NYC to Release 9/11 Oral Histories

August 12, 2005 --

Families Await Sept. 11th Transmissions

Families and colleagues of firefighters lost on Sept. 11, 2001, were preparing to revisit the chaos and loss of the day with the release of hours of radio transmissions and thousands of pages of firefighters' oral histories. (AP)

Is 9/11 Terror Threat Serious?
FBI Warns About Terror Attacks on 9/11 Anniversary, But Homeland Security Downplays Alarm. (ABC News)

Officials Warn of Possibility of Attack Around Sept. 11
A group of F.B.I. counterterrorism analysts warned this week of possible terrorist attacks in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago around Sept. 11, but officials cautioned on Thursday that they were skeptical about the seriousness of the threat. (NY Times)

'Islamic Radicals Run Brainwashing Camps in Lake District'

Islamic extremists are running "indoctrination" camps in Britain's national parks, a senior police officer has warned. (The Times)

Qatada to Be Deported 'Next Week'
Radical cleric Abu Qatada is expected to be deported to Jordan next week, the Jordanian interior minister has said. (BBC)

Jihad Agitators 'Tried To Recruit Teenagers For Training Camps'
Islamic radicals from a supposedly disbanded organisation clashed violently with mosque elders while trying to recruit teenage worshippers to extremist training camps. (The Times)

Cleric Barred From Returning To Britain
Syria has asked Lebanon to extradite Omar Bakri, an extremist of Syrian origin who left Britain last week under threat of a crackdown on hard-line Islamists. (Washington Times)

Lebanon Orders Release of Radical Cleric
Lebanese authorities on Friday released an Islamic cleric who has been barred from returning to Britain after determining he had committed no crime, the prosecutor general said. (AP)

Australians 'Turned To Al Qaeda'

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has warned that "a small number" of Australians have joined al Qaeda. (BBC)

Government Report Tells of Militant Plots

Islamic militants have plotted attacks on U.S. and British embassies, hotels, a mall and other targets across the Philippines, according to a confidential government report. (LA Times)

UN Body Urges Iran Nuclear Freeze

The UN's atomic watchdog has adopted a resolution calling on Iran to halt nuclear fuel development, which it resumed this week. (BBC)

American Contact?
A U.S. citizen accused of ties to Osama bin Laden now works for the new Iraqi government. (Newsweek)

Clerics Push for Shiastan in Southern Iraq
Shia leaders in Iraq demanded an autonomous region for the Shia-dominated south yesterday, raising the prospect of an oil-rich fiefdom dominated by conservative Muslim clerics. (The Guardian)

Court in London Refuses To Free British Terror Suspect In Iraq
A terrorist suspect held by British forces in Iraq without charge or access to a court lost his test case in the High Court in London over his detention. (AFP)

Chronology-Iraq's Path from Invasion to Constitution
Iraq's interim parliament hopes to have a draft constitution by Monday. Here is a chronology of events in Iraq since the U.S. occupation began: (Reuters)

Soldiers' Blogs Bring Iraq Home
Service members are delivering real-time dispatches but drawing scrutiny over security. (Washington Post)

Are Special Anti-Insurgent Military Operations Effective?
Additional troop strength needed for better patrols, enforcement. (ABC News)

My Sadness at the Privatization of Iraq
The U.S. transnational companies are taking over — and they'll benefit for years to come. (The Times)

An Iraqi Constitution
Writing Iraq's constitution would be tough enough without Washington's hard-driving pressure to finish by Monday. (NY Times)

It Is Not Only Iraq That Is Occupied
My country is in the grip of a president surrounded by thugs in suits. (The Guardian)

The Specter of Theocracy
Iraq is a battleground for many things, including freedoms of life against medieval practices of political religion. (Al Ahram Weekly)

In Iraq, No Clear Finish Line
Timing is muddy for U.S. pullout. (Washington Post)

Terrorism and the Two Occupations
After disclosing the identity of the two attacks that occurred in London, experts on terrorism will seek to find answers for the following question: What is common between those who committed the first wave of suicidal attacks on last July 7 and those involved in the second wave of attacks that occurred on the 21st of the same month? (Al Hayat)

True Saudi Security
Saudi Arabia walked the tightrope between security and liberalization again this week. The U.S. Embassy and two consulates closed for two days because of threats; newly crowned King Abdullah freed four men jailed for demanding more political freedom. (LA Times)