Group purporting to be part of Al Qaida seems to be a phantom organization.
What is Al Qaida? - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/dbemg
by Henk Ruyssenaars
FPF - July 25th 2005 - Much is talked about this strange group called - 'Abu Hafs el Masri Brigade' - taking the blame/responsibility for a lot, as a part of the 'global Al Qaida terror'. So maybe it's a good idea to see what the mainstream media printed already last year in March, like the Boston Globe, which is just the New York Times in another 'jacket', but with the same neocon owners.* Now selling 'whitewash' on the London bombers again.
The cousin - of the liquidated Brazilian man Jean Charles de Menezes who was executed in the London subway while held down, with five shots in the head by 'under cover agents' - told British media about the 'running away' from the three plain clothes (jeans/cap model) agents: "Three weeks ago who was beaten up by some hooligans; that's why he was scared too, and ran." The following txt/quote may apply:
"Scotland Yard said Mr Menezes, who lived in Brixton, south London, was completely unconnected to the bomb attacks and added: "For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets."
ITS NOT A TRAGEDY, ITS A CRIME. - When you set out to commit pre-emptive lethal violence on someone, you have to be perfect every time, because if you aren't, and you continue anyway to kill people, you become part of the terrorism that you claim to be fighting." - [endquote - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/c5t59]
According to the BBC, for whatever it's worth now: ''Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, may have run from police because of his (expired) visa situation, BBC correspondents say - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/akut3 - The BBC - as Blair's Broadcasting Company - has however become totally unreliable. How the 'Whitehall whitewash' is done, and going on, is very well described here: http://tinyurl.com/8abal
But, what's Al Qaida? [http://tinyurl.com/dbemg] - The Boston Gobe article last year wrote on the 'Abu Hafs el Masri Brigade' the following, titled [US] ''Officials: Group tying self to blasts may not be real'' - in a story by Bryan Bender and Farah Stockman, Globe Staff, and published on 3/13/2004: ''WASHINGTON - A group purporting to be part of Al Qaeda that claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings and warned of a looming attack on the United States seems to be a phantom organization, according to US intelligence officials and terrorism specialists.
In a 24-hour news cycle dominated by fears of terrorism, the latest e-mail from the Abu Hafs al Masri Brigade to a London-based Arabic newspaper sowed anxiety and drew instant headlines all over the world. But specialists say there is no evidence the organization exists. E-mail messages purporting to be written by the group previously claimed responsibility for everything from the North American blackout to a suicide attack that killed 20 Italian policemen in Iraq. But none of those claims has proved true, intelligence specialists say.
THE LATEST MESSAGE WARNED THAT AN ATTACK AGAINST THE UNITED STATES IS "90 PERCENT READY."
Employees at the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper in London, which has received several letters in recent months purporting to be from the group, say they are not sure what the group is. Deciphering the group -- which first surfaced in July 2003 -- illustrates a larger challenge for counterterrorism officials: assessing the murky world of purported Al Qaeda splinter groups that have been responsible for a dramatic increase in highly sophisticated terrorist bombings around the world.
Spanish officials said yesterday they had no concrete evidence of Al Qaeda involvement in the Thursday attacks, and continued to identify ETA -- a Basque separatist group -- as one suspect.
But the worldwide attention generated by the Abu Hafs al Masri e-mail, received hours after the attacks occurred, demonstrated how easily threats purported to be from Al Qaeda can be spread. Terrorism analysts say such claims form part of the tactics of psychological warfare and propaganda, designed to capitalize on actual violence and deepen public fear of more attacks.
"It goes to the more virtual nature of Al Qaeda," said Peter Bergen, a terrorism specialist at the New America Foundation in Washington. "Some are real; some are waging psychological warfare."
A US official who has access to the latest intelligence information said the brigade's name is the nom de guerre of a senior bin Laden lieutenant who was killed by American forces in an airstrike in Afghanistan in November 2001.
"The name they picked out is what is sometimes confusing. Their ties to Al Qaeda are not as clear-cut," said the official, who asked that his name not be used. He added that US intelligence officials do not know whether the group exists.
Another US intelligence official said, "This group, organization, or whatever it is, is a phantom."
Ben Venzke, CEO of IntelCenter, a private company that specializes in analyzing terrorist messages for government agencies, said that while he believes Al Qaeda could have been responsible for the Madrid bombings, messages from the purported brigade are not credible.
Venzke said it became clear last year that the many letters and faxes did not have the same style as messages from Al Qaeda. Bin Laden's organization and offshoots have become more media-savvy in recent years and are increasingly providing video or audiotapes that can be verified for authenticity, Venzke said.
For example, e-mail messages to a journalist for Al-Majallah magazine who is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, sent days before the May 13 bombings in Saudi Arabia are thought to have come from a bona fide messenger of Al Qaeda. The e-mails warned of impending guerrilla warfare on the Arabian Peninsula. The attackers even made videotapes of the preparations for the bombing to be sent to the public.
But unlike those messages, none of the brigade's e-mails has ever proved authentic, Venzke said.
By last August, he said, he already had begun to disregard the group when it sent the clearest indication that it is a sham: a message to Al-Quds claiming responsibility for the blackout that struck New York City, Ohio, southern Ontario, and eastern Michigan last year.
That blackout was determined to have been caused by a power grid failure.
Larry Mefford, executive assistant director for counterterrorism at the FBI, told Congress that the group's terrorism claims were "wishful thinking."
"We have no information confirming the actual existence of this group," Mefford said, adding that the group also has claimed responsibility on Internet sites for the Aug. 5, 2003, bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Venzke said: "They started claiming responsibility for just about everything in the world. We've never been able to determine if it is just one person sitting at a computer having fun or if it really is a group."
The editor of Al-Quds, Abdel Bari Atwan, could not be reached yesterday, but a woman who identified herself as a receptionist said that e-mail messages from the brigade came in Arabic and that she has no other information about the group.
When asked whether the letter seemed credible, she said: "That's the problem. Probably not.
THERE IS NO PROOF OF ANYTHING, IF SUCH A THING EXISTS OR IS BEING MADE UP BY AMERICA OR SOMEONE ELSE."
[enditem] - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/9lq6u - March 2004 - Boston Globe/The New York Times Company
LINKS:
Google News - latest on London bombings - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/crmpm
* This is the official website of the UK Security Service - Url.: http://www.mi5.gov.uk/ - And this is part of the work they and some others like the CIA/Mossad etc. do: Url.: http://tinyurl.com/b4fex
The Downing St. Memos - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/83lko
The only ''Al-Quada cell'' ever found was an Israeli secret service Mossad front - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/b8tby
''Arabs may have the oil, but we have the matches" - Ariel Sharon - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/29ljg
US Ministry of Propaganda - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/988nk
FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
Blog: http://tinyurl.com/6v8ru
Editor : Henk Ruyssenaars
http://tinyurl.com/amn3q
The Netherlands
FPF@Chello.nl
*Corporate News Media: Incompetent, Criminally Negligent or Complicit? - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/cqpfe
* BBC: "THE WAR IN IRAQ IS ILLEGAL" says UN's Secretary General Kofi Annan - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/5pl2v
* Impeachbush.org is mobilizing a massive impeachment contingent at the huge September 24, 2005 anti-war March on Washington. Assemble at 12 noon at the White House. Sign up here to learn about the plans of the impeachment movement in the next month - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/cex28
*Colin Powell: ''It is not anti-Semitic to criticize the policies of the state of Israel' - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/22p6c - Who creates our money?
And what is 'Press Freedom" about? - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/assvj
FPF-COPYRIGHT NOTICE - In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107 - any copyrighted work in this message is distributed by the Foreign Press Foundation under fair use, without profit or payment, to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the information. Url.: http://liimirror.warwick.ac.uk/uscode/17/107.html
-0-
by Henk Ruyssenaars
FPF - July 25th 2005 - Much is talked about this strange group called - 'Abu Hafs el Masri Brigade' - taking the blame/responsibility for a lot, as a part of the 'global Al Qaida terror'. So maybe it's a good idea to see what the mainstream media printed already last year in March, like the Boston Globe, which is just the New York Times in another 'jacket', but with the same neocon owners.* Now selling 'whitewash' on the London bombers again.
The cousin - of the liquidated Brazilian man Jean Charles de Menezes who was executed in the London subway while held down, with five shots in the head by 'under cover agents' - told British media about the 'running away' from the three plain clothes (jeans/cap model) agents: "Three weeks ago who was beaten up by some hooligans; that's why he was scared too, and ran." The following txt/quote may apply:
"Scotland Yard said Mr Menezes, who lived in Brixton, south London, was completely unconnected to the bomb attacks and added: "For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan Police Service regrets."
ITS NOT A TRAGEDY, ITS A CRIME. - When you set out to commit pre-emptive lethal violence on someone, you have to be perfect every time, because if you aren't, and you continue anyway to kill people, you become part of the terrorism that you claim to be fighting." - [endquote - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/c5t59]
According to the BBC, for whatever it's worth now: ''Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, may have run from police because of his (expired) visa situation, BBC correspondents say - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/akut3 - The BBC - as Blair's Broadcasting Company - has however become totally unreliable. How the 'Whitehall whitewash' is done, and going on, is very well described here: http://tinyurl.com/8abal
But, what's Al Qaida? [http://tinyurl.com/dbemg] - The Boston Gobe article last year wrote on the 'Abu Hafs el Masri Brigade' the following, titled [US] ''Officials: Group tying self to blasts may not be real'' - in a story by Bryan Bender and Farah Stockman, Globe Staff, and published on 3/13/2004: ''WASHINGTON - A group purporting to be part of Al Qaeda that claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings and warned of a looming attack on the United States seems to be a phantom organization, according to US intelligence officials and terrorism specialists.
In a 24-hour news cycle dominated by fears of terrorism, the latest e-mail from the Abu Hafs al Masri Brigade to a London-based Arabic newspaper sowed anxiety and drew instant headlines all over the world. But specialists say there is no evidence the organization exists. E-mail messages purporting to be written by the group previously claimed responsibility for everything from the North American blackout to a suicide attack that killed 20 Italian policemen in Iraq. But none of those claims has proved true, intelligence specialists say.
THE LATEST MESSAGE WARNED THAT AN ATTACK AGAINST THE UNITED STATES IS "90 PERCENT READY."
Employees at the Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper in London, which has received several letters in recent months purporting to be from the group, say they are not sure what the group is. Deciphering the group -- which first surfaced in July 2003 -- illustrates a larger challenge for counterterrorism officials: assessing the murky world of purported Al Qaeda splinter groups that have been responsible for a dramatic increase in highly sophisticated terrorist bombings around the world.
Spanish officials said yesterday they had no concrete evidence of Al Qaeda involvement in the Thursday attacks, and continued to identify ETA -- a Basque separatist group -- as one suspect.
But the worldwide attention generated by the Abu Hafs al Masri e-mail, received hours after the attacks occurred, demonstrated how easily threats purported to be from Al Qaeda can be spread. Terrorism analysts say such claims form part of the tactics of psychological warfare and propaganda, designed to capitalize on actual violence and deepen public fear of more attacks.
"It goes to the more virtual nature of Al Qaeda," said Peter Bergen, a terrorism specialist at the New America Foundation in Washington. "Some are real; some are waging psychological warfare."
A US official who has access to the latest intelligence information said the brigade's name is the nom de guerre of a senior bin Laden lieutenant who was killed by American forces in an airstrike in Afghanistan in November 2001.
"The name they picked out is what is sometimes confusing. Their ties to Al Qaeda are not as clear-cut," said the official, who asked that his name not be used. He added that US intelligence officials do not know whether the group exists.
Another US intelligence official said, "This group, organization, or whatever it is, is a phantom."
Ben Venzke, CEO of IntelCenter, a private company that specializes in analyzing terrorist messages for government agencies, said that while he believes Al Qaeda could have been responsible for the Madrid bombings, messages from the purported brigade are not credible.
Venzke said it became clear last year that the many letters and faxes did not have the same style as messages from Al Qaeda. Bin Laden's organization and offshoots have become more media-savvy in recent years and are increasingly providing video or audiotapes that can be verified for authenticity, Venzke said.
For example, e-mail messages to a journalist for Al-Majallah magazine who is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, sent days before the May 13 bombings in Saudi Arabia are thought to have come from a bona fide messenger of Al Qaeda. The e-mails warned of impending guerrilla warfare on the Arabian Peninsula. The attackers even made videotapes of the preparations for the bombing to be sent to the public.
But unlike those messages, none of the brigade's e-mails has ever proved authentic, Venzke said.
By last August, he said, he already had begun to disregard the group when it sent the clearest indication that it is a sham: a message to Al-Quds claiming responsibility for the blackout that struck New York City, Ohio, southern Ontario, and eastern Michigan last year.
That blackout was determined to have been caused by a power grid failure.
Larry Mefford, executive assistant director for counterterrorism at the FBI, told Congress that the group's terrorism claims were "wishful thinking."
"We have no information confirming the actual existence of this group," Mefford said, adding that the group also has claimed responsibility on Internet sites for the Aug. 5, 2003, bombing of the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Venzke said: "They started claiming responsibility for just about everything in the world. We've never been able to determine if it is just one person sitting at a computer having fun or if it really is a group."
The editor of Al-Quds, Abdel Bari Atwan, could not be reached yesterday, but a woman who identified herself as a receptionist said that e-mail messages from the brigade came in Arabic and that she has no other information about the group.
When asked whether the letter seemed credible, she said: "That's the problem. Probably not.
THERE IS NO PROOF OF ANYTHING, IF SUCH A THING EXISTS OR IS BEING MADE UP BY AMERICA OR SOMEONE ELSE."
[enditem] - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/9lq6u - March 2004 - Boston Globe/The New York Times Company
LINKS:
Google News - latest on London bombings - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/crmpm
* This is the official website of the UK Security Service - Url.: http://www.mi5.gov.uk/ - And this is part of the work they and some others like the CIA/Mossad etc. do: Url.: http://tinyurl.com/b4fex
The Downing St. Memos - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/83lko
The only ''Al-Quada cell'' ever found was an Israeli secret service Mossad front - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/b8tby
''Arabs may have the oil, but we have the matches" - Ariel Sharon - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/29ljg
US Ministry of Propaganda - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/988nk
FOREIGN PRESS FOUNDATION
Blog: http://tinyurl.com/6v8ru
Editor : Henk Ruyssenaars
http://tinyurl.com/amn3q
The Netherlands
FPF@Chello.nl
*Corporate News Media: Incompetent, Criminally Negligent or Complicit? - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/cqpfe
* BBC: "THE WAR IN IRAQ IS ILLEGAL" says UN's Secretary General Kofi Annan - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/5pl2v
* Impeachbush.org is mobilizing a massive impeachment contingent at the huge September 24, 2005 anti-war March on Washington. Assemble at 12 noon at the White House. Sign up here to learn about the plans of the impeachment movement in the next month - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/cex28
*Colin Powell: ''It is not anti-Semitic to criticize the policies of the state of Israel' - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/22p6c - Who creates our money?
And what is 'Press Freedom" about? - Url.: http://tinyurl.com/assvj
FPF-COPYRIGHT NOTICE - In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107 - any copyrighted work in this message is distributed by the Foreign Press Foundation under fair use, without profit or payment, to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the information. Url.: http://liimirror.warwick.ac.uk/uscode/17/107.html
-0-
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