DAILY ALERT

In-Depth Issues:

New York Named in Terror Threat Against Subways - William K. Rashbaum (New York Times)
    New York City and federal officials said Thursday they had received information about a specific but unconfirmed terrorist threat to the city's transit system and that the police presence in the subways would be heightened in coming days.
    Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly did suggest that riders not bring backpacks, briefcases, baby carriages and luggage if they can do without them. Police officers were stepping up the random bag searches.
    Government officials said that in the last few days, a CIA-FBI operation in Iraq had taken two people there into custody in an effort to disrupt the plot.
    The officials said the plot appeared to involve a dozen or so people in an effort to plant explosives in the subway system around the middle of this month.

    See also Police Investigate New York Subway Terror Threat (ABC News)
    The New York Police Department and FBI are investigating a "credible" tip that 19 operatives have been deployed to the city to place bombs in the subway, but Department of Homeland Security sources said they were very doubtful the threat information is credible.
    The intelligence community developed information that the threat may have involved pharmacists from Iraq coming to New York for some kind of chemical attack targeting the subways.
    Three insurgents, one or more of whom are pharmacists, were arrested during a raid by a U.S. military and intelligence team, sources said, and one of those caught disclosed the threat.

Al-Qaeda's Search for New Fronts in Egypt and Sinai - Reuven Paz (PRISM/GLORIA-Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya)
    On September 25, 2005, a known al-Qaeda supporter, nicknamed Abu Muhammad al-Hilali, published a unique analysis on the Internet, combining it with instructions for Jihadi terrorist activity in Egypt, mainly the Sinai Peninsula.
    Attacks against the American enemy are the top priority; "the most important Jihadi target in this phase is attacks against tourists."
    In the second phase a struggle should be waged simultaneously against the Arab governments and the Jews.
    Al-Hilali offers the future strategy of the Jihad in Egypt, which includes: Targeting tourists by killing them or taking hostages.
    Targeting the movement of ships and attacking the main ports in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
    Targeting the transfer of oil and gas to Israel.
    Targeting any foreign presence in Egypt, such as cultural centers, companies, and embassies.

Saddam's Revenge - From Syria - Joe Klein (TIME)
    The Baathists were active in courting the Sunni tribes in Iraq.
    Starting in November 2003, tribal sheiks and Baathist expatriates held a series of monthly meetings at the Cham Palace Hotel in Damascus. They were public events, supposedly meetings to express solidarity with the Iraqi opposition to the U.S. occupation.
    The January 2004 gathering was attended by Syrian President Bashar Assad.
    Behind the scenes, the meetings provided a convenient cover for leaders of the insurgency, including Muhammad Yunis al-Ahmed, the former Military Bureau director, to meet, plan, and distribute money.

U.S. Considering $2 Billion in Military Sales to Saudis (AFP/Beirut Daily Star)
    The Pentagon has notified the U.S. Congress of possible military sales to Saudi Arabia valued at more than $2 billion, if all options are exercised.
    The proposed sales include armored personnel carriers, command vehicles, water cannons, a variety of trucks, ambulances, ammunition, and assault rifles for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.
    Another proposed sale, valued around $401 million, was for a system that distributes information through data links to fighter aircraft.
    The third proposed sale, valued at up to $760 million, was for continued technical and logistical support for Saudi military aircraft, aircraft engines, and missiles.

"Sister Encouraged British Suicide Bomber" (Reuters)
    A teacher encouraged her brother to become one of Britain's first suicide bombers by taking part in an attack that killed three people in an Israeli nightclub, a London court was told on Thursday.
    Parveen Sharif, 37, is accused of encouraging her brother Omar Sharif to blow himself up with another Briton, Asif Hanif, in a Hamas-sponsored attack at Mike's Place club in Tel Aviv in April 2003.
    Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw told the court that Parveen, a primary school teacher, and her brother Zahid Sharif, 38, had been aware of Omar's intention to carry out the attack and failed to tell the authorities.
    Parveen, who believed her brother's reward would be a place in paradise for himself and his family, had actively encouraged him to go ahead with the bombing, the court heard.

Outspoken Israeli Imam Raises Fears of Jerusalem Jihad - Uzi Mahnaime (Sunday Times-UK)
    An Israeli-Arab religious leader who preaches holy war is attracting support from hundreds of people, fueling fears among Israel's security services that al-Qaeda is poised to establish a foothold in the country.
    Sheikh Nazem Abu Salim, 40, an Israeli citizen and imam at the most prominent mosque in Nazareth - Shihab al-Din - has called for jihad in an Islamic magazine he publishes.
    "The jihad should take place in Jerusalem," Nazem, a biochemistry graduate of Beersheba University, wrote in the magazine Ansar Allah.
    Nazem also distributes one of the most important books of the global jihad, Al-Taifa al-Mansura. Written in 1993, it directs Islamic fundamentalists to take over all Islamic communities.

No Dancing and No Gays If Hamas Gets Its Way - Stephen Farrell (Times-UK)
    A vision of an Islamic society that bans mixed dancing and sternly disapproves of homosexuality has been given by Mahmoud Zahar, the most senior leader of Hamas in Gaza.
    Secular Palestinians fear that Hamas will try to impose its ultraconservative vision on them.
    Its Gaza heartland has no cinemas or bars, yet the West Bank has a brewery and Ramallah restaurants serve wine.

Iraqi Girl to Be Treated in Israel - Nurit Paltar (Ynet News)
    A ten-year-old Iraqi girl will arrive in Israel in the coming week in order to undergo a complicated heart surgery in one of the country's hospitals.
    The operation is an initiative by the Save a Child's Heart organization.

Israel Will Revert to Standard Time on October 9 (Jerusalem Post)
    Daylight Savings Time in Israel will end between Saturday night, October 8, and Sunday morning, October 9.
    The U.S. ends Daylight Savings Time October 30.

Key Links

Media Contact Information

Back Issues

News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:

Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

Observations:

President Bush Discusses War on Terror (White House)

Speaking Thursday at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, President Bush said:

• The images and experience of September the 11th are unique for Americans. Yet the evil of that morning has reappeared on other days, in other places - in Mombasa, and Casablanca, and Riyadh, and Jakarta, and Istanbul, and Madrid, and Beslan, and Taba, and Netanya, and Baghdad, and elsewhere.
• Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism; still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam. This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a violent, political vision: the establishment, by terrorism and subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom. These extremists distort the idea of jihad into a call for terrorist murder against Christians and Jews and Hindus - and also against Muslims from other traditions, who they regard as heretics.
• We know the vision of the radicals because they've openly stated it - in videos, and audiotapes, and letters, and declarations, and websites.
  • First, these extremists want to end American and Western influence in the broader Middle East, because we stand for democracy and peace, and stand in the way of their ambitions.
  • Second, the militant network wants to use the vacuum created by an American retreat to gain control of a country, a base from which to launch attacks and conduct their war against non-radical Muslim governments. Over the past few decades, radicals have specifically targeted Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and Jordan for potential takeover.
  • Third, the militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia. With greater economic and military and political power, the terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, to assault the American people, and to blackmail our government into isolation.
• The influence of Islamic radicalism is also magnified by helpers and enablers. They have been sheltered by authoritarian regimes, allies of convenience like Syria and Iran, that share the goal of hurting America and moderate Muslim governments, and use terrorist propaganda to blame their own failures on the West and America, and on the Jews. These radicals depend on front operations, such as corrupted charities, which direct money to terrorist activity. The militants are aided, as well, by elements of the Arab news media that incite hatred and anti-Semitism, that feed conspiracy theories and speak of a so-called American "war on Islam."
• Over the years these extremists have used a litany of excuses for violence - the Israeli presence on the West Bank, or the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, or the defeat of the Taliban, or the Crusades of a thousand years ago. In fact, we're not facing a set of grievances that can be soothed and addressed. We're facing a radical ideology with inalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world. No act of ours invited the rage of the killers - and no concession, bribe, or act of appeasement would change or limit their plans for murder.
• Overall, the United States and our partners have disrupted at least ten serious al-Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including three al-Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. We've stopped at least five more al-Qaeda efforts to case targets in the United States, or infiltrate operatives into our country. Because of this steady progress, the enemy is wounded - but the enemy is still capable of global operations. Our commitment is clear:
  • We will not relent until the organized international terror networks are exposed and broken, and their leaders held to account for their acts of murder.
  • Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes, and to their terrorist allies who would use them without hesitation.
  • Third, we're determined to deny radical groups the support and sanctuary of outlaw regimes. State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a long history of collaboration with terrorists, and they deserve no patience from the victims of terror. The United States makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor them, because they're equally as guilty of murder. Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization. And the civilized world must hold those regimes to account.

Free 2005 Online Coupon Book for Travel to Israel The 2005 Online Coupon Book for Travel to Israel is now online. Download free coupons for significant offers, discounts and bargains on hotels, tours, shopping, meals, and more. Created by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, coupons are valid for travel through 2005. Share this information with family, friends, and colleagues. Group leaders can download as many as needed for all Israel trip participants. The strongest way to show your solidarity with Israel is to visit in person. To download, click here: www.goisrael.com/couponbook or call 1-888-77-ISRAEL. For additional information contact: [email protected].