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
http://www.fedwaymirror.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=91&cat=23&id=815502&more=
Shooting puzzles police
Jan 20 2007
By PHILIP PALERMO
The Mirror
Tacoma police are investigating a shooting thats left two people injured, including one who walked into a Federal Way business asking for help.
The Tacoma Police Department received a call Jan. 17 from a resident claiming someone was shot outside their house, spokesman Mark Fulgham said.
At around the same time, Federal Way police were responding to a call from Engineering Consultants Northwest, a Federal Way business located near 356th Street and State Route 99.
Employees at the business called 911, claiming a young woman had been shot and needed an ambulance.
We were just sitting here working, said Barbara Ozanich, vice president of Engineering Consultants Northwest.
It was a little after 4 p.m. and there werent any customers up front, Ozanich said.
A young girl came in, opened the door and we assumed she needed help, she said.
Ozanich said they didnt know where the woman came from or why she was shot when they called 911.
You just go on automatic pilot, she said.
Fulgham said the two police departments later compared notes and discovered the shooting in Tacoma and the shooting victim in Federal Way were connected.
The names of the two shooting victims were not available at press time; however, Fulgham said the two were in the same vehicle driving through Tacoma.
At some point, the two, a male and a female, got into a disagreement. Fulgham said the male victim got out of the car and the two exchanged gunfire.
As of Thursday, Tacoma police had not yet talked to either victim.
Fulgham also said another person may have been in the car at the time. Police recovered the vehicle in Northeast Tacoma, miles from where either shooting victim was located.
A handgun was also recovered at the scene of the shooting.
This may have been some kind of drug-related deal. We dont have many details yet, he added.
Ozanich said the female shooting victim didnt give any details about why she was shot.
When she was here she just said nothing, Ozanich said. She just said she was walking down the street and had been shot.
Contact Philip Palermo: ppalermo@fedwaymirror.com or (253) 925-5565.
© Copyright 2007 Federal Way Mirror
Nepal Maoists disband government
The leader of Nepal's Maoists has formally announced that the parallel government set up by the rebels during their insurgency has been dissolved.
The declaration was made by the Maoist leader, Prachanda, on Thursday.
Correspondents say abolishing the Maoist administration which holds sway over large areas of rural Nepal is one of the key steps in the peace process.
The move comes after Maoists joined other parties in parliament, with elections due to be held in June.
Widespread relief
"As per the agreement reached with the government, our party declares that the people's governments and people's courts run by our party in the past have been dissolved from today," Prachanda said.
Earlier he said that his party has not abandoned the goal of making Nepal a communist state.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says there will be widespread relief in Nepal at Prachanda's statement about dissolving the parallel government.
Earlier this week, the Maoists began putting their weapons in storage as part of the peace deal agreed last year with the government.
A UN spokesman in Nepal, Ian Martin, told the BBC the weapons would still be accessible.
"The agreement doesn't envisage the weapons being put permanently beyond use at this stage," he said.
"On the contrary the agreement provides that both the Maoists and the equivalent number of Nepal army weapons will be locked under a single key system where the single key is retained by the army in question.
"They're being put under United Nations monitoring, not at this stage being put permanently beyond use."
Since the early days of the Maoist insurgency which lasted 10 years from 1996, huge numbers of Nepalis have been subject to what the Maoists called their people's government.
That has meant paying out large sums of money which the rebels call taxes and in rural areas having access to some mainly rudimentary Maoist infrastructure.
This included a large network of people's courts whose penalties were crude but swift and in some cases popular.
Without giving details, Prachanda said the Maoists had decided to have meetings with the people and apologise for past mistakes and weaknesses, which he admitted had been many.
But, as before, there was hardline rhetoric - he said that "regressive elements" continued to blame the rebels for having carried out extra-judicial killings.
Next step
The Maoists took their seats in an interim parliament on Monday.
The UN has played a critical part in brokering the peace deal.
Nine months ago the Maoists were still an outlawed group but they will now have a share of power in the Himalayan kingdom.
Under the interim constitution, they have about a quarter of parliament's 330 seats for their members.
These include a large number of women and members of marginalised social groups.
Joining the new interim government, probably in February, will be the Maoists' next step.
The constituent assembly being elected in June will decide whether to scrap the monarchy or not.
King Gyanendra was forced to give up direct rule last year after mass protests.
He has since been stripped of all powers and does not have even a ceremonial role in the interim constitution.
In separate developments Prachanda said that he and two other Maoist leaders were unable to participate in the interim government of Prime Minister GP Koirala.
He said that it would only be appropriate for them to join the legislature after elections to the chamber had been held.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6273535.stm
Published: 2007/01/18 16:17:06 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Four arrested with TNT in Mumbai
Four people carrying more than 6kg (14lb) of explosives have been arrested near a suburban railway station in the Indian city of Mumbai, police say.
The four were detained at the busy Andheri station after a tip-off.
Police have said they do not know whether the four were intending to detonate the explosives or were delivering them to others.
Last July more than 180 people were killed when seven bombs exploded in trains and at stations in Mumbai.
About 700 people were injured in those attacks.
Dozens of people have been charged with involvement in the attacks, which India blamed on its rival, Pakistan. Pakistan denied any involvement.
The four people arrested on Saturday were carrying trinitrotoluene, usually known as TNT.
"They were arrested with the TNT at Andheri following a tip off," V K Choubey, a senior police officer, told the AFP news agency.
The arrests come days before India celebrates Republic Day on 26 January.
The holiday has often been used as a pretext for launching attacks by separatists and protesters.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6282349.stm
Published: 2007/01/20 15:26:04 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Village leader shot dead in Assam
Separatist rebels in India's Assam state have shot dead a village councillor from the Congress party near the oil town of Digboi, police said.
The United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) claimed responsibility.
The group also said it has carried out bomb attacks on markets and oil pipelines over the last few days that have killed three people.
Ulfa is fighting one of India's longest running insurgencies to establish an independent homeland in Assam.
'Suicide squads'
An Ulfa commander said his fighters would now start killing leaders of the state's ruling Congress party unless the Congress government in Delhi stopped military operations against the group.
"For every Ulfa fighter killed by the Indian army, we will kill one Congress leader in Assam," Prabal Neog said in a statement.
Two weeks ago thousands of soldiers were ordered to fan out across the state in search of Ulfa rebels who police said had killed at least 70 people. Many of the victims were Hindi-speaking migrants.
Ulfa launched a wave of bomb and grenade attacks after talks between the group and the federal government broke down in September.
Seventy Hindi speaking migrants were killed in a week of attacks in northern Assam at the beginning of January.
More than 20 Ulfa members have been arrested by the army since operations against the rebel group were stepped up this month.
The rebels say India's central government exploits the state's rich resources such as tea and natural gas and does little for its people who are ethnically closer to Burma and China than to India.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6283741.stm
Published: 2007/01/21 04:48:16 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Spanish gangs clash with police
Gangs of youths have clashed with police in Spain's Basque country, throwing bottles and stones.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and made one arrest during the clashes in the northern town of Mungia.
It came two days after Spain's highest court ruled that three outlawed Basque youth organisations should be re-defined as terrorist organisations.
The court said it was because of their links to the armed Basque separatist group Eta.
The ruling means those convicted of being members of the groups Jarrai, Haika and Segi will face longer prison sentences.
Disturbances were reported in other towns across northern Spain.
Prosecutors have accused the gangs of committing low-level street violence in the region, including setting fire to buses and to cash machines.
Eta, which in the Basque language stands for Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque fatherland and freedom), has waged a violent campaign for autonomy from Madrid since its inception in 1959.
Eta had adopted a permanent ceasefire in March, but then claimed a December attack on Madrid airport which killed two people.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6284713.stm
Published: 2007/01/21 16:26:18 GMT
© BBC MMVII
http://www.lanuevacuba.com/nuevacuba/notic-07-01-2020.htm
Drafted By:
Pinr *
Infosearch:
José Cadenas
Analyst
Bureau Chief
USA
Research Dept.
La Nueva Cuba
January 20, 2007
The latest political developments in the Middle East demonstrate the rising power of Iran. Tehran is involved in three primary conflicts in the Middle East. First, it has extensive ties with the Shi'a movement Hezbollah, which Iran uses as an instrument of leverage in Lebanon and as a tool to pressure Israel. Second, Iran is involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its support of Hamas. Third, Iran's influence now extends into Iraq due to its relationship with the Iraqi Shi'a community. In addition to these three conflicts, Iran is also pursuing a controversial nuclear research program that could very likely be an attempt to acquire nuclear weapons in order to increase its regional power drastically.
During the past few years, Iran has worked to create alliances with both state and non-state actors who share the common goal of altering the political balance in the Middle East. As a result, Iran has formed alliances with Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and various factions in Iraq. It is incorrect to say that these are "Shi'a alliances." While the Shi'a component plays a large part in this coalition, it is not the core fundament. Hamas, for example, is a Sunni group and Syria is led by an Alawite family with a majority Sunni population. Instead, these actors have joined together due to the common interest of changing the present regional balance of power.
Iran's maneuverings in the Middle East have naturally raised concerns among the Arab states. The Arab countries are the traditional power brokers in the Middle East, and they see Iran as a threat to their regional influence and internal stability. This is particularly true for those countries that have large Shi'a minorities.
Saudi Arabia is especially concerned about Iran's rise. On the surface, official declarations made by both countries foster the perception that their relations are friendly. Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, recently met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz and said that "there is a suitable atmosphere for promotion of bilateral cooperation in all fields." The crown prince replied by claiming that an expansion of bilateral cooperation could bring benefits to the entire Muslim world. Despite these statements, a larger struggle for power is forming, which was evident during the most recent conflicts in the Middle East.
In Saudi Arabia, many Wahhabi religious leaders warn of the "Persian onslaught" and consider Iran a threat to Saudi interests, internal stability and the Muslim world. Already, the rise of Iran may be causing internal divisions within Saudi Arabia. Some analysts have claimed that the recent resignation of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, was a signal of an internal shift among the ruling family. Turki is considered a moderate when it comes to Iran and was supportive of dialogue with Tehran rather than confrontation. According to this theory, the rest of the ruling family supports the policy of preventing Iranian encroachment.
This theory must be placed into context with the current political conditions in Saudi Arabia. Criticism within the Wahhabi establishment, the internal struggle for political power among the prominent members of the Saud family, the inability of Riyadh to influence regional developments and Iran's growing power and influence are all factors that may undermine Saudi Arabia's ability to form a new foreign policy that will secure its role as one of the primary Middle Eastern powers.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran are rooted in Islamic history, and the two states have different geopolitical interests.
The Saudi-Wahhabi pact that was formed in the 18th century still represents the foundation of the Saud family's ability to retain power. One principle that this agreement is founded on is anti-Shi'ism since, according to the orthodox Wahhabi ideology, Shi'a religious practices are polytheistic and are at odds with the Islamic principle of tawhid, or monotheism. When Shi'a religious revolutionaries took control of Iran in 1979, it was a turning point for the entire region and for Saudi Arabia especially. The Iranian revolution represented a political model to follow not just for the Shi'a, but for much of the Islamic world; this model was in direct opposition to the Saudi model.
Moreover, the revolutionary rhetoric of the Iranian government was perceived as a threat to the internal stability of Saudi Arabia; Iran, for instance, has in the past called on Muslims to overthrow the Saudi ruling class. An additional factor is that approximately 10-15 percent of Saudi Arabia is Shi'a, and this population is heavily concentrated in the oil-rich Eastern Province inside the kingdom.
Both Saudi Arabia and Iran have, as their main goal, the aim of being the vanguard state of the Islamic world. This shared interest is the primary conceptual framework to understanding the moves and actions of both actors in the international system. Furthermore, Iran is attempting to pursue a strategy that will weaken U.S. influence in the Middle East; this strategy requires eroding Saudi Arabia's regional power since Riyadh is Washington's key regional ally.
Geopolitically, the Saudi-Iranian confrontation is occurring across the Middle East, in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. In these territories, Tehran and Riyadh are supporting a variety of actors who have different agendas.
In Iraq, Saudi Arabia is offering support to the Sunni Arab minority who are fighting to prevent the rise of the majority Shi'a. At this stage, the support may only be verbal, but there are accusations that Saudi Arabia is planning to step in Iraq more aggressively. Riyadh is concerned that a loss of power for Iraqi Sunnis will mean a loss of Saudi influence in Iraq. As a result, Saudi Arabia has placed pressure on the United States to keep the Iranians out of Iraq. This concern has grown even more pressing since the publication of the Iraq Study Group's report that suggested that Washington should engage Iran and Syria in building a new, more stable regional order based on the stabilization of Iraq.
The recent speech made by U.S. President George W. Bush -- where he failed to suggest that the United States would engage Iran and Syria diplomatically -- likely reassured Saudi Arabia. Indeed, in the recent meeting between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, al-Faisal declared, "We agree fully with the aims set by the new American strategy toward Iraq. In our view, these aims, if implemented, would resolve the troubles that face Iraq."
In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia supports Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet and the March 14 coalition, which represent the main "political inheritance" of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri -- who shared deeper relations with Riyadh -- against the rising pressure of Hezbollah's coalition. Moreover, in Lebanon, Riyadh is also moving to weaken Syria. This Saudi strategy is aimed at breaking the Tehran-Damascus axis so that it can neutralize Iran. [See: "Lebanon: A Strained Political Stalemate"]
Finally, in the Palestinian territories, Iran provides support to Hamas, while Saudi Arabia supports Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Again, these alliances reflect the regional struggle.
In conclusion, although official statements appear to be oriented toward positive relations, the geopolitical and ideological struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a reality inside the Middle East. Iran is on its way to becoming a major regional power, and it has joined forces with those entities that are unsatisfied with the present balance of power in the Middle East: Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi'a factions.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is searching for a new, more incisive strategy to counter the Iranian challenge. Riyadh is allegedly supporting Sunni actors in Iraq and is supporting the enemies of Hezbollah and Hamas. Saudi Arabia has also tried to prevent the United States from engaging Iran diplomatically since such a development would reward Iran by allowing it to achieve U.S. recognition as a permanent player in the region.
Therefore, as Iran continues to pursue increased power in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia will continue its attempts to subvert that power. The clash of power and interests between these two states will likely grow in the coming future.
* The Power and Interest News Report (PINR) is an independent organization that utilizes open source intelligence to provide conflict analysis services in the context of international relations. PINR approaches a subject based upon the powers and interests involved, leaving the moral judgments to the reader.
[2005 and a reminder of what is going on 90 miles from our coast...granny]
http://www.lanuevacuba.com/nuevacuba/notic-05-12-2620.htm
Fidel Castro
and his Chinese Friends
William Ratliff
The Independent
Infosearch:
José Cadenas
Bureau Chief
USA
Research Dept.
La Nueva Cuba
December 26, 2005
Cuba survived a decade of economic crisis in the 1990s after the collapse of its Cold War support network, the Soviet bloc. Now the Maximum Leader is building a new network, stretching from Caracas to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), that he thinks will get him through his economic foolishness in the years ahead.
Fidels affair with Venezuelas volatile President Hugo Chavez is a match made in Castroite heaven, but the relationship with China is more complicated. Why is the enormous Middle Kingdom, with its explosively growing economy, interested in an ancient dictator on a tiny Caribbean island who is mindlessly bound to failed statist economic policies? And vice versa?
In 1960, Cuba was the first Latin American country to recognize the PRC. Still, relations were often hostile for several decades because only the Soviet bloc could provide both sufficient economic aid to sustain Castros always-failing economy and a military shield against his chosen enemy, the United States.
With the lapse in the Sino-Soviet dispute in the 1980s, Sino-Cuba relations began to improve. In June 1989, the rapprochement fast-tracked when Cuba strongly endorsed Chinese repression at Tiananmen.
Today Sino-Cuba links fall into three broad categories: political, economic and strategic. Cuba benefits most from Chinas often overlapping political and economic support, while China wins most from obtaining intelligence on the U.S. through the Cuban government.
Fidel and Raul Castro, and most other top Cuban leaders, have visited China one or more times. Two Chinese presidents, most recently Hu Jintao, in November 2004, and many other top Chinese leaders, have visited Cuba. Besides pro forma calls for world peace and development, the two governments support each other on such issues as condemning the U.S. embargo of Cuba and supporting Chinas 2005 anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan.
Economically, Beijing is a pragmatic, quid pro quo ally. While China looks to eventually receive significant quantities of nickel from Cuba, in general Cuban exports to China are insignificant. But China is Cubas third largest trading partner, behind only Venezuela and Spain. In varying degrees, China supports Cuban education, oil exploration, nickel mining, technological development and transportation infrastructure.
Looking beyond Fidel, Raul Castro, the heir apparent, and many other current Cuban leaders, are fascinated by the Chinese style economic reforms that Fidel rejects. That is, maintaining considerable political control but undertaking some serious, systematic market-oriented economic reforms to escape perpetual economic malaise.
The payoff for China is a very welcome window from which to observe the United States. Consider that Washington watches China from military bases all over Asia, space satellites and surveillance planes, one of which was forced to land on the Chinese island of Hainan in early 2001 and precipitated the first Bush Administration showdown with the PRC. China, however, has no military bases abroad and no planes flying along U.S. coasts.
Also consider that while the U.S. complains about Chinas military modernization and possible future aggression abroad, China has solid evidence of actual U.S. military aggression against sovereign countries, whether Americans approve the actions or not, by Bill Clinton in Yugoslavia in 1999 and George Bush in Iraq in 2003. Add to that the sophisticated arms Washington sells to Taiwan, an island both Beijing and Washington (and Taipei, until recently) consider part of one China.
U.S. officials will not talk seriously about Sino-Cuban strategic issues, though they do say China is involved in developing capabilities in intelligence, cyber warfare and communications that may affect the region. Sometimes citing unevenly reliable press reports as evidence, the specific areas of concern seem to be Lourdes and Bejucal, both near Havana.
Lourdes, for decades the largest Soviet overseas espionage base, now seems to be mainly a new University of Information Sciences (UCI). Hu Jintao visited the campus in 2004 and said that most of the thousands of computers there are from China. The unanswerable questions are what else at UCI comes from China and what the PRC gets in return.
The base at Bejucal may have Chinese as well as Cuban agents, but at least some of the published information is overblown. For example, a widely circulated photograph of awesome golf-ball shaped radar domes, allegedly at Bejucal, are in fact a U.S. facility at Menwith Hill Station, UK.
Washington and Beijing have not ranted at each other since the Hainan EP-3 incident almost five years ago. Why? Perhaps because both have decided the current placement of surveillance networks is a tolerable tradeoff for now in a dangerous, suspicious, imperfect world.
Future Sino-Cuban relations will depend on unpredictable developments in China, Cuba, the U.S. and beyond. They could range from Chinas more intensive use of Cuban bases and contacts in the Americas, particularly under a post-Fidel authoritarian government, to Bejing deciding Fidel is too much of an expense and embarrassment to support, particularly if facilities in Cuba could be traded off in a deal with the U.S. on Taiwan.
* William Ratliff is Adjunct Fellow at the Independent Institute, Research Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and a frequent writer on Chinese and Cuban foreign policies.
This report covers several pages and it is in english.
http://www.lanuevacuba.com/axis-eje-cuba-china.htm
LOS CAMBIOS CIVILES Y MILITARES EN CHINA
ELITES, INSTITUCIONES Y CONCEPCIONES
I- 3 4-6
5-7 8-12
Editado por Andrew Scobell
y Larry Wortzel
Carlisle Barracks
Pennsylvania
U.S. War College
E.U.
Auspiciado por:
The American Enterprise Institute
The Heritage Foundation
The Army War College
Archivos
Dept. de Investigaciones
La Nueva Cuba
Septiembre 1, 2004
[June 2001]
http://www.lanuevacuba.com/archivo/notic-01-06-1229.htm
China Secretly
Shipping Cuba Arms
By Bill Gertz
The Washington Times
Washington D.C.
Infosearch:
José F. Sánchez
Analista
Jefe de Buró
Cuba
Dept. de Investigaciones
La Nueva Cuba
June 12, 2001
At least three arms shipments were traced from China to the Cuban port of Mariel over the past several months. All the arms were aboard vessels belonging to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co. (Cosco), according to U.S. intelligence officials.
Intelligence officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said details of the arms shipments are sketchy but all involved a "known Chinese arms dealer" who arranged the transfers.
One of the cargoes was described as dual-use explosives and detonation cord. The explosives were said to be "military-grade" material.
The latest shipment took place in December. That arms delivery coincided with the visit to Cuba in late December by China?s military chief of staff, Gen. Fu Quanyou. Gen. Fu signed a military cooperation agreement with Havana aimed at modernizing Cuba?s outdated Russian weapons.
The arms shipments to Cuba could lead to the imposition of economic sanctions on China and Cosco, according to U.S. officials.
A 1996 amendment to the 1962 Foreign Assistance Act requires that economic sanctions be imposed on any nation or company that provides lethal military assistance to a nation designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. Cuba is on the State Department?s list of nine nations designated as supporters of global terrorism.
Sanctions would disrupt a major portion of the U.S.-Chinese shipping market controlled by Cosco, whose business lines include port terminals and warehousing, insurance, real estate and hotel management.
Cuba has been increasing its ties to China in recent months. In April, Chinese President Jiang Zemin traveled to Havana and signed agreements worth about $400 million in loans to Havana.
Other Chinese activities in Cuba include electronic eavesdropping on the United States and Chinese government radio broadcasting, according to U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports. China also recently agreed to modernize Cuba?s telecommunications network.
A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the arms shipments.
Spokesmen for Cosco could not be reached for comment.
Wei Jiafu, Cosco group president and chief executive officer, told reporters and editors of The Washington Times on June 2 that the shipping line has no connection to the Chinese military and is only interested in making money.
Mr. Wei insisted during the interview that the People?s Liberation Army had no influence on the company?s operations or global business strategy. However, the shipper?s only shareholder is the Chinese government.
Mr. Wei and other Cosco officials were in the United States to meet port officials in Massachusetts, where they had reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Port Authority to begin a weekly shipping service between Shanghai and Boston beginning next year.
Cosco has been linked in the past by U.S. intelligence agencies to illegal smuggling and international arms trafficking.
James Mulvenon, a China analyst with the RAND Corp., said that the Chinese Communist Party?s military organ approved establishment of Cosco as an arm of the Chinese navy in 1985.
Mr. Mulvenon stated earlier this year, in his book "Soldiers of Fortune," that Cosco?s establishment "legitimized the use of navy ships for civilian shipping and thus provided a legal cover for the navy?s smuggling."
The Chinese navy was linked in 1985 to illegal smuggling in foreign cars, vans, TVs and VCRs out of Hainan island in the South China Sea, he wrote.
In 1998, U.S. intelligence agencies tracked a Cosco freighter from Shanghai to Karachi, Pakistan, with a load of weapons-related goods, including specialty metals and electronics used in the production of Chinese-designed Baktar Shikha anti-tank missiles.
The shipment was carried aboard a vessel owned by the company subsidiary Cosco Tianjin.
The arms transfers by Cosco ships contradict statements to Congress made in 1997 by National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger, who told senators there was no credible evidence linking Cosco to illegal activity, including arms smuggling.
Edward Timperlake, a former House committee investigator, said a Cosco executive was among a group of Chinese officials who were granted access to the White House and to Mr. Clinton?s weekly radio address in 1995 -- days after Democratic Party fund-raiser Johnny Chung made a large payment to the White House for the president?s re-election campaign.
The visit was checked by White House National Security Council aide Robert Suettinger, who wrote in a memorandum that giving White House photographs to the group of Chinese officials and Chung, who in 1998 pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions, would not cause "any lasting damage to U.S. foreign policy."
Mr. Suettinger, who described Chung as a "hustler," also stated in a White House memo: "And to the degree it motivates him to continue contributing to the [Democratic National Committee], who am I to complain," Mr. Suettinger said. "Cosco is the merchant marine arm of the PLA Navy," Mr. Timperlake said. "If the Chinese military ever mobilized troops for action against Taiwan, Cosco would be part of the operation."
Cosco ships would provide arms and logistics support for Chinese military operations, U.S. officials said.
Al Santoli, a national security aide to Rep. Dana Rorhabacher, said Cosco is well-known for worldwide support of Chinese weapons sales.
ummary Report
More conflict in post-war Somalia, 4 dead - Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2007/01/20/four_die_in_somalia_shootout/
Concepts:
Islamists, government, Reuters, Mogadishu, Somalia, peacekeepers,
Ethiopian, troops, Globe, mission, peace, supporters, returning, opened
fire, gunman.
Summary:
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali gunmen battled government and Ethiopian
troops on Saturday in a crowded Mogadishu market, killing four people
in the latest flare-up after a war that ousted Islamists, witnesses and
officials said.
continues..............
More and more stories that have the nazi skinheads commiting murder and getting away with it and other creimes in Russia.
Looks like a useful site, this article is a good one:
http://seansrusskiiblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/from-knives-to-bombs-new-wave-of-nazi.html
I can't get away from the thoughts of hitler's nazi youth and now we see them active in russia....Why?
On this page, he has several of the old blues songs to listen to, an interesting read, even if not what I was looking for.
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/
On this page, I found a lovely tribute to Anna P.:
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2006/10/face-of-courage.html
Monday, October 09, 2006
The face of courage
This is Anna Politkovskaya, as shown on the front page of yesterday's online edition of Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper in Moscow for which she wrote.
The newspaper's tribute stated, in part:
She was beautiful. What's more, as the years went by she just became more beautiful. After all, at first God gives us a face just to get us started; then we shape our own face--by the way we live.
And then they also say that in maturity our soul begins to show on our face. Her soul is beautiful.
She was feminine. She could be charming as she laughed at a successful joke; she wept at injustice. But she regarded any injustice--whoever it might be related to--as a personal enemy. An enemy to be struggled with to the end.
She was amazingly courageous. Far more courageous than those many many macho types with their armor-plated vehicles, surrounded by bodyguards.
They threatened her, tried to frighten her with surveillance and searches. In Chechnya "our" commandos arrested her and threatened to put her in front of a firing squad. On her flight to Beslan she was poisoned. She pulled through. And though after that her health was never the same, her greatest sensitivity to pain remained, as always, in her conscience.
Many people, even our newspaper's well-wishers, sometimes said, "Well, your Politkovskaya ... maybe she went just a bit too-too ...." Not at all! She always wrote the truth. The truth might be so horrible that many go into denial, but that's beside the point. It's that defensive reaction that comes up with "just a bit too-too." Sometimes even in our editorial team.
Probably the hardest thing for an ordinary person is not to turn away from terrible things. But when you look evil straight in the eyes, it can't stand it, and backs off. Anya looked evil straight in the eye. And maybe that's why she emerged victorious from difficult situations. And maybe that's why she survived when averted eyes would not have survived.
For us, Anya still remains alive. We will never reconcile ourselves with her death. And whoever took it upon themselves to commit this barbaric murder--in the center of Moscow in broad daylight--we ourselves will search for them. And we can guess where they might be....
Anne Applebaum responds to this terrible story with a thoughtful and subdued Washington Post column, "A Moscow Murder Story." She and some other commentators come close to accusing Vladimir Putin and his associates for creating the climate in which political contract killings occur, if not actually signing the contracts, but I have my doubts. Aside from the moral issues involved (which may or may not play a role with power politicians--who am I to say?), all Putin needs to make his life complete is political assassins running around Moscow just when he's trying to create at least a semblance of stability. It seems more likely to me that someone personally threatened with exposure by Anya's journalism would be the most likely suspect.
What should the politicians say at a time like this? Both Putin and Chechnya's Kadyrov have expressed condolences; Putin has pledged a full and objective investigation. To my utter frustration, most Russians interviewed in the media seem to be totally cynical about such pledges (example); the cynicism may be justified but it doesn't help the cause of justice, especially for one who was unafraid to "look evil in the eyes." Cynicism simply solidifies evil's victory. In the meantime, Novaya Gazeta has pledged nearly a million dollars in reward money to help find the guilty.
Our own (Western) politicians are also responding to the murder. George Bush says, "Like many Russians, Americans were shocked and saddened by the brutal murder of Anna Politkovoskaya, a fearless investigative journalist, highly respected in both Russia and the United States." I hope it is equally true that "Americans" and American leaders are shocked and saddened by the fates of journalists in Iraq killed by coalition gunfire.
Are our kids teaching the jihadi, or being taught, this is a teachers blog, it is interesting, about kids and my place...
granny
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/
Happy Slapping is not happy!
I can give you so many examples! My students tell me about the "Happy Slapping" trend to have one teen film and another walk up and slap a stranger. The video is then posted to youtube. A January 2005 article from the TES, Teaching Ideas & Resources magazine in England, quotes a teacher who says:
"The school fight you used to deal with is now a media event, with an audience around the whole school and, potentially through email, the whole of London and the country."
A student at the same school justified the practice and says:
"It tells other schools how hard your school is. It's proof. Then they try and send you something worse, go one better."
The private pain of the famous Star Wars Kid
My students also told me the story about the Star Wars kid, a video that almost every student who watches YouTube seems to have seen (it has been viewed 900 million times.) Here is how they have told the story to me:
This child was "goofing off" at school and filmed himself playing with a light saber (a plain stick). He goes to his next class and some of his "friends" come in and find it on the camera. They edit the film and put in a real "light saber" and sound effects and post it on the Internet via Kazaa file sharing service. Others took the video and replaced the saber with other funny items (one even said a banana.) The family was so distressed as the video became increasingly popular. Their child became a "virtual celebrity" and the subject of a global joke that he eventually changed his name (which was posted on the video) and moved to another state.
I did some research and in July 2003, the parents sued the classmates who posted the video. It has now taken on a new life in YouTube!
Everybody's doing it!
We live in a society that is now replete with spying devices - mini video capture devices where video can sit for years! Don't think it is just the wealthy who have these devices! David Warlick recently blogged about a $19 video recorder he saw!
Another view point on the jihadi American, Adam Gadahn, interesting and with a different twist of the facts, makes more sense.
http://theminorityreportblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/adam-gadahn-got-california-state.html
http://www.vectorsite.net/avtomcat_2.html#m1
Iranian Tomcats / Tomcat Improvements
v1.1.0 / chapter 2 of 2 / 01 nov 06 / greg goebel / public domain
* The only export user of the Tomcat was Iran, which obtained the F-14A, with the type seeing combat in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. In the meantime, the US Navy had gone on to acquire the improved F-14B and F-14D in limited numbers. Navy F-14s kept busy in the post-Cold War world, being given improvements and even being pressed into the strike role as the "Bombcat", not long before the type's retirement in 2006.
[2.1] TOMCAT IN IRANIAN SERVICE
[2.2] F-14B / F-14D
[2.3] PROPOSED TOMCAT VARIANTS / TOMCAT UPGRADES
[2.4] BOMBCAT / TOMCAT IN SERVICE 1992:2005
[2.5] COMMENTS, SOURCES, & REVISION HISTORY
[2.1] TOMCAT IN IRANIAN SERVICE
* The only foreign user of the F-14 was Iran. The Shah of Iran ordered 40 "F-14AGRs" in 1974, followed by 40 more in 1975. They were almost stock F-14As with some minor changes, such as a desert survival kit, no carrier landing system, and no door over the retractable flight refueling probe. There was considerable concern that Iran was biting off more than it could chew with the Tomcat, but the Shah wanted an interceptor that could deal with intrusions by Soviet MiG-25 reconnaissance aircraft over Iran's northern border. The Tomcat and its Phoenix missile seemed to fit the bill.
79 new-build aircraft were delivered before the Shah's downfall in the Iranian Revolution and his death from cancer not long afterward. The 80th Iranian Tomcat was retained stateside by the US Navy. 284 of the 714 Phoenix missiles on order were also delivered. These were simplified versions of the missile, lacking the electronic counter-countermeasures capabilities of their US Navy equivalents. Iranian F-14s were painted in a neat, thoroughly un-naval desert camouflage scheme featuring a sand-colored base and banding with several shades of brown.
The story of the operations of Iranian Tomcats during the Iran-Iraq War remained unknown for a long time, but sketchy details have been gradually leaking out of the Islamic Republic, and it appears the Iraqis were thoroughly frightened of it. It also appears that Iranian pilots had no doubt about the effectiveness of the Phoenix AAM. One commented: "The AIM-54 was truly a deadly system. During the testing in Iran, we tracked an AIM-54A at Mach 4.4 and 24,000 meters before it scored a direct hit on the target drone. This large and hefty missile had no snap-up or snap-down limits, and could maneuver at up to 17 gees." A handful of the Iranian AIM-54s had been sabotaged by American technicians before they left Iran, but the rest, stored in packing crates, were undamaged, and the sabotaged missiles were returned to service.
An Iranian Tomcat claimed a cannon kill on an Iraqi Mil-25 Hind helicopter gunship on 7 September 1980, even before the Iraqis invaded Iran, and on 13 September 1980 an Iranian pilot claimed a Phoenix kill on a MiG-21. The war began in earnest on 22 September, with the Iraqis advancing rapidly at first. Iranian F-14s were put to work driving off Iraqi intruders; since both sides couldn't count on obtaining spares to keep their aircraft flying, with obtaining replacements being even more troublesome to consider, the air war was not all that aggressive, since neither side wanted to commit their air assets unless they had to.
There was still air combat. One Iranian pilot claimed to have fired four AIM-54s, with a launch against a group of Iraqi MiG-23s in July 1982 causing both the target and his wingman to simply disappear off the radarscope. Iranian pilots stated that eventually the Iraqis would simply turn tail when they were illuminated by an AN/AWG-9 -- as well they might, since the Tomcat could pick them off even before they could see it in return. In close combat, the Tomcat was still superior to the MiG-23, able to out-turn it and catch up easily if the MiG tried to flee. When Iranian Tomcat pilots later heard critical comments about the F-14 being an "expensive failure", they just laughed.
Lack of spares gradually grounded more and more Iranian F-14s; by 1986, only 25 were still combat-worthy. The Phoenix had to be retired in that year, since the Iranians had run out of thermal batteries needed to keep them operational. The Iranians did prove ingenious in implementing their own systems for the Tomcat, and it is believed some may still be flying.
* The Soviet Union obtained both the F-14 and the Phoenix missile for reverse-engineering from Iran. It is unclear if this was done by the Iranian Islamic Republic's government or by a defecting Iranian pilot. F-14 technology may have influenced development of the Soviet MiG-31 "Foxhound" or "Super Foxbat", and it seems very likely that the Phoenix had a strong influence on the Soviet "AA-9 Amos" AAM, since the two missiles closely resemble each other externally.
This loss was something of a blow to the US, since the US Navy had been very careful not to compromise the Tomcat's secrets. On 14 September 1976, a Phoenix-armed F-14A had rolled off the deck of the US Navy carrier JOHN F. KENNEDY in the North Sea, with the crew ejecting safely. Of course a Red Navy cruiser had been shadowing the American carrier group and presumably the Soviet sailors didn't fail to notice the bungle, and so the Navy performed an expensive eight-week deep-water recovery effort to retrieve the fighter. It is unclear if it ever returned to service after recovery, though it seems a bit unlikely.
In any case, the Phoenix was compromised at the same time that the AIM-54C variant was in development. As a result, the missile's development program was modified to ensure that the new variant of the Phoenix could defeat countermeasures developed against older variants.
BACK_TO_TOP
continues,
Many other Planes:
http://www.vectorsite.net/sitemap.html
Secret codes:
http://www.vectorsite.net/ttcode.html
Hezbollah-led opposition calls for general strike
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/regional.asp?dismode=article&artid=1851765768
Hezbollah-led opposition calls for general strike
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition called yesterday for a
general strike next week as part of efforts to step up its campaign
against the pro-Western Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government. The
group, led by the militant Shiite Hezbollah party, said the strike,
which would start Tuesday, would be a response to Saniora's failure to
meet the "legitimate and rightful demands of the people." "The
opposition is resorting to its popular base as a means for escalating
the peaceful and democratic protest, and calls on the Lebanese to
freely
express their national and political choice," said the group's
statement, faxed to The Associated Press. It also said the government
had "belittled and scoffed at the massive, democratic, well-mannered
and
civilized protests and sit-ins in downtown Beirut," launched Dec 1.
The opposition has staged the daily street protests and set up hundreds
of tents outside the prime minister's office, paralyzing Beirut's city
centre to press for stronger political power, or to force Saniora to
quit. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah announced on Friday that
the opposition would wage an "effective, important and very big action"
to pressure Saniora to cede power. Separately, Lebanon's powerful
labour
union federation yesterday called on its 350,000-strong rank and file
to
also go on strike Tuesday, to protest Saniora's planned tax hikes that
are part of his economic reform program. "Let's make January 23 a day
of showing popular willpower and a day of protest against injustice and
oppression," said the union, which has supported the Hezbollah
opposition.
The Syrian and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its supporters, including
the National Patriotic Movement led by Gen. Michel Aoun, a Maronite
Christian, have staged massive protests and daily sit-ins in downtown
Beirut, 100 meters from Saniora's office. The opposition wants a
national unity government in which it would have veto power to block
passage of bills by Saniora, such as one on setting up an international
tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafiq Hariri, assassinated in a truck bomb explosion last February.
Hezbollah opposes the tribunal, called on by a UN Security Council
resolution. UN investigators have implicated Syrian intelligence
officials in the attack, and four pro-Syrian Lebanese intelligence
officers are under arrest in Lebanon in connection with it. The calls
for a general strike came just days before a Jan 25 Lebanon donors
conference in Paris, designed to attract foreign financial assistance,
badly needed after the summer Hezbollah-Israel war that severely hurt
the Lebanese economy. The opposition has criticised the Paris
conference, claiming the donor money and loans, which local analysts
set
around US$ 5 billion - would only increase the national debt and
further
weaken the economy. _ AP
Taleban pledge $1m for Islamic schools
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2559545,00.html
Taleban pledge $1m for Islamic schools
Tim Albone in Kabul
Taleban rebels, known for burning down schools, banning girls from the
classroom and killing teachers, have pledged to open their own schools,
offering a strict Islamic education, in southern Afghanistan.
"From March to July, the Taleban movement will open all the schools in
the districts under their control," a spokesman, Abdul Hai Mutmayn,
said. It is believed that the teachers will be brought from schools in
Pakistan into the provinces of Helmand Kandahar, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Farah
and Zabul.
"In the schools, all the textbooks and subjects which were being taught
under the Taleban Government will be taught. This will cost $1 million
[£500,000] and the Taleban movement will pay for that," said Mr
Mutmayn.
The Taleban regime that fell in 2001 forbade geography, physics,
mathematics, biology and modern history. Children were taught about the
Koran and the Prophet's life and were told not to greet the teacher as
Sir or by his name but with an Allahu akbar (God is greatest).
Taleban rebels destroyed almost 200 schools last year and killed 41
teachers. In the south they have closed schools outside main towns or
cities by intimidating teachers.
Opponents said that the Taleban's announcement was a publicity stunt to
undermine the Kabul Government. The Taleban were "not in a position to
open schools; day by day they are chased by the coalition", Daad
Noorini, a political commentator, told The Times
Cousins deny any links to al Qaeda
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21097135-38195,00.html?from=public_rss
Cousins deny any links to al Qaeda
By Michael Georgy in Johannesburg
January 22, 2007 04:22am
Article from: Reuters
TWO South Africans denied they had any links to al Qaeda today after
the
United Nations Security Council named them as suspects.
South Africa's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa confirmed a
report in the local Sunday Times that Farhad Ahmed Dockrat and his
cousin Junaid Ismail Dockrat were put on the UN list of suspected
militants on Friday.
Papers submitted by the United States to the Security Council alleged
Mr
Junaid is an al Qaeda "financier, recruiter and facilitator" who
coordinated the travel of South Africans to Pakistan to train with the
militant group, said the newspaper.
Mr Junaid, a Johannesburg dentist, said there was no truth to the
allegations.
"This is absolutely false. I have nothing to do with al Qaeda or any
militant group," he said.
"I am sure our Government will exonerate me of these charges. We have a
democracy. It is unfortunate that the power of the United States can
have an impact on every aspect of my life and could hurt my standing in
the community."
Denials
Mr Farhad, a cleric who lives near Pretoria, also dismissed the
accusations and said he was an ordinary mosque preacher.
"These allegations are not true. I preach from the pulpit to students
and other members of the public. I have no ties with any militant
groups," he said.
The United Nations could freeze the two men's assets and prevent them
from leaving South Africa, which assumes the presidency of the UN
Security Council in March.
Asked if South Africa would take action against the two men, Mr Mamoepa
said: "We are waiting for directives from the minister of foreign
affairs."
US officials say al Qaeda operatives are in Somalia, Sudan and North Africa, while fund raising and recruiting have become a serious worry
in
South Africa, Nigeria and the trans-Sahara region.
Mr Junaid said later in a statement that he had only learned that his
name had been put on the UN list through the media.
"I am a law abiding citizen and am prepared to contest the allegations
in a court of law," he said.
"I have full confidence that our Government will not yield to pressure
to act in a manner that would deprive me of my constitutional rights
and
I would like to be presumed innocent."
The United States believes al Qaeda would like to extend its reach and
create a new safe haven in Africa's vast, hard-to-govern regions.
Africa, with its rich energy and mineral reserves, has become
increasingly important to Pentagon strategists as they prepare for the
expected return of battle-hardened African Islamists from Iraq over the
coming years.
Experts say it is difficult to root out al Qaeda because it inspires
militants around the world who have no direct ties to the group but
heed
its calls for holy war.
Ahmadinejad seeks spending hike in new Iran budget
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/business.asp?dismode=article&artid=1418538222
Ahmadinejad seeks spending hike in new Iran budget
TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday unveiled his
second annual budget, forecasting a sharp 20 per cent increase in
spending but lower oil revenues for Opec's second largest exporter.
He asked parliament to approve a budget of 2,290 trillion rials (about
248 billion dollars) for the next Iranian year starting on March 21, a
19.6 per cent rise on current expenditure.
It was based on projections that Iranian oil will sell for 33.7 dollars
a barrel, compared to 40 dollars in the current year's budget.
Ahmadinejad has come under sharp domestic criticism over his
government's increasing dependence on petrodollars and its inability to
control inflation, which is officially at 12 per cent but which
economists believe is at least 20 per cent.
"The future is not predictable. It is possible that our enemies want to
reduce oil prices to hurt us, that is why we have set the price at 33.7
dollars per barrel to show we are ready for anything," Ahmadinejad told
parliament.
"Even if they reduce oil prices we will be ready to handle it."
Crude prices have plummeted from 68 dollars to about 50 dollars
per barrel in the past six months. Iranian oil usually sells for about
10 dollars less.
Iran's economy is heavily dependent on oil revenue, which accounts for
80 per cent of total exports earnings and covers more than 50 per cent
of the state budget.
The country is also grappling with UN sanctions imposed last month over
its disupted nuclear programme and has been under unilateral US trade
sanctions for almost three decades.
Ahmadinejad swept to power in a June 2005 election on the back of
promises to "bring oil money on to people's tables" and remove the gap
between rich and poor.
But in a public statement last week 150 lawmakers in the
conservative-controlled parliament issued a budget warning, calling on
Ahmadinejad to cut down on government spending and reduce reliance on
oil revenues.
The move was considered by the Iranian press as an sign of growing
concerns which could encourage MPs to demand major changes to the
budget.
MPs have also expressed concern over rising housing prices which
according to independent experts have increased by 25 per cent in the
past few months.
Presenting his budget bill yesterday, Ahmadinejad said the government
would reduce its foreign currency spending from a current 38 billion
dollars to 29.5 dollars in the next Iranian year.
"Oil revenues will constitute 42.9 per cent of the state budget,
lowered
from a current 58.3 per cent," he said.
In addition to falling global crude prices, Iran is faced with UN
Security Council sanctions imposed on Tehran for its refusal to suspend
controversial uranium enrichment work-a process in nuclear fuel cycle
which the West fears could be diverted towards weapons development.
The sanctions include a ban on selling materials and technology that
could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and the freezing
of assets of Iranian companies and individuals involved in these
programmes.
Iran's economy has been suffering from unilateral US trade sanctions
since 1979 Islamic revolution and in the past few months several
international banks have restricted their dealings with Iran under US
pressure.
But a defiant Ahmadinejad yesterday vowed Iran will never bow to UN
resolutions, saying "even if they adopt 10 other resolutions it will
not
have any effect". - AFP
It is 32 degrees and too cold to type, so all posts went to
"All".
Expecting snow any minute.
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