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- To judge by the press, the world’s sagest and most influential foreign policy expert is a 77-year-old named Brent Scowcroft. Mr. Scowcroft’s argument against an American attack on Saddam Hussein was the lead opinion piece in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal. The New York Times made it its lead, front-page news article on Friday and Saturday and its lead editorial on Friday. The Times editorial called Mr. Scowcroft’s words “an extraordinary challenge to the Bush administration” and “the equivalent of a cannon shot across the White House lawn.” All of which makes it appropriate to ask just who is Brent...

<p>August 19, 2002 -- TEL AVIV - An ex-treasurer of the Palestine Liberation Organization has accused Yasser Arafat of taking more than a half-billion dollars in international aid - and transferring it to his personal accounts.</p> <p>The shocking allegation comes on the heels of an Israeli intelligence report released last week that said Arafat had secretly amassed at least $1.3 billion in bank accounts in Europe, Arab countries, the Far East and the United States.</p>

RIYADH (Reuters) - Several Saudi banks and Islamic charities named in a lawsuit by families of Sept. 11 victims vehemently denied Sunday any role in funding terrorism and blasted the case as an attempt to extort Saudi wealth abroad. The suit has sparked rare calls by commentators and newspapers in the kingdom to review traditionally strong Saudi-U.S. ties. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment officially. Offended that the lawsuit named members of the royal family, including Defense Minister Prince Sultan -- the third highest official in the kingdom -- many Saudis accused Washington of putting pressure on the Gulf Arab...

Judge allows UNC to discuss book 8-16-02 By MIKE FUCHS, Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- A federal judge refused Thursday to stop a UNC-Chapel Hill summer program assigning new students to read a book about Islam's holy text. U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Tilley Jr. denied a temporary restraining order requested by a Virginia-based conservative Christian group on behalf of two taxpayers and three unidentified freshmen. That means the discussion about the book on the Quran can continue as planned Monday unless the plaintiffs succeed with an appeal. The Family Policy Network, based near Lynchburg, Va., argued that...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A 15-count, $1 trillion lawsuit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by more than 500 relatives of people who died in the September 11 attacks.</p> <p>Calling themselves Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, they are suing seven international banks; eight Islamic foundations, charities and their subsidiaries; individual terrorist financiers; the Saudi bin Laden Group; three Saudi princes; and the government of Sudan for allegedly bankrolling al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.</p>

For half a century, Saudi Arabia has been a key economic and strategic ally of the United States. As the kingdom’s wealth grew and the scale of its oil reserves became apparent, the links became ever more intense, culminating in the deployment of 500,000 American troops during the Gulf War. Since then, a once warm relationship has become ever more strained, as tensions within Saudi Arabia have grown, the Arab world’s anger with America has become intense and Washington’s suspicions of the country’s Islamic agenda have deepened. Almost a year after the September attacks, perpetrated largely by Saudi citizens, relations...

Pat Oliphant on target. When are we going to take care of our Saudi problem?

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has personal assets estimated at a value of $1.3 billion, IDF Intelligence Chief Major General Aharon Ze'evi (Farakash) said Tuesday. Speaking Tuesday before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ze'evi said that Arafat is isolated and criticism of the long-time Palestinian leader is growing - both within Palestinian society and Arafat's own Fatah movement. He said dissatisfaction with Arafat is being expressed in mass demonstrations in Gaza, Jenin and Tubas; newspapers; as well as a phenomenon of smashing photographs of Arafat. Even close associates of the Palestinian leader are distancing themselves, and some are...

S. Arabia affirms solidness of historical ties with US -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xinhuanet 2002-08-13 02:46:56 ¡¡¡¡KUWAIT CITY, Aug. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Saudi Arabia on Monday affirmedthe solidness of its historical relations with the United States and vowed to develop the ties to the best of mutual interests between the two allies, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported. ¡¡¡¡Saudi acting Minister of Information Madani Bin Abdul-Qadir Alaqi made the remarks in a press statement after a cabinet meetingchaired by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz. ¡¡¡¡Alaqi noted in the statement that the cabinet was briefed on a briefing prepared by a Pentagon consultative...

Israel's High Court of Justice today issued a temporary injunction against the deportation to the Gaza Strip of three Palestinians. Yesterday a military court ruled that the three, relatives of terrorists who organized recent terror attacks, would be deported because they knew of, and abetted terror activities. Lawyers for the Palestinians said deportations serve as "collective punishment" and are illegal according to international law. According to the High Court's decision today, the Israel Defense Forces were given fifteen days to reply to the Palestinians' appeal against the deportation orders. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said that deportations were illegal, and...

'Saddam Willing To Fight America To the Last Palestinian' By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief August 13, 2002 Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is trying to stir up the Palestinians to perpetrate 'mega-attacks' against Israel so that an Israeli retaliation will be so strong that it will upset the entire region and prevent America from attacking Iraq, an Israeli analyst said on Tuesday. Nevertheless, Israel is preparing itself for the possibility that the U.S. will attack Iraq and Iraq will bombard Israel with missiles in return. The war of words between Iraq and the U.S. was heating...

As you might have suspected the list is very long so just go HERE

War with Iraq looms and not everyone is happy about it. "I think the principle of 'first things first' does apply," says Al Gore, "and has to be followed if we are to have any chance of success." By this he means that, instead of Saddam's removal, Afghanistan's stability "needs to be assured first" -- just as in the Second World War we wisely concentrated on nation-building in the Solomon Islands for two or three years instead of rushing on to liberate a lot of other places. I'd say it's Al Gore's stability that needs to be assured first. Across...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen infiltrated a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Saturday night, and one person was killed and several wounded in the ensuing firefight, Israeli security sources said. They said two or more gunmen penetrated Mehora in the Jordan Valley under cover of darkness as the Jewish sabbath ended, and were still exchanging fire with Israeli security forces. Israel Radio put the preliminary Israeli casualty toll at five, including one killed, and said one of the gunmen was also believed killed. Palestinians waging a 22-month-old uprising for independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have...

<p>National Guardsmen patrolled below and federal officials watched the skies over the Golden Gate Bridge during Monday morning's commute, wrapping up a weekend of intensified monitoring due to the latest word of a potential terrorist threat.</p> <p>The bridge was placed on a "super-heightened" state of alert Friday through Sunday after information was shared through an interagency coalition Friday, said Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District.</p>

ARAB TERRORISTS INFILTRATE JEWISH TOWN Two or more terrorist have infiltrated the Jewish town of Mechora, east of Shechem. One Israeli woman has been reported murdered, and two others who were seriously wounded have been taken by helicopter to hospitals. One terrorist is reported killed, and shots are still being exchanged. Click here to read these real-time updates! Do you know what you are missing? Subscribe to the GAMLA Intelligence Report and stay in the know! (FREE email newsletter)

The author is a former political-military analyst with the U.S. Department of Defense and terrorism analyst with the State Department. He is currently a security consultant, focusing on the mitigation of post-Cold War patterns of terrorism and political violence. Definition of Terrorism "the unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives." -- U.S. Department of Defense publication In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the threat of militant Islamic terrorism --...

<p>"U.S. advisers see Saudis as enemies," said the lead story headline in the International Herald Tribune, a global newspaper read by almost all Americans living abroad and by the elites the world over. "Briefing at Pentagon recommends ultimatum over links to terrorism," was the subhead.</p>

LONDON, Aug 12, 2002 -- As revealed in a recent front-page story in The Washington Post, "Briefing Depicted Saudis as Enemies," neoconservatives in the US are gaining a wider audience for their attempts to demonize Saudi Arabia. Such jingoistic talk runs counter to the position of the Bush administration, which recognizes Saudi Arabia as a vital ally. Still, the talk is fanning resentment in the kingdom and making it more difficult for the royal family to cooperate with the US on a range of initiatives, such as regional peace, economic development, and maintaining stability in the oil markets. Saudis see...

Louder and louder, growing more confident hourly, gradually recovering its nerve following the fiasco of the predicted "quagmire" in Afghanistan, the international peace party is massing to prevent a U.S. attack on Iraq. From the usual suspects -- The New York Times editorial page, the moderate Arab despotisms, Europe's leftish politicians like German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder -- to relatively new recruits such as former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and anonymous Pentagon generals, the same message is heard: Any American attempt to overthrow Saddam Hussein would threaten the stability of Saudi Arabia, cause a "conflagration" in the Middle East, alienate...

Ned Colt is reporting that it may be a car bomb. 12 Dead, 85 wouinded. No Americans.

BACK in the late 1960s, Iran s Shah had once wrote to King Faisal that Saudi Arabia should open up and modernize , like making schools mixed women and men . Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, in a PBS television interview referred to these letters preserved in the Saudi archives. The Shah had warned that if Saudi Arabia did not take his advice, I cannot guarantee you will stay on your throne . In his reply, the prescient King Faisal, said: May I remind you, you are not the Shah of France. You ... are in Iran. Your population is 90...

A scholar in Washington stood up the other day and spoke truth to power - and it was about time. The man's name is Laurent Murawiec, a Frenchman who teaches at George Washington University and is a policy analyst at the RAND Corp. On July 10, he told a closed meeting of the Defense Policy Board, a Pentagon advisory group, that the United States' "most dangerous enemy" these days is our good oily friend Saudi Arabia. "Most" could be an exaggeration. But "dangerous" and "enemy" are right on. The true role of Saudi Arabia in the terrorism that has plagued...

Culture Vulture: Koranic misreadings By Claude Salhani From the Life & Mind Desk Published 8/9/2002 10:00 AM WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A new controversy is percolating in North Carolina over the proposed reading of a book about the Koran -- the Muslim holy book -- by freshmen at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The book in question is called "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," and is authored by Michael A. Sells, a professor of comparative religion. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks believed to be have been perpetuated by Islamist fundamentalists operating under directives from...

ABU DHABI, AMMAN AND BEIRUT POLITICAL observers and analysts see the recently exposed briefing to the Pentagon, which branded Saudi Arabia as a terrorist country, as the machinations of the Zionist lobby in the White House. Contacted in a number of Arab capitals, they said Zionist lobbyists in the US are targeting the Kingdom because of its steadfast support of the Palestinian cause and its total rejection of relinquishing or bargaining on Arab right to Al-Quds and the occupied territories. In Abu Dhabi, Muhammed Khalifa, executive director of Zaid Center, regretted the surrender of the US administration and the White...

Mon Aug 5, 2:15 PM ET Orthodox Jewish mourners carry a cardboard box containing the remains of Abraham Zelmanowitz through the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem, Monday, Aug. 5, 2002. Zelmanowitz, who died in the south tower of the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11 attacks, was identified last week and his remains returned in the box by airplane on Monday. Zelmanowitz was a computer programmer for Blue Cross-Blue Shield based in the World Trade Center. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Friday August 9, 4:05 PM Four dead after grenade attack on Pakistan Christian hospital A grenade attack on a hospital chapel near the Pakistani capital left at least four dead and 26 wounded, the second time within days a Christian target has been hit. Two Pakistani nurses and a paramedic were among the dead, while one of the attackers was found dead at the scene, hospital workers and witnesses said on Friday. The assailants hurled grenades as staff were emerging from a church service around 7:45 am (0145 GMT) at the Christian Hospital in Taxila, an ancient Buddhist town 25...

Secret Service Agent Who Wrote Anti-Muslim Statements During Search to Be Suspended Without Pay By Bree Fowler Associated Press Writer Published: Aug 9, 2002 DETROIT (AP) - A Secret Service agent who admitted he scrawled anti-Muslim statements on a prayer calendar during a search will be suspended for six months without pay, a federal prosecutor said Friday. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins said the agent won't face criminal charges. He said the suspension, which amounts to a financial loss of about $40,000, and other sanctions were greater punishment than any misdemeanor charge would have been. "I think his career, which was...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- A college religion professor defended his book on the Quran on Thursday, a day after state legislators voted to ban public money for a freshman reading assignment centered on the text.</p> <p>Michael Sells' book "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," is required reading for about 4,200 incoming freshmen and transfer students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this month. New students may decline to read the book and write essays explaining their decision.</p>

ASADABAD, AFGHANISTAN - Three separate clashes with Al Qaeda fighters this week, including Wednesday's foiled attack inside the city of Kabul, point to the terrorist organization's resurgence in Afghanistan. But there may be much more to come. According to exclusive interviews with Afghan military intelligence chiefs in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, Al Qaeda has established two main bases inside Pakistan – hundreds of miles north of where US and Pakistani troops are now hunting – and is preparing for a massive strike against the Afghan government. To blunt US air superiority, Al Qaeda forces are attempting to acquire...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Undercover FBI agents are boarding overseas flights bound for the U.S. and shadowing passengers suspected of being connected to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, U.S. intelligence officials told WorldNetDaily. Upon landing in the U.S., agents have arrested some suspects with the help of other agents waiting in airport terminals to spring the trap, they say. Most recently some 20 FBI agents in Chicago converged on an O'Hare International Airport terminal to arrest an Arab man suspected of supporting al-Qaida, officials say. The suspect, a permanent U.S. resident, flew in from the Middle East on a connecting flight...

Body of slain American reporter returned to the US Los Angeles - (AP) -- The body of the American reporter murdered in Pakistan last winter has been returned to the US. A coffin bearing the remains of Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal arrived at Los Angeles International Airport Thursday afternoon on board a commercial flight. The plane taxied to a remote gate out of sight of reporters. His remains were in a simple oak casket covered with red flowers. Pearl's parents live in a Los Angeles suburb and a family spokesman says they'll be holding a private...

And now they endorse Osama bin Laden and they want to control Jerusalem after driving the Jews into the sea. Shortly after the bombing at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, thousands of radical Islamic Palestinians gathered in Gaza to celebrate the death and destruction of a suicide bomber at the University. The spiritual leader of Hamas not only called for more attacks, but also stated that the only way to end the violence was for all Jews to leave Israel. The conflict between Arabs and Jews goes back to the birth of Isaac, the son of covenant, and Ishmael, who...

In 1975, Jimmy Carter's arms control director Paul Warnke published an article titled "Apes on a Treadmill," which summarized liberal thinking on the "lessons of Vietnam." Those "lessons" have sunk deep roots into liberal thinking and continue to hamper the sane conduct of foreign policy even as we contemplate a pre-emptive strike on Iraq. Warnke asserted that "we need not and cannot be the world's policeman. ... Neither we nor any other outsiders are wise enough to decide for another people the course to which their aspirations should lead them. The continuing penumbra of the illusion that somehow we...

Former Libyan PM: Why Do Arabs Ignore Their Flaws Former Libyan prime minister Abd Al-Hamid Al-Bakkoush published an article in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat titled, "Hasn't the Time Come to Stop Hiding the Flaws." The following are excerpts of the article: The Arabs Ignore Their Shortcomings and Make Them Virtues "They say that the camel cannot see his hump. Perhaps this is somewhat descriptive of our behavior. Yet while the camel cannot see, we… do not want to see…" "Anyone following the affairs in which we engage and of which we write or speak in this era will...

Apologists for the constant Arab terrorism against Israelis rationalize it by claiming past injustices and by suggesting an outgunned movement can only fight back by attacking civilian targets. Maybe those apologists for terror can start explaining why the same tactics by the same people are being employed against other Arabs in Lebanon. That's right. It hasn't received much attention in the international press. But there's a war raging in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. It's Lebanon's own little intifada in the making. Last week, a bomb went off in front of a shop in the Ain Helweh camp near...

Saddam Speaks to Attack Possibility Thu Aug 8, 4:01 AM ET BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Anyone who attacks Iraq will die in "disgraceful failure," Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) said in a speech to the nation Thursday. AP Photo Related Links ? Saddam: U.S. Won't Be Able to Oust Government (AP) ? Defiant Iraq Talks Tough as U.S. Looks for Answers (Reuters) Speaking on the anniversary of the end of the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-88, Saddam made no direct mention of the U.S.-British demand for the return of U.N. arms inspectors to Iraq, which has sparked...

For the second time in three months, a bomb exploded underneath a fuel tanker yesterday, lightly injuring the vehicle's driver. New security procedures recommended by police to prevent such an attack have yet to be implemented. The bombing came as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon consulted with senior officials about prospects for a "mega-terror" attack that could kill hundreds of Israelis. Truck driver Rafi Levy, 47, of Jerusalem, was lightly injured when a bomb exploded underneath his truck as it was being repaired in a Rishon Letzion garage. Levy told police that he had parked the previous night in a secured...

<p>JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli soldiers arrested nine foreign activists, including three Americans, during a protest against Israel's occupation of Palestinian towns, and police said Thursday the detainees would be deported.</p> <p>Among those taken into custody was Adam Shapiro, 30, a New York City Jew who spent a night in Yasser Arafat's headquarters in April to support the Palestinian leader when the compound was under siege by Israeli forces.</p>

The internet has become a significant weapon for Al-Qaeda as it seeks to influence radical Muslim opinion and justify its campaign of terror against the West. Paul Eedle reports. While Al-Qaeda has found support in the Muslim world with its vitriolic condemnation of US policies on issues such as Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan, the organisation's strategy of all-out war against the West has met with a surprising amount of opposition from Muslim radicals. Important Muslim radicals in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in particular, have been criticising Al-Qaeda, arguing that Muslims should avoid alienating potential supporters in the West and that...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- One of two accused terrorists who reportedly planned to blow up a South Florida power plant pleaded guilty today in federal court. Imran Mandhai (pictured) admitted to planning to attack South Florida power stations and a National Guard armory in a "jihad" mission. He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to damage and destroy property by means of fire and explosives. His co-conspirator, Shueyb Mossa Jokhan, pleaded guilty to the same charge July, 25. Both men were also accused of seeking AK-47 assault rifles. Mandhai and Jokhan face up to 20 years behind bars and...

House Majority Leader warns against unprovoked attack on Iraq Thurs Aug 8 2002 16:30:05 ET House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) addressed an Iowa crowd on Thursday and raised questions about whether he would support an American war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein. "My own view would be to let [Saddam] bluster, let him rant and rave all he wants and let that be a matter between he and his own country. As long as he behaves himself within his own borders, we should not be addressing any attack or resources against him.' "If we try to act against Saddam...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug 09, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- An explosion at a Christian hospital outside of Islamabad killed at least three people Friday in what appeared to be the latest attack by terrorists against Western interests in less than a week. Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia will not allow Washington to use its soil to attack Iraq, but has no intention of asking its longtime ally to remove its forces from the Saudi air base used to monitor Iraqi skies, Foreign Minister Prince Saud said Wednesday. In an interview with The Associated Press, Saud said relations with Washington remain as solid as before Sept. 11, and that terror suspect Osama bin Laden ( news - web sites) intended to drive a wedge between the two countries when he chose 15 of the 19 hijackers from Saudi Arabia. Saud also denied...