Terrorism


The FBI’s 400,000-strong terrorist watch list

Recently released FBI data shows 1600 new names are nominated every day for the agency’s terrorist watch list, which contains more than 400,000 unique names and over a million entries.

My father, Osama bin Laden

Read a chapter from the new book by Omar bin Laden, son of the world’s most infamous terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, who he describes (amongst other things) as a mathematical genius who showed little affection and didn’t believe in refrigerators.

The front page is no place to judge a terror trial

This morning dodgy pictures and quotes of Australian terror suspects were splashed across the front pages of The Age and Herald Sun. Is it time to regulate the way media report criminal proceedings where the subject matter is terrorism?

The difference between a terrorist and a terrorist

When is a terrorist deemed a genuine refugee who doesn’t pose any threat to Australia? When they’re not a Muslim, apparently. But what makes the Tamil Tigers any different to Hamas, Hezbollah or the Taliban?

Rocky Pakistan terrain gets even more unstable

Pakistan’s military have taken a risky move: they’ve launched an offensive in the Taliban-Al Qaeda stronghold of South Waziristan. Will the move unleash a new wave of terror attacks in major cities?

Growing up Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden’s wife and son (well, in both cases, one of many) are set to reveal all about what life was like in the household of the world’s most wanted terrorist. The New York Post has some choice insights from the pair.

Al Qaeda goes broke

Does crime pay? Not for Al Qaeda, which is skint and appealing to supporters to help out with some cash. But the Taliban, which has diversified its interests into drugs as well as violence, is rolling in cash.

Why Islamic extremists hate India

India doesn’t have a single soldier fighting in Afghanistan — so why are suicide bombers targetting the Indian Embassy in Kabul? Salil Tripathi explains the long and complex relationship between India and the Islamic world.

Renowned nuclear physicist was an Al Qaeda mole

Adlène Hicheur, a French physicist working on the Hadron Collider, has been arrested on terrorism charges after admitting to working as a “mole” for Al Qaeda. Cue calls of “He seemed like such a nice boy…”

Airport security madness could get a whole lot crazier

So you think airport security screening is bad now? asks Ben Sandilands: a new report about terrorists smuggling bombs in their anal cavities (no, really) could see cabin-security fever reach new levels.

Al-Qaida’s recruitment crisis

Militant Islam just isn’t pulling in the punters like it used to. Eight years since 9/11, the group’s failed to have any big “hits” in the West since the 2005 London bombings, despite expanding its operations. Has it jumped the shark?

Photos emerge from Gitmo of 9/11 ringleader

New photos have been released of Guantánamo Bay inmate Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, regarded as the mastermind of 9/11, looking far different to his famous dishevelled capture photos. Will they inspire further terrorist attacks?

Was Mohammed Atta simply a crazed heritage lister?

Guy Rundle ponders whether Mohammed Atta, the enigmatic figure behind the 911 attacks, was simply the armed wing of the Arab National Trust.

Terrorism is about occupation, not religion

Why did these young Muslim men decide to kill thousands of people? Excerpts from their “martyrdom mission” video recordings all point to one simple theme: “Get out of our lands”.

Is the US growing another Timothy McVeigh?

Right wing militia groups, like those responsible for Waco and the Oklahoma bombings, are growing in the US. With increasing public discontent at the government, the rise is even more alarming.

The man who freed the Lockerbie bomber

Meet Saif al Islam al Gaddafi, the millionaire playboy son of Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi, whose social circle includes models, actresses, investment bankers… and Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi — the Lockerbie bomber.

US court for terror suspects: Gitmo 2.0?

Barack Obama may have promised to close Gitmo, but there are ‘a thousand little Gitmos’ across the US, where terror suspects are being given unfair trials, writes Petra Bartosiewicz.

Govt cultivates home-grown terrorists?

Token and superficial community engagement of Muslim and Arab communities by the government is simply encouraging home-grown terrorism in Australia, writes Taimor Hazou.

Saving Somalia from itself

Somalia could become Obama’s new Afghanistan, says the Christian Science Monitor: if he doesn’t flex some muscle there now, it could easily become the next terrorist nesting ground.

Join Captain Jasper aboard the Saucy Swan!

And have your poopdeck swabbed for marsupial chlamydia

Paper’s terror edition on streets before raids

Copies of The Australian were readily available in Melbourne hours before the terror raids yesterday.

Stewart a known friendly media source for AFP

That the Australian Federal Police has used Oz journalist Cameron Stewart as a friendly media source to spin their view of the accused in a terrorism trial is not without precedent.

Somali politics is just as much about clan as it is religion

Some reporting and analysis of today’s raids in The Oz of an alleged terrorist group showed a laughable ignorance of Somali and/or Muslim cultures.

What does a terrorist look like?

Today’s foiling of a terror plot in Melbourne demonstrates that racial profiling is now a fairly useless tool for finding potential terrorists, writes Paul Colgan

Australian terror plot foiled

A group of Islamic extremists in Melbourne have been arrested over plans for a suicide attack on an Australian Army base, according to The Australian.