The Counter-Terrorism Page

Welcome

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:48:33 +0000

Welcome to The Counter-Terrorism Page. The CTPage has been existence - on and off - since 1994, and was the first web sites dedicated to the study of Counter-Terrorism, violent political movements, and low intensity conflict.

The CTPage has undergone many incarnations over the years, but has consistently retained a focus on the study of CT, free from hyperbole. Steering away from judgements is an objective we have aspired to.

To achieve this objective, we have focused on presenting information, and not our own analysis. As a result you will discover information from a variety of open sources including Governments, NGOs, Academics and professionals. Each may have their own point of view, and we hope that this approach will inform the discussion, rather than act as advocate for any point of view.

Naturally, all content does reflect the author's point of view, but we hope that by presenting diverse well structured and credible information we will assist understanding of the context for terrorism and terrorist activities. Our hope is that this can inform the development of policy, strategy, and analysis.

Twitter hacked, attacker claims Iran link

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:29:49 +0000

From: Reuters via Yahoo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Computer hackers briefly hijacked Twitter.com on Thursday, redirecting its users to a website where a group calling itself "Iranian Cyber Army" claimed responsibility for the disruption.

It was unlikely that the Iranian government itself was involved despite its dislike of social networking sites and years of discord with the United States over its nuclear program, experts said.

Twitter was apparently disrupted for about two hours by the group, which replaced the Twitter home page with a headline reading "This site has been hacked by Iranian Cyber Army" and an anti-American message.

Letter From Kabul

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:03:46 +0000

From: Foreign Policy November 30, 2009

Please read the complete article at Foreign Policy's outstanding web site

What the United States Must Overcome in Afghanistan

Summary --

As the Obama administration prepares to send more troops to Afghanistan, what are the problems U.S. forces will face, and what, if anything, can they do to overcome them?
Part I: Corruption
Part II: The Warlords
Part III: The Taliban

KIM BARKER is Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Part I: Corruption

In his inauguration speech, Afghan President Hamid Karzai stressed the importance of the country's fight against corruption and spoke of his commitment to ending "the culture of impunity and violations of law." Afghans, however, reacted warily: they are waiting to see action, which has been in short supply in Afghanistan. Corruption has grown around Karzai like a fungus, touching almost every ministry and office. As Karzai begins his new term, this pervasive culture of graft is blamed for driving a wedge between Afghans and their government -- even driving some toward the Taliban.

Western officials have demanded that the Afghan government take decisive action against corruption, but such pressure may be counterproductive. Karzai has grown increasingly resentful of Western criticism, both because such treatment comes across as disrespectful in Pashtun culture and because Karzai believes that standing up to the United States will make him more popular with Afghans. Pressuring Karzai too often simply pushes him into a defensive crouch.

South Asia Intelligence Review 8.19

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:18:28 +0000

Weekly Assessments & Briefings
Volume 8, No. 19, November 16, 2009

INDIA

Assam: Crippling the ULFA
Wasbir Hussain
Associate Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi; Director, Centre for Development and Peace Studies, Guwahati

Trans-border terror in South Asia received a severe setback on November 4, 2009, when two top leaders of the separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) fell into the hands of the Indian Security Forces (SFs). The official version of the story is that ULFA’s self-styled ‘foreign secretary’ Sashadhar Choudhury and ‘finance secretary’ Chitraban Hazarika were trying to sneak back into India from Bangladesh, when they were captured by Border Security Force (BSF) troopers near Gokulnagar in Tripura. The duo was then handed over to a visiting Assam Police team on November 6, who brought them over to Guwahati and produced before a magistrate. The next day, the magistrate sent them on a ten-day Police remand. Though there is reason to believe that the duo were actually picked up by Bangladesh authorities and informally handed over to the Indian side, there are complex reasons why both New Delhi and Dhaka prefer that people believe the official version. In any event, the fact remains that the pair has been captured and is now in Indian custody, after years on the run.

ETA suspect 'could face death'

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:45:42 +0000

From: BBC News

A court in Belfast has heard claims that sending a convicted Basque terrorist back to a Spanish prison would leave him facing death.

Lawyers for Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos, 54, are fighting attempts to have him extradited to Spain over claims that he glorified terrorism.

He has already served a jail sentence for his role in up to 25 murders.

But he claims he was beaten repeatedly and kept in solitary confinement for 17 years during his incarceration.

According to the defendant's lawyer, a medical expert had identified a disproportionate risk to the wanted man's health and life if he is extradited.

Galleon Founder Sued Over Terrorism

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:25:24 +0000

From Hedgefund.net

by Paula Schaap ,Senior Reporter , October 23, 2009

It’s not as though Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam doesn’t have enough problems these days, what with being arrested and charged with a $20 million insider trading scheme and having to wind down his fund.

Now, Rajaratnam and his father, J.M. Rajaratnam, are being sued by victims and survivors of attacks mounted by the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan group that was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury in 1997.

South Asian Intelligence Review Oct 19, 2009

vabiro@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:28:38 +0000

PAKISTAN

Speeding into the Void
Kanchan Lakshman
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management; Assistant Editor, Faultlines: Writings on Conflict & Resolution

After much vacillation and hype, and stung by targeted attacks at its very core, the military launched its long-awaited Operation Rah-e-Nijat (Path of Salvation) late on October 16, 2009, against the Hakeemullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Waziristan. The declared mission objective, according to the military spokesman, is to neutralise the "centre of gravity of terrorism” in Pakistan. The decision to launch a ground offensive reportedly came hours after the military and political leadership agreed to stage the ‘final assault’ on the “headquarters of terrorism" in reaction to the series of terrorist attacks across the country over the preceding two weeks. "The ground offensive has started," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas declared, "The headquarters of the defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) will be surgically targeted to dismantle the network of the terror outfit." Abbas stated that intelligence reports had revealed that some 80 per cent of the terrorist attacks in Pakistan originated from South Waziristan, and that some 1,500 foreign terrorists were believed to be hiding in the area, in adding strength to local militants.