The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

Oct. 24, 2003 -- In today's report: A Senate Committee concludes that the threat from Saddam Hussein was overstated. Also, read the latest about the Iraq Donor Conference in Madrid, including analyses and editorials about what it means for reconstruction in Iraq and the financial burden on America. In the U.S., Rumsfeld decides on a shift in policy in the war on terror after doubts about the efficiency of the current policies.

The War in Iraq

Senate Intelligence Panel Blasts Prewar Analysis

Report finds threat from Hussein was overstated. It blames CIA chief, other intelligence officials. (The Washington Post)

Donors Offer Big Pledges to Help Iraq

Nudged by the United States, international donors came through with big pledges Friday to rebuild Iraq amid hopes that its transformation into a prosperous democracy would help stabilize the entire Mideast. (AP)

Japan, Saudi make Iraq reconstruction pledge

Japan has offered a total of $5 billion dollars in aid to Iraq for 2004-2007 to help with the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country, the Japanese foreign ministry said. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia also joined the ranks of donors, offering $1 billion, of which $500 million dollars will be given through the Saudi Development Fund. (Al Jazeera)

Editorial: Fundraising for Iraq

Until Iraq is secure enough to let reconstruction projects get fully under way, even the most generous international donations will not bring adequate results. (The International Herald Tribune)

Editorial: Iraqis on the Sidelines

In planning for reconstructing Iraq, Bush administration officials are forgetting the central lesson of the Marshall Plan. (The NY Times)

Editorial: Must We Help Reconstruct Iraq?

Should we help to reconstruct Iraq? Divisions before, during and after the conflict inevitably mean that each step the international community takes has to be weighed carefully, each decision scrutinized minutely. My answer is a resounding yes, for three reasons. (Al Hayat)

Iraq: no aid requests in '05

The U.S.-run government in Iraq has vowed to seek no congressional funding in 2005 to reconstruct that nation if it receives the Bush administration's full $20.3 billion request this fall, raising questions about how it will meet its total spending needs. (The Washington Post)

Charity says $4 billion 'missing' in Iraq

A British charity has accused the US-controlled Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq of failing to account for $4bn meant to help rebuild the country. (BBC)

F.B.I. Agents Begin Interviews of Bush Officials on C.I.A. Leak

F.B.I. agents have begun interviewing Bush administration officials about the disclosure of an undercover C.I.A. agent's identity, government officials said on Thursday. (NY Times)

Ansar al Islam Seen as Key Threat in Iraq

An Al Qaeda-linked militant group that was chased from its main base in northern Iraq in the first weeks of the Iraq war has emerged as the key organized terrorist threat to U.S. forces in Iraq, a senior U.S. general said Thursday. (LA Times)

Analysis: For Hussein's Ouster, Many Thanks, but Iraqis Are Expecting More

During the war, six American missiles struck a concrete building in the Adhamiya section of Baghdad, a place not inclined to like America anyway. This was a stronghold for Saddam Hussein, who felt safe enough a few yards away from the building to deliver a car-top farewell speech as United States troops closed in on the capital in April. (NY Times)

Who is Muqtada al-Sadr?

The Council on Foreign Relations does a survey on this young Shia cleric. (CFR)

AMERICA

United States

Prominent U.S. Muslim Indicted

Activist is accused of engaging in illegal transactions with Libya and money laundering. (LA Times)

Akron man in custody, alleged terror suspect

Akron FBI agent Roger Charnesky testified Wednesday in York, Pa., that former Kent resident and Yemeni native Ashraf Al-Jailani was an al-Qaeda operative and that GOJO -- his Jewish-owned employer -- was his potential target. (Akron Beacon Journal)

Rumsfeld Heralds Shift to 'War of Ideas' on Terror

Questioning whether the United States is winning the war on terror, Donald Rumsfeld has set the stage for a policy shift that will put more emphasis on the struggle for hearts and minds. (Reuters)

Editorial: Decoding Rumsfeld's Memo

Perhaps with his recent assessment of the war on terrorism, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is really making a case for another huge increase in the Pentagon's already swollen budget. (NY Times)

Drug Czar Says Terrorism Profiting from Drugs

At least half the groups designated as "foreign terrorist organizations" by the State Department raise money from international drug trafficking, a Bush administration official said on Thursday. (Reuters)

Europe Urges Guantanamo Action

European Parliament leaders have urged the EU presidency to raise the case of 26 Europeans held as terror suspects by the US in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (BBC)

Editorial: A War Without End

The time has not yet come for accountability. Further costly events are still needed before raising the difficult questions. But there is no doubt that the journey is costly and fraught with dangers. There are no assurances that the U.S. will be able to bear it. There are no assurances either that the American people will agree to offer their blood and money for an open war. (Al Hayat)

Canada

Arar Gave Information About Al Qaeda, Report Says

Senior Canadian officials allege that Ottawa resident Maher Arar provided crucial information on the Al Qaeda terrorist network and on cells operating in Canada during his one-year detention in Syria, CTV News reported last night. (The Globe and Mail)

El Al flight diverted twice in Canada over security threat

A Toronto-bound Israeli El Al flight, was diverted twice to two airports in Canada after a threat was made on board, but later took off for Los Angeles without incident, an airport official said. (AFP)

ASIA

Philippines

Detained Militant is JI's Moneyman

Taufek Refke, a supposed Indonesian suspected to be one of the ranking leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror cell in the country, is also the moneyman for the terror group. (Philippines Headline News)

The Armed Forces Backtracks on Bio-Terror Claim

A white, crystalline powder known as RDX, or cyclonite, and not the tetanus virus as earlier reported, was found by government forces in Sunday afternoon's raid on an alleged terrorist safe house in Cotabato City, the Armed Forces announced on Tuesday. (The Manila Times)

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Arabia

Australia Warns of Imminent Terror Threats in Saudi Arabia

Australia warned that another terrorist attack was expected in Saudi Arabia and urged its citizens Thursday to avoid traveling to the kingdom. (AP)

Anthrax Scare?

Three employees of the Salama Post Office were taken to hospital on suspicion of being infected with anthrax. The three men showed sudden suspicious symptoms after opening a package containing an unknown substance, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported yesterday. (Arab News)

Saudi Cooperation on Terror Up Sharply

Saudi Arabia's anti-terrorism cooperation with the United States has increased sharply since a terrorist attack in Riyadh in May that killed 34 people, a senior administration official said Thursday. (AP)

Iran

U.N. Release Iran's Report on Al Qaeda

A report on Al Qaeda and Taliban prepared and submitted by Iran to the United Nations Security Council was released Wednesday. The report includes names of 78 members linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network who had been arrested in Iran and then extradited to their countries of origin. (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting)

Yemen

'Al Qaeda Wing' Receiving Questions Online

In 'an unprecedented step,' an alleged Al Qaeda wing opened an online dialogue with its supporters. Leaders of Qaedat Al Jihad in Yemen expressed willingness to answer questions posted on different websites by their followers. Asharq Al Awsat reports that questions so far revolved around the role played by Al Qaeda, the reason for stopping operations in Yemen and the rumors about a deal with the government. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Afghanistan

Afghan Disarmament Begins

The Afghan Government is embarking on an ambitious scheme to disarm 100,000 militiamen within two years. (BBC)

Analysis: Analysis: Disarming Afghan Militias (BBC)

A Bomber Confesses his Trail of Terror

It is a tale of a listless teenager from a broken home sucked into the world of terrorism by choice and circumstance, less out of ideology than inertia.(Gulf News)

Pakistan

Counter-Terror Force Begins Operations

The country's first counter-terrorism force, the Special Investigation Group (SIG), trained to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to deal with post-explosion situations, began working formally in Islamabad and the four provincial capitals on Wednesday. (Daily Times – Pakistan)

AFRICA

KENYA

Police Arrest Terror Suspect's Brother in Mombasa

Police have arrested the brother of a fugitive suspected to be one of the key masterminds of last year's twin terrorist attacks in Mombasa. Family sources yesterday said Mr Mohammed Nabhan had been in the custody of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit at an unknown police station since Saturday 18 October . Mr Nabhan is the brother of Mr Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a key suspect in the failed missile attack on an Israeli jet in Mombasa last November. The attack near the Moi International Airport occurred simultaneously with another against the Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Kikambala. (BBC)

EUROPE

UK

Secret Ministry of Defense Plan to Create Spy Stations

Secret plans to turn mobile phone masts into "Big Brother" spy stations have been revealed. The new system will allow mobile phone masts to become radar spy posts in the war against terrorist attacks. (This is London)

Germany

Germany Reinforces Refusal to Release al-Qaeda Statements The German government again refused Thursday to release statements to US interrogators by the Hamburg terror cells suspected al-Qaeda contact requested by lawyers defending a suspect in the Sept 11 attacks. (AP)

Sept 11 Attacks Planned in Afghanistan, not Germany

A senior German official has said that the plot for the September 11 attacks on the US was hatched in Afghanistan. (AFP)

German security circles say Saudi school in Bonn may be closedEverything indicates that the controversial King Fahd Academy in Bonn might be closed. DDP learned this from the appropriate security and intelligence circles in Berlin. The academy had attracted the attention of the security authorities because of possible contacts with Al Qaeda and the registered arrival of an increasing number of suspected Islamists in Bonn. (DDP News Agency – From BBC Monitoring)