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.globalincidentmap.com/eventdetail.php?ID=1827
Type Biological Incidents/ Threats/ Anthrax Hoaxes etc Date Time 2007-02-15 00:00:00
Country US City Orange, CA
Latitude 33.787 Longitude -117.852
URL http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070214-2111-ca-socal-brf-threateningletter.html
Description
[AP] CALIFORNIA - FBI probes threatening letter sent to SoCal military facility
"A threatening letter containing an unknown substance was sent Wednesday to a military recruitment center in Orange County"
"authorities do not believe it is related to terrorism"
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070214-2111-ca-socal-brf-threateningletter.html
[Reuters] RUSSIA - Russian McDonald's rocked by blast
"explosion caused by a suspected bomb in a McDonald's restaurant in Russia's second city of St Petersburg on Sunday injured at least five people"
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/russian-mcdonalds-rocked-by-blast/2007/02/19/1171733641605.html#
[AP] CALIFORNIA - 70 evacuated from Glendale building due to breathing irritant
"About 70 people were briefly evacuated from an office building Wednesday and several were treated for respiratory problems caused by an unknown irritant"
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=OPINIONS-LETTERS&ID=564963747891249279
[Fox] TEXAS - Gas Pipeline Explodes in NW Harris County
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2416130&version=6&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
Map Editor Note: Previous link to blog account of event has been removed.
[AP] INDIA - At least 53 killed in fire on India-Pakistan train; bomb may be responsible: official
"An explosive device was found near the track where the fire broke out"
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/19/asia/AS-GEN-India-Train-Fire.php
[PTI] INDIA - Bomb scare on Gandhidham-Mumbai Express
"Gandhidham-Mumbai Express was stopped at the Navsari station on Friday after an anonymous caller said a bomb was planted in it, which turned out to be a hoax"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Bomb_scare_on_Gandhidham-Mumbai_Express/RssArticleShow/articleshow/1626891.cms
~~~
[PTI] INDIA - Nijamuddin Express stopped at Surat following bomb scare
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEP20070218112444&Page=P&Title=Nation&Topic=0&
Thank you, that is a good link.
They are sure after India's trains, one attack and 2 other threats in 2 days.
One day they will reap what they have sewn.
Sending strong healing thoughts and prayers.
Thank you. Your bf map link in 4400 is a good link, too.
[With thanks for a Freeper tip to this article:]
Lords of the underworld
2/18/07
EIGHT metres underground, Ahmed is digging for gold in the sands of Gaza.
Crawling on his belly in a narrow tunnel, he pulls a heavy plastic sack towards him and attaches a rope around its neck.
There is barely enough room for the bag to pass, and as Ahmed's head touches the walls of this cramped tomb, earth trickles dangerously from the smooth roof.
Unconcerned, he jerks down hard on the rope and a distant diesel-powered winch engine kicks in.
The bag slithers its way into the darkness. It is heavy and awkward, but precious.
Inside are four new Kalashnikov rifles, still factory-sealed.
The underground journey is short, just 300m from Egypt into Gaza, but at the end each bag, and the deadly weapons that it contains, is worth another 1,000.
On a good night the same clandestine, cross-border tunnel trade will earn Ahmed and his bosses 100,000.
Ahmed is a smuggler in the world's most dangerous stretch of land: the Gaza Strip.
He is a digger in what has become one the most lucrative tunnelling industries in the world - a secret flow of weapons beneath the sand that threatens to engulf the area in civil war and provoke another all-out Middle East conflict.
Just 20 miles away, in Gaza City, the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have been at each other's throats over who should be in power.
The streets resounds to the sound of gunfire, and a Palestinian civil war, another bloodbath, could be starting.
Ahmed says he has been working flat out for the past few months to supply each side's weaponry.
For the secret moles of Gaza, business has never been so good.
Excerpted
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum.cfm?id=250152007
Interesting, Iran, Iraq, Sadr and more :
http://alphabetcity.blogspot.com/
Interfax: Amir of the Staropromyslovsky district's jamaat of Grozny killed
Chechen warlord killed in Grozny
MOSCOW 15 (Interfax) - The leader of a group of Chechen militants
operating in the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny was killed in
the Chechen capital on Thursday, chief of the Chechen special task
police headquarters said on Thursday.
"The emir of the Staropromyslovsky district's jamaat, Ganishev, was
killed during a special operation in Grozny," Captain Magomed Daudov
was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Another militant was killed and one more was captured.
Two policemen were wounded in the operation.
"Ganishev and his fellow militants barricaded themselves in an
apartment in a multi-storey house in the Mayakovsky settlement. They
had large amounts of ammunition and offered fierce resistance, "
Daudov said.
"Kalashnikov assault rifles, mobile telephones, radio sets,
ammunition, grenades and medicines were found on the scene," he said.
According to Daudov, since January, Chechen police have killed eight
prominent militants.
The militants killed in Grozny on Thursday had been involved in a
string of serious crimes, the Russian Federal Security Service Chechen
Department said in a statement.
"Ganishev is responsible for murder, kidnappings and terrorist acts
against civilians and servicemen. Investigators are working at the
scene. The bandits are being identified," the statement said.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
http://www.worldthreats.com/al-qaeda_terrorism/rkessler_nga_hunts_bin_laden.html
Little-Known NGA Hunts Bin Laden
By Ronald Kessler
This article first appeared in
NewsMax | February 17, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Whenever a tip comes in about Osama bin Laden's location, the CIA, NSA, and military spring into action. So does the NGA.
The NGA?
While most people have never heard of it, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) analyzes and interprets images created by satellites and spy planes.
For years, the NSA (National Security Agency) was known as the "No Such Agency" because it was so secretive. But now that NSA intercepts have become front-page news, the most secret agency is the NGA.
The NGA is a descendant of the National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC), which determined that the Soviets were providing Cuba with missiles in 1962, precipitating what was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The NPIC was part of the CIA, but in 1996, it became part of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency within the Defense Department. In 2003, it was renamed NGA. For unknown reasons, its founders wanted the agency to have an acronym with three letters like the FBI, CIA, and NSA, so they hyphenated "Geospatial" and "Intelligence." While articles about NGA activities appear regularly in trade publications, the mainstream media rarely mention the super-secret agency.
The NGA includes the former Defense Mapping Agency and is located in that agency's original building in Bethesda, Md. The large complex of red brick government buildings seems out of place in the middle of a leafy suburban neighborhood. Instead of a three-car garage, this neighbor has a guardhouse with military guards armed with assault weapons.
Because the NGA's building was originally used for printing maps, it is built like a factory. The low-ceilinged hallways of stucco and tile are deadly dull, the offices anonymous. With the tensile strength to support printing presses, the wide pillars that hold up the building have to be accommodated when planning office space.
Whenever a tip comes in about bin Laden's whereabouts, NGA analysts examine satellite images of his purported location for clues.
While satellites cannot peer into caves even with infrared imaging, they can pinpoint movement in the area. NGA analysts look for tire tracks and campfire smoke. They compare current images with images from the agency's archives. A change might indicate human activity.
Once NGA checks things out, the CIA may send an agent in to try to pick up information. If a military assault is planned, the NGA might remotely analyze the soil and terrain to determine where helicopters could land and trucks could move in.
"It's not that we hope that bin Laden looks up one day, and we get a picture of him," says Dave Burpee, an NGA officer who gave NewsMax a partial tour of the complex.
In fact, satellites cannot make out human faces. But they can read a license plate, if it is turned upward, intelligence sources say.
Instead, Burpee says, "There are going to be human reports; there are going to be signals reports; there are going to be all these inputs saying, ‘We think he's here. We think there's something going on.' Maybe there's a lot of cell phone activity. All right, we're getting a lot of cell phone activity from this location on the earth. What's that look like? And oh, by the way, if we think it's a place on the face of the earth where bin Laden might be, how do we attack it? How do we get a special forces team in there?"
For pilots, NGA creates images in three dimensions to show what it will look like to fly into a particular mountainous area.
"We have to be ready to be able to do what we do in hours if not minutes — not weeks and days like we had when it was the monolithic Soviet Union," Burpee says.
Beyond the hunt for bin Laden, NGA analyzes possible nuclear weapons facilities in Iran and North Korea; gives the FBI digital maps to help with security at events like the Winter Olympics; helps the Homeland Security Department by surveying damage from hurricanes, and works with the military when it plans an attack. For example, the NGA showed the Defense Department how to move Patriot missile batteries across the sands in Iraq without hitting soft or wet areas.
Three weeks before Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC) pinpointed Iraqi troop movement. The center's photo-interpreters pointed out that Iraqi troops had months of supplies of fuel — far more than would be taken on a training exercise.
As part of its analysis, the NGA uses most wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. That allows analysts to see if an airplane is in a hangar, for example. It means they can detect chemicals in smokestack emissions or soil and can identify solid materials, such as crops and camouflage.
The NGA may not be a household name, but it plays a vital role in the war on terror.
Ronald Kessler is chief Washington correspondent of NewsMax.com.
A blog about Iran:
http://bahrameradblg.blogspot.com/index.html
Source: CCN Matthews [edited]
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=636123
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is closely following an
announcement by the FDA about certain jars of Earth's Best Organic 2
Apple Peach Barley Wholesome Breakfast baby food. There is a risk
that this product is contaminated with _Clostridium botulinum_.
Toxins produced by this bacteria may cause botulism, a
life-threatening illness.
The FDA has confirmed that there were no direct retail sales to
Canadian consumers of the recalled product. However, this product has
been available through internet sales. The CFIA is warning the public
not to consume the product.
There have been no known illnesses reported in Canada or the USA
linked to this product.
--
Brent Barrett
Indianapolis, Indiana
salbrent@sbcglobal.net
[ProMED posts alerts about botulism without human cases because of
the severity of the disease. ProMED thanks Brent Barrett for the
posting. - Mod.LL]
[The lowest they can sink, linking the bomb to the school house door]
Interfax: Bombs injure two "policemen", one "guard" in Chechnya - ministry
Bombs injure two policemen, one guard in Chechnya - ministry
GROZNY Feb 17 (Interfax) - Two policemen and one security guard have
been injured in bombings in Chechnya during the past 24 hours, a
Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
A policeman had his arms, legs and stomach injured by a bomb he set
off by opening a fence door at a school in the town of Vedeno, the
spokesman told Interfax. A riot police sniping instructor who had been
sent in from central Russia received shrapnel wounds in an explosion
on the Dai Shatoi road.
An officer in the Chechen Interior Ministry interagency security
service was injured by a hitting a grenade trip wire in the village of
Sayasan, Nozhai-Yurt district.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=%22Iran%22&ei=utf-8
1. Iran Says Sunnis, Using Pakistan as Base, Planned Fatal Bombing Open this result in new window
New York Times - 2 hours, 3 minutes ago
Iran has accused the United States and Britain of provoking the Sunni insurgents who claimed responsibility for last week?s attack. A senior security official said 65 people had
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2. Edwards urges direct talks with Iran Open this result in new window
AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 18 5:40 PM
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticized the Bush administration on Sunday for failing to engage directly with Iran to resolve problems with the Iraq war and Iran's effort to develop nuclear weapons.
Save
3. Iran Ties Sunni Insurgents to Base in Pakistan Open this result in new window
New York Times - Feb 18 3:21 PM
Sunni insurgents from Iran used Pakistan as a base to plan a bombing that killed 11 people, the Iranian Foreign Ministry charged.
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4. Iran and Syria stress ties amid rumors Open this result in new window
AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 18 1:43 PM
Syria's President Bashar Assad accused the "enemies" of Islamic countries of trying to sow discord, Iranian state television's Web site reported Sunday after the Syrian leader ended his visit to Iran.
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5. Where is al-Sadr? Not in Iran, official says Open this result in new window
CNN.com - Feb 18 2:00 PM
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman denied Sunday that Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric who opposes the U.S. presence in Iraq, is in Iran.
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6. Iran bars Greenpeace ship from entering waters Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Feb 18 12:46 PM
Iran withdrew permission at the last minute for the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior to enter the port of Bushehr where its first nuclear reactor is under construction, the campaign group said.
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7. Iran flap exposes public skepticism of US intelligence, intentions Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Feb 18 10:13 AM
Unfounded intelligence claims that paved the way for war in Iraq blew back like a ghost last week to haunt US charges that Iran is arming Iraqi extremists.
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8. Iran says will not halt uranium enrichment Open this result in new window
Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 18 6:34 AM
Iran will not agree to suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the U.N. Security Council, which has given Tehran until February 21 to halt sensitive atomic work, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
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9. Iran to launch more military exercises Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Feb 18 6:43 AM
Iran's elite ideological army, the Revolutionary Guards, will launch three days of military manoeuvres across the country amid mounting tension over Tehran's nuclear programme.
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10. Edwards raps lack of direct talks with Iran Open this result in new window
MSNBC - Feb 18 4:39 PM
Calling it “a huge strategic mistake not to be dealing directly with Iran,” Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticized the Bush administration on Sunday for failing to engage directly with Tehran in order to resolve problems.
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[I would suggest we drop EDwards off at the Iran border and see how far he gets with all his 'talk'...granny]
What a pity flowers can utter no sound!
A singing rose, a whispering violet, a
murmuring honeysuckle.
Oh, what a rare
and exquisite miracle would these be!
~Henry Ward Beecher
Seven jailed for life in al Qaeda Istanbul bombings
By Thomas Grove
Reuters
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2881920
ISTANBUL - A Turkish court sentenced seven people, including a Syrian
al
Qaeda militant, to life in prison on Friday for suicide bomb attacks on
Jewish and British targets in Istanbul which killed more than 60 people
in
2003.
Syrian Louai al Sakka was jailed for masterminding and securing finance
for
the truck bombings of two synagogues, the British consulate and an HSBC
bank
branch in November 2003 -- the deadliest peacetime bombings in Turkey.
Harun Ilhan, who admitted to plotting the bombings and being a member
of al
Qaeda, was also sentenced to life in prison. Five more people received
life
sentences while dozens of others received lighter sentences.
A Turkish cell in the al Qaeda network claimed responsibility for the
attacks, which wounded more than 600.
"We are close to victory. The time for jihad (holy war) has come, but
don't
worry about me. I will get out, then I will once again join your
jihad,"
Sakka said in court before the verdict.
A total of 74 people, nearly all Turks, were on trial for the bombings.
Nine
appeared in court on Friday. Security was tight around the courthouse,
with
sharp-shooters on roof-tops and armored personnel carriers stationed
outside.
Security sources say Sakka, a bomb-making expert and alleged associate
of
former al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was the top
figure in
Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in Turkey. He was accused of giving
the
militants more than $150,000 to carry out the attacks in Istanbul.
Sakka, who cracked jokes with his co-defendants during the trial, had
pleaded not guilty.
He was arrested in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya in 2005 after
a
police investigation into a botched plan to ram a bomb-laden boat into
an
Israeli cruise ship carrying tourists to Antalya.
He has yet to face trial for his alleged role in the cruise liner plot,
defense lawyer Selahattin Karahan told Reuters.
Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, is seen as a prime target for
radical
Islamist movements who loathe the European Union candidate's secular
political system and its close links with the United States, Israel and
Europe.
It was Turkey's highest-profile trial since the 1999 conviction of
Kurdish
guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Benjamin Kuperberg
Analyst
I am getting too tired to understand all this, it appears to be a blog by a muslim appearing man, in London, right after(?) the train was bombed..........and even others who have been arrested in the terror sweeps:
http://gizmonaut.net/bits/suspect.html#D20070123
everything is full of hidden urls, this link is the up to date posts:
http://gizmonaut.net/blog/
Arab states trained Al-Qaeda men to fight in Somalia
From The Sunday Times
February 18, 2007
Jon Swain and Brian Johnson-Thomas Johannesburg
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1400655.ece
MIDDLE EASTERN countries secretly armed and supported suspected
Al-Qaeda
recruits in the failed state of Somalia in a direct challenge to
western
interests in east Africa, according to a United Nations report.
Hundreds of Islamist fighters were flown, with Eritrean assistance,
from
Somalia to Syria and Libya for military training. Others were taken to
Lebanon to fight with Hezbollah, the report to the UN security council
has
revealed.
UN investigators also detailed military aid given to the Islamists by
Saudi
Arabia and Egypt, Arab states friendly to the West. Iran also supplied
125
shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, 80 of which arrived by sea in
dhows
and the rest by air.
A clandestine operation to smuggle the fighters out of Somalia began in
July
last year.
In an interview, Evgueny Zakharov, the owner of Aerolift, an airline
with a
fleet of ageing Antonov and Ilyushin transport aircraft, based in
Johannesburg but registered in the British Virgin Islands, said: “We
transported lots of men in uniform — Arabian men with masks.
“They were disciplined men and although none of them had rank badges
there
were obviously people in charge. They got on the aircraft as if they
had
done it many times before.”
Zakharov said his involvement began after he was approached by a
General
Tambi of the Eritrean People’s Defence Forces. Eritrea, a neighbour of
Somalia in the volatile Horn of Africa, was a major supporter of the
Islamists.
Tambi offered to buy Zakharov’s Ilyushin 76 transport aircraft carrying
the
Kazakhstan registration number UN 76496 for $1.5m (£770,000), even
though
the normal price for an aircraft of that vintage and condition is just
$1m.
Zakharov went ahead despite the unusual contract conditions that
stipulated
secrecy. He insisted the contract should specify that the new owners
were
not to use the aircraft to make arms flights.
However, he said last week that the Ilyushin made three
sanctions-busting
arms flights to Somalia from the Eritrean port of Massawa, bringing out
the
masked men on the return legs. “I do not know who they were but you can
draw
your own conclusions,” he said.
Zakharov’s revelations came as western security services continued
their
investigation into foreigners suspected of fighting on behalf of
Islamic
forces in Somalia and of joining Al-Qaeda last year. Among them are
British,
American and French Muslims.
Significant numbers of foreigners went to Somalia, western intelligence
officials have found, after the radical Islamic Courts Union (ICU)
movement
seized power from a weak UNbacked government, established links with
Al-Qaeda and allowed Somalia to be used as an Al-Qaeda terrorist
training
ground like Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
In December, invading Ethiopian troops took the capital Mogadishu from
the
ICU and restored the internationally recognised government, routing the
Islamists and scattering the foreigners and Al-Qaeda fighters.
But violence continues to plague the weak and fractured country and
there
are fears of an Islamist resurgence unless African Union peacekeepers
are
rapidly deployed.
Last week four British Muslims who had been in Somalia under the
radical
militia and then crossed the border into Kenya were briefly held under
the
Terrorism Act on their return to Britain.
An American who was also arrested in Kenya and then deported was
charged in
Texas with teaming up with Al-Qaeda. He told FBI officers who
interrogated
him that he had spent time with an Al-Qaeda bomb maker in Somalia being
trained in assembly techniques.
The UN report also described Iranian attempts to obtain Somali uranium.
Somalia is reported to have 6,600 tons of recoverable uranium but the
mines
have never been exploited because of poor security.
In addition, Libya provided $1m to finance future training missions and
pay
salaries. Surface-to-air missiles supplied by Iran are of the type
Al-Qaeda
used to try to bring down an Israeli charter flight over Kenya in 2002.
The
missiles are still at large.
Zakharov believes that one of the reasons the Eritreans wanted to use
the
Ilyushin in the clandestine operations was because the freighter’s
registration began with the letters UN and therefore might have been
mistaken for a United Nations aircraft.
When Zakharov discovered the Eritreans’ real use of the plane was for
arms
shipments and for flying the masked men from Somalia, he cancelled the
contract. Zakharov said he first grew suspicious when he found that the
seven-man crew were each being paid £2,500 bonuses for every flight.
Contacted last week, Tambi denied all knowledge of the deal. However,
The
Sunday Times has a copy of the contract signed in Moscow and Asmara,
the
capital of Eritrea, between Aerolift and Eriko Enterprise of Asmara on
July
21.
The first sanctions-busting arms flight landed at Mogadishu on July 26
and
was followed by three arms shipments — a total of some 140 tons — over
the
next three days.
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