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US warns of foreign Bangkok terror threat The embassy said US citizens should "keep a low profile" in Bangkok The US has warned its citizens in the Thai capital, Bangkok, to be on the alert over a possible terrorist threat. Its embassy in the city said US citizens should "exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather". Thai Defence Minister General Yutthasak Sasiprapha said the US had warned Thai authorities that two suspected Muslim "terrorists" had entered the country. But he told the AFP news agency a general public warning was not needed. "Our intelligence officials are working closely with the US and following the terrorists' movements closely," he said. "I believe we will arrest them tonight. For Thai citizens, there is no need to announce any warning because it will cause panic and will affect our tourism." The US embassy said Americans in Bangkok should "keep a low profile in public areas, particularly areas frequented by foreign tourists", without giving further details/ Bangkok has been hit by several small scale bombs in recent years in what are thought to have been politically motivated attacks, and Thai Islamist insurgents regularly carry out attacks in the southern provinces. But attacks on or by foreigners are rare Anyone heard anything on this at that end??

I am neither supporter of America's invasion of Iraq or supporter of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his movement. But with his passing, I am wondering whether Iraq will avoid a civil War and the Coalition forces may be able to go home early. Then hopefully the Iraqi people can govern themselves. What do you think? Do you think this is the start of the end for his movement? And more importantly, will the price of oil finally go down? :roll: :shock:

This article ws publihed on July 11 and now it's slowly making it's way through the American media. If it's true, how should the US responde after mushroom clouds arise above it's cities? WASHINGTON ? As London recovers from the latest deadly al-Qaida attack that killed at least 50, top U.S. government officials are contemplating what they consider to be an inevitable and much bigger assault on America ? one likely to kill millions, destroy the economy and fundamentally alter the course of history, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. According to captured al-Qaida leaders and documents, the plan is called the "American Hiroshima" and involves the multiple detonation of nuclear weapons already smuggled into the U.S. over the Mexican border with the help of the MS-13 street gang and other organized crime groups. Al-Qaida has obtained at least 40 nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union ? including suitcase nukes, nuclear mines, artillery shells and even some missile warheads. In addition, documents captured in Afghanistan show al-Qaida had plans to assemble its own nuclear weapons with fissile material it purchased on the black market. In addition to detonating its own nuclear weapons already planted in the U.S., military sources also say there is evidence to suggest al-Qaida is paying former Russian special forces Spetznaz to assist the terrorist group in locating nuclear weapons formerly concealed inside the U.S. by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Osama bin Laden's group is also paying nuclear scientists from Russia and Pakistan to maintain its existing nuclear arsenal and assemble additional weapons with the materials it has invested hundreds of millions in procuring over a period of 10 years. The plans for the devastating nuclear attack on the U.S. have been under development for more than a decade. It is designed as a final deadly blow of defeat to the U.S., which is seen by al-Qaida and its allies as "the Great Satan." At least half the nuclear weapons in the al-Qaida arsenal were obtained for cash from the Chechen terrorist allies. But the most disturbing news is that high level U.S. officials now believe at least some of those weapons have been smuggled into the U.S. for use in the near future in major cities as part of this "American Hiroshima" plan, according to an upcoming book, "The Al Qaeda Connection: International Terrorism, Organized Crime and the Coming Apocalypse," by Paul L. Williams, a former FBI consultant. According to Williams, former CIA Director George Tenet informed President Bush one month after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that at least two suitcase nukes had reached al-Qaida operatives in the U.S. "Each suitcase weighed between 50 and 80 kilograms (approximately 110 to 176 pounds) and contained enough fissionable plutonium and uranium to produce an explosive yield in excess of two kilotons," wrote Williams. "One suitcase bore the serial number 9999 and the Russian manufacturing date of 1988. The design of the weapons, Tenet told the president, is simple. The plutonium and uranium are kept in separate compartments that are linked to a triggering mechanism that can be activated by a clock or a call from the cell phone." According to the author, the news sent Bush "through the roof," prompting him to order his national security team to give nuclear terrorism priority over every other threat to America. However, it is worth noting that Bush failed to translate this policy into securing the U.S.-Mexico border through which the nuclear weapons and al-Qaida operatives are believed to have passed with the help of the MS-13 smugglers. He did, however, order the building of underground bunkers away from major metropolitan areas for use by federal government managers following an attack. Bin Laden, according to Williams, has nearly unlimited funds to spend on his nuclear terrorism plan because he has remained in control of the Afghanistan-produced heroin industry. Poppy production has greatly increased even while U.S. troops are occupying the country, he writes. Al-Qaida has developed close relations with the Albanian Mafia, which assists in the smuggling and sale of heroin throughout Europe and the U.S. Some of that money is used to pay off the notorious MS-13 street gang between $30,000 and $50,000 for each sleeper agent smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. The sleepers are also provided with phony identification, most often bogus matricula consular ID cards indistinguishable from Mexico's official ID, now accepted in the U.S. to open bank accounts and obtain driver's licenses. The Bush administration's unwillingness to secure the U.S.-Mexico border has puzzled and dismayed a growing number of activists and ordinary citizens who see it as the No. 1 security threat to the nation. The Minuteman organization is planning a major mobilization of thousands of Americans this fall designed to shut down the entire 2,000-mile border as it did in April with a 23-mile stretch in Arizona. According to Williams' sources, thousands of al-Qaida sleeper agents have now been forward deployed into the U.S. to carry out their individual roles in the coming "American Hiroshima" plan. Bin Laden's goal, according to the book, is to kill at least 4 million Americans, 2 million of whom must be children. Only then, bin Laden has said, would the crimes committed by America on the Arab and Muslim world be avenged. There is virtually no doubt among intelligence analysts al-Qaida has obtained fully assembled nuclear weapons, according to Williams. The only question is how many. Estimates range between a dozen and 70. The breathtaking news is that an undetermined number of these weapons, including suitcase bombs, mines and crude tactical nuclear weapons, have already been smuggled into the U.S. ? at least some across the U.S.-Mexico border. The future plan, according to captured al-Qaida agents and documents, suggests the attacks will take place simultaneously in major cities throughout the country ? including New York, Boston, Washington, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. In response to the G2 Bulletin revelations, Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a citizen action group demanding the U.S. government take control of its borders, said an immediate military presence on the borders is now imperative "to stop the overwhelming influx of unidentified, potentially hostile and seditious persons coming across at an alarming rate." "Terrorists have carte blanche to carry practically anything they want across our national line at this time," he said. "As ordinary citizens have warned this government for years, the only surprising part about the new information reported here is that nothing apocalyptic from Mexican-border weapons trafficking has yet happened. Terrorism has reared its ugly head in London again these past few days, and as we know all too well we are not immune in this country. At this point, the next attempt to attack America at home is just a matter of 'when,' not 'if.' And our unsecured borders have surely contributed to this threat ? yet our government officials continue to fiddle while our nation's margin of security and safety burns away. The president and Congress had better wake up before they have to answer for another devastating terrorist incursion on our own soil."

I just heard in the news that from now on in Thailand users of prepaid phonecard will have to register (ie copy of id or passport) this in response to cellphones being used in the bombings. Everyone has to register within 6 months or will have their service cut off. I don't mind but it's highly unlikely this will stop the bombings: 1) It's trying to prevent bombings but does not relate to the core issue. 2) A bomb can still be activated by a call from abroad (let's say a terrorist being on the phone with abroad or via the internet counting down in a way while the party abroad dials the number in thailand). 3) The government said it would be easy to trace though as roaming calls can be traced.. indeed... but not if there is no need to register for prepaid cards in that country. 4) Mobile phone theft will surge in those provinces and other people will get to be the blame. 5) Terrorist will resort to other means of detonating bombs... i.e. radio controlled devices like walkie talkies, rc for miniature airplanes and such or even timed devices or devices that explode upon vibration (footsteps) nearby. The idea seems ok but in my opinion it's just a useless proposal that will do nothing to solve the problem and even more... lures people into a false sense of security.