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

VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.

From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.

One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.

MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.

Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.

Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.

Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.

He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/15/nguns315.xml

Armed officers deployed to London streets

By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 12:50pm GMT 15/02/2007

# Video: Another tragic victim
# Police in crisis meeting after shootings

The head of the Metropolitan Police today asked the Home Secretary to impose a minimum jail term on young people who carry guns, after three teenagers were shot dead in south London in less than a fortnight.

More armed officers are to be deployed to the streets of the capital in an effort to prevent further killings, amid fears that the city's armed gangs are running out of control.

They will patrol the most at-risk areas in marked police vehicles to provide high visibility reassurance, Scotland Yard said.

The force also revealed today that a man had been arrested over the murder of Michael Dosunmu, 15, who was gunned down in his bedroom in Peckham last Tuesday.

Sir Ian Blair today hosted an emergency meeting of commanders and murder squad detectives to discuss his forces response to the killings. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner said his force was "absolutely determined" to stop the situation escalating any further.

Sir Ian also spoke to John Reid about lowering the age at which the five-year mandatory sentence for carrying a gun can be imposed from 21 to 17, it was revealed. It is not known whether Mr Reid supports the plan.

The most recent victim of London's gun culture has been named as Billy Cox. The 15-year-old was found murdered in his home yesterday afternoon.

Police were called to the 15-year-old's home in Clapham, just after school closing time at around 3.40pm yesterday to find the boy fatally wounded. The boy, who is believed to have a white father and a Thai mother, was first found by a family member.

Last night Christina Piludu, 35, a neighbour, paid tribute to the dead schoolboy.

"He was like a kid, he was like a baby. I'm disgusted and furious," she said. "His parents must have been proud of him. He was always playing on his bike and football. He was a very good kid."

The latest shooting in south London follows the murders of two other teenagers including James Smartt-Ford, 16, shot twice by a gunman at Streatham Ice Arena on Feb 3.

Three days later, Michael Dosunmu who was described as "easy going", was shot dead as he slept in his bedroom in Peckham.

His home was just yards from the spot where 10-year-old Damilola Taylor was stabbed to death with a broken bottle in 2000.

Related articles
Gunman gets 30 years for christening murder
8 February 2007: Four held over schoolboy shooting

TerroristWarning.com Terrorism Headlines 02/15/2007 # 1

Editors Note: Be sure to bookmark and regularly check our incident map at www.GlobalIncidentMap.com - and for headlines concerning the coming Bird Flu pandemic please visit http://birdflu.globalincidentmap.com

National:

[Canadian Press] CANADA - Quebec police officer injured after car bomb destroys his van

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=aeb4729c-07f4-4546-bd72-8832850cf307&k=40678

See also http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1171493411734&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1112101662670

[KUSA TV] COLORADO - Man on FBI’s terrorist watch list arrested in metro area

"In what is described as a ‘sensitive’ case, police took a man into custody early Friday morning whose name is on the FBI’s terrorist watch list"

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=64561

See also http://www.koaa.com/news/view.asp?ID=6548

See also http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2007/02/11/colorado-police-arrest-man-on-terroris-watch-list/

[AP] WASHINGTON - Mall in Spokane evacuated after fumes sicken dozens of shoppers

"At least 36 people in NorthTown Mall sought treatment at hospitals, Spokane police said. Police called the fumes a "possible chemical irritant," but still do not know what the irritant was"

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003567671_webmall11.html

See also http://cbs11tv.com/health/health_story_042233245.html

[First Coast News] FLORIDA - Police Investigate Suspicious Package on Northside [JACKSONVILLE]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=75689

[Register-Mail] ILLINOIS - Police investigating two works bomb explosions

"Investigating officers found remnants of two exploded works bombs and a live works bomb in the road in front of 228 Fulton St"

http://www.register-mail.com/stories/021207/LOC_BCC8HDF7.GID.shtml

[KCBD] TEXAS - Suspicious Package Found in Downtown Lubbock

"a suspicious briefcase was found in the sheriff's parking lot Monday morning"

http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=6074460

[WRIC] VIRGINIA - Hazmat Scare in Richmond

"Crews are at the scene of a powder scare at the Virginia Supreme Court Building at 100 N. 9th Street in downtown Richmond. Officials arrived at the scene just after 11 a.m. Monday to investigate a suspicious package."

http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=6074382&nav=menu28_2

[KWTX] TEXAS - Hazmat Crew Responds After Suspicious Powder Discovered [ammonium chloride]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/5760236.html

[Worcester Telegram] MASS - Bomb detonated in Charlton

"bomb, consisting of a 32-year old hand grenade, more than half of a pound of military plastic explosive, five electric blasting caps and five copper or bronze blasting caps"

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/ALERT01/70212006

[WWAY] NORTH CAROLINA - Police investigate bomb threat at Leland Post Office

"customer received a suspicious e-mail that said a suspicious package might arrive"

http://www.wwaytv3.com/node/333

[AP] UTAH - Deaths reported in Utah mall shooting

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4548521.html

See also http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_043221030.html

[Rockford Register Star] ILLINOIS - Suspicious powder found in 4 letters at post office

http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/NEWS07/102130031/1004/NEWS

[Daily Press ] VIRGINIA - Officials detonate pipe bomb, seek information

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/briefs/dp-54895bf0feb13,0,7475633.story?coll=dp-briefs

[Reuters] USA - U.S. postal service warns financial firms of threats

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1240908020070212

[AccessNorthGa.com / WDUN] FLORIDA - Explosives found In Flowery Branch

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=111634

[Capital News 9] NEW YORK - Suspicious substance mailed to Comptroller's office [False alarm, threat]

"powder in the Albany postmarked letter was later determined to be harmless, but a spokesman for the new comptroller did say police are treating the message in the letter as a death threat"

http://www.capitalnews9.com/content/politics/?ArID=205045&SecID=285

[Canwest/Calgary Herald] CANADA - Calgary - Oilpatch on alert over terror threat

"Online posting also threatens Venezuela, Mexico"

"An online message, posted last Thursday by the al-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula, declares "we should strike petroleum interests in all areas which supply the United States . . . like Canada"

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=f3c0e2ef-5c07-41ab-b884-aea47a236fb6&k=2970

[WXIA] GEORGIA - 3 College Students Arrested In Sniper Attacks

http://www.ksdk.com/news/world/us_world_article.aspx?storyid=112744

[TransitSecurityReport.com] USA - View recent transportation terrorism and security incident headlines

http://www.terroristwarning.com/index.php?pageID=1&sp=Transit

International:

[Belfast Telegraph] JAPAN - Blast heard near US base in Japan

"An explosion was heard near a US Army base south of Tokyo this afternoon and police suspected an attempted attack on the base, Kyodo News agency reported. The blast was in the area of the US army's Camp Zama, Kyodo said"

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/asia/article2262724.ece

See also http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21217572-38196,00.html

[WOIO] ISRAEL / USA - Former Ohio Imam Arrested In Israel, Talks To Attorney For The First Time

"former imam of Ohio's largest mosque has spoken with his attorney for the first time since he was arrested by Israel after being deported from the U-S last week"

http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?s=5924684

[IsraelNN.com] ISRAEL - Fire Bomb Thrown at Israeli Car Near Bethlehem

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=121367

[Reuters] SOMALIA - Bomb blast rocks Somali military ceremony

"An explosion tore through a ceremony in southern Somalia on Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding more than 20 others including senior military and police commanders"

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1171230305255B254

[Arab News] PAKISTAN - Chaman Border Sealed Amid Bomb Seizure

"According to an intelligence source the bomb was planted in an oil tanker which was part of the NATO convoy. It was detected at Veish on the Pakistan’s side of the no-man’s land. The bomb was of Russian origin"

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=92041&d=12&m=2&y=2007

[Dawn] PAKISTAN - Mock bomb creates panic in Liaquatabad [Hoax devices]

http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/12/local16.htm

[AP] AFGHANISTAN - 4 Afghan Police Killed in Taliban Ambush

"Taliban militants ambushed a truck full of Afghan police in southern Afghanistan, killing four officers and injuring three, while a separate gunfight left 11 Taliban fighters dead"

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2864989

[Belfast Telegraph] IRAQ - Iraq bomb: 30 dead, 50 wounded

"A suicide bomber slammed a lorry into a crowd of police lining up for duty in Iraq today, collapsing the station near Tikrit and killing at least 30 people and wounding 50, according to police. Minutes later, a roadside bomb struck a car on a road on the western outskirts of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding two others, police said"

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/middle-east/article2259542.ece

[MosNews] RUSSIA - Roadside Bomb Kills 2 Russian Soldiers in Dagestan

"A roadside bomb exploded on the outskirts of Buinaksk on Saturday evening as a team of combat engineers was patrolling the area"

http://mosnews.com/news/2007/02/12/twokilled.shtml

[AP] PHILIPPINES - Philippine troops seeking al-Qaida-linked militants kill 2, capture 2

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/12/asia/AS-GEN-Philippines-Abu-Sayyaf.php

[Reuters] PAKISTAN - Militants blow up key gas pipeline

"disrupting supplies to over one million people"

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=132151&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23

[Ynet] EGYPT - Egypt MP says only nuclear bomb can stop Israeli digging

"nothing will work with Israel except for a nuclear bomb that wipes it out of existence"

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3364343,00.html

[The Nation] THAILAND - Two soldiers seriously injured by bomb attack in Narathiwat

http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026607

[AP] GUINEA - Guinea president declares state of emergency

"President Lansana Conte declared a state of emergency in Guinea, announcing in a broadcast on state radio and television that he had ordered the army to "take all necessary measures" to restore order after three days of violent protests"

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/13/africa/AF-GEN-Guinea.php

[AFP] SOMALIA - Hundreds flee Somali capital amid deadly rebel attacks

"after two people were killed in a barrage of rocket attacks and guerrilla-style raids, which authorities here blamed on Islamists "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070212/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunrestethiopia;_ylt=A0SOwmNTGdFFMo8AnQys0NUE

[Iraq] IRAQ - Austrian sniper rifles sold to Iran found in Iraq

"US troops have found more than a hundred Austrian-made sniper rifles, which were sold to Iran, in a Baghdad raid on insurgents"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070213/wl_afp/iraqiranaustriaweaponstradeusbritain

[AP] IRAQ - Suicide Truck Bomb Kills 15 in Baghdad

"A suicide bomber blew up the truck he was driving near a college in a mainly Shiite area on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 27"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6412687,00.html

[Haaretz] ISRAEL - IDF kills Palestinian laying roadside bomb on Gaza border

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/825408.html

[Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence] SRI LANKA - LTTE mortar attack injures 4 STF personnel - Batticaloa

"Defence sources said that at least ten mortar rounds had been fired by the terrorists "

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070213_04

[DPA] PHILIPPINES - Suspected Muslim Rebels Attack Police Official's House

"Troops dispatched to chase the perpetrators were also attacked by the gunmen, who fired rocket-propelled grenades"

http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_13816-Suspected-Muslim-Rebels-Attack-Police-Officials-House.html

[AP] ITALY - Italian police arrest 15 in raids against leftist militants

"Police said they arrested 15 suspects in Milan, Turin, Padua and other northern Italian cities"

"group had ideological ties to the Red Brigades movement, which terrorized Italy in the 1970s and 1980s"

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/world/BO43022/

[Vanguard] NIGERIA - Militants threaten to blow up oil field in Bayelsa

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/niger_delta/nd213022007.html

[AP] LEBANON - Bus Explosions Kills 12 in Lebanon

"Explosions tore through two buses traveling on a highway Tuesday near a mountain town northeast of Beirut, and at least 12 people were killed and 10 wounded"

http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2007/02/13/ap/headlines/d8n8of7g0.txt

[KUNA] ALGERIA - Further bomb blast occurs in Algiers, one injured

"Some eleven people were killed and 21 others were injured in five bomb car explosions in Algiers Tuesday morning"

"leaving one person injured and smashing the windows of several nearby buildings"

http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=952022

[Reuters] SPAIN - Spain ups terror alert ahead of trial

"We have activated the level 2 anti-terrorist alert ... to guarantee the full safety of citizens ahead of the start of the March 11 trial and the third anniversary of the attacks"

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/02/13/spain.terror.reut/index.html

[IsraelNN.com] ISRAEL - IDF Arrests Eighteen Wanted Terrorists

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=121488

[The Standard] SOMALIA - Explosives discovered at border

"explosives include 15 hand grenades, 19 landmine fusers, one MI landmine activator, an anti-tank, a landmine detonator and 16 rounds of anti-aircraft missiles"

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143964846

[AAP] AUSTRALIA - White substance found at Rudd's office

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21224589-5005961,00.html

[PTI] SRI LANKA - Twelve Lankans injured in bomb blast

"Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels exploded a claymore mine in eastern Sri Lanka, injuring 12 civilians travelling in a bus"

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=81374

[IRNA] IRAN - 5 suspects in Zahedan bombing arrested

http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1180.html

[KUNA] PAKISTAN - Suicide bombing threat puts Islamabad on red alert

"Police and paramilitary forces have been put on high alert amid threats of suicide bombing or other terror attacks, an intelligence report was quoted saying by local daily The News "

http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=952230

[AP] SRI LANKA - Military says 690 kilograms of powerful C4 explosives found in Jaffna

http://www.lankaeverything.com/vinews/srilanka/20070215000141.php

[has hidden urls]

February 13, 2007
The Militarization of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
By Patrick Poole
In late October, a series of exchanges here at American Thinker debated the extremism or moderation of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and oldest Islamist organization in the world and the de facto political opposition party in Egypt. Events a few weeks later in Cairo rendered much of that discussion moot.

The exchange was initiated by Alyssa Lappen's article "Islam's Useful Idiots", which challenged the foreign policy realist view that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are political moderates and are committed to political reform in Egypt through peaceful means, notwithstanding their sometime-violent rhetoric and long history of using and supporting terrorism. In particular, Ms. Lappen took issue with statements delivered at a recent forum hosted by the NYU School of Law, where panelists represented the Muslim Brotherhood as "reformist" and "progressive", and therefore, no threat to democracy in Egypt and a potential partner for peace for the US.

Later that week, Ms. Lappen's article prompted strong responses from Nick Fielding and Alexis Debat - both of whom were panelists at the NYU forum noted by Lappen. Both accused her of misrepresenting their comments at that forum and reiterated that the Muslim Brotherhood was nothing to fear. In the spirit of fair debate, The American Thinker included detailed responses by Ms. Lappen to Fielding and Debat's accusations.

In December, however, a militarized parade of Muslim Brotherhood youth cadres demonstrated with sticks, chains and martial arts displays at Cairo's Al-Ahzar University, the most historic Islamic academic institution and one of the largest universities in the world, effectively putting the lie to contentions that the Muslim Brotherhood intends to pursue its goal of imposing shari'a law and instituting an Islamic government in Egypt through non-violent means (an almost ridiculous proposition on its face).

A December 18th oped by Jameel Theyabi in Dar Al-Hayat, "The Brotherhood's Power Display", describes the Muslim Brotherhood's military rally and what it means:

The military parade, the wearing of uniforms, displaying the phrase, 'We Will be Steadfast', and the drills involving combative sports, betray the group's intent to plan for the creation of militia structures, and a return by the group to the era of 'secret cells'...this development comes as a clear Brotherhood announcement that the group is capable of acting and reacting to developments, and by these demonstrations, it is seeking to deliver a news flash that says: "The group is still out there, and is capable of military action, recruitment of new elements, military training and mobilization...I believe that the group's public power display represents a kind of coded message to awaken sleeper cells within Egypt and abroad.

Apparently the only element missing to make this event the perfect setting for an al-Qaeda recruiting video were the obligatory scenes of young jihadis navigating through sets of monkeybars and jumping through the fiery "Ring of Death". In a scene reminiscent of the Brotherhood's Palestinian sibling, HAMAS, or of Hezbollah in Lebanon, this military parade is not only a show of force, but a coming-out of sorts - an Islamist debutante ball.

This turn of events in Egypt should come as no surprise to those familiar with the Muslim Brotherhood's history and ideological development. As Theyabi notes, the re-militarization of the Muslim Brotherhood hearkens back to its founding era under Hassan al-Banna, when the Brotherhood's "Secret Apparatus" engaged in numerous acts of terror and assassination. In fact, al-Banna's death in February 1949 came as direct retaliation by the Egyptian government for the assassination by Brotherhood members of Prime Minister Mahmud Fahmi Nokrashi. Then there is also the litany of violence, terrorism, revolution and bloody coups committed over the decades by Muslim Brotherhood organizations throughout the Middle East and Africa (HAMAS and the genocidal Brotherhood-backed regime in Sudan come immediately to mind).

The real $64,000 question for the US in light of the militarization of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is whether this is a foreshadowing of the future here at home. It is no secret that the Muslim Brotherhood has established a vast network of organizations in the US, most notably the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

An extensive investigation published by the Chicago Tribune in September 2004, "A Rare Look at Secretive Brotherhood in America" , cites MAS officials as admitting that it was founded by Muslim Brotherhood members (it should be noted that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's current General Guide and Supreme Leader, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, was one of the MAS founders) and that the organization's ultimate goal is "to create Muslim states overseas and, they hope, someday in America as well", but we are assured that this objective will be achieved through peaceful and democratic means - much like what has been promised by the Brotherhood in Egypt for several decades now.

The militarization of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt should give pause to those who advocate engagement with the Brotherhood in Egypt by the US as a partner for peace and stability in the Middle East. It should also prompt some sober reflection by the government officials, university academics and media officials who are quick to embrace MAS and other US-based Brotherhood front groups as "moderates". The recent military parades in Cairo have essentially tipped the hand of the Muslim Brotherhood's lengthy international duplicity; with a sizable Brotherhood presence in the US, we don't want to get too far down the road before we discover that we were duped about their intentions here as well.

Patrick Poole is an occasional contributor to American Thinker. He maintains a blog, Existential Space.
Page Printed from:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/02/the_militarization_of_the_egyp_1.html

at February 15, 2007 - 10:02:40 AM EST

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-0409190261sep19,1,3910166.story?page=1&coll=chi-newsspecials-hed

STRUGGLE FOR THE SOUL OF ISLAM
A rare look at secretive Brotherhood in America
Muslims divided on Brotherhood

A group aiming to create Islamic states worldwide has established roots here, in large part under the guidance of Egypt-born Ahmed Elkadi

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Sam Roe and Laurie Cohen
Tribune staff reporters
Published September 19, 2004

Over the last 40 years, small groups of devout Muslim men have gathered in homes in U.S. cities to pray, memorize the Koran and discuss events of the day.

But they also addressed their ultimate goal, one so controversial that it is a key reason they have operated in secrecy: to create Muslim states overseas and, they hope, someday in America as well.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a key chapter in any story about the struggle for the soul of Islam. Formed in Egypt in 1928, the Brotherhood spawned generations of Islamic activists, both peaceful and violent, around the globe. It is the most influential Islamic fundamentalist organization in the world.

In the U.S. it has operated legally but covertly, mimicking clandestine fraternal organizations that operate on a nod and a secret handshake. Even today, few outside the Islamic inner circles from which it recruits know when, how often or where the Brothers meet to discuss the organization's abstract but pervasive goal: the creation of Islamic states throughout the world, including the U.S.

Special report

'Struggle for the Soul of Islam' story gallery

February 8, 2004

From golden age to an embattled faith
February 8, 2004

Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque
February 8, 2004

How Saudi wealth fueled holy war
February 22, 2004

Egypt's cultural shift reflects Islam's pull
March 21, 2004

Iran loses faith in clerics
May 2, 2004

These men are part of an underground U.S. chapter of the international Muslim Brotherhood, the world's most influential Islamic fundamentalist group and an organization with a violent past in the Middle East. But fearing persecution, they rarely identify themselves as Brotherhood members and have operated largely behind the scenes, unbeknown even to many Muslims.

Still, the U.S. Brotherhood has had a significant and ongoing impact on Islam in America, helping establish mosques, Islamic schools, summer youth camps and prominent Muslim organizations. It is a major factor, Islamic scholars say, in why many Muslim institutions in the nation have become more conservative in recent decades.

Leading the U.S. Brotherhood during much of this period was Ahmed Elkadi, an Egyptian-born surgeon and a former personal physician to Saudi Arabia's King Faisal. He headed the group from 1984 to 1994 but abruptly lost his leadership position. Now he is discussing his life and the U.S. Brotherhood for the first time.

His story, combined with details from documents and interviews, offers an unprecedented look at the Brotherhood in America: how the group recruited members, how it cloaked itself in secrecy and how it alienated many moderate Muslims.

Continued for several pages...................

Latest security threat: holding data hostage

http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=148505

3.02.2007 / 14:45 Latest security threat: holding data hostage
ALKHOBAR. February 13. KAZINFORM - Attracting more than 15,000
information security professionals, the 16th annual RSA Conference was
held last week in San Francisco. The five-day Conference offered
attendees the opportunity to discuss the trends, issues and solutions
that are impacting the information security industry globally.

Personal Security Appliance vendor Yoggie Security Systems was named
the
â€œMost Innovative New Company,â€ at the conference. The companyâ€™s
new
product offering, the Yoggie Systemsâ€™ Gatekeeper Pro, is a
credit-card-sized security appliance that brings corporate class
security applications within the reach of mobile and remote workers.

Weâ€™ll probably never see this security appliance in Saudi Arabia as
Yoggie Security Systems is based in Israel. This is the most recent
example of how current policies in the Arab world continue to put our
networks at risk. While information security technologies developed in
Israel are shunned by the Arab world, Arab nations fail to invest in
the
R&D required to create viable alternatives.

And even as new technologies enhance network security, criminals are
becoming more sophisticated in their exploits. At the 2007 RSA
Conference, Eugene Kaspersky, head of antivirus research at Russiaâ€™s
Kaspersky Labs, stated that the rise of so-called â€œRansomware
Trojansâ€
will be a key trend in 2007.

Ransomware Trojans are a type of malicious code that infects a PC,
encrypts some data and then displays an alert telling the victim to
send
money to get the key needed to access the data again. Such malicious
software isnâ€™t new, but Kaspersky believes cybercriminals will refine
their use of Ransomware this year.

Kaspersky stated that if criminals with a better grasp of cryptography
begin writing Ransomware code â€œantivirus vendors will not be able to
decrypt and recover your data without help.â€ Plus, since the
criminals
may want as little as $20 or $30 to provide the decryption key, people
will probably be willing to pay, rather than lose access to their data.
Many wonâ€™t even take the time to report the extortion to the police,
considering the hassle of such action worse than the money theyâ€™ve
already paid.

The police might try to fight such extortion, but their success is
hardly likely. According to Kaspersky, law-enforcement officers are
having difficulty catching Internet criminals.

â€œIn 2004, there were around 100 arrests of suspected cybercriminals.
In
2005, there were around 400. But last year, there were just 100,â€
Kaspersky said. â€œIt seems that the stupid guys are being jailed, but
the
clever ones are still operating.â€

Not every type of network attack is on the rise, but there seems to be
some disagreement about whether certain kinds of attacks are actually
declining or perhaps just evolving. Kaspersky stated that there should
continue to be a reduction in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS)
attacks. This is where a companyâ€™s servers are bombarded with data in
an
attempt to drive it offline. Kaspersky believes that these attacks are
declining in part because better filtering technologies have been
developed that can strip out DDoS traffic before it reaches a corporate
server and also because several people have been arrested for launching
DDoS attacks and demanding payment in exchange for stopping the attack.

Paul D. Parisi, CTO of DNSstuff.com, has a completely different
perspective on the DDoS attack situation. He discussed last Tuesdayâ€™s
incident in which a DDoS attack targeted at least five of the
Internetâ€™s
13 root name servers. The attack caused two of the root name servers to
stop responding to up to 90 percent of queries. However, the other root
name servers kept the Internet working during this time.

The Internet relies on 13 root name servers deployed globally to manage
traffic between computers connected to the Internet. To ensure
stability, no one organization controls all 13. Because of the
reliable,
redundant nature of the system, the DDoS attack passed largely
unnoticed
by the average computer user, while experts worked to deal with
processing the flood of data caused by the attack.

â€œIt is likely that this latest apparent probing effort was testing
the
resiliency of Domain Name Servers (DNS),â€ explained Paul D. Parisi,
CTO
of DNSstuff.com. â€œThis could be a harbinger of more targeted attacks
against .com parent servers or even individual enterprise servers,
neither of which may have the resiliency or redundancy of the systems
attacked earlier. Either of these scenarios could have catastrophic
consequences for the Internet-at-large or specific organizations.â€

Even without an increase in targeted or malicious attacks on DNS
servers, many of those same servers remain vulnerable or are performing
poorly because of human error. There are over 85 million domains on the
web, and a survey by DNSstuff.com of its users revealed that there are
significant, fixable configuration issues with DNS settings for nearly
70 percent of those active domains. These incorrect settings can lead
to
site outages or improperly routed e-mail, and a targeted attack
exploiting these settings could lead to even more widespread network
and
Internet outages.

A newly released DNSstuff.com root server time map allows IT
professionals to monitor the state of root and .com servers supporting
DNS. Network administrators can check real-time performance of these
servers to spot long latency times or unusual behavior in response
times. The root server time map can be found at
http://www.dnsstuff.com/info/roottimes.htm. Other simple steps that can
be taken to improve DNS security include maintaining a minimum of two
physically and geographically separate servers to help thwart a DDoS
attack, and proper configuration of Primary and Secondary name servers
to utilize the natural resiliency of DNS.

â€œUnfortunately, many people are relying on improperly configured DNS
and
are unintentionally leaving themselves, and therefore the web,
vulnerable to attack,â€ Parisi said.

Another area of controversy at the 2007 RSA Conference was whether
Microsoftâ€™s Windows Vista Security was spreading woe or wow. An
informal
poll conducted at the conference by security vendor PC Tools found that
of more than 300 security experts interviewed, 97 percent said they
believe that Vista will have problems with security for the next few
years. About two percent of those interviewed were unsure and the rest
did not respond to the issue.

At the 2007 RSA Conference Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy
Officer
Craig Mundie didnâ€™t speak about Windows Vista specifically. However
in a
keynote with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, he outlined a vision for a
digital world where people can easily and seamlessly connect across
networks, platforms and devices â€” with confidence that their
information
wonâ€™t be compromised or stolen. Achieving this â€œanywhere accessâ€
vision,
he explained, will require serious, industry-wide collaboration and a
commitment to investing in interoperable systems, processes and
products; KAZINFORM quotes The Arab News.

The New Transcaucasian Railway

SPIEGEL ONLINE - February 13, 2007, 04:38 PM
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,466159,00.html
AN IRON SILK ROAD
The New Transcaucasian Railway

Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan have signed an agreement to build a rail
corridor that they hope will eventually link Europe with Asia. However,
one country in the region -- Armenia -- is being left out.

Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan have sealed an agreement to build a
railway which would improve cargo transportation among the countries
and
eventually revive the historic Silk Road trade route -- linking Europe
and Asia.

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to the
Georgian capital Tbilisi last Wednesday, Feb. 7, to sign the three-way
agreement with his counterparts, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. The three agreed that
construction on the railroad would start this year and should be
finished by 2009. It will consist of a new 100-kilometer railway line
connecting the eastern Turkish city of Kars with Georgia, while another
300 kilometers of existing track will be renovated.

The governments hope this railway will connect eventually to the
proposed Trans-Asian Rail Network, which is being supported by the
United Nations. Transport ministers from Turkey, China, Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan met last year to discuss the project, which
could one day see passengers taking a train from London to China.

Peace and conflict in the Caucasus

The Ankara government has already forged closer ties with Georgia and
Azerbaijan -- particularly for oil and gas delivery from the Caspian
Sea
-- with a pipeline connecting the Azerbaijani capital of Baku with
Georgia and the Mediterranean Turkish port of Ceyhan. The former Soviet
republics used to be connected by a Communist-era Transcaucasian
Railroad, which once moved millions of tons of cargo every year; but
traffic was suspended after the Iron Curtain fell.

Not everyone in the region welcomes the planned new Transcaucasian
route. The government in Armenia has criticized the decision by its
three neighbors to develop a corridor that avoids Armenia altogether.
Leaders in Yerevan say the plan deliberately ignores the old rail link
between Armenia and Turkey, which has been idle since the the two
countries cut off diplomatic ties in 1993.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are not much better: The two
countries bitterly disagree over the enclave of Nagoro- Karabakh. The
mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan has been controlled by ethnic
Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended six years of fighting,
during which over 30,000 people died.

smd/spiegel/ap

http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/WilliamRusher/2007/02/15/whats_bin_laden_up_to

What's Bin Laden up to?
By William Rusher
Thursday, February 15, 2007

It's been more than five years since Sept. 11, and it's fair to ask why the United States has thus far been spared so much as a single further unpleasantness. Of course, an ugly explosion may go off any day in some American city, making such speculation look wildly premature. But even Osama bin Laden's notorious predilection for taking his time between these extravaganzas doesn't fully explain his delay in providing us with an encore.

There's certainly plenty of evidence that he wants to remain an actor on the world stage, and to make sure that we don't forget his presence there. Every few months, he or some spokesman of his shows up on Al Jazeera in a new video tape, giving orders to his allies and followers and issuing bloodthirsty threats about what is going to happen to his foes, especially the Great Satan. One could be forgiven for speculating that he is auditioning for his own talk show on CNN. But where's that next bomb?

To be sure, he and/or other Muslim fanatics have hardly been idle in the years since Sept. 11. Suicide bombers and garden-variety terrorists have been busy blowing themselves and innocent Westerners up in London, Madrid, Bali and half a dozen other vulnerable cities around the world. But New York, Washington and other American cities are conspicuously not on the list. Why?

The likeliest explanation is that American counter-measures have been working, and it is no longer so easy to slip suicide bombers into the United States and pull off devastating attacks. The Democrats in Congress may be furious at George W. Bush for eavesdropping on phone conversations between Americans and suspicious foreigners abroad, and monitoring the financial doings of various dubious operators, but they are almost certainly not more exasperated than Bin Laden. International terrorism is no longer a game played entirely in the dark.

But there is at least one other possible explanation. Muslim fanatics had been conducting successful attacks on American targets abroad for nearly 30 years before Sept. 11. They had bombed our embassies in Kenya and Tanganyika, all but sunk the destroyer Cole in Aden, and simply assassinated various American officials around the world -- all without attracting much notice from the American public, and without suffering any serious retaliation. But the attacks on Sept. 11, in New York and Washington, shook the American people fully awake, and within months Bin Laden's protectors in Afghanistan had been ousted and bin Laden himself was on the run.

Is it too much to suspect that bin Laden concluded that bombing America itself had been a strategic mistake, and that when he noticed that the American public was dozing off to sleep again he decided not to give it another poke in the eye?

Whatever the explanation, it almost certainly doesn't mean that bin Laden and his fellow Muslim terrorists have forgotten about us, or decided that we are too dangerous to attack on our own soil. At best, they have simply decided to pick off easier targets first -- including American targets abroad. In due course, when they have infiltrated or recruited a sufficient number of agents here, and above all when they have acquired a few nuclear weapons from friendly nations, they will stage an attack on the American homeland that will make Sept. 11 look like a garden party.

That, to be sure, will have the disagreeable side effect of awaking the American public (or what's left of it) again. We may even reinstitute some of the "unconstitutional" surveillance procedures that the ACLU is today so busy urging the courts to abolish. Or we may simply be remembered historically as the freest nation ever destroyed by indifference to its own danger.

But, one way or another, at a time of their choice, we will hear from the Muslim fanatics again.

William Rusher is a Distinguished Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy and author of How to Win Arguments .

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=79571#

Suppliers of oil to US take Al-Qaeda threat seriously
By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Friday, February 16, 2007

DUBAI: A call by an extremist Al-Qaeda group for wider attacks against US oil suppliers has forced Canada, Mexico and Venezuela to review security at oil installations. "We've always said that Canada is not immune to threats. We take this threat seriously," Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Wednesday following the call by the Saudi branch of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.

A Mexican minister also called the threat "worrisome."

The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula used an article in an online magazine to call for broader attacks on oil installations in countries in the Middle East and beyond that supply the United States.

"In the long term, the United States will not need the Middle East or it will reduce its dependency on it, and will be satisfied with oil from Canada, Mexico and Venezuela," the statement said.

"Oil interests in all regions from which the United States benefits should be hit, not only in the Middle East," the group said in the Sawt al-Jihad (the Voice of Jihad) article.

"The aim is to cut all its [US] imports [of oil] or reduce them by all means," it said.

"The targets among oil interests should include oil wells, export pipelines, loading platforms and tankers and all that could reduce US access to oil."

"The instructions from Sheikh Osama [bin Laden] concerning the targeting of oil interests are clear, so for the mujahedeen [holy warriors] to be able to implement these instructions, they should gather information and choose the target carefully," it said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Canada is already the biggest energy supplier to the United States. At an estimated 179 billion barrels, Canada's Alberta oil sands rank second behind OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves.

Greg Stringham, vice president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers in Calgary, the country's energy headquarters, said oil companies were taking the threat "very seriously" but that alert levels in Canada remained low.

"It does not look like it's something new, though we're paying good attention to it and we have heightened the awareness among the folks that may be directly affected," he told AFP.

Mexico and Venezuela also said they were on watch after the report.

Mexican Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo said the information was "worrisome ... if it is confirmed."

"Everything that involves security has an impact on tourism," he added.

In Venezuela, Interior Minister Pedro Carreno said security forces were at work to guarantee protection for the oil industry installations.

"Venezuela has its intelligence units set to investigate to guarantee ... strategic resources," he said.

Mexico is the world's sixth-largest oil producer and exports most of its crude to the US.

Al-Qaeda has made threats in the past to attack oil installations in the Gulf and specifically Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of bin Laden, which sits on a quarter of global oil reserves. - AFP

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=79528

Under Putin, Russia is no longer ready to be pushed around
By David Ignatius
Daily Star staff
Thursday, February 15, 2007

Vladimir Putin made headlines last weekend when he blasted the Bush administration for its "almost uncontained hyper-use of force" that has created a world where "no one feels safe." If he had been a Democratic presidential candidate, it would have been a standard stump speech. But coming from a Russian president, his remarks had pundits ruminating about a new Cold War.

I was in the audience in Munich when Putin made his speech, and the tone seemed to me more one of resentment than belligerence. He was proud, prickly, defiant - a leader with all the Russian chips on his shoulder. You could hear his inner voice: We let you dismantle the Berlin Wall. We folded the Warsaw Pact. We dissolved the Soviet Union - all on your promises that you wouldn't take advantage of our weakness. And what did we get? Nothing! You surrounded us with NATO weapons.

Putin's comments may be jarring to Americans, but they express a bitterness that's widespread in Moscow. His generation of Russians grew up in a country that claimed the status of "superpower," and they don't like being taken for granted. Putin, an ex-KGB officer with a black belt in judo, has been pugnacious in standing up for his country's interests, and Russians seem to like that. In the latest opinion polls, his popularity is well above 70 percent.

I met Tuesday with one of Putin's top aides in a building that once housed the headquarters of the Soviet Communist Party. "We want to work together with you," he explained. "But please open your eyes. We will never accept that the sole power in the world will be the US."

Russia is back. That's the real lesson I take from Putin's blunt comments. A country that was near collapse after the fall of Soviet communism has regained enough confidence and stability to take a verbal shot at its old rival. "We are emerging from nothing," the Putin aide told me. To explain the Putin phenomenon, the Kremlin's chief ideologue, Vladislav Surkov, recently compared him to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, another president who brought his country back from economic disaster and restored its pride. Like FDR, Putin is using "presidential power to the maximum degree for the sake of overcoming the crisis," Surkov said.

Visiting here for the first time since 1990, I am struck by how everything in Russia is different, and everything is the same. Driving in from the airport, you see the familiar monument marking the farthest German advance in World War II - a testament to the Red Army's fierce resistance to foreign invasion. And next to it is the Mega Mall with its huge Ikea showroom - a foreign invasion that, in the end, proved unstoppable.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

In Red Square, the somber stones of Lenin's tomb are a reminder of Soviet power. But across the way, in what used to be the drab GUM department store, are glittering displays of the latest fashions from Vuitton and Dior.

What hasn't changed is Russia's neurotic relationship with the West. Russian friends tell me the country feels unloved and unappreciated - a political doormat that Western powers think they can walk on, at will. That's the frustration that surfaced in Putin's speech in Munich.

By Russian standards, this is something of a golden age. Putin recently touted some of the country's achievements: Russian average incomes increased 10 percent in 2006 over the previous year; the economy grew by about 6.7 percent; inflation was in single digits for the first time in many years. Russia's currency reserves rose to $303 billion, the third largest in the world, and its "stabilization fund" of energy profits was nearly $100 billion. All this in a nation that in 1998, on the eve of Putin's presidency, was essentially bankrupt.

The new Russia has a moment of opportunity. America, far from the "unipolar" superpower Putin describes, is weakened by the Iraq war and is badly in need of allies. If Putin is wise, he can play a pivotal role in resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis - and thereby restoring some of Russia's lost diplomatic clout. Or he can keep complaining that nobody appreciates his country - meanwhile letting his old rival struggle awhile longer in the Iraq quagmire.

Was Putin's Munich manifesto an "invitation to dialogue," as one of his aides told me? Or was it a warning shot from a newly confident Russia that is rather enjoying America's troubles? If Putin wants to play a role in stabilizing the post-Iraq world, he is pushing on an open door. But does he have the vision and political will to seize the moment?

Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR.

http://philippinecommentary.blogspot.com/2007/02/paying-ransom-guarantees-next.html

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Paying Ransom Guarantees The Next Kidnapping
Posted by Dean Jorge Bocobo

PDI Editorial notes the nuanced position of Malacanang on the Dolorfino hostaging incident in Panamao, Sulu involving the MNLF -- the Palace will ask the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) to investigate the matter. No clearer sign could possibly be given by the Arroyo administration that it casts its lot with the OIC when it comes to the Mindanao "peace process." Swept under the proverbial rug is the embarrassing matter of some 450 thousand peso in RANSOM MONEY paid by the Philippine Government for the release of its "peace negotiators" from the MNLF's camp a few weeks ago.

Now check out PDI's own nuanced position ... While decrying the fact of the government having paid ransom money, the editorial says,

We do not share the idea of those who see the incident as proof that there is no negotiating with Muslims.

That's right. "Muslims" can certainly be negotiated with, but there should be no negotiating with "terrorists kidnappers!" And certainly there should be no paying of ransom to terrorists. The editorial further defends the "peace process" --

"We also do not share the notion that Dolorfino, a Muslim convert with close ties to many Islamic communities, has compromised himself and should therefore be relieved of his responsibilities in the peace process. He remains an asset in the pursuit of dialogue, without which no ceasefire, no peace agreement, can turn into a lasting settlement."

I disagree completely. If anything, he validates the notion that demanding ransom payments from the Philippine government actually works! Why look, even the leading broadsheet thinks Dolorfino is "an asset in the pursuit of .. dialogue." Don't they mean in pursuit of future ransom payments?? Paying ransom and excusing it guarantees the next hostaging and kidnapping.

Gen. Dolorfino represents a policy of appeasement and capitulation that was in evidence when the President allowed the ransoming of billionaire campaign contributor Reghis Romero from the Abu Sayyaf Group that had just raided the Dos Palmas beach resort in Palawan and taken captive Gracia and Martin Burnham and dozens of other hostages. The administration has found it expedient to pay ransoms in order to free itself from politically sticky situations, such as the Angelo de la Cruz affair in Baghdad some years back.

Dolorfino's actions in Panamao, Sulu and his subsequent testimony on the events which transpired were inconsistent and self-contradictory. The editorial's defense of him is inexplicable. He denied having been hostaged even after he was already free to tell the truth, which he supposedly did under oath at the Congress Commission on Appointments--whilst groveling for the confirmation of his recent promotion to Major General and posting as Commander of the National Capitol Region AFP command?

It certainly sends the message, surely audible even in places like the Niger Delta and all over the Middle East, as well as Indonesia and Sulu, that Filipinos pay ransom money for hostages!

1 Comments:

engineerOFW said...

Paying ransom for Dolorfino's release is bad enough. What is making it worse is inaction --- why isn't there any campaign to capture the Dolorfino kidnappers?
8:56 AM, February 14, 2007

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.