In Jakarta, A New Terrorist Tactic Revealed

How hotel attacks are changing.

According to Indonesian Security Minister Widodo Adi Sucipto, nine persons were killed and at least 42 injured in two powerful blasts that hit the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in the Mega Kuningan business area in Jakarta early on the morning of July 17. Widodo told reporters that six of the victims were killed at the Marriott hotel, two others at the Ritz-Carlton hotel and one died in the hospital. Of the 42 injured, 13 were foreigners.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/17/marriott-hotel-attack-jakarta-opinions-contributors-terrorism-indonesia.html

5th Avenue Skyscraper Center of Iranian Mystery

When anyone enters the gleaming stone skyscraper on New York's Fifth Avenue, they have no idea they have walked into the middle of an international mystery. Just blocks from Rockefeller Center , 650 Fifth Avenue is at the center of a federal probe, involving the FBI, two firms linked to Iran 's national bank and a wealthy U.S. foundation that supports Islamic charitable causes ? whose former president has been accused of obstruction of justice. In December, the Department of Justice charged the building's co-owners, the Assa Corporation and Assa Limited, of being front companies for Iran 's national bank, Bank Melli. The bank had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly helping fund Iran 's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The other owner of the building is the Alavi Foundation, which was founded by the Shah of Iran and has been operating as a New York state charity for 35 years. Alavi owns 60 percent of the building and bills itself as a charitable effort to "support Interfaith harmony and promote Islamic culture and Persian language, literature and civilization." It claims assets of more than $121 million.A look at its donation list from tax records shows some of America 's most prominent institutions have benefited from Alavi's largess, from Harvard and Columbia universities, to former President Clinton's work. Tax records show the William J. Clinton Foundation was given $30,000 in 2006. Alavi has also distributed millions to schools, mosques and Islamic Centers through the years... But others have accused the Alavi Foundation of doing Iran 's bidding right here in America , and even alleged it is "controlled" by Tehran ?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526766,00.html

EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda eyes bio attack from Mexico Seeks white militias as allies

U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by an al Qaeda recruiter threatening to smuggle a biological weapon into the United States via tunnels under the Mexico border, the latest sign of the terrorist group's determination to stage another mass-casualty attack on the U.S. homeland.

The video aired earlier this year as a recruitment tool makes clear that al Qaeda is looking to exploit weaknesses in U.S. border security and also is willing to ally itself with white militia groups or other anti-government entities interested in carrying out an attack inside the United States, according to counterterrorism officials interviewed by The Washington Times.

The officials, who spoke only on the condition they not be named because of the sensitive nature of their work, stressed that there is no credible information that al Qaeda has acquired the capabilities to carry out a mass biological attack although its members have clearly sought the expertise.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/03/al-qaeda-eyes-bio-attack-via-mexico-border/

Call the Terrorists What They Are

The foiled plot to bomb New York synagogues, disclosed today, highlights the absurdity, and danger, of Obama's avoiding the term "Islamic radicals."

There are several lessons that the U.S. government and public should learn from the foiled plot by four radical Muslims, disclosed today, to bomb synagogues in New York and shoot down a military plane using a Stinger missile.

For President Obama, the "enemy" can no longer be limited to just al Qaeda, as he has insisted in pre- and post- campaign interviews. When asked who the enemy is, he reflexively says "al Qaeda." He has categorically refused to use the term "radical Islam" or "Islamic extremism." But that is exactly what we are facing?and have been facing for the past three decades.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-21/call-the-terrorists-what-they-are/full/