New subject: [Clips] Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out

1 Aug 2005

      --- begin forwarded text

 Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com
 Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 23:01:38 -0400
 To: Philodox Clips List 
 From: "R.A. Hettinga" 
 Subject: [Clips] Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites
  are wiped out
 Reply-To: rah@philodox.com
 Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-523-1715166-523,00.html

 The Times of London

 July 31, 2005

 Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out
 Over the past fortnight Israeli intelligence agents have noticed something
 distinctly odd happening on the internet. One by one, Al-Qaeda's affiliated
 websites have vanished until only a handful remain, write Uzi Mahnaimi and
 Alex Pell.

 Someone has cut the line of communication between the spiritual leaders of
 international terrorism and their supporters. Since 9/11 the websites have
 been the main links to disseminate propaganda and information.

 The Israelis detect the hand of British intelligence, determined to torpedo
 the websites after the London attacks of July 7.

 The web has become the new battleground of terrorism, permitting a freedom
 of communication denied to such organisations as the IRA a couple of
 decades ago.

 One global jihad site terminated recently was an inflammatory Pakistani
 site, www.mojihedun.com, in which a section entitled How to Strike a
 European City gave full technical instructions. Tens of similar sites, some
 offering detailed information on how to build and use biological weapons,
 have also been shut down. However, Islamic sites believed to be "moderate",
 remain.

 One belongs to the London-based Syrian cleric Abu Basir al-Tartusi, whose
 www.abubaseer.bizland.com remained operative after he condemned the London
 bombings.

 However, the scales remain weighted in favour of global jihad, the first
 virtual terror organisation. For all the vaunted spying advances such as
 tracking mobile phones and isolating key phrases in telephone
 conversations, experts believe current technologies actually play into the
 hands of those who would harm us.

 "Modern technology puts most of the advantages in the hands of the
 terrorists. That is the bottom line," says Professor Michael Clarke, of
 King's College London, who is director of the International Policy
 Institute.

 Government-sponsored monitoring systems, such as Echelon, can track vast
 amounts of data but have so far proved of minimal benefit in preventing, or
 even warning, of attacks. And such systems are vulnerable to manipulation:
 low-ranking volunteers in terrorist organisations can create background
 chatter that ties up resources and maintains a threshold of anxiety. There
 are many tricks of the trade that give terrorists secure digital
 communication and leave no trace on the host computer.

 Ironically, the most readily available sources of accurate online
 information on bomb-making are the websites of the radical American
 militia. "I have not seen any Al-Qaeda manuals that look like genuine
 terrorist training," claims Clarke.

 However, the sobering message of many security experts is that the
 terrorists are unlikely ever to lose a war waged with technology.

 --
 -----------------
 R. A. Hettinga 
 The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
 "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
 [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
 experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
 _______________________________________________
 Clips mailing list
 Clips@philodox.com
 http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips

--- end forwarded text

-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga 
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"When the hares made speeches in the assembly and demanded that all should
have equality, the lions replied, "Where are your claws and teeth?"  --
attributed to Antisthenes in Aristotle, 'Politics', 3.7.2

[Clips] Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out

R.A. Hettinga

Tyler Durden

Eugen Leitl

Tyler Durden

Dan McDonald

J.A. Terranson

Eugen Leitl

Tyler Durden

Steve Schear

Eugen Leitl

tags

participants (6)