Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The IPT Update

26 November 2013

General security, policy
1.  Obama statement on Iran nuclear program; Netanyahu: Iran nuclear deal is 'historic mistake'; Secret US-Iran talks set stage for nuke deal; White House: Iran not on clock yet; US & Saudis in growing rift
2.  Iran, North Korea secretly developing new long-range rocket booster for ICBMs
3.  Retired FBI Agent Robert Levinson becomes one of longest-held Americans in history
4.  CIA personnel testify agency was on alert over 9/11 anniversary in Benghazi, before attack
5.  Penny Lane: The secret Guantanamo Bay facility where CIA turned prisoners into double agents
6.  NY jail's too rough for hook-handed Al Qaeda suspect Abu Hamza, lawyers say
7.  Anti-terrorism activist to act as surety for accused Via Rail plotter

Air, rail, port, health, energy & communication security
8.  Car crash sparks gun scare at LAX
9.  New technology could alter airport security rules on liquids
10. Schumer calls for tighter maritime security around Indian Point; Vendors unveil new technologies at port security expo in Long Beach, CA
11. More than half of public WiFi networks 'open to criminal and terrorist abuse', survey finds

Financing, money laundering, fraud, identity theft, civil litigation
12. Feds raid over a dozen NYC delis for alleged WIC checks-for-cash scheme


Border security, immigration & customs
13. Auditor-General report finds 'high-risk individuals' slipped into Canada because of insufficient border controls

International
14. Bahrain says two terror suspects in custody were held at Guantánamo
15. Islamist rebels capture Syria's largest oilfield: activists
16. Court indicts east Jerusalem man for raising funds for Hamas
17. Azerbaijan jails 29 people for plotting Islamist attacks
18. Radical Islamic group threatens more China attacks
19. Group with undeclared links to Muslim Brotherhood & Hamas has been meeting at the Houses of Parliament.
20. Report: Anjem Choudary 'encouraged young British Muslims to fight for Al Qaeda in Syria'
21. How French spies plotted to kill Abu Hamza on a London street
22. Bradford brothers admit charges of having terrorist material
23. Russian police detain 7 for black market laundering that aided financing Hizb ut-Tahrir

Comment / analysis
24. Eli Lake:  Why the Iranian Nuclear Deal Is Dangerous
25. David B. Harris:  Canadians' stake in stopping Iran

The Investigative Project on Terrorism Update is designed for 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.

THE AMERICAS

GENERAL SECURITY, POLICY

1.  Statement By The President On First Step Agreement On Iran's Nuclear Program
The White House Office of the Press Secretary November 23, 2013
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11223

Netanyahu says Iran nuclear deal is 'historic mistake'
Bennett: "Israel does not see itself as bound by this bad, this very bad agreement that has been signed."
By YAAKOV LAPPIN, HERB KEINON AND REUTERS November 24, 2013 Sunday
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11224
IPT NOTE:  Netanyahu's remarks are posted at http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11225
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu characterized the agreement signed with Iran early Sunday morning as a historic mistake.  Directly contrasting US President Barack Obama who praised the agreement as opening a "new path toward a world that is more secure," Netanyahu – speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting -- said the world has become more dangerous as a result…

PM Netanyahu's remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting
24 Nov 2013 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11225

Secret US-Iran talks set stage for nuke deal
By BRADLEY KLAPPER, MATTHEW LEE and JULIE PACE Nov 24, 2013 Associated Press
http://news.yahoo.com/secret-us-iran-talks-set-stage-nuke-deal-045356533--politics.html.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With their destination and mission among America's closest guarded secrets, the small group of officials hand-picked by President Barack Obama boarded a military plane in March.  The travel plans of the U.S. diplomats and foreign policy advisers were not on any public itineraries. No reception greeted them as they landed. But awaiting the Americans in the remote and ancient Gulf sultanate of Oman was the reason for all the secrecy: a delegation of Iranians ready to meet them.  It was at this first high-level gathering at a secure location in the Omani capital of Muscat, famous for its souk filled with frankincense and myrrh, that the Obama administration began laying the groundwork for this weekend's historic nuclear pact between world powers and Iran, The Associated Press has learned…

Deal or No Deal
White House: Iran Not On Clock Yet
BY: Adam Kredo Follow @Kredo0 November 25, 2013 2:38 pm Washington Free Beacon
http://freebeacon.com/deal-or-no-deal/
The final details of a nuclear agreement signed over the weekend between Iran and Western nations will not actually go into effect until further negotiations take place at a later date, according to a senior administration official and sources on Capitol Hill.  Even as Iran and the P5+1 announced late Saturday night that they had reached a six-month interim deal that curbs Iran's nuclear program while giving Tehran the ability to continue some uranium enrichment activities, it is now clear that the six-month freeze will not go into effect until the P5+1 negotiators and Iran agree to a final plan to implement the interim agreement…

U.S. and Saudis in Growing Rift as Power Shifts
By ROBERT F. WORTH New York Times Nov 26, 2013
WASHINGTON — There was a time when Saudi and American interests in the Middle East seemed so aligned that the cigar-smoking former Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was viewed as one of the most influential diplomats in Washington.   Those days are over. The Saudi king and his envoys — like the Israelis — have spent weeks lobbying fruitlessly against the interim nuclear accord with Iran that was reached in Geneva on Sunday. In the end, there was little they could do: The Obama administration saw the nuclear talks in a fundamentally different light from the Saudis, who fear that any letup in the sanctions will come at the cost of a wider and more dangerous Iranian role in the Middle East.  Although the Saudis remain close American allies, the nuclear accord is the culmination of a slow mutual disenchantment that began at the end of the Cold War…

2.  Iran, North Korea Secretly Developing New Long-Range Rocket Booster for ICBMs
Iranian missile group delegation visited Pyongyang as Geneva nuclear talks were underway
BY: Bill Gertz Washington Free Beacon November 26, 2013 5:00 am
http://freebeacon.com/iran-north-korea-secretly-developing-new-long-range-rocket-booster-for-icbms/
Iranian missile technicians secretly visited North Korea as part of joint development of a new rocket booster for long-range missiles or space launchers at the same time nuclear talks took place in Geneva, according to U.S. officials.  Several groups of technicians from the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), a unit in charge of building Iran's liquid-fueled missiles, traveled to Pyongyang during the past several months, including as recently as late October, to work on the new, 80-ton rocket booster being developed by the North Koreans, according to officials familiar with intelligence reports.  The booster is believed by U.S. intelligence agencies to be intended for a new long-range missile or space launch vehicle that could be used to carry nuclear warheads, and could be exported to Iran in the future.  Recent U.S. intelligence assessments have said that both North Korea and Iran are expected to have missiles capable of hitting the United States with a nuclear warhead in the next two years…

3.  Robert Levinson Becomes One of Longest-Held Americans in History
Retired FBI Agent Went Missing on March 9, 2007
FBI Washington Public Information Office (202) 278-3519 November 25, 2013 
Tomorrow, November 26, 2013, Robert Levinson will become one of the longest held Americans in history, passing the 2,454 days Terry Anderson spent in captivity before being freed in 1991.  Mr. Levinson, 65, is a retired U.S. government employee with 28 years of service to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. On March 8, 2007, Mr. Levinson traveled to Kish Island, Iran, as a private investigator; he went missing the following day.  The FBI is responsible for investigating crimes committed against U.S. citizens abroad and has been conducting an investigation to locate Mr. Levinson since 2007. In March 2011, the United States government announced it had received indications that Mr. Levinson was being held somewhere in southwest Asia...

4.  CIA personnel testify agency was on alert over 9/11 anniversary in Benghazi, before attack
By Catherine Herridge Published November 25, 2013 FoxNews.com
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11237
Personnel working at the CIA annex in Benghazi were well aware that the 9/11 anniversary last year could be a flashpoint, according to recent testimony, and a notice was even posted on a bulletin board at the annex warning of potentially increased hostilities against western targets during that period.   The new details emerged during recent closed-door briefings by CIA personnel including former contractors, according to those familiar with the testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.   The witnesses also voiced concern about Ambassador Chris Stevens' visit to Benghazi right before the 9/11 anniversary; Stevens was killed in the attack.  Given an understanding between the local CIA personnel and the nearby State Department operation that they would come to each other's aid, the CIA on the ground in Benghazi was aware of Stevens' arrival in Benghazi on Sept. 10, according to the witnesses. But they told lawmakers they were puzzled as to why Stevens was there during a period of heightened threat without significant additional security.  The new testimony appears to challenge the findings of the Accountability Review Board -- known as the State Department ARB -- which explicitly stated that the Benghazi consulate and the State Department "were well aware of the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks but at no time were there ever any specific, credible threats against the mission in Benghazi related to the September 11 anniversary."…

5.  Penny Lane: The secret Guantanamo Bay facility where CIA turned prisoners into double agents
Published November 26, 2013 Associated Press
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11236
WASHINGTON –  In the early years after 9/11, the CIA turned a handful of prisoners at a secret facility at Guantanamo Bay into double agents and released them.  Current and former U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that the program helped kill terrorists. Some prisoners ultimately stopped cooperating and fell off the CIA's radar screen. The officials insisted on anonymity because the now-shuttered program remains secret.  The program was carried out in a complex called Penny Lane, named after the Beatles song. Unlike the rest of Guantanamo Bay, Penny Lane looked like a motel. It had comfortable beds, kitchenettes and patios…

6.  Jail's too rough for hook-handed Al Qaeda suspect Abu Hamza, lawyers say
The accused terrorist wants to be moved to a special prison in Massachusetts that houses inmates with long-term medical problems. His complaints have been ongoing; currently incarcerated in New York, the Islamic preacher once asked for a bidet in his cell.
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013, 12:18 AM 
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11233
This hardline jihadist is pretty soft.  Hook-handed Islamic preacher Abu Hamza Al Masri, an accused Al Qaeda terrorist who once incredibly requested a bidet in his Manhattan lockup, whined to a New York federal judge Monday that the jail wasn't up to snuff.  The cleric, who claims that he lost both of his hands fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan and who has only one eye, is demanding that he be moved to a special prison in Devens, Mass., that houses inmates with long-term medical problems.  Abu Hamza, 55, born Mostafa Kamel Mostafa in Egypt, had his lawyers tell a federal judge that the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan just didn't cut it.  "The MCC can't provide him with the facilities he needs," lawyer Joshua Dratel told reporters after a pretrial conference… The accused terror thug, whose charges include involvement in a 1998 attack on tourists in Yemen that resulted in four deaths, has a long history of whining about his accommodations.  The U.S. spent eight years trying to extradite Abu Hamza from the U.K. while the radical hate-monger attempted to block the move on health grounds, arguing that U.S. prison conditions would be inhumane…

7.  Anti-terrorism activist to act as surety for accused Via Rail plotter
A prominent figure in anti-terrorism efforts in Toronto is putting his reputation on the line to become a surety for an accused Via Rail terror plotter.
By: Wendy Gillis News reporter, Published on Thu Nov 21 2013 Toronto Star
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11226
A prominent figure in anti-terrorism efforts in Toronto is putting his reputation on the line to become a surety for an accused Via Rail terror plotter — a risk he says he is taking to support the alleged terrorist's family.  Well-known within the GTA's Muslim community, Muhammad Robert Heft provides deradicalization counselling to youth with extreme Islamic views, and hostsoutreach efforts between Muslims and the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.  In a move he insists should not be interpreted as "cheerleading" for an accused terrorist, Heft told the Star he would post $50,000 bail for Raed Jaser, one of two men accused of plotting to derail a Toronto-bound passenger train.  "It can be perceived that I am sympathetic to an alleged terrorist, when the reality is that I am sympathetic to the family who gets ostracized," Heft told reporters outside the court on Thursday.  Jaser, 35, and Chiheb Esseghaier, 31, were arrested in April following a prolonged investigation by the RCMP, CSIS, the FBI, and several police forces. Both men face numerous terrorism-related charges stemming from an alleged plot to derail a Toronto-bound passenger train… A bail hearing for Jaser entered its second day at Ontario Superior Court Thursday. The proceedings are subject to a standard publication ban…

AIR, RAIL, PORT, HEALTH, ENERGY & COMMUNICATION SECURITY

IPT NOTE: For more items, see DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Reports http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/editorial_0542.shtm ; DHS Blog http://www.dhs.gov/news-releases/blog;   TSA Releases http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/index.shtm ; TSA Blog http://blog.tsa.gov/

8.  Car crash sparks gun scare at LAX
By Associated Press November 23, 2013 | 5:14am
http://nypost.com/2013/11/23/car-crash-sparks-gun-scare-at-lax/
LOS ANGELES — Fears of gunfire, false alarms and a real auto accident brought minutes of chaos and hours of delays to Los Angeles International Airport, where frayed nerves remained three weeks after a gunman killed one person and injured three others.  Some 2,000 people were evacuated from two terminals, hundreds more were affected, dozens of flights were delayed, and a few were diverted Friday night as the string of incidents unfolded, airport officials said.  Some travelers were nervous and police were on high alert at the airport after the Nov. 1 shooting attack… Hours earlier, an autopsy report on the death of Transportation Security Administration officer Gerardo Hernandez was released, showing he was shot 12 times…

9.  New technology could alter airport security rules on liquids
Published: Monday, 25 Nov 2013 | 11:34 AM ET By: A. Pawlowski, NBC News contributor
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101225138
In a few short years, air travelers may no longer have to toss their water bottles or pricey face creams when they pass through airport security.  The potential threat from liquids, aerosols and gels led the Transportation Security Administration to limit the amount travelers can bring on planes after a foiled terror plot in 2006, but now there's a new contender in the quest to end the restrictions.  The Los Alamos National Laboratory on Monday announced what it called abreakthrough for screening liquids at airport security, though it could be years before the technology is installed at a checkpoint near you.  Called MagRay, the system uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-rays to quickly analyze whether a bottle's contents are safe or dangerous…

10.  Schumer calls for tighter maritime security around Indian Point
Nov 25, 2013 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc.
PEEKSKILL – US Senator Charles Schumer Monday called on the US Department of Homeland Security to conduct a "top-to-bottom review" of Indian Point's maritime security.  His comments, in Peekskill, came in light of reports that suggest Indian point may be vulnerable to a waterborne attack.  "Indian Point is a high-value resource, but also a high-value target," he said. "We must always be vigilant and gaps in security must be patched up as soon as possible."  The senator pointed to no requirement for a 24-hour on-duty patrol boat near the nuclear power plant…

Vendors unveil new technologies at port security expo in Long Beach, CA
Sun, 2013-11-24 11:29 AM Gov't Security News By: Troy Anderson
Officials from many of the world's top security companies unveiled their latest port security technologies at the first Port Security Operations Conference & Expo in Long Beach, CA.  At the Nov. 19-21 conference that brought together leaders in the maritime security industry, the companies presented a variety of new technologies to help port officials protect resources in highly effective and cost-efficient ways.  "This conference gathers together the premier players in North America that are investing millions of dollars in technologies that span the range from videos, video analytics and access control systems to messaging and mass notification systems," said Ralston MacDonnell, the conference chair and president of the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based MacDonnell Group, an engineering and management firm with broad interests in port management and seaport security training…

11.  More than half of public WiFi networks 'open to criminal and terrorist abuse', survey finds
Majority of public WiFi venues are not complying with the law, study suggests
More than half of public WiFi networks are insecure and could be used by criminals or terrorists, the research warned
By Daniel Johnson 4:33PM GMT 25 Nov 2013 The Daily Telegraph (London)
More than half of venues providing public WiFi are not complying with the law and are leaving their networks open to criminal or terrorist use, according to a survey.  Out of 3,349 venues worldwide, 2,048 said they were running completely open networks or handed out passwords, meaning the WiFi could be used by criminals without them being tracked.  UK law requires providers of public WiFi networks to be able to track activity back to the user, but the survey by Purple WiFi, the cloud-based Social WiFi software, revealed more than six in ten venues across the globe are not meeting this requirement.  It is not clear from the figures what proportion of UK venues are providing secure WiFi…

FINANCING, LAUNDERING, FRAUD, IDENTITY THEFT, CIVIL LITIGATION

12.  Feds raid over a dozen NYC delis for alleged WIC checks-for-cash scheme
Nov 20, 2013
BOROUGH PARK, Brooklyn (PIX11) – WIC checks are supposed to be used to buy healthy food for babies and children. The Women, Infant and Children nutrition program is federally funded and run by the state.  But a 3 year federal and state investigation uncovered a massive food stamp scheme involving the WIC checks.  James T. Hayes, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, said Wednesday that stores in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan bought WIC checks for cash… Officials said customers would get a percentage of the WIC checks' worth in cash. The deli owner would pocket the rest, once the store was reimbursed by the government… Law enforcement arrested up to 30 people Wednesday connected to the food stamp scam. Sources said they will be charged with welfare fraud.  It was a joint operation between the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, The New York State Department of Health and the New York State Attorney General's Office.
  
BORDER SECURITY, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS

13.  Auditor-General report finds 'high-risk individuals' slipped into Canada because of insufficient border controls
Tobi Cohen, Postmedia News | 26/11/13 11:13 AM ET
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11234
IPT NOTE:  Full Fall 2013 Auditor-General of Canada report posted at http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201311_e_38780.html; Section on Preventing Illegal Entry into Canada is posted at http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_201311_05_e_38799.html
OTTAWA – Dangerous people have slipped into Canada because of insufficient border controls,
according to a report by the auditor general.  The report suggests airlines are allowing some travellers to board without proper documentation and are failing to provide advance passenger information as required.  The number of improperly documented travellers last year was 2,508, according to the audit, and while the airlines were responsible for most of these numbers, they did a better job overall of tackling the issue than they had done previously.  The report found a 36 per cent jump in the number of undocumented travellers — those using fake passports — for which the airlines are not responsible.  This "is important because it reflects increasingly sophisticated fraud, which makes it difficult for airline staff to identify false travel documents," the report indicated…

MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

14.  Bahrain says two terror suspects in custody were held at Guantánamo
By CAROL ROSENBERG Posted on Sun, Nov. 24, 2013 Miami Herald
Bahraini police say they have two suspected terrorists under arrest who drove into the emirate from Saudi Arabia with forged passports and were at one time held at the U.S. prison camps at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.  A statement released by the Ministry of Interior on Saturday identified the men only as "two Gulf Nationals" who were "found to be carrying a large amount of money."  The statement said the men arrived by the King Fahd Causeway, the major freeway connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, and "are suspected of plotting a terror act to jeopardize the security and safety of Bahrain."  The interior ministers of six Arabian Gulf nations are expected in Bahrain this week for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bahrain, ruled by a Sunni royal family, has been rocked by two years of Arab Spring style protests by the Shiite minority. The U.S. Fifth Fleet also has a headquarters in Bahrain…

15.  Islamist rebels capture Syria's largest oilfield: activists
BY ERIKA SOLOMON Reuters Sat Nov 23, 2013 10:04am EST
BEIRUT:  (Reuters) - Islamist rebels led by al Qaeda-linked fighters seized Syria's largest oilfield on Saturday, cutting off President Bashar al-Assad's access to almost all local crude reserves, activists said.  There was no immediate comment from the government and it was not possible to verify the reports of the capture independently.  But the loss of the al-Omar oil field in the eastern Deir al-Zor province, if confirmed, could leave Assad's forces almost completely reliant on imported oil in their highly mechanized military campaign to put down a 2-1/2-year uprising.  "Now, nearly all of Syria's usable oil reserves are in the hands of the Nusra Front and other Islamist units ... The regime's neck is now in Nusra's hands," said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights…

16.  Court indicts east Jerusalem man for raising funds for Hamas
By YONAH JEREMY BOB Jerusalem Post 11/25/2013 10:22
The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office on Monday filed an indictment against Maged Juaba in the Jerusalem District Court for allegedly serving as a money man for the families of imprisoned Hamas terror operatives.  Juaba, 33, of Jerusalem, was formally charged with membership in a terrorist organization and activities relating to funding terrorist purposes.  The allegations in the indictment go as follows: Juaba worked for Bassem Abu Sanina, who Juaba knew to be a Hamas member residing in Gaza and who was freed as part of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange.  Abu Sanina was in charge of doling out funds to the families of imprisoned Hamas terror operatives, including those who lived in Israel and in the West Bank, and Juaba was his chief agent and middle man for transferring the funds...

ASIA / PACIFIC

17.  Azerbaijan jails 29 people for plotting Islamist attacks
Mon Nov 25, 2013 12:23pm EST Reuters
 (Reuters) - BAKU - An Azerbaijan court sentenced three members of a group it said was linked to al Qaeda to life in prison and 26 others to shorter jail terms after convicting them of plotting attacks on President Ilham Aliyev and other targets last year.  The 29 defendants were arrested in April 2012, a month before the capital Baku hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. They were convicted of plotting attacks on Aliyev and targets including police, hotels and government buildings.  The secular government has said it is determined to stem what it sees as a strong threat from Islamist militants. Critics say the threat is overstated as a way of tightening control.  The Security Ministry said at the time that members of the group had been trained in countries including Iran, Syria and Pakistan, and that some had fought against NATO troops in Afghanistan.  It said the group's alleged leader, identified as Azeri citizen Vugar Padarov, was killed when he resisted arrest…

18.  Radical Islamic Group Threatens More China Attacks
November 25, 2013 Associated Press
BEIJING - A radical Islamic group seeking independence for a northwestern Chinese region praised last month's deadly attack in Beijing and warned of possible new terrorist strikes in the capital.  It wasn't clear if the Turkistan Islamic Party was claiming it planned the Oct. 28 vehicle attack at Tiananmen Gate that killed two tourists and the three attackers. China had longed blamed TIP and its predecessor for extremist violence in the Xinjiang region, though many observers question whether the group is capable of organizing attacks and even whether it exists in an organized manner.  Following the video's disclosure, China reasserted on Monday that it faces an organized threat…

EUROPE

19.  Terror-link group met in parliament
A group with undeclared links to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the terror group Hamas has been holding meetings at the Houses of Parliament.
By Andrew Gilligan 9:00PM GMT 23 Nov 2013 The Sunday Telegraph (London)
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11228
Separately, it can also be revealed that one of the Government's police and crime commissioners will this week speak on the same platform as a man who has justified the killing of British troops and called for democracy to be replaced by Sharia.  The Commons events — held in March and September — involving the group with links to Hamas were organised by the Emirates Centre for Human Rights (ECHR), which says it is a moderate campaign against rights abuses in the Gulf. However, part of its agenda appears to be anticipating the end of the regimes in the region.  The main speaker at the meeting was Christopher Davidson, author of a book about the "coming collapse of the Gulf monarchies".  The ECHR is fronted by a young white British man, Rori Donaghy. It makes no mention on its website or in any other publicity of its close links with the Islamist Cordoba Foundation, described by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, as a "political front for the Muslim Brotherhood".  However, The Telegraph has established that the ECHR's website is registered to Malath Skahir, a former director of the Cordoba Foundation.  Mrs Shakir is the wife of Anas Altikriti, the current Cordoba Foundation chief executive and the key political lobbyist for the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain.  Its agenda, discussing the collapse of existing regimes, has similarities with that of the Muslim Brotherhood.  The Cordoba Foundation works closely with other British extremist groups which seek the creation of an Islamic dictatorship, or caliphate, in Europe…

20.  Hate preacher Anjem Choudary 'encouraged young British Muslims to fight for Al Qaeda in Syria'
Investigation finds the London-based extremist encouraged Brits join cells
It is alleged 80 of his UK supporters are currently fighting in Syria
Report by Hope Not Hate says Choudary is a 'serious player' in international Islamism
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 03:40 EST, 25 Nov 2013 | UPDATED: 05:25 EST, 25 Nov 2013
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11238
Groups linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary have been labelled, the 'single biggest gateway to terrorism in recent British history'.  The radical Islamist has been identified as the link between groups who encourage the safe passage of British and European Muslims into Syria where they join Al Qaeda-linked forces.  According to a study by Hope Not Hate, organisations affiliated with Choudary have encouraged in the region of 80 young British Muslims to join the fighting in Syria.  They may also have had a hand in the recruitment of 300 more on the continent, the report said.  As well as highlighting Choudary role in encouraging young Muslims to fight in Syria, the report also established a connection between the preacher's al-Muhajiroun network and high profile terrorists, including those responsible for the 7/7 London bombings.  The report recommends that Mr Choudary should be considered a 'serious player' in the promotion and recruitment of young Muslims to terrorist cells…

21.  How French spies plotted to kill Abu Hamza on a London street: Security forces were intending to shoot hate cleric with rifle before blaming far-right organisation
French spies concerned radical cleric was inspiring Algerian terrorists
They feared the militants would attack the 1998 World Cup
Plan was to send hate messages to Hamza from Nazi group Combat 18
Officials would then shoot him dead and let the group take the blame
Another plan was to kidnap him and take him to France on a ferry
By JAMES SLACK 20:15 EST, 24 Nov 2013 | UPDATED: 04:05 EST, 25 Nov 2013 The Daily Mail (UK)
French spies were so fed up with Britain harbouring terrorists that they hatched a plot to assassinate Abu Hamza on a London street, it was claimed last night.  Security officials were intending to kill the hook-handed cleric with a rifle while posing as members of the extremist group Combat 18.  The far-Right organisation would then have been left to take the blame for his death.  The French intelligence service, Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), also hatched a separate plot to kidnap Hamza from outside his west London home and bundle him on a ferry to France.   They were concerned Algerian terrorists were planning an attack on the 1998 football World Cup and wanted to remove the hate preacher from circulation.  His ranting sermons outside the Finsbury Park mosque in north London were considered an inspiration to Algerian fanatics. The capital became known as 'Londonistan' – with French officials concerned the UK police and security services were not doing enough to combat Islamist extremism…

22.  Bradford brothers admit charges of having terrorist material
5:52pm Monday 25th November 2013 Telegraph & Argus (Bradford, UK)
Two Bradford brothers have admitted having terrorist material, including documents such as The Al Qaeda Manual and 44 Ways of Supporting Jihad.  Muhammed Saeed Ahmed, 21, and Muhammed Naeem Ahmed, 20, pleaded guilty to 11 counts between them of collecting or possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism when they appeared at the Old Bailey today.  Muhammed Saeed Ahmed admitted ten of the charges and Muhammed Naeem Ahmed six of them.  The brothers, of Little Horton, but whose full address cannot be reported for legal reasons, deny a charge of conspiring together and with others to attend a place used for terrorist training.  They are due to face trial on that count tomorrow…

23.  Islamic group tied to Russian money laundering scheme
Nov. 25, 2013 at 11:03 AM   UPI
MOSCOW, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Russian police said Monday they believe a black market financing ring may have helped support the Islamic political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned since 2003.  Russian police said Monday they arrested seven members of a Central Asian criminal gang suspected of steering funds toward Hizb ut-Tahrir, a political organization banned in Russia since 2003. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports authorities seized more than $5 million from the members.  Hizb ut-Tahrir emerged in the 1950s as a Sunni group advocating strict Islamic law. Authorities in Kyrgyzstan told the BBC in 2010 the movement experienced a revival in Central Asia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.  Russian police were quoted by RIA Novosti as saying they suspected the financiers laundered money in Russian through financial channels "in the interests of natives of Central Asia illegally based in Russia."…

Russia detains seven for allegedly funding Islamist terror group
Nov. 25, 2013 at 4:10 PM   |   United Press Int'l
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/11235
MOSCOW, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Seven people have been detained on charges of operating an illegal bank that financed an international Islamist terror group, Russian police said Monday… Police said they had evidence the group financed the Hizb ut-Tahrir, or Islamist Liberation Party, an international political organization banned in Russia in 2003.  The group allegedly laundered about $46 million a month by carrying out illegal financial activities in major markets across Russia, police said…

COMMENT / ANALYSIS

24.  Why the Iranian Nuclear Deal Is Dangerous
There's a reason Iran's foreign minister has been smiling—he finally got the world's great powers to sign a deal that lets Iran enrich uranium.

25.  Canadians' stake in stopping Iran
BY DAVID B. HARRIS, OTTAWA CITIZEN NOVEMBER 25, 2013
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Canadians+stake+stopping+Iran/9210496/story.html 
A lawyer with thirty years' experience in intelligence affairs, David B. Harris is director of the International Intelligence Program, INSIGNIS Strategic Research Inc.

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