World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #6 Disinformation, Inc.

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.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1772135/posts

Gaza tourist resort attacked in al-Qaeda’s name
Ynet ^ | 13:28 , 01.23.07 | Ali Waked

Posted on 01/23/2007 5:34:59 AM PST by Esther Ruth

Gaza tourist resort attacked in al-Qaeda’s name

Some 40 masked gunmen storm beach resort, blow up reception hall; no injuries reported. Assailants claim to be members of Osama bin Laden's terror organization, but officials say 'there no evidence indicating al-Qaeda is operating in Strip; attack linked to Fatah-Hamas struggle'

Ali Waked and AP

Dozens of masked gunmen claiming to be members of al-Qaeda stormed an empty beach resort and blew up a reception hall on Tuesday, saying they were sending a message to a close ally of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Officials said there were no injuries and they were investigating the claim. Security officials have discounted such claims in the past, and sources in Gaza said the attack was related to the ongoing struggle between Fatah and Hamas.

Yousef Sari, director general of the resort, said about 40 masked gunmen raided the building.

The gunmen said the attack was aimed at Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a confidant of Abbas, the moderate Palestinian president.

“Tell Dahlan al-Qaeda has arrived in Gaza and his property and assets are targets,” Sari quoted the attackers as saying. Dahlan is widely rumored to own the resort, which used to be popular with Israeli tourists in the 1990s, though he denies any business connection to the place.

'Violent tactics aimed strictly at Israel'

Israeli officials have long warned that al-Qaeda was trying to infiltrate Gaza following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the coastal strip in 2005. Abbas also has claimed the group has established “sleeper” cells in Gaza, and al-Qaeda has issued statements claiming responsibility for several violent attacks on Palestinian officials.

However, Palestinian security officials say there is no evidence the group is operating in Gaza. They say the claims are usually made by local militants or crime gangs trying to divert attention.

The Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls most government functions, denies any connection to al-Qaeda.

It says its violent tactics, which have included dozens of suicide bombings, are aimed strictly at Israel, not the Western world at large.

On Monday evening a bomb exploded in the Gaza Strip offices of a leading Arabic-language news channel, Palestinian eyewitnesses said, causing severe property damage but no injuries.

It is widely believed that the Saudi-owned TV channel al-Arabiya was targeted over a report aired last week in which it was claimed that Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh cursed God.

Canada stands with Israel on Iran

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=13560e6d-e8bb-4b95-b6c0
-06a0a4769ce6

Tuesday > January 23 > 2007

Canada stands with Israel on Iran
MacKay: Creativity needed, however, to stop any military action

MATTHEW FISHER
CanWest News Service; AP contributed to this report

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Canada intends to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Israel against
security
threats that the Jewish state faces from Iran and others, Foreign
Affairs
Minister Peter MacKay told an audience of Israel's political, military
and
intellectual elite yesterday.

"Canada is deeply concerned with the direction that Iran is taking,"
MacKay
said. "The regime in Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear
weapons."

The foreign minister - on his first visit to the Middle East - urged
the
international community "to think creatively about what it can do to
prevent
military action" against Iran.

Such action has been openly contemplated by the United States and
Israel because
of a barrage of threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
against Israel.

MacKay spoke at an annual conference, which this year had attracted
many
prominent U.S. citizens, including such presidential hopefuls as
Senator John
McCain and former candidate John Edwards.

Much of MacKay's address at a beach hotel on the Mediterranean Sea just
north of
Tel Aviv focused on the Harper government's backing of Israel - based
on the
common values of "democracy and freedom" the two countries shared,
MacKay said.

He also reminded the audience Canada was the first country to suspend
economic
aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas, which Canada regards as a
terrorist organization, won a parliamentary majority 12 months ago.

Responding to criticism from Hamas because he had not sought to meet
with its
officials during his five days in Jordan, the West Bank and Israel,
MacKay said:
"If it means standing up against terrorism, then that is criticism that
Canada
is prepared to accept."

Canada supports a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians
and
encouraged moderate Arab states to help make this possible.

Iran has barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from
entering the
country, the foreign minister said in what appeared to be retaliation
for UN
sanctions imposed last month.

Gabi Ashkenazi, director of the Defence Ministry, will assume the place
of
Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth
Ahronoth. Halutz
resigned after criticism over the inconclusive outcome of last summer's
war in
Lebanon.

- Online Extra: After months of inaction, a flurry of diplomatic
activity toward
reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking is under way.

montrealgazette.com

C The Gazette (Montreal) 2007

Copyright C 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks
Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Iran believes it could destroy Israel with a single nuke 22 January 2007 GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT.COM

Iran believes it could destroy Israel with a single nuke
GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT.COM
Monday, January 22, 2007

JERUSALEM — Iran’s nuclear program seeks first-strike capability
against Israel, a leading strategist said.

The Israeli strategist and former intelligence officer said Iran
believes it could destroy the Jewish state with one nuclear weapon.

“Iranians believe that it holds, may hold, a first strike capability
against Israel once it has a nuclear capability,” said Shmuel Bar,
director of studies at the Institute of Police and Strategy.

Iran believes “that Israel is a one-bomb country, one bomb from the
point-of-view of the receiving side; that the U.S. would not intervene
against Iran under such conditions; and all of that with apocalyptic zeal
may result in actual use of nuclear weapons,” he said.

Bar, who for years worked in the Israeli intelligence community, told
a conference on Jan. 9 that Iran was prepared to destroy Muslim cities
as the price for firing nuclear missiles toward Israel. He said the
ruling Islamic clergy would support a nuclear attack on Israel even at the
risk of killing millions of Palestinian Muslims.

“They’re developing weapons both as deterrents and that part of the
Iranian regime — the more revolutionary part — has all of the components
for developing a doctrine of use of nuclear weapons, as opposed to
adoption of using nuclear weapons as deterrents,” Bar said. “I think that
it’s a religious background which brings them to this sort of a
doctrine.”
Bar said Iran has studied the U.S. wars against the former Saddam
Hussein regime in Iraq.

The chief Iranian lesson was that only nuclear weapons could deter a
U.S. attack.
“Nuclear weapons are strategic necessity for deterring the West and
Israel and for achieving their strategic goals,” Bar said. “Until they
arrive at nuclear weapons, Iran’s strategic deterrence must rely on
terrorism and subversive potential.”

Bar said Iran has scored its sole foreign success in the operation of
the Hizbullah militia in Lebanon. Hizbullah lost 800 fighters in the
war against Israel in the summer of 2006. Bar cited funerals in Lebanon
for those termed “holy warriors.”

“Whatever they may say, they lost somewhere around 800 men who we can
account for,” Bar said. “You count the funerals and the names, and you
count the names of the people in the documents in south Lebanon.”

Vladimir Socor in EDM: Kremlin Targeting Western Energy Interests in Russia and Third Countries

Eurasia Daily Monitor
January 23, 2007 -- Volume 4, Issue 16

KREMLIN STRATEGY TARGETS WESTERN ENERGY ASSETS IN RUSSIA, WESTERN
SUPPLY SOURCES IN THIRD COUNTRIES

by Vladimir Socor

On January 21 in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured
a
skeptical Angela Merkel -- visiting in a triple capacity as German
Chancellor, holder of the European Union presidency, and incoming G-8
chair -- about Russia’s purported reliability as an energy partner to
the
West. The relevant actions, however, unfolded not in Sochi, but rather
in
Siberia and in Algeria, continuing Moscow’s three-pronged offensive
against
Western energy interests. The three tracks are: forced takeovers of
Western
investment projects in Russia, aggressive inroads into the West’s
traditional supply sources in third countries, and acquisition of
infrastructure within the West itself.

The forced-takeover pattern, inaugurated in the case of Yukos and
continued in a somewhat different form with Royal Dutch Shell and its
Japanese partners last month, is set to continue at an accelerated
rate.

On January 19, Nature Inspectorate Deputy Chief Oleg Mitvol
warned the
BP-TNK joint venture that it faces environmental and legal
investigations
possibly as early as March at its giant Kovytka gas project in eastern
Siberia. Russian government agencies had warned BP-TNK already in
September
that it might face billions of dollars worth of fines or license
revocation
for alleged environmental violations at Kovytka, even as the project
reached
the initial production stage. Mitvol’s latest warning, moreover, cites
financial inspectors’ claims that the project is lagging behind the 9
billion cubic meters annual production target, thereby also falling
short in
its purported obligations to Russia’s state budget. BP-TNK holds a 63%
stake
in the project.

Putin had personally blessed this BP-TNK project in 2003 -- a
move
that these and other investors in Russia deemed as amounting to a
political
guarantee. In recent months, however, Gazprom has openly indicated its
intention to take over a majority stake in this project with the
Kremlin’s
help. Mitvol is the same official whom the Kremlin had unleashed
against
Shell in the final months of 2006, forcing the Shell-led consortium in
December to hand over a 50% stake in its Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project
to
Gazprom.

On January 22, Russian Audit Chamber head Sergei Stepashin
announced
that his agency evaluated “damages to our country” in that Shell-led
project
at $5 billion. Stepashin’s figure seems neatly to coincide with the
difference between the $7.5 billion paid by Gazprom for that 50% stake
and
the $12 billion estimated market value of that stake. Stepashin claims
credit for his agency in “significantly influencing that decision”
through
its audit, as part of what he now terms a “massive attack” together
with the
Nature Inspectorate and the Prosecutor General’s Office (RIA-Novosti,
January 22).

Stepashin also announced on January 22 that the Audit Chamber has
“uncovered significant environmental violations” by the
French-Norwegian
consortium at the Kharyaga giant oil field in western Siberia. Echoing
the
case against BP-TNK, Stepashin also claims that the consortium is
lagging
behind the production schedule and short-changing the state and local
budgets. Total of France and Norsk Hydro of Norway are developing the
Kharyaga field under a production sharing agreement signed in 1995 for
a
29-year period. The two companies hold stakes of 50% and 40%,
respectively,
with the local Nenetsk Oil Company holding 10%.

In unison with the Kremlin’s general argument, Stepashin openly
claims
that the Kharyaga and other production-sharing agreements were signed
at a
time when Russia’s economic and political situation was unfavorable and
that
it is therefore time to change those contracts. The Exxon-led
Sakhalin-1 oil
and gas project is now being pressured in similar ways. Western
companies
generally seem resigned to accept this Russian view of the sanctity of
contracts, apparently hoping to limit the impending losses and be
allowed to
continue operations on the new terms.

On January 16, Putin chaired a government session that decided to
divide up Russia’s oil and gas deposits on the continental shelf evenly
among the state-controlled Rosneft and Gazprom. The move implies an
accelerating concentration of Russia’s oil and gas sector directly into
Kremlin hands as well as reducing Western companies to minority roles
at
best in any offshore projects from now on (Vedomosti, January 21).

Russia’s Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko,
accompanied
by senior executives from Gazprom, Rosneft, and Lukoil, visited Algeria
on
January 19-22. They discussed new oil and gas field development
projects by
the Russian companies in Algeria, specifically the 245-South fields,
under a
production-sharing agreement signed by Rosneft’s subsidiary
StroyTransGaz
with Algeria’s state company Sonatrach. Gazprom, lacking the technology
for
production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), is inviting Sonatrach, which
has
assimilated the relevant French technology, to participate in the
construction of a LNG plant in the Leningrad oblast.

Moreover, Gazprom seeks to enlist Sonatrach, first, in joint
marketing
of gas in Europe; and, second, in what it terms “coordination of their
positions in the Forum of Gas-Exporting Countries” (Interfax, January
22),
hinting at the potential formation of a Russian-Algerian or perhaps a
wider
cartel. Algeria holds an estimated 10% share of the European Union’s
overall
gas market. Russia and Algeria could hold 40% between them if the
bilateral
“coordination” becomes a fact. The Gas Forum is scheduled to meet in
April
in Qatar.

Meanwhile, Gazprom holds some hope to replace the ConocoPhillips
and
Anadarco companies in Algeria, in the event that the nationalization
process
currently underway in that country adversely affects those two U.S.
companies.

(Interfax, Itar-Tass, RIA-Novosti, January 18-22; see EDM,
December
13, 15, 2006, January 3, 2007)

--Vladimir Socor

[unknown url, came direct to group, from author]

Chechen pensioner rides bike to Mecca via Baghdad

Tue Jan 23, 2007

URUS-MARTAN, Russia (Reuters) - Cycling across continents in search of
inner fulfilment has become commonplace for young adventure-seekers
from
developed countries.

But Dzhanar-Aliev Magomed-Ali is not young, his bike is old and rickety
and he lives in Chechnya, a republic in southern Russia where
separatists and Russians have fought two wars since 1994.

Last week, however, the 63-year-old finished a 10-week trip of nearly
12,000 kilometres (7,456 miles) on a rusting bike from his village in
Chechnya via Iraq and Iran to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

"It was a very tough route, I wouldn't allow anybody else to do it,"
Magomed-Ali told Reuters at his home in Urus-Martan, 30 kilometres
outside the destroyed Chechen capital of Grozny.

One of the hardest legs was in Iraq where, he said, U.S. soldiers
stopped him because he did not have an Iraqi entry visa. He said they
threw his bicycle to the ground in an argument.

Magomed-Ali, like the vast majority of ethnic Chechens, is Muslim. The
haj is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and every able-bodied Muslim is
supposed to make the journey once in their lifetime.

Inspiration came to Magomed-Ali from his mother who, he said, told him
in a dream to make the haj.

"I replied that I couldn't do this as I didn't have any way of getting
there," he said. "She replied that I had a bike and I should use it."

Mogomed-Ali wore a traditional sheepskin hat and a woollen jumper as he
posed next to his purple, mud splattered bike.

He had made two modifications: A thick cloth had been wrapped around
the
saddle for comfort and a green metal sign hung under the main frame,
mapping out his route.

"Urus-Matan - Grozny - Khasavyurt - Makhachkala - Baku - Tehran -
Baghdad - Damascus - Mecca - Medina - Jerusalem - Urus-Matan," it read
in printed white Russian Cyrillic letters.

As the crow flies Grozny and Mecca are a 5,000-kilometre round trip
apart, but Magomed-Ali said he clocked up nearly 12,000 kilometres
because of his circuitous route.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/

http://www.itv.com/news/index_5fc019f3871caeb5733d18203bad74f7.html

Five arrested in anti-terror raids
2.16, Tue Jan 23 2007

Police have arrested five men under the Terrorism Act in early morning raids.

West Yorkshire police and anti-terror officers from Scotland Yard swooped on two addresses in Halifax at around 6am, arresting two men aged 25 and 29.

In a separate incident, Greater Manchester Police said two 24-year-old men and another aged 32 had been arrested under the same act in the city.

The three Manchester arrests - two in Cheetham Hill and one in the Longsight area - were reported to be connected to the recent disappearance of a terror suspect who had been on a control order.

A spokeswoman for the force confirmed that the arrests were related to allegations of "aiding and abetting" an offender.

"We can't comment on matters relating to control orders but this operation is linked to an allegation of aiding and abetting an offender and is linked to other allegations relating to other alleged terrorism-related activities," she said.

Whitehall sources said both operations related to the "broader picture of Islamist extremism" rather than specific plots to attack targets in the UK.

Sources said the Halifax operation involved alleged extremist propaganda material used to spread radical Islamist ideology.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said only that the joint Metropolitan Police and West Yorkshire Police operation was not connected to the investigation into the London bombings of July 7, 2005.

Police entered a total of nine addresses across the two operations, which were not connected.

The Manchester operation involved four addresses, three of which were later being searched.

The other operation involved searches of five addresses - four in Halifax and a flat in north London.

The Metropolitan Police said the two Halifax arrests were part of an unarmed "intelligence-led" operation with the pair held "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism".

They were due to be taken down to a police station in central London following the early-morning arrests.
Terror raids carried out

http://www.itv.com/news/index_ba4514da7b31e9ac6f6b7a967b796ca7.html

Firefighter describes July 21 ordeal
2.42, Tue Jan 23 2007

A firefighter has told a court about the moment one of the alleged July 21 bomb plotters tried to set off a rucksack bomb in front of him.

Angus Campbell said he saw the alleged bomber Ramzi Mohammed "screaming and shouting" and was then "cowed" by an explosion.

He then saw smoke coming from behind Mohammed and said a young mother opposite him with a child in a buggy began screaming.

Mr Campbell was on a northbound Northern Line Tube train travelling between Stockwell and Oval when Mohammed tried to detonate the device, Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Mr Campbell, a firefighter of 21 years who is now a firefighting instructor, told Woolwich Crown Court that he had been on his way to work at the time of the incident.

The Tube, he said, was "quite empty" - it was the middle of the day.

After arriving at Stockwell station, the train filled up with between 20 and 30 people in his carriage.

Mr Campbell, who said he was wearing a white T-shirt, shorts and a pair of sandals, described to the jury how he was sitting in the middle portion of the carriage on a fold-down seat.

He told how he watched a woman opposite him, who had a young child in a buggy. He said: "She was trying to get her child back into the buggy.

"It was mildly amusing because I have small children and I often struggle with my children.

"Then what happened was there was an explosion. It was loud. We were in a confined carriage and the explosion was loud.

"My first memory was being cowed. I was crouched in my seat.

"I remember my arm being over my head. I looked up through my arm - the first thing I remember seeing is Mr Mohammed, who was screaming and shouting, and there was smoke issuing from behind him, from his back and I think to the floor.

"My first reaction was to run away. I wanted to run away. I remember picking up my bag - I had a small rucksack. At some point I'd put it down.

"The woman opposite me was screaming, she was screaming. Mr Mohammed was shouting and there was an awful lot of smoke in the carriage."

The young mother told the court how she feared she and her nine-month-old son were going to die.

Nadia Baro described how she heard a bang and then saw a foam-like spongy substance leaking out of a rucksack being worn by Mohammed.

She said: "I was in such a panic. I did not know how a bomb worked and I thought we were going to die."

Mrs Baro described how she then tried to flee the carriage. "I was just running and I ran to the next carriage," she said.

"The firemen helped me to push the buggy out."

As the train approached Oval station she stood up to prepare to get off which was when she noticed the person next to her was wearing a rucksack. She said she then heard a bang.

"I noticed the person next to me had a rucksack on and something came out of it and fell onto the floor," she told the jury.

"I just realised that something was going on because of what happened on July 7. I was in panic and I tried to get away from him."

21/7 witness gives evidence
Jan 17: July 21 'plotters' caught on camera

http://www.itv.com/news/index_de20839cb1d32bc0891bbbd13c6a4c1e.html

Litvinenko footage emerges
"I was threatened with the murder of my six-year-old son" - Alexander Litvinenko
Litvinenko footage emerges
9.47, Mon Jan 22 2007

Murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko said he was being persecuted by his country's secret services in the last interview he gave before being poisoned with polonium 210.

Footage of the interview also shows Litvinenko repeating allegations that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi had links to the KGB.

In the interview, Litvinenko said he feared for his life and wanted the recording to remain secret because fellow officers, including Anatoly Trofimov, had been murdered.

Footage has emerged showing Litvinenko being interviewed by an Italian prosecutor in February 2006, months before his apparent assassination in London.

Litvinenko said: "When the Russian secret services want to promote their own people in power, they may use terrorist methods.

"In fact in politics, the main method they use is terrorism - like the bombings of apartment buildings in Moscow or the poisoning of the presidential candidate in Ukraine."

In the interview, Litvinenko also repeated his claims that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi had links with the KGB.

Litvinenko added: "Trofimov did not exactly say that Prodi was a KGB agent, because the KGB avoids using that word.

"He said Prodi was `our man'... a KGB man... and that the KGB, with Prodi, was carrying out some secret, dirty operations in Italy. My understanding was that Prodi was working for the KGB."

Mr Prodi has denied any links to the KGB.

Litvinenko also said he and his family were enemies of the people in Moscow.

He added: "First, the Russian secret services wanted to imprison me. Then I was threatened with the murder of my six-year-old son.

"My friend and his wife were shot dead at the entrance to their house. Since then my persecution has become more intense - a bomb was thrown through my window.

"I am being persecuted."

http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/january/21/indian_muslim/allahabad_erupts_over_police_inaction_in_gang_rape.html

Allahabad erupts over police inaction in gang rape

Submitted by kashif on Mon, 2007-01-22 02:37. Indian Muslim

Allahabad, Jan 21 (IANS) Angry political activists Sunday demonstrated here against police inaction after two young women from a madrassa were gang-raped.

The women were Wednesday abducted from the madrassa by four unidentified men who raped them and dropped them off at the seminary. Police filed a complaint Friday night and arrested four people for the crime.

However, the activists, mostly from the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), accused police of indifference and inaction against the "real culprits".

"The suspects booked are ordinary rickshaw pullers being framed to protect the real culprits," said CPI-M leader Subhashini Ali.

Allahabad district magistrate Amrit Abhijat denied the charge.

"People are trying to politicise the crime. We have already taken action in the matter," Abhijat told IANS.

Ali and Congress leader Rita Bahuguna-Joshi led the protest rally that turned violent when a major thoroughfare was blocked and some activists hurled stones at the Kareli police station on the outskirts of Allahabad, about 200 km from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.

http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/january/21/international/adele_may_be_lttes_new_international_spokesperson.html

Adele may be LTTE's new international spokesperson

Submitted by kashif on Sun, 2007-01-21 14:47. International

By M.R. Narayan Swamy

New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) The Australian-born Adele Balasingham, wife of the late Tamil Tigers ideologue Anton Balasingham, is likely to be the new international spokesperson for the group, informed sources say.

The London-based Adele Balasingham may don the new mantle at a time when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) faces one of its most serious challenges from a Sri Lankan state determined to crush the outfit.

Adele Balasingham could not be reached for this story. But the sources, which closely follow Sri Lanka, say the buzz is that she will continue to make the contributions that her husband made to the Tamil Tiger cause.

"Adele's brilliance is the intimate knowledge first hand of the Tamil problem, which she has witnessed personally at close quarters," a reliable source told IANS.

Norway, the peace facilitator in Sri Lanka, is already in touch with her as well as S.P. Thamilchelvan, the LTTE political wing leader based in the rebel-held area in the island.

Like her husband whom she married in 1978 and who died of cancer last month, Adele Balasingham has been seeped in the LTTE's campaign to break up Sri Lanka's northeast to carve out a Tamil state. Popularly known as "Aunty" among LTTE cadres and occasionally called a "white Tamil", Adele Balasingham, who will turn 57 Jan 30, has known LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran for decades and enjoys his trust.

She has taken part in almost all major peace negotiations that her husband held with the Sri Lankan government on behalf of the Tigers. One high-ranking Sri Lankan official who took part in some of these talks said Adele Balasingham always played a quiet role, taking down notes and helping out her husband.

"She was invariably present at all major discussions, assisting (Anton) Balasingham," the official told IANS. "She was more than a wife. She did not intervene though. Whatever she said was between her and her husband."

A Tamil activist had remarked after Balasingham's death: "Adele was more than a mere partner who kept his home and nursed him in illness. She was his intellectual partner."

Born Adele Ann Wilby in a small Australian town, the second of four children, she qualified as a nurse and moved to London where she met Balasingham and married him.

Balasingham played a key role in the evolution of LTTE since the late 1970s when he and his wife were introduced to the group in London and later met, in Chennai, its leader for the first time. Both LTTE and Prabhakaran were largely unknown entities then.

Soon, Balasingham rose to become Prabhakaran's confidant and widely came to be seen as the group's theoretician and ideologue. Though Adele Balasingham did not take part in any fighting, she has been photographed in LTTE combat dress. One BBC documentary showed her with a pistol on her hip.

A powerful writer, Adele Balasingham authored three books, including a semi-autobiographic "The Will to Freedom", which she described as an inside view of "Tamil resistance". The other books were on LTTE's women fighters and on the dowry practice among the Tamils of Jaffna, the cradle of Tamil militancy.

In one book, she described her husband as the "greatest determinant" in my life. "Our marriage in 1978," she wrote, "was a union of ideological perspectives, values, aspirations and convictions."

These attributes could serve her well if she does become the LTTE's new international spokesperson.

http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_10375-Ban-Focusses-On-North-Korea-In-Widened-Audit-Of-UN-Programmes.html

Ban Focusses On North Korea In Widened Audit Of UN Programmes
World

Avatar04:37 PM, January 23rd 2007
by Playfuls Team

The system-wide audit of UN programmes around the world ordered by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls for the first report on North Korea's hard currency transactions, staff hiring and projects where irregularities are suspected, a spokesperson said Monday.

The audit report on North Korea is to be completed in three months following media charges that the country benefited from the practice of receiving foreign currencies in its dealing with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) over the years.

UNDP said last week that it had spent "tens of millions of dollars" while doing assistance work in impoverished North Korea, which demanded to be paid in hard currency, decided who the UN should hire and what projects should be carried out.

Ban, the former South Korean foreign minister, last week ordered an external audit of all UN agencies' activities around the globe in which hard currency transactions were used in projects and where national governments would decide on hiring of personnel for UN projects.

The Wall Street Journal said last week that a US ambassador to UN, Mark Wallace, had charged UNDP with violating UN rules by paying North Korea "steady and large source of hard currency and other resources" with no guarantee that the funds would be used for development.

UNDP immediately agreed to the external audit as it is most often the lead agency supervising UN programmes involving major UN organizing like the UN Children's Fund and World Food Programme in many countries, including North Korea.

UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert told reporters Friday that his organization supports the external audit because it has spent "tens of millions of dollars" to assist North Korea.

Melkert said UNDP will end hard currency payments on March 1 to the Pyongyang government and the practice of employing locals for foreign agencies and local vendors for its projects.

UNDP disburses more than 1 billion dollars a year in development projects in poor countries while supporting the operations of relief agencies in many countries struck by natural disasters or conflicts.

The move to stop paying hard currency to workers and programmes inside North Korea was partly prompted by targeted sanctions ordered by the UN Security Council in October after the Pyongyang regime exploded a nuclear device.

It was feared that Pyongyang would use foreign currency to purchase much needed equipment and technology to maintain its nuclear plants. An external audit would show recipients of the cash and how the money was used.

The UN Security Council imposed an embargo on nuclear-related technology to North Korea and halted trade in luxury items to the nation.

North Korea had been demanding hard currency payments from international organizations that help it overcome severe food and medicine shortages following bouts of devastating droughts and floodings.

© 2007 DPA

[Note the last paragraph, it has not been in the other 30 or so that I have checked...granny]

http://www.adfero.co.uk/news/news/international-affairs/al-qaida-chief-taunts-us-over-troop-plan-$464045.htm

Al-Qaida chief taunts US over troop plan
Tuesday, 23 Jan 2007 09:21
[20,000 more US troops will be sent to Iraq]
20,000 more US troops will be sent to Iraq
A video message has emerged in which Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, believed to be al-Qaida's second in command, taunts the US strategy to send more troops to Iraq.

News of Dr al-Zawahiri's speech "The Correct Equation" was first published on the website of the Search for International Terrorism Entities (SITE) institution who monitors the output of as-Sahab, the terrorist group's multimedia arm.

The video, which has English subtitles, sees Dr al-Zawahiri attempt to recruit people to fight against US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.

Warning the American people, Dr al-Zawahiri said: "If we are secure, you might be secure, and if we are safe, you might be safe. And if we are struck and killed, you will definitely - with Allah's permission - be struck and killed."

Dr al-Zawahiri, believed to be second in al-Qaida only to Osama Bin Laden, said: "I ask him, why send 20,000 [troops] only - why not send 50,000 or 100,000? Aren't you aware that the dogs of Iraq are pining for your troops' dead bodies?"

The leader also calls on "Arab nationalists and leftists" to return to Islam and reject the international laws which, he argues, have divided the Muslim world.End of story

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.378921008&par=

Stampa

TERRORISM: AL-ZAWAHIRI GOADS BUSH OVER MORE TROOPS

Dubai, 23 Jan. (AKI) - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri has issued a new video in which he scoffs at President Bush's despatch of new troops to Iraq and urges militants to action in Lebanon and Somalia. The 14-minute video, opens with a provocative question. "During his last speech Bush announced that he will send 20,000 new soldiers to Iraq. I ask: why do you not send 20,000 or 50,000 or 100,000? Aren't you aware that the dogs of Iraq are pining for your troops' dead bodies?" The video was released on the eve of Bush's crucial State of the Union speech and refers to the White House's new strategy towards Iraq.
"Why don't you send all your soldiers....anyway Iraq will bury them ten times over," said al-Zawahiri in the video which was intercepted by US-based terrorism think-tank Site, before it was posted to jihadi websites.

"I appeal to the American people and know that you do not understand the language of religion but only that of missiles, for that I use a language that you can understand: if you want to live in safety you must accept reality and sweep away the ghosts of Bush. If you continue with the policies of Bush you will not have any security as it is a common good. This is the just equation."

Al-Zawahiri, whose discourse was subtitled in English, appealed to all Muslims stating that today it is mandatory for every Muslim to take up arms to defend the Islamic nation and called for the release of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, in jail in the US, and the prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay US military establishment. Abdel Rahman is a blind radical Muslim cleric jailed for life in 1996 for plotting attacks on New York.

On the Palestinian crisis, al-Zawahiri has harsh words for authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Muhammad Dahlan of the Fatah party, accused of being part of a "Zionist-crusader" campaign against the Islamic world. "Those two are traitors, non-believers who have sold out Palestine and are against the Sharia, agents of the US and of Israel. How can we consider brothers those who have sold our lands?"

There is also a reference to the Lebanese crisis. "We reject international law which has imposed on us the current borders and the existence of Israel," he said, "and has imposed on us the crusader presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and the south of Lebanon, forcing us back 30 kilometres from lebanon's natural border. In truth accepting resolution 1701 and therefore the presence of the crusader troops (UN-led forces) in Lebanon decrees the division of Palestinian mujahadeen from their brothers in Lebanon. Accepting this resolution is a historic defeat which cannot be justified."

The message concludes with a reference to the situation in Somalia. "The Ethiopians (troops) have been dragged by the US into a catastrophe in Somalia....the mujahadeen will break their backs," he warned.

(Ham/Aki)

Stampa

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2007/01/014940print.html

January 22, 2007
Al Qaeda in Iraq considered getting jihadists into US for attacks by using student visas

Will this raise an eyebrow at any of the colleges and universities nationwide, which, attracted by the possible windfall of out-of-state tuition, have looked to places like Saudi Arabia for prospective students?

"Details Emerge About Possible Terror Threat," by Pierre Thomas for ABC News:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2007 — Mimicking the hijackers who executed the Sept. 11 attacks, insurgents reportedly tied to al Qaeda in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil.

Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently testified that documents captured by coalition forces during a raid of a safe house believed to house Iraqi members of al Qaeda six months ago "revealed [AQI] was planning terrorist operations in the U.S."

At the time, Maples offered little additional insight into the possible terror plot. ABC News, however, has learned new details of what remains a classified incident that has been dealt with at the highest levels of government.

Sources tell ABC News that the plot may have involved moving between 10 and 20 suspects believed to be affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq into the United States with student visas — the same method used by the 19 al Qaeda terrorists who struck American targets on Sept. 11.

U.S. officials now require universities to closely track foreign nationals who use student visas to study in the United States. University officials must report international students who fail to arrive on campus or miss class regularly.

In August, the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alerted intelligence agencies and state and local law enforcement about 11 Egyptian students who had failed to report to their classes at Montana State University. The students were ultimately apprehended.

Still, despite the heightened precautions, some security analysts fear that skilled terrorists — handpicked because of their clean records and because they are carefully trained — could still slip through an academic setting.

The plot was discovered six months ago, roughly the same time that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by coalition forces. Sources tell ABC News that the suspects involved in the effort to launch the U.S. attack were closely associated with Zarqawi.

The plan also came only months after Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2, had requested that Zarqawi attempt an attack inside the United States.

"This appears to be the first hard evidence al Qaeda in Iraq was trying to attack us here at home," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, former chief counterterrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council.

The plan was uncovered in its early stages, and sources say there is no indication that the suspects made it into the United States. Officials also emphasize that there is no evidence of an imminent attack.

The hunt for suspects continues, however, and some fear that al Qaeda recruits in Iraq could be easily redirected.

"Anyone willing to go to Iraq to fight American troops is probably willing to try to come to the United States," Clarke said.

Posted at January 22, 2007 07:53 PM

Islam converts change face of Europe

Jan. 23, 2007 3:53 | Updated Jan. 23, 2007 5:31
Islam converts change face of Europe

The Jerusalem Post

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467792048&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

As many as 100,000 French and British citizens have converted to Islam
over the last decade, according to a new book by an Israeli historian.

The figures cited by Hebrew University Prof. Raphael Israeli in his
upcoming book The Third Islamic Invasion of Europe are representative of
the fast-changing face of Europe, which the Islamic history professor
says is in danger of becoming "Eurabia" within half a century.

He noted that about 30 million Muslims currently live in Europe, out of
a total population of 380 million., adding that with a high Muslim
birthrate in Europe, the number of Muslims living in the continent is
likely to double within 25 years.

Israeli also cited massive immigration and Turkey's future inclusion in
the EU as the primary reasons why the face of Europe will be indelibly
changed within a generation.

European concerns over a fast-growing Muslim population is at the
center of opposition to Turkey's entry into the EU, he said, as the
inclusion of Turkey into the EU will catapult the number of Muslims to 100
million out of a total population of 450 million.

"The sheer weight of demography will produce a situation where no
Frenchman or Dutchman could be elected to parliament without the support of
the Muslim minority," he said Monday in an interview with The Jerusalem
Post.

"Muslims will have a more and more decisive voice in the makeup of
European governments."

"With Turkey as a member of the EU, the process will be accelerated,
without [Turkey] it will be slower but it will still happen," he added.
Turkey has strong relations with Israel.

The historian, who has authored 19 previous books, said that Muslim
political power in Europe would directly impact domestic politics,
including Europe's immigration policy, with millions of additional Muslims
waiting at the door to gain entry to the EU as part of "family
reunification" programs.

"Every European with a right mind has every reason to be frightened,"
Israeli said.

The 50,000 French and 50,000 British who have converted to Islam over
the last decade, including many from mixed marriages, did so for
personal convictions, romanticized notions of Islam, as well as for business
reasons, while others see Islam as the wave of the future at a time when
Christianity is on the wane, Israeli said.

He said that Muslims converting to Christianity existed but their
numbers were significantly smaller.

Israeli noted that conversions in mixed marriages worked only in one
direction since a Muslim woman who marries a Christian is considered an
apostate in her community, and faces physical danger.

"It is time one should wake up and realize what is happening in
Europe," he concluded.

Israeli's book is due out in London in the coming months.

JCSLink JuSt Posted
January 22, 2007

U.S.-Colombian Relationship Helps Security
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 20, 2007 - The success of the relationship
between the United States and Colombia is having a direct positive impact on
the security and stability of the entire region and hemisphere, Marine
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said here
yesterday. Story http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2764

Counter-drug Efforts May Aid Afghanistan
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 20, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff thanked Colombia's leaders here yesterday for using their
country's long experience in its counter-drug effort to help the Afghan
government fight a similar battle. Story
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2765

Chairman Extols Virtues, Success of 'Jointness'
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 20, 2007 - Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recounted yesterday to Colombian military
officers his initial doubts about the U.S. military going "joint," but he
said he was firm in his conviction two decades later that the armed
forces are better off when fighting together as a team. Story
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?id=2766

Pace Thanks Troops for 'Making a Difference' in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 19, 2007 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff today praised U.S. troops serving here, acknowledging the part
they have played in helping the Colombian military confront the challenges
it faces. Story
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2756

Gainey: Troops in Afghanistan Focused on Mission, Fellow Troops
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 18, 2007 - Troops serving in Afghanistan
understand the importance of their mission and say they would rather fight
terrorists overseas than at home, the senior enlisted servicemember in DoD
reported today. Story
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2746

General Praises New Operational Freedom in Baghdad
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2007 - The most important component of President
Bush's strategy to stabilize Iraq is an expanded freedom of operations
in Baghdad, the chief operations officer for the Joint Staff said here
yesterday. Story
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2733

Thanks to Milford421 for this report.

Fire doused at Flint Hills Refinery

http://newsminer.com/2007/01/22/4660/

Fire doused at Flint Hills Refinery
Staff Report
Published January 22, 2007

A fire broke out Sunday morning at Flint Hills Refinery, though
production and refining operations were not interrupted.

The fire was reported about 10:30 a.m. according to Jeff Cook,
director of external affairs for the North Pole refinery. It began
in a service building near the processing unit, he said. A sprinkler
system in the building was activated and extinguished the fire, he
said.

"Everything worked like it's supposed to," he said.

As a precaution, Cook said the refinery was required to notify the
North Pole Fire Department and the Fairbanks North Star Borough
Hazards Materials unit. Both responded to the scene. The Fairbanks
Fire Department was called and responded for mutual aid but was seen
leaving the refinery shortly after 11 a.m. without sirens or lights.

Cook said there were no injuries in the incident.

Officials with the North Pole and Fairbanks Fire departments
referred questions to Cook.

Cook said the origin and cause of the fire were still under
investigation Sunday afternoon, saying the refinery was required to
go through a "very deliberate process."

The North Pole refinery, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., has
a crude oil processing capacity of about 220,000 barrels per day. It
produces petroleum products including gasoline, jet fuel, heating
oil, diesel fuel, gasoil and asphalt.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/under-investigation/

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