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Terror Networks & Islam
Ramadan offensive and nukes
2005-10-02
From the rather wild-eyed WND, more about the "American Hiroshima".
Muchos caveat as usual, this as been evoked before.
On the other hand, a "mundane" Ramadan offensive is very likely, as there is supposedly a strategic need for AQ to go on a media and political "Têt offensive" (if I read my Stratfor freebies correctly enough), and as the month of ramadan always saw a surge of bloodshed in Algeria civil war for example (the Lions of islam's glorious deeds are much more blessed in this "holy" month).
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Stirring fears al-Qaida's much-heralded "Ramadan Offensive" was beginning early, three near-simultaneous bomb blasts ripped through crowded restaurants on the Indonesia resort island of Bali almost three years to the day of the devastating Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202.

At least 25 have been reported killed.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono branded Saturday's blasts as acts of terrorism and vowed to catch those responsible. Last month, he had said he was worried about new attacks and called for increased security.

"The focus now, apart from the obvious one of saving lives and treating the injured, is on the gathering of the evidence, the material evidence on the ground at the two bombing sites so the police can quickly ascertain who perpetrated these heinous and cowardly acts," said Marty Natalagawa of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.

Yudhoyono said it was too soon to assign blame, but security experts said the attacks were likely the work of Jemaah Islamiah, a terrorist network viewed as the regional arm of al-Qaida – the same group responsible for the 2002 nightclub attacks.

Jemaah Islamiah, which means Islamic Community, seeks to establish an Islamic state across Southeast Asia – including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and southern Thailand.

In October 2002, the United States officially designated the group as a terrorist organization.

Officials at Bali's Sanglah hospital, near the island's capital of Denpasar, said 25 bodies had been brought in, while Agence France-Presse reported the death toll had reached 32.

Reuters reports 15 of the dead have been identified – 12 Indonesians, including a 6-year-old boy, two Australians and a Japanese national.

The wounded are known to have included at least three Americans.

It is unknown how the bombs were delivered or detonated. Witnesses reported seeing dismembered bodies at the scene, many of them foreigners.

U.S. officials were notified earlier this month of efforts by al-Qaida for spectacular attacks in October against the U.S., Russia and Europe in what it is calling the "Great Ramadan Offensive."

The offensive, designed to overshadow the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon, was first referenced in a May 30 letter written by al-Qaida's Iraq commander Abu Musab Zarqawi to Osama bin Laden. It is the subject of a report written by terrorism expert Yossef Bodansky, the former director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, to government officials.

Ramadan, the holiest period in the Muslim calendar, begins Tuesday, Oct. 4, this year and lasts a month.

Zarqawi characterizes the attacks as a "fateful confrontation" with the U.S. and Israel.

Details of the operation came from intercepted communications between top al-Qaida leaders about two weeks ago.

"I think that the plan for the next stage that was drawn up has reached you or is on its way to you," said Zarqawi's letter to bin Laden. "O God. Make the expedition of Osama proceed toward its goal ... We await your orders as to the next stage of the plan."

Bodansky also concludes that al-Qaida leaders have interpreted the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina as a sign that Allah is pleased with their plans.

The alarming report comes weeks after WND and Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin broke a series of stories on al-Qaida's "American Hiroshima" plan – 10 years in the design stages – to detonate one or more nuclear weapons in major cities in the U.S.

Intelligence analysts and sources disagree on the details of the way bin Laden's "American Hiroshima" plan unfolds. Some G2 Bulletin sources emphasize bin Laden's commitment to re-enacting the 1945 attack on Japan with one nuclear detonation, followed by another days later.

Paul Williams, author of "The Al-Qaeda Connection," however, sees a much more devastating, coordinated, all-out, surprise attack coming.

"The next attack, according to al-Qaida defectors and informants, will take place simultaneously at various sites throughout the country," he writes. "Designated targets include New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, Las Vegas, and Valdez, Alaska, where the tankers are filled with oil from the Trans-Alaska pipeline. To orchestrate such an incredible event requires not only the shipment of the nukes into the United States but also the establishment of cells, the training of sleeper agents, the selection of sites, and the preparation of the weapons without detection from federal, state or local law enforcement officials. Unlike 9-11, that cost less than $350,000, this event already has cost a king's ransom, and bin Laden will not waste the billions in expenditures, the years of planning and his coveted 'crown jewels' on an attack that is ill-planned, poorly timed and carelessly coordinated."

Other sources interpret some of the same information, based on captured al-Qaida operatives and documents as well as defectors, differently. They project an escalating series of attacks, each followed by blackmail demands upon the U.S. government and the American people.

As WorldNetDaily and G2 Bulletin have reported, al-Qaida has obtained at least 40 nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union – including suitcase nukes, nuclear mines, artillery shells and even some missile warheads. In addition, documents captured in Afghanistan show al-Qaida had plans to assemble its own nuclear weapons with fissile material it purchased on the black market.
Posted by:anonymous5089

#10  What I find amazing is that the press release that Boren’s office has released to the public stated that "Prior to the game, the entire stadium was swept by the expert bomb teams with the help of dogs.” Was there a bomb threat that OU didn’t take seriously? Is that why the stadium was swept with “expert bomb teams with the help of dogs”?

I suspect that's done as a matter of routine any more. A gathering of 80,000 people eating pork products and drinking beer would make a prime jihadist target.

Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-10-02 16:32  

#9  Well, it's either WND and Statfor, or fetish porn sites

:>
Posted by: Shipman   2005-10-02 13:12  

#8  There's something fishy here; the link at freerepublic goes onto another site:


What I find amazing is that the press release that Boren’s office has released to the public stated that "Prior to the game, the entire stadium was swept by the expert bomb teams with the help of dogs.” Was there a bomb threat that OU didn’t take seriously? Is that why the stadium was swept with “expert bomb teams with the help of dogs”?

Logic dictates that two “devices” suggest that two people were involved. A terrorist cell? Why would someone committing suicide using a large bomb to kill themselves just keep another bombing laying around? You know, just in case the first one didn’t click off? It’s all premeditated in the first place. That means conspiracy to kill at least themselves if not someone else in the process. But then there’s that whole “large bomb” thing we’re left to contend with? Why would someone use such a large “device” to take himself or herself out if they were not targeting others to go with them? And when I say a “large bomb” that’s exactly what I mean.

My family and I were sitting at home, roughly one mile away from the stadium as a bird flies, when we heard and felt an earth shattering explosion. I was monitoring my hand held amateur radio when the local repeater erupted with chatter about a explosion. It was so loud that people wanted to know if others had heard it. I called the Police who advised me that officers were on the scene and that a explosion had occurred but they would not give any other details. Our house literally shook. The ground vibrated with a deep rolling growling sound. This was a large explosion. Not some mere Pipe bomb put together by a pissed off student. But when I arrived at the stadium to shoot video for a local news station I regularly freelance for, already this was the spin on the story. This was serious business. This bomb was meant to kill not one person, but as many as could be reached in a crowd based on the size and power of the “device” alone.


Posted by: Tony (UK)   2005-10-02 12:53  

#7  The explosion was felt more than 4 miles away...this was no suicide. Good links, pictures , etc. on this... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1495137/posts
Posted by: milford421   2005-10-02 12:38  

#6  Ok, I found the story, this seems so far to be a suicide.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2005-10-02 11:42  

#5  Btw, WND too had an headline about that stadium suicide bomber, but this seemed even more outlandish. Is this just another internet rumor, or is there something to that story?
Posted by: anonymous5089   2005-10-02 11:15  

#4  Also that a second explosive device was found and detonated. According to reports, there were other injuries.
Posted by: milford421   2005-10-02 11:14  

#3  Well, it's either WND and Statfor, or fetish porn sites. Life truly is made of hard choices.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2005-10-02 11:13  

#2  Straftfor and WND?
Eat lots of vegetables and get 8 hours of sleep.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-10-02 10:57  

#1  AOL Sports reported the explosion during the OU football game last night was a suicide bomber. They locked them in the stadium. It was October first.
Posted by: Danielle   2005-10-02 09:32  

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