Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.
From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.
One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.
MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.
Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.
Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.
Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.
He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.
http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml
http://www.makingsenseofjihad.com/
A Work in Progress?
How I found this, I don't know, but apparently "happy fuiler" was inspired enough to register a website with the name of Al Qaeda's e-journal from hell, Voice of Jihad (in Arabic it sounds like sawt al-jihad). Based out of UAE, the site appears to be an English language blog in the making.
Domain ID:D124340134-LROR
Domain Name:SAWTALJIHAD.ORG
Created On:12-Jun-2006 21:27:46 UTC
Last Updated On:03-Nov-2006 09:28:43 UTC
Expiration Date:12-Jun-2007 21:27:46 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Directi Internet Solutions d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.Com (R27-LROR)
Status:OK
Registrant ID:DI_3159129
Registrant Name:Happy fuiler
Registrant Organization:Jihad voice
Registrant Street1:uae,jarash
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:dubai
Registrant State/Province:Umm al-Quwain
Registrant Postal Code:0934
Registrant Country:AE
Registrant Phone:+971.44444444
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:u82@whlservers.com
Admin ID:DI_3159129
Admin Name:Happy fuiler
Admin Organization:Jihad voice
Admin Street1:uae,jarash
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:dubai
Admin State/Province:Umm al-Quwain
Admin Postal Code:0934
Admin Country:AE
Admin Phone:+971.44444444
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:u82@whlservers.com
Tech ID:DI_3159129
Tech Name:Happy fuiler
Tech Organization:Jihad voice
Tech Street1:uae,jarash
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:dubai
Tech State/Province:Umm al-Quwain
Tech Postal Code:0934
Tech Country:AE
Tech Phone:+971.44444444
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:u82@whlservers.com
Name Server:NS1.MOHAJROON.COM
Name Server:NS2.MOHAJROON.COM
[Has many hidden urls]
http://www.makingsenseofjihad.com/
Our Man (al)-Libbi
Since his dramatic escape from Bagram prison in 2005, Abu Yahya al-Libbi hasn’t stopped talking. He’s shown up in almost 20 videos and audiotapes and has been the author or subject of several articles in the jihadi “press.” He was also the author of a letter admonishing Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi. But if you don’t frequent jihadi forums or consume your time researching terrorism topics (ahem), then you’ve probably never heard of him.
Al Qaeda has lost many of its best leaders since 9-11, Al-Libbi is one of the few left who was part of its pre-9-11 leadership. He’s become the face of the group to its most loyal members all over the world. If there’s another major attack, it’s a good chance he’ll be identified as a key player.
Who is he? His real name is Mohammad Hassan. He’s from Libya (“al-Libbi”), and identified as a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a Sunni extremist organization that has dogged Moamar Khaddafi for years. He was identified as a key player as early as September 24, 2001 when President Bush named him in an Executive Order freezing Al Qaeda assets. In the statement he’s listed under the name “Ibn al-Sheik al-Libbi.”
Al-Libbi was captured by Pakistani forces in 2002. Early reports from the time of his capture are some of the only biographical information available about him and his extremist activities within Al Qaeda. According to a January 2002 Newsday report, al-Libbi told US interrogators that has had operational command of Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan after the US invasion. These reports describe a man who was a close associate of Abu Zubaydah and ran the Khaldan camp before 9-11. In a 17,000-word article in Contemporary Southeast Asia, Zachary Abuza describes al-Libbi as a commander who helped direct the Southeast Asia activities of Omar al-Farouq:
According to the CIA, Al-Faruq was, before his arrest, also instructed by two senior Al Qaeda officials, Ibn al-Sheik al Libi and Abu Zubaydah, to carry out a series of truck bombings on U.S. embassies in Southeast Asia, on or around the anniversary of the 11 September attacks. However, before he could carry out these attacks, Al-Faruq was arrested and turned over to the Americans.
Time (Canadian Edition) identified al-Libbi as “responsible for training recruits in al-Qaeda's military camps.” And then there’s this from a BBC Monitoring article from December 2005:
Saudi journalist Faris bin Huzam describes al-Libbi as one of "'the theoreticians of Al-Qa'idah Organization' who became more prominent after his escape from Bagram Base...He adds that Al-Libbi was accompanied by more than 50 Libyans, who 'formed some kind of an independent group inside the Al-Qa'idah Organization" in Afghanistan where they get their training and study the "jurisprudence of Jihad.'" Bin Huzam continues: "He is not well-known for being a field commander, but he is known as a religious preacher among groups..."
Al-Libbi was one of four Al Qaeda members who escaped the Bagram prison in July 2005. The escapee list also included Omar al-Farouq and two others: Abdullah Hashimi from Syria, and Mohammad al- Fathani (aka Mohammad al-Qahtani) from Saudi Arabia.
Since their escape Abu Abdullah al-Shami has vanished. He appeared in one video and has never been seen or heard from since. Omar al-Farouq and Abu Nasser al-Qahtani appeared on Al Qaeda videos soon after their escape. Al-Qahtani shows up on an April 2006 video, but was re-captured in December 2006. Al-Farouq was killed by British soldiers in Iraq in September 2006. If Bill Roggio is right, and Al-Farouq was “reassigned” to Iraq to facilitate money and arms for the group, then it suggests that there is someone in Afghanistan making these strategic personnel decisions. Al-Libbi may be making some of those strategic personnel decisions.
He’s thought to be “Atiyah,” the author of a December 2005 letter to al-Zarqawi admonishing him for his brutal tactics against Iraqi Shiites. However, of the “Bagram Four,” it’s Al-Libbi who has “starred” in so many As-Sahab and Labaik videos that it’s hard to keep track of them. In one 2006 interview, he discusses his own story.
Allibbi60minutes
But he’s also been taped eulogizing al-Zarqawi, discussing mujahideen training, even reciting poetry from a dramatic mountain vista.
Labaik2006
In more recent videos he’s criticizing Moamar Khaddafi’s decision to release 6 foreign medical workers absurdly convicted and sentenced to die for allegedly passing HIV to a group of children.
Allibbispinkyring_1 He was also seen giving an Eid message wearing the same black silk turban and army fatigues he wears in the “HIV video.”
This week has seen Labaik media has two Al-Libbi releases. The first is a series of pictures of him providing what appears to be ideological training to a few jihad recruits.
01
In the other, he eulogizes over the bodies of three mujahideen killed during fighting Coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Allibbi_eulogy
All of Al-Libbi’s recent videos appear to be taken around the same time and place, and may reflect his own strategy of giving jihadi media access to him for a certain amount of time for them to produce several different videos.
Al-Libbi and Ayman al-Zawahiri are the only senior Al Qaeda leaders who regularly show up on jihadi media produced videos. With Al Qaeda’s integration of North Africa’s largest Sunni extremist group, GSPC, Al-Libbi may be taking a much larger role as the group expands out from its Afghan/Pak border and Iraqi jihads into the greater “Maghreb” and even Europe.
February 13, 2007 at 07:20 PM
http://www.makingsenseofjihad.com/
Looking to Europe
A Blotter post from last week notes the increasing presence of Sunni extremist groups in Spain. The point of interest here is the fact that the groups mentioned aren't the usual suspects -- GSPC, Al Qaeda -- they're Pakistani:
A top Pakistani intelligence official told ABC News that following a "crunch" by British counterterrorism authorities on Pakistani militant networks in the U.K. after the July 2005 bombings, "dozens of local leaders for groups, such as Jaish e Muhammad ('Army of Muhammad' in Arabic) and Lashkar e Tayyba ('Army of the Pure' in Urdu) moved to Spain," settling in the area around Barcelona.
They have since established a very strong "rear base" in Barcelona to support terrorist activity in Britain, setting up logistics and recruitment networks in the local Pakistani community, the source said.
February 13, 2007 at 06:52 PM
http://www.makingsenseofjihad.com/
How Al Qaeda Works
The Washington Post has a remarkable article exploring the operations of the Al Qaeda cell responsible for the multiple car bomb attacks in Istanbul in 2003:
By May 2002, the Istanbul plot was underway. After toying with purchasing a quarry as an excuse for buying explosives, Aktas rented an industrial workshop for $850 a month in a part of Istanbul that lies on the European side of the Bosporus Strait. "Rainbow Detergent" read the sign out front. The windows were painted over.
"They were not friendly at all. They were very closed people, " said Ulku Yerlikaya, who tended a shop across the road. "They came to work at night."
Inside, Aktas set up a boiler, cooking down an acid into which he spooned hydrogen peroxide, following a recipe apparently learned in the Afghan training camps. The mixture was spread on the floor to dry, then packed into 100-pound fertilizer bags. Each was fitted with a fuse fashioned from wires and aluminum pipe by Gurcan Bac, another camp veteran, who spent hours on the Internet gathering information "from chats," one confederate told investigators.
The end product was loaded onto four covered pickup trucks purchased with cash Aktas kept in a safe-deposit box. Each truck, registered to relatives of the conspirators, carried two tons of the explosive concoction.
Cell leaders enforced a strict tradecraft. When plot participants gathered for meetings, usually late at night, they turned off cellphones, removed their batteries and unplugged radios against the possibility these devices might be used for surveillance by Turkish intelligence.
"Don't put your nose in other people's business," Fevzi Yitiz said he was told after asking about the cost of the bombs that he slept beside in the warehouse.
I wish the mainstream media would do more of this. Day in-day out I see potential stories that deserve to be told, and most of the time they're simply ignored by our mainstream press. There are so many articles that could be written, so many stories that could be told. One of the greatest "crimes" is that our media establishment doesn't seem to be curious enough to report on them.
February 13, 2007 at 06:05 PM
Thanks for the ping, FARS. Will read it in the AM.
Smiling... I thought you were in the desert, Ruth.
Good early a.m. to you.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070213/60683627.html
Two Russians onboard crashed plane - Moscow airport
13/02/2007 21:09 MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - The press service at Vnukovo airport of Moscow said two Russian crewmembers, a co-pilot and an engineer, were onboard the Challenger-850 plane, which crashed on takeoff Tuesday.
"The commander of the crew was a U.S. citizen," the Vnukovo spokeswoman said. "The co-pilot is a Russian just like the engineer."
A source at the airport said earlier that all the crewmembers of the Swiss-owned plane had been hospitalized.
According to preliminary information, the plane was bound for Berlin to undergo technical maintenance, the source said, adding that rescuers and air security experts were working at the site of the crash.
"They will take flight recorders for analysis to determine the cause of the accident," the source said.
An engine fire has been identified as a possible cause of the crash.
The airport was closed following the accident and will resume operations at 7:30 p.m. Moscow time (4:30 p.m. GMT).
other articles
11:28 14/02/2007 Two Challenger-850 crewmembers, including U.S. citizen, in coma
20:25 13/02/2007 Moscow airport opens after Swiss plane crash
18:56 13/02/2007 Swiss plane crashes at Moscow airport
18:09 13/02/2007 Two injured in U.S. plane crash at Moscow airport
17:42 13/02/2007 Plane with no passengers crashes on takeoff at Moscow airport
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070214/60722801.html
Crewman injured after falling out of Siberian jet set for takeoff
14/02/2007 14:32 NOVOSIBIRSK, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - A regional Russian air carrier reported a delay in one of its flights from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk Wednesday after a crewmember injured himself by falling out onto the runway tarmac.
Urals Airliners said the flight engineer on a Tu-134 mid-hauler bound for Yekaterinburg, 870 miles northwest of Novosibirsk, fell two meters to the ground as the plane was preparing for takeoff, with all passengers already on board.
"We still do not have a clear picture of what actually happened. Perhaps he failed to notice that the staircase had already been removed," a source at Urals Airlines said, adding that "there has never been a similar incident as far as the company's staff can remember."
He said the crewman is currently in hospital undergoing a medical examination and initial treatment.
The flight was put on hold pending the arrival of a standby crew, the source said. Some of the passengers have proceeded to their destinations on another carrier, while others are still at the Novosibirsk airport waiting for the replacement crew.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20070214/60715615-print.html
French police detain nine suspects linked with Al Qaeda
14/02/2007 12:38 (Adds paragraphs 2-3)
PARIS, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - Anti-terrorism units of the French police have detained nine people suspected of links with Al Qaeda in Toulouse and Paris Wednesday, the French Interior Ministry said.
The ministry said the operation began with the detention of two people at Orly airport in Paris Tuesday.
Police then continued the operation in Toulouse, in southern France, and near Paris. A total of 11 people were detained, with nine of them suspected of having ties with Al Qaeda.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20070223000906200.htm
Faith and conflict
An Irish imam's statements on Islamic fundamentalism unleash a storm
of controversy among Muslims in that country.
An Islamist Jihad member at a news conference in Gaza on January 29
claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing in the Red Sea resort of
Eilat, Israel. Egyptian Islamic scholar Yusuf Al Qaradawi's public
statements can be construed as justifying suicide bombing against any
stronger, unjust state by a weaker minority.
MUSLIM populations in the West, particularly in Europe, have of late
become a battleground for reformist and traditionalist currents within
Islam. These ideological labels, while being admittedly simplistic,
illustrate the efforts of European Muslim communities to wrangle with
the challenge of separating the political and personal aspects of
faith and religious identity amid a larger culture which generally
perceives them as unwelcome and inassimilable.
British Muslims, Danish Muslims and French Muslims have all been
implicated in this increasingly heated debate between an increasingly
right-leaning, anti-immigration Europe and its increasingly ghettoised
and economically disenfranchised Muslim communities.
In August 2006, Irish Muslims were drawn into the fray when one of
their notable imams, Dr. Shaheed Satardien, declared in an interview
to Sunday Tribune that Ireland was fast becoming a "fundamentalist
haven" and that "an ocean of extremism" was spreading among Muslims
throughout Ireland.
The statement came in the wake of the arrest in Ireland of an Algerian
Muslim, Abbas Boutrab, who was found downloading information on how to
blow up a passenger jet.
In the interview, Satardien went on to say that "Irish Muslim leaders
are failing our young people who are embracing fundamentalism".
Satardien lamented that young Muslims were "being torn between two
cultures; drawing them into support for terrorism, anti-Semitism and a
hatred of Western democracy".
The imam's statements unleashed a storm of controversy among Irish
Muslims. Like their counterparts in Britain, Ireland's Muslim
community, economically depressed relative to the white Irish
population, perceives itself as increasingly unwanted and its faith as
unnecessarily maligned and prejudicially castigated under the guise of
anti-terrorism measures.
Not surprisingly, rival imams came out with public statements
condemning Satardien's comments as provoking religious hatred against
Muslims and he received a volley of death threats. Satardien's
statements came on the heels of a controversy among Irish imams about
who would lead the several-thousand-strong Muslim community that hails
from countries as diverse as Sudan, China, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Initially, Satardien, himself an immigrant from South Africa, had
suggested the establishment of an organisation called the "Supreme
Council of Ireland". This was contested by more conservative members
of the community, and inter-religious politicking led to the
sidelining of Satardien in favour of a more orthodox group of Islamic
scholars. A rival organisation, the Irish Council of Imams, was set up
and Imam Satardien was largely marginalised from the Irish Muslim
religious establishment.
The ideological implications of sidelining Satardien's brand of
moderate Islam may well be tragic for Irish Muslims in particular and
European Muslims in general. An anti-apartheid activist from South
Africa, Satardien has experienced personally the ravaging effects of
Islamic extremism. His brother Ebrahim Satardien was killed by an
extremist "Qibla" faction of the South African vigilante group Pagar.
Facing threats to his own life, Satardien asked for asylum in Ireland
and moved to the country four years ago. Since then, he has been
active in inter-faith ventures, organising conferences that promote
the rejection of violence and the promotion of inter-faith
understanding.
Satardien blames his falling out with the main mosque in Clonkeaugh,
Ireland, on the influence of the Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al
Qaradawi, whose organisation, the European Council on Fatwa and
Research, is headquartered there. Sheikh Qaradawi, who interestingly
also defines his version of Islam as "moderate", is notorious in the
West for his support to Palestinian suicide operations and his
scathing denunciation of homosexuality as "abominable". The author of
several books, including The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam and Islam:
The Future Civilization, Qaradawi enjoys a wide following across the
Muslim world owing in part to his show "Ash-Sharia Wal Hayat", which
is aired on Al-Jazeera.
If Satardien's rhetoric is focussed on consensus-building and reform
within Islamic communities, Qaradawi's focus is centred on maintaining
a distinct identity for Muslim communities living in the West.
While compromising on certain issues (Qaradawi, unlike some of his
even more conservative counterparts, does consider music and dancing
permissible and allows the use of photographs), much of his rhetoric
is abrasive and even incendiary.
In one fatwa referring to whether Muslim males may marry non-Muslim
women, Qaradawi lays out a series of conditions. He finally questions
whether there is a single honourable, chaste woman left in these
countries. "Don't they reprimand a girl who is still a virgin at the
age of 14? They say: How can this be? She becomes undesirable. Where
are her boyfriends?"
Indeed, the Sheikh's website is peppered generously with such
misguided generalisations about the depravity of Western culture,
their ultimate message being that while it may be permissible for a
Muslim to live in Western lands, it is best to distinguish and
distance oneself as much as possible from the sinful temptations of
the depraved Western society.
Even a cursory analysis of Qaradawi and Satardien's stated ideological
positions reveals very different orientations towards Western culture.
Satardien's views seem to suggest an approach focussed on mutual
understanding that prioritises internal reform over castigating the
state. One very visible manifestation of the differences between the
two is the statements they issued in the wake of the Danish cartoon
scandal.
Imam Satardien's statement reads: "The attack on the Prophet of Islam
is condemned in its totality and the violence that ensued is also
condemned. The mockery of the holocaust is equally condemned. We call
on Muslims to end the violence immediately. We are hurt but we are not
angry because the Prophet (pbuh) instructed us to control our anger.
The strongest person is the one who can control his anger, the Prophet
is reported to have said." Qaradawi, on the other hand, said that it
was the duty of every Muslim to protest in an "international day of
anger" and for a boycott of all Western-made goods, saying: "We must
tell the Europeans... we can live without you but you cannot live
without us... we can buy from China, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia."
Also different is Satardien's position regarding the influence of
foreign conflicts on the political identity of young Irish Muslims. In
the now notorious interview, Satardien even went so far as to suggest
state controls on the foreign travel of young Irish Muslims whom he
sees as becoming radicalised during trips abroad. He lamented openly
the influence of conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on
the political identity of young Irish Muslims; he suggests that the
manipulation of the conflict by religious leaders in Ireland makes
young Muslim youth radicalised and ostensibly drawn to a more
fundamentalist version of Islam.
Satardien thus sees little value in drawing young Muslim youth towards
identifying themselves with a conflict that does not resonate in their
own political context, which may even be furthering a segregationist
and suspicious orientation toward European society as a whole.
In contrast, Qaradawi's construction of Muslim political identity
draws heavily upon the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a point of
orientation that defines ideological positions. In one interview to
BBC's Newsnight, Qaradawi responded to a question about suicide
bombers thus: "I consider this type of operation as an evidence of
God's justice." He added: "Allah Almighty is just; through his
infinite wisdom he gave the weak a weapon that the strong do not
have - that is their ability to turn their bodies into bombs as
Palestinians do."
Qaradawi's statements present a complex and problematic amalgamation
of political action and religious sanction. Interpreted closely, they
can be understood as a statement of solidarity with the Palestinian
cause, which is not uncommon among Muslims around the world. However,
interpreted loosely, it can also be construed as justifying suicide
bombing against any stronger, unjust state by a weaker minority.
In this respect, Satardien's differences from the Arab-dominated
mosque hierarchy in Ireland also represent another schism that is an
omnipresent but rarely vocalised tension among diaspora Muslims in
Europe. These Muslims, estranged from the cultural affirmations of
their homeland, and raised to construe everything Arab as
automatically "authentically Islamic", often feel pressured to
distance themselves from their non-Arab cultural traditions, which are
seen as impure and unauthentic.
Satardien's open opposition of the Arab-dominated hierarchy of the
Irish mosque establishment is one illustration of this dynamic. In
keeping with his aversion to the dominance of Arab immigrants and the
equating of all things Arab with all things Islamic, Satardien's
discomfort with the centrality of the Arab-Israeli conflict as a
central denominator of European Muslim identity points to the danger
of importing concepts of heroism and justice from vastly different
political contexts and constructing an Irish Muslim identity as
necessarily besieged and an image of the Irish state as unarguably
inimical to Muslim interests.
Sheikh Yousuf Qaradawi and Imam Shaheed Satardien represent two
divergent orientations towards Muslim political identity in the
Western context. Satardien prioritises the need for internal reform
within the community and is vocal about the presence of extremism
despite the potential that his criticisms may be appropriated by
xenophobic and anti-Islamic interests. Given the social and political
challenges facing Irish Muslims, Satardien is more concerned about
solidifying Irish Muslim identity as strongly rooted in the politics
of the Irish nation rather than risk it being overshadowed by
pan-Islamic concerns.
Qaradawi, on the other hand, sees Irish-Muslim or European Muslim
identity as simply a subset of a larger transnational Islamic
identity; one defined and governed by political ideologies that are
transnational and demarcated by strict boundaries from Western
ideology and culture. Ultimately, however, the direction of Irish
Islam in particular and Western Islam in general depends not
singularly on the ideological predilections of the individual Western
Muslim and his proclivities toward integration or segregation.
Equally crucial is the potential of Europe to revamp its commitment
toward multiculturalism and integration such that it means more than
relegating immigrant Muslims to economically depressed ghettoes and
goes beyond rationalising xenophobia disguised as culturally necessary
segregation. Ultimately, the cost of living together and defeating
extremism falls both on the minority, which must acknowledge the need
to clean the house, and the majority, which can no longer ignore the
reality of a vastly changed religious and social demographics.
Six killed in Chechnya fighting
Four militants and two policemen have been killed in a clash near Gudermes in Russia's volatile southern republic of Chechnya, local security officials say.
The Chechen Interior Ministry said the clash happened in Ishkhoi-Yurt, a village near Chechnya's second city.
Such incidents have become less frequent in recent months.
The republic was devastated by heavy fighting that started in 1994 when Russian troops first poured in to crush a separatist movement.
Russia supports counter-insurgency operations carried out by a militia loyal to Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. Human rights activists say the force is guilty of numerous abuses.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6357343.stm
Published: 2007/02/13 12:32:27 GMT
© BBC MMVII
MEPs approve damning CIA report
The European parliament has approved a damning report on secret CIA flights which condemns member states that turned a blind eye to the operations.
The UK, Germany and Italy were among 14 states which allowed the US to forcibly remove terror suspects, MEPs said.
The EU parliament voted to accept a resolution condemning member states who accepted or ignored the practice.
The EU report said the US had operated 1,200 flights, flying suspects on to states where they could face torture.
The report was adopted by a large majority, with 382 MEPs voting in favour, 256 against and 74 abstaining.
We must be vigilant that what has been happening in the past five years may never happen again
Giovanni Fava
Italian Socialist MEP and report author
The final version denounces the lack of co-operation of many EU member states and it condemns the actions of secret services and governments who accepted and concealed renditions.
It is unlikely, the report says, that European governments were unaware of rendition activities on their territory, something the British government, among others, has denied.
"This is a report that doesn't allow anyone to look the other way. We must be vigilant that what has been happening in the past five years may never happen again," said Italian Socialist Giovanni Fava, who drafted the document.
The parliament also called for an "independent inquiry" to be considered.
Revealing facts
Although the report has no force in EU law, Mr Fava said during the parliamentary debate that the related investigation, over a year, had uncovered much new evidence.
Germany's Europe minister Guenther Gloser - whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency - admitted that his own country had begun investigating some of the points raised in the report, but said a more "reticent" form of words would have been appropriate.
But centre-right MEPs - the largest group in parliament - say it is motivated by anti-Americanism and that the investigation has duplicated enquiries by the human rights body, the Council of Europe.
Poland is one of the countries most strongly criticised, although the final report has dropped any mention of secret detention sites there, says the BBC's Alix Kroeger in Strasbourg.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said the commission would act on the truth, even if it were uncomfortable or unpalatable. But he called for a relaunching of the Euro-Atlantic relationship and said Europe must continue to work with its US partners.
During the course of their investigation, delegations of MEPs travelled to countries including Romania, Poland, the UK, the US and Germany to investigate claims of European involvement in so-called extraordinary renditions.
The report defines extraordinary renditions as instances where "an individual suspected of involvement in terrorism is illegally abducted, arrested and/or transferred into the custody of US officials and/or transported to another country for interrogation which, in the majority of cases involves incommunicado detention and torture".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6360817.stm
Published: 2007/02/14 13:45:33 GMT
© BBC MMVII
Now here's a REAL Lady. Long read, but you'll enjoy.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060605fa_fact
Iran drones 'can attack US ships'
By Frances Harrison
BBC News, Tehran
An Iranian website close to the Revolutionary Guard has said they have drones that can launch attacks on American warships in the Persian Gulf.
This comes as the US has sent a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf in a move it says is intended to warn Iran that it intends to have a regional presence.
Both sides have increased the talk of war readiness in recent weeks.
This comes as concerns mount internationally about Iran's nuclear programme and its involvement in Iraq.
The Baztab website quotes the acting commander of the Revolutionary Guard's land forces as saying that Iran has unmanned aircraft that can fly long distances and launch attacks on American warships.
The commander reportedly said this would make the Americans leave the region in shame.
He added Iran had all US activity, including the slightest changes of the enemy, under constant surveillance.
And the website also quoted the commander claiming that Iran had managed to put the logo of the Revolutionary Guards on the side of an American warship in the Gulf to demonstrate how insecure they were in this region.
There is no independent confirmation of these Iranian assertions, but they show how Tehran is trying to counter what it says is the psychological warfare of the Americans with claims of military superiority.
Every few weeks, there are new Iranian war games and state television shows pictures of fresh military hardware like missiles and torpedoes being tested.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6356971.stm
Published: 2007/02/13 12:45:50 GMT
© BBC MMVII
I also thought that I was in the desert, will be by July 1st.
It snowed in Las Vegas yesterday, a little.
Today, they say God is sending 60 mile an hour winds, for me that is double, as when they built the new freeway, a mile away, the cutting on the mountain, funnels the wind to my place, that is why the roof keeps blowing off.
So goes life.
Make this a special day, the best of Valentines to you.
[a must read article, long and full of facts and infor]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1784602/posts?page=1
Radical Islam's Dupes--American Jews are backing the wrong side in the Balkans.
Frontpagemagazine ^ | 2-14-07 | Julia Gorin
Posted on 02/14/2007 5:52:01 AM PST by SJackson
It is somewhat pathetic that even after 9/11, and even after a nearly four-year trial at the Hague disproving “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” of Albanians in Kosovo (something the late reporter Daniel Pearl uncovered as early as 1999), the Jewish community still insists on being used to promote the agenda of the Albanian lobby that allied us with the al Qaeda-trained Kosovo Liberation Army in 1999.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1784735/posts
7,000 Iraqi Refugees To Be Permitted Into U.S.
FOX ^ | 02/14/07 | Unknown
Posted on 02/14/2007 9:06:40 AM PST by Froufrou
Official: Plane Broke Apart Before Crash
SAVANNAH - A small plane broke apart in the air and scattered wreckage
over
1.5 miles when it crashed on Fort Stewart over the weekend, killing the
pilot and his three passengers flying from Florida to South Carolina to
buy
a recreational vehicle.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. The National Transportation
Safety
Board plans to issue a preliminary report this week, NTSB investigator
Eric
Alleyne said Monday.
Investigators Monday were checking records on the airplane for any
clues of
mechanical problems. They were also collecting weather radar data for
the
cold, rainy Friday night when the plane crashed en route to Anderson,
S.C.,
from Titusville.
Richard P. Love III, 32, of Melbourne, was piloting the single-engine
Beechcraft Bonanza owned by his father's company, Blue Heron Aviation
Sales
LLC.
Liberty County Coroner Reginald L. Pierce on Monday identified the
passengers as Joshua Manso, 28, of Melbourne; Michael Marasia, 34, of
Satellite Beach; and Trevor Quinn, 29, also of Melbourne.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/NEWS/702130491/1004
3 workers injured at Fort Lauderdale airport
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport officials have
identified
three maintenance workers injured this morning while changing tires on
a
jetway.
Kevin Scott, 52, of Hollywood and Richard ''Rick'' Hernandez, 49, of
Davie
were critically injured when a tire they were working on exploded. They
both
remain hospitalized at Broward General Medical Center, the Broward
Sheriff's
Office said.
A third worker, Jeff Jugis, 47, of Hallandale Beach suffered minor
injuries
in the explosion.
BSO said the accident happened at 9:51 a.m. on Jetway C2, a Continental
jetway.
The three men -- all of them longtime airport employees -- were working
on a
wheel for the jetway that connects the terminal to the aircraft, said
Greg
Meyer, an airport spokesman.
''This is a standard procedure,'' he said. ``They were doing routine
work on
the expandable piece that connects the airport to the plane. Somehow a
tire
exploded.''
Scott and Hernandez were rushed to the hospital. Jugis refused
treatment.
Meyer said an investigation will be launched by Broward County Aviation
and
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine what
caused
the accident.
Glen Fisher, who arrived at the airport on a flight from New York, saw
the
commotion outside the terminal soon after the accident.
''They looked bloody,'' Fisher said of the injured workers. ``It was
two
guys laying on the ground.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/16690019.htm
In case you want to know what is being taught to our young, in America:
http://bridgenews.org/news/0207/bellaciao
It appears she is real person, sad to say:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Dr.+June+Scorza+Terpstra&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
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