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| Europe |
| Terrorists establish Balkans foothold |
| 2005-12-02 |
| The raid netted explosives, rifles, other arms and a videotape pledging vengeance for the "brothers" killed fighting Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq. Police found the cache in an apartment occupied by an underground group that was aiming to blow up the British Embassy in Sarajevo, Western intelligence officials said. The Oct. 19 bust in Sarajevo confirmed a suspicion among several intelligence agents that Bosnia and other parts of the Balkans are becoming a launching pad for terrorist attacks in Europe. In particular, Islamic radicals are looking to create cells of so-called white al Qaeda, non-Arab members who can evade racial profiling used by police forces to watch for potential terrorists. "They want to look European to carry out operations in Europe," said a Western intelligence agent in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and Montenegro, adjacent to Bosnia. "It's yet another evolution in the tools used by terrorists." Parts of the Balkans, stuck in lawless limbo after years of war in the 1990s, are ripe recruitment territory for Middle East radicals, intelligence officials say. Bosnia is still divided among Muslim, Croat and Serb population areas, even if nominally united under the 10-year-old Dayton peace agreement that ended ethnic warfare. Muslim enclaves in Serbia are restive, and Muslim-majority Kosovo remains an estranged province campaigning for independence six years after NATO bombing forced out Serb-dominated Yugoslav troops. The Balkans have long been a freeway for smugglers of cigarettes, drugs, weapons and prostitutes. "All the conditions are present. Embittered Muslims, arms, corruption -- everything underground operators need to get established," said the Western intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The raid on the Sarajevo group, which was said to have had contacts with cells in Denmark and Britain, was not the only event that raised concern. During the summer, Italian and Croatian police arrested five people who allegedly plotted to bomb the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Vatican City in April. In addition, Serbian police accidentally came across a key suspect in the March 2004 bombings of Madrid commuter trains while he was traveling through the country by train. He arrived in the Balkans in July, and Serbian police investigators conjecture that he was seeking haven either in Bosnia or Kosovo and perhaps safe passage to the Middle East. They quickly extradited the man, Abdelmajid Bouchar, a Moroccan citizen, to Spain. U.S. and allied intelligence officers have long worked together in Sarajevo to keep an eye on Islamic radicals in Bosnia. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, the CIA and other foreign agencies set up a joint, fortified headquarters to keep tabs on terrorism suspects in Bosnia, a Western intelligence source in Sarajevo said. The spy teams operate separately from the chief international overseers of Bosnia, the Office of the High Representative, according to the official. During the three-sided war in Bosnia, hundreds of fighters from Arab and other Middle Eastern countries flocked to Bosnia to fight on behalf of the Muslim faction against Croats and Serbs. Many of the foreign mujaheddin , or holy warriors, were expelled after the war, according to the Bosnian government, but others remained and received passports. Today, parts of Bosnia framed by the cities of Zenica, Tuzla, Sarajevo and Travnik are home to these immigrants and compose the core regions for Islamic militancy, Bosnian police and Western intelligence officials say. Until recently, the immigrants tried to keep a low profile. Western intelligence officials here and in Belgrade surmised that they wanted to exploit Bosnia as a logistics and transit point and not invite a crackdown from local police or European Union peacekeepers. The Sarajevo arrests changed that perception. A Bosnian Interior Ministry official, Robert Cvrtak, released the names of four detainees from the raid: Cesur Abdulkadir, who is of Turkish heritage; Mirsad Bektasevic, a Swedish citizen of Bosnian origin; and Bajro Ikanovic and Almir Bajric, both Bosnian citizens. Among their activities, Bosnian police said, were hiding explosives inside lemons and tennis balls and trying to set up training camps in the hills near Sarajevo. Last Thursday night, Bosnian police arrested a fifth suspect in the town of Hadzici, near Sarajevo. The police found about 20 pounds of explosives hidden in woods near his home. The man, whose name has not been made public, is suspected of being in charge of providing explosives to the rest of group. Police officials here say Bektasevic, 19, also ran a Web site on behalf of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian who heads the insurgent group al Qaeda in Iraq. He had pictures of the White House in his computer, they added. Bektasevic operated under the code name Maximus and kept in touch with a group of at least three men in Britain. British police arrested them in early November, according to press reports. A week after the original Sarajevo arrests, police in Copenhagen detained four men ages 16 to 20 and said they had planned suicide bombings somewhere in Europe. "We had a very short period to investigate, but our information indicated that their action was imminent," said a police spokesman, Joern Bro. The Danes believed that the Copenhagen suspects had been in contact by phone and e-mail with Bektasevic. In August, police in Croatia arrested five Bosnians whom Italian military intelligence had fingered for involvement in a plot to bomb the papal funeral. The group originated in Gornja Maoca, a town in northeastern Bosnia, and had planned to smuggle rocket launchers, explosives and detonators into Italy. The plot fell apart, Western intelligence officials said, when a suspect was arrested in Rome in April. The Croatian police, acting on a tip from the Italians, found the others in Croatia. The capture of Bouchar, suspected in the Madrid train bombings, in Serbia in July surprised police there. They had thought he was just another Middle Easterner traveling illegally through the country until an Interpol fingerprint check revealed his identity. Authorities say Bouchar had narrowly escaped death or capture shortly after the Madrid attacks, when police there sealed off an apartment where suspects were hiding. Seven men died in the residence by detonating explosives. Bouchar, however, was taking out garbage at the time and fled, Serbian and Spanish officials say. He traveled to Brussels, where he expected to obtain forged documents, authorities said. However, his contacts there were either under arrest or fleeing police. He moved on and spent time in Austrian and Hungarian jails, but was freed. No one in either country checked his fingerprints. When picked up heading toward Belgrade, he was wearing a new business suit. Western intelligence officials in Belgrade note that Serbia, although predominantly non-Muslim, has pockets of Muslims in the Sanjak region near Montenegro as well as Kosovo and other areas along the province's border. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #23 Murtha's Message 2005 "the U.S. armed forces are broken, worn out, and living hand to mouth." Huh, worn out?? Murtha must have amnesia or Alzheimers. Guess he forgot about Battan, Corregidor, Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Bougainville, Midway, The Slot, Sulu Sea, Coral Sea, Java, Leyte, Truk, Philipines, Saipan, Iwo, Okinawa, D Day, hedgerows, The Ardennes, Sicily, Anzio, frozen Chosin, etc. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-12-02 21:02 |
| #22 aris...the US goal is to elevate the Iraqis to be a free and independant people/country. Zark and the boomers have no such goals. Their goal and 'values' are death to themselves and all strange infidels, like you...they really think killing is fun...so why aren't you trying to Murtha-ise them out of Iraq? |
| Posted by: mjslack 2005-12-02 20:18 |
| #21 PIMF - "Preview is my friend" - meaning, yup, I f*&ked up, and didn't preview to catch it. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-02 20:15 |
| #20 Bosnia is OK in the Donk pantheon for us to fight and die for Did you actually have *any* American casualties in Bosnia? Or are you just speaking in the Deceptive Hypothetical, namely that you might have had casualties? |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-02 20:14 |
| #19 "ingorant?" Yes, I don't know what that word means. Actually I don't know what "pap" means either. In fact I also don't know what "PIMF" means. And I'm too tired of your games to look them up. Wiki is your acknowledged source of Americana Not acknowledged as such by me, Frankie -- you've become so devoted to your lies and slanders that you can't even tell them yourself from truth anymore. A hawk is the standard reference to buttress "Murtha's a patriot" defense of his dirtpoor judgement and proposals Well, I for once certainly don't believe that only hawks can be patriots; the qualities are about as orthogonal as religion and morality. There are quite a few unpatriotic warmongers -- and quite a few patriotic pacifists. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-02 20:05 |
| #18 BTW - Bosnia is OK in the Donk pantheon for us to fight and die for - we have no interests there. It was also started by a Donk president and Gen Weasely Clark got his merit badge there. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-02 19:55 |
| #17 Actually Aris the US military has drawdown plans that start in 2006. The only way it could have been done quicker as Murtha demanded would be immediate withdrawal. The Republicans used almost the identical terminology that Murtha did and he still voted against it because when he made his comments he didn't expect to be held to them. Either he is woefully unaware of what is going on in Iraq in which case he should not be commenting or making demands but should be doing basic research or we was playing partisan games and had his bluff called. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-12-02 19:55 |
| #16 ingorant? LOL, PIMF. Wiki is your acknowledged source of Americana. Murtha cares about lives - apparently not Iraqi lives or the lives of Americans who will be viewed as weak (as they were under Carter and Clinton) and ineffectual. A hawk is the standard reference to buttress "Murtha's a patriot" defense of his dirtpoor judgement and proposals |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-02 19:45 |
| #15 I didn't wikipedia Murtha, am not sure where you get that idea. "He's a hawk ONLY when compared to Cynthia McKinney." I didn't claim that he was a hawk. Where did you get that idea either? He's playing retreat politics and the American people don't buy it. His Donk cohorts wouldn't even show the spine to vote what they'd been mouthing off for weeks. Actually Murtha himself didn't vote on the bill that the Republicans brought forth -- and which wasn't Murtha's own. What the Republicans did was the definition of "constucting a strawman", creating their own false version of the opponent's argument just in order to tear it down and pretend they won. Actually it seems to be what you are now doing also, when you claimed that *I* claimed Murtha to be a hawk. You'd learn more if you used your receptive senses instead of delivering pap from an ingorant I have no idea what "delivering pap from an ingorant" means. Anyway, even if Murtha is "playing retreat politics", my point remains: I'm taking a wild guess that the reason he picked to play such politics over Iraq vs over Bosnia, it's that it's in Iraq and NOT in Bosnia that American soldiers are getting killed. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-02 19:18 |
| #14 Why doesn't Murtha want to withdraw immediately from this quagmire? Americans killed in Bosnia: 0 Americans killed in Iraq: 2000+ I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's because American lives matter to Murtha. BZZZZT - You don't know dick about American politics, Aris, you just assume you do, because you wikipedia'd Murtha. He's a hawk ONLY when compared to Cynthia McKinney. He's playing retreat politics and the American people don't buy it. His Donk cohorts wouldn't even show the spine to vote what they's been mouthing off for weeks. You'd learn more if you used your receptive senses instead of delivering pap from an ingorant |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-02 19:09 |
| #13 bzzzz wrong answer, it is about you. |
| Posted by: Fluns Groluth7841 2005-12-02 18:28 |
| #12 It's not about me being better than anyone else, it's that you are so much worse -- as shown by the immediate mocking contempt you showed towards the idea of saving lives, without even bothering to elevate a different principle in its place. Cheers. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-02 18:08 |
| #11 I value human lives more than one such as you could imagine. Yes, you are so much better than me and the other mortals on this planet. Why I would never attack such a wonderful person. |
| Posted by: Choluth Jairt4214 2005-12-02 17:11 |
| #10 Murtha isn't European AFAIK, Choluth. Please focus. And up to now I think I was being accused of following idealistic principles without regards as to the waste of lives my principles (principles such as opposing the torture of innocents) would supposedly cause. Am not dumb enough to expect consistency in your personal attacks ofcourse. But one thing is indeed true, Choluth. I value human lives more than one such as you could imagine. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-02 16:57 |
| #9 Yup, living is all that matters to a European. Never too low to bow. |
| Posted by: Choluth Jairt4214 2005-12-02 16:14 |
| #8 Why doesn't Murtha want to withdraw immediately from this quagmire? Americans killed in Bosnia: 0 Americans killed in Iraq: 2000+ I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's because American lives matter to Murtha. The UN leadership is completely blind to the pace of development occuring in Iraq being contrasted to their quagmire in the Balkans Yes, certainly people in Iraq are being slaughtered and the whole Iraqi nation is headed towards Islamofascist control at a much much faster pace than is happening with the Balkans. Where "pace" is concerned, Iraq has Bosnia beat. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-02 16:11 |
| #7 Think of the gross Maria. In very town' Only sell reserved seats' Turn most people down Charge high admissions; Let people wait; That will make them think they're Seeing something great! Our picture will grab All the loot it can get And with music like this The LP's a sure bet! With all these profits, Things will be fine! When we top " Fair Lady Vengeeeeeeeece will beeeeeeeeee mine! |
| Posted by: Capt. V Trapp 2005-12-02 11:49 |
| #6 Edelweiss makes a lovely wine ..... and so pretty against the new grass in the Swiss alps. |
| Posted by: Swiss maid 2005-12-02 11:49 |
| #5 Anything to get 'em out of the house. I'ma sick of this Abel Weiss, Abel Weiss shit. Who cares? |
| Posted by: Maria 2005-12-02 11:26 |
| #4 I stand ready to command the combined navies. |
| Posted by: Capt V Trapp 2005-12-02 11:24 |
| #3 The EU will handles this with its multi-national Rapid Action Batallions. There is no need for the unilateralists from the U. S. to be involved. Why doesn't Murtha want to withdraw immediately from this quagmire? |
| Posted by: Omaing Throtch1928 2005-12-02 09:28 |
| #2 Ten years of the usual ineffectual UN administration in the Balkans shows why the US isn't allowing the kiddies to rebuild Iraq. The UN leadership is completely blind to the pace of development occuring in Iraq being contrasted to their quagmire in the Balkans. The terrorists are moving to more friendly areas generally associated with failed governments. That certainly is the case with the UN handling of the Balkans. |
| Posted by: Whease Glaitch2820 2005-12-02 08:46 |
| #1 The capture of Bouchar...surprised police there. They had thought he was just another Middle Easterner traveling illegally through the country until an Interpol fingerprint check revealed his identity... He...spent time in Austrian and Hungarian jails, but was freed. No one in either country checked his fingerprints. Thus demonstrating the importance of basic police procedure, and of controlling the borders against illegal immigrants. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-12-02 08:36 |