From: "R.A. Hettinga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: cryptography@metzdowd.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Clips] Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda
websites are wiped out
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 23:02:53 -0400
--- begin forwarded text
Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2005 23:01:38 -0400
To: Philodox Clips List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: "R.A. Hettinga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Clips] Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda
websites
are wiped out
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<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 <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips
--- end forwarded text
--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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
