Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.
From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.
One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.
MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.
Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.
Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.
Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.
He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.
http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml
This is garbled, and American maybe, or ? Hood, Iraq and Palestine, ul-Furquah?
http://umarlee.com/
Must read page, jihadi ideas of escape for Royer:
http://umarlee.com/from-behind-the-walls-the-writings-of-ismail-royer/
Who is this american?
http://umarlee.com/help-me-blog-from-iraq-and-palestine/
Help Me Blog from Iraq and Palestine
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem,
As Muslims in America we are constantly evolving to make our voices heard and that is why it is important for us to stay on the cutting edge of all new media technology. In this spirit I have decided to take a fact-finding trip to two of the places of greatest interest to American-Muslims (and Americans at large) and am seeking the assistance from all of those, Muslims and non-Muslims, who wish to see these conflicts viewed with a fresh set of eyes.
If you are interested in helping to create a first hand American-Muslim blogging experience from the ground in Iraq, and support someone who will pull no punches in the pursuit of the truth, then contact me and I will let you know how you can help me go to Iraq and Palestine Insha’Allah and do a professional job.
Wa ‘Salaam,
Umar Lee
umarlee@gmail.com
http://www.google.com/search?q=umarlee%40gmail.com&hl=en&lr=&rls=com.netscape:en-US&filter=0
Over 700,000 links:
http://www.google.com/search?q=American-Muslim&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
He says he has a gun:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Umar+Lee&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Bismillah+ar-Rahman+ar-Raheem&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Mixed results:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Blog+from+Iraq+and+Palestine&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Ismail+Royer&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
From this jihad blog, on this page, top right corner, is the green bird the target lock on a gun?
http://heartsofgreenbirds.wordpress.com/about-us/
12-31 -06 message from zawahiri text and many videos:
And this on the side:
#
Links
* Cage Prisoners
* HHUGS
* Miracle Brush
#
Muslim Prisoners
* Free Abdul Qayyum
* Free Ali Tamimi
* Free Babar Ahmad
* Free Talha Ahsan
http://heartsofgreenbirds.wordpress.com/
He posts other places:
http://www.google.com/search?q=heartsofgreenbirds&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Umm+Salahudeen&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
The my space not checked:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.netscape:en-US&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&q=Umm+Salahuddin&spell=1
Interesting, is he 007?
http://www.google.com/search?q=Talha+Ahsan+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
computer sites and ties to Beslan School, Russia:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Babar+Ahmad+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
American born, life sentance:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Ali+Tamimi+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Abdul+Qayyum+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Breathtaking photos of a train derailment in Canada, rock slide, pushed the front Locomotive off the tracks, shots of it, only feet from the Frazer River.
The two men are going to be ok, took 7 hours to pull them up the bank.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/picture_gallery/picture_gallery/0,,30200-1246161,00.html
http://muslimsinkenya.wordpress.com/
http://muslimsinkenya.wordpress.com/2006/11/20/campaigns-imam-anwar-al-awlaki-urgent-appeal-imam-anwar-al-awlaki-a-leader-in-need/#comment-2
Urgent Appeal: Imam Anwar Al Awlaki - A Leader in Need
Reports indicate that Imam Anwar Al Awlaki, a prominent Muslim scholar highly regarded in English speaking Islamic circles, has been detained incommunicado for the past two months in Yemen and may face torture or ill treatment in custody.
Anwar Awlaki, whilst in the US worked for inter-faith dialogue– working hard to establish a reasoned, nuanced and just form of intellectual dissent in Western Muslims Enabling Muslim communities in western societies to contribute and interact in wider society and contribute to it whilst remaining confident of their Islamic heritage and identity.
Regarding the 9/11 attacks, Imam Anwar was quick to state,
“What has occurred is a heinous crime. A Muslim can have nothing to do with this.” [1]
Imam Anwar was renowned for his justice amongst people, even when Muslim sentiment would seem to be totally against the West; this is typified by one of his statements:
“President Bush has showed the Muslim American community some good gestures. He specifically warned the people from committing any hate crimes against their fellow Muslim citizens, and he visited a Mosque.”
BACKGROUND
Anwar al-Awlaki is a Muslim scholar who was born in New Mexico, and is a US national. His parents are from Yemen, where he lived for eleven years and received the early part of his Islamic education.
He served as an Imam in Colorado, California, and later in the Washington, D.C. area where he headed the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University. Prior to his detention, he was resident in Yemen, where he was studying Islamic Jurisprudence with prominent scholars, He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, a M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University and was working on a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development at George Washington University. He authored many popular audio series including the “Lives of the Prophets”, “The Hereafter” and “The Life of Muhammad”.
In the early hours of October 17, a Yemeni secret police raid swept up eight foreigners living in Sana’a, under surveillance by the CIA and British intelligence, and at least 12 other men across Yemen. Yemeni authorities insist they dismantled an al-Qa’ida cell and disrupted a gun-running ring to neighboring Somalia.
It was subsequently reported that the key to the raids was Anwar Al Awlaki (identified in the media as ‘Abu Atiq’) who was arrested six weeks before the October 17 swoop. Media reports allege that ‘Abu Atiq’ was an associate of two of the September 11 hijackers and a protege of Abdul al-Majid al-Zindani, who the US wants arrested on terror charges. They also make allegations of supposed involvement in a foiled al-Qa’ida plot to bomb oil and gas facilities in Yemen.
He is believed to be held in Central Security Prison in Sana’a. Locals in Sanaa insist, perhaps apocryphally, that the two stories of the complex above ground sit atop eight stories underground, where torture rooms and darkened cells are often used.
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have repeatedly raised concerns regarding arrests and detentions by the Political Security Organ in Yemen, which are carried out with total disregard for the rule of law and for Yemen’s international human rights obligations. Amnesty states that, “arrests are carried out without the judicial supervision required by law and those detained were invariably subjected to lengthy incommunicado detention and interrogations, during which some detainees claim that they were tortured or ill-treated. Detainees have also been denied access to lawyers, as well as being denied the opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention before a court.”
For more information about Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, please visit:
http://www.cageprisoners.com/prisoners.php?id=2127
Take Action for Imam Anwar Al Awlaki
Write to the US authorities:
* Demand that the state department fulfils their statutory duties and provide consular assistance and clarify where Anwar Al Awlaki is held;
* Demand an end to incommunicado and secret detention; detainees should be held only in officially recognized places of detention with access to family, lawyers and courts;
Continues, with much more.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Imam+Anwar+Al+Awlaki&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
A book written for the muslim, who is not hating America enough [I suspect], and each of the names on the comments is another muslim website/blog:
http://amreekan.wordpress.com/
http://www.google.com/search?q=Jazakullah+Khair&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
And with that, I will dump this search and allow you to search the many links that are in the blogs that I have posted, as I think it will take you to all 5,000 the gov says exist.
granny
My starting point, from a google alert:
http://abusayfullaah.wordpress.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070107/ap_on_re_eu/poland_archbishop
Warsaw archbishop resigns amid scandal
1 hour, 10 minutes ago
WARSAW, Poland - Warsaw's new archbishop resigned amid a scandal about his cooperation with the communist-era secret police, Poland's Roman Catholic Church said Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who took the office on Friday, has submitted his resignation, Poland's Episcopate said in a statement.
The church said
Pope Benedict XVI asked the outgoing archbishop, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, to administer the archdiocese until a replacement is found.
A furor had grown around Wielgus since the allegations were first raised Dec. 20 by a Polish weekly, with demands that he step down from his post.
The church in Poland, a heavily Roman Catholic country, enjoys high esteem for its opposition to the former Communist government. Catholics here revere the late Polish-born
Pope John Paul II — credited by some with hastening the regime's fall.
The scandal gained intensity after church officials said Friday that documents at a historical institute indicated Wielgus had willingly collaborated.
Newspapers Friday devoted their front pages to the revelations, even as Wielgus took canonical vows as required by church law ahead of his installation.
"Stop the installation," the daily Dziennik wrote in large bold print on its front page, arguing that to allow a "former agent" to hold a top church post would amount to a "moral scandal."
Wielgus acknowledged Friday that he did have contact with the secret service, but he said that documents indicating he collaborated were written by the secret police and reflected their account of events, not the truth.
The allegations first surfaced in the right-wing Gazeta Polska weekly, two weeks after the
Vatican appointed him archbishop of Warsaw. Wielgus initially denied any collaboration.
continued............
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1763644/posts?page=2
Ex-US spy chief to tackle North Korea, China as Rice's deputy
AFP ^ | 01/05/07 | David Millikin
Posted on 01/07/2007 12:35:16 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Ex-US spy chief to tackle North Korea, China as Rice's deputy
by David Millikin
Fri Jan 5, 1:51 PM ET
Outgoing US intelligence chief John Negroponte will focus on handling the prickly nuclear standoff with North Korea and delicate US-China ties when he takes over as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top deputy, a senior US official said.
Negroponte will also help follow through on a soon-to-be-announced policy shift in Iraq as deputy secretary of state, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, though he stressed that Rice will remain in charge of that tough dossier.
President George W. Bush announced on Friday the nomination of Negroponte, a veteran foreign service officer who has been his top intelligence adviser for less than two years, as the country's number-two diplomat.
continued and it is a good read.............
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1763661/posts
Iraq coup avoided?
IraqSlogger ^ | 1/7/07 | AMER MOHSEN
Posted on 01/07/2007 3:26:39 AM PST by HarryCaul
Az-Zaman headlined in its international edition: “the American forces abort an Iranian coup in Iraq”. Az-Zaman claimed that an Iranian intelligence operation was underway to “form a pro-Iranian government in Iraq after removing al-Maliki’s government”. The paper added that the ‘coup’ was to be carried out in conjunction with Iraqi ‘heads of militias and pro-Iranian officials’. The paper quoted a ‘British source’ who said that the ‘plan’ was aborted when the American forces arrested five Iranian intelligence operatives during a ‘high-level meeting’ with Shi`a politicians. The aim of the meeting, according to the British source, was to negotiate a post-Maliki political arrangement and determine the viability of the government and the Shi`a coalition after the Da`wa party –one of the constituents of the Shi`a bloc- was tarnished by the process of Saddam’s execution.
(Excerpt) Read more at iraqslogger.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1763492/posts
Military Dad Reports Being Spit On (in Ithaca)
Federal Review ^ | Saturday, January 06, 2007
Posted on 01/06/2007 1:59:44 PM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
ITHACA--The father of an Air Force pilot was allegedly spit upon during a visit to Ithaca recently.
Writing in the Ithaca Journal, Stacie Yaw-Bieber, a staff sergeant in in the U.S. Army Reserves, recounts the following:
Recently an individual that frequents our legion recounted an incident that happened to him in Ithaca. He has a son who is a pilot in the Air Force and displays a sticker stating the same on his vehicle. A woman walked up to him and asked him if that was his vehicle, he stated it was and reiterated that his son was in the Air Force, the woman responded by stating that his son was a “Killer” and then spit on him.
The incident is the latest in a series of actions directed against military personnel or their families in the Upstate New York area over the past few months.
In November, Ithaca's war memorial was vandalized the night before Veteran's Day and that same month in Syracuse saw a woman arrested for for allegedly spitting in a Fort Drum soldier's face at the local airport.
At this time, it is unknown whether these are isolated incidents or the start of a pattern of a disrespect against the military similar to that which occurred during the Vietnam War.
[see comments, for other attacks on our Military]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1763552/posts
Feds can activists' bid to run nuke lab (group wanted to study climate change, instead of nukes)
Oakland Tribune ^ | 01/06/2007 | Ian Hoffman
Posted on 01/06/2007 5:29:34 PM PST by calcowgirl
GREEN LLC wanted move toward nonproliferation
Federal nuclear weapons officials have rejected a bid by disarmament and renewable energy activists to manage Lawrence Livermore weapons design lab, saying the "green team" didn't fit federal plans.
Iran-Pakistan joint investment Co. planned
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=48633&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
Iran-Pakistan joint investment Co. planned
Sunday, January 07, 2007 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, January 7 (IranMania) - Given the potentials of Iran and
Pakistan, the two sides should expand economic ties, said chairman of
the board of directors and managing director of Iran Foreign Investment
Company, IRNA reported.
Mehdi-Reza Darvishzadeh said this after a ceremony to sign an agreement
with the Pakistani Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan on the
establishment of Iran-Pakistan joint investment company. He hoped that
cooperation between the two countries will increase once the company is
set up, the report added.
Describing Iran and Pakistan as two great and active countries in the
Islamic world, Darvishzadeh said that historical affinities between the
two nations are deep, and cooperation should be developed more than
ever.
Expressing satisfaction over moves to establish joint investment
company
between Tehran and Islamabad, he added that the Iran Foreign Investment
Company has so far invested in Brazil, Germany, Egypt, Namibia, Sudan,
Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Bahrain and Yemen.
For his part, Ayub Khan expressed hope that the establishment of the
company will improve economic cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad. "Pakistan seeks Iranian investment in Baluchistan province which has a
common border with Iran," he added.
Iran and Pakistan inked an agreement to establish the joint investment
company at a cost of $25 mln in initial capital with stakes divided on
a
50-50 basis.
The company will participate in the construction, oil and gas,
petrochemical, dam, and power plant sectors.
Economic exchanges between Iran and Pakistan currently stands at about
$480 mln annually, and the two sides are trying to increase the figure
to $1 bln.
Steel, crude oil, gas, raw cotton, fruit, vegetables, boat, spare
parts,
chemicals, construction materials, iron ore, saffron, tea, dried fruit,
honey, seafood and meat are among the major Iranian exports to
Pakistan.
Pakistan exports rice, string, machineries, cotton cloths,
horticultural
products, clothing, sport equipment, medical tools and carpet to Iran.
Explosion damages judge's car in northern Albania
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/20/europe/EU_GEN_Albania_Explosion.php
Explosion damages judge's car in northern Albania
TIRANA, Albania: Police said Wednesday that an explosion damaged a
judge's car in a northern Albanian town, but there were no casualties.
The blast early Wednesday in the town of Lezha, 60 kilometers (37
miles)
north of Tirana, damaged the car belonging to the town's chief judge
Jak
Ndoka and blew out windows and doors of the building he lived in,
according to police.
Officials are also considering whether an explosive device caused a
massive fire three days ago that raged for nearly 30 hours and injured
at least seven firefighters at a fuel storage facility in a nearby
town.
Muslim cleric killed in Gaza after criticizing killers of Fatah Chief
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=e75484e7-9026-4cf9-aa95-da45c694c5be
Muslim cleric killed in Gaza after criticizing killers of Fatah Chief
JERUSALEM - An unarmed Muslim cleric was shot dead as he drove home
after leading prayers yesterday, the latest victim of the Gaza Strip
violence that threatens to spiral into all-out civil war. Witnesses
said
Adel Nassar, 50, was murdered because he dared criticize the killers of
a Fatah security chief and seven of his bodyguards, an attack widely
blamed on Hamas. The killing of a cleric represents a new low in the
internecine fighting between Hamas and Fatah, in which dozens have
died.
It also comes as the Bush administration is preparing to provide
US$86-million to help security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the
Palestinian President, expanding U.S. involvement in his struggle with
Hamas. The money will be used to "assist the Palestinian Authority
presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the road map to dismantle
the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza," a U.S. government document said. Hamas lawmaker Mushir
al-Masri accused Washington of helping to mount a "coup" against the
Hamas-led government. "We demand that President Abbas reject this
American policy, which feeds the culture of divisions among the
Palestinian people," he said.
Expat Who Exported Military Items to Hizbullah Arrested in Israel
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=118865
Expat Who Exported Military Items to Hizbullah Arrested in Israel
06:59 Jan 07, '07 / 17 Tevet 5767
(IsraelNN.com) An Israeli expatriate in the U.S., Tomer Grinberg, 33,
who was found guilty in U.S. District Court last April of being a
co-conspirator in attempting to ship night-vision goggles and infrared
aiming scopes to Hezbollah, has been deported to Israel, where he will
be tried for treason. He has already served a sentence in the U.S. for
customs violations. He was met Friday by security agents at Ben Gurion
Airport.
On May 19, 2004, Grinberg and a co-conspirator, Naji Antoine Abi
Khalil,
40, of Montreal and originally from Lebanon, were arrested as they
prepared to ship the restricted military equipment to Greece for
receipt
by Hezbollah terrorists without obtaining proper licenses for the
shipment.
Grinberg, who worked for a Brooklyn-based moving company, joined Khalil
and an undercover agent at a Manhattan storage facility to pick up
$5,000 worth of night-vision goggles and infrared aiming devices,
designed for mounting on M-16 rifles. The two men were arrested after
Khalil accepted a $2,500 down payment from the agent.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Exported+Military+Items+to+Hizbullah+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Tomer+Grinberg&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=Naji+Antoine+Abi+Khalil&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=New+Line+Services%2C+a+shipping+company+based+in+Montreal&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=receipt+%0D%0Aby+Hezbollah+terrorists+without+obtaining+proper+licenses+&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Serbian prime minister calls on Serbs to defend Kosovo
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Serbian_prime_minister_calls_on_Ser_01062007.html
Serbian prime minister calls on Serbs to defend Kosovo
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday January 6, 2007
Belgrade- Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on
Saturday called on his countrymen to defend the breakaway southern
province of Kosovo.
"We will not hand over Kosovo," Kostunica wrote in a two-page
advertisement published in the Belgrade newspaper Politika,
maintaining that "no Serb alive wants to hand over Kosovo."
"Citizens of Serbia, no-one can be between two minds with regard
to Kosovo," the Serb leader wrote. "As long as Serbia exists, Kosovo,
the first letter in the spiritual alphabet of the Serbian people,
will be a part of Serbia."
Any move to change Serbia's borders against Belgrade's will, and
to oblige Serbia to give up 15 per cent of its territory, must be
seen as "unacceptable and impossible," according to Kostunica.
"We must defend Kosovo together, every citizen, all the people ...
otherwise, we will lose not only Kosovo but also Serbia and its
identity," he warned.
At the end of January, the UN envoy to Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari,
is expected to present plans for the future of the majority Albanian
province of Kosovo. Among the options under consideration are limited
sovereignty under the stewardship of the European Union.
Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999,
after a NATO bombing campaign ended the mass expulsion of Kosovo
Albanians by the Serb military and paramilitaries.
© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency
Despite Arab Diplomatic Efforts, Hizbu llah Threatens Violent Escalation -- To Begi n this Coming Monday (January 8, 2007)
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD141407
Despite Arab Diplomatic Efforts, Hizbullah Threatens Violent
Escalation -- To Begin this Coming Monday (January 8, 2007)
Over the past few days, the Hizbullah-led Lebanese opposition has
threatened to escalate the conflict through violent protest, that will
include the blocking of main intersections so as to "paralyze life in
Lebanon."
The editor of the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to
Hizbullah,
reported on January 5, 2007 that the "second phase of the opposition's
intifada" would begin Monday, January 8, 2007. He wrote: "The
opposition
has entered a new phase of intensive confrontation with the ruling
faction, and, in the last few day, has been deliberating over its plan
of action. This comes after it has become convinced that the Arab
parties managing the attempts at mediation [i.e. Saudi Arabia and
Egypt]
have in practice adopted the position of [Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad]
Al-Siniora, who, like them, belongs to the 'moderate' camp supported by
the U.S. and France." [1]
These threats come despite two weeks of diplomatic efforts on the part
of Saudi Arabia and Egypt to prevent a violent outbreak.
The following are excerpts on the topic from the Lebanese press:
The Opposition in Lebanon Threatens Escalation
The Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hizbullah, reported on
a
secret meeting of Lebanese opposition forces on January 2, 2007, in
which they concluded that the Al-Siniora government had succeeded in
withstanding the opposition's popular demonstrations and that it enjoys
Arab and international support. The participants in the meeting
therefore decided that the opposition should take new steps. The daily
reported that "a prominent senior opposition figure defined the
forthcoming steps that were discussed in the meeting as steps of
'violent protests' - which is what former minister and MP Suleiman
Frangieh talked about a few days ago... when he mentioned roadblocks
and
[civil] unrest..."
Al-Akhbar explained that these steps are coming as "preparation for...
a
new plan that sets out [steps] more severe than roadblocks - such
shutting down the activity of government ministries and offices,
blocking the routes to the airport and the seaport and blocking central
junctions - all of which is liable to completely paralyze life [in
Lebanon]." [2]
Similar threats appeared in an editorial posted on Hizbullah's website
on January 4, 2007: "In light of the fact that the government has
closed
the door to solutions to the crisis, and since it continues to violate
the Lebanese constitution and is continuing in its political and
sectarian escalation and in exacerbation [of tensions] between the two
sects [i.e. Sunnis and Shi'ites], the Lebanese national opposition
group
will very soon begin to formulate a plan of action that is escalatory
in
nature..." [3]
Diplomatic Efforts to Prevent Escalation
On January 3, 2007, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported that the
Egyptian and Saudi leaderships had launched a campaign to prevent
escalation in Lebanon, after Arab League Secretary-General 'Amr Moussa
briefed them on the failure of his initiative - a failure liable to
lead
to crisis in Lebanon. After mutual consultations, they decided to renew
their contacts with the Lebanese opposition, and to conduct discussions
on a more senior level.
According to Al-Akhbar, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Hussein Darar
requested an urgent meeting with Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan
Nasrallah, "a step unprecedented in the history of the relations
between
the two sides," and passed on to Nasrallah a personal letter from
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The paper said, "Saudi Arabia, for
its
part, urged Nasrallah time and again to make the pilgrimage, upon
personal invitation from the [Saudi] king. When Nasrallah was unable to
make the trip due to security considerations... it was decided that
Nasrallah's deputy, Na'im Qasim, and a member of the Hizbullah faction
in the government, Muhammad Fneish, would make a quick visit to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi plane flew them, far from the spotlights, from Beirut
to
Saudi Arabia, where they met with [Saudi] King Abdullah." [4]
On January 3, 2007, the pro-Syrian Lebanese daily Al-Safir reported on
a
meeting between Nasrallah and the Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon.
According to the paper, during the meeting, the Egyptian ambassador
repeatedly warned that Hizbullah must be alert to the danger of civil
war between Sunnis and Shi'ites. "Nasrallah, for his part, emphasized
Hizbullah's concern for maintaining Islamic unity, [but] warned that
the
Americans would foment an atmosphere of civil war on all fronts - a war
that, for Hizbullah, is a line that must not be crossed."
The daily said that the Egyptian ambassador told Nasrallah that he
should not expect regional involvement (alluding to Syrian and Iranian
involvement), and stressed - echoing the message conveyed by the Saudi
king to the Hizbullah delegation - that the solution must be reached
through internal dialogue and not by reliance on foreign intervention.
The paper reported that the ambassador said to Nassrallah: "Honesty
compels me to tell you that your image [as a hero of the resistance]
has
begun to erode in light of the situation in Lebanon, and that there are
attempts to tarnish your image as a jihad fighter by [invoking] the
details [of what is happening in Lebanon, thus] damaging the image of
the resistance..."
Nasrallah replied: "We [i.e. Hizbullah] have the courage to admit that
mistakes were made on all sides, and not just on one side. They [the
March 14 Forces] made mistakes, and so did we... We supported all the
Arab and Lebanese initiatives [that attempted to resolve the crisis]...
it was always others who sabotaged [these attempts]..." [5]
On January 4, 2007, Al-Safir reported on the meeting between the Saudi
king and the Hizbullah delegation. Citing diplomatic sources, it stated
that the meeting lasted about three hours and was attended by Saudi
Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal, by the head of the Saudi Intelligence
Service, and by the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon. According to the
paper,
"the Saudi king presented [to the Hizbullah delegation] the options for
political and economic recovery in Lebanon, and for [Lebanon] to
benefit
from the Gulf state's oil profits. He urged [the delegation] not to
waste this opportunity, 'otherwise, the investments might go to other
areas that are more secure and stable...' The king also told the
Hizbullah delegation: 'If [you] do not look out for your country, and
wait [instead] for foreign [intervention, you will wait] in vain. Any
country that allows other countries to toy with it will inevitably
[suffer] disintegration and division.'...
"The Hizbullah delegation, for its part, stressed that it regards civil
war between Shi'ites and Sunnis as a red line [that must not be
crossed], and that Hizbullah has always tried to play a role of
increasing Islamic unity, even outside Lebanon. The delegation stressed
its openness towards Saudi Arabia... and [emphasized] the crucial need
for the two sides [Hizbullah and Saudi Arabia] to continue the
dialogue.
"The parties [at the meeting] also discussed the issue of the
international tribunal [for the assassination of former Lebanese prime
minister Rafiq Al-Hariri]. The Saudis reiterated their [position] that,
if Hizbullah indeed supports the establishment of a tribunal, as it has
stated, it must enter into the discussions for working out the details
of its establishment." [6]
[1] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), January 5, 2007. The article refers to Prince
Bandar bin Sultan, former Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. and current
chairman of the Saudi National Security Council, as "head of the camp
which regards the Lebanese opposition as an extension of the new
strategic enemy, [namely] Iran and Syria."
[2] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), January 4, 2007.
[3] http://www.moqawama.org/__print.php?filename=20070104085953,
January
4, 2007.
[4] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), January 3, 2007.
[5] Al-Safir (Lebanon), January 3, 2007.
[6] Al-Safir (Lebanon), January 4, 2007.
EU warns Albania over poll delay
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/093B5728-91ED-4A9E-A4D0-BDD454564E04.htm
EU warns Albania over poll delay
Sali Berisha, Albania's prime minister, wants his country to join the
EU
[AP]
The European Union has warned Albania that its ambitions to join the EU
could be hurt if its government delays forthcoming elections.
Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, strongly criticised on
Thursday the Albanian prime minister's decision this week to postpone
national municipal elections scheduled originally for January 20.
"Failure to ensure democratic elections would risk doing harm to
Albania's progress towards Europe and would reflect negatively on the
political forces in the country," Solana said in a statement.
The elections were postponed this week by Sali Berisha, the prime
minister, until February 18.
Solana's warning was the EU's highest-level intervention to date
regarding the polls.
It follows an EU report in November noting uneven progress in reforms
to
ensure democracy and the rule of law.
The report also said that the government was failing to tackle
corruption in Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries.
While Brussels says all the countries of the western Balkans, including
Albania, may one day join the EU, they face a long wait as many Western
Europeans fear that the now 27-member club may have overstretched
itself.
Albania took a first step towards membership in June when it signed a
stabilisation and association agreement, but it is not considered ready
for further progress towards candidate status.
Cheated
The current dispute began months ago when the opposition Socialist
party
demanded a postponement of local polls to resolve disputes over voter
lists and other areas where it believes that it may be disadvantaged or
cheated outright.
Berisha had refused to delay the vote from January 20, but he gave in
to
the opposition's demands this week.
The new date still requires presidential approval, but this should be a
formality.
Badly divided
Democratic party members say the Socialists fear a meltdown at the
polls
because they are badly divided and the party leader's, Edi Rama, who
took over from veteran Fatos Nano in 2005, is weak.
Albania's two dominant parties in the post-communist era, the
Socialists
and the Democrats, have contested every election bitterly since 1991,
in
campaigns featuring unsparing rhetoric and often climaxing with
refusals
to accept results.
Solana called on the government and opposition to work to ensure an
orderly vote. "I also look forward to the full and active participation
of all political forces in the local elections themselves," he said.
Former director of Kosovo airport on bribes charge
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=former-director-of-kosovo-airport-on-bribes-charge%26method=full%26objectid=18393413%26siteid=50082-name_page.html
Former director of Kosovo airport on bribes charge
Jan 5 2007
Tryst Williams, Western Mail
A FORMER Welsh airport director has been charged in a "bribes for jobs"
scandal in Kosovo, it emerged yesterday.
Ian Woollett, 54, was indicted by an international prosecutor as part
of
a corruption inquiry centering on the UN-run province's main airport,
of
which he was a recent director.
Woollett was previously a director of operations at Rhoose Airport -
since renamed Cardiff International Airport - during the early 1990s.
A UN statement said, "He is accused of accepting bribes, through a
local
businessman acting as the intermediary, from Kosovar residents in
exchange for employment."
It is understood that well-paid airport jobs are particularly coveted
among Kosovo's local population.
After leaving Rhoose Airport in 1993, to become an independent
consultant, he gained employment with the European Union-runeconomic
wing of the province's UN mission between 2003 and 2005.
The province has been under UN rule since the controversial bombing of
the Serbian province by Nato in 1999 as they attempted to drive out
guerrilla Serb forces accused of ethnic cleansing.
One of Woollett's EU-related roles during his two-year stint in the
province was director of the airport in the capital, Pristina.
EU Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin said, "His contract was
discontinued on September 30, 2005, as a natural consequence of the
gradual process of handing over competencies to local institutions."
UN officials in Kosovo refused to comment on the indictment, while
British diplomats in the capital Pristina told reporters they were
"looking into the matter".
The "bribes for jobs" indictment, made on December 19, follows a
two-year inquiry into alleged irregularities at the airport.
The findings by EU investigators and the UN Office of Internal
Oversight
Services, published in April 2006, found that "fraud and mismanagement
were rife and there was systematic corruption" at the airport.
At the time, the then-head of the UN Mission, Danish diplomat Soren
Jessen-Petersen, was accused by UN investigators of "turning a blind
eye" to complaints of corruption.
Mr Jessen-Petersen, who left his post in 2006, rejected the accusations
and maintained he had no authority to investigate businesses in public
ownership.
Unproven accusations of corruption at the UN-run mission and among
foreign contractors are rife in the Kosovo media and are particularly
common on the internet.
But many commentators say the province's majority ethnic Albanians are
naturally wary of UN-running of their affairs as they become
increasingly impatient for independence. A decision on the future of
the
province is widely expected this year.
Meanwhile, Woollett was last night understood to be no longer in
Kosovo,
although his exact whereabouts were unknown. He has not yet commented
publicly on the charge.
He was director of operations at Rhoose Airport during a pivotal time
in
the airport's history.
The airport, which was still owned by the three County Councils of
South, Mid and West Glamorgan in the early 1990s, had just undergone a
£1m runway extension allowing it to handle 747 jumbo jets.
A spokesman for Cardiff International Airport yesterday confirmed that
Woollett had worked there during the early 1990s but was unable to
provide further details as the airport has undergone a change in
ownership during the interim period.
Report: Military Intelligence Lacking during Lebanon War
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=118875
Report: Military Intelligence Lacking during Lebanon War
08:47 Jan 07, '07 / 17 Tevet 5767
(IsraelNN.com) Israel's short-term intelligence about Hizbullah
capabilities during last summer's war has been described as
"unprofessional" by a senior Military Intelligence officer.
Interviewed by the journal of the Israeli Center for Intelligence
Heritage, Brigadier General Yuval Halamish used the words "mediocre to
inferior," to describe information Israel held on the Lebanese terror
group's deployment of forces and weapons. Halamish also says that
forces
were not familiar with the Lebanese terrain, and that there were
problems updating the information.
The chief intelligence officer says that the IDF had a good
intelligence
understanding of Hezbollah's deployment, including how it would pursue
future fights with Israel.
Pakistan backs Iran`s peaceful nuclear program
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?165133
Pakistan backs Iran`s peaceful nuclear program
Saturday January 06, 2007 (1940 PST)
TEHRAN: Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Secretary-General of the
Pakistan Muslim League, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed Saturday
reiterated Pakistan`s fully supports Iran`s peaceful nuclear program.
He observed this while talking to the Head of Majlis National Security
and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi. They also discussed
at length issues of mutual interests, IRNA reported.
At the meeting, the Pakistani envoy According to the Press Bureau of
Majlis, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed underlined that Iran`s dispute
with the West over peaceful nuclear program should be resolved under
supervision of IAEA and that any action against Iranian national
interest should be avoided.
Pakistan supports transfer of Iranian gas via Pakistan, he said adding
that the new contract for laying gas pipelines between the two
countries
would open a new chapter in friendly ties. Increase in poppy
cultivation
in Afghanistan would be dangerous for both Iran and Pakistan, he said
and called for serious cooperation in anti-drug campaign.
Boroujerdi, for his part, recalled Iran-Pakistan deep-rooted historical
ties and emphasized the need for Majlis support to further bolster
friendly ties between the two countries. Majlis has always supported
expansion of relations with the neighboring states and with Pakistan in
particular, he pointed out.
Given historical and cultural commonalties which play significant role
in expansion of relations, he added that the current visit of Pakistani
parliamentary delegation to Iran would be a new step in expansion of
parliamentary cooperation between the two great Islamic countries.
Given the importance of energy in the world, he said the issue of
energy
is among the most important topics in the future, adding that Iran and
Pakistan should strive to swiftly implement Iran`s gas pipelines via
Pakistan.
Boroujerdi said that Iran calls for restoration of peace, security and
stability in Afghanistan, and it is time for Afghan people who suffered
two decades of violence and war to live in peace and welfare as
neighbor
of Iran and Pakistan. On Iran`s peaceful nuclear program, he said the
Iranians are determined to continue their path.
US has adopted politically motivated stand on Iran`s nuclear program,
he
said adding that the reaction of the Western countries to Iran`s
peaceful nuclear program created mistrust.
Referring to the new plots hatched by the enemies trying to sow discord
and ignite sectarian violence in Iraq, he said their goals is to weaken
Muslim World.
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