Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
16 January 2007
Mexican president revamps security
Mexican President Felipe Calderon sends thousands of troops to secure the country's crime-controlled corners, but his hard and fast approach has netted few significant results.
Commentary by Sam Logan for ISN Security Watch (16/1/2006)
In the early morning hours of 8 January, four men stepped out of a car and leveled AR-15 assault rifles at Eleazar Ruiz Vargas, the commander of public security for the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. Supporting officers arrived on the scene only minutes later to find Ruiz’s body and a battered patrol car. Mexico’s organized criminal gangs are back to work, killing cops and each other with little regard for the loss of life or consequence.
But Mexico’s new president, Felipe Calderon, seems intent on changing that. Since his inauguration on 1 December, Calderon has unified Mexico’s anti-drug police corps under one command and transferred more than 10,000 military personnel to the federal police.
Just ten days after his inauguration, on 11 December, Calderon sent 4,260 soldiers, 1,054 marines, 1,420 federal police, 50 detectives, and numerous air force and naval support vehicles to the state of Michoacan, where violence between rival drug gangs left over 600 dead in 2006, including more than 20 decapitations.
The Michoacan capital of Morelia and the surrounding area is a battle ground for rival factions the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Federation, each struggling for control of an important north-south smuggling corridor as well as the Michoacan port of Lazardo Cardernas, where authorities seized close to 20 tons of precursor chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine in early December.
Authorities organized some 131 operations to manually eradicate drug crops, and 24 checkpoints to search vehicles around the state.
Only weeks later, on 3 January, Calderon mustered another 3,000 soldiers to send north to Tijuana, considered one of the country’s principle routes for drug smuggling into the US. An additional 28 boats, 21 planes and nine helicopters accompanied the soldiers.
For decades, the once powerful Arellano Felix organization has controlled organized crime in Tijuana. In 2006, the city suffered 300 drug-related killings that many analysts associate with the struggle for the lucrative turf currently controlled by the Arellano Felix organization.
Now it appears as though the Sinaloa Federation may capture Tijuana from the Arellano Felix organization, which has been weakened over the years by a succession of arrests and the death of key leaders.
Another hot spot for criminal activity, the state of Guerrero, received the support of some 200 federal police officers on 15 January. The resort town of Acapulco, located in Guerrero, was the center of attention in 2006 as the Gulf and Sinaloa factions battled over a strategic reception point for Colombian cocaine shipped from the country’s Pacific port of Buenaventura in go fast boats and fishing vessels.
As a result, some 350 drug-related murders occurred in Guerrero in 2006, including at least 13 decapitations.
The states of Sonora, Durango and Chihuahua are also all on the list for federal security support.
Such a major thrust of federally mandated force to ensure public security instills a level of expectation that has some optimistic and others quite worried.
In his New Year’s speech, Calderon said these operations “will allow us to re-establish the minimal security conditions in different points of Mexico so we can recover little by little our streets, our parks and our schools.”
Since the beginning of the operations in Michoacan, more than 50 people have been arrested, and the government has released statistics showing a 40 percent reduction in homicides compared to the last six months.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) spokesperson for Arizona, Ramona Sanchez, says increased pressure on the Mexican side of the border, such as thousands of troops sent to Tijuana, could pressure Mexican criminals to jump the border.
The governor of the state of Sonora, Eduardo Bours Castelo, agrees. He worries that increased federal presence in Baja California, will displace criminals into Sonora, whose secretary for public security, Francisco Figueroa Bouquet, recently confirmed that the Sinaloa Federation maintains a tight grip over drug trafficking in that state.
Other leaders from around the country, including the governor of Nuevo Leon, where drug-related violence in Monterrey increased significantly in 2006, are worried that the Mexican government simply does not have the resources to maintain federal troops stretched across the whole country.
On 8 January, Nuevo Leon governor Jose Natividad Gonzalez Paras launched Operation Nuevo Leon, a state-level security operation to combat organized crime there. Since Calderon’s inauguration, the state has seen little federal assistance with Michoacan and Tijuana absorbing the bulk of federal resources.
Both state- and federal-level operations on the outset appear promising. Calderon should be commended for jump-starting Mexico’s security apparatus into action. But it is widely known that Mexico’s criminal organizations take a break from killing one another during the month of December, as pointed out last month by Aldo Fasci, an assistant to the attorney general in Nuevo Leon, so the results may not be Calderon's.
The real results of Calderon’s heavy-handed programs are yet to be seen. And if Ruiz’s death on 8 January is any indication, 2007 may prove to be another long year for Mexican public security.
Sam Logan is an investigative journalist who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is the Latin American correspondent for ISN Security Watch.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
Printed from http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=17123
Online version provided by the International Relations and Security Network
A public service run by the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich © 1996-2004
15 January 2007
Tunisian clashes a warning
Clashes in Tunisia signify the possible rise of Islamic militancy in a country where the public is becoming disillusioned with the autocracy.
Commentary by Dominic Moran in Tel Aviv for ISN Security Watch (15/01/07)
Tunisia's acknowledgement that its security forces recently fought pitched battles with militants has raised concerns that domestic autocracy - and the recent low-scale revival of the Algerian insurgency - may provide conditions for a rise in Islamic radicalism in the country.
Tunisian Interior Minister Rafik Haj Kacem told reporters on Friday that security forces had broken up a "Salafist terrorist group" following armed clashes.
The militant cell had allegedly planned attacks on foreign missions in Tunisia. Members were found with explosives, blueprints for foreign embassies and documents identifying foreign emissaries as targets, the minister said.
A gunfight in December and a day-long shootout earlier this month left two security force members and 12 militants dead. Authorities arrested 15 militants during the two battles.
The clashes marked the first Islamic militant violence in the country since the 11 April 2002 truck-bombing of a synagogue on the island of Djerba in which 21 people were killed.
The reformist, fundamentalist Salafi school of Sunni Islam is difficult to define, but is characterized by calls for a return to the envisioned religious purity of the early Muslim umma. Various independent "Salafist" militant groups have emerged in recent years and the use of the moniker is often a source of contention between the groups.
Two local newspapers reported that the cell disrupted in Tunisia had ties to Algeria's Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has announced a union with al-Qaida and is believed to have active cells in several Western European countries.
The Tunisian interior minister told reporters that five Tunisians and one Mauritanian group member, who were instrumental in forming the network, had crossed into the country from Algeria. The minister said the men were well known to security forces and were tailed when crossing the border "in order to know their plans and their contacts in Tunisia."
The extent of radical Islamic activism in Tunisia is difficult to gauge given stringent restrictions on press freedom, but these tendencies appear to feed off public resentment at Washington's role in the region and a lack of genuine political reform.
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has maintained tight control over the country since overthrowing Habib Bourguiba in a bloodless coup in 1987.
Constitutional presidential term restrictions have been amended twice to allow Ben Ali to remain in office and his Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) dominates political life, winning 152 of 189 parliamentary seats in the most recent national election in 2004. Ben Ali, who personally selects the prime minister and cabinet members, received 94 percent of the vote in the concomitant presidential poll.
Internet access is severely restricted and media agencies are subject to strict censorship.
Amnesty International praised the government for its release in 2006 of 135 political prisoners - including 54 members of the banned Islamic An-Nahdha party - while claiming that over 100 An-Nahdha members remained in prison.
An-Nahdha emerged as the largest opposition group in 1989 after its candidates, running as independents, won 14 percent of the popular vote. Religious parties are illegal under Tunisian law.
The Islamic party's electoral success appeared to spark a wave of political repression in 1991. Several thousand party members were reportedly arrested and 279 An-Nahdha party leaders and members were tried in connection with an alleged plot to kill the president.
An-Nahdha leaders say the relative lack of militant activity in Tunisia is due to their advocacy of dialogue and non-violence, while the authorities counter that the quiet is due to government action against the movement.
The government has recently come under significant criticism from lawyers, rights groups and Islamic leaders for reinvigorating its annual campaign against the wearing of the hijab - or headscarf - by female students.
Government and RCD officials have defended the ban on headscarves, which applies in public buildings and educational establishments, as protecting past progress made in extending women's rights.
The battle over the hijab - which is described in the law instituting the ban on "sectarian dress" - has become a significant casus belli and symbol for an ongoing struggle over the public role of Islam.
Tunisia is a close ally of the US in regional anti-terrorist initiatives and the global war on terror.
At last report, the defense departments of both countries were working on a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) specifying the legal status of their forces on each other's territory. The agreement is intended to allow increased military exchanges, exercises and joint operations.
The US currently provides Tunisia with around US$10.5 million in annual military aid and US$1.9 million per year for education and training.
It is this close relationship; the strong performance of Islamic political elements in recent Palestinian and Egyptian elections; the Algerian civil war; and the increasing interest of Russia and China in the region that have stopped the US from pressuring Ben Ali for significant democratic and rights reforms.
This policy is short-sighted, ignoring the impact of the current autocracy in increasing popular disenchantment with the government and, thereby, encouraging the rise of radical Islamic thought and militancy.
While the Ben Ali government succeeds in maintaining its vice-like security grip and in fostering economic growth, militant attacks are likely to remain an occasional irritant rather than presaging a more determined domestic insurgency.
However, the success of the Salafist infiltrators in building a significant and seemingly well-organized Tunisian cell should provide a note of caution that this stability could prove fleeting without dramatic and substantial governance reforms that allow the incorporation of the Islamic opposition into the political system.
Dr Dominic Moran is ISN Security Watch's senior correspondent in the Middle East
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
Printed from http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=17118
Online version provided by the International Relations and Security Network
A public service run by the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich © 1996-2004
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/pubs/ph/details.cfm?id=27382
An Inclusive World
In Which the West, Islam and the Rest have a Stake
An Inclusive World Author(s): Sundeep Waslekar
Publisher(s): Strategic Foresight Group (SFG), Mumbai, India
ISBN: 81-88262-09-9
Date of publication: 15 Jan 2007
Format: PDF
Pages: 50
URL: www.strategicforesight.com
Series: SFG Publications
Description: This essay analyzes the division of the world in the early 21st century and explores politically feasible ways to overcome it. It examines the historical roots of the trust deficit between Western and Islamic countries and proposes ideas for restructuring Western-Islamic relations. The author argues that states must tackle deprivation with the "3D" model: democracy, development and dialogue. The paper concludes with a set of policy steps.
General note: © 2007 Strategic Foresight Group (SFG)
Download:
* English - Download the full-text document (1.0 MB)
16 January 2007
Nepal: From revolution to revolt
Though the Maoist guerrillas have laid down their arms after a partial victory against the monarchy, their example has emboldened a new group to start a fresh revolt.
Commentary by Sudeshna Sarkar in Kathmandu for ISN Security Watch (16/01/07)
After almost 15 years since it left parliament to take up arms in a struggle to overthrow the monarchy, the once-banned Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) laid down its arms and re-joined mainstream politics on Monday.
The former rebels were sworn in around midnight, along with ten members of parliament who had been nominated from civil society; the same rebels who took part in the peaceful, but relentless, street protests last year that forced King Gyanendra to relinquish the control he had seized through a bloodless coup on 1 February 2005
In the Maoists' "people's war," which started in 1996, over 13,000 people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced. The infrastructure, which held together a country that ranks among the world's poorest, was also destroyed during the conflict.
When Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a former school teacher and now chief of the Maoists’ parliamentary party, addressed the first session of the new house on Monday night, he remembered those “martyred” during the anti-king protests, and he certainly was not apologetic about the decade-old insurgency.
“We had to use different methods to meet our goal,” he said. “At one time it was the armed revolution; then it was the peaceful street protests. However, the armed revolt was necessary to set the stage for the constituency assembly election.”
Since 1950, when the first prominent pro-democracy movement erupted in Nepal, the parties had been asking for a special assembly election that would allow the people to decide if they wanted to maintain the monarchy or become a republic.
Though the then-king Tribhuvan agreed to hold the election neither he nor his heirs kept their promise and the election was never held. The Maoists took up the cause in 1996. Though it was initially rejected by most of the political parties, King Gyanendra’s coup in February 2005 made him so unpopular that calls were renewed for an election from the public and the Maoists' cause was boosted.
The seven-party government that came to power after the king’s fall last year pledged to hold the election by June.
While the Maoists have won their insurgency, so far, there is less cause for celebration on the streets than would seem at first glance. The Maoists, it seems, have laid the groundwork for others to follow their insurgency example.
A new revolt has started in Nepal's southern plains by a group that earlier belonged to the Maoist party.
Joy Krishna Goit, a plains leader who was also one of the founders of the Maoists’ Madhesh Mukti Morcha - the wing for addressing the plights of the plains people - broke away from the main party about three years ago.
Accusing the Maoists of serving only the hill communities, Goit formed the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, ostensibly to take up the plains cause.
Since then, Goit’s group has split in two, with the new faction headed by Jwala Singh recently spreading fresh terror in southeastern Nepal.
Last week, Singh’s faction paralyzed eastern Nepal with a three-day general strike. Prior to that, the group called for a transport blockade in the region, stepped up abductions and extortion and killed at least two people. The splinter’s modus operandi is a chilling replica of the Maoists’.
The two Morchas have given their lists of demands to the government. They include making the Terai plains in the south, inhabited by people of Indian origin called Madhesis, a sovereign state, replacing all security and government staff in the plains with Madhesis, and re-organizing election constituencies according to population so that the community is represented as well as hill people.
Despite their aggression, the groups’ demands are based on genuine grounds. Though the plains provide 80 percent of agrarian Nepal’s food crop, the Madhesis are the most neglected.
Along with the Madhesis not being represented in the government or military, thousands do not have citizenship. The top leaders of all political parties in Nepal hail from hill communities.
The rift between the plains people and the hill communities came to a head during post-Christmas festivities. A general strike called in eastern Nepal by the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandi), a party of plains people represented in the government, snowballed into a riot with gangs attacking Madhesi shops and businesses and the administration turning a blind eye.
The rise of the two Morchas has caused concern among Nepal’s major parties, with MPs cutting across party lines in agreeing that the revolts could worsen.
“It has become a worldwide tend to take up arms to get one’s demands fulfilled,” Banshidhar Mishra, a legislator from the plains who belongs to the second-largest party in the government, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, said in the house Monday.
“The Maoists have shown the way in Nepal. Now there are other groups following them.”
The Morchas have threatened to disrupt upcoming elections, just as the Maoists had done.
There are other voices of dissent from the plains, too. On Tuesday, a group of students calling itself the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Forum for the Rights of Madhesis) tried to enforce a general strike in the plains, saying the new constitution, implemented on Monday, did not address Madhesis’ grievances.
“During the insurgency, Madhesis suffered most," said Rajendra Mahato, an MP from the Nepal Sadbhavana Party.
“They were caught between the security forces and the Maoists, who exploited them. For decades, the community’s suffering has been building up. Unless the government pays immediate attention […] it is going to erupt.”
Even the government is aware of the need to begin talks with the Morchas. But weighed down as it is with the mandate of holding the crucial election by June and ensuring that the Maoists’ arms and soldiers are locked up under UN supervision before that, it may delay the talks too long, just as the earlier governments had with the Maoists.
Sudeshna Sarkar is ISN Security Watch’s senior correspondent in Nepal.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
Printed from http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=17125
Online version provided by the International Relations and Security Network
A public service run by the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich © 1996-2004
Thanks to Milford421 for this report:
http://www.channel3000.com/news/10755163/detail.html
Milwaukee Authorities Search For Crate Of Radioactive Material
Material Is Low-Grade, Used For Medical Testing
UPDATED: 6:52 pm CST January 15, 2007
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee authorities said that a container with
radioactive material is missing.
The Sheriff's Department said that the material is in a shipping box
that a courier reported missing on Sunday. The radioactive material
is low-grade and used for medical testing.
Deputies said that there's such a small quantity that the material
can't be used for anything other than medical purposes.
Authorities said that the material could cause burns if it comes
into contact with skin and can be poisonous if ingested.
Department spokeswoman Kim Brooks said that the container is a
shipping crate with large warning labels.
Deputies are asking anyone who finds it to contact authorities
immediately.
Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. The Associated Press contributed to
this report. All rights reserved.
Source: Valdosta Daily Times [edited]
http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/breakingnews/local_story_012165635.html?start:int=0
On 13 Sep 2006, the Georgia Public Health Laboratory (GPHL) contacted
the Notifiable Diseases Epidemiology Section (NDES) of the South
Georgia Health District (SGHD) that the lab had received 8
_Salmonella [enterica_ serotype] Montevideo isolates from South
Georgia Medical Center between 28 Aug to 5 Sep 2006, according to a
report filed by the Department of Human Resources Division of Public
Health.
On average, Lowndes County reports approximately 5 cases per year of
Salmonella Montevideo infection. Due to the drastic increase in
cases, an investigation was initiated to determine whether or not the
cases represented an outbreak in the area and if a common source
could be identified amongst the patients, according to the report. A
questionnaire was developed to evaluate sources of possible exposure
including animal contact, water sources, grocery stores, restaurants
and specific food, according to the report.
Following the investigation and interviewing patients infected, 72
cases of serotype Montevideo infections with indistinguishable
patterns were reported with the onset of gastrointestinal illness
between 21 Aug and 15 Nov 2006, and investigators were able to
determine the outbreak strain, according to the report. Of the 72
cases, 19 patients were hospitalized and no deaths were reported,
according to the report.
Following interviews of 52 of the 72 patients, the investigation
revealed that a common fast food restaurant in Valdosta was the
source of the outbreak strain. Of those interviewed, 82 percent
reported that they had most likely eaten at the restaurant in the 7
days before symptoms began.
On 6 Oct 2006, the director of Environmental Health for the South
Georgia Health District, was notified by investigators that the fast
food restaurant Arby's was considered a possible source for the
outbreak. A Lowndes County Environmental Health specialist inspected
the restaurant and found no major violations as investigators
continued interviews with patients, according to the report.
Interviews continued to point toward the common restaurant as the
source. On 19 Oct 2006, local health officials as well as a
representative of the CDC met with the district manager and manager
at the restaurant. The meeting included discussions regarding sources
of food served, food preparation, cleaning of equipment and employee
health and hygiene, according to the report. During that visit, 10
swab samples were taken from surfaces in the restaurant and delivered
to GPHL and tested for Salmonella.
Investigators found that the restaurant had been closed for
remodeling and reopened on 18 Aug 2006, and was utilizing a brand new
meat slicer following the reopening. On 25 Oct 2006, 19 days after
the restaurant was identified as the possible source of the outbreak,
GPHL reported that one of the swab samples collected from the new
meat slicer was positive for the Salmonella outbreak strain and the
slicer was immediately removed from service. All food items that may
have been in contact with the slicer were thrown away and additional
food items were collected for testing, according to the report. That
same day 31 additional samples were taken from the restaurant. Though
the new slicer had been cleaned and sanitized, the organism was still
detected on the blade cover.
According to restaurant staff, the equipment was cleaned several
times a day and was disassembled and sanitized each night. The cause
of the problem was determined to be a faulty piece on the equipment,
which according to the manufacturer, should have been sealed with
silicone. The piece was not sealed as it should have been when it was
inspected by investigators, according to the report.
The report's discussion concluded that though the initial cause of
the salmonella was not discovered, salmonella persisted between the
blade cover and handle due to lack of a seal in spite of frequent
cleaning just after the restaurant reopened.
Control measures taken by the SGHD included removal of the slicer and
the discarding of all potentially contaminated foods. The restaurant
returned the slicer to the manufacturer, who has issued a lookout to
other restaurants with the same product to inspect the handle. The
restaurant chain is also conducting an internal investigation into
the possible source of salmonella contamination of the blade cover,
according to the report. No exposure to the outbreak strain was
identified after the slicer was removed from the restaurant 25 Oct
2006, according to the report.
[Byline: Kelli Hernandez]
--
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
[Although from several months ago in 2006, the outbreak investigation
and findings underscore the role of inanimate objects in a continuing
food-borne cluster of salmonellosis. Also in 2006, the salmonellosis
cluster in the UK due to chocolate was related to serotype Montevideo.
A map showing the location of Valdosta in southern Georgia can be
found at: http://pics2.city-data.com/city/maps/fr792.gif
Mod.LL]
http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/InternationalNews/tabid/187/articleID/17081/Default.aspx
Pentagon: militia gangs more dangerous than al Qaeda Wed 7:18am
listen
A new Pentagon report on Iraq has told the White House armed militia gangs have replaced al Qaeda as the most dangerous accelerant inciting sectarian violence.
Shi'ite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army is singled out as the number one threat.
And in gloomy new figures on the violence, the report says attacks by insurgents and sectarian militias jumped 22 percent from mid-August to mid-November, and civilians suffered the bulk of casualties.
The average number of attacks reported each week has jumped during that period from nearly 800 to almost 1000.
Wonderful sounding new book, by Laura.
I think you are doing a fine job of writing and compiling.
granny
LauraMansfield] Insights derived from the 2006 Al Qaeda Yearbook
Insights derived from the 2006 Al Qaeda Yearbook
The copies of the 2006 Al Qaeda Yearbook arrived yesterday, and I spent
much of the evening looking through the book. (If you've already
ordered your copy, I'll be shipping it out today.)
You've heard the saying "You can't see the forest for the trees" as
well as its inverse "You can't see the trees because of the forest".
The Yearbook brings all of that home with a resounding thud.
There is something about having all 500,000+ words of Al Qaeda for one
year in one document that brings new perspective.
The index (nearly 50 pages of index is provided) is especially valuable
in review of the As Sahab-provided translations, which were available
for most of the tapes.
What becomes apparent as I review the "concordance" of phrases, words,
and names is that Al Qaeda uses multiple translators, each with their
own preferred Qu'ranic quotes, and each with their preferred "English
version" of the Qu'ran. In some tapes, the translator is clearly using
British English; in others he is using American English.
The spelling between names jumps out. There are four different
spellings of Shaykh Umar Abdel Rahman's name in the As Sahab translations.
What makes this information compelling is that these spellings and such
as consistent within each tape transcript, leading to the conclusion
that these transcripts were created by different individuals.
This compilation opens up a whole new area of analysis.
I am very excited about this - I'm sure my highlighter pens are going
to get a good workout.
You can order Qaeda 2006 Yearbook can be found at
http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/yearbook.asp
The Al Qaeda 2006 Yearbook: A Complete Reference and Translation of Al
Qaeda Messages in 2006
LauraMansfield.com announces the release of "The Al Qaeda 2006
Yearbook: A Complete Reference and Translation of Al Qaeda Messages in 2006".
The year 2006 was an especially prolific one for As Sahab, the media
production department of Al Qaeda. During the course of the year, they
released nearly three dozen messages. Of these, Six were messages from
Osama Bin Laden, 17 were messages from Al Qaeda second-in-command Dr.
Ayman al Zawahiri, one was from Azzam the American, and the remaining were
various Al Qaeda lesser known Al Qaeda personalities or videos of
operations in Afghanistan.
This reference guide includes the videos and audios produced and
released by As Sahab in 2006.
The "Yearbook" is heavily indexed, with extensive footnotes, and is
over 600 pages long.
It includes a full color video reference guide for each of the 2006
videos. This guide provides a valuable reference for visual identification
of the videos.
The "Yearbook" is available with or without a DVD containing each of
the videos released in 2006 by As Sahab.
The "Yearbook" is in stock and is available for immediate shipment.
It can be ordered at http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/yearbook.asp
Be Aware of a possible terror attack in Moscow.
I just heard some rumors about some terror act tomorrow. Apparently FSB warned the citizens of Moscow. You should be aware of anything special in the Metro and/or ground transportation. This means the electro or busses. They seem to expect something for the next days. Be careful and keep your eyes open.
Well, it has been a while since the last bomb went off. I mean the ones placed by black widows or Chechnians, not criminal acts, racists or some students experimenting like in the past days.
There was also just a warning on Itar-Tass: http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11160357&PageNum=0
Keep your head down and stay safe.
http://www.moscow-blog.com/?p=284
Last update - 18:34 16/01/2007
Israeli, Syrian representatives reach secret understandings
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
In a series of secret meetings in Europe between September 2004 and July 2006, Syrians and Israelis formulated understandings for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria.
The main points of the understandings are as follows:
An agreement of principles will be signed between the two countries, and following the fulfillment of all commitments, a peace agreement will be signed.
As part of the agreement on principles, Israel will withdraw from the Golan Heights to the lines of 4 June, 1967. The timetable for the withdrawal remained open: Syria demanded the pullout be carried out over a five-year period, while Israel asked for the withdrawal to be spread out over 15 years.
At the buffer zone, along Lake Kinneret, a park will be set up for joint use by Israelis and Syrians. The park will cover a significant portion of the Golan Heights. Israelis will be free to access the park and their presence will not be dependent on Syrian approval.
Israel will retain control over the use of the waters of the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret.
The border area will be demilitarized along a 1:4 ratio (in terms of territory) in Israel's favor.
According to the terms, Syria will also agree to end its support for Hezbollah and Hamas and will distance itself from Iran.
The document is described as a "non-paper," a document of understandings that is not signed and lacks legal standing - its nature is political. It was prepared in August 2005 and has been updated during a number of meetings in Europe.
The meetings were carried out with the knowledge of senior officials in the government of former prime minister Ariel Sharon. The last meeting took place during last summer's war in Lebanon.
Government officials received updates on the meetings via the European mediator and also through Dr. Alon Liel, a former director general at the Foreign Ministry, who took part in all the meetings.
The European mediator and the Syrian representative in the discussions held eight separate meetings with senior Syrian officials, including Vice President Farouk Shara, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, and a Syrian intelligence officer with the rank of "general."
The contacts ended after the Syrians demanded an end to meetings on an unofficial level and called for a secret meeting at the level of deputy minister, on the Syrian side, with an Israeli official at the rank of a ministry's director general, including the participation of a senior American official. Israel did not agree to this Syrian request.
The Syrian representative in the talks, Ibrahim (Abe) Suleiman, an American citizen, had visited Jerusalem and delivered a message to senior officials at the Foreign Ministry regarding the Syrian wish for an agreement with Israel. The Syrians also asked for help in improving their relations with the United States, and particularly in lifting the American embargo on Syria.
For his part, the European mediator stressed that the Syrian leadership is concerned that the loss of petroleum revenues will lead to an economic crash in the country and could consequently undermine the stability of the Assad regime.
According to Geoffrey Aronson, an American from the Washington-based Foundation for Middle East Peace, who was involved in the talks, an agreement under American auspices would call for Syria to ensure that Hezbollah would limit itself to being solely a political party.
He also told Haaretz that Khaled Meshal, Hamas' political bureau chief, based in Damascus, would have to leave the Syrian capital.
Syria would also exercise its influence for a solution to the conflict in Iraq, through an agreement between Shi'a leader Muqtada Sadr and the Sunni leadership, and in addition, it would contribute to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the refugee problem.
Aronson said the idea of a park on the Golan Heights allows for the Syrian demand that Israel pull back to the June 4 border, on the one hand, while on the other hand, the park eliminates Israeli concerns that Syrians will have access to the water sources of Lake Kinneret.
"This was a serious and honest effort to find creative solutions to practical problems that prevented an agreement from being reached during Barak's [tenure as prime minister] and to create an atmosphere of building confidence between the two sides," he said.
It also emerged that one of the Syrian messages to Israel had to do with the ties between Damascus and Tehran. In the message, the Alawi regime - the Assad family being members of the Alawi minority - asserts that it considers itself to be an integral part of the Sunni world and that it objects to the Shi'a theocratic regime, and is particularly opposed to Iran's policy in Iraq. A senior Syrian official stressed that a peace agreement with Israel will enable Syria to distance itself from Iran.
Liel refused to divulge details about the meetings but confirmed that they had taken place. He added that meetings on an unofficial level have been a fairly common phenomenon during the past decade.
"We insisted on making the existence of meetings known to the relevant parties," Liel said. "Nonetheless, there was no official Israeli connection to the content of the talks and to the ideas that were raised during the meetings."
Prior to these meetings, Liel was involved in an effort to further secret talks between Syria and Israel with the aid of Turkish mediation - following a request for assistance President Assad had made to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
That attempt failed following Israel's refusal to hold talks on an official level - and a Syrian refusal to restrict the talks to an "academic level," similar to the framework of the talks that had preceded the Oslo accords.
There was no initial formal response from the Prime Minister's Office after the story broke early on Tuesday. But the Israel Radio quoted unnamed senior Israeli officials as stating that Israel is not holding contacts with Syria.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/813817.html
January 16, 2007 PM Anti-Terrorism News
Update: (Iraq) 109 Killed in Scattered Baghdad Violence on Shiites
Areas
Explosions Leave Dozens Dead in Baghdad; Blast Kills 4 GIs
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243878,00.html
Pakistan warns against pre-emptive strike - against Al Qaeda in
Pakistan
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\01\16\story_16-1-2007_pg1_2
(CA) Court throws out bombing sentence - San Francisco 9th Circuit
vacates sentence for Millenium Bomber Ahmed Ressam
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070116/ap_on_re_us/millennium_terror_3
Court Decision (PDF)
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/E875C77831F8EDBD88257265005D92B1/$file/0530422.pdf?openelement
(UK) International terror suspect slips net in Britain - third terror
suspect to escape UK control order
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070116/wl_uk_afp/britainsecuritylaws_070116191643
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2007-01-16T190631Z_01_L1694834_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BRITAIN-CONTROLORDERS.xml&type=topNews&WTmodLoc=Top+News-C3-More-3
(UK) 7/21 Trial - 'Panic' as plotters' bomb attempts failed
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=429271&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
(UK) 'Only luck saved lives of commuters targeted by Muslim extremist
cell'
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=78912007
Terror Trial Transcript:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-1247545,00.html
Russian Security on High Alert After Being Warned About Possible Terror
Attack on Mass Transit
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243986,00.html
U.S. criticizes Russian arms sale to Iran
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070116/ts_nm/russia_iran_missiles_usa_dc_1
Iran claims it shot down U.S. spy plane
http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8510260294
Iranian president sent message to Saudi monarch about cooperation on
Iraq
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/16/africa/ME-GEN-Iran-Saudi-Iraq.php
(Turkey) Man Quizzed About Bigley - al Qaeda suspect is being
questioned in Turkey over the beheading of British engineer Ken Bigley in Iraq
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13563414,00.html
(Netherlands) Alarm over how-to internet bomb videos
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=35594
Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi Eulogizes Saddam Hussein in Friday Sermon on
Qatar TV
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD142707
Jimmy Carter on Al Jazeera: Palestinian Missiles Are Not Terrorism
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24024&only&rss
FOX Documentary: Hezbollah Inside America - Saturday, January 20th
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,244002,00.html
Related News:
US court okays ACLU suit to allow taking oath on Quran
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467747817&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
France tops European birthrate league
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2550502,00.html
16/01/2007 RIA Novosti Agence russe
Russia to be delicate mediator in Middle East
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070115/59100972.html
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentators Marianna Belenkaya, Pyotr
Goncharov) - In recent years, Moscow has acquired the role of a
delicate
mediator in the Middle East.
In June 2006, a French diplomat said in an informal conversation with a
RIA Novosti commentator at an international conference, "I wish we had
the same approach to the Middle East problems as Russia."
These words, voiced by a Western diplomat, and a Frenchman at that,
seemed surprising. Although Moscow and Paris were united in their
opposition to Washington and London on the war in Iraq, their views
differed on the developments around Syria and Lebanon.
Due to historic connections, Paris behaves in these countries much like
Washington in Iraq, provoking conflicts inside Lebanon and the region.
This way it robs itself of the opportunity to become a real mediator.
Russian diplomats, on the other hand, are maintaining contacts with
everyone. It was no coincidence that that Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora came to Russia looking for support in December 2006. His visit
took place days before the talks between Russian President Vladimir
Putin and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Asad.
No matter whether it is Iraq, Syria or Lebanon that is at issue,
Russia's stand is the same: the situation in the region cannot be
allowed to explode. Support of balance of forces and regional stability
is more important for Russian diplomacy than instant success like the
one the United States saw when it seized Baghdad in 2003 (and has not
known what to do with Iraq ever since).
Something similar can now happen in Syria and Lebanon, especially if
pressure on Damascus increases.
Russia does not want another conflict zone to emerge in a region
adjacent to its borders. It usually tries to find a compromise until
the
very last moment. It can hardly be accused of appeasing one of the
parties. It was to a large extent due to Russia's efforts that Syria
began cooperating with the UN commission investigating the
assassination
of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Moscow did not put
pressure on Damascus, nor did it hit it with loud accusations. Instead,
it engaged in a peaceful dialogue, trying to take into account Syria's
interests as well. Russia tried to adopt similar tactics in Palestine,
in relation to Hamas, inviting its leaders for talks in Moscow.
However,
it failed to establish a dialogue between Hamas and the West. Reasons
were many, including the parties' unwillingness to compromise. Yet this
does not mean that Russia should not have tried.
Moscow will continue its search for international compromises on Middle East problems. The Soviet era, when the country's policies in the
region
were dictated by ideology, is long gone; so is the beginning of the
1990s when Russia followed in the West's track and lost almost all of
its contacts in the Arab world. By now it has established a good
dialogue both with its old partners inherited from the Soviet Union and
with new ones, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel. It now has large-scale
economic projects in the region and security interests as well. It
cannot risk these gains because of another Middle East crisis.
Speaking of a crisis we cannot but mention Iran, which is a special
case
for Russian diplomacy.
Russian-Iranian relations today can be described as a limited strategic
partnership. The two countries seem to be doomed to such partnership in
some politically and economically important regions, such as Central
Asia, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. Moscow and Tehran cooperation
there is based on the principles of sound pragmatism and neighborly
support.
It has always been so. But now, in all of the three regions where
Russia
and Iran have interests, these interests do not collide, but supplement
each other.
A good example is the situation in Central Asia, Russia's traditional
area of influence, where Iran has recently mounted its economic
expansion. Nevertheless, Moscow has silently approved of it, as it is
unable to fill this important region on its own. Voids are filled fast,
and Russia's calculations are simple: the more Iran is represented in
the region, the less there will be of China, the United States and
Turkey.
As to the Caspian Sea, Iran is the only country that fully shares
Russia's stand on the issue of determining its international status,
which would fully rule out presence of third countries in the area.
Moscow and Tehran have similar positions on trans-Caspian oil and gas
pipelines as well. Other Caspian-related problems are either secondary
or insignificant.
The two countries follow the same principle when designing their
Caucasian policies. The Middle East is the only region to stand apart.
It is now popular to speak of Iran as of all but the key player there.
Most Russian experts believe that it is absolutely natural for a
country
with Iran's population, resources and history to aspire to a role in
the
region correspondent to its political weight and potential. Moscow also
supports the idea of engaging Iran (and Syria) in solving regional
problems.
But that is all. Iran would of course prefer to expand its strategic
cooperation with Russia to the entire Middle East, i.e. to turn
partnership into alliance, even if nominally. Yet it is hard to imagine
circumstances under which Moscow could agree to it.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may
not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
http://www.interfax.com/3/231364/news.aspx
15:49 GMT, Jan 16, 2007 Latest Headlines...
Ethnic Uzbek assaulted in Moscow metro
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Bakhrom Khamroyev, an ethnic Uzbek who
works at a Russian human rights group, suffered concussion when three
men attacked him in the Moscow metro on Sunday, Head of the Civil
Assistance group Svetlana Gannushkina said on Tuesday.
The attack on the group member "appears to have been a crime
motivated by ethnic hatred," Civil Assistance Head told Interfax.
"He was walking through the metro and talking on his mobile phone
when he was assaulted and beaten up by three men. As a result of the
assault, Khamroyev suffered concussion," Gannushkina said.
"I can't see any connection between the attack on Khamroyev and his
political and rights defense activities. It appears to have been a crime
from motives of ethnic hatred - there was no robbery, the attackers just
broke Khamroyev's phone," she said.
She added that the attackers did appear to have been skinheads.
Earlier, the Sova analytical center, which monitors racism and
xenophobia in Russia, told Interfax there had been several assaults
motivated by ethnic hate in Russia since the start of 2007.
In 2006, skinheads committed more than 500 racist assaults in
Russia, Sova Deputy Director Galina Kozhevnikova told Interfax.
"According to our incomplete information, 53 people were killed and
460 were injured in racist attacks in Russia in 2006," she said.
Such attacks took place in 40 regions, a list topped by the cities
of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
as la
http://www.interfax.com/3/231307/news.aspx
14:11 GMT, Jan 16, 2007 Latest Headlines...
Russia exports 35 mln carats diamonds, 100 tonnes PGM in 2006 - MinFin
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Russia exported 35 million carats of
uncut diamonds for $1.7 billion and 100 tonnes of platinum group metals
(PGM) for $1.5 billion in 2006, the Finance Ministry said in a
statement.
The figures include exports of diamonds from the Gokhran or State
Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository. However they do not include
exports of PGMs from the Gokhran's holdings, information about which is
classified.
The ministry said all of the PGMs were shipped initially to the
European Union before reaching their final destinations among consumers
in the United States, the EU itself and Japan.
The biggest importers of Russian uncut diamonds last year were the
EU, Israel, United Arab Emirates and nine other countries.
The Federal Customs Service has said that in 2005, Russia exported
127 tonnes of palladium for $823 million and 23 million carats of uncut
diamonds for $1.658 billion.
The Finance Ministry said that MMC Norilsk Nickel (RTS: GMKN), the
world's biggest nickel and palladium producer, was Russia's sole PGM
exporting company in 2006.
The Yakutia-based mining company Alrosa (RTS: ALRS) is the
country's biggest diamond producer. Alrosa mines a quarter of the
world's diamonds.
RTS$#&: ALRS, GMKN
http://www.interfax.com/3/231218/news.aspx
11:57 GMT, Jan 16, 2007 Latest Headlines...
U.S. refusal to extradite Nevzlin groundless - prosecutor
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Prosecutor General Yury Chaika regards
as groundless and wrong the arguments of U.S. authorities in their
refusal to extradite businessman Leonid Nevzlin, whom Russia has
declared internationally wanted.
"In our opinion, the references of our American colleagues to the
absence of a bilateral extradition agreement are wrong and groundless,
to put it mildly," he told the Moscow press on Tuesday.
The U.S. could meet the Russian side halfway and extradite Nevzlin,
who is charged with grave crimes in Russia, including contracting
murders, Chaika believes.
"After all there is the principle of reciprocity in the cooperation
of law enforcement bodies, if a bilateral agreement is absent," Chaika
said.
Hence the Prosecutor General's office is working on a proposal to
the United States to sign a bilateral extradition treaty.
"We are working on corresponding documents," he added.
ml md
Now, the Yukos man is wanted for murders:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Leonid+Nevzlin&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.google.com/search?q=charged+with+grave+crimes+in+Russia&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Interesting variety:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Russia+has+%0D%0Adeclared+internationally+wanted&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
http://www.interfax.com/3/231151/news.aspx
09:43 GMT, Jan 16, 2007 Latest Headlines...
Yukos executives returning to Russia, cooperating with investigation -prosecutor
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Former financial director of Yukos
[RTS: YUKO] Alexei Golubovich has returned to Russia and is actively
cooperating with investigators.
Interfax was told that Golubovich returned after consultations with
representatives of the Prosecutor General's office.
Prosecutor General Yury Chaika indirectly confirmed the information
talking to journalists on Tuesday.
"It is true that several key witnesses from among Yukos top
executives are returning home and actively cooperating with the
investigation," he said.
He named no one but said, "All of them have been guaranteed
security."
"We guarantee their security but don't promise that they will
receive immunity. If you are guilty, you have to answer to the law. Let
the court decide whether they are guilty or not," Chaika said.
ml md
http://www.interfax.com/3/231140/news.aspx
09:30 GMT, Jan 16, 2007 Latest Headlines...
News charges will be brought against former Yukos leaders - prosecutor(Part 2)
MOSCOW. Jan 16 (Interfax) - The Russian Prosecutor General's Office
intends to bring new charges against former Yukos [RTS: YUKO] CEO
Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, who are
already serving lengthy prison terms.
"New charges of theft and large-scale money-laundering will be
brought against them shortly," Prosecutor General Yury Chaika told the
press on Tuesday.
"Aggressive investigative actions are under way. The investigative
team of the Prosecutor General's Office is working very intensively," he
said.
At the end of last year, lawyers for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev said
that investigators had sent a document to their clients stating that
they would be considered as suspects in a new criminal case of theft and
money-laundering.
Chaika did not specify when new charges could be bought against
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev.
ml md
LOST IN TRANSLATION: ABBAS THREAT TO ISRAEL
LOST IN TRANSLATION: ABBAS THREAT TO ISRAEL
By Michael Widlanski Tuesday, 16 January, 2007
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas made a very militant anti-Israel speech
this week, but most of its violent message was lost in translation, because
Abbas used a somewhat obscure wording in Arabic.
"Let a thousand flowers bloom, and let our rifles, all our rifles, all
our rifles, be aimed at the Occupation," declared Abbas using an apparent
reference to the old oratory of Communist leader Mao Tse Tung.
Even non-Arabs well-schooled in Arabic had trouble figuring out the
strange verb form "da'a" used by Dr. Abbas, but it is a command form that
means "let us" or "leave us begin to" from the weak Arabic verbal root
Wa-da-'a (Waw, Dal 'Ayin). [See Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written
Arabic, p.1058]
The phrase is important in many ways, because it shows
.--That Dr. Abbas, who studied at the KGB's Patrice Lumumba University for
Third World leaders, continues to heed Communist revolutionary rhetoric and
tactics;
.--That Dr. Abbas is committed to the "revolutionary path" of Yasser Arafat,
who also saluted those using violence against Israel;
.--And that Abbas believes that the Palestinian revolution requires
continued violence against Israel, and that this violence can actually be a
unifying factor among Palestinians, though Abbas has said that the timing of
the violence is of critical importance.
"I say to the master of the martyrs," declared Abbas, saluting Arafat,
"your sons will continue your march. I say to you, your lion cubs will
continue this struggle (nidal), this battle (kifaah) until a Palestinian
state is established on the land of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.
Abbas, who spoke for more than 30 minutes on Jan. 11 in Ramallah, made
it clear that he was distinguishing between the "struggle" or "battle"
against Israel and the "fighting" among Palestinians.
"Firing weapons at a my brother my friend, my neighbor," declared Arafat's
successor, "is forbidden, forbidden, forbidden," repeating his words and
waving his left hand strongly.
But Abbas said the Palestinian struggle would continue despite setbacks.
"They have killed us everywhere, but this revolution, by virtue of the
determination of its people, by virtue of the determination of its
youth--this revolution has continued and it will continue until we fulfill
the Palestinian dream."
Abbas was speaking at the forty-second anniversary of the founding of
the Fatah organization-a day commemorating the first Palestinian attack on
Israel's national water carrier on January 1, 1965, and Abbas was trying to
use the occasion unify the divided Palestinian community, perhaps by using
Israel as a common enemy.
The Fatah Day speech was delayed by ten days of massive fighting between
Fatah and Hamas, both of which are wrestling for leadership of the
Palestinian Authority in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004.
"Since our launching to this day, we have believed in principles which we
shall not relinquish. From the dawn of our beginning we have said 'Let a
thousand flowers bloom and let our rifles, all our rifles, all our rifles,
be aimed at the Occupation.' And we will keep the oath, the renewed national
unity, for everyone who cares for the sake of the homeland and in the path
of the homeland," declared Abbas.
Frequently throughout his speech, Abbas referred to Arafat as martyr,
similarly describing those Fatah gunmen who died while carrying out
attacks on Israel.
Abbas's comments were interpreted by Palestinians themselves as a clear
reference to attacking Israel-a badge of honor rather than something to
condemn.
The Palestinian leader's words were repeated almost exactly in later
television shows by other Palestinian officials, such as Ibrahim Abu-Naja
and Dr. Kamal Sharafy who called Israel "the enemy" and "the Zionist enemy,"
respectively.
As if to remove any doubt about the militancy of Abbas's words and the
place to aim Palestinian rifles, minutes after Abbas's own speech,
Palestinian television's senior announcer, described Israel's establishment
as the beginning of "occupation."
"No one [here] is a criminal. All our people are as one hand to free our
land," declared Abbas, speaking about the struggle against Israel that
unites all Palestinians. Not once in his speech did he condemn or even
disapprove of continuing rocket attacks and attempted suicide assaults by
Hamas and by his own Fatah movement.
But Abbas made it clear that Palestinian violence had to be curtailed for
practical reasons, because it was "crossing a red line," endangering
Palestinians.
"I have heard the sound gunshots here, and that is forbidden," asserted
Abbas, the Fatah and PLO chairman, remonstrating against the largely
pro-Fatah crowd that gathered to listen to his words in the town of
Ramallah, north of Jerusalem.
"Condemning and preventing internal fighting," was his goal, asserted
Abbas, referring to the internal Palestinian blood-letting in which about
300 Palestinians died last year. Stopping this "falatan"-anarchy in Arabic-
was his regime's first priority, said Abbas, but his words did not seem to
convince the crowd.
"Hamas is a bunch of Shiites," cried members of the crowd, using the term
"Shiite" as a kind of curse, and Abbas again rebuked his own Fatah members,
saying, "This [kind of talk] too is forbidden," as he tried to strike
nationalistic and Islamic themes of unity, departing slightly from his
prepared speech.
[See Fatah website in Arabic
http://wafa.ps/arabic/cphotonews.asp?num=37134]
"No one [Palestinian] is outside our society," yelled Abbas. waving his
hands at the noisy crowd. He specifically saluted the late Sheikh Ahmad
Yassin, one of the founders of Hamas, which developed the human bomb attacks
that ravaged Israel from 1994-2004, after Israel signed several agreements
with the Palestinians.
"No one is a traitor. No one is a collaborator [with Israel]. No one is
an infidel," Abbas continued, strongly suggesting that anyone who has used
arms against Israel, even if he vied with Fatah for leadership, was still
not beyond the pale.
[Almost all Palestinians are Sunni Muslims and the term "Shi'a" in
Arabic, which means faction or faction member, refers to those Muslims who
broke away from the majority community after the death of Islam's leader,
Muhammad, and supported Ali, Muhammad's nephew. -MW]
In what was in many ways one of the most militant speeches against
Israel from a Palestinian official normally touted as a moderate, Dr. Abbas
also stretched out his hand to the Hamas terror organization that has
never even pretended it does not want to destroy Israel.
Dr. Abbas seemed to reject all possibilities of territorial compromise or
anything less than full repatriation of Palestinian refugees, and he
repudiated Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's idea that a further Israeli
withdrawal would lead to a Palestinian state inside temporary borders.
"Today more than any other day, we must hold fast to our Palestinian
principles, and we will not accept a state with temporary borders" said
Abbas, adding, "We will not give up one grain [of land] in Jerusalem."
Dr. Michael Widlanski is a specialist in Arab politics and communication at
the Rothberg School of Hebrew University, and his doctorate dealt with the
Palestinian broadcast media. He is a former reporter, correspondent and
editor, respectively, at The New York Times, The Cox Newspapers-Atlanta
Constitution, and The Jerusalem Post. He has also served as a special
advisor to Israeli delegations to peace talks in 1991-1992 and as Strategic
Affairs Advisor to the Ministry of Public Security, editing secret PLO
Archives captured in Jerusalem.
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_5010510
Gangbusters to hit L.A. streets
City, county to join forces, launch fight
BY RICK ORLOV, Staff Writer
LA Daily News
Article Last Updated:01/13/2007 09:35:03 PM PST
Amid soaring gang violence, Los Angeles city and county officials are preparing this week to launch a coordinated attack aimed at beefing up anti-gang efforts in the San Fernando Valley.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky are expected to announce Tuesday in North Hollywood that county Probation Department officers will be assigned to work with anti-gang units in the Valley.
The long-sought program will be equally funded by the city and county, although details were not immediately available on total cost or where the money will come from.
On Saturday, Villaraigosa delivered a citywide message of comfort and condolence to the families of victims of gang-related violence - and a warning to thugs.
"We will do all we can to prevent and intervene and help," Villaraigosa told a crowd of nearly 250 in the Harbor Gateway area, which has been wracked by recent violence.
"But to those who do harm to others, particularly innocent victims, you should know you will be asked to pay the consequences."
Already this year, the San Fernando Valley has seen several teens shot in what police said have been gang-related incidents. Last year, gang-related homicides in the Valley jumped nearly 30percent.
Officials have said closer cooperation between probation officers and anti-gang officers will help reinforce the effort to control gangs.
'Public Enemy No. 1'
Having probation officers work with the teams would be particularly valuable in reducing witness-intimidation cases as well as random acts of violence.
The probation-officer program is part of a broader anti-gang strategy Villaraigosa is pursuing, and it will be the centerpiece for a series of activities this week.
The mayor already has declared gang-related crime "Public Enemy No.1" this year, and he is scheduled to meet Friday with officials from the FBI to try to boost their involvement in pursuing gangs beyond the city's borders.
Beefing up patrols
The city also is beefing up police patrols in areas with the heaviest gang activity, and it is seeking additional gang injunctions and "stay away" court orders that prohibit gang members from going into neighborhoods where they don't live.
The mayor has met with U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to try to get additional federal funds for the effort, and he has met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state officials on the issue.
At Harbor Gateway - a working-class neighborhood made up of Latinos, African-Americans, whites and Asians - Villaraigosa said the community has to unite to fight gangs.
"We are here to show them that violence will not be tolerated," Villaraigosa said. "We have to promote tolerance and understanding and make it clear that violence against someone because of the way they look will not be allowed."
Violence is costly
It was in the Harbor Gateway community that 14-year-old Cheryl Green's dreams of being a doctor were shattered Dec.15 when she was shot.
Ernesto Alcarez, a Latino gang member, has been charged with one count of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted premeditated murder, with the special circumstances of murder to further a gang and murder based on race, in connection with the killing.
The killing was believed to be the latest evidence of escalating warfare between blacks and a Latino gang in the area. Police said Green was not involved with gangs and was shot because she was black.
Cheryl's mother, Charlene Lovett, carried a picture of her daughter and fought back tears as Villaraigosa and Councilwoman Janice Hahn embraced her.
Hahn told of how she and Lovett had walked the neighborhood looking for anyone who might have witnessed the shooting.
"As we went door to door, knocking on doors, people were afraid to open them," Hahn said. "I remember one Latino woman, who was just peeking out her door, and when we told her what had happened, she swung her door open and opened her house to us.
"We shouldn't have to do that. We have to take back our neighborhoods. It can be done."
The City Council this week also is scheduled to consider a study released Friday that reviewed the city's gang problems and what needs to be done.
The sweeping report estimated gang violence costs taxpayers and victims $2billion a year, and only sweeping reforms will be able to reverse the problem.
The report faults the city's previously piecemeal approach to prevention and intervention efforts and said a massive, comprehensive, regional approach is required.
rick.orlov@dailynews.com
(213) 978-0390
Moscow, that takes a bit of thinking about, as they have been saying that the terrorists were laying down their arms.
Right, we all believe that one.
When it happens in Russia, they will say the gangs of skin heads did it.
Will check a couple sposts and see if I can find more.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
