Saturday's Blast in India may be Tied to American Jihadi

A weekend bombing of a crowded cafe in the Indian city of Pune has revived questions about Chicago resident David Coleman Headley's alleged reconnaissance trips to India to scout potential targets for terrorist attacks for the Pakistan-based terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The attack Saturday at the German Bakery killed nine people, including two foreigners, and wounded at least 60 others. A bomb left in a backpack under a table exploded when one of the bakery's customers tried to open the backpack. The bakery is located in the Koregaon Park section of the city popular with foreign tourists and includes the Osho International Meditation Resort and the Jewish Chabad center.

Headley reportedly visited Pune and conducted surveillance at the Chabad center as a potential target site for attacks on one of his surveillance missions to the city in July 2008 and March 2009. He allegedly stayed in the neighborhood where the bombing occurred and also visited the Osho resort.

He was charged in December with conspiracy to bomb public places in India, to murder Americans and others in India, and to provide material support to the Pakistan-based Lashkar terror group. Court documents allege that Headley conducted extensive surveillance of sites targeted in the Mumbai attacks.

An FBI affidavit details a July 2009 e-mail to Headley from a Lashkar member that points to Pune as a target city for a potential terrorist attack. In the e-mail the Lashkar handler writes:

"There are investment plans with me, not exactly at Rahul's city but near that. Rest we can decide when we meet according to your ease."

Indian investigators have established that Rahul is a reference to Rahul Bhatt, an Indian actor and son of a prominent Bollywood film producer, who had been befriended by Headley during his many scouting missions to Mumbai. The "investment plans" included a plot to target Pune, a city 58 miles from Mumbai, in addition to the National Defense College in New Delhi.

Investigators suspect the Indian Mujahideen (IM), an indigenous terrorist outfit that has ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, was behind the bombing. The attack is also believed to have been set off by the IM as part of a larger "Karachi Project"—a plot by Lashkar and members of Pakistan's rogue intelligence agency, the ISI, to train fugitive Indian jihadis to wage terrorist attacks against India.

According to a news source, Headley told FBI interrogators about the project. Several renegade IM leaders, including Riaz and Iqbal Bhatkal, Mufti Sufiyan, and Rasool Parti have been granted sanctuary in Karachi by Lashkar, the Times of India reported. The IM has a noted presence in Pune a several IM leaders from the city, including technology graduates and a medical doctor, are in custody awaiting trial.

The Asia Times Online received a message from Ilyas Kashmiri, leader of al Qaeda's notorious 313 Brigade. The message justifies the bombing as retaliation to Indian atrocities in Kashmir, the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, and the demolition of a Muslim mosque by Hindu extremists in 1992. Kashmiri does not claim responsibility for the attack but acknowledges the Brigade's involvement in the plot.

In January, Kashmiri was added as a defendant along with two others in a superseding indictment against Headley for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Al Qaeda Tasks Al-Shabaab as Somali Terrorists Anticipate Government Offensive

Months after al-Shabaab pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is holding the Somali Islamist movement to its word. In an audiotape released Tuesday AQAP called on al-Shabaab to help the group gain control of the Strait of Bab-al-Mandab, the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

An important shipping route, gaining control of this waterway would mark a "great victory and global influence" for the two Islamist groups, according to al Qaeda in Yemen leader Said Ali al-Shihri. More importantly, according to one former Guantanamo detainee, the goal is to stop U.S. shipments of goods bound for Israel.

Al-Shabaab may try to accommodate al Qaeda's wishes, but the group may be stretched thin to do so as it battles the Somali government. The Western-backed government has recently vowed to take back full control of the country from Islamist rebels by launching a full scale offensive.

Wednesday, hundreds of armed al-Shabaab members poured into Mogadishu, causing many to flee. Witnesses reported seeing "a couple dozen armored vehicles full of al-Shabaab forces armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 rifles" traveling into the war-torn capital.

Friday, al Shabaab declared holy war on the Somali government. Al-Shabaab Official Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur told hundreds of supporters gathered at Nasrul-din Mosque for Friday prayers:

"We have prepared our Mujahidins for this war and we are urging you to join us in this religious undertaking because it's your religious responsibility, are you ready?"

The crowd reportedly replied, "Yes."

At least five people were killed and more than 35 were injured Friday evening as clashes erupted between al-Shabaab and government forces. Several mortar shells were fired and landed in residential areas.

While the African Union and several other African Nations, such as Djibouti and Kenya, have pledged support to the Somali government to help fight the Islamist rebels, it is a disturbing reminder of al-Shabaab's reach that some Western youth may be fighting on the opposite side, including 20 U.S. youths allegedly recruited from Minnesota.

A Schizophrenic Terror Policy

Two news reports on U.S. strategy in the war on terror offer conflicting images of American policy.

An Associated Press report details the Obama administration's aggressive targeting of terrorist leaders from Pakistan to Yemen, including the killing last summer of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

On the flip side, the Washington Times reports that the new Quadrennial Homeland Security Review never mentions the word "Islamist" or the phrase "Islamic terrorism" in 108 pages:

"Although the homeland security official in charge of developing the review insists it was a not a deliberate decision, the document is likely to reignite a debate over terminology in the U.S.-led war against al Qaeda that has been simmering through two administrations.

'There was not an active choice' to avoid using terms derivative of Islam, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman told reporters on a conference call. President Obama had 'made it clear as we are looking at counterterrorism that our principal focus is al Qaeda and global violent extremism, and that is the terminology and language that has been articulated' by Mr. Obama and his advisers, Mr. Heyman added. He declined to use the I-word."

If it wasn't an "active choice," it's even more unusual to see the 128-page Quadrennial Defense Review similarly avoid references to Islam, but instead include multiple references to "radicalism," "extremism" or "violent extremism."

The article notes that this continues a policy enacted in 2008 by the Bush administration in memos first published by the Investigative Project on Terrorism time here and here.

The approach has U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) scratching his head:

"They're trying to be tougher than Bush overseas but different from Bush at home. They really got the right model for Pakistan and Yemen, but they're really tone deaf at home."

As we noted at in 2008, the nuanced use of language follows the recommendation of American Islamist groups which routinely object to U.S. counterterrorism efforts, while critics argue it ignores the motivation of terrorists trying to kill Americans.

The government has been hesitant to invoke Islam in its investigations into the November Fort Hood massacre, even though shooter Nidal Malik Hasan reportedly shouted "Allahu Akhbar" before firing and had sought religious approval from radical Yemeni cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki.

"We shouldn't be reluctant to identify our enemy," U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told the newspaper.

The Changing Face of Palestinian Terror

For the first time, Palestinian security forces have announced the arrest of Al Qaeda-inspired radicals with explosives in the West Bank. In Gaza, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called on his forces to "strike with an iron fist" the extremist groups suspected to be behind a spate of terror attacks against Hamas and civilian targets. These developments mark an uptick in the identification of Palestinian militants with Al Qaeda's ideology, and their willingness to translate belief into action. It also comes on top of polls which report that 51% of Palestinians have confidence in Osama bin Laden's struggle on their behalf.

The first appearance of Al Qaeda-inspired militants in Gaza, the Jund Ansar Allah (JAA), ended in an explosion of violence. The JAA, which perceived the Hamas leadership as "nationalist" and insufficiently Islamist, denounced them and declared an Islamic emirate in their place. In response, Hamas brutally crushed the organization, killing 24 including their leader and arresting many more. However, the violence has not ceased and other Al Qaeda-inspired groups continue bombing the de facto Hamas government and other targets (including the few remaining Christian facilities in Gaza).

The growth of Al Qaeda-style terrorists in the West Bank is the latest worrisome sign in the fight against terror. Contrary to blockaded Gaza, the West Bank possesses a strong civil society and a growing economy, long thought by some analysts to be barriers to this type of extremism. The popular theory today is that counterterrorism efforts should place heavy emphasis on reducing poverty and unemployment. However, as terrorism expert Matt Levitt points out, the discovery of the West Bank cell brings the validity of this strategy into question. The internationalization of Jihadist violence threatens even groups like Hamas, who faces competition from even more extreme terrorists.

In addition, there are other factors contributing to the rise of Al Qaeda in Gaza and the West Bank. As the United States pulls out of combat in Iraq, more fighters are transferring to the Palestinian front or are calling for joint attacks with Palestinian "resistance" across the political spectrum. Likewise, bin Laden has increased his purported focus on Palestine, as he stated in a recent audiotape address to President Obama.

Militants from Iraq bring with them advanced insurgency tactics, a more radical ideology, and international contacts with the world's most prolific terror organizations. The same can be said for Yemeni fighters, who alongside other foreign militants, have established a base of a few hundred Jihadists in Gaza. Simply controlling the borders of Palestinian territory is not enough anymore, as the few foreign Jihadists who slip through the cracks play on already popular sentiment. New strategies must be developed. Unfortunately, that will necessarily include cooperation with PLO security forces, whose brigades are still transitioning from their own involvement in terror. This is a slow process, as evidenced by a terror attack by a Palestinian policeman as recently as a few days ago.

There are also some positive signs coming out from the fight against terror. Despite the obvious danger that Al Qaeda-like groups present, they do not yet receive material support from bin Laden. Al Qaeda has also not formally announced a connection to these organizations or had them swear allegiance to its leaders. Furthermore, the conflict has made uncomfortable bedfellows of Israel and Hamas, who find themselves strangely fighting a common enemy.

However, as so many times before, Israel has proven to be the first front facing new terror threats and tactics. Ultimately, developments like these underline the commonality of the global struggle against Islamist terrorism.

Treasury Imposes New Sanctions While Iran Goes "Nuclear"

While Iran continues to flout international sanctions and to march down the path to becoming a nuclear power, the U.S. Treasury Department once again tried its hand this week at squeezing the regime of the financial resources necessary to developing nuclear weapons.

On Wednesday, the Treasury announced that it would expand existing sanctions against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by designating an individual and four companies affiliated with the IRGC, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which freezes the assets of designated proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters.

The designation focused on Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, a front for the IRGC operating under the guise of an engineering firm. Operating openly, the profits from Khatan al-Anbiya are available and have been used to support the illicit activities of the IRG, including WMD proliferation and support for terrorism.

The actions of the Treasury Department came just moments before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had produced its first batch of enriched uranium. Although the announcement by Iran was accompanied by continued assurances that the country has no intention of building nuclear weapons, Ahmadinejad asserted:

"We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20 percent or 80 percent but we don't enrich (to this level) because we don't need it…When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb…If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it."

Still, experts believe that Iran is continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. One avenue towards preventing this potential inevitability is to continue pressuring the regime with financial sanctions, and this week's Treasury announcement is just the latest in a string of actions aimed at countering Iranian nuclear proliferation.

As the Treasury explained in implementing the most recent round of sanctions:

"As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbuya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world…Today's actions exposing Khatan al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities."

How Islamists Use Courts to Silence Critics

In recent years, British courts have become a prime destination for "libel tourism" - the filing of libel and defamation claims in foreign courts, where the standard of evidence is lesser than American courts.

Parliament's House of Lords has established a panel to examine the possibility of amending British laws to make it more difficult for foreigners to bring defamation suits in Great Britain.

That's welcome news. But in a column in Tuesday's Guardian newspaper, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz and Hudson Institute Visiting Fellow Elizabeth Samson note that American courts already are being used by radical Islamists – not to win damages, "but with the hope of imposing an unaffordably high cost on criticism of their actions."

In addition to the monetary costs, lawsuits from Islamist groups can carry "the smear of bigotry … [which] has stifled legitimate discussion of some suspect behaviour," the authors write.

It's not a new phenomenon. In 2003, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sued the National Review for publishing an allegedly defamatory statement. CAIR pursued the litigation even after the magazine retracted the statement. The court threw out the case for lack of merit, but National Review paid more than $50,000 in legal fees.

Yet a libel defense can cost much more than $50,000. In 2005, the Islamic Society of Boston sued the Boston Herald and nearly a dozen others including the Investigative Project on Terrorism for defamation.

"The ISB was building New England's largest Islamic centre and the defendants were raising questions about the ISB's connections to terrorist financing and hate speech. Though the ISB dropped the lawsuit - just weeks before some of their leaders were to give sworn testimony - the defendants incurred close to $2m in legal costs," Dershowitz and Samson add.

They cite Herald columnist Howie Carr, who said the ISB lawsuit has "had had a chilling effect on journalists in Boston," a conclusion supported by an analysis of articles published in his paper from summer 2003 to winter 2007. Between summer 2003 and winter 2005, the Herald published 19 articles mentioning ISB's alleged connection with radical Islamic groups.

That changed with the litigation. After it was filed, "the paper whitewashed its reporting and no longer mentioned radicalism in the 20 articles that covered the ISB's activities during that period," Dershowitz and Samson wrote.

The cost of fighting potential litigation has to be considered by struggling publishers, and their modestly paid journalists. The result, Dershowitz and Samson argue, is the public's loss of tenacious investigative reporting.

"The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, and Boston Herald have all been sued for libel for reporting about the plaintiffs' connections to radical Islam. Large newspapers may be financially capable of putting up a defence, but may not want the hassle or expense, even when the truth is on their side. Perhaps most daunting is that the extent of the problem, is hidden - one cannot know what editors under pressure deem not suitable to publish."

Israeli Ambassador's UC-Irvine Speech: Another Episode in Campus Radicalism

Eleven people were arrested Monday night at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), during a lecture by Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. Oren's speech before about 500 people at the UCI Student Center was interrupted "by young men yelling at him every few minutes," reportedly shouting, "'Israel is a murderer'" and "'how many Palestinians did you kill?'"

After 10 interruptions, several dozen students walked out and staged a protest, organized by the Muslim Student Union (MSU). The protestors shouted, "'Michael Oren you will see, Palestine will be free.'"

The MSU issued a statement on its website prior to Oren's speech condemning his very invitation:

"We resent that the Law School and the Political Science Department have agreed to cosponsor a public figure who represents a state that continues to commit human rights violations, thereby breaking international law and law of Israeli accord. We strongly condemn the university for cosponsoring, and therefore, inadvertently supporting the ambassador of a state that is condemned by more UN Human Rights Council resolutions than all other countries in the world combined."

The Muslim Student Union of UC Irvine has a long history of radicalism, including inciting hatred against Jews, Israel and America and inviting anti-Semitic speakers to campus. Among the examples:

Radical Washington D.C. cleric Mohammed al-Asi, who argued Jews have American "politicians and decision makers and strategists in their pocket because they have the money."

Oakland-based Amir Abdel Malik Ali who incited his audience to "victory or martyrdom," described Hamas by saying, "they ain't terrorists, they're freedom fighters."

Between the fall of 2000 and December 2006, 13 incidents of alleged harassment against Jewish students were recorded at UCI, ranging from rock throwing to hate speech.

In May 2008, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) wrote to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake to express his concern over MSU events earlier that month called "Never Again? The Palestinian Holocaust." The Congressman wrote the event "appears intended to encourage violence against the State of Israel and propagate the spread of anti-Semitism."

In October, 2009, UCI forwarded a complaint to the FBI "to investigate claims that funds raised at an event organized by the university's Muslim Student Union were used to help Hamas." The complaint refers to a Viva Palestina fundraising event sponsored by MSU in May 2009, an organization that directly provides money to the Hamas government in the Gaza strip.

On December 1, 2009, Sherman wrote another letter to the Chancellor, stating:

"I believe your investigation will confirm that the UCI MSU has solicited funds for a terrorist organization (or knowingly aided and abetted such solicitation). After you confirm these facts, I believe you will, at a minimum, prevent the MSU from operating on campus unless and until its leadership is purged of those responsible."

MSU has developed a reputation as among the most anti-Semitic and controversial Muslim student organizations in the country. The attempt to stifle speech on a university campus from a foreign diplomat further cements that image.

Jasser: Stop Overlooking the Obvious at Fort Hood

The FBI and the Army have conducted individual reviews of November's massacre of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood to try to determine how Nidal Malik Hasan's radicalism slipped through the cracks before his rampage. As we noted, officers were reprimanded, but no report explored why so many officers would look the other way.

Zuhdi Jasser, founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy powerfully deconstructs that failure in this column in the Daily Caller. Anyone who called out Hasan's pattern of radicalism prior to the shooting would have been blasted as an Islamophobe, Jasser argues.

"The current military and governmental culture precluded Hasan's superiors from questioning anything relating to his faith."

In the column, Jasser recounts an anecdote from an active Army colonel who asked an imam how he'd counsel a Muslim soldier who asked whether it was against Islam to fight fellow Muslims. The imam passed the buck, saying he'd suggest the soldier check with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

Yet ISNA's response to the Fort Hood massacre included Imam Zaid Shakir's statement that there was no justification for the murders, just as there is "no legitimate reason for the deaths of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani civilians" who died in battles from "the US war machine [which] is the single greatest threat to world peace."

An incredulous Jasser notes ISNA's roots in the Muslim Brotherhood and asks: "This is the organization that an active-duty imam uses for guidance?"

The colonel's question had a simple answer, which Jasser offers:

"not only does his oath to this country and the military take precedence over any other oath, but the concept of the ummah (as Islamic nation) is dead and no longer relevant or competing for his allegiance from a spiritual perspective. There have been many wars fought between Muslims and this war is not a war against Muslims or Islam, but rather one to free the Iraqi and Afghani populations from their despots. If our active duty Muslim imams cannot confer such advice upon our Muslim soldiers they are a significant liability to our force protection."

More analysis is needed at the Pentagon, he says, to trace the radical political ideology that drove Hasan to kill his fellow soldiers. Jasser's essay teems with the passion of an American Navy veteran and a Muslim foe of Islamists who make excuses for the likes of Hasan rather than look for ways to prevent future tragedies. This is one essay well worth reading in full.

Amnesty Official Slams Rights Group's Ties with "Taliban Supporter"

A senior official with Amnesty International (AI) has accused the organization of putting the human rights of Al Qaeda terror suspects ahead of those of their victims. The Sunday Times of London reports that Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at AI's international secretariat, believes that Amnesty's collaboration with former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzem Begg "fundamentally damages" its reputation.

Begg, a resident of Great Britain, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and held at Guantanamo until 2005 because of his suspected ties to Al Qaeda, which he denies. But the Times reports that "Prior to his arrest, Begg lived with his family in Kabul and praised the Taliban in his memoirs as 'better than anything Afghanistan has had in 20 years.'"

After his release, Begg became a spokesman for Cageprisoners, which describes itself as a "human rights" organization that exists "to raise awareness of the plight of prisoners" held in the war on terror. Among the Muslim inmates it highlights, according to the Sunday Times, "are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and Abu Qatada, a preacher described as Osama Bin Laden's 'European ambassador.' "

Cageprisoners and Begg have reportedly developed a relationship with Anwar al-Awlaki - the Al Qaeda cleric who became a confidant of Nidal Malik Hasan, charged with carrying out the November 5 Ford Hood massacre in which 13 people were killed. Awlaki has also endorsed the failed Christmas Day airplane attack in Detroit and was linked to several of the 9/11 hijackers.

According to Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens of the Centre for Social Cohesion, a British research group that monitors Islamist organizations, Begg has been a prominent backer of Awlaki. Weekly Standard writer Thomas Joscelyn summarized Meleagrou-Hitchens' findings:

"In 2006, Cage Prisoners organized a public relations campaign to pressure the Yemeni government into releasing Awlaki. Then, when Awlaki was released in 2007, Cage Prisoners told readers that they could submit congratulations to Awlaki through them."

That link was not functioning Monday, but can be seen here. In December 2007, Begg conducted a friendly interview with Awlaki which appears on the Cageprisoners website.

But Begg's record has not stopped Amnesty International from working with him and Cageprisoners. Amnesty's work with the group has taken it to Downing Street to demand the closure of Guantanamo. And Begg has embarked on an AI-hosted European tour urging countries to offer safe haven to freed Guantanamo detainees.

In a January 30 email to Amnesty International leaders, Sahgal objected to Begg's involvement in the group's "Counter Terror With Justice" campaign. "I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International's integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights," she wrote. "To be appearing on platforms with Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment."

Anne Fitzgerald, policy director of AI's international secretariat, called Begg a "compelling speaker" about detention and said he had been paid expenses for his attendance at its events.

Begg defended his support for the Taliban and the decision by Cageprisoners to highlight the plight of detainees linked to Al Qaeda, telling the Sunday Times: "We need to be engaging with those people who we find most unpalatable. I don't consider anybody a terrorist until they have been charged and convicted of terrorism."

Key Massachusetts Terror Case Witness Gets Probation

A man who cooperated in an FBI terrorism investigation in Massachusetts was sentenced to probation Thursday after pleading guilty to a weapons charge.

Bilaal McCloud, 54, of Roxbury started cooperating with investigators after his 2005 indictment for illegally possessing a semiautomatic pistol and ammunition. He is credited with helping build the case that led to terrorism charges against Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, and 28-year-old Ahmad Abousamra, formerly of Mansfield, the Boston Globe reported.

In October, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts announced that Mehanna had been charged in a complaint with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. A press release explained that from 2001 through May 2008, "Mehanna conspired with Ahmad Abousamra, and others to provide material support and resources for use in carrying out a conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country."

In addition, Mehanna and his co-conspirators "discussed their desire to participate in violent jihad against American interests and that they would talk about fighting jihad and their desire to die on the battlefield."

According to an affidavit in the case signed by FBI Special Agent Heidi Williams, Mehanna and Abousamra had discussions about assassinating members of the executive branch of the U.S. government. Mehanna and Abousamra, inspired by the snipers who terrorized the Washington, D.C. area in 2002, discussed obtaining automatic weapons, going to a shopping mall and randomly shooting people.

According to Williams' affidavit, Mehanna traveled to Pakistan and Yemen in unsuccessful attempts to find a terrorist training camp and engage in jihad. A search of his computer revealed that Mehanna translated and distributed Al Qaeda propaganda materials and numerous jihadist videos. These included videos of Mehanna joking about a remote-control bomb attack against U.S. soldiers and a picture of Mehanna and others posing at the former site of the World Trade Center.

The computer included a picture showing Mehanna and others at the Ground Zero construction site "with large grins and Mehanna has one finger pointed up in the air," the affidavit says.

Mehanna remains in jail awaiting trial. Abousamra disappeared in 2007 and is believed to be outside the United States.

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