The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report
Sept. 22, 2004 — -- A videotape posted on Islamic Web site Wednesday showed a man identifying himself as British hostage Kenneth Bigley pleading for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to help save his life. "To Mr. Blair, my name is Ken Bigley, from Liverpool," the man said in the videotape. "I think this is possibly my last chance," the speaker said in the grainy video. "I don't want to die. I don't deserve. Please free female prisoners held in Iraqi prisons," AP reported Wednesday.
And a London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine when it was discovered that passenger Yusuf Islam formerly known as singer Cat Stevens was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country, news wires reported.
IRAQ NEWS
Video Shows U.K. Hostage's Plea for Life
A videotape posted on Islamic Web site Wednesday showed a man identifying himself as British hostage Kenneth Bigley pleading for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to help save his life. "To Mr. Blair, my name is Ken Bigley, from Liverpool," the man said in the videotape. "I think this is possibly my last chance," the speaker said in the grainy video. "I don't want to die. I don't deserve. Please free female prisoners held in Iraqi prisons." (AP)
Iraqi Officials Say Female Inmate Is to Be Released Two Iraqi officials said today that the government is planning to release one of two female scientists being held prisoner for working on Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program. The announcement, which was made amid some confusion about the women's actual status, came on the heels of repeated demands for the release of all female prisoners by a militant group that has claimed it beheaded two American hostages in two days. (NY Times)
Iraq's Two Female Captives "Dr Germ" and "Mrs Anthrax"The U.S. military says only two Iraqi women are held in its prisons in the country, both in a camp for high-profile detainees. Dubbed "Dr Germ" and "Mrs. Anthrax" by their captors, the two women —Rihab Taha, a British-trained microbiologist, and Huda Ammash, a U.S.-trained microbial genetic engineer —are accused of working on Saddam Hussein's weapons programmes. (Reuters)
Hope for British HostageThe US and Iraqi authorities appeared to be at odds today over the fate of a jailed Iraqi woman, whose release has been demanded by the kidnappers of Briton Kenneth Bigley. (The Guardian)
Body Found in Iraq Confirmed As Hostage'sThe family of hostage Jack Hensley has received confirmation that the headless body handed over to U.S. officials in Iraq is his, a family spokesman said Wednesday. (AP)
Iraq Local Control 'By Year End'Most of Iraq will be under local control by the end of the year, despite shortfalls in preparing Iraqi security forces, the Pentagon has said. (BBC)
Bush to Skeptical UN: War Rid Iraq of `Outlaw'President Bush offered the world's leaders no apologies Tuesday for the situation in Iraq or for his original decision to lead an invasion without the United Nations' blessing, telling the General Assembly that the U.S. and its allies delivered "the Iraqi people from an outlaw dictator." (Chicago Tribune)
UN Agenda Dominated by New Terrorism ThreatsWorld leaders gathered at the United Nations Tuesday to confront a depressing global agenda dominated by new terrorist threats, a humanitarian disaster in Sudan, turmoil in Iraq, and a growing gap between the richest and poorest inhabitants of planet Earth. (The Jerusalem Post)
Bloodshed in US Raids on FallujaThe US said up to 60 insurgents died in its "precision strikes" on bases of terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi but others said many civilians were killed. Renewed clashes between US-led forces and anti-government fighters also broke out in a troubled area of Baghdad. (BBC)
Top Zarqawi Aide Killed in US AttackA top aide to suspected al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi has been killed in a US attack near Baghdad, an internet site and a Jordanian newspaper report. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Italian Secret Service Makes Indirect Contact with Kidnappers: ReportThe Italian secret service has made indirect contact with the kidnappers of two female aid workers captured in Iraq two weeks ago and believes the hostages are alive, press reports said Wednesday. (AFP)
'US Hostages Were Murdered in Response to Cleric's Fatwa'Two US hostages were murdered in Iraq in "direct response" to a fatwa issued by prominent Muslim cleric Yussef al-Qaradawi, who should be sued by the victims' families, an Emirati newspaper said today. (The Hindu)
THE WAR ON TERROR
INVESTIGATIONS
United StatesPassenger Cat Stevens Gets Plane DivertedA London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Maine when it was discovered that passenger Yusuf Islam formerly known as singer Cat Stevens was on a government watch list and barred from entering the country. (AP)
Ridge: Terrorists Have Clear Intent To Disrupt November ElectionsHomeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said terrorists have given a "clear indication of intent" to disrupt U.S. elections in November, although security officials haven't been able to pinpoint the source of the threat. (AP)
CIA's Spy Network ThinThree years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the CIA is still five years away from fielding the network of spies and spymasters it will need to defeat global terrorists. (USA Today)
AustraliaSuspected Sept. 11 Mastermind Had Australia VisaKhalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 strikes on the United States, was granted an Australian visa a month before the attacks, Prime Minister John Howard said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Khalid Had 24 Aliases: HowardThe mastermind of the September 11 attacks had 24 aliases and three visas which allowed him to be granted a visa to visit Australia, Prime Minister John Howard said today. (The Australian)
LebanonLebanon Arrests Al Qaeda Militants In Italy Embassy Plot Probe Lebanon said it had discovered an Al Qaeda network in the country and arrested its leader and a number of militants during an investigation into a thwarted attack on the Italian embassy in Beirut. (Channel News Asia)
United KingdomSpain Seeks UK Advice Over Revamp of Spy NetworksSpain has begun to overhaul its spy networks in the wake of the March 11 train bombings in Madrid and is hoping to learn from the UK on how to improve co-ordination among intelligence agencies.Spanish officials are in London this week looking closely at the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, with a view to using it as a model for centralizing and processing information. (Financial Times —subscription required)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Why Is Kerry Losing Arab-American Support?Arab-Americans are John Kerry's "canaries in the coal mine." In days gone by, coal miners brought canaries into the mines in which they were working. Because they feared releasing pockets of odorless but deadly natural gas, the canaries served as an alarm. (Arab News)
Feminism Meets TerrorismThis is the story that jump-starts my week: A group of insurgents has threatened to kill three hostages unless Americans release all female Iraqi prisoners. (Indianapolis Star)
Talking Tough on the StumpThe only remarkable thing about John F. Kerry's speech attacking the Iraq war on Monday is that it took him so long to make it. (LA Times)
The Rise of the New Iraqi "Tough Guy"Old CIA asset and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi comes to Washington to convince Americans that contrary to reality, all is well in Iraq. (Salon)
The Enemy is UsIn war, you deny information, spread lies and use psychological warfare. An expert on military information operations explains how Bush has mastered this technique -- and used it against the American people. (Salon)
Accuracy In ReportingHow are we to win a war against blood-spattered enemies whom our own free press continues to protect through politically correct sanitization? So wrote Michelle Malkin, the newest darling of the American right-wing, in the Houston Chronicle, followed by a litany of all the horrible things Muslims have done "in the name of Allah". (Jordan Times)
The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DTR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.