TERROR TID BITS

UK CHILDREN BEING TARGETTED http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=503195&in_page_id=1770 1. The NEFA Foundation has released full English transcripts of the audio of Al Qaeda #2 Ayman Al-Zawahiri denouncing the Annapolis Conference and released on December 14, and of the subsequent video "interview" of him, released on December 16. I see by his claims of success in Iraq as a retort by "Al Qaeda Central" to comments (by Walid Phares here and others) that OBL's October 22 tape was an admission of deep frustration over the course of events in Iraq. 2. U.S. officials are deeply concerned about the developing triangle of Iran, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Yesterday, reporter Todd Bensman of the San Antonio Express-News posted "Iran making push into Nicaragua," his latest story describing the cooperation between the three countries. "As part of a new partnership with Nicaragua's Sandinista President Daniel Ortega, Iran and its Venezuelan allies plan to help finance a $350 million deep-water port at Monkey Point on the wild Caribbean shore, and then plow a connecting "dry canal" corridor of pipelines, rails and highways across the country to the populous Pacific Ocean. Iran recently established an embassy in Nicaragua's capital." Bensman also linked to a Nicaraguan government document showing that "Nicaragua's chief immigration minister personally authorized 21 Iranian men to enter the country, without visas that would have left a record." Bensman told me in an e-mail that "I've been running those names by every intel person I know. Even went to the MEK in Paris. Nothing back yet. I ended up just posting the names on our web site. If you know anyone who can run them and report back...." So, loyal readers, please take a look at those names. 3. A lot of "experts" are still running around talking about the "moderate" Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (see this recent Jamestown Foundation piece with that claim). They should consider MEMRI's transcript of an interview with Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef on Al-Hiwar TV, broadcast November 30, 2007. In it, Akef reiterated that the MB is ready to send 10,000 men to Lebanon "in order to support the resistance." Let's ask: "Resistance" to what? The Israeli Army isn't in Lebanon - it left in 2000. The U.S. has no troops in Lebanon. So is Akef promising to deliver the Lebanese from Hezbollah and Syrian oppression? Mais non, Akef would never dream of opposing Hezbollah and Syria. See how Akef groups Sunni and Shiite terrorists: Interviewer: "There are Sunnis, members of Al-Qaeda, who kill civilians in the name of Islam. There are Shi'ites who kill Sunnis in the name of Islam..." 'Akef: "All these things are American Zionist tricks. The Shi'ites attack one another, the Sunnis attack one another, and the Sh'iites attack the Sunnis. But the Muslim Brotherhood has a principle, which I declared from day one: The Shi'ites and Sunnis are brothers."So Akef supports Al Qaeda too: 'Akef: "I'd like to go back to the issue of Al-Qaeda. There is no such thing as Al-Qaeda. This is an American invention, so that they will have something to fight for..."So the 9/11 attacks, which Bin Laden has claimed as his for years (most recently just last month), were for Akef an "invention," as is, no doubt, the murder of thousands of innocent Iraqis, Algerians, and other worldwide victims of Al Qaeda. So I assume that Akef is pledging men and money to support "resistance" against those Lebanese who would resist the terrorism and thuggery imposed by the MB's allies. He's doing what any good Mafia Godfather would have done to support "the family." We didn't need Akef to restate the obvious - that the Egyptian MB will devote its resources to promoting MB-based terrorism. Anybody could find the numerous articles by Doug Farah and others here about the true aims of the MB network, or they could find articles specifically about the Egyptian MB like this article, or this one, or this one, in minutes. But it's always nice to hear it from the horse's mouth. I hope everyone is listening. By the way, I wrote the author of that Jamestown piece I first cited, asking him about the inconsistencies with the three other articles (one of which he wrote), and he didn't respond. 4. The 'Wired" magazine's website includes a "Blog Network" with different topics, including a "Danger Zone" for national security discussions and links to blogs in that space. Noah Shachtman wries a daily post titled, "Five for Fighting," with links to five recommended blog posts. Today, he added a link to Roderick Jones' "Jihadinets" post from yesterday. We appreciate that nod from one of the leading websites in the tech community. 5. The West Point Combating Terrorism Center has always been one of our favorites for its comprehensive and objective analyses of the terrorism threat and counterinsurgency strategies. Today the CTC issued its first volume of "CTC Sentinel," a new monthly online journal. I recommend it. Hat Tip Beowolf