The Daily Update 15 October 2010 The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) www.investigativeproject.org Subscriptions, PDF attachment & feedback: [email protected] General security, policy 1. New Pakistani Taliban operative feared inside U.S. after Times Square failure 2. Inside the ring: China's rare-earth controls; N. Korean missiles; CIA covert action 3. State Department drops terror label from Algerian group 4. Khadr negotiating plea deal; Canadian aid worker claims Khadr family patriarch advised al-Qaeda leaders, abused charities and repeatedly tried to have him killed 5. Ghailani trial update 6. Testimony begins at Hassan’s Fort Hood Article 32 hearing 7. Series: Parts 3 & 4 of 4: Profiles of Americans who play key roles in terrorism threat 8. Federal judge says 11 jurors can deliberate fate of 4 accused of trying to bomb Bronx synagogues 9. As terror alert continues, NYPD holds drill to prep for Mumbai style attack 10. Second Canadian terror suspect in bomb plot released on bail 11. Judge overrules terror suspect Abdulmutallab’s request on evidence 12. Memo names Canadian politicians feared under foreign influence 13. Ontario’s highest court gives woman second chance for niqab at trial 14. DOJ Civil Rights Division concludes no crime occurred in shootout with Dearborn imam Air, rail, port, health & communication infrastructure security 15. U.S. to pay SIGA up to $2.8 billion in biodefense deal 16. New airport scanner discerns shampoo from explosives; Newark, NYC airports continue to wait for full-body scanners 17. Preventing a hack attack Financing, money laundering, fraud, identity theft, civil litigation 18. Fellowship Foundation offers heated rebuttal to terror money allegation 19. Subpoenas cancelled for 14 from Twin Cities & Chicago probed for material support of terror groups 20. Treasury targets Sinaloa Cartel financial and air cargo networks 21. 73 members and associates of organized crime enterprise, others indicted for health care fraud crimes involving more than $163M 20. Rep. Frank concerned about Treasury proposal on cross-border transactions 23. 22 Oklahoma City-area stores raided in massive food stamp fraud investigation; 30 arrested 24. Syrian Islamic singer linked to HLF pleads guilty in Detroit to false statements Border security, immigration & customs 25. AZ sheriffs cite border beheading in latest criticism of feds 26. Major B.C. drug bust linked to Mexican cartel 27. CBP seizes more than $277,000 in cash from smuggler leaving the US 28. Sept. 11 hero fights for his job back 29. Former Des Moines Imam arrested in Texas on immigration-related charges International 30. Gen. Petraeus: Special forces eliminate 300 Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders 31. Thai police hold 15 Pakistanis, probe possible terror link 1 32. Hidden agenda in Ahmadinejad's Lebanon trip? Iran elected to OPEC presidency 33. Saudi Arabia arrests ex-Guantanamo Qaeda detainee 34. Yemeni intelligence commander survives assassination attempt by al-Qaida 35. UAE hands over to Bahrain a Syrian fugitive wanted in connection with terror financing 36. British aid worker kidnapped in Somalia 37. Terror suspect in Norway to remain in custody 38. UK banks draw fire for Nigerian accounts; Asil Nadir: hazardous bacteria in old files could delay trial 39. UK seeks private industry help in averting cyber attacks 40. Identity of EU bank data overseer shrouded in secrecy Comment / analysis 41. Reza Kahlili: Ahmadinejad's Lebanon victory lap 42. Andy McCarthy: Ghailani Trial Underway … and Predictable 43. John Rosenthal: Germany's Jihadi Export 44. Seth Mandel: Are Taxpayers Forced to Administer Shariah Law? 45. IPT News: Groups' Reflexive Rhetoric Ignores Facts The Investigative Project on Terrorism Daily Update is designed for use by law enforcement, the intelligence community and policy makers for non-profit research and educational use only. Quoted material is subject to the copyright protections of the original sources which should be cited for attribution, rather than the Update. Our weekly report, "The Money Trail," derived from our Daily Update, is a compilation of materials on terror financing and other related financial issues. THE AMERICAS GENERAL SECURITY, POLICY 1. EXCLUSIVE: New Pakistani Taliban Operative Feared Inside U.S. After Times Square Failure By Mike Levine and Jennifer Griffin October 14, 2010 FoxNews.com http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/7011 Senior U.S. officials are concerned over recent intelligence indicating that the Pakistani Taliban, which orchestrated the failed Times Square bombing, may have successfully placed another operative inside the United States to launch a second attack, sources tell Fox News. Authorities, however, know very little about the potential operative or any possible plot. "[We] don't know who it is and don't know where it is," one source said. "We know the guy's here, but don't know anything about him." Based on the intelligence, authorities believe the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, would have directed the individual to attempt another Times Square-style operation, but not necessarily in New York City… 2. Inside the Ring By Bill Gertz The Washington Times 4:24 p.m., Wednesday, October 13, 2010 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/13/inside-the-ring-33926199/ China's rare-earth controls The diplomatic dispute between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands has died down, but the incident involving a detained fishing boat captain has raised new fears within the U.S. government over China's use of economic warfare, namely, its control over exports of rare-earth minerals needed for high- technology manufacturing... North Korean missiles North Korea's military displayed new missiles during the major parade Sunday marking the promotion of Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, as the next "Dear Leader." According to U.S. officials and private military analysts, the parade provided the first photos of two new systems: a medium-range missile called the Musudan and an advanced surface-to-air missile (SAM) that appears based on Russian and Chinese anti-aircraft missiles... CIA covert action 2 A new book by journalist Bob Woodward reveals some of the CIA's holy-of-holies secrets: Details of covert action programs that must be approved personally by the president. Mr. Woodward, in "Obama's Wars," describes a Dec. 9, 2008, meeting between President-elect Obama and then-CIA Director Michael V. Hayden and then-Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell. The briefing was on a detailed listing of some of the "14 highly classified covert actions," Mr. Woodward wrote... 3. State Department Drops Terror Label From Algerian Group By Samuel Rubenfeld October 14, 2010, 7:03 PM ET. WSJ Blogs: Corruption Currents: Commentary and news about money laundering, bribery, terrorism finance and sanctions http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/7012 The State Department dropped its foreign terrorism designation of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, which goes by the French initials GIA. Most of GIA’s senior leaders and other remnants left to join al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a group already labeled as terrorists, rendering the GIA’s designation as moot, according to the State Department’s public notice to be published in Friday’s edition of the Federal Register. The group, which formed in 1992 out of a decision by the secular military government to stop an election in which an Islamist party was expected to win, vowed to establish a sharia government to rule over Algeria. It also has a history of hitting targets in France; GIA fliers with the Eiffel Tower on them were among the reasons experts believe the iconic structure received bomb threats in September. 4. Khadr negotiating plea deal By Michelle Shephard National Security Reporter Toronto Star October 14, 2010 http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/omarkhadr/article/875311--khadr-negotiating-plea-deal?bn=1 A plea deal in the Omar Khadr case is being negotiated, just days before his war crimes trial is set to resume Guantanamo Bay. Canadian lawyer Nathan Whitling confirmed that a ―potential deal‖ is in the works but that he could not comment on details. Quoting unnamed sources, Al Arabiya television station reported that a settlement had already been reached, including a provision that would allow the Toronto- born captive to spend the majority of his sentence in Canada. A source told the Star that the deal was one proposed by the defense team and approved Wednesday night by Guantanamo’s Convening Authority – the Pentagon’s senior official responsible for signing off on plea agreements. But a statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon’s office poured cold water on Khadr's possible repatriation… Exclusive — Khadr’s father tried to kill me: aid worker Stewart Bell October 14, 2010 – 8:56 pm National Post http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/7013 IPT NOTE: For more background on the Khadr family, see http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/khadr/ A Canadian aid worker has accused the patriarch of Toronto’s Khadr family of advising al-Qaeda leaders, abusing charities and repeatedly trying to have him killed in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In exclusive interviews with the National Post, Mohamed Fadil spoke publicly for the first time about the years he spent alongside Ahmed Saeed Khadr, also known as Al-Kanadi, Arabic for The Canadian. ―Khadr is not a saint,‖ said Mr. Fadil, a 54-year-old Iraqi-Canadian businessman and chairman of the Canadian Relief Foundation, a registered charity. ―Khadr was really a jihadi. Khadr was not a charity worker.‖ Between 1985 and 1990, Mr. Fadil worked with Mr. Khadr at the Pakistan office of an Ottawa-based charity. They crossed paths again from 1999 until Mr. Khadr fled Kabul following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Among Mr. Fadil’s claims:… 5. Trial of Man Once Held at Guantánamo Opens By BENJAMIN WEISER New York Times October 13, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/nyregion/13ghailani.html In the first civilian trial of a former Guantánamo detainee, the word Guantánamo was not uttered in front of the jury as the case began on Tuesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan.