The Jihadis are making a list and checking it twice

Today the Ottawa Citizen published an ominous report of a recent message discovered on a terrorist discussion board. The message in the password-protected forum, reportedly affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was posted on July 7, the third anniversary of the London transit bombings.

"The website is a notorious and favoured site of hardcore jihadists... Most unsettling, perhaps, is the instructional nature of the posting, which epitomizes the burgeoning tactical weapon the Internet has become for teaching operational knowledge about political assassinations, kidnappings and other crimes to young, amateur homegrown jihadists.

...[it] warns jihadis not to attack religious figures because it harms the jihadi cause. Instead, urban jihad 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 Mr. al-Moqrin calling for attacks on oil wells, pipelines and oil tankers.

The human target list... 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."

...The latest message, [the director of the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies...] should be viewed with real concern... for three reasons: al-ekhlass.net is a legitimate militant Islamist website; the call to target oil and energy infrastructure and individuals is specific; and the message may be a formal warning required by Shariah law before jihadists can attack.

I have a hunch Karl Rove is behind the whole thing: it's just more of the same old Politics of Fear*.

* Snark added specifically for Liberal Gary, who believes all references to terrorism are "The Politics of Fear"