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
Thank you sincerely.
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2007/02/peoples-resistance-movement-of-iran.html
February 20, 2007
People’s Resistance Movement of Iran rejects allegations of Alquida ties
IntelliBriefs received this statement from People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (former Jondollah of Iran )which categorically rejected ties to western governments and also Alquida .
Statement of People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (former Jondollah of Iran ) to Media & International community
After our recent defensive measures to prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from the genocide of Baloch people, some news media have published certain allegations that we categorically reject. People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (former Jondollah of Iran ) is a defensive organization that has been formed to campaign for freedom and democracy in Iran and to protect the Baloch people and other religious and ethnic minorities.
Our mission is to change the present regime and establish a new system in Iran in which every Iranian enjoys equal opportunity and equal rights. We have undertaken to accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all other United Nations conventions on resolutions. We only act in self-defence and whenever the Iranian regime kills an innocent Iranian, we act in accordance to all United Nations conventions that allow people and nations to defend themselves against aggression and genocide.
We strive to force the Iranian regime to abandon its brutal policies against the Baloch people and other Iranian citizens. We campaign to stop discrimination, brutality, injustice, corruption and ethnic cleansing in Iran.
We categorically announce that we have no any kind of relationships and links with Alqaedah, Taleban and other fundamentalist groups. We categorically announce that we have no any kind of relationships with foreign countries including the United States of America and the United Kingdom. We do not receive any support, arms, ammunition, training and financial help from any country.In such conditions it is not easy for us to live peacefully. Yet, we have been able to maintain our independence in such important geopolitical centre and battlefield.
The fact that the Iranian regime labels us as the agents of Taleban, Alqaedah, the United States of America and the United Kingdom clearly demonstrates that we cannot be part of Taleban and a friend of America at the same time. We cannot be a member of Alqaedah and also a friend of United Kingdom and other Western countries. The Iranian regime has underestimated the potentials of the Baluch people and therefore, has to find an excuse for the killing of the Baloch people. We have a moral right to defend ourselves, our community, our nation and our country. It is the Iranian regime that is dealing with different terrorist groups and foreign countries.
Thousands of Baloch people have been killed by Iranian regime and so far the United Nations and other international organizations have never raised their voice against the discrimination and genocide that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been committing in our land.
We were a civil society that was forced into armed struggle by the Iranian regime. We commit ourselves to restart our civil campaign as soon as the conditions in Iran allows.
As our recent operations proved that the Iranian regime is too weak to defend itself. It is much less powerful than what it pretends to be. The Iranian security guards and their elite have become aware of the regime's brutality and corruption and therefore, they are not prepared to defend this regime anymore. All of those security forces that have been arrested by us have confessed that the Iranian regime is financing terrorism in the region because it is too weak from within to defend itself and therefore, it needs other proxies to defend it.
People’s Resistance Movement of Iran
(former Jondollah of Iran )
posted by Naxal Watch @ 6:41 AM
You are welcome.
Strange night, did not intend to do a lot of searching, need to work on my emails, but LOL, I go where I am called.
Do you know the group in 5022?
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Terror-Charge.php
U.S. terror suspect's statements detail time in Somalia
The Associated Press
Published: February 23, 2007
HOUSTON: Handwritten statements depict the frustration, confusion and
deception that revolved around a U.S. citizen accused of receiving
training from al-Qaida in his efforts to help overthrow the Somali
government.
The three sets of statements, released Thursday, which Daniel Joseph
Maldonado gave to FBI agents after his arrest in Kenya last month,
detail in the 28-year-old's words why he left the United States, his
time in Somalia and the frantic last few days he and his family spent
in
the country before his capture by authorities.
In his initial handwritten statement, Maldonado wrote he moved from the
United States because of anti-Muslim sentiment following the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks and heard that Somalia was emerging as a "true
Islamic state."
"I would be able to live, pray, act, dress and be a Muslim without
anyone yelling at me, calling me names, refusing me jobs or
apartments,"
he wrote.
He also said in later statements that he wanted to "fight jihad" or a
holy war in Somalia.
The statements first became public during Maldonado's two-day probable
cause and detention hearing earlier this week. A federal magistrate
judge ruled Wednesday there was sufficient evidence that Maldonado
received weapons and bombmaking training at a Somali camp where
al-Qaida
members were also present. Maldonado was ordered held without bond
until
his trial.
Maldonado, 28, a Muslim convert also known as Daniel Aljughaifi and Abu
Mohammed, is accused of traveling in November to an al-Qaida terrorist
camp in Somalia, where he was trained to use firearms and explosives in
an effort to help another group, the Islamic Courts Union, topple the
government and install an Islamic state. He was captured by the Kenyan
military while trying to flee Somalia on Jan. 21.
He faces charges of undergoing military training with a terrorist
organization and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction,
specifically a bomb. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
During the hearing, FBI agent Loretta Eglen-Anderson testified she and
other agents had him write down what he had done in Somalia.
Maldonado, who grew up in Pelham, New Hampshire, and lived in Houston
from August 2005 to November 2005, moved with his wife and three
children to Cairo, Egypt, before going to Somalia in November.
Maldonado wrote that he did not find acceptance in Egypt nor when he
first got to Somalia, which has not had an effective national
government
since 1991.
Eglen-Anderson testified Maldonado initially lied to FBI agents about
his reasons for going to Somalia. In later statements, Maldonado
admitted he "left out the fact that I wanted to fight jihad."
After arriving in Somalia, Maldonado wrote he and his family were taken
in by a man. In revised statements he said the man gave him a gun and
ammunition.
Maldonado left his family in the Somali capital of Mogadishu and
traveled to the southern port city of Kismayo, where FBI agents and
federal prosecutors said he went to receive weapons and bombmaking
training at an al-Qaida camp. Maldonado later admitted he did go to get
training.
In his statements, Maldonado never mentioned al-Qaida and said he was
sick for a week with malaria after arriving in Kismayo.
After recovering in a hospital, Maldonado said he was asked again "to
join the jihad. But I was more concerned with my family in Mogadishu
and
still doubtful about weather it was a valid jihad."
Maldonado later admitted he lied about his doubts.
Maldonado wrote that after the fighting in Somalia intensified, he
tried
to get his family to come to Kismayo so they could leave the country.
He
was reunited with his family but was told he and his family would have
to travel separately to Kenya.
In his worry and frustration, Maldonado wrote he called his parents and
lied to make them feel guilty.
"So I decided to make them feel bad by saying that I was a soldier and
I
was going to fight jihad and possibly die," he wrote.
Prosecutors said they don't think he was lying.
Maldonado was able to travel with his family part of the way to the
Kenyan-Somali border.
"We said very sad good by's hoping for each others safety and her and
the children left," he wrote.
In his efforts to get to the border, Maldonado traveled by boat and
truck, ending up in a camp in a wooded area. The camp was raided and
Maldonado fled, eventually being captured by Kenyan troops.
Maldonado's wife died of malaria but it is not clear where or when she
died. The couple's three children are now being taken care of by
Maldonado's parents in New Hampshire.
Yes. The Ghods "Jerusalem Brigade" was formed for overseas paramilitary operations. They are the equivalent of Special Forces but used mainly outside Iran's borders or close to frontiers with over the border missions rather than internal.
[LOL, Didn't I tell you the Navy had OBL? granny]
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=localnews&tableId=131707&pubDate=2/23/2007
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2007 11:24 AM
Inside Navy's secret brig
Report: Hanahan facility geared to dodge scrutiny, keep inmates apart
By TONY BARTELME
The Post and Courier
Officials at the Navy's brig in Hanahan developed elaborate plans to dodge public scrutiny of its operations to detain enemy combatants, plans that include destroying "critical info," scrubbing public Web sites, and warning brig staff about the temptations of "high priced offers from news agencies," a Navy report shows.
The 17-page document also describes how, with relatively short notice, the Naval Consolidated Brig created an expensive prison-within-a-prison, in part to prevent regular inmates from retaliating against the detainees. In this separate facility, a brig official said detainees are accorded protections under the U.S. Constitution, "except where curtailed by higher guidance."
The document provides a rare insider's glimpse into what has emerged as one of the most secretive installations in the government's anti-terrorism effort. It reveals new details about the challenges of housing high-profile terrorism suspects. It also comes amid a backdrop of lawsuits alleging that the solitary confinement of detainees constitutes torture, and that the administration's policy of holding terrorism suspects without charges is unconstitutional.
Brig officials prepared the paper "Preparing for Enemy Combatant Detainment" for a presentation last summer in Charlotte at a national conference organized by the American Correctional Association. The Navy supplied the document to The Post and Courier in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
The presentation begins with an introduction by Sandy Seymour, technical director of the brig. He declined to comment for this story. In the presentation paper, Seymour describes how the brig's mission evolved after 9/11. Before, it was a medium-level security prison capable of holding 364 inmates, and that its main focus was on rehabilitating inmates. He touted the institution's low recidivism rates.
After 9/11, the Bush administration declared that certain terrorism suspects were "enemy combatants," more akin to prisoners of war than criminals. As such, the administration argued, enemy combatants could be held without criminal charges until the war was over.
Seymour said that brig officials were given five months to prepare to confine enemy combatants.
The first, Jose Padilla, arrived in June 2002, under heavy guard. Two others followed: Yaser Hamdi, an American citizen by birth picked up on a battlefield in Afghanistan; and Ali Saleh al-Marri, who authorities say was an al-Qaida sleeper agent.
Seymour said in the report that security became the brig's overriding concern. "The enemy combatant concept of operations mean establishing two separate facilities on the same real estate," he said, adding later: "There is no rehabilitation mission in detainment." He said one of the brig's challenges was to make sure other inmates didn't come into contact with the detainees.
"Emotional responses by the prisoner population to the events of September 11th made it clear that criminals can be patriots, too," his report said. "We concluded that it was likely, given the opportunity, an inmate might attempt to harm an enemy combatant out of patriotic sentiment." Brig officials paid close attention to such "crossover" contact, making sure, for instance, that staff, instead of regular inmates, prepare and serve detainees' meals.
Seymour said brig officials also had to learn about the detainees' cultural traditions. "Be prepared to explain what some of the basic tools are and the expectation for their use: For example a flushing toilet ... Even which hand is used to deliver food or religious material to a person from a Muslim culture can have great significance."
While the Pentagon has allowed more than 1,100 visits by reporters and others to detention facilities in Guantanamo, Cuba, military officials have denied media requests to tour the Hanahan brig. In fact, much of the brig's presentation was devoted to how officials sealed the facility from public scrutiny.
"Taking on a nationally newsworthy mission brings its own pitfalls," the report said. "High-priced offers from news agencies for information or pictures can be very tempting to staff." (Like most daily newspapers, The Post and Courier does not pay for such information.)
The report said brig officials scrubbed public access documents and Web sites and destroyed "critical info," including information about rosters and internal operations. "Staff training to counter media probes paid dividends on several occasions," Seymour said without further explanation.
The presentation eventually took on the tone of a primer for corrections colleagues on how to dodge reporters and prepare their institutions for enemy combatant missions.
"Defeat surprise queries by preparing standard answers and keep them near common phone access points and available to all staff ... Focus on where the vulnerabilities are for camera footage by interested parties and look for unconventional access to your operation." Doing so will "starve the query."
Cmdr. Flex Plexico, a Navy spokesman, said Thursday the report "shows the amount of effort and care taken in preparing for the enemy combatant detainment mission supporting the ongoing war on terror." He pointed out that the document stresses "the requirement to treat all detainees humanely, and summarizes the extraordinary steps taken to provide for the safe confinement of enemy combatants while at the same time protecting those responsible for carrying out the detention mission."
Seymour also touched on the legal netherworld the enemy combatants inhabit. "In detaining American citizens, full constitutional rights are afforded except where curtailed by higher guidance or accepted prison practice," the report said.
Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney for the lone detainee in the facility, Ali Saleh al-Marri, said the document shows how the Bush administration is trying to build a separate detention system unbound by the Constitution. "They're saying, 'We'll follow the Constitution, unless the president tells us not to.' That's very significant."
Jacob Hornberger, president of The Future of Freedom, a libertarian think tank near Washington, D.C., added that "the brig officer has it all wrong. The rights enumerated in the Constitution are not privileges bestowed by federal officials subject to discretionary curtailment. Instead, they are inherent, fundamental rights and guarantees that the Constitution expressly prohibits federal officials, including those in the military, from infringing."
Plexico said the term "higher guidance" refers to "guidance higher in the military chain of command than the brig and alludes to rights" that are commonly restricted in detention facilities to ensure order. He added that "even active duty military members in good standing do not have the full benefit of the Constitution, i.e., the First Amendment."
The report also touched on the financial burdens of holding the detainees.
The report doesn't specify how much has been spent to accommodate enemy combatants but did say an entire wing was set aside for one detainee. (The Post and Courier has requested information about costs under the Freedom of Information Act. The military has denied these requests, citing national security concerns.)
In the report, Seymour concluded that "the enemy combatant mission is a fluid task without full definition." One thing was clear, he added, "this mission costs money," urging his colleagues, "get access to the money!"
Reach Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com.
This article was printed via the web on 2/25/2007 3:05:18 PM . This article
appeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Friday, February 23, 2007.
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=localnews&tableId=132045&pubDate=2/25/2007
Gangbusters
Increases in violence and other crimes have forced S.C. to address a growing problem
BY GLENN SMITH
The Post and Courier
After years of denial and inaction, South Carolina is rushing to contain the spread of street gangs that have taken root in every corner of the state, from urban cores to rural backwaters.
Police departments are forming specialized gang units. Lawmakers are working to institute tougher penalties for gang members. Communities are meeting to discuss the threat. And officials are assembling a statewide computer database to track identified gang members.
For years, politicians and police were hesitant to acknowledge even a whiff of gang activity. Violent thugs, sure. Bickering neighborhood groups, certainly. But street gangs, not a chance. Gangs were considered a big city problem, an incongruous fit in the South.
That has changed in recent years as gangs have spilled out of urban areas into rural and suburban nooks across the nation.
Rival gangs were linked to a string of drive-by shootings last year in rural Colleton County. A week ago, two men were shot to death execution-style there, and investigators are looking into possible gang connections. Members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha 13, or MS-13, gang were rounded up in Orangeburg after a gang member attacked a police officer there. And Columbia recently learned that the nationally connected Gangsta Killer Bloods have been operating a violent and lucrative crack cocaine trade in the capital city.
"I don't think there is any question that gangs are a problem here or anywhere in South Carolina," Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said. "It's like global warming. We don't want to debate whether it exists anymore; we want to find a solution."
In the tourism-conscious Lowcountry, officials by and large have been far more muted in their use of the word "gang." But recognition of the problem is growing.
North Charleston police and the Colleton County Sheriff's Office have formed special units to combat gangs. Charleston police are tracking gang graffiti and keeping tabs on the city's most notorious offenders. And the Charleston County Sheriff's Office flags gang members who enter the county jail and catalog their tattoos for law enforcement use.
"Awareness is increasing of both the problem and how to deal with it," said Sgt. Debbie Fritts, who heads the Charleston police criminal intelligence unit. "We do have a denial issue in the criminal justice system, but it is getting better."
The challenge now is to educate the public about gangs without instilling fear out of proportion with the actual threat. Charleston, after all, is not Compton. But the seeds of a serious problem are certainly here.
Gang activity, awareness up
Just three years ago, the State Law Enforcement Division had identified 84 groups in South Carolina that fit the general definition of a gang: an organized group of three or more people who adopt a common name and engage in crime. That figure has since ballooned to 325 identified gangs, with a combined membership of more than 1,600 people, SLED Chief Robert Stewart said.
The number of crimes attributed to gangs has mushroomed as well. Last year, gangs were linked to 778 crimes in South Carolina, with offenses including aggravated assault, murder, intimidation, rape and robbery. By comparison, 272 gang-related crimes were reported statewide in 2001, Stewart said.
"We do believe there has been an increase," he said. "But we also believe there is a greater awareness in law enforcement that is causing more accurate reporting of gangs and gang activity."
In a study released last year, more than half of the 174 South Carolina law enforcement agencies responding to questions from University of South Carolina researchers reported gang presence in their communities.
Much of the state's gang culture has been imported from Los Angeles, Chicago and other hotbeds of entrenched, highly organized gang activity.
Among others, authorities have encountered self-proclaimed Bloods, Crips, Surenos, Black Gangster Disciples and Five Percenters. Many gang members also align themselves with either Folk Nation or People Nation, rival umbrella groups formed through gang alliances.
Many local crews have little or no connection to the national gangs they emulate, said Jeff Rojek, one of three USC criminology professors who conducted the gang study with the state Criminal Justice Academy. Most simply adopt the names and symbols of these groups, copying what they see on television or the Internet, he said. Statewide numbers suggested most gang members were between the ages of 15 and 17.
"Some of the groups are amazingly disorganized," Rojek said. "That makes it difficult to figure out who's who here, because it's constantly shifting."
That doesn't mean they're not dangerous.
In Charleston County alone, gangs were tied to some 43 assaults, robberies and other crimes in 2005, according to SLED figures.
"Whether they are nationally associated or not, the effect on a community is the same," Stewart said.
Charleston police have identified six or seven criminal groups operating on the peninsula, with between three and 15 members each. Some of these gang members appeared in the now-infamous hip-hop DVD that surfaced in the city last year, flashing gang signs and posing en masse amid a general backdrop of drugs, guns and money.
Like many area gangs, these groups appear loosely organized, concentrating on drug sales and crimes of opportunity. They've adopted names such as East Side Posse, Romney Street Killers and 2 Word Crew, but they have few ties beyond the tenuous street bonds that brought them together.
"These are local street-level narcotics gangs, generally people who have grown up together and decided to make some sort of criminal activity their livelihood," Fritts said.
Police say they have seen nothing to suggest gang activity played a role in the wave of killings that made 2006 the bloodiest year in modern history in the Lowcountry. One killing, a shooting on the outskirts of North Charleston, reportedly resulted from a dispute between two members of the Bloods gang. The slaying stemmed from a simple argument over drugs rather than deeper gang issues, authorities said.
Still, authorities are concerned about the potential for heavier violence.
Just up the road in North Carolina, Durham and Charlotte have experienced a spate of gang-related killings in recent years.
Charlotte is home to an estimated 200 members of MS-13, which has roots in El Salvador and a legacy of brutal violence across the United States. In Charlotte alone, the gang has been linked to at least 18 killings since 2000.
"We're in such a mobile society now," Orangeburg Public Safety Chief Wendell Davis said. "It's very simple for them to come down (interstates) 77 and 26 and be in Columbia, be in Charleston or be anywhere they want to be."
Davis should know. Seven members of MS-13 were rounded up in his city last year after a member of the gang attacked an officer responding to a call. Federal immigration officials helped round up and deport the men. But Davis still doesn't know what the group was doing in Orangeburg or whether authorities got them all.
The MS-13 members were housed at the Charleston County jail before they were deported. When they arrived, they seemed rather docile and unimposing, jail Administrator Mitch Lucas said.
"But when they took off their shirts, all you saw were gang tattoos, gunshot wounds and knife wounds," he said.
Stiffer penalties proposed
State lawmakers are making a concerted push this year to clamp down on these gangs before they become a crippling problem. South Carolina is currently among a minority of states lacking an anti-gang law.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Jake Knotts, a Lexington Republican, would authorize the state grand jury to investigate gang crimes, create stiff penalties for forcing people to join or remain a member of a gang, and establish a gang database at SLED.
SLED already has received a $400,000 federal grant to assemble the database, which should be set up within four months. Knott's bill would mandate that police agencies submit gang information to this central clearinghouse, Stewart said.
The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union opposes the gang legislation, saying the grand jury would be used for racial profiling and create a climate of guilt by association.
State Attorney General Henry McMaster insists the legislation is crucial. Allowing the state grand jury to pursue such cases would guarantee gang members could be subpoenaed and compelled to testify about the inner workings of their organizations, he said.
"They are committing crimes all over the state," McMaster said. "Unless you can get someone on the inside of these gangs telling you how they operate and where they operate, you will never find out about them, because of the code of silence."
State Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat and a longtime civil rights activist, said people have nothing to fear if they are not engaged in crime. "This is the right thing to do," he said. "It don't make no sense for anybody to fight it."
A creeping menace
South Carolina's experience mirrors national trends indicating a migration of gangs from their big-city bunkers into the surrounding countryside. The appeal: less competition, fewer turf battles and fewer police agencies accustomed to dealing with gangs.
"It's more advantageous to go somewhere where there is nothing," North Charleston police officer Tim Ramsey said. "It's like opening a Wal-Mart in the middle of nowhere. You are going to get everybody coming to you."
The Internet has proved to be a valuable recruitment tool for gangs. Crips, Bloods and others have their own Web sites. And videos and photographs of gang dances, hand signs and beat-downs can easily be found on any number of Web sites popular with teenagers. Among the videos making the rounds locally in recent years is one showing a gang initiation beating that took place at a home in Goose Creek, authorities said.
Perry Aftab, a New Jersey lawyer and an expert on cybercrime, said the Internet allows gangs to groom bored kids and other youths they wouldn't be able to reach otherwise.
"If some of these gang members showed up in a wealthy suburb in South Carolina, kids would probably run away before they got too close," she said. "But online, they can look cool."
The Internet's reach was demonstrated in Richland County last year when a group of high school kids calling themselves Crips contacted a Florida gang leader through a Web site, Rojek said. The Florida leader then dispatched a group of Beaufort-based Marines to Columbia to recruit the teens for the gang, he said. Authorities arrested four Marines and 14 other young men while they were attending a gang meeting at a vacant building in September.
South Carolina is hardly alone in dealing with this menace. Other Southern cities, such as Nashville and Arlington, Va., have linked gangs to crimes as diverse as machete attacks and drug trafficking.
After a major push by law enforcement to suppress gangs in the late 1980s and early 1990s, several gang leaders were sent to prison and their organizations hampered. Resources in many police agencies began to shift away from anti-gang efforts, however, and after the Sept. 11 attacks, gangs took a back seat to terrorists in capturing the nation's attention.
In this vacuum, gangs gained traction as members returned from prison and new recruits came from a swelling number of youths seeking thrills and profits from the outlaw lifestyle, experts said.
Columbia's Coble said it is important to recognize the problem for what it is and do something about it. The mayor recently devoted his State of the City address to the topic and called for a comprehensive initiative to prevent and suppress gang activity in Columbia.
"We have to meet this head-on," he said. "If we do nothing, we will only assure it will be worse."
Statistics
50 - Percentage increase in gang-related homicides across the nation between 1999 and 2002
47 - Percentage of 2,554 U.S. law enforcement agencies surveyed in 2004 that indicated gang activity was "getting worse"
24,000 - Number of gangs active in more than 2,900 communities across the nation with populations of 2,500 or more
325 - Number of groups in South Carolina that meet the definition of a gang
778 - Number of gang-related crimes reported in South Carolina in 2006
This article was printed via the web on 2/25/2007 3:18:46 PM . This article
appeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, February 25, 2007.
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Feb 25, 11:05 AM EST
Pirates hijack cargo ship delivering 1,800 tons of U.N. food aid to northeastern Somalia
By ANTHONY MITCHELL
Associated Press Writer
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Al-Qaida releases video of Afghan attack
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Pirates hijacked a cargo ship delivering U.N. food aid to northeastern Somalia on Sunday - at least the third time since 2005 that a vessel contracted to the United Nations has been hijacked off the country's dangerous coast.
The ship, MV Rozen, had just dropped off more than 1,800 tons of food aid in the semiautonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia when the pirates struck, said Stephanie Savariaud, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s World Food Program.
continued.
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Feb 25, 1:45 PM EST
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani falls ill, flies to Jordan for medical treatment
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- President Jalal Talabani is ill and has flown to neighboring Jordan for medical treatment, his office said Sunday, adding there was "no cause for worry."
The brief statement said only that the 73-year-old Talabani had fallen ill because of "continuing hard work over the past few days."
continues...
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Feb 25, 1:09 PM EST
Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says U.S. security plan for Baghdad is doomed to failure
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The leader of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia complained Sunday that bombs "continue to explode" in Baghdad and that U.S.-led security crackdown is doomed to fail, issuing a statement the same day a suicide attacker struck outside a college campus, killing at least 41 people.
Many Shiites believe that bombings have continued because the Shiite-led government bowed to American pressure and persuaded the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to take his Mahdi Army fighters off the streets.
Al-Sadr's statement, read to his followers in Sadr City, is likely to add pressure on U.S. and Iraqi forces to show results in the nearly two-week-old crackdown.
"I'm certain, just like all oppressed Iraqis are certain, that no security plan will work and no good will come of any occupier," al-Sadr said in the statement. "Here we are, watching booby trapped cars exploding to harvest thousands of innocent lives from our beloved people in the middle of a security plan that is controlled by an occupier who does as he pleases."
U.S. and Iraqi leaders have urged the public to be patient, warning that it will take months before the security operation shows results. President Bush has ordered 21,500 more U.S. troops to Baghdad and surrounding areas, although the last units are not due until May.
continues....
http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=localnews&tableId=132052&pubDate=2/25/2007
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2007 7:32 AM
On hunt for signs, strategies
Unit works to study, curb gang presence north of Holy City
BY GLENN SMITH
The Post and Courier
A group of teenage boys milled near the mobile home park's entrance, shuffling their feet and joking in Spanish. Kids' stuff. But their eyes closely followed every movement of the two North Charleston police officers walking their way.
A 16-year-old boy swiftly grabbed a plastic badge that hung from his neck and slipped it inside the folds of his winter jacket. He smiled shyly when he realized officer Tim Ramsey had spotted the move.
"What do you have there?" Ramsey asked, reaching for the plastic square, a student identification badge from a nearby school.
Ramsey checked the name and then flipped the badge over. The number 13 was scrawled in black ink on the back side, along with three dots and the letter "M."
"What's that?" Ramsey asked. The boy just shrugged. But Ramsey knew better.
He instantly recognized the symbols for what they were: the calling cards of the Surenos, a Latino gang with ties to the Mexican Mafia.
In years past, such gang signs and graffiti in the Lowcountry would have been dismissed as the work of wannabes, or kids aping what they saw in rap videos. No more. Police and politicians are rapidly accepting that gangs are real, and they are here.
North Charleston police last year became one of the first law enforcement agencies in the state to establish a full-time gang intervention unit to gather information on gangs and track their movements. City officials recognized several factors creating a potential fertile ground for gangs: entrenched poverty, a wealth of at-risk kids, a high volume of drug dealing and a swelling Hispanic population needing protection from robbers.
Ramsey and his partner, Sid Lewis, spent two weeks training with seasoned gang investigators at the Los Angeles Police Department. There, they learned the ways of gangs: the signs, the rituals, the strategies for claiming and expanding turf.
Police have identified at least 10 gangs operating in North Charleston. Most are loosely organized cliques, drawn together by proximity, friendships and opportunities to commit crime. Groups such as the Pepperhill Posse, the Collins Park Crew and the Liberty Hill Posse draw their names from the neighborhoods from which they hail. These groups seem to have no real hierarchy of leadership, no dues or tributes imposed on their members, and little focus beyond crimes of opportunity.
"It's almost as if each neighborhood has its own criminal enterprise," Lewis said.
Police have tied some of these gangs to crimes such as drug-dealing, assaults, burglaries, car thefts and vandalism.
The officers shut down one crew that spray-painted symbols of the Bloods gang on the walls of a community center. The boys, ages 13, 14 and 15, depended on a friend who had moved to the area from New York to tell them what symbols to use, Ramsey said.
The rapid growth of the city's Hispanic population has also brought transplants with ties to Latino gangs such as the Surenos and their rivals, the Nortenos. "They're coming straight from Mexico and they all seem to know each other," Ramsey said.
Hispanics make up about 6.8 percent of North Charleston's population, up from 4 percent in 2000. Many newcomers are illegal immigrants and have become prime targets for robbers. Many don't report being victimized for fear of being deported, creating a situation where people look among themselves for protection. Gangs like the Surenos and Nortenos try to fill that void, police said.
Evidence of the gangs' presence is charted in swirls of spray paint adorning a concrete barrier separating a clutch of trailer parks along Dunlap Road from neighboring Interstate 26. Ramsey and Lewis regularly check such spots to see who claims primacy over the territory, who has crossed out the "tags" of others to show disrespect, and which gang members are bold enough to take credit for the posts. What seems like nonsensical scribbles and doodles hold meaning to the trained eye.
"Norte 14," for instance, signals the presence of the Nortenos, with the number 14 corresponding to "N," the 14th letter of the alphabet. NRL stands for Nuestra Raza Loca, a gang aligned with the Nortenos.
Lewis spotted slashes on the wall through a tag left by members of the Crips. That gang had co-existed in the neighborhood with the Nortenos, observing a truce of sorts. The slash seemed to indicate an end to the detente.
"That's new," Ramsey said, nodding. "Apparently in the last two weeks, something's gone south."
The pair photographed the graffiti and made notes. It will end up in their growing files of gang activity, filled with incident reports, photographs, field interview cards and other documents. They are slowly building a database registry of local gang members with the aid of a computer program the department bought. Each day, they set out to learn more.
On this afternoon, they stopped two Latino men on Stall Road wearing blue bandannas, a possible signal of Folk Nation or Crip membership. The men deny a link to gangs, and roll up their sleeves to show an absence of tattoos. The officers thank them and move on.
They took the same approach with the boy sporting the Sureno symbols on his ID card, but they make a note to check at the teen's school to learn more about him. As the boy turned to leave, Ramsey offered this advice:
"Knock that stuff off," he said with a smile. "We know exactly what that means."
Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com
This article was printed via the web on 2/25/2007 3:37:24 PM . This article
appeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Sunday, February 25, 2007.
Iran rocket claim raises tension
Iranian media say the country has successfully launched its first rocket capable of reaching space.
But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit.
Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers.
Iran has made little secret of its desire to become a space power and already has a satellite in orbit launched by the Russians.
The latest launch - if confirmed - comes at a time of mounting tension between Tehran and the West over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are due to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of more sanctions over the nuclear issue.
On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered another defiant speech insisting there is no going back on Iran's nuclear programme.
Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region
Sir Richard Dalton, former UK ambassador to Iran
In a speech in Tehran, he likened his country's nuclear programme to a train with no brakes and no reverse gear.
One of his deputy foreign ministers, Manouchehr Mohammadi, said they had prepared themselves for any situation arising from the issue, even for war.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from seven Muslim states meeting in Pakistan have called for a diplomatic solution to the "dangerous" stand-off.
"It is vital that all issues must be resolved through diplomacy and there must be no resort to use of force," said a statement issued after talks involving ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Missile technology
Iranian TV broke the news of the reported test saying: "The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space."
It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence".
However, Ali Akbar Golrou, executive director of the same facility, was later quoted by Fars news agency as saying the craft launched by was a sub-orbital rocket for scientific research.
"What was announced by the head of the research centre was the news of launching this sounding rocket," Mr Golrou said.
It would not remain in orbit but could rise to about 150km (94 miles) before a parachute-assisted descent to Earth.
No pictures of the reported launch have been shown on Iranian state TV, and no Western countries have confirmed tracking any such test-firing.
Some Western diplomats suspect Iran may have backtracked on the announcement when it realised what negative publicity this would bring at a sensitive time, says the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran.
The reports come a day after Iran's Defence Minister spoke of plans to build a satellite launcher and join the space club. Also, an Iranian official quoted in Aviation Week earlier this month said Iran would soon test a new satellite launcher.
Britain's former ambassador to Iran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC that, if confirmed, such a launch could destabilise the Middle East.
"It is a matter of concern," he said. "Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region, and of course if there were a bomb that could be placed on the end of this missile, it would in breach of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty."
Military experts believe that if Iran has sent a rocket into space it means scientists have mastered the technology needed to cross the atmospheric barrier.
In practice, they say, that means there is no technological block to Iran building longer range missiles now, something that will be of great international concern.
In 2005, Iran's Russian-made satellite was put into orbit by a Russian rocket.
But shortly afterwards Iranian military officials said they were preparing a satellite launch vehicle of their own, and last month they announced they were ready to test it soon.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6394387.stm
Published: 2007/02/25 15:44:39 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Finland probes N Korea train row
The Finnish government is investigating a complaint from North Korea that two of its diplomats were thrown off a train for not having tickets.
The two men were reportedly travelling from Moscow to Helsinki on 13 February when they were forcibly removed from the train by police using tear gas.
Finnish police said they failed to show identity papers and refused to allow train staff into their compartment.
They were released after providing proof of their diplomatic status.
The two North Koreans continued their planned journey from Helsinki to Stockholm, officials said.
"According to the police, they showed no documents on the train at all and they really should have produced diplomatic papers," Finnish foreign ministry spokeswoman Tiina Myllyntausta told Associated Press news agency.
"This is not really a political problem, it's purely judicial," she said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6395279.stm
Published: 2007/02/25 17:36:05 GMT
© BBC MMVII
N Korea 'tried uranium project'
By Charles Scanlon
BBC News, Seoul
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator says North Korea has tried to develop a second, secret nuclear programme based on the enrichment of uranium.
Chun Yung-woo said, however, that Pyongyang was not thought to be operating such a system at the moment.
The North has long denied American allegations that it was building a uranium programme in addition to its publicly acknowledged plutonium plant.
The dispute is seen as a major obstacle to implementing a nuclear agreement.
Under the deal, reached this month, the North has agreed to shut down its nuclear facilities in return for economic aid.
'Illicit trade'
North Korea has agreed to produce a list of all its nuclear facilities as a first step towards disabling them in line with the agreement.
But it continues to deny the existence of an alleged uranium programme which led to the breakdown of its last nuclear deal with the United States.
Mr Chun said the North's attempts to acquire parts for such a programme were well known to countries that monitor the illicit trade.
But he said it was not clear how far the North had got, and no-one thought it was actively enriching uranium for nuclear weapons at the moment.
North Korea has agreed to shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, the source of the plutonium for its existing nuclear arsenal.
But analysts say the dispute over uranium could derail further progress.
The chief US negotiator, Christopher Hill, said in Washington it was a very serious problem that had to be addressed.
South Korea said the recent deal is just the first step in a very long process.
It said much will depend on improving the political climate and the deep mistrust between the United States and North Korea.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6389223.stm
Published: 2007/02/23 11:03:46 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Vietnam dissident priest detained
By Bill Hayton
BBC News, Hanoi
Dissidents in Vietnam say a Catholic priest who has been prominent in the country's small democracy movement has been arrested.
The spokeswoman of the Vietnam Progression Party said that police took away Father Nguyen Van Ly after questioning him in his home for a week.
The arrest seems to be part of a crackdown on the party's activities.
Father Ly has spent 14 years in prison for his opposition to Communist Party rule.
He was released in an amnesty in 2005 and is now a member of the Progression Party.
Founders questioned
The Progression Party says he was taken from his office in the central city of Hue on Saturday afternoon by about 60 police officers.
He had been under questioning there for six days and had reportedly begun a hunger strike.
The Vietnamese authorities have not acknowledged the arrest, but earlier they confirmed his office had been raided and he was being investigated on suspicion of undermining national unity.
The party says its two founders, Nguyen Phong and Nguyen Binh Thanh, who also live in Hue, were also detained by police last week and questioned for several days.
The Vietnamese government has previously accused such dissidents of using the cover of democracy to try to undermine the country.
Vietnam's opposition movement is small and divided, but it has been making efforts to become more effective.
Earlier this week the Progression Party had announced an alliance with another illegal organisation, the "For the People Party".
However, support for both is limited to a core of democracy activists in the country's main cities.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6393975.stm
Published: 2007/02/24 22:02:14 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Mexico's 'Migrant Mountain'
By Duncan Kennedy
BBC News, Mexico
Millions of migrants have crossed illegally from Mexico into the United States. Their experience could hardly be more real. But now at a controversial theme park in Mexico, tourists can pretend to be an illegal migrant.
Torch, check. Heavy boots, check. Willingness to hide under bushes, check. Ability to see in the dark, an advantage. Preparation for what, you might think? A hike across Dartmoor? Try a night out in a theme park.
But when I say theme park, do not think Alton Towers or Disneyland. Think, instead, illegal migrants. Because now you can pretend to be an illegal migrant at a theme park in Mexico.
Mexican migrants
They come to the Eco Alberto Park to be shot at, chased and to wade through fast-flowing rivers.
I myself developed a certain connection with one such river, but more on that later.
For the equivalent of $19.50 (£10), you can spend a night living like the millions of Mexicans who actually risked their lives crossing into the United States.
Except that here, the park is nowhere near the border and most people who turn up are about as likely to cross illegally into the United States as President George W Bush is to tunnel his way into Mexico.
The evening begins with a blood-curdling shout by Poncho, our balaclava-wearing head guide.
"Vamos! Let's go!" With that we all sprint off into the night. And I do mean night. It is inky dark and icy cold. This is, after all, the desert.
But do not conjure up images of Lawrence of Arabia strolling around pristine sand dunes. No, this is rugged, unforgiving terrain.
A kind of game
I came to give solidarity with real migrants. I feel it could be like this
A tourist at Eco Alberto Park
The plan is simple. We are the migrants and we are being chased by fake border patrols.
Within 30 seconds, I was hurtling down a hill.
Within 40 seconds I was lying at the bottom of that hill, having tripped.
And within 50 seconds, I was being knocked senseless by a woman who had also lost her footing, but who had skilfully directed her soft-landing onto me.
A bit further on, the real heavy stuff began. The shooting, I mean.
They had assured us that the fake border guards were using blanks, but they certainly sounded real.
"Come out, we know you are there," the guards taunt us, as we crouch in our bushes.
More shots, more shouting.
You know it is a kind of game, but all of a sudden it takes on a realism I had not expected.
Bang! And yet another shot and yet another shout. Sirens too.
We are told by Poncho to stand up. It is to witness an arrest.
Yes, already for two of our group, the evening is over. They have been "captured".
The luckless pair are then led off into the night, never, by us at least, to be seen again.
Harbouring doubts
I use the moment to snatch a conversation with our group.
"I came to give solidarity with real migrants," one man told me. "I feel it could be like this".
Soon, we are off again. During the next sprint, I glimpsed one woman on the ground nursing a blood-stained knee.
Remember, this is for tourists.
We cross fences, tackle rickety bridges and bend double to make our way through tunnels.
Amnesty International has criticised the whole thing as trivialising the lives of real migrants. But Poncho does not see it like that.
"It is serious," he says, "and it is our way of paying homage to those who seek a better life in America."
Five hours had now passed. This was an evening of hunting, fishing and shooting, without the fishing.
We came to a wood. And in the wood lay... that fast-flowing river.
For several minutes a man in front of me had sneakily been using his torch. It was my visual lifeline.
But then it happened. Suddenly, he switched off his light.
He went left, I went right and straight into the fast-flowing river awaiting me.
Losing my grip
For the first few moments, I thought it was a large puddle. But as the momentum drew me in, so the water level rose. And rose.
And with the depth came the speed.
In a Florida theme park, they might be tempted to re-name the whole thing 'Migrant Mountain'
Before I knew it, I was swept off my feet. Luckily, there was a small bridge. I clung to it, but by now my feet were being dragged away.
This was not so much a bridge over troubled waters, as legs stuck under troubled waters. My grip was loosening.
The guides realised what had happened and came to me.
One grabbed my hand, another tried to grab my jacket.
They pulled, I pulled. But the river pulled harder.
I simply could not swing my legs out, the force of the water was so great.
And something approaching panic was beginning to set in.
Another couple of guides appeared. Thankfully, it made the difference.
Four men dragged me to safety.
Dripping wet, I thought, what if I had been a small child? I would never have survived.
For me, the evening had been real. I still harboured doubts about whether this was suitable adventure material for paying customers.
In a Florida theme park, they might be tempted to re-name the whole thing Migrant Mountain.
But here in Mexico, it has an authenticity that one can forgive, unlike its fast-flowing rivers.
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 24 February, 2007 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6390297.stm
Published: 2007/02/23 18:14:44 GMT
© BBC MMVII
US cedes control of S Korea army
The US and South Korea have reached a deal to hand full control of South Korea's military back to Seoul by 2012.
The agreement ends a 50-year pact that gave the US wartime command of South Korea's army, dating to the Korean War.
Under pressure in Iraq, the US had wanted to hand over in 2009. But South Korea pushed for a slower transition.
The US currently has 29,500 troops on the Korean peninsula and Seoul's military numbers 680,000. North Korea has more than one million troops.
Troop redeployment
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and South Korean Defence Minister Kim Jang Soo made the announcement after talks in Washington on Friday.
They agreed on a transition "road map" starting in July and ending with a military exercise in March 2012.
"The two sides will disestablish the current ROK-US Combined Forces Command on April 17, 2012 and complete the transition to the new supporting-supported command relationship between US and ROK forces at the same time," the US said in a statement after the meeting.
The US has reduced its troop numbers in South Korea by 10,000, down from 40,000 when US President George W. Bush came to power. It plans to further reduce this number to 25,000 by 2008.
But Seoul's fears over North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year were a factor in delaying the transfer until 2012.
A South Korean parliamentary committee this week opposed making any transfer of command until security was stabilised in the region.
The countries also agreed to speed up relocating US military headquarters in South Korea from Seoul to Pyeongtaek, about 65km (40 miles) south of Seoul.
South Korea ceded control of its military to a US-led UN force during the Korean War, which ended with a ceasefire in 1953.
It was given peacetime command of its forces in 1994 but the US would still take over should war break out on the peninsula.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6391799.stm
Published: 2007/02/24 00:28:32 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Faslane blockade ship is seized
A boat used by Greenpeace campaigners to blockade the Faslane naval base has been seized after Ministry of Defence police stormed the vessel.
Protesters breached the restricted area at the base, which houses the Trident nuclear deterrent, at about 0800 GMT.
The Arctic Sunrise eventually dropped anchor near a defensive boom, blocking the entrance for several hours.
A total of 29 people were arrested when the boat landed. They will be held in custody until Monday.
Sixteen people had earlier been arrested in protests at the base on the Gareloch. They have been freed on bail pending further investigations.
They were on board six smaller vessels which accompanied the Arctic Sunrise when it sailed into the restricted area at about 0800 GMT.
The former icebreaker later came to a halt near a defensive boom guarding the nuclear submarines.
It spent several hours in that position before Ministry of Defence police officers with battering rams boarded the vessel and took control.
The Royal Navy said the Arctic Sunrise had got within 300 metres of the Trident nuclear submarines, but stressed that security had not been breached at any time.
"They didn't gain access to the naval base, they gained access to the restricted outer space," said a spokesman.
These nuclear arms submarines pose a threat to the security of the world
Louise Edge
Greenpeace campaigner
He said the MoD police had taken control of the vessel at 1725 GMT and moved it into the base, where it will be held as evidence.
Greenpeace said it had mounted the action because a delegation of Labour MPs had been due to tour a submarine at the base.
The Royal Navy confirmed that MPs had been due to make a visit to Faslane, but said the trip had been cancelled last week.
Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans late last year to upgrade the Trident nuclear weapons system at a cost of more than £20bn.
The UK Parliament is due to formally decide in March on whether to give the renewal the go-ahead.
Louise Edge, a Greenpeace campaigner who was on board the Arctic Sunrise, said: "We're blockading the base because these nuclear arms submarines pose a threat to the security of the world, not least by encouraging other countries to go nuclear in the future."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6388967.stm
Published: 2007/02/23 21:22:28 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Protesters make Bin the Bomb plea
About 2,000 people joined a march in Glasgow to show their opposition to the Trident nuclear deterrent and its planned replacement, police said.
The Bin the Bomb event ended with a rally in George Square.
Senior church figures, politicians and union leaders were addressing marchers. A similar protest was also taking place in London.
The government has said it would be unwise and dangerous for the UK to give up its nuclear weapons.
Reverend Alan McDonald, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, said that for the past 25 years the assembly had argued that nuclear weapons were morally and theologically wrong.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, said his church was speaking out because Trident was "immoral".
He said: "Over a year ago we said Make Poverty History. Now we are saying Make Trident History. Make nuclear war history. That is what is uniting so many people today."
The majority of people in Scotland oppose nuclear weapons
Chris Ballance
Scottish Greens
SNP leader Alex Salmond said: "The people of Scotland have shown their opposition to Trident time and again.
"Instead of wasting billions on a weapons system that cannot protect us from terrorism, people would rather see that money spent on schools, hospitals and fighting crime."
Chris Ballance, the Scottish Green Party speaker on nuclear issues, said: "The majority of people in Scotland oppose nuclear weapons.
"When Westminster votes on the issue, Labour MPs should remember that they represent the Scottish people and are not elected to simply nod through Tony Blair's policies."
New generation
Another speaker, Scottish Trades Union Congress president Katrina Purcell, said: "The STUC is opposed to all nuclear weapons and believes the most logical way of avoiding conflict is by getting rid of nuclear weapons, rather than escalating the arms race."
In December, Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined plans to spend up to £20bn on a new generation of submarines for Trident missiles, which are currently based at Faslane on the Clyde.
A total of 45 people were arrested when Greenpeace held a protest at the naval base on Friday.
Campaigners used a boat to blockade the base for several hours before the vessel was seized by Ministry of Defence police.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6391663.stm
Published: 2007/02/24 15:47:08 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Drug warning after heroin deaths
Drug users in Glasgow are being warned to make sure they are not alone when taking heroin following two deaths in the city.
Strathclyde Police said the deaths in Milton appeared to be linked to heroin, although there was currently nothing to suggest a bad batch was in circulation.
Police are waiting for toxicology test results and further tests are being carried out.
Det Supt Willie Prendergast said users should take the necessary precautions.
'Inherently dangerous'
"I would urge people who insist on taking illegal drugs to take the necessary precautions to make sure they are safe, such as making sure they are not alone when using heroin," he said.
"There is also a need to reinforce the message that taking any type of illegal drugs is inherently dangerous and frequently results in the death of the drug abuser.
"Should drug users wish more information in relation to reducing their exposure to risk, we would urge that they seek that advice from health professionals."
Police issued the warning on Sunday after two deaths in the city since Friday.
Strathclyde Police will be speaking to its partner agencies including health workers, social work and alcohol and drug action teams to alert drug misusers to the potential health risk.
Anyone wishing to report drug dealing in the Strathclyde Police force area should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 .
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6394871.stm
Published: 2007/02/25 13:57:04 GMT
© BBC MMVII
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