Judge Orders Al-Arian's Release on Bond

ALEXANDRIA,Va. – A federal judge has agreed to release Sami Al-Arian on bond while he awaits his August trial date for criminal contempt. But it remains uncertain whether the convicted terrorist will be released from custody.

Al-Arian has been ordered deported as part of his 2006 guilty plea for conspiring to provide goods and services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A 90-day removal period began June 27, argued federal prosecutor Gordon Kromberg, meaning Al-Arian cannot be released before the end of September.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema acknowledged that she may not have the power to force the government to release Al-Arian pending his August 13 trial. She emphasized that his plea agreement included a pledge from the government to expedite his removal from the United States after completing his criminal sentence.

However, the judge acknowledged having no authority over the immigration process. Pre-Trial Services staff did not recommend Al-Arian's release after a review of the case, Brinkema said. She assumed that was because Al Arian pled guilty to a "serious offense."

Al-Arian faces two counts of criminal contempt for his refusal to testify before federal grand juries investigating terror financing by a northern Virginia think tank, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), with which he had worked closely. Prosecutors granted him immunity in exchange for his truthful testimony and his defiance triggered two civil contempt orders. ...

Pakistan says US not hunting bin Laden on its turf

NEW YORK (AP) - Pakistan's top diplomat said Saturday there are no U.S. or other foreign military personnel on the hunt for Osama bin Laden in his nation, and none will be allowed in to search for the al-Qaida leader.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his nation's new government has ruled out such military operations, covert or otherwise, to catch militants.

"Our government's policy is that our troops, paramilitary forces and our regular forces are deployed in sufficient numbers. They are capable of taking action there. And any foreign intrusion would be counterproductive," he said Saturday. "People will not accept it. Questions of sovereignty come in."

The United States has grown increasingly frustrated as al-Qaida, the Taliban and other militants thrive in Pakistan's remote areas and in neighboring Afghanistan, and has offered U.S. troops to strike at terror networks. Critics in Washington also have expressed frustration with the new Pakistani government's pursuit of peace deals in the region.

Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere along the rugged and lawless Afghan-Pakistan border region.

Pakistan's newly elected civilian government is negotiating with tribal elders to secure peace with militants along the Afghan border in hopes of curbing a surge in violence. It is a step back from the heavy-handed tactics pursued by the previous government led by supporters of President Pervez Musharraf. ...

Brad Thor the new Salman Rushdie?

The author of the best-selling new thriller, "The Last Patriot," says his life already has been threatened for contending the Muslim holy book contains errors and is not based on the last revelations of Muhammad.

"I've already had multiple death threats come in, and that's something that we're taking very seriously with the tour coming up," said Brad Thor, whose "Patriot" already has climbed to No. 1 on the Amazon fiction list after its release last week.

Thor says he's adding security precautions as he goes forward with a national book tour. ...

U.S. hunts source of Iraqis' new bomb

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — U.S. forces may be close to unlocking the mystery of who is behind a deadly innovation in Iraqi insurgents' weapons, a "lob bomb" now being used in Baghdad to target U.S. and Iraqi combat outposts, a senior American general said Friday in an Associated Press interview.

Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, called the weapon "the greatest threat right now that we face," and he likened the shadowy group behind it to the American military's elite Delta Force.

The weapon is particularly worrying because it is designed to cause catastrophic damage and cannot be stopped once it has been launched, Hammond, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, said in an interview in his office at this U.S. military headquarters compound just west of the capital.

U.S. forces detained a man on Thursday who Hammond said could provide valuable insights into the group behind the bombmaking. "We think we have defined the network," he said. He would not elaborate, although other American officers said in interviews that the group is Shiite and may have links to Iran.

"We think we might have picked up a guy that could lead us — could be a big lead in this," Hammond said.

The weapon innovation has gained little public attention because it has yet to kill in large numbers.

So far, in 11 attacks, three U.S. soldiers have been killed, Stover said. The three were killed April 28 — the same day as the Sadr City assault — in an attack on a larger U.S. base in eastern Baghdad.

At the Sadr City base, Grimsley consulted with Lt. Col. Brian Eifler, commander of 1st Battalion, 6th Armor, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, inside a newly constructed combat outpost near the damaged one. Eifler said he is focused heavily on the IRAM threat and how to minimize it.

Eifler estimated that a U.S. soldier who might be in position to witness the approach of a potential IRAM-bearing vehicle would have less then two seconds to decide whether the person emerging from it has just set it for firing or is simply getting out to change a tire.

"That's a call our young soldiers have to make when potentially 200 lives are at stake," Eifler said.

Hammond said the perpetrators are so skilled that he has likened their organization to the U.S. military's secretive and elite Delta Force. He said they have demonstrated an unusual degree of military skill.

How You Can Help Save American Kids from Pakistani Madrassas

...It is estimated that these two boys are among 80 Americans enrolled in this madrassa alone. It is believed that there are another 600 American boys currently being educated in 22 madrassas throughout Pakistan. According to researchers, the sole curriculum in these institutions is to memorize the Koran and to indoctrinate their students into Islamic extremism. They are known to mass-produce extremists with a political agenda, including a cripplingly narrow view of society and zero tolerance of western culture. They radicalize Muslim youth and are seminaries for violent jihad.

...These institutions are creating a new breed of terrorist who learn to infiltrate our society as American citizens, to come and go as they please, to live as our neighbors and teach our children, yet their true beliefs will go completely undetected until they determine it is the right time to strike. They can therefore be potential time bombs planted in our communities, "hiding" in plain sight, and waiting to explode just as they did in the United Kingdom.

...To get a better idea of the dangers and threats we face if this problem isn't addressed, I urge you to watch this documentary trailer created by documentary filmmaker Imran Raza, who is of Pakistani descent: http://www.karachikids.com/. It was Raza who discovered the Khan brothers in the Binoria madrassa in 2005. He embarked on his documentary "Karachi Kids", immediately after the London subwaybombings. Raza has spearheaded the effort to remove the Khans from Binoria and bring them back safely to America. ...

Amtrak expands random security sweeps

WASHINGTON — Rail passengers from coast to coast will be subject to random security checks and may have their luggage scanned for explosives beginning this fall, according to Amtrak officials.

Six months after it set up counterterrorism teams to screen passengers at busy East Coast stations, the rail company is expanding its security sweeps across the country with a new team of special agents in California.

"We want to show we're playing defense" against would-be terrorists, says Amtrak security chief Bill Rooney. "Our focus is counterterrorism. We're thinking along the lines of a Madrid or a London." ...