730 EDT

MORNING NEWS BRIEFS:

SAUDI ARABIA ... Saying Taliban leaders were defaming Islam by harboring and supporting terrorists, Saudi Arabia cut all ties with Afghanistan's Taliban movement on Tuesday. The move by one of the most influential nations in the Islamic world leaves Pakistan as the only country to maintain diplomatic relations with the Taliban, and hands the United States a major success in its bid to isolate the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia over their refusal to surrender Usama bin Laden.

WASHINGTON ... While federal prosecutors build a criminal case involving identification cards for five of the now- dead hijackers, The FBI is seeking nearly 400 people for questioning in the terrorist attacks probe. One man has been charged. As the investigation proceeded on several fronts on Monday, a Florida bank president said he had been told that one of the men suspected in the 11 Sept. hijackings of four airliners tried to get a loan from the U.S. Agriculture Department to buy a crop dusting plane.

WASHINGTON ... Investigators say that Mohamed Atta was a busy man prior to the 11 September terror attacks, checking out flight schools in Oklahoma and Florida, meeting Islamic extremists in Spain, inquiring about crop dusters in Florida, conferring with an Iraqi intelligence officer, skipping a traffic court date. The trail he left behind has made him a key figure in efforts by investigators to link the multiple attacks and trace their source.

WASHINGTON ... In a move the union says could prevent hijackings, the Air Line Pilots Association is pressing for federal legislation that would allow pilots to carry firearms in cockpits. A union spokesman said: "This is a reflection on how much the attack on September 11 has changed everything we thought about hijackings and terrorism." He said armed pilots in cockpits would be a radical step for the union, but the idea is supported overwhelmingly by its pilot members. ERRI aviation and security analysts said that there were a number of problems regarding the training of pilots to be able to use firearms, and that if they should engage in law enforcement issues, that they may be unavailable to actually fly the plane during an emergency.  

UNITED STATES:

Latest Developments In Terror Case

As the U.S. military continues to put its ships, planes and troops into position for expected military action, the Pentagon is concerned about not making too much of those strategic movements public and is to hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Afghanistan's Taliban military government, which has been threatened with U.S. military attack unless it turns over terror suspect Usama bin Laden, lost more ground today as Saudi Arabia severed all ties to the Taliban. The action leaves Pakistan as the only nation in the world with ties to the Taliban, and despite some support for the Taliban within Pakistan, the Pakistani government has made it clear it intends to back the U.S. and has been discussing military details with the U.S. Underscoring that commitment, Pakistan on Tuesday reopened its southwestern border to Afghan refugees, millions of whom are already inside Pakistan.

In a statement, the Saudis said the Taliban is defaming Islam and Muslims' reputation in the world by "continuing to use its land to harbor, arm and encourage those criminals who carry out terrorist attacks that frighten the innocent and spread horror and destruction." Responding to the Saudi announcement, the Taliban immediately repeated its threat to attack any nation that helps the U.S. in a military attack on Afghanistan.

In Washington, today's White House meeting is with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, which is reportedly planning to send warships to the Indian Ocean as early as this week, for intelligence and surveillance missions to support the war on terrorism. Also today, the former Soviet republic Kyrgyzstan announced its agreement to a U.S. request to grant air corridors for planes involved in possible military action against Afghanistan.

POTUS on Monday formally notified Congress of the deployment of combat troops and is to meet with House and Senate leaders today to discuss the details. In his letter to Congress, the President stresses that "it is not now possible to predict the scope and duration of these deployments and the actions necessary to counter the terrorist threat to the United States."

Congress is also considering a strong request from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to approve an anti-terror package. The package would expand the FBI's wiretapping authority, impose stronger penalties on those who harbor or finance terrorists, and increase penalties for convicted terrorists.

A long list of possible new airline security measures is under review by federal authorities, including banning early seat selection and carry-on baggage, extensive background checks of airport and airline employees, and new procedures to verify the identity of aviation employees.

In Pittsburgh, a Northwest Airlines passenger was arrested on Monday, after twice managing to get past security with box-cutters. The suspect says he did it to prove to his wife that flying is unsafe. If convicted, he could be sentenced to one year in prison.

Investigators say that Mohammed Atta, who the FBI says piloted the first plane to slam into the World Trade Center, reportedly went so far as to try to get a U.S. Agriculture Department loan to buy a crop-duster.

More than 350 people have so far reportedly been arrested or detained in connection with the government's fast-growing investigation. Another 392 people are sought for questioning by the FBI.

FRANCE:

French Detain Several Suspects In Plot Against U.S. Interests

Police and French media reported that anti-terrorist officers detained several people early Tuesday in connection with a planned attack on the U.S. Embassy in Paris and other U.S. interests in France. Several people were detained in Paris and nearby Suresnes in connection with a broad plot against U.S. interests in France. That plot included a planned attack on the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

Media reports said four people were detained. Seven people are already in custody in connection with the alleged plot. The seven were detained at dawn last Friday, in the Val d'Oise region north of Paris and the Essonne region to the south. The eleven people are believed to be linked to Djamel Begal, a French-Algerian who was arrested in Dubai in July. Begal informed intelligence services there about alleged plans to attack the U.S. Embassy in Paris and other U.S. targets.

KENYA:

Hunt For Bin Laden Suspects Moves Across Africa

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is bolstering its search across Africa for suspects wanted in connection with the investigation into the recent suicide attacks on New York and Washington. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa have all been given long lists of names of people believed to be linked to the prime suspect behind the attacks, master terrorist Usama Bin Laden. A list of about 200 suspects has been handed to Kenya.

United States investigators are also reported to be looking into banking transactions in Kenya's second city of Mombasa. Border controls between Kenya and its East African neighbors Tanzania and Uganda have also been tightened.

Tracking the people, the front organizations and the financial infrastructure of bin Laden's network, is an immensely complex task. Tanzanian police told The East African weekly newspaper that of 60 names given to them, none were Tanzanian citizens.

Excerpted from: EmergencyNet News DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Monday, September 24, 2001-08:45 EDT

TODAY'S NEWS BRIEFS ...

AFGHANISTAN ... As opposition forces battled Taliban troops on Monday for control of strategic regions north of Kabul, artillery and rocket fire was reported across key areas of northern Afghanistan. Fighting has escalated in northern Afghanistan as the United States prepares for military strikes against the Taliban unless they hand over Usama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the 11 September terrorist bombings in New York and Washington that killed thousands.

NEW YORK CITY ... The number of missing from the World Trade Center increased by more than 100 to 6,453 on Sunday, although city officials stressed the number is subject to change. Rescue workers did find a major part of one of the planes that hit the towers on 11 September. A 10-foot piece of jetliner fuselage was loaded onto a golf cart and taken away by federal crime-scene investigators. The flight recorders, or black boxes, of the hijacked airliners are still missing.

WASHINGTON ... As the White House prepares for military action and steps up diplomatic efforts to build an international anti- terrorist coalition, the United States is trying to choke off master terrorist Usama bin Laden's money flow. POTUS was to sign an executive order identifying terrorist groups and their operatives around the world and freezing their U.S. assets. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said the President was meeting on Monday with Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada.

UNITED STATES/PAKISTAN:

Pentagon Team In Pakistan

With Pentagon officials in Pakistan on Monday and a parade of state leaders continuing to arrive in Washington, the White House is continuing its coalition-building and plans for military action against terrorism. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien will be at the White House this morning, visiting POTUS later this week will be the leaders of Japan, Jordan and Indonesia.

On Sunday, a U.S. military team arrived in Islamabad to consult with Pakistan's government on President Pervez Musharraf's pledge to back Washington's efforts to remove master terrorist Usama bin Laden from neighboring, land-locked Afghanistan. Musharraf's position is not universally accepted within Pakistan. Supporters of bin Laden took to the streets in Karachi Sunday, holding signs and chanting slogans praising the criminal suspect in the 11 September terror attacks and denouncing the United States.

The U.S. President has demanded that the Taliban turn over all leaders of bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization in that country and close all camps used by the group or face military consequences. Bin Laden has denied involvements in the attacks. A top aide to Musharraf said on Sunday that Pakistan wants to make sure no civilians get killed in any U.S. offensive against bin Laden and the Taliban. The top aide also said the U.S. team would discuss the plans how to proceed with any strikes against bin Laden, and what Pakistan might allow the United States to do within its borders.

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Monday the sprawling Muslim country whose southern border is only 200 miles from Afghanistan was "ready to support an action against terrorism with all the means it has at its disposal," including military bases and air space. He is the first leader in former Soviet Central Asia to make a firm pledge of practical support for the United States.

The Washington Post and the New York Times were reporting on Monday that U.S. officials are looking at a deeper involvement in Afghanistan's internal affairs. The Post said officials are debating an overthrow of the Taliban and the Times said the White House favors building an internal coalition against bin Laden and the ruling Islamic forces, who control about 90 percent of the country.

Afghanistan's military government, the Taliban, insisted again on Monday that it does not know where bin Laden is. Both U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice have said that they do not believe that statement. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. is preparing to release to U.S. allies evidence linking bin Laden to the attacks, in a bid to build support for the coalition the White House is trying to build for the global "war on terrorism."

In Washington, top officials indicated that the war to come may be a silent, stealthy and possibly secret conflict, targeting financial and political channels as much as people and supplies. The victory it would yield, they said, may not come with a defining moment but with a return to the safety and security the country has long enjoyed before hijacked airliners destroyed New York's World Trade Center.

U.S. officials said another deployment is expected to send additional warplanes to the area near Afghanistan, bringing to more than 200 the number of planes that would join about 350 aircraft already in the region at land bases and on aircraft carriers.

The U.S. government on Sunday for a second time ordered crop-dusting planes temporarily grounded as the FBI warned their operators to check for "suspicious activity." Published reports said those who carried out the attacks may have been looking at crop-dusters as a potential vehicle for a chemical or biological weapons assault. The planes were previously grounded for one day on 16 September, before Sunday's order.

New York officials said the number of those missing in the wreckage of the World Trade Center had risen to 6,453, up 120 from the prior toll amid continued checks of lists of those unaccounted for. The chances of finding survivors 12 days after the attacks were very small, although rescue work continued.

Gulf Arab states pledged support for the U.S. moves on Sunday while condemning any attempt to link Islam with what they termed "these heinous terrorist acts."

AFGHANISTAN:

Battles Continue In Northern Afghanistan

As opposition forces battled Taliban troops on Monday for control of strategic regions north of Kabul, artillery and rocket fire was reported across key areas of northern Afghanistan. Fighting has escalated in northern Afghanistan as the United States prepares for military strikes against the Taliban unless they hand over master terrorist Usama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the 11 September terrorist bombings in New York and Washington that killed thousands.

In the strategic Panjshir Valley, 45 miles north of Kabul, heavy exchanges of mortar and artillery fire could be heard shortly before dawn Monday. A spokesman for the northern alliance said Taliban troops pounded opposition positions with artillery starting late on Sunday. Heavy fighting was also reported late Sunday and early Monday in Balkh province, 175 miles northwest of the valley. Another opposition spokesman said his forces were attacking the Taliban to try to win control of the district of Aq Kupruk.

Heavy fighting has been under way in Balkh and the bordering province of Samangan for days. The Taliban have admitted losing control of the Balkh provincial village of Zari, 60 miles south of Mazar-e-Sherif. Loss of the village threatens Taliban control of a strategic highway linking central Afghanistan with Uzbekistan to the north.

Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Obaidullah said on Monday that the religious movement was mobilizing an additional 300,000(?) men to help fight off any U.S. attack to punish Kabul for sheltering bin Laden. In a statement, Obaidullah said hundreds of thousands of men were signing up to help fight a "jihad" against any U.S. invasion. Obaidullah did not reveal the current size of the army, but Afghan analysts in Pakistan say it cannot be more than about 45,000 and may be depleted by defections as concern over threatened U.S. military action mounts.

23 Sep 2001 - 10:00CDT

ERRI SPECIAL TERRORISM REPORTS FOR SUNDAY #12

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION/FBI/CIA/DOS ACTIVITIES

By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

Numerous Arrests In Attacks Probe

Authorities in Europe and the United States made a number of new arrests in the terrorist investigation, and officials went on alert against new attacks despite what they said was the lack of specific threats. The National Transportation Safety Board said three of four recovered flight recorders have yielded information that may help piece together the final minutes of the two hijacked planes that crashed into the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that law enforcement officials said one voice recorder picked up scuffling sounds as well as shouts in Arabic and English. Box-cutting tools like those used by hijackers were found on airliners grounded by the 11 September attacks, as investigators linked a man arrested in London with one of the terrorist pilots. The discoveries could indicate that attackers planned to commandeer more than the four planes that crashed into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and a field in western Pennsylvania.

A U.S. Justice Department spokesman confirmed that box-cutting tools were discovered when planes were searched for evidence after airliners were ordered grounded just after the attacks. The DoJ spokesman couldn't confirm how many box-cutters were found or the routes the planes were flying. But another government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were discovered on two planes.

In an indication of increased U.S. security, the U.S. Coast Guard has begun checking all lists of crew members and passengers on vessels entering the United States, and comparing names with those on law enforcement databases. The Federal Aviation Administration says it's being flooded with applications to become sky marshals since posting listings for the positions on its Web site.

Newly released documents showed that U.S. authorities have detained dozens of people from Middle Eastern countries who violated immigration rules and are being questioned by terrorism investigators. The documents showed some entered the country in the days around the suicide hijackings. Meanwhile, federal agents were painstakingly working their way through nearly 150,000 leads generated by the investigation, nearly half submitted to an FBI Internet Web site.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE:

U.S. State Department Issues Travel Warning For Kyrgyz Republic On 21 September, the U.S. Department of State issued the following Travel Warning for the Kyrgyz Republic:

"The Department of State warns U. S. citizens to defer travel to the Kyrgyz Republic. The September 11 terrorist attack in the United States and the continued presence of indigenous militant groups in the Kyrgyz Republic has significantly added to concerns about the security situation for Americans residing in and visiting there.

While the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has been helpful in ensuring the safety of U. S. citizens, Americans in or traveling through the Kyrgyz Republic should take appropriate steps to maintain their security awareness.

As a result of these concerns, the Department has approved the authorized (voluntary) departure of non-emergency personnel and family members of U. S. Embassy personnel in the Kyrgyz Republic. All American citizens in the Kyrgyz Republic are urged to take those measures they deem appropriate to ensure their well being, including consideration of departure from the country. The U. S. Embassy in Bishkek remains available for emergency American citizen services assistance.

In July 2001, Kyrgyz armed forces engaged in a skirmish with armed individuals south of the city of Khaydyrkahan in Batken Oblast. At least two Kyrgyz soldiers were wounded. In August 2000, members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a group designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization, crossed the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, engaged Kyrgyz security forces, and took four American climbers hostage. Periodic fighting between Kyrgyz forces and the IMU has resulted in a number of reported Kyrgyz fatalities. In 1999, armed IMU militants from Tajikistan took four Japanese citizens hostage.

The Department of State reminds U. S. citizens that the security situation in areas of the Kyrgyz Republic to the south and west of the provincial capital of Osh, and particularly along the Kyrgyz-Tajik and the Kyrgyz-Uzbek borders remains fluid, volatile and dangerous. There exists a continuing threat of terrorist violence in the southern Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan.

Given this situation, U. S. Government personnel are prohibited from traveling to areas of the Kyrgyz Republic south and west of Osh and in rural areas along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. Due to the presence of land mines in the Batken Oblast and along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, the U. S. Embassy strongly recommends that American citizens avoid all travel to these areas.

Americans who decide to remain in or visit the Kyrgyz Republic should exercise maximum caution and take prudent measures. This includes maintaining a strong security posture by being aware of their surroundings, avoiding crowds and demonstrations, keeping a low profile, varying times and routes and notifying the U. S. Embassy in case of any change in the local security situation as well as if there are changes in their contact information."

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:

U.S. Operational Plans Remain Under Wraps

As US forces mass in the Gulf and Indian Ocean for a possible strike on Afghanistan, POTUS on Saturday consulted with his top military advisers. US defence officials say more warplanes are being sent to bases or aircraft carriers near Afghanistan, adding to the estimated 350 planes already in the region. Observers, who have reportedly slipped into Afghanistan, say the Taleban have been fortifying hill posts in expectation of a land attack.

Britain's Defense Ministry played down on Sunday widespread reports in the British press that the country's crack special forces were already inside Afghanistan. The British government also added a cautionary note to suggestions that British Intelligence has tracked down Usama bin Laden.

There were also reports in Britain on Saturday evening of unusually heavy volumes of air traffic. The Defense Ministry said however there were no special movements of troops or equipment under way.

Many British Sunday papers carried reports that troops from the Special Air Service (SAS) regiment were already in Northern Afghanistan working with Afghan opposition forces. The Mail Sunday said a reconnaissance squad of four SAS soldiers had been involved in a gun battle with Taliban fighters in the Kabul area on Friday evening after arriving in the country five days earlier.

The Sunday Times also said SAS troopers were in northern Afghanistan working together with the British secret intelligence service MI6 and with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to track down bin Laden. Official British sources continue to neither confirm or deny any reports that SAS or other British armed forces are operating in Afghanistan, or even that region.

In other developments:

-- Thirteen British warships reportedly passed through the Suez Canal, heading for Oman.

-- The Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers discussed the Afghan situation, in what is seen as a new attempt to patch up strained relations.

-- The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday it had cut diplomatic ties with the Taliban, after failing to persuade them to hand over bin Laden. Only two countries - Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - still recognize the Taliban. Pakistan said it had no plans to follow the example of the UAE.

-- The Taliban say they have shot down an unmanned spy plane over northern Afghanistan. But it is not yet clear to whom the aircraft belonged. One Taliban official said it was a helicopter belonging to opposition forces.

AFGHANISTAN:

Heavy Fighting Reported

As the United States stepped up preparations for an attack to capture or kill terrorist mastermind Usama bin Laden and destroy his training camps, heavy fighting was reported on Sunday between Taliban and opposition forces in northern Afghanistan. An alliance of opposition groups claimed to have captured a key district of Balkh province and to have killed at least 80 Taliban militia fighters. General Abdul Rasheed Dostum, chief of the Jumbish-e-Milli opposition group, said at least 200 Taliban fighters were captured and that his side had two men injured.

Taliban forces have been reinforcing their positions along the border with Pakistan, prompting similar moves by the Pakistani military. A column of about seven tanks loaded on flatbed trucks was seen Sunday moving toward the border from the northwestern Pakistani city Peshawar.

INTERNATIONAL:

Belgium Police Raid On Bomb Factory

Belgian police taking part in the worldwide investigation following the US terror attacks have arrested two men and seized a huge store of chemicals in their Brussels apartment. Belgian media reported that the chemicals could have been used to make a bomb, and that a "terrorist" plot had been foiled.

The police raid, which was made on Thursday night but only revealed on Saturday, was linked by the Belgian prosecutor's office to the earlier arrest of two suspected Islamic militants. Police found 100 kilograms of sulphur and 50 litres of acetone at the apartment above a North African snack bar. The two suspected Islamic militants arrested earlier, one of them a Tunisian, are being held on charges of criminal organization and illegal weapon possession.

In Britain, three people are in custody in connection with the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. The arrests were made in London and Birmingham. A fourth man arrested in London has now been released without charge. All four were questioned under Britain's Terrorism Act. London remains on the highest peacetime security alert in its history.

Other European countries are continuing their investigations into the hijackers responsible for the plane attacks, their possible associates and their sources of funding. Seven people have been arrested in France. German police have arrested one man and issued photographs of two others wanted for questioning.

It was being reported on Sunday that scores of Muslim Indonesian men entered international hotels in the central Java city of Solo warning Americans to leave if the U.S. carries out revenge strikes against Afghanistan. Witnesses and hotel staff said the men, representing several radical Muslim groups, went to at least four hotels and demanded to see guest lists. Solo, which is located 280 miles east of Jakarta, is popular with foreign tourists.

In other international developments:

-- Hospitals in southwestern Pakistan are preparing to handle casualties if the United States launches military strikes on Afghanistan.

-- Saudi Arabia is resisting the United States' request to use a new command center on a Saudi military base in any air war against terrorists, forcing Pentagon planners to consider alternatives that could delay a campaign for weeks.

-- Britain's foreign secretary is planning to visit Iran, amid hints Iran may be willing to join a U.S.-led fight against terrorism. Iran's president has told Britain he's in full solidarity with the U.S. following the attacks.

-- China says it will give the United States information it has gathered on terrorist groups as a show of support for American efforts to  eliminate them.

[EmergencyNet News Administrative note: We have been sending comprehensive and what would normally be *FLASH* reports to most customers as the result of the horrendous events on 11 Sep 2001. We would anticipate that EmergencyNet News will be reverting to more regular daily coverage in the next day or two, and our clients will only be receiving those specific reports for which they actually subscribed. Of course, we will bring you emerging details of new developments as they occur on our daily news page.  We would anticipate that this page will become an archive of selected previous reports and remain on-line.

 If you would like information about continuing to receive all of our reports, please contact the editors at webmaster@emergency.com or see http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm  Please also remember that redistribution or republication of EmergencyNet News reports without written permission is prohibited.]

22 Sep 2001 - 08:00CDT: Chicago "Think-Tank" Issues Supplemental Terrorism Advisory

22 Sep 2001 - 09:30CDT

ERRI SPECIAL TERRORISM REPORTS FOR SATURDAY - #11

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION/FBI/CIA/DOS ACTIVITIES

By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

Global Terrorism Investigation Continues

It was said on Friday that U.S. officials are working on a report that would spell out in as much detail as possible their evidence that links last week's attacks to master terrorist Usama bin Laden. The report would be unclassified and presumably would be released sometime before the U.S. begins actual military operations against the terrorist leader. The problem is, officials admitted Friday, they still have no hard evidence making that connection.

The evidence expected to be cited in the report is bin Laden's own words in which he threatened terrorist acts and bragged about past deeds. Several communications intercepts are also expected to be described as are telephone records and bank records as well as a trail of relationships - some of them three times removed - between the dead hijackers and bin Laden operatives.

Officials confirm that some of the hijackers appear to have made several practice runs on the flights they eventually hijacked. Agents are checking other flight manifests for similar patterns. Because it's been reported so widely that more attacks are expected on Saturday, it bears repeating that the FBI has no firm evidence of that. Besides, one official observed, terrorists never hit us when we're on high alert, only when we're not.

Meanwhile, many of the 80 people detained for immigration problems during the terrorism investigation entered the country on visitor or business visas from Middle Eastern countries. U.S. Justice Department documents showed Friday that the countries included Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Justice officials have said they believe some of those being detained may have information about the plot surrounding the attacks, but the documents did not detail connections to the terrorism investigation.

The government released the documents, with many parts blacked out, as the terrorism investigation expanded globally. Some of the highlights form the global investigation include:

-- British investigators said they have arrested three men and one woman in connection with the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A 27-year-old man and a woman, 25, were arrested at a residence in west London on Friday, and another man, 29, was arrested at a separate location in west London. The third man, whose age was not disclosed, was arrested by anti-terrorist officers at an address in Birmingham, 100 miles north of London.

-- French authorities arrested seven people in connection with an alleged plot to harm U.S. sites in that country. And German authorities announced they were seeking two fugitives believed to have helped plot the four deadly hijackings in the United States.

-- In the United States, government officials confirmed a Saudi man was arrested the day of the attacks a few miles from Dulles International Airport in suburban Washington, where one of the doomed planes took off and later crashed into the Pentagon.

INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY:

Source Says Israel Attack Was Coming

A senior intelligence official said on Friday that Israeli intelligence services knew months ago that Usama bin Laden was planning a large-scale terror attack. But no one knew what his targets would be. The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Everybody knew about a heightened alert, and knew that bin Laden was preparing a big attack."

The official said Israeli intelligence shares information with its U.S. counterparts on a regular basis, but denied Mossad passed on concrete warnings. The official said that there was no specific information about the intention to carry out such an attack."

On Thursday night, POTUS announced during his speech that he has created a new cabinet-level position to lead the fight against terrorism inside the United States. The new Office of Homeland Security will be headed by Tom Ridge, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and will coordinate government-wide domestic security efforts and protect the US from attack. The President said of Ridge in his speech to a joint session of Congress: "He will lead, oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country against terrorism and respond to any attacks that may come."

The new office is aimed at drawing together the counterterrorism functions currently spread across several agencies, including the FBI, CIA, military, police, EMS, and firefighting forces. It will also develop plans to bolster protection for potential targets such as the nation's transportation, power and food systems. Ridge will work with a committee of security officials, members of the Justice Department, the military and agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
 

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT:

U.S. Department Of State Issues Travel

Warning For Indonesia

On 20 September, the U.S. State Department issued the following Travel Warning for Indonesia: "The Department of State urges American citizens to defer nonessential travel to Indonesia and all travel to Aceh, Maluku, Papua, West Timor, Central and West Kalimantan (Borneo) and Central Sulawesi. Those who must travel to Indonesia, or who are resident there, should exercise extreme caution.

The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States heighten the need for vigilance on the part of American citizens resident in or traveling through Indonesia. While the Government of Indonesia has condemned these terrorist attacks, some radical Indonesian groups have threatened to attack U.S. facilities and expel American citizens from Indonesia if the U.S. strikes any Muslim country in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

All American citizens in Indonesia are urged to exercise maximum caution and take prudent measures. This includes maintaining a strong security posture by being aware of their surroundings, avoiding crowds and demonstrations, keeping a low profile, varying times and routes for all required travel and notifying the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate in case of any change in the local security situation. American citizens are also urged to treat mail and  packages from unfamiliar sources with suspicion.

The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta has received information that indicates extremist elements may be planning to target U.S. interests in Indonesia, particularly U.S. Government facilities, and could also extend to U.S. tourists and tour groups. In addition, social unrest and violence can erupt with little forewarning anywhere in the country. Bombings of religious, political and business targets have occurred throughout the country.

Due to the continuing threat of serious violence, all travel should be avoided to the regions of Aceh, Maluku, West Timor, Central and West Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi. Further, all travel by U.S. and other foreign government officials to Aceh, Papua and the Moluccas (provinces of North Maluku and Maluku) has been restricted by the Indonesian government because of security concerns. Private Americans should adhere to these same restrictions. On occasion, the U.S. mission in Indonesia may have to suspend services to the public or close because of security concerns. In those situations, the Embassy will continue to be available by telephone to offer emergency services to American citizens.

A massive bombing campaign struck churches throughout Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2000, leaving at least 16 dead and over 100 injured. Bombings occurred in the cities of Medan, Pekanbaru, Batam, Bandung, Sukabumi, Bekasi, Jakarta, Mojokerto, Surabaya and Mataram. Bombings have also occurred over the past year at Indonesian government buildings, foreign diplomatic facilities and business and financial centers, including the Jakarta Stock Exchange. More explosive devices have been discovered in Jakarta since Christmas and there are indications that the bombings may continue.

Some foreign travelers in troubled areas of Indonesia have been subject to arbitrary arrest, detention and deportation and, on at least one occasion, false accusations of espionage. In November 2000 in the central Java city of Solo, groups opposed to U.S. policy undertook or threatened "sweeps," trying to identify American citizens and order them to depart the country. There also have been a number of acts of intimidation and violence directed at American companies and U.S. diplomatic facilities. Indonesian security officials have sometimes been unwilling or unable to respond. The Abu Sayyaf terrorist group has been active throughout the islands in the extreme southwest Philippines, near Indonesia, and have kidnapped American citizens in the Philippines. American citizens traveling to the border regions in Northern Kalimantan and North Sulawesi, in particular the smaller islands closer to the Philippines, are urged to review their security procedures."

In other DoS cables in regards to Indonesia:

US Embassy Jakarta has reported that ten radical Islamic groups have held a press conference during which they threatened to unleash a holy war if America launched retaliatory strikes against Afghanistan for the WTC and Pentagon terrorist attacks.

The press conference was held at the al-Furqan Mosque in Jakarta, and was convened by the Indonesian Islamic Council (DDII). The ten radical Islamic organizations belonging to the DDII include:

-- Front Pembela Islam (FPI - Islamic Defenders' Front)

-- Laskar Jihad (LJ - Jihad Columns/Soldiers or Fighters)

-- Anti-Zionist Movement

-- Indonesian Mujahidin Front

-- Ababil Brigade Jakarta

-- Movement for Female Muslims

-- HAMMAS (local Indonesian, not Palestinian, version)

-- National Student Association

-- Committee for Indonesian Islamic Solidarity

Among the speakers at the press conference, the following remarks were made:

-- LJ chief Ja'far Umar Thalib warned that his group would keep score on the United States and would "strike back at US 'assets' in Indonesia and throughout the world" if America attacked Afghanistan.

-- LJ official Ayip Syafrudin declared that LJ would "declare a jihad against the United States if it attacked Muslim countries."

-- Laskar Jumdullah Solo Brigade leader Muhammad Kalono threatened that "If America drops even one bullet in Afghanistan, God willing, we will wipe out all US facilities and interests here."

-- FPI Chairman Al Habib Muhammad Riziq Syihab threatened to attack the US Embassy in Jakarta, find Americans, and expel them from Indonesia.

ERRI ANALYSIS

ERRI Reports for Friday 21 September 2001

Radical Islamic Groups Threaten U.S. Facilities

By Jeremy Zakis, ERRI Analyst

Radical Islamic groups in the world's largest Islamic state are threatening to attack U.S. targets in the country, if the United States launches a military strike on Afghanistan. Muhammad Kalono, a spokesman for the Islamic paramilitary groups said in a statement on Wednesday, "If America drops even  one bullet in Afghanistan, God willing, we will wipe out all U.S. facilities and interests here." The threats were made less than a week after Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri met with U.S. President George W. Bush to pledge her support for the war on terrorism.

Analyst Viewpoint:

Extra-Caution for U.S. Citizens in Indonesia after Threats

By Jeremy Zakis, ERRI Analyst in Australia

These threats should be taken very seriously because radical Islamic elements within the country have previously threatened U.S. interests and held demonstrations outside U.S. facilities. Media reports prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States said that Usama bin Laden was seeking out Indonesia as a "launch pad" for operations, which concurs with past ERRI predictions that terrorism will increase in the Asian region.

ERRI has already been monitoring the al-Qaeda-connected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines. In the past 18-months these groups have launched a number of brief incursions into both Malaysian and Indonesian waters for the purposes of kidnapping foreigncitizens. Both these groups are suspected of having Indonesian contacts.

When a U.S. retaliation begins, the radical Indonesian Islamic groups, who mainly operate independent of one another, are expected to stage a series of violent demonstrations in the capital Jakarta. Within a short period of time, factions within these groups are likely to use small IED's to cause damage to U.S. facilities at random. To date, they have not proved capable of using more sophisticated explosive devices.

However, the latest indicated to analysts that the Islamic groups may have a quasi-spokesperson, which could mean they have formed a stronger alliance with each other. If this is true, they now hold the potential to stage more lengthy terrorist operation similar to campaigns in the Philippines. It should also be noted also that for the past two years, violent attacks have occurred on people of Christian background and Churches destroyed by bomb attacks. ERRI is monitoring the situation in Indonesia closely...

U.S. Embassy Niamey, Niger, Issues Warden Message

On 20 September, the U.S. Embassy in Niger issued the following Warden Message to Americans in the African country: "In light of the continued uncertainty of the security situation worldwide, American Embassy Niamey is extending the restriction on travel by Embassy Personnel outside of Niamey to "essential business only." American citizens are reminded the Worldwide caution issued September 12 by the State Department remains in effect and are urged to maintain heightened security awareness and be vigilant to any unusual activity in their daily surroundings."

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:

Military Buildup Continues

As the United States prepared to strike back at terrorism, the Pentagon on Friday ordered more Air Force planes to support a buildup of U.S. firepower in the Persian Gulf area. With B-1 bombers taking off from Ellsworth, South Dakota, the U.S. is making preparations to bomb the camps if the Taliban refuses to turn over every person associated with al-Qaeda and open the camps to inspection.

The strikes will be much larger than the ones launched against bin Laden's bases after the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa, but they are not likely to get all the terrorists -- since many of them had left the camps before the airliner attacks. The Air Force has bombs designed to penetrate deep into the caves where bin Laden is believed to be working on chemical and biological weapons and perhaps even be hiding nuclear material. But the only way to be sure is to go in with ground troops -- army commandos flown in from a nearby country, possibly Uzbekistan.

An official on Friday confirmed a New York Times report that Air Force Lt. General Charles Wald, commander of U.S. Central Command's air component, has moved from his usual base at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, to an air operations center at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. From there, he could plan and direct air attacks against Afghanistan and other possible targets in the region. With B-2 bombers put on alert for non-stop missions from the U.S., B-1 bombers ordered to bases in the Persian Gulf and B-52 bombers being sent to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Usama bin Laden's infrastructure of caves and training camps is likely to take a pounding.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the American campaign will not mean the end of terrorism. He said: "I think what you can try to do is to go after this worldwide problem in a way that we can continue our way of life. It strikes at our way of life, and while we may not eliminate it completely from the face of the Earth, which we surely will not, but it can be better controlled."

Early Friday in Japan, the USS Kitty Hawk, the only U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in the western Pacific, left its port in Yokosuka for an undisclosed location. The carrier has a crew of 5,500 sailors, naval aviators and Marines and typically carries 70 aircraft.

According to London's The Guardian newspaper on Friday, the US government is pressing its European allies to agree to a military campaign to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and replace it with an interim administration under United Nations auspices. Diplomatic cables from the Washington embassy of a key NATO ally, reportedly seen by the newspaper, say that the US is anxious to hear allied views on "post-Taliban Afghanistan after the liberation of the country." That report has not been confirmed by U.S. officials.

The embassy cable reveals that the US is bent on force to evict the Taliban from power because of the shelter it has offered Usama bin Laden. The Guardian also reported that two large US Hercules transport aircraft landed in Tashkent, capital of the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, on Tuesday loaded with surveillance equipment to be installed along the northern Afghan border.

The US strategy to depose the Taliban regime is based on more than military thinking. A further plank appears to entail supporting the campaign of the exiled 86-year-old monarch of Afghanistan, King Zahir Shah, to return to power by encouraging the guerrilla army of the Northern Alliance opposition to fall in behind him.

AFGHANISTAN:

Taliban Troops Reportedly Deployed on Pakistani Border

Pakistani border officials said on Friday that Taliban troops have taken up positions in the jagged mountain peaks overlooking Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. A Pakistan Frontier Corps official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the Taliban buildup and said Pakistan has countered with a fresh deployment of border troops on its side of the line. He didn't say how many new soldiers were deployed.

INTERNATIONAL:

Algerian Terrorist Threatens US And European Interests

US Embassy Algiers reports that El Youm, an Arabic language independent newspaper, has front-page coverage on Hassan Hattab -- the leader of the Groupe Islamique pour la Predilection et le Combat (GSPC), a branch of the GIA, regarding recent terrorist attacks that took place in the U.S.

The paper said: "Hassan Hattab declared that what happened is a lesson the U.S. should take advantage of; and it [the U.S.] should not be so quick in retaliating against innocent individuals. Hassan Hattab also threatened to violently counter-attack American interests in Algeria if the U.S. kept on harassing Arab-Moslems on the basis of a Jewish plot. He added that no obstacle and no security could prevent them [GIA] from hitting U.S. interests abroad. He did not deny Bin Laden's responsibility in the attacks but pointed out that civilians were not their principal targets.

Hassan Hattab, nevertheless, declared that he would not implement his threats if the U.S. stopped harassing Islamists. He also alluded to the fact that some circles in and out of Algeria would try to hit U.S. interests

In other overseas developments on Friday related to the investigation of last week's terrorist attacks:

-- In London, anti-terrorist police arrested three men and one woman in connection with the terrorist attacks.

- In Poland, officials were investigating evidence that people suspected of terrorist activities passed through Poland, but would not speculate about any links to last week's attacks.

- In Mexico, authorities were combing through hotel registration documents and tracing the activities of an "unusually high" number of Arab guests who stayed at Pacific coast resorts between July and five days before the terrorist attacks.

-- In Germany, investigators named a Yemeni man as their second suspected link to the terrorists who attacked New York and Washington, revealing that they now believe the plot reached back at least to 1999.

-- In France, police detained seven people in connection with an investigation into alleged plans to attack U.S. interests in France.

Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov said his country was ready to cooperate with the United States and the international community in fighting terrorism. Rakhmonov said on Saturday during a meeting of the Tajik People's Democratic party in Dushanbe: "Being in solidarity with the United States people, we at the same time express our willingness to cooperate with the international community, including the U.S. government, in the fight against international terrorism and extremism."

He did not say, however, what form the cooperation would take, and made no mention of allowing Western forces to set up bases in his country or to use air corridors over Tajikistan to attack Afghanistan. The prime minister's office said on Saturday that Turkey has agreed to allow U.S. Air Force transport aircraft to use its airspace and airports for a possible response to recent terrorist attacks. Turkey is also willing to share intelligence on Afghanistan with the United States. A statement from Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's office said the United States requested the use of airports and air space for transport aircraft. It did not ask for permission to use fighter jets.

The Turkish government had already indicated that Incirlik air base, in southern Turkey, could be used for possible attacks. Some 50 U.S. and British jets, based at Incirlik, are currently flying patrols over northern Iraq to protect Iraqi Kurds from the forces of Saddam Hussein.

New Zealand on Friday offered a military support in the fight against terrorism and is in it for the "long haul." Prime Minister Helen Clark said New Zealand would support the U.S. determination to root out the followers of terrorist leader Usama bin Laden and other terrorist groups. Clark didn't elaborate but analysts said the options could include New Zealand special force commandos assisting with lightning strikes against terrorist cells in the Asia-Pacific region, and possibly joining a bigger strike force in the Afghanistan region. Air force transport planes, medical services, naval patrol vessels and other supports were also options which New Zealand provided during the Gulf War.

21 Sep 2001 - 09:30CDT

ERRI SPECIAL TERRORISM REPORTS FOR FRIDAY #10

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION/FBI/CIA/DOS ACTIVITIES

By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

Boston Placed On Alert

According to published reports on Friday, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft warned  the mayor and the acting governor that  terrorist strikes could be attempted in  Boston in the coming days, though he  stressed that no specific threats had  been made. Citing sources that weren't identified, both the Boston Globe and  the Boston Herald reported that Ashcroft  made separate calls Thursday to acting Governor Jane Swift and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to inform them the government had  information about possible attacks.

The Globe said the attacks could be planned for this weekend. The Herald mentioned Friday and Saturday. Authorities have said 22 September has emerged as an important date in evidence found during investigations into the hijackers. A few days after four commercial airliners were hijacked and crashed, the FBI warned the cities of Atlanta, Richmond, Virginia, and Boston about possible strikes. But the warnings were later rescinded.

On Thursday, the FBI issued new warnings to local law enforcement to be on guard against possible attacks. Authorities said the warning was not based on any evidence of a direct threat but rather on raw information that there could be more strikes. "We don't have any credible evidence of any threat on Sept. 22," DOJ department communications chief Mindy Tucker said on Thursday.

The FBI is looking into suggestions that some of the names on its list of 19 hijackers are fake identities adopted by some of those behind last week's terror attacks. It believes the names may belong to people who are still alive.

As officials investigated a possibility which could significantly complicate the manhunt, US authorities made another arrest. Nabil Al-Marabh, one of nearly 200 names on a wanted list drawn up by the bureau, was detained just outside Chicago. He was the original target of a raid on a house in Michigan, Detroit, where police instead found three men allegedly in possession of airport diagrams, whom they have arrested and charged.

The FBI list of those wanted in relation to last week's devastating attacks includes suspects, possible associates of these suspects and also potential witnesses.

As part of the massive investigation to track down suspects and their associates, the FBI has appealed for the help of Arabic speakers in translating documents and communications. Hundreds of people have reportedly responded to the appeal from the Detroit area, which has the country's highest concentration of Arab Americans.

Farsi and Pashtu speakers are also being sought and computer software experts have been called in to work on encrypted messages. It is thought that those who carried out the attacks used computers in public libraries to leave messages for each other either by e-mail or through pre-arranged websites.

Financial regulators also say they are pursuing leads into whether those behind the attacks may have used their inside knowledge to trade in shares in the airline, insurance and banking sectors, potentially making millions of dollars.

There is growing confusion as the bureau starts investigating the possibility that some of the suspected hijackers used fake identities of people who may still be alive. Saudi Arabians are said to be outraged by the publication of names of citizens who they claim have since been located, and may have had their identity papers stolen.

One of those named, Abdelaziz al-Omari, is believed to be a pilot who crashed a plane into the World Trade Center's North Tower. But the Saudis say al-Omari is alive and well and working as an electrical engineer. He says his passport was stolen in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Saudi officials have reportedly said it is possible that another three people whose names appear on the list are also alive.

In other investigative developments:

-- The number of people detained on  immigration charges for questioning  in the probe rose to 115.

-- The Los Angeles Times reported an unnamed source as saying FBI and CIA officials were advised in August that as many as 200 Islamists with terrorist leanings were slipping into this country and planning "a major assault on the United States." The advisory, passed on by Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, cautioned that it had picked up indications of a "large-scale target" in the United States and that Americans would be "very vulnerable." The paper said it is not known how U.S. authorities reacted to the warning. FBI sources have since denied that such a warning was received.

-- Federal officials are listening to the cockpit voice recorder from the hijacked  plane that crashed last week in Pennsylvania -- but they say there's not much dialogue on it. Officials haven't been able to get anything off the damaged voice recorder found at the Pentagon crash site.

INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY:

Algeria Gives US Terror List

In the international alliance against terrorism, Algeria is reportedly cooperating with the US. State media reports that it has handed over to Washington a list of 350 Islamist militants known to be abroad and whom Algerian intelligence believes are likely to have links to Usama bin Laden. Reports from Algiers suggests that for the first time security services there are prepared to tell US intelligence everything they know about Algerian Islamists abroad and whether they might be involved in the al-Qaeda network.

Sources in the Algerian government say the Americans are being handed two documents. One of them contains about 350 profiles of Algerian Islamist militants living abroad. Some will be moderates but others are believed by the Algerian authorities to be highly suspect.

The Algerians are also reported to be providing a list of 2,000 names of known members of the two Islamist organizations accused of killing civilians in Algeria - the GIA and the GSPC. The GSPC, which is believed by the Algerian authorities to have been created by bin Laden, issued a warning this week that it will target Westerners in Algeria if Afghanistan is attacked.  Security has been intensified around Western embassies and businesses in Algiers.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE:

U.S. State Department Issues Public Announcement

For Rwanda

On 19 September, the U.S. Department of State issued the following Public Announcement for Rwanda: "The U.S. Embassy in Kigali has confirmed reports that insurgents continue to engage in activities in the northwest of Rwanda, including the Virunga National Park and Gishwati Forest and areas bordering Rwanda in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a result, American citizens are strongly urged to avoid travel to the Virunga National Park,  including organized "gorilla tours." American  citizens should also avoid travel to the following  communes in the northwest of Rwanda: Ndusa,  Gatonde, Rwerere, Rubavi, Giciye, Kinigi, Mutura, Kidaho, Nyamyunba, Nkumba, Nkuli, Mukingo,  Nyamutera, Kayove, Rutsiro, Ramba, Gaseke  and Satinsyi. Other areas may be added as conditions warrant. The U.S. Embassy recommends that American citizens who plan travel between  the towns of Ruhengeri and Gisenyi should do so only between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and  5:00 p.m."

U.S. Department Of State Issues Travel Warning

For Turkmenistan

On 19 September, the U.S. State Department issued the following Travel Warning for Turkmenistan:

"The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to  defer travel to Turkmenistan. While the Government  of Turkmenistan has taken steps to increase security around the country, the September 11  terrorist attacks in the United States and the  proximity of Turkmenistan to Afghanistan have raised additional security concerns for Americans  there. Afghanistan, which borders the southern  part of Turkmenistan, continues to harbor   international terrorist Usama bin Laden. As  a result of these concerns, the Department has approved the authorized (voluntary) departure of non-emergency personnel and family members of  U.S. Embassy personnel in Turkmenistan. All American citizens in Turkmenistan are urged  to review their personal security situations  and to take those measures they deem appropriate to ensure their well-being, including consideration of departure from the country.  The U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat remains available for emergency American citizen services assistance. Americans who decide to remain  in or visit Turkmenistan should exercise maximum caution and take prudent measures. This includes maintaining a strong security posture by being aware of their surroundings, avoiding crowds and demonstrations, keeping a low profile, varying times and routes and notifying the U.S. Embassy in case of any change in the local security situation."

U.S. Department Of State Issues Travel Warning For Yemen

On 19 September, the U.S. State Department issued the following Travel Warning for Yemen: "The Department of State continues to warn United States citizens to defer travel to Yemen. The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States elevated security concerns for Americans in Yemen that already were high following a number of terrorist  actions and kidnapping incidents over the past few years.

Previous incidents included the October 2000 attack on a US Navy vessel in port at Aden and the December 1998 kidnapping of Western tourists in southern Yemen. Further, armed tribesmen in Yemen have kidnapped a number of foreigners in attempts to resolve disputes with the Yemeni government.

As a result of these concerns, the Department of State has authorized the voluntary departure from Yemen of the family members of all U.S. Embassy personnel. In addition, the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa suspended services to the public on September 13 and has not determined a time for resuming those services. Emergency assistance to American citizens will continue to be available through Embassy duty personnel.  All American citizens in Yemen are urged to review their personal security situations and to take those actions they deem appropriate to ensure their well-being, including consideration of departure from the country. U.S. citizens who choose to visit or remain in Yemen are urged to maintain a high level of vigilance, take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness and to reduce their vulnerability.

On October 12, 2000, 17 American servicemen  and women were killed and many more were injured in a terrorist attack on a U.S. Navy ship in port in Aden, Yemen. On December 23, 1998, six extremists were arrested by Yemeni authorities and accused of planning to bomb Western targets in Yemen. Also in December 1998, an anti-Western terrorist group abducted 16 Western tourists in Southern Yemen; four of the tourists were killed during a subsequent clash between the terrorists and Yemeni government forces.

On October 1999, following the execution of the leader of the terrorist group responsible for the abduction of these 16 tourists, persons claiming to speak on behalf of the terrorist group warned Westerners they would be attacked if they did not leave Yemen. This threat has not been carried out. Again, as these incidents indicate, the level of risk for foreigners in Yemen remains high.

More than 100 kidnappings have occurred  throughout Yemen since 1991. In addition to the one noted above, American citizens  were the victims of kidnappings in late October 1999 and January 2000. These kidnappings are mainly conducted by armed tribesmen with grievances against the Yemeni government. They are normally resolved peacefully within a few days, although in rare cases tribesmen have held some foreigners for extended periods. Some kidnappings or attempted kidnappings are initiated by carjacking."

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:

Armed Forces On The Move

In preparation for the war on terrorism, the United States is pouring military firepower into the Persian Gulf area. The Air Force is sending B-52 bombers and fighter jets while mobilizing thousands of reservists, and the Army is readying its commando forces. With B-2 bombers put on alert for non-stop missions from the U.S., B-1 bombers ordered to bases in the Persian Gulf and B-52 bombers being sent to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, bin Laden's infrastructure of caves and training camps is likely to take a pounding. They are also likely to be raided by special forces which have also been ordered to deploy.

Many of the forces are beginning to move. Navy jets flew out to the carrier USS Roosevelt as it steamed east toward the Persian Gulf. Aerial refueling tankers left the U.S. to set up flying gas stations for the combat aircraft that are sure to follow.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said fighting terrorism will take a long time and, to a degree not seen before, will require economic, financial, diplomatic and political action in addition to military force.

The Pentagon announced on Thursday that 5,131 members of the Air Force National Guard and Air Force Reserve have been ordered to active duty. They are from 29 units in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Rumsfeld has said he expects 35,500 members of the Reserve and National Guard to be called up.

The Pentagon is repositioning military forces to prepare for action, Rumsfeld  said, but would not provide details.  Other officials said both active and reserve forces are beginning to move.

A senior defense official said that the Air Force is sending 100 to 130 aircraft to the Gulf region, including fighters and B-52 bombers. Also, tanker aircraft began deploying from U.S. bases Thursday to establish an "air bridge" for refueling fighters and bombers as they cross the Atlantic.

The Air Force has fighter aircraft in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the Army keeps a virtually permanent presence in Kuwait with soldiers and war supplies sufficient to equip an additional 5,000 troops. A contingent of about 2,100 Marines also is in the Gulf, and a  similar-size unit is headed in that direction.

Army Secretary Thomas White said the  Army is playing a part in the buildup  of U.S. forces abroad and that the  Army is prepared to conduct "sustained  land combat operations." White said a  deployment order signed Wednesday by  Rumsfeld is only the first step in a bigger plan.

The Army Special Operations Command  at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, said  on Thursday it had received a deployment order. Details were not provided. The command has a wide array of specialized units, including the 75th Ranger Regiment,  the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, psychological operations units  and seven Special Forces Groups spread  out across the United States and the world.

Air Force officials said eight B-52 bombers will deploy from the 917th Bomb Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, also will contribute B-52s.

U.S. policymakers are considering various  options, of which a large-scale invasion of Afghanistan is considered least likely by many defense experts. Many believe the insertion into Afghanistan of small teams of special operations forces, such as Army Rangers, is more likely in the effort to hunt down terrorists.

INTERNATIONAL:

Thursday Developments:

-- Saudi Arabia pledged on Thursday that it would use all its resources to fight terrorism while the 16-member European Union agreed on a series of joint measures.

-- Great Britain and the United States are producing secret plans to launch a 10-year war on terrorism dubbed Operation Noble Eagle. The London Times reported that a new military and diplomatic strategy to eliminate terrorist networks and cells around the world is included.

-- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is suggesting that Usama bin Laden will be the first target, but not the only one in the assault on terrorism. He added that when the U.S. has "dealt with" bin Laden and his network, "We will then broaden that campaign to go after other terrorist organizations."

-- Afghanistan's senior Islamic clerics  issued an edict saying they would declare  a jihad, or holy war, if the United States  attacks.

-- Iran says it would never agree to U.S. warplanes using its airspace to attack  neighboring Afghanistan. A spokesman also says Iran won't let Usama bin Laden enter Iran.

20 Sep 2001 - 09:00CDT

ERRI SPECIAL TERRORISM REPORTS FOR THURSDAY #9

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION/FBI/CIA/DOS ACTIVITIES

By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst

BREAKING NEWS:

Clerics Order Bin Laden To Leave Afghanistan

Today, a council of Islamic clerics in Afghanistan ruled that master terrorist Usama bin Laden should get out of Afghanistan. The ruling, known as a fatwa, came against a backdrop of intense international pressure for Afghanistan's Taliban movement to hand over bin Laden or face attack by the United States. The Islamic clerics stopped short of recommending that the Taliban, which calls the terrorist its "guest," extradite bin Laden. And they are calling on the U.S. to refrain from launching a military attack and instead have the United Nations investigate the terror attacks.

The Afghan news agency says bin Laden's departure, according to the fatwa, would be voluntary. There is no indication of whether bin Laden will comply with the fatwa. The clerics' statement set no deadline for bin Laden to accept or reject the call.  ERRI's Clark Staten called the cleric's announced decision a "red herring" designed to deflect their responsibility and support for Bin Laden and hope to attempt to forestall an assault on themselves. "I'm afraid that it may be way too late for the Taliban to just say "we asked him [Bin Laden] to leave' and expect that to suffice," Staten said.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

Flight Crew Believed Murdered Before Crash

It was reported on Wednesday that federal investigators believe that some of the pilots and co-pilots of the four hijacked aircraft last week were murdered before the planes crashed, but investigators will not disclose what leads them to that conclusion. FBI technicians have also recovered fragments of conversations from within one of the doomed cockpits -- much of it is described however as "a jumbled mixture of grunts and screams."

Officials say reconstructing details of how the planes were taken over is important not from an evidentiary standpoint, but a preventive one. They confirm, for example, that the bodies of two stewardesses from United Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania, were found with their hands bound. And they theorize the pilots from that flight and others may have left their cockpit seats when they saw stewardesses being slashed with box knives.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft indicated there's growing evidence another country could have played a role in Tuesday's attack. U.S. officials have already confirmed they believe hijacker Muhammed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence official in Europe early this year.

Officials discount talk that another attack was specifically planned for this weekend, saying that while some suspects had booked flights that day there is no pattern suggesting other attacks are imminent.

INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY:

Shelby Says "Massive Failure" By U.S. Intelligence Led To Attacks

According to Senator Richard Shelby, last week's terrorist attacks represented "a massive failure" on the part of the U.S. intelligence community, and he blamed federal law enforcement agencies for a lack of coordination in relaying key information to one another. Shelby, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I think it was a debacle. It was a real massive failure. I don't know what happened. I don't know how it happened, but at the end of the day, we know that we were not warned."

Shelby said the CIA director should be granted Cabinet-level status to elevate the agency's influence and prestige within a presidential administration. He said changes are needed at several agencies, including the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency.

In other intelligence news, the French intelligence agency DST and the Paris crime brigade are investigating possible links between radical Islamists in France and Usama bin Laden. A Frenchman of Algerian origin, Zacarias Moussaoui, from Saint-Jean-de-Luz near the French-Spanish border, was arrested in Boston three weeks before the
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. US officials had planned to expel him to France for travelling on a false passport, but the FBI has now decided to hold Moussaoui for questioning.

Moussaoui was on a French intelligence watch list. With a record for repeated trips to Afghanistan, Britain, Germany and Italy, he fit the profile of several dozen French Muslims suspected of belonging to bin Laden's network. When Moussaoui enrolled in flying lessons in Boston this summer, his instructors found his behavior suspicious. He reportedly often talked about jihad and asked "surprising" questions. The flight school alerted the Boston police, who found the false passport.

Two Algerians suspected of supporting bin Laden are already imprisoned in France. Mohamed Bensakhria was arrested in Spain in June and was extradited to France in July. Bensakhria was in contact with four fundamentalists arrested in Germany on Christmas Day last year. They had taken video cassettes of the open air Christmas market and cathedral in Strasbourg, and the DST believes they planned to attack American targets in France and Germany. The third, Mohamed Badache, who allegedly trained Muslim militants from France in Afghanistan, was extradited from Belgium in June.

The United States is prodding Russia to play a key role in any U.S. military strike against bin Laden in his suspected hideout in Afghanistan. U.S. officials don't expect Moscow to let Russian soldiers serve shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. soldiers. Experts say anti-American sentiment in Russia's military and a fear of reprisal by Islamic extremists living in Russia likely would prevent that level of cooperation.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage plan to push for Russian intelligence and logistical help. Russia, which fought a decade-long war in Afghanistan, is believed to have planted spies within bin Laden's network. Its knowledge of Afghan languages, geography and military tactics also makes Moscow's help crucial.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:

Deployment Orders Given

The Pentagon issued the first deployment orders on Wednesday to begin the buildup for military action against Afghanistan. The first units to move will be aerial refueling tankers and air traffic control teams. They will be stationed in various countries along the way to southwest Asia so that combat units will be able to fly straight through from the United States.

Once the "air bridge" is in position, combat units will begin to move. Likely to be included in the force of combat aircraft are F-16s, F-15s and possibly B-1 bombers. The deployment has been dubbed "Operation Infinite Justice."

The United States already has a sizable and well-developed military presence in the Gulf, with combat aircraft stationed in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and elsewhere. It appeared likely that many of the extra combat aircraft to be deployed in the next several days would go to Kuwait and Bahrain.

Separate from the order to send planes to the Persian Gulf area, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the ships in its battle group left their home port at Norfolk, Virginia, on Wednesday for a scheduled six-month deployment to the Mediterranean. The Navy already has one carrier battle group in the Gulf and a second in the Arabian Sea to the south.

One option favored by some senior Pentagon officials, including the deputy Secretary of Defense, calls for targeting not only bin Laden but also Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday that the U.S. war on terrorism must go beyond Usama bin Laden and hunt down associated networks of terrorists in dozens of countries. He said: "We have a lot of evidence about a number of countries harboring terrorists that are working across the globe. This is not a problem of al-Qaida and Usama bin Laden. It is a problem of a number of networks of terrorists that have been active across the globe."

AFGHANISTAN:

U.S. Rejects Any Offer Of Talks With Taliban

In rejecting an apparent offer from its Taliban rulers for talks on master terrorist Usama bin Laden, the United States made it clear that it only wanted action and not words from Afghanistan on Wednesday. Speaking in the Oval Office, POTUS said: "Anybody who harbors terrorists needs to fear the United States and the rest of the freedom-loving world."

The U.S. President delivered the blunt message after the Taliban's reclusive spiritual leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, said he was ready for talks with the United States on bin Laden. In calling for the capture of bin Laden -- dead or alive -- POTUS has repeatedly warned that the U.S. will hold accountable those nations that harbor terrorists And Afghanistan is now to be at the top of the U.S. list.

Afghanistan's Taliban government - under international pressure to turn over bin Laden - said if the U.S. has proof, it should be turned over to the Afghan Supreme court. The Taliban also said they would meet with the U.S. on the issue, adding Americans should be patient and allow the investigative process to go forward.

Despite his talks offer, Omar appeared in no hurry to surrender the bearded terrorist and suggested the U.S. crusade to capture him was a pretext to crush Islamic rule. Omar told Islamic clerics meeting in Kabul to discuss bin Laden's fate: "The enemies of this country look on the Islamic system as a thorn in their eye and they seek different excuses to finish it off. Usama bin Laden is one of these. We have not tried to create problems with America. We have had several talks with the present and the past American governments and we are ready for more talks."

POTUS has urged Afghanistan to surrender the 44-year-old multimillionaire terrorist and members of his al Qaeda organization or face the consequences. Bin Laden, as usual, denies involvement in any terror plot.

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, which has agreed to cooperate with the United States despite strong popular support for the Taliban, said America's top targets are bin Laden and the Taliban. He said Pakistan must help, to protect its strategic interests, its economy, its very place in the world community. He said details are few, but so far, the U.S. has asked for intelligence cooperation, logistics support, and use of its airspace. Musharraf said Pakistan's air force is on high alert - a possible reference to threatened Afghan retaliation - and he said Pakistan's army is now on a do or die mission.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Afghanistan -- one of the world's poorest and most rugged countries -- would be a difficult military target for any nation. The SecDef said: "Several countries have exhausted themselves pounding that country."

Afghanistan's Armed Forces:

Forces of the Taliban: 50,000 troops.

Small arms: AK assault rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, recoilless rifles.

Armored forces (650 vehicles total): T-62, T-54, T-55 main battle tanks, BMP infantry fighting vehicles, BTR troop carriers,
BRDM-2 scout cars.

Artillery: 76mm mountain gun, 122mm and 152mm towed guns, 107mm and 122 mm multiple-rocket launch systems, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars.

Air Defenses: 23 mm ZU-23-2 automatic cannons, 100 mm anti-aircraft guns, possibly U.S.-made Stinger surface-to-air missiles.

Air Force: 10 Su-22 fighter-bombers, 5 MiG-21 fighters, 10 transport helicopters, 40 cargo airplanes.

INTERNATIONAL:

Protests Growing Across Pakistan

Western embassies in Pakistan on Wednesday ordered the families of diplomats and non-essential staff to leave the capital, Islamabad. The moves come amid fears of increasing unrest in Pakistan as the United States prepares to launch military action against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Observers say support for the Taliban is strong on the ground in Pakistan and there have been several anti-American protests in the past few days.

The British High Commission in Pakistan issued an order, asking all diplomatic dependents and non-essential staff to leave Islamabad, "in the light of the security situation." The FCO said: "British nationals who choose to stay in Pakistan should exercise caution, avoid crowds and demonstrations."

The US embassy said non-essential staff had already been given an option to leave earlier in the week. France, Canada and other European Union countries have also taken similar measures. Australia has issued an advisory asking all its nationals to consider leaving Pakistan.

In other overseas developments on Wednesday related to the investigation of last week's terrorist attacks:

-- In Paraguay, Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Moreno said 40 U.S. agents have traveled to Ciudad del Este, a major border city with Brazil that is a trading hub and home to a sizable Arabic community.

-- In Rome, police said that two Afghans arrested on the Italian-French border have been cleared of any links to Usama bin Laden.

-- In Germany, police were investigating users of a Web site offering advice on training for holy war that was used by a suspect in the U.S. attacks.

-- In Luxembourg, authorities asked banks to check their books for accounts possibly held by associates of Usama bin Laden.

-- In El Salvador, authorities were investigating a group of students who burned U.S. and Israeli flags and held celebrations after last week's terrorist attacks.

-- In Cuba, officials said the country was approached by U.S. officials about exchanging information after last week's terrorist attacks.

19 Sep 2001 - 09:30CDT

ERRI SPECIAL TERRORISM REPORTS FOR WEDNESDAY (#8)

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION/FBI/CIA/DOS ACTIVITIES

By Steve Macko, ERRI Risk Analyst

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION:

Iraqi Involvement In Terror Attack?

It was being reported late Tuesday that the United States received an intelligence report that Mohammed Atta, the hijacker who is named as the pilot of the first plane to strike the World Trade Center, met early this year somewhere in Europe with the head of the Iraqi intelligence service. U.S. intelligence officials believe the report to be accurate, but do not know if it is "smoking gun" evidence of Iraqi involvement. It is, however, the first solid indicator that a foreign state may have aided, abetted or had prior knowledge of Tuesday's attacks. Atta is believed to have been a cell leader of the 19 hijackers, although investigators have no concrete proof of that thus far.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said officials were investigating the possibility that more than four planes had been targeted by the hijackers - whose associates, he said, still might be in the United States. Several senior U.S. officials have been warning, in general terms, that terrorists might try to strike again as the United States mounts a worldwide campaign against them.

Sources close to the FBI investigation have reportedly said that suicide hijackers may have been on board a fifth American trans-continental plane on the day of the attacks. One source told The Chicago Tribune that the FBI was searching for a number of passengers
who were due to fly on American Airlines Flight 43 from Boston, which was grounded due to a mechanical problem.

The plane had been scheduled to take off at 0810 EDT, just 25 minutes after American Airlines Flight 11, which struck New York's World Trade Center. One of the sources told the newspaper that the FBI was also "very interested" in people whose names appeared on the passenger lists of several other American flights which were in the air when the first attacks occurred. Those planes were then prematurely landed under the orders of air traffic controllers in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. None of the passengers being sought by the FBI reappeared to board the same, rescheduled flights when the grounding order on commercial planes in the US was lifted
last week.

In other Tuesday news, three men were arrested in the Detroit area and charged with possessing false documents. Authorities searching a house there found documents mentioning a U.S. military base. Some of the men are believed to have worked for a company which supplied food to planes at the Detroit airport. Four other material witnesses are in custody. So far, the FBI has detained at least 75 individuals and is seeking nearly 200 others.

The FBI is calling on fire departments and ambulance companies to increase security and guard against the theft of any vehicles. The Bureau says the nationwide advisory is just a precaution.

At Dulles Airport on Tuesday night, a member of the cabin crew mistakenly declared an emergency as a DC-10 was about to take off for Amsterdam. Thinking that the plane had been hijacked, the pilots evacuated the cabin using a rope to climb out the window. FBI agents and other authorities surrounded the aircraft but eventually concluded that the alarm was just a misunderstanding. The flight was cancelled.


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE:

U.S. Department Of State Issues Travel Warning For Pakistan

On 17 September, the U.S. State Department issued the following Travel Warning for Pakistan: "The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to evaluate carefully the implications for their security and safety before deciding to travel to Pakistan and whether to remain in Pakistan.

The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and possible responses in Afghanistan heighten the need for vigilance on the part of American citizens resident in or traveling through Pakistan. In neighboring Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities, which control at least 90 percent of Afghanistan, continue to harbor international terrorist Usama bin Laden and his terrorist network. While the Government of Pakistan has expressed its full support for the international campaign against terrorism, some public sympathy and support for the Taliban, as well as for bin Laden, exist in Pakistan, and the presence of indigenous sectarian and militant groups in Pakistan require that all Americans in or traveling through Pakistan take appropriate steps to maintain their security awareness. Events in the Middle East also increase the possibility of violence.

As a result of these concerns, the Department has authorized the departure of all U.S. Embassy and Consulate personnel in non-emergency positions and family members in Pakistan. In addition, the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar has allowed some employees to move temporarily to Islamabad in light of rising tensions in Peshawar. All American citizens in Pakistan are urged to consider their personal security situations and to take those measures they deem appropriate to ensure their well being, including consideration of departure from the country. Consulate Peshawar along with the Consulates in Lahore and Karachi and the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad remain available for emergency American citizen services assistance.

Americans who despite this warning reside in or visit Pakistan should exercise maximum caution and take prudent measures. This includes maintaining a strong security posture by being aware of their surroundings, avoiding crowds and demonstrations, keeping a low profile, varying times and routes and notifying the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate in case of any change in the local security situation.

The U.S. Embassy also urges all American citizens to defer travel to the tribal areas of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province until further notice. The Government of Pakistan requires all citizens of countries other than Pakistan and Afghanistan to obtain permission from the Home and Tribal Affairs Department prior to visiting these
tribal areas which lie outside the normal jurisdiction of the Government of Pakistan."

BELGIUM:

U.S. State Department Issues Public Announcement For Belgium

On 17 September, the U.S. Department of State issued the following Public Announcement for Belgium: "There will be a meeting of European Union Finance ministers held in Liege, Belgium on September 22-23, 2001. The Belgian federal police are taking steps to address the fact
that local groups may be on hand to demonstrate against globalization. Americans traveling to Liege while the conference is in session should be aware of the presence of the demonstrators and avoid sites of demonstrations whenever possible, bearing in mind that demonstrations
at previous international meetings have sometimes turned violent."

AFGHANISTAN:

The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan on Tuesday did not rule out the possibility that Usama bin Laden masterminded the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but needed proof before he could be handed over. Conceding for the first time that bin Laden may have been involved in last Tuesday's devastating attacks that killed more than 5,000 people, Taliban Information Minister Qudrutullah Jamal said: "Anyone who is responsible for this act, Usama or not, we will not side with him." Previously the hardline Islamic movement has insisted bin Laden could not possibly have been involved. Bin Laden has been reported as denying any role.

Jamal spoke just hours after high-ranking Pakistani officials flew home after two days of talks aimed at persuading the Taliban that if they do not hand over the bearded militant they will face the full wrath of the U.S. military. The message the Pakistanis relayed from the U.S. to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan was said to be as dire a threat as one nation can level against another. The clerics who will decide whether to turn bin Laden over should consider whether one man is worth the well being of 25 million Afghanis.

A Pakistani source said the Taliban has discussed conditions for possibly extraditing bin Laden to a country other than the United States. The conditions are said to include international recognition of the Taliban government, now recognized by just three countries, and the lifting of United Nations sanctions against Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is clearly no match for the U.S. military. Their weapons are left over from the Soviet invasion in the 1980s. They do have anti-aircraft missiles -- whether they work is another question. But it is a country that has known almost nothing but war and which fought the mighty Soviet Union to a standstill.

Military units, some of them with Russian-made Scud missiles, have reportedly been moved near the Pakistani border - an action that would back up Afghanistan's previous threats that it will attack Pakistan if Pakistan helps the U.S. in a military action, as Pakistan has said it would.

It is being reported that U.S. officials had been trying to coerce the Taliban rulers into handing over bin Laden because finding him on their own is a long shot. A senior U.S. official said that in all the years U.S. intelligence agencies have been tracking bin Laden, they have actually seen him in the flesh only twice.

POTUS, preparing the American public for a nasty and unpredictable war, mobilized reservists and stepped up the rhetoric, declaring he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive." He also said that those such as the Taliban who housed terrorists would feel the heat.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reinforced the point: "This isn't going to be a few cruise missiles flying around for the world to see that something blew up."

The Afghan clerics, who have been gathering in Kabul at the request of the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, are expected to declare a war in the event of a US attack. This would mean that every American would become a legitimate target. The threat was heightened in Pakistan, where opinion over whether to support US military action is bringing the country close to civil war. The leader of one religious party threatened suicide attacks against American interests if US troops are allowed on Pakistani soil.

On Monday night, there were reports that the Taliban have already moved most of their key military assets out of Kabul and Kandahar, the two most likely targets for US bombing. Top Taliban officials have sought refuge in the mountains. A Taliban unit, mostly made up of foreign militants, has been sent to take up a defensive position 40 miles south of the Afghan capital. The sense of menace over the whole region was reinforced when China rushed troops to its small border with Afghanistan.

INTERNATIONAL:

Tension Remains High Worldwide

As the leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban regime threatened to declare a holy war against the United States. the global security alert triggered by last week's attacks on America showed no sign of abating on Tuesday. With a military clash between the Islamic Taliban and the United States looking increasingly likely, countries in Asia that have large Muslim communities were also bracing for a possible reaction from within their own populations.

In Japan, police said a bomb threat against Citibank's local offices forced the evacuation of several high-rise buildings, but employees returned to work after police determined the buildings were safe. People inside the 30-story Akasaka Park Building and well as the Tokyo Bankers' Association Building, in separate financial districts in Tokyo, as well as Citibank's Tokyo headquarters, were told to leave their buildings after a phone call saying that a bomb planted at a Citibank office or offices would go off at abpout 14:30 hours Tokyo time.

Another Citibank retail office in the Otemachi financial district was also briefly evacuated. Police were reluctant to write off the phone calls as pranks.

As the international scope of the suspected terror network became apparent, Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported on Tuesday that at least five of the hijackers had trained in Britain. Thousands of miles away in the Philippines, transport authorities ordered all 16 flight training schools in the country to exercise caution in accepting foreign students. The Philippine government is one of several in Asia, including Indonesia and India, that could face instability if a U.S.-Taliban clash ends up stirring unrest in Muslim communities.

Indian authorities have already ordered police throughout the country to be on guard for clashes between majority Hindus and minority Muslims if Washington launches an attack on Afghanistan.

A radical Islamic group in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, threatened on Tuesday to attack the U.S. embassy and seek the expulsion of Americans in Jakarta if Washington carries out revenge strikes against any Islamic nation. Police dismissed the threat as not being serious, but the group -- the Islamic Defenders Front -- has been behind a number of attacks against bars and nightclubs popular with foreigners.

Back in Japan, police began meeting to plan security for POTUS. admitting they were concerned that he might be a target for attack when he visits Japan next month. National Police Agency Deputy Director Hidehiko Sato called for tight security. The U.S. President is scheduled to visit Japan in mid-October before attending a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shanghai.

18 Sep 2001 - 09:00CDT

The War Against Bin Laden; Propaganda and Special Operations

Opinion/Editorial

By C. L. Staten, CEO and Sr. National Security Analyst; Emergency Response & Research Institute

Chicago, IL (EmergencyNet News) -- The "Iraq News," among others, in the past few days raised the question of whether or not the American public (or some significant segment there of) should "buy" into the premise that one man--Usama bin Laden--and his "group" are alone responsible for Tuesday's carnage in New York City and Washington, D.C.? Obviously, this is an interesting question posed by an interesting source.

The "Iraq News" article is only one of dozens published by various media organizations and authors in the past two days that seemingly attempt to divert attention from Bin Laden or other radical Muslim militants and blame the destruction of the World Trade Center on "the Israelis", "American right-wing extremists," "the CIA," or any number of other far-fetched attackers.

The simple answer to the Iraq News question is NO. It was not simply one man who carried out the well coordinated and well-planned terrorist operations against America. But, increasing evidence would suggest that he motivated, supported, financed, and probably coordinated the attacks through surrogates in various "compartmentalized cells," who had been planning the attacks for an extended period of time.

This discussion begs another question that seems to be on the lips of any number of commentators on the 24-hour-a-day news stations recently; Would killing Usama Bin Laden solve the problem of terrorism directed against the U.S.A.? Again the answer is another simple one...NO...just killing Bin Laden will not solve the problem.

In many ways, Bin Laden is more than just a man...to some, he is an almost mythical symbol of a most radical wing of Muslims that believes that violence is the best path to establishing world-wide Islam. It should be noted that this is an infinitesimally small portion of the overall Muslim population and that Bin Laden and the other terrorist groups do not represent "Islam the peaceful religion," but rather, Islam "the expansionist geopolitical strategy."

The prime problem that is facing an international counter-terrorist effort is the fact that there are probably dozens or even hundreds of small "cells" that participate in the Al-Qaeda network