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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 23-Sep-2010
23-Sep-10 News -- France raises alert level for al-Qaeda terrorism

Web Log - September, 2010

23-Sep-10 News -- France raises alert level for al-Qaeda terrorism

China makes stronger retaliation threats to Japan for arrest of fishing captain

France raises alert level for al-Qaeda suicide attacks

Security measures in France have been stepped up since last week, when evidence came to light that al-Qaeda linked militants are planning an attack.

Frederic Pechenard, director general of police and domestic intelligence services, is quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP) as saying, "I'm not here to frighten people, but we have serious evidence coming from reliable intelligence sources telling us that there is a risk of a major attack."

He indicated that the most likely threats were an assassination bid on an important figure or a bombing of a subway train or department store.

Although security measures have been stepped up, the official alert level remains at "reinforced red." If it were to be increased to the top level, "scarlet," it would mean closing airports and railway stations.

Nigerian kidnappings

The terror threat may be connected to the "fully mobilizing" to free French hostages in Nigeria kidnapped by the north African branch of al-Qaeda, known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

AQIM has taken credit for kinapping seven oil industry workers in Niger, five of whom are French, according to Bloomberg.

According to Debka, Algeria's intelligence agency has reported to France that AQIM has sent to France and Europe a number of Algerian jihadist women trained to carry out suicide bombings on trains and railway stations.

I've written about AQIM in the past in conjunction with regional terrorist threats carried out in Algeria and Morocco. (See my 2007 article, "Algeria bombings are from new generation of young al-Qaeda terrorists.")

But now AQIM is extending its reach into Europe for two reasons, according to the Debka article:

AQIM has received an influx of Arab militants from Afghanistan and Pakistan who are pulling out because of rumors about secret negotiations between the US and the Taliban to end the Afghan war. These jihadists are keen to continue targeting the west, and are being sent to Europe without delay.

There has been a secret war between France vs AQIM in Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and adjacent Sahara regions, and it's ramping up.

Because of the conflict with France and the influx of jihadists, AQIM is preparing terrorist attacks targeting France and the rest of western Europe.

Homeland Security: Al-Qaeda terror threat increasing

On the same day that France raised its terror alert, US Director of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano testified before Congress on the increased threat of terrorism.

According to her testimony:

"Today I would like to highlight the main ways in which the terrorist threat to our country is changing - ways that increasingly challenge law enforcement and the intelligence community. I would also like to highlight some specific - though not exhaustive - ways that the Department of Homeland Security is moving to address this evolving threat.

The terrorist threat changes quickly, and we have observed important changes in the threat even since this Committee convened a similar hearing last year. The threat is evolving in several ways that make it more difficult for law enforcement or the intelligence community to detect and disrupt plots.

One overarching theme of this evolution is the diversification of the terrorist threat on many levels. These include the sources of the threat, the methods that terrorists use, and the targets that they seek to attack."

Among the affiliates of al-Qaeda, she mentioned al-Shabaab in Somalia, Tehrik-e Taliban (TTP), headquartered in Pakistan, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), headquartered in Yemen.

She also indicated increasing danger from "homegrown terrorists" -- terrorist operators who are US citizens, but have been trained in terror tactics by al-Qaeda.

Additional links

China is making stronger threats of retaliation against the Japanese for the arrest of a boat captain fishing in waters around islands claimed by Japan. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said: "The Japanese side has paid no heed to China's numerous serious representations, and so China cannot but take necessary countermeasures. If Japan acts wilfully despite advice to the contrary, China will take further actions, and Japan must accept full responsibility for all the severe consequences. Wen called the islands "China's sacred territory." Reuters

In the past four months, the computer virus Stuxnet has infected at least 45,000 industrial control computer systems around the world. These are the computer systems that control things like factories, refineries, and power plants, and there are concerns that the objective of the virus is to control or destroy some particular target. Experts around the world have been trying to reverse engineer the highly encrypted code to determine its intended target. One speculation is that it's already completely its mission by forcing the shutdown of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in August. CS Monitor

Hamas has arrested an unknown number of Palestinians in the Gaza, giving rise to rumors that they'll all be executed for the crime of collaborating with Israel. Media Line (Paragraph corrected, 23-Sep)

How do you amend a country's Constitution? Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega took advantage of last week's public holiday, when almost the entire country was on vacation, to reprint the constitution, and in doing to made some modifications that he favored. CS Monitor

About 400 people -- researchers, exterminators, vendors, and government housing bureaucrats -- have gathered in Rosemont, Ill., for the first of its kind Bed Bug Summit. Chicago Tribune

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 23-Sep-10 News -- France raises alert level for al-Qaeda terrorism thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (23-Sep-2010) Permanent Link
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