What else is new, you might say. And yes, there are literally threats against the West on Islamist websites every day. But they're often times non-specific, incoherent diatribes that deal in "Kill the Jews' and "Death to America"-type generalities. This one is a bit more detailed. From Canada.com:
A virulent al-Qaida website has issued a new call for followers to kill Canadians and other westerners and attack oil and economic targets.
The message on the password-protected al-Ekhlaas.net forum was posted July 7, the third anniversary of the London transit massacre. The website is a notorious and favoured site of hardcore jihadists.
Experts are debating the significance of the latest al-Ekhlaas threat calling for the targeting of Christians, especially those from Canada the United States, Britain, Spain, Australia and Italy.
Most unsettling, perhaps, is the instructional nature of the posting. Details of the Arabic-language posting, entitled "Clandestine work inside the city," were recently translated and reported by the Jamestown Foundation, a conservative Washington think-tank.
Under the nom de guerre Abu Hajar Abdul Aziz al-Moqrin (the former leader of al-Qaida's Saudi wing killed in 2004), the posting explains how a four-unit jihadist cell should be properly trained in urban terror warfare before activation.
An urban terror squad could cause a great deal of pychological and economic damage--although lilkely nowhere near the massive casualties of 9/11--simply by hitting soft targets like shopping malls, buses, trains and schools. We've discussed this possibility on CBN News several times. Here's more from the article:
Al-Moqrin warns jihadists not to attack religious figures because it harms the cause. Instead, urban cells should seek economic targets, such as Jewish investments in Muslim countries, international companies, international economic experts, exports from "Crusader countries" and raw materials being "stolen from Muslim countries by the enemies," with al-Moqrin calling for attacks on oil wells, pipelines and oil tankers.
Human targets, according to the Jamestown synopsis, should be prioritized as follows:
1. Jews: Jews from Israel and the United States have priority over Jews from Britain and France.
2. Christians, especially those from Canada, the United States, Britain, Spain, Australia and Italy.
3. Apostates, particularly Muslim leaders who keep close ties with Jewish and "Christian governments," such as Egyptian President Husni Mubarak and the leaders of the Gulf States.
4. Secular individuals, including "spies and security officials" who "protect Jews and Christians."
This is certainly a chilling post that would have made big headlines back in December. But with the presidential election and the economy dominating news coverage--understandably--national security and terrorism-related issues have been pushed to the side. Let's hope they never come back to the forefront, because that would mean that we;re winning.