MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

By Greg Miller – “U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Iran is prepared to launch terrorist attacks inside the United States in response to perceived threats from America and its allies, the U.S. spy chief said Tuesday.

Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said in prepared testimony that an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington that was uncovered last year reflects an aggressive new willingness within the upper ranks of the Islamist republic to authorize attacks against the United States.

That plot ‘shows that some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime,’ Clapper said in the testimony, which was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee in advance of a threat assessment hearing Tuesday. ‘We are also concerned about Iranian plotting against U.S. or allied interests overseas.’

The assessment signals a potentially dire new direction in the adversarial relationship between the United States and Iran, at a time when there are indications that a covert campaign is already underway to thwart Iran’s alleged ambition to develop a nuclear weapon.

Clapper’s warning about Iran was delivered as part of the U.S. intelligence community’s annual overview of the nation’s most serious national security concerns. As the hearing got underway, Clapper signaled that the United States is seeking to avoid a violent confrontation with Iran, instead pushing for more and more sanctions while also monitoring the possibility of a preemptive strike by Israel.” Read more.

Flashback: Confirmed: Hezbollah Terror Operatives, ‘Sleeper Cells’ Poised in the U.S – “Operatives of the Lebanese Islamic terrorist organization Hezbollah, the same group presently firing missiles into Israel and labeled as one of the most dangerous Islamic terrorist group in the world, are believed ‘to be planning to activate sleeper cells located in New York and other larger cities inside the U.S.’ to stage attacks Americans… Law-enforcement and intelligence officials stated that ‘about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York City area (alone).’ The above appeared in an article published in The New York Post on May 22, 2006. Not surprisingly, that very same information was verified through several sources within law enforcement agencies and agents contacted by the Northeast Intelligence Network this weekend… Their international operational budget is estimated to be $200-$500 million annually, including $100 million in contributions provided directly by Iran.” Read more.

Flashback: 35 Islamic Terror Training Camps Now Operating … Inside the United States – “A radical jihadist group responsible for nearly 50 attacks on American soil is operating 35 terrorist training camps across the nation, but the U.S. government refuses to include the organization on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorists. Jamaat ul-Fuqra, known in the U.S. as ‘Muslims of America,’ has purchased or leased hundreds of acres of property – from New York to California – in which the leader, Sheikh Mubarak Gilani, boasts of conducting ‘the most advanced training courses in Islamic military warfare.’ In a recruitment video captured from Gilani’s ‘Soldiers of Allah,’ he states in English: ‘We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America.’” Read more.

Flashback (Video): Middle Eastern Terrorists Plan US Attack ‘Worse Than The World Trade Center’ From Latin American Countries – Read more.

By Aaron Klein – “JERUSALEM – The Muslim Brotherhood last week held a secret meeting in Egypt to coordinate the Islamic group’s rise to power in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, WND has learned.

Egyptian security officials told WND the meeting included Brotherhood members from Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt. The group discussed methods of gaining more influence in the respective countries.

The security officials said that Muslim Brotherhood members at the meeting identified militant Salafist organizations as a threat to the Brotherhood’s plan of taking power via elections.

The meeting followed the Brotherhood’s sweeping victory in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, taking 47 percent of the seats in the new assembly.

The confab took place as the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad faces an insurgency that is reportedly being coordinated in part by Muslim Brotherhood-allied groups.” Read more.

Source: Hamas’ Meshaal Sets Sights on Brotherhood Post – “Hamas’ out-going politburo chairman is leaving the Palestinian terrorist group to take a ‘high position in the Muslim Brotherhood movement,’ a ‘well-informed source in Hamas’ told the Nazareth-based Arabic-language Al-Sinnara last week. The move would see Khaled Meshaal—the longtime Damascus-based leader of Hamas—transition to a new, more international role, as head of the ‘Supreme Council of the [Brotherhood] movement.’ The Council is said to be ‘responsible for political issues,’ according to the report. It remains to be seen whether the article is referring to the group’s Guidance Bureau, which largely deals with the movement’s political affairs, or with another body altogether. If true, the news would help explain why Meshaal has been so adamant about not seeking re-election.” Read more.

Hezbollah official: Brotherhood would cancel Camp David Agreement – “Tehran — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will eventually cancel the Camp David Agreement, despite the group’s announcement that it respects international agreements Egypt has signed, said Amin al-Sayed Ibrahim, head of Hezbollah’s political council. Speaking to the ‘International Conference on Islamic Awakening and the Youths,’ Ibrahim said that the Egyptian military, so as not to lose its clout, would never allow the Brotherhood to write the constitution or even form a constituent assembly to write the constitution. Over 1,200 young people from Iran as well as 73 other countries are participating in the two-day conference, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Monday.” Read more.