The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Jan. 7, 2004 -- Today's reports includes several articles on the ongoing investigation of threats from the air — following the cancellation of an Air France flight on Christmas Eve due to a credible terror threat, French officials on Tuesday told ABCNEWS that they are on the lookout for a man who they fear was planning to use a small bomb on that flight. The suspect had a ticket for Air France's Flight 68 from Paris to Los Angeles on Dec. 24, but the flight was canceled and the passenger never showed up at the airport, U.S. and French officials told ABCNEWS. The individual, who is on a U.S. terror watch list, may have trained in al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan.

Plus, more on the global security clampdown at airports and airways — the Department of Homeland Security yesterday picked three companies to develop anti-missile technology to protect commercial aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles. And an article assesses global reactions to new security measures at international airports.

THE WAR ON TERROR

THREAT FROM THE AIR

United StatesFlight ThreatIs one person behind all the recent flight cancellations and delays? An Air France passenger who failed to show up for a Christmas Eve flight to the U.S. is the focus of an international manhunt. He is suspected of plotting to bomb that flight. (ABCNEWS)

Plane Lands Safely Following Terror ScareFighter jets escorted a flight from France part of the way into the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport Tuesday afternoon. (WLWT ChannelCincinnati.com)

Nations Balk at Sky Marshals U.S. officials said Tuesday that they are discussing alternatives that other nations might have to putting armed marshals on foreign airliners, after some countries indicated they would rather cancel U.S.-bound flights than introduce a weapon on board. (Washington Post)

Three Firms to Study Defending Airliners Against Missiles The Department of Homeland Security, which has identified shoulder-fired missiles as threats to commercial aircraft, yesterday chose three companies to develop anti-missile technology. (Washington Post)

World Opinion Is Fragmented on Tighter Security for VisitorsThe new security measures imposed on travel to the U.S. have sparked strong and starkly different reactions around the world. (NY Times)

France'Wired' Passenger in Paris Was in Motorcycle Garb When Richard Reid was found with a fuse in his shoe two years ago on a flight from Paris, the discovery foiled a terrorist plot. But on Tuesday, the suspicious wiring on another flight from Paris turned out to be a false alarm. (NY Times)

France Confirms It's Seeking Man Behind Aviation WorriesFrench Justice Minister Dominique Perben confirmed Wednesday that French authorities were searching for a man behind security fears that have caused cancellations and delays for some flights to the United States. (Reuters)

Saudi ArabiaBritish Airways Resumes Flights British Airways resumed flights to Riyadh on Monday after they had been suspended following a terror alert. (Arab News)

MexicoMexican AG Probes Possible Terrorism Links Mexico has begun a formal investigation into whether terrorists plan to use Mexican flights to launch an international attack, the top organized crime investigator in the country said Tuesday. (AP)

OTHER INVESTIGATIONS'Dirty Bomb' Was Major New Year's Worry Radiation experts were sent to major U.S. cities before New Year's Eve. (Washington Post)

Focusing On Anti-Terrorism Retired general leads Okla. institute aimed at prevention. (Washington Post)

FBI: Al Qaeda Still Recruiting in U.S. Prisons Al Qaeda continues to recruit members in U.S. prisons despite a government crackdown, FBI officials told a congressional panel. U.S. officials said al Qaeda's recruitment has been facilitated by Muslim clergy with access to federal and state prisons. (World Tribune)

Imam Held in French Swoop French police detained eight suspected Islamic militants yesterday, including an imam and his wife and son, as part of an investigation into links between French nationals and Chechen separatists, officials said. (Reuters)

PakistanPakistan Denies Report on N-Technology to Libya Pakistan yesterday strongly denied a newspaper report that its scientists were the source of high-tech centrifuge design technology to Libya, the latest in a series of allegations linking this staunch U.S. ally's nuclear program to Washington's bitterest enemies. (Arab News)

Egypt-IranIran-Egypt Ties Could Yield Al Qaeda SuspectsA thaw between Iran and Egypt could help pave the way for a breakthrough on an important issue dividing Tehran from Washington — accusations that Iran has sheltered senior al Qaeda militants. (Reuters)

Morocco'Arrest of Three Women-Cell Planning Terrorism Operations On New Year's Eve'Asharq al Awsat has learned that Moroccan security foiled three attempts by a Salafi Jihad cell to carry out acts of sabotage in the city Casablanca. An informed security source revealed that the cell which intended to carry out bombings in Casablanca, comprised three women. The source however did not reveal their identities and would only disclose that they were preparing themselves to carry out operations after the New year celebrations. (Asharq Al Awsat)

AsiaExperts — Splinter Groups Pose Asia Terror Threat   Southeast Asia faces a high threat from terrorism in 2004 from ever smaller groups created as the U.S.-led war on terror splinters larger networks affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, experts said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

KenyaKenya Bombing Suspects Trial BeginsProsecutors in the trial of three men suspected of conspiring to blow up a tourist hotel and shoot down an Israeli airliner in Kenya began their case Wednesday with witnesses laying the groundwork for the case. (The Guardian)

IndonesiaSupreme Court Rejects Bali Bomber Appeal Indonesia's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a militant sentenced to death for planning and carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings, a court spokesman said Wednesday. (AP)

United StatesReport Sees Gains in Protocol for 9/11 Detentions The F.B.I. and other federal law enforcement agencies have made important strides toward fine-tuning their counterterrorism operations to avoid prolonged detentions of illegal immigrants with no clear terrorist ties, a Justice Department inspector general's report concluded Tuesday. (NY Times)

U.S. Asks For Filing to Be Kept SecretA South Florida immigrant wants the high court to consider whether the government acted improperly by secretly jailing him after the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP)

United KingdomTerror Laws 'Could Infringe Civil Rights' Civil rights campaigners today accused the government of granting itself a "blank cheque" to impose massive restrictions on public liberties as Labor formally published its plans for the aftermath of terrorist attacks or other emergencies. (The Guardian)

THE WAR IN IRAQ

U.S. Announces Amnesty for Over 500 Iraqi PrisonersThe United States announced an amnesty for hundreds of prisoners in Iraq Wednesday and quadrupled funds for political transition as it stepped up preparations for the transfer of power to Iraqis in June. (Reuters)

Iraq's Arsenal Was Only On Paper WMD search finds some hidden research but no sign of old weapons or advanced programs for new ones. (Washington Post)

Saddam's Questioning Could Become Public CIA interrogators taking on Saddam Hussein must contend with the likelihood that some of their questioning could become public during his eventual trial. That means decisions now on how to conduct the questioning and record the conversations, U.S. officials say. (AP)

Showing ConfidenceA senior U.S. intelligence official says a key prewar U.S. intelligence report that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction was "well-grounded." (Reuters)

Marines to Offer New Tactics in Iraq Reduced use of force planned after takeover from army. (Washington Post)

In Iraq, an Army Day for No Army A once proud national holiday is filled with bitter reminiscing for former soldiers of the dissolved military. (LA Times)

Baath Party Statement On the Occasion of Army DayThe former Iraqi Baath Party issued a statement, which was sent to Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper, where it criticized the coalition forces for dissolving the Iraqi army. The statement comes on the occasion of Army Day. (Al Quds Al Arabi)

Yemen May Deport Three Former Iraqi DiplomatsYemen has detained three Iraqi diplomats who worked at the Iraqi Embassy in Sanaa before the fall of Saddam Hussein and may hand them over to Baghdad, their lawyer said here yesterday. (Arab News)

Eerie Calm Settles in After Saddam Capture Sniper attacks and driveby shootings are the new hit-and-run tactics confronting the U.S. occupiers of Saddam Hussein's birthplace, punctuating an eerie calm that has settled on this tense town since the dictator's capture. (AP)

In Hussein's Shadow, New Iraqi Army Strives to Be Both New and IraqiIf moments in the new Iraq strain credulity for those who knew the country under Saddam Hussein, few have done so more than the scene on Tuesday at this old Iraqi barracks. (NY Times)

Bechtel Wins Its Second Big Contract for IraqFor the second time in nine months, the engineering company Bechtel National, the government contracting arm of the Bechtel group, has won a large government contract to help restore power, water and other essential services in Iraq. (NY Times)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Keeping Track of Visitors Tom Ridge's Homeland Security Department has gone a long way toward assuaging concerns that the new security program would humiliate travelers. (NY Times)

War Against Terror Takes to the Skies It is becoming harder to get around in the global village. Since Sept. 11, 2001, air passengers have had to cope with longer check-in times, lengthy delays and even having their shoes examined, while passenger manifests are subjected to stringent checks. (The Independent)

Put Spotlight On Bin LadenWell, he's back. Another audiotape from Osama bin Laden has just been aired — and the speaker's identity confirmed. (LA Times)

Time to Talk to the Taliban Supporters of the old regime can help end violence in Afghanistan. (The Guardian)

The Kurds Should Fast-Forward Iraqi DemocracyThe rising controversy over Kurdish demands for more autonomy within Iraq is a tale of the country's past ­ but also its future. (The Daily Star — Lebanon)

Is the U.S. Ready for Democracy?Democratic processes abroad are no guaranteed safeguard of U.S. interests. (CS Monitor)

Chasing Baathists Amidst Catastrophes Michel Foucault said that catastrophes instigate a new stage and a new culture. It seems this saying means that we need a catastrophe in Iraq in order to establish a new stage and culture. (Al Hayat)

The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and the war in Iraq. The DTR is edited from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The outside views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.