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.

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Qantas sacks flight attendant over sabotage charges

Qantas has sacked a flight attendant it accuses of sabotaging aircraft
on
international flights.

One allegation against the flight attendant is that he shoved blankets
down
toilets on a number of international flights.

A 747 flight from Sydney to Los Angeles is understood to have been
grounded
for 24 hours while engineers worked to fix the toilets.

The man is also accused of tampering with phones used by crew to
communicate
with each other.

The national carrier said today it had dismissed the flight attendant
because of malicious damage to its aircraft.

"Following a number of incidents involving malicious damage to Qantas
aircraft and an investigation by Qantas Group Security, a long haul
flight
attendant has had their employment terminated," a Qantas spokesman said
today.

The spokesman said the matter had also been referred to the Australian
Federal Police (AFP) for investigation.

An AFP spokeswoman confirmed Qantas had referred a matter to the agency
for
investigation on November 30 this year.

AAP understands the male flight attendant will be taking his case to
the
Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

The sacking of the flight attendant comes as Qantas faces growing
industrial
action over its proposed takeover by private equity consortium Airline
Partners Australia.

However, Qantas said the incidents involving the flight attendant
happened
some time ago and were not related to the current bid to take over the
airline.

The Flight Attendants Association of Australia, which would likely
represent
the accused man in any court proceeding, yesterday announced a letter
writing campaign against the proposed takeover of the national carrier.

All Qantas unions are urging their members to write to MPs and senators
in a
bid to highlight national interest concerns associated with the
takeover.

Unions are running several campaigns to prevent the takeover.

The Australian and International Pilots Association has suggested its
members may try to buy enough shares in the company to block a sale.

The association would have to buy nine per cent of the airline to stop
the
takeover.

Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello have voiced
their
support for the current arrangements at the airline.

Mr Howard has constantly repeated his wish that "the Qantas we have is
the
Qantas we keep".

AAP

http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=school+bus+accident&ei=utf-8

1. Cool heads prevail in school bus accident Open this result in new window
Hood River News - Dec 23 8:59 AM
Photo by Joe Deckard Hood River County School District bus driven by Bobbi Reisner rests on its front in the ravine just east of Prater’s Motel. No one was injured in the accident.
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2. School bus involved in accident; students, staff OK Open this result in new window
Maple Shade Progress - Dec 22 6:03 AM
n the morning of Dec. 5, a Maple Shade school bus was involved in an accident with another vehicle on South Lippincott. According to the police report, the vehicle driven by Andrew Bryant of Maple Shade, was heading southbound on Lippincott, toward the bus traveling northbound on the street.
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3. $600K settlement in school bus accident Open this result in new window
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce - Dec 22 12:11 AM
The Marysville School District has agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve a claim over a school bus accident that badly injured a teenager.
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4. No injuries reported in school bus crash Open this result in new window
Sun Valley Central - Dec 22 1:18 AM
Six Blaine County School District students were evacuated from a school bus late Wednesday afternoon after the bus was involved in a two-vehicle accident on state Highway 75 about a mile north of Bellevue.
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5. Courier News Online - Kingwood school bus crashes, sending 5 students to hospital Open this result in new window
Bridgewater Courier News - Dec 23 5:19 AM
KINGWOOD -- A school bus carrying 30 children home from the township's K-8 school veered off the road by the school and overturned Friday afternoon, injuring five children, state police said.
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6. $600,000 settlement approved for Marysville teen who was hit, dragged by school bus Open this result in new window
The Olympian - Dec 21 8:38 AM
EVERETT -- The Marysville School District has agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve a claim over a school bus accident that badly injured a teenager. The agreement that was approved by a judge Monday settled one of two $25 million claims that were filed on behalf of in Keito Swan, 17, and his family.
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7. Van Runs School Bus Off Highway, 2 Students Injured Open this result in new window
The WPBF Channel - Dec 21 7:07 AM
A Palm Beach County school bus full of middle school students was left teetering on the edge of a drainage ditch after an accident along I-95 Thursday morning.
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8. Several students injured in school bus accident Open this result in new window
KJRH-TV Channel 2 Tulsa - Dec 20 11:24 AM
VELMA, Okla. (AP) -- A school bus went out of control and landed in a ditch in southern Oklahoma Wednesday, leaving several children injured. Officials at Duncan Regional Hospital said the injuries appeared minor.
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9. Girl hit in school bus stop accident Open this result in new window
Deseret Morning News - Dec 20 12:55 PM
A 12-year-old girl was seriously injured after being hit by a pickup outside a school bus stop early Wednesday morning.
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10. Student hit by car as he crosses road to board school bus Open this result in new window
Salisbury Post - Dec 22 7:16 AM
An East Rowan High School student was hit by a car early Thursday as he tried to cross Bringle Ferry Road and board a Rowan-Salisbury school bus. N.C. Highway Patrol First Sgt. B. Hower said troopers were dispatched to 4970 Bringle Ferry Road about 6:30 a.m.
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Shiite cleric won't support coalition

Associated Press

Saturday, December 23, 2006

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric withheld support Saturday for a
U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines, Shiite
lawmakers said, jeopardizing hopes that such a show of political unity could
help stem the country's deadly violence.

Members of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite coalition that
dominates parliament, met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf after
traveling to the holy city over the past few days. Al-Sistani holds no
political post and rarely emerges from his home and adjacent office, but
he has strong influence over Shiite politics.

Some members of the Shiite alliance have sought a coalition that would
include Kurds and Sunnis, and sideline Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical
Shiite cleric whose militia is blamed for much of Iraq's sectarian
violence. Lawmakers who attended the meeting with al-Sistani said the cleric
opposed any move that would divide Shiites.

"There are obstacles in the face of forming this coalition, because
al-Sistani does not support it. So we will work to strengthen the (Shiite)
alliance," said Hassan al-Sunnaid, of the Dawa Party of Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki.

Ali al-Adib, also a Dawa Party member, said al-Sistani "does not
support such blocs because they will break Shiite unity."

An official close to al-Sistani, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the cleric
"will not bless nor support any new bloc or front. He only supports the
unity of the Shiites."

Such a development could frustrate U.S.-backed efforts to persuade
Iraq's political leaders to set aside sectarian interests and work together
for the sake of national unity. Without progress in Iraqi politics,
some observers say, the security situation in the country is likely to
remain tenuous.

Al-Maliki, the Shiite prime minister, had relied heavily on the support
of al-Sadr, whose 30 loyalists in the 275-seat parliament and six
ministers in the 38-member Cabinet boycotted politics after al-Maliki met
Bush in Jordan recently.

Al-Sadr's walkout revealed the depth of division within the 130-seat
Shiite bloc in parliament, where some lawmakers who are viewed as
moderate have grown weary of the radical cleric's confrontational tactics.
Al-Sistani is also believed to be uncomfortable with the younger al-Sadr,
a firebrand whose fighters waged battles against American troops that
left parts of Najaf in ruins.

After meeting al-Sistani, the Shiite lawmakers visited al-Sadr. The
cleric has agreed to allow his supporters to rejoin the government,
officials close to him have said. Their walkout had prevented the government
from passing laws, creating a political deadlock alongside a
deteriorating security environment.

"Our meeting with Muqtada al-Sadr was successful and fruitful. There
were common points of understanding between us, and we assured the unity
of the (United Iraqi) Alliance," said Khaled al-Attiya, an independent
who is parliament's deputy speaker.

"He will give his final decision to rejoin the government and
parliament after Eid al-Adha," al-Attiya said, referring to the Islamic
calendar's most important holiday, which Iraq's Shiites will celebrate from
Dec. 31 to Jan. 4.

However, the meeting ended with one Dawa party participant saying only
that it was "constructive."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who spent three days in Iraq meeting
with military and political leaders, met Saturday with President Bush to
offer advice on transforming U.S. policy in Iraq.

Bush is considering whether to quickly send thousands of additional
U.S. troops to the country to control the violence. There are 140,000
American troops in Iraq.

Before leaving Baghdad, Gates declined to say whether he plans to
recommend a short-term increase in U.S. troop levels, but said he believes
there is "a broad strategic agreement between the Iraqi military and
Iraqi government and our military."

On Friday, the U.S. military announced five more American troop deaths,
making December the second deadliest month for U.S. servicemen in 2006.

In more violence Saturday, six civilians were killed when a mortar
shell hit a house in Baqouba, and an Iraqi military intelligence officer
was slain in a drive-by shooting south of Baghdad, police said.

U.S.-led forces raided a militant hideout in Ramadi, west of Baghdad,
killing one person and detaining nine, and Iraqi forces targeting a cell
of the extremist al-Qaida in Iraq group captured seven people in
Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Car bomb explodes in Nigeria oil region

Associated Press

Saturday, December 23, 2006

By DAN UDOH, Associated Press Writer

A car bomb exploded outside a state government office in Nigeria's
southern oil hub Saturday, soon after the military reported an overnight
bombing of a water pipeline leading into a refinery.

The blast at the office building in Port Harcourt was the first
targeting of a government installation by a militant group that has frequently
kidnapped foreign oil workers and occupied pumping stations run by
multinational companies.

The two bombings came at the end of a week of attacks against petroleum
companies in Africa's largest oil-producing nation. Militant groups say
people in the oil-rich Niger River delta aren't benefiting enough from
the wealth.

Going off at midday, the car bomb split the vehicle in two and
demolished part of a fence surrounding a building that houses the office of the
Rivers State governor and other government offices. Deputy Governor
Gabriel Tony, who was inside at the time, said no one was injured.

The explosion came less than an hour after one of the region's militant
groups, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, said in
an e-mail to The Associated Press that it had placed two car bombs in
the region and would detonate them "shortly."

The group, known as MEND, claimed responsibility for the Port Harcourt
bombing in a later e-mail.

The e-mail, from an address used by MEND, said state governors in the
Niger delta and other political figures "have acted against the interest
of the people of the Niger delta, sabotaging all efforts at resource
control for selfish reasons."

"We will henceforth carry out attacks against these traitors in
addition to attacks against oil installations," it said.

In the past, MEND has attacked only oil installations and personnel in
its campaign to pressure the government into concessions by hurting oil
production. Nigeria has seen its daily oil production of 2.5 million
barrels drop by a quarter this year because of violence by various
groups.

Earlier Saturday, Brig. Gen. Alfred Ilogho said dynamite was set off
under a water pipe leading to a refinery in the town of Warri, but the
blast did not affect production at the government-owned refinery.

Residents in the area reported hearing a large explosion around
midnight.

It was a violent week in the oil region.

On Monday, MEND claimed responsibility for two car bombs at oil company
compounds in Port Harcourt. The group also still holds four foreign oil
workers hostage demanding the release of jailed militants.

On Thursday, armed men raided a Total SA pumping station in an attack
that killed three police guards, while another group took over an Eni
SpA facility. The companies shut down production at both facilities,
about 80,000 barrels per day in all.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and several oil service companies began
evacuating all dependents of foreign employees from the delta region this week,
citing the worsening security situation after Monday's car bombs - one
of which was set off in a Shell residential complex.

___

Associated Press writer Katharine Houreld in Lagos, Nigeria,
contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[unknown url]

http://www.therecord.com/home_page_front_story/home_page_front_story_923593.html

Saturday, December 23, 2006 | Updated at 7:01 AM EST

Brazen daytime attack
Man hospitalized after four men open fire at Kitchener nightclub
FRANCES BARRICK AND LIZ MONTEIRO

KITCHENER (Dec 23, 2006)

Four men brandishing handguns barged into a downtown Kitchener nightclub yesterday morning and fired shots, wounding one man.

Another man was assaulted during the incident, which occurred at about 11:15 a.m. inside Passions Restaurant and Lounge at 320 King St. W. The club was closed at the time.

Police are treating the incident as an attempted homicide, Insp. Bryan Larkin said.

The man who was shot was in hospital last night with multiple gunshot wounds that police said are not life-threatening.

Police are not confirming reports the second victim was pistol-whipped.

After the shooting, all the suspects fled on foot.

Police are looking for four black men in their 20s. One had long dreadlocks.

"At this point, we don't know" how many shots were fired, Chalk said, adding it's too early in the investigation to comment on motive.

At the time of the shooting there were three men inside the establishment, Chalk said.

The one person who wasn't hurt ran out the back door of the building and called police. The door locked behind him.

When police arrived, they had to wait 90 minutes before the owner, Natasha Thomas, arrived to unlock the door.

Police closed off part of King Street West, between Water and Francis streets.

Elsa Gil, owner of Vanidades Unisex Beauty Salon across the street at 331 King St. W., said she had just opened her shop at 11 a.m. and was cutting a customer's hair when she heard "a big noise outside."

She quickly locked the front door of her business, which faces the lounge.

That is when she saw an injured man running toward Victoria Street.

"The guy is running and screaming. He had blood on his apron,'' she said.

Lisa Le, owner of Pho 95 Vietnam Restaurant, across the street from Passions, said she was in the kitchen when she noticed the flashing lights of emergency vehicles outside.

She said she saw four or five officers helping a man, who was holding his chest, as he was led to an ambulance.

"I saw blood on him," Le said, adding that one officer was putting pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.

A second man sat in another ambulance vehicle. His head was bandaged, dried blood was visible on his right cheek and his left eye was swollen.

Judy Doerr, a clerk at the nearby St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, said she, too, saw a man run from Passions. He was wearing an apron.

The Caribbean-style nightclub, which seats about 160 people, has been open for more than two years.

Faisal Elryah, a regular customer at Passions, was walking by the restaurant shortly after noon yesterday. He had got off work early for the Christmas weekend and was planning on having lunch there.

"Every weekend I go there after work,'' he said. "They are nice people.''

This is not the first time police have been to the lounge.

In September 2005, shots were fired outside the lounge after a fight broke out.

At that time, police said the bar was just closing up when a fight occurred either inside or just outside the bar. The fight grew and moved to a parking lot on the other side of King Street where a man was said to have pulled out a gun and started shooting. A group of other people started beating up the shooter and one person stabbed him.

He was treated at hospital for non-life-threatening stab wounds. Two men, aged 23 and 24, from Brampton and a 24-year-old man from Peterborough were charged in the incident.

Passions Lounge used to be owned by Jimmy Kostantos but he said yesterday that he sold the business about 15 months ago. It is now owned by Natasha Thomas.

Thomas told The Record in 2004 that she named the restaurant after the fruit. She refused to speak to the media yesterday.

fbarrick@therecord.com

lmonteiro@therecord.com

Lebanon Crisis Discussed With Saudis

http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2741/html/national.htm#s198036

Lebanon Crisis Discussed With Saudis
Arab League Chief Invited
TEHRAN, Dec. 23--Iran and Saudi Arabia are going to discuss ways of
ending crisis in Lebanon in the coming days, Foreign Minister
Manouchehr
Mottaki said.
In an interview with Al-Arabiyah TV Network, Mottaki said Iranian and
Saudi Arabian officials have decided to examine solutions to end the
current crisis in Lebanon, ISNA quoted Lebanon-based Arabic daily
As-Safir as reporting on Saturday.

"Iran and Saudi Arabia can be standard-bearers of unity in the Islamic
world and foil plots aimed at creating discord among Muslims," he said.
Middle Eastern nations are trying to find a solution to the Lebanese
plight which erupted when six pro-Hezbollah cabinet ministers resigned
last month after Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora rejected their
demand for a new national unity government.

Hezbollah supporters have been staging massive protests and ongoing
sit-ins in the capital Beirut near Siniora's office, as part of their
efforts to force him to resign, but the western-backed premier has
refused to comply.

"We have invited Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to come to
Tehran to continue talks about Lebanon and we believe that his efforts
to end crisis in Lebanon will result in an all-out agreement if
Lebanon's neighbors are determined to cooperate with each other," he
said.

An Iranian delegation is due to visit Lebanon to help resolve the
government crisis, AFP reported on Saturday.

The foreign minister rejected US policies in the Middle East and said
regional countries can play the main role in establishing peace and
security by cooperating and using their extensive capacities.
Commenting on Iran's nuclear case, Mottaki said issuing a statement

against Iran's peaceful nuclear program will make the situation more
complex.

"And we regard this as hostile to our national security. Any hostile
statement against Iran will definitely affect our approach in different

sectors while our close cooperation with the IAEA will change," he
said.

Mottaki said that Iran has offered regional states assistance in
producing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, adding that the Iranian
nation will not ignore its natural right to access nuclear energy.

Iran refuses to cease uranium enrichment

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/breaking_news/16311499.htm

Iran refuses to cease uranium enrichment
NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the country will push
forward immediately with efforts to enrich uranium after the U.N.
Security Council imposed sanctions designed to stop the nuclear
efforts,
a newspaper reported Sunday.

"From Sunday morning, we will begin activities at Natanz - site of
3,000-centrifuge machines - and we will drive it with full speed. It
will be our immediate response to the resolution," Ali Larijani told
the
Kayhan newspaper.

On Saturday, the Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions
on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, increasing
international pressure on the government to prove that it is not trying
to make nuclear weapons.

Iran immediately rejected the resolution.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in
response
to the resolution that Iran was more determined to continue its nuclear
activities.

"Our response to the resolution is continuation of peaceful nuclear
activities in a more concrete, more decisive and more organized manner
than before," Hosseini told reporters.

Larijani noted that Iran has "said many times before that if the
Westerners want to use the Security Council as an instrument, it will
not affect our will. And it will make us more decisive in realizing our
nuclear aims."

He said the Security Council had discredited itself by approving the
resolution.

The result of two months of tough negotiation, the resolution orders
all
countries to stop supplying Iran with materials and technology that
could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs. It also freezes
the Iranian assets of 10 key companies and 12 individuals related to
those programs.

If Iran refuses to comply, the council warned it would adopt further
nonmilitary sanctions, but the resolution emphasized the importance of
diplomacy in seeking guarantees "that Iran's nuclear program is
exclusively for peaceful purposes."

Iran insists its nuclear program is intended to produce energy, but the
Americans and Europeans suspect its ultimate goal is the production of
weapons.

The U.S. has said it hopes the resolution will clear the way for
tougher
measures by individual countries, particularly Russia.

The Bush administration had pushed for tougher penalties. But Russia
and
China, which both have strong commercial ties to Tehran, balked.

To get their votes, the resolution dropped a ban on international
travel
by Iranian officials involved in nuclear and missile development and
specified the banned items and technologies.

British Police Warn of Christmas Terror Threat

http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2741/html/politic.htm#s197982

British Police Warn of Christmas Terror Threat
LONDON, Dec. 23--Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said
the
threat of a terror attack in Britain is ever present and growing, and
that police were being extremely vigilant during the Christmas
holidays,
AP reported.

Britain's top police officer said the threat posed by Al-Qaeda
terrorists represented the gravest to the country since World War II
and
was of an "unparalleled nature and growing."

"The threat of another terrorist attempt is ever present," Blair said
in
an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

"Christmas is a period when that might happen. We have no specific
intelligence to do (with) that," he said.

He said Al-Qaeda posed a greater threat than the Irish Republican
Army's
1970-1997 failed campaign to force Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom and into the Republic of Ireland, which killed 1,775 people.

The IRA usually did not aim to cause mass atrocities, did not want to
die, gave warnings and was "heavily penetrated" by British intelligence
agents, Blair said.

"None of those four apply with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates," he said.

"It took 20 years to penetrate the IRA and I have no doubt that the
intelligence services will be attempting that now, but it is a more
difficult and a much more recent phenomenon," he said.

Home Secretary John Reid said on Dec. 10 that it was highly likely that

terrorists would attempt an attack over the holiday period.
Last month, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller --who heads MI5, Britain's
domestic spy service--said authorities were tracking almost 30
terrorist
plots involving 1,600 suspects and that her agency had foiled five
major
plots since the July 2005 transit bomb attacks in London, which killed
52 commuters and the four bombers.

City under terror watch

http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=19004

City under terror watch
MICHAEL OWEN

UNMANNED closed-circuit television camera spy planes and trucks with
hidden cameras are among options canvassed in a top secret report into
security coverage in Adelaide.

The report, considered by a top-level State Government and Adelaide
City
Council committee, is part of Premier Mike Rann's post-London bombing
plan to improve CCTV coverage in the city centre. One Capital City
Committee member, who wished to remain anonymous, said the report
included options for "more coverage and different ways of surveillance,
like trucks and unmanned planes and so on".

"It was an enormous report and the dollars being talked about to fund
it
was amazing," the committee member said. "You'd think we were terrorist
target No. 1."

Police Minister Paul Holloway, one of the State Government's three
representatives on the committee, said the Government would consider
the
recommendations contained in the report.

He said security was being boosted by a restructure of the Police
Security Services branch, the introduction of Protective Security
Officers and the installation of CCTV cameras across the public
transport system.

"We have also introduced the Police Powers (Prevention and Response to
Terrorism) Act, which gives the Police Commissioner, in concurrence
with
the Minister for Police, authorisation to use additional extraordinary
powers for a defined period in the event of a terrorist incident or
threat," he said.

Committee members were forced to hand back copies of the extensive
report, after it was "flicked through" by chairwoman Jane Lomax-Smith,
the Minister for the City of Adelaide.

"The report is quite amazing," the committee member said.

Mr Holloway said a meeting in London with Detective Inspector James
Stokley, in charge of piecing together thousands of hours of CCTV
footage after the London bombings, highlighted the importance of a
high-quality CCTV network.

Secret Services Claim Channel Tunnel Is Terror Target

http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/secret-services-claim-channel-tunnel-is-terror-target

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006
Secret Services Claim Channel Tunnel Is Terror Target

Jason Burke

The Channel tunnel has been targeted by a group of Islamic militant
terrorists aiming to cause maximum carnage during the holiday season,
according to French and American secret services.

The plan, which the French DGSE foreign intelligence service became
aware of earlier this year, is revealed in a secret report to the
French
government on threat levels. The report, dated December 19, indicates
that the tip-off came from the American CIA. British and French
intelligence agencies have run a series of checks of the security
system
protecting the 31-mile tunnel but the threat level, the DGSE warns,
remains high. British security services remain on high alert throughout
the holiday period.

According to the French sources, the plan was put together in Pakistan
and is being directed from there. The plotters are believed to be
Western Europeans, possibly Britons of Pakistani descent. The DGSE say
that levels of 'chatter', the constant communication that takes place
between militants, has not been so high since 2001. Last week Sir Ian
Blair, the head of the Metropolitan Police, described 'the threat of
another terrorist attempt' as 'ever present' adding that 'Christmas is
a
period when that might happen'.
'It is a far graver threat in terms of civilians than either the Cold
war or the Second World war,' he said. 'It's a much graver threat than
that posed by Irish Republican terrorism.'

American security sources told The Observer that the threat was 'sky
high'.

The news of the threat to the Channel Tunnel comes as Eurostar trains
transport record numbers of passengers heading home for Christmas and
as
fog continues to affect flights to and from the continent.

More than 8 million passengers travelled on Eurostar trains last year.
Staff on the line went on strike earlier this year in protest at what
they said were lax security arrangements.

'A successful attack on such an installation would be almost as
spectacular as September 11?, said one terrorist expert. 'Al-Qaeda and
those they inspire are trying everything from low-level strikes to
major
attacks on critical infrastructure.'

The DGSE report also mentions an al-Qaeda project for a 'wave of
attacks
in an unidentified European country planned and run from Syria and
Iraq'. The period of highest risk is said to be from September 2006 to
April 2007.

The detail in which the attacks have been planned in Pakistan will
worry
British counter-terrorist services. The UK is in a particularly
vulnerable position as a result of its close alliance with America, its
physical accessibility compared with the US, and its large Muslim
minority, many of whom have links with Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden and other key senior al-Qaeda leaders are thought to be
based in the tribal territories along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
There is believed to be a steady stream of British militants making
their way to the newly reconstituted al-Qaeda bases in the region. More
than 400,000 British citizens travel to Pakistan every year. Though the
vast majority are visiting family or friends, some have exploited the
ease of travel for darker reasons: at least two of the 7/7 bombers
spent
time in the south-west Asian state.

Last week news reports in America detailed a squad of a dozen
English-speaking militants, nine of whom are said to be British who,
having sought out the al-Qaeda bases, have now been trained to a high
level in terrorist tactics. The group is known as the English Brothers
because of their shared language. Apart from the nine Britons, the
squad
is made up of an Australian and two Norwegians. It was reported that
Bin
Laden and other militant leaders hope they will lead a new wave of
terror attacks on the continent.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, director-general of MI5, recently disclosed
that UK intelligence services are monitoring more than 200 networks and
1,600 individuals in Britain. She said that her investigators had
identified nearly 30 plots 'that often have links back to al-Qaeda in
Pakistan, and through those links al-Qaeda gives guidance and training
to its largely British foot soldiers here'.

Syria must be involved in settling Mideast conflict

21 décembre 2006 RIA Novosti Agence russe
Syria must be involved in settling Mideast conflict
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061221/57495699.html

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya) - The
U.S. State Department has reminded the world that Syria was forced into
international isolation for its ties with Iran and for supporting
terrorism. But the Moscow visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
belies this statement.

"Syria has always played a crucial role in the [Middle Eastern]
region,"
Russian President Vladimir Putin said when opening the Kremlin talks
with his Syrian counterpart.

Assad came to Russia at a time of internal political turmoil in Lebanon
and the Palestinian territories, and Washington's attempts to revise
its
policy in Iraq and the Middle East. Putin and Assad discussed all of
these developments, with bilateral cooperation as the background for
discussions of regional matters.

Putin opened the talks by saying that he had exchanged opinions on the
situation in the region with the Israeli and Lebanese prime ministers,
as well as with other leaders in the region and outside it.

The Untied States, France and Israel have accused Syria of interfering
in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and of hampering
stabilization by supporting extremist movements Hizbollah and Hamas.
Russia was expected to ameliorate Syria's policy.

The Kremlin leaders have expressed their opinion about the regional
events, but in the form of recommendations, Assad said. They did not
attempt to pressurize Syria, but proposed looking for solutions suiting
all sides. Assad also said a stabilization mechanism for the Middle East
was discussed at the Kremlin talks.

He did not go into details, but everything he said before coming to
Moscow and in the Kremlin boils down to recognizing the opinion of
regional forces in the international effort to settle Middle East
conflicts. Russia shares this view.

Assad said at a news conference after his talks with Putin that they
agreed on ways to resolve the Palestinian problem. Both presidents
believe that the immediate task is to restore unity among Palestinians
before discussing a peace settlement with Israel.

This statement amounts to a tacit reproach directed at Israeli and
American politicians who are trying to isolate Hamas and are talking
only with the head of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud
Abbas.

This also applies to the situation in Lebanon and Iraq. Assad said that
Syria supports all consensus decisions on Lebanon, as well as efforts
aimed at attaining national reconciliation in Iraq.

The talks in Moscow focused on the Palestinian problem, Lebanon and
Iraq, but only mentioned in passing Assad's statement on his country's
readiness for peace talks with Israel, which had caused such an outcry
in the press.

Assad said in Moscow that he had only reaffirmed the stance Syria
assumed in 1974. He added, however, that talks with Israel are out of
the question at present, an opinion Tel Aviv accepts.

According to RIA Novosti sources, Israel is also scrutinizing the
Palestinian aspect of the problem and is concerned over the situation
in
Lebanon, whereas talks with Syria are at the bottom of its agenda. The
only thing that worries Tel Aviv in relations with Damascus is the
latter's role in the Lebanese and Palestinian conflicts.

However, even Israel admits that Syria should be convinced rather than
forced to change its stance. While rejecting direct dialogue with
Syria,
Israel does not object to other countries, including Russia, discussing
acute regional problems with Damascus.

The importance of dialogue with Syria is increasingly often recognized
in Europe and the U.S. Although President George W. Bush may not be
prepared for this, his Senators are doing their best to revive dialogue
with Syria, and are negotiating with Assad. This cannot be described as
international isolation.

Syria's stance can seem unacceptable and irritating to some, but Assad
is absolutely correct in saying that an attempt to force Syria into
international isolation blocks the solution of Middle East problems.
Moscow has always believed this, and the world is gradually accepting
its view.

No Deal On Lebanon Crisis

http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2741/html/politic.htm#s197970

No Deal On Lebanon Crisis

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 23--Arab League Chief Amr Moussa said on Saturday
he had not reached a deal to end Lebanon's political crisis but efforts
would continue to try and find a solution, Reuters said.
Moussa warned Lebanese leaders against escalating the crisis and said
the mediation was complicated by the fact that the opposing leaders
were
not communicating with each other.
"We conducted a table of understanding ... and it is left to the
different sides to decide what to do with regards to accepting it,"
Moussa told reporters.
"We hoped that these suggestions, formulas, and this agenda would make
us reach a breakthrough in the trouble but ... communications between
the different leaderships are severed or non existent or not existent
enough."
Moussa was mediating in a tense standoff that pits an anti-Syrian
coalition with a majority in parliament and government against an
opposition led by Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who has Western and Saudi support, has so
far rejected demands by Hezbollah for a decisive say in government.

12 trained to set up terror cells in West

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/15589.html

12 trained to set up terror cells in West

LONDON, Dec. 23 Al-Qaida has trained 12 Westerners, including nine
British Muslims, to set up terror cells in London and other Western
capitals, it was reported Saturday.

The 12, including two Norwegians and an Australian, were smuggled into
Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan region, bordering Afghanistan, for
the
training in October 2005, The Times of London reported.

They are believed to have been under the command of an al-Qaida veteran
suspected of training some of the Britons accused in an alleged plot to
blow up passenger planes flying to the United States from Britain last
summer, the newspaper said.

British police have launched an intensive manhunt for the nine
unidentified, so-called English brothers.London Police Commissioner Ian
Blair cautioned Friday about an unparalleled and growing threat of
attack in England. He said the terrorist threat was far graver than any
posed during World War II, the Cold War or Irish Republican Army
campaigns.

Copyright 2006 by UPI

Police guard churches amid warnings of Christmas terror

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20061224135138&irec=0

Police guard churches amid warnings of Christmas terror

JAKARTA (AP): Tens of thousands of police were deployed at churches
across Indonesia on Sunday amid warnings by Western nations that
Islamic
militants may be plotting Christmas bombings.

Indonesian officials downplayed the bulletins, which have become
something of a tradition themselves since Christmas Eve bombings at
churches across the world's most populous Muslim nation in 2000 killed
19 people.

The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and Australia warned that the threat of an
attack over the holiday season was "serious" and "credible" and that
foreigners could be targeted, but did not say on what the alert was
based on.

"The Australians and the Americans can say what they want, that is
democracy," Indonesia's police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga
Ana. "But up until now we have not seen any frightening signs."

Nevertheless, 18,000 officers had been deployed at churches in the
capital, Jakarta and tens of thousands more will be on duty elsewhere
in
the sprawling nation, he said.

Bomb squad officers planned to search Jakarta's Dutch-era cathedral for
bombs and Christmas Eve worshippers at major churches would be frisked
before they entered, he said.

The United States and its regional ally, Australia, have long posted
generic warnings that terrorists are plotting attacks in Indonesia, but
they routinely issue fresh bulletins ahead of the holiday season.

The warnings are not based on intelligence of a specific threat, but
rather reflect a general belief that attacks by Muslim extremists are
more likely over Christmas.

Since then the 2000 bombings, militants from the Jamaah Islamiyah
terror
group have staged four major attacks, the most deadly being the October
2002 nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, most of them foreign
tourists. The last attack was more than 14 months ago.

Indonesian officials do not like the terror warnings, saying they hurt
the country's economy by frightening tourists and are unfair given the
global nature of terrorism. (***)

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