World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #4.

Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?

Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.

The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”

As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.

The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.

The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.

A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.

What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.

Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.

The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.

The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.

The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2006/Jan06/13/11.HTM

Monday, January 16th, 2006

Some S. Florida Latinas Converting to Islam for Emphasis on Family,
Women's Roles

By Tal Abbady Melissa Matos slips into an easy communion with her
newest circle of friends.
At regular meetings, they invoke their families' native towns in Cuba
or the Dominican Republic, or recipes for arroz con pollo. English is
interspersed with Spanish. And, posing no incongruity to the women,
hijabs, or Muslim head scarves, frame their faces.

When she converted to Islam in May, Matos, a Dominican-American raised
as a Seventh-day Adventist, expected the passage to be lonely.
"I said to myself, `Great, I'm going to be the only Muslim Latina in
the whole world,'" said Matos, 20, a student at Florida International
University who recently joined a group of Latina converts to Islam.

Scholars say Matos is part of a growing number of Latin women
converting to Islam for its emphasis on family, piety and clearly
defined women's roles, values converts say were once integral to
Hispanic culture but have waned after years of assimilation.

The women are among 40,000 Hispanic converts to Islam in the United
States, according to the Islamic Society of North America. About a
decade ago, Latino converts began forming Internet groups such as the
Latino American Dawah Organization and the women's group Piedad that
trace Hispanics' ties to Islam back to the Spanish Moors.

Grassroots leaders say the number of converts grew sharply after the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, bucking a trend of thought among Americans
that links Islam to terrorism.
Sofian Abelaziz, president of the Miami-based American Muslim
Association of North America, said one indication of the conversions
is the demand for Spanish-language copies of the Koran, which spiked
after Sept. 11. In the past two years, the group has filled orders for
5,500 Spanish-language Korans for schools, cultural institutes and
prisons around the country, out of 12,000 orders total.

Matos and other converts say the recent media spotlight on Islam was
their first exposure to the faith and spurred further learning.
"[Before] I picked up the Koran, my attitude was, `There's something
wrong with this religion,'" said Matos, 20, of Miramar. A friend gave
her a copy of the Koran. "But then I saw it was filled discussions of
grace from God, of the protection of things we talk about as human
rights, of a universal brotherhood. ... This is a religion that
encourages thinking and contemplation," she said. In May, Matos
converted by reciting the shahada, a prayer in which converts attest
to their belief in Allah and Mohammed in front of Muslim witnesses.
Islam now circumscribes her life. She is studying Arabic, prays five
times a day, wears a hijab and follows Islamic dietary laws.

"There is no conflict between my Dominican heritage and Islam. I grew
up in a culture where you have a family you love and you take care of
one another, and Islam complements those values," Matos said.
Matos' conversion rattled friends and family members who linked Islam
with Taliban-style oppression, but scholars say Latina converts are
practicing a confessional Islam that offers strong moral guidelines.
"People might ask, `Why would women convert to a religion that is so
traditional in its gender roles?' But that's part of the appeal.

There's a recovery of dignity," said Manuel Vasquez, religion
professor at the University of Florida. "Second-generation Latinas are
caught between the morality of their parents and the morality of the
larger mainstream society. Islam offers a clear code. Women ... know
they are respected, taken care and protected from the negative
influences of secular society. It's a kind of empowerment they don't
experience in a culture that is constantly sexualizing them, and
Latinas are particularly sexualized."
The converts may be fashioning a form of Islam that meets their needs
in a country that allows them to do so.

"It's a comment on our society, on the fragmentation of American
family life," said Leila Ahmed, a Harvard University professor who has
written extensively on gender in Islam. "We have to bear that this is
happening in America, where there is freedom of choice. These women
are not converting in order to go and live in Saudi Arabia. We also
don't know how permanent these conversions are in a country where
people convert two or three times in their lives."

Like many converts, Matos calls herself a "revert," a reference to the
Muslim belief that everyone is born in a state of submission to Allah.
Being Hispanic and following Islam now are inextricable.
"When I meet with [my group] we speak in Spanish," she said. "We'll
talk about what it was like back in Cuba or the Dominican Republic.
And yet we're all wearing hijabs. It reminds me of the universality of
Islam."
Religious leaders say the Latina converts assimilate easily into Islam.
"What they see in Islam is what their parents used to practice: that
respect for elders, the care and protection that husbands are
obligated to give their wives," said Maulana Shafayat Mohamed,
director of the Darul Uloom Islamic Institute in Pembroke Pines. "Many
converts tell me, `This is how my parents grew up.'"
When a Hispanic Muslim friend slipped a copy of the Koran into her
hands, Marie Hernandez found "a total way of life." (Courtesy Sun
Sentinel)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1703621/posts

Armed man crashes Capitol barricade (another 'non-event'?)
AP on Yahoo ^ | 9/18/06 | Mark Sherman - ap

Posted on 09/18/2006 10:11:18 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON - An armed man crashed his vehicle into a security barricade at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, ran into the building and was arrested, forcing the complex to briefly be locked down, authorities said.

The man was armed with a gun, said one security officer speaking anonymously pending an official briefing. The officer said the man was captured by police after running through the Rotunda in the center of the Capitol and down a stairway into the basement. He said the man appeared to be having a seizure, and was taken to a hospital.

A congressional aide said the man appeared to be carrying a small weapon and that an ambulance had been called because of the apparent seizure. The aide said that police were reviewing a videotape of the incident and were expected to release a statement soon.

Police shut down the complex as they investigated the incident, and to ensure that all people there were authorized to be there. The incident happened shortly before 8 a.m., EDT, witnesses said. The Capitol complex was reopened within the hour.

Eric Ueland, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, said that after the capture, police conducted a search through the Capitol to ensure there had been no other penetration.

Construction workers and police said the man drove his SUV through a barricade at the Capitol, where a major visitors' center is under construction. His vehicle also crashed into a water fountain on the plaza in the middle of the construction area.

Witnesses said the man, wearing a blue ballcap, ran into the Capitol near the Rotunda and was pursued by police.

In the summer of 1998, two Capitol Police officers were shot to death when a man with a history of mental illness opened fire in the building. The man was wounded and captured.

Police cordoned off the vehicle, a light-colored SUV, which sustained a damaged front fender, and were searching it.

[It bothers me more that they are recalling this food product, that could have been setting another 15 months, before being used..........granny]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1703610/posts

Huge Recall Of Similac Baby Formula
CBS News ^ | September 15, 2006 | Staff

Posted on 09/18/2006 10:01:57 AM PDT by DaveLoneRanger

(AP) The Abbott health care company is recalling hundreds of thousands of bottles of infant formula distributed nationwide because they might not have enough vitamin C.

The recall is for approximately 100,000 32-ounce plastic bottles of Similac Alimentum Advance liquid formula and approximately 200,000 bottles of Similac Advance with Iron, Abbott spokeswoman Tracey Noe said Friday.

The bottles, distributed by Abbott's Ross Products division, are missing a special layer that keeps air out of the bottle, Noe said. When the oxygen enters the bottle, it causes the level of vitamin C to decrease over time, she said.

If infants drink formula without enough vitamin C for two to four weeks, they could start exhibiting symptoms of vitamin C deficiency, which include irritability with generalized tenderness, the company said in a release. So far, Abbott has received no medical complaints.

The Similac Alimentum Advance has stock code 57512, lot number 401895V and use-by 1 May 2007 printed on the back of the bottle; the Similac Advance with Iron has stock code 55961, lot numbers 40177RH or 40172RH and use-by 1 November 2007. Some of the bottles may have been included in Similac Advance Hospital Discharge Kits — stock code 58986 and lot number 41699D5 are printed on the back of the bear tag attached to the kit.

Abbott, formerly known as Abbott Laboratories, is based in suburban Chicago.

Consumers with questions can contact Abbott's Ross Products division at 800-624-3412.

When food is not safe, maybe folks will wake up.

There has been a lot of worry/talk about the food supply and the public has been warned.

We don't hear it, as they would rather talk about a movie star.

I have been attacking my old unread emails and I have many that talk about Homeland Security having issued warnings on the food supply.

To me, eating food that has been setting for months, or has been treated to make it saleable for months, is more dangerous.

In my youth, I always planted my sprouted potatoes and the peelings..........today they have been treated and just rot.

I know that I feel better on real fresh food.

Rodale of Organic Gardening, the founder, felt that using the same soil for ever, for food was the cause of many of our ills.

In one of my soil books, he shows tests that were done here in the 1940's, that led the scientists to think that the lack of minerals in the soil, could be linked to mental disease.

And we ask what is wrong with our youth.

On the baby formula, it is interesting that the vitamin C is the missing ingredient.

About 3 years ago, Israel got had sick babies, it was traced to the baby formula.

The manufacturer, had saved money, and changed the formula, left out the needed _________, that are needed to make the babies grow.

I have forgotten the exact details, but my information, was from following it in the ProMedMail.org reports.

Oh yes, the manufacturer, was in Germany.

Now, you know why I don't forget the Israel baby formula.

January 2006

Brian Ross Reports on "The Spider Cell"-2

http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=1748

01.21.2006 10:49 am

Brian Ross Reports on "The Spider Cell"

This is where it gets really interesting. Musharraf has created,
inside his own intelligence agency, a minor intelligence agency. It is
called "The Spider Group" made up of "trusted Pakistani intelligence
agents, CIA agents, and a number of wealthy business men who have
funded privately a group that is tracking bin Laden and
al-al-Zawahiri

." On a personal note, if this is true and this cell
exists - we have no reason to doubt Ross - I could not have been more
wrong about President Musharaff's sincere efforts to aid the U.S.,
which I'm happy to admit. moving on...

The Spider Group is spreading a lot of money around, developing
relationships to try and find out the details of the comings and
goings of bin Laden and al-Zawahiri. The Spider Group is seen to be
the key to catching these terrorists.

Al-Zawahiri's operation has obviously been penetrated.
The other fact is that the U.S. keeps picking off al Qaeda's #3 man,
which Ross equated to Vietnam tactic of picking off the first
lieutenants. It's damaging their organization badly.

In addition, we have evidently pulled some of our teams out of this
area and Afghanistan to go after Zarqawi, who is now seen as "public
enemy #1." A man who started out as a thug, but now has real power to
do great damage through his actions in Iraq.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2006/iran-060918-rianovosti01.htm

Russia's nuclear chief says Iran NPP to be launched in Nov. 2007

RIA Novosti
In-Depth Coverage

18/09/2006 16:02 MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's nuclear chief said Monday a nuclear power plant under construction in southern Iran will be launched in November 2007.

Russia is helping Iran build the plant at Bushehr, 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of the capital, Tehran. The Bushehr NPP, which is being built under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was previously scheduled to become operational by the end of 2006.

"The Bushehr nuclear power plant will be commissioned in September 2007, and the power generating launch will take place in November 2007," Sergei Kiriyenko told journalists on the sidelines of the 50th IAEA General Conference in Vienna.

He added he would hold a meeting September 25 in Moscow with Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization and the country's vice president.

"We will discuss issues related to the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant at a meeting with Iran's vice president," he said.

Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, Atomstroiexport, is building Bushehr's first power unit under a $1 billion contract signed by Russia and Iran in 1995. A supplemental agreement signed in 1998 stipulates that Atomstroiexport complete construction of the plant on a turnkey arrangement.

[Thought this January post fit the plans for today..}

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 20:45:04 -0000

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=72745

Islamic terrorist plot in Italy revealed

Rome (dpa) - Islamic terrorists planned to blow up a cathedral, two
underground stations and a police building in northern Italy, a court
in Milan heard Thursday.

Zouaoui Choki, a Tunisian supergrass, told judges he was part of a
sleeper terrorist cell charged with collecting funds and recruiting
would-be suicide bombers. But the group was also planning an attack,
which should have been carried out in 2002.

Choki claimed his accomplices planned to blow up Cremona's main
cathedral using a green Renault 14 car packed with C4 plastic
explosive obtained in Florence. They also planned to carry an attack
on two crowded underground stations in Milan and a police building in
the same city.

The Duomo di Cremona was chosen as a "symbol of Christianity" and
because its central location meant it was "very crowded, particularly
in the evening", Chokri was quoted by the Ansa news agency as saying.

The suspect was giving evidence in a trial involving six alleged
Islamic terrorists.

The trial stems from an investigation that has already led to the
conviction of two people on charges of international terrorism.

Dozens of suspects have been arrested in Italy on charges of
international terrorism in recent years. All but two of them were
eventually released by police or acquitted in court for lack of
evidence.

[This goes with your memorial post, Peter, the insane are still with us.]

Russia prepares to charge synagogue attacker

ISN SECURITY WATCH (12/01/06) –

Russian prosecutors on Thursday
prepared to
charge a young man with attempted murder after he went on a rampage at
a Moscow
synagogue the night before, stabbing eight people before he was
overwhelmed by a
rabbi. He was arrested soon after.

The attack, which most observers are calling a racial hate crime, took
place a
year after President Vladimir Putin expressed shame over rising
anti-Semitism in
Russia at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and just
two
months after thousands of nationalist-minded youth marched on Moscow's
streets,
shouting Nazi slogans.

"I came here to kill you!" 20-year-old Alexander Koptsev, according to
witnesses, shouted as he was knifing the synagogue worshippers.

The victims included Russians, a US citizen, an Israeli, and a Tajik
national.

Two of the eight victims initially hospitalized with severe cuts
remained in
critical condition as of Thursday.

Koptsev was wrestled down by the synagogue rabbi and his son and held
by the
worshippers until police arrived.

Officials are preparing to charge the suspect with attempted murder,
inflicting
injuries, and actions aimed to hurt ethnic and religious dignity.

Chief Moscow prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev said on Thursday that Koptsev
should
undergo psychiatric examination, Interfax news agency reported.

He said earlier that Koptsev had no criminal record and was not a
member of any
extremist group even though the attacker "shouted words that showed he
was
motivated by ethnic and religious hatred".

In an interview published by Kommersant newspaper on Thursday,
Koptsev's father,
Alexander, said his son was unemployed and spent most of his time at
home,
playing computer games. His favorite was Postal, in which the
protagonist, a
postman, attacks people on the streets of London.

He also said that recently he had seen his son reading anti-Semitic
literature.

Investigators found 64 rifle cartridges and a list with addresses of
three
Moscow synagogues during the search of the Koptsevs' apartment on
Thursday,
Russian media reported.

Koptsev could have been driven to the attack by the intensified
nationalist
propaganda in the Russian media, including television, according to
Alexander
Verkhovsky, head of the SOVA Moscow-based think tank specializing in
nationalist
studies. ISN Security Watch spoke with Verkhovsky on Thursday.

"Nationalists in the Russian press and television have been glorifying
xenophobic attacks, and for emotionally unstable people, like Koptsev,
this can
become a motivation," he said.

Alla Gerber, head of the Holocaust Foundation, a Moscow-based rights
watchdog,
said on Thursday that the attack was made possible by the failure of
Russian law
enforcement to battle nationalism and xenophobia.

"I […] think it was an absolutely predictable attack," she told ISN
Security
Watch. "The frequent racially motivated attacks, skinheads marching in
Russian
cities under Nazi banners and swastikas, this all led to the incident
in the
synagogue," she said.

Attacks on dark-skinned migrants and foreigners happen almost daily in
Russia.
Over 60 people were killed in these attacks in the past two years,
according to
a study released by SOVA in 2005. Extremist literature is freely sold
in Russia.
Last November, about 3,000 skinheads freely arranged a march in
downtown Moscow.

Criminal convictions acknowledging racial or xenophobic motivations
behind
attack on foreigners and dark-skinned migrants are very rare in Russia.

On Thursday, security was boosted at 35 major synagogues in major
Russian
cities.

"Where we had no armed guards, we have them now. Also police patrol
every
synagogue and [Jewish] community center," spokesman for the Federation
of Jewish
Communities in Russia, Borukh Gorin, told Interfax on Thursday.

Several Russian senators and senior members of the State Duma
(Russia's lower
house of parliament), including speaker Boris Gryzlov, on Thursday
criticized
Russian law enforcerment for leniency in fighting religious and ethnic
extremism.

Gryzlov proposed to harden laws against extremism.

Jewish leaders also said the attack should serve as a clear message to
Russian
authorities and the public to fight racism.

In a statement late Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the
attack a
"provocation by those who would like to bring discord in Russian
society and
ignite national and religious dissension, which have not succeeded and
will not
succeed".

(By Nabi Abdullaev in Moscow)
www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=14315

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 11:10:33 -0000

http://www.opensourcesinfo.org/journal/2006/1/13/the-soviet-kgb-may-have-plotted-to-kill-cia-appointed-pope.html

The Soviet KGB may have plotted to kill 'CIA appointed' Pope

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, deputy speaker of the Russian Parliament and
leader of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party has suggested
that the Soviet Union and its surrogate states would have been
justified to kill Pope John Paul II who, he claims, was planted in the
Vatican by the CIA to wrest Poland from its pro-Soviet rulers. In an
interview with a Russian radio statio, on the day the Pope's would-be
assassin, Ali Agca, was released from an Istanbul jail, Zhirinovsky
was asked whether the KGB, had commissioned the attack.

"There is no direct evidence necessarily of a Russian connection here,
but it was not to our liking that a Pole became Pope in Rome, in that
it was done specially by the CIA and by the USA to influence the
situation in Poland through a Pole, the Pope of Rome, and this
succeeded" he replied, AKI reports. "The West tried to influence the
situation in a socialist country, Poland, using external factors. The
task was to knock it out from the community of socialist countries
and, in the final analysis, this did happen. They started this in 1980
and in 1989, nine years later, that country, to all intents and
purposes, was one of those which split the entire socialist camp" said
Zhirinovsky.

Asked by the presenter of Ekho Mosky radio why a Turk was chosen for
the operation, Zhirinovsky said: "A Turk was chosen because the
strongest organization in Turkey was the Grey Wolves. There was no
such thing as Al-Qaeda or suchlike."

"The Turkish Grey Wolves was the most extremist organization and it
was easiest of all to recruit agents in Bulgaria, because it is full
of Turks, and Bulgarian-Turkish relations made it possible to select a
client to carry out this order. We cannot know for sure who issued the
order". Since Agca was arrested immediately after the attack, there
has been much speculation about a Bulgarian connection, but a group of
Bulgarians tried in Italy where later acquitted for lack of evidence.
Had the attempt to kill the Pope succeeded, Zhirinovskiy told, "there
would have been less by way of influence over Poland and Poland would
have remained in the USSR's orbit for longer." "So what if the Pope is
a spiritual leader?" the hardline nationalist politician continued.
"The point at issue was his Polish origin. No-one was attacking the
Roman Catholic Church, Rome or the Vatican. After all, he was
specially put in place there. There has never been a pope from Eastern
Europe. We had a Spaniard, a German, but this was
done specially...in order to influence Poland through this high
spiritual post and to wrest it from the Soviet Union." Zhirinovsky
said "the USSR was defending itself. We have been under attack since
1917. I oppose Stalin and the Gulag but in terms of relations among
states, it is we who are under attack. We have to defend ourselves."

The presenter asked whether part of this defense was "to shoot like
terrorists" and Zhirinovsky answered: "Yes, [we must defend ourselves]
even through shooting, like John Kennedy's assassination, where a
Cuban involvement is suspected. But how many times did the Americans
want to kill Fidel Castro? Hundreds of times."
Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 at 23:39

http://www.opensourcesinfo.org/

US Suspects China Developing Biological And Chemical Weapons

Despite Chinas confidence building measure declarations under the Biological Weapons Convention, she said there were indications that China maintained an offensive biological weapons program prior to acceding to the international law in 1984.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Sep 15, 2006

The United States said Thursday it suspected China was developing "sophisticated" biological and chemical weapons and expressed concern over Beijing's commitment towards non proliferation. "We remain disappointed in the continuing proliferant behavior of certain Chinese entities, and we remain deeply concerned about the Chinese government's commitment towards its nonproliferation obligations," said Paula DeSutter, the Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance and Implementation.

Testifying before the US-China Economic Security Review Commission, a Congress-sanctioned panel, DeSutter said Chinese involvement in biological weapons went against international laws.

China is a party to the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

"We maintain reservations about China's current research activities and dual-use capabilities, which raise the possibility that sophisticated BW (biological weapons) and CW (chemical weapons) work could be underway," she said.

Dual-use technology is regarded as those which has potential to be used for hostile or peaceful purposes or both.

DeSutter, the State Department's top official for assessing and verifying compliance with arms control and nonproliferation pacts, cited what she called "the possible offensive capabilities of aerosolization techniques" and said US concerns were underscored by publications indicating Chinese military involvement in such research.

"We also continue to believe that China maintains some elements of an offensive BW capability in violation of its BWC (Biological Weapons Convention) obligations," she said.

Despite Chinas confidence building measure declarations under the Biological Weapons Convention, she said there were indications that China maintained an offensive biological weapons program prior to acceding to the international law in 1984.

"In addition, the United States believes that China maintains a CW production mobilization capability, although we simply do not have enough information to determine whether China maintains an active offensive CW research and development program," she said.

The United States remains worried that Chinese entities were transferring export-controlled items and technology to "countries of concern," she said.

Peter Rodman, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for international security affairs, said that in addition to considerable conventional weapons transfers, Washington had long been concerned about Chinas assistance to Iran's "sensitive" ballistic missiles, nuclear and chemical programs.

"Likewise, we remain concerned that Chinese entities have helped Iran move toward its goal of self-sufficiency in the production of ballistic missiles," he said.

The United States suspects Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb and has led an international effort to haul it before the UN Security Council.

Rodman said "the time is right" for China to review its links with Tehran and the nuclear-armed North Korean regime.

"Continued proliferation to countries such as Iran and North Korea is a source of regional instability," he said.

earlier related report
China Dismisses Weapons Remarks By US
Beijing (AFP) Sep 15 - China Friday dismissed as "baseless and irresponsible" US statements throwing doubt on its commitment to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Chinese reaction came after the United States said it suspected China was developing "sophisticated" biological and chemical weapons.

"This is baseless and irresponsible," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

"The Chinese government resolutely opposes the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or the means of delivering them. We don't allow any company or any person to engage in proliferation in any form," he said.

Assistant Secretary of State Paula DeSutter said Thursday that Chinese involvement in biological weapons went against international laws.

She was testifying before the US-China Economic Security Review Commission, a Congress-sanctioned panel.

China is a party to the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

"We maintain reservations about China's current research activities and dual-use capabilities, which raise the possibility that sophisticated BW (biological weapons) and CW (chemical weapons) work could be underway," she said.

She added "we remain disappointed in the continuing proliferant behavior of certain Chinese entities, and we remain deeply concerned about the Chinese government's commitment towards its nonproliferation obligations."

Source: Agence France-Presse

Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 at 18:51 by Registered CommenterPF in Defense, Foreign Affairs, WMD, Arms Proliferation | Comments Off

http://www.opensourcesinfo.org/journal/2006/9/18/al-hesbah-network-responds-to-pope-benedict-xvi-and-the-vatican-concerning-comments-on-islam-and-the-prophet-muhammad.html

Al-Hesbah Network Responds to Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican Concerning Comments on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad
Monday, September 18, 2006 at 18:16
PF in Terrorism, Islamism, Extremism
The al-Hesbah Network, one of the primary password-protected Internet forums affiliated with al-Qaeda and insurgency groups in Iraq, published to its website yesterday, Saturday, September 16, 2006, a response to comments made by Pope Benedict XVI regarding Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Al-Hesbah’s statement, titled: “The Ignorance and Tyrannical Vatican Dares to Trespass against Islam, the Religion of Wisdom and Reason,” goes beyond the pope’s transgression, and alleges that such slander was uttered because the Muslim Nation is weak. The message continues on this line, stating that the weakness is the Muslims’ “leniency” and “distance from religion,” that may lead them to be replaced by others who are better able to defend Islam.

To Pope Benedict XVI, al-Hesbah warns: “Be aware that the soldiers of Muhammad are coming for you regardless of the time required, to shake your throne, and shake the foundations of your nation, and to deal with all those who refuse or defy submitting to the Lord O God”.

Recent anger within the Muslim community towards the pope occurred when Pope Benedict XVI quoted Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, a 14th century Byzantine emperor, during a speech on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, at the University of Regensburb in Bavaria, Germany. He said: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached”. The pope today, Sunday, September 17, issued a public apology for this comment.

Article originally appeared on All the information you need! Anytime, anywhere! - Crime, Intelligence, Terrorism, Drugs, Technology, Defense & Security (http://www.opensourcesinfo.org/).

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20060918163421&irec=0

Indonesians march through the capital to protest Pope's comments

JAKARTA (AP): More than a hundred Indonesians marched through the streets of the capital Monday to protest Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam, some accusing him of encouraging a holy war.

Others in the country - which has the world's largest Muslim population -- said it was time to forgive, noting that the pontiff had issued an apology.

Protesters ended their rally in front of the heavily guarded Vatican embassy in Jakarta, some chanting "God is great!" as others waved banners that said the "Pope is building religion on hatred."

"His comments really hurt Muslim all over the world," said Umar Nawawi of the radical Islamic Defenders' Front. "We should remind him not to say such things, which can only fuel a holy war."

Benedict sparked the controversy when, in a speech in Germany last week, he quoted a medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," and referred to spreading Islam "by the sword."

He has since said he was "deeply sorry" his remarks offended Muslims, stressing that they did not reflect his own opinions.

"We understand the anger and disappointment of Muslims," Religious Minister Maftuh Basyuni said Monday. "But the Pope has apologized, and as Muslims we have to forgive him and forget." (***)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillgen.asp?fileid=20060918121526&irec=4

Thai intelligence agency says Muslim insurgents aim to damage economy

BANGKOK (AP): Weekend attacks in southern Thailand's key commercial district show that Muslim insurgents want to damage the region's economy, but authorities do not believe other parts of the country are threatened, the Thai intelligence chief said Monday.

"We do not believe the attacks will expand to other regions but we are being careful, we are being cautious everywhere," police Gen. Jumpol Manmai, who heads the National Intelligence Agency, told The Associated Press.

Suspected separatists exploded at least five bombs Saturday night in the city of Hat Yai, which borders Malaysia, killing four people, including a Canadian, who became the first Westerner to die in the two-year Muslim insurgency. More than 60 people were wounded, including an American, a Briton, two Malaysians, two Singaporeans and two Indians, officials said.

The bombs hit two department stores, two bars and a massage parlor in Hat Yai, a popular vacation spot for Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians.

The violence came three weeks after 22 banks were bombed simultaneously in nearby Yala province, forcing the temporary closure of many financial institutions.

"The attack on trade, business centers and tourist towns is aimed at weakening the economy and undermining the reputation of the country," Jumpol said.

Authorities were searching for a suspect, identified as Faisal Isamahae, believed to have masterminded Saturday's attacks as well as a bombing last year at Hat Yai's international airport that killed two people, Jumpol said.

Suspected Muslim insurgents have waged a bloody campaign since 2004 that has left at least 1,700 dead, mainly civilians.

Most of the violence and fatalities have occurred in the Buddhist country's three Muslim-majority provinces -- Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat -- which are adjacent to Hat Yai.

Hat Yai Mayor Prai Pattano said the city was a "ghost town" Monday. He predicted the attacks would significantly damage its tourism industry, which was already suffering from the violence.

A wave of attacks in Narathiwat occurred overnight Sunday. No casualties were reported.

Suspected insurgents set fire to the kitchen of the Sakoh primary school in the Srisakorn district of Narathiwat and opened fire at a military checkpoint in the area, police said. Burning tires were found along four different roads in the Sungai Padeedistrict, and flyers were scattered along roads that accused the government of killing Muslims, the Narathiwat police headquarters said in a statement. (***)

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/9/prweb438947.htm

Terror Finance Expert Exposes New Information about Tariq Ramadan’s Links to Terrorism

Jean-Charles Brisard of the Terror Finance Blog has uncovered new evidence of Tariq Ramadan’s links to terrorist entities. These findings provide the United States government with sufficient evidence to appeal a court order allowing Ramadan to enter the U.S.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 17, 2006 – Jean-Charles Brisard of The Terror Finance Blog (http://terrorfinance.org) has exposed new evidence that Tariq Ramadan has links to terrorist entities and has endorsed terror activities in his writings and statements. Some of Ramadan’s associates have been convicted of direct involvement in terror plots or have made statements directly in support of al Qaeda-affliated groups engaged in attacks on U.S. targets. This information provides the U.S. sufficient evidence to deny Ramadan a U.S. visa.

Ramadan’s previous visa was revoked in August 2004 by the US government pursuant to a provision of Immigration and Nationality Act amended by the Patriot Act of 2001 that excludes anyone who “has used the alien’s position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity, or to persuade others to support terrorist activity or a terrorist organization.”

On June 23, 2006, a federal judge gave the U.S. government until September 21 to issue a formal decision on Tariq Ramadan’s pending visa application. The government must either grant a visa or provide a “legitimate and bona fide reason” to exclude him by that date. Media reports indicate that the government will not provide such a reason, and accordingly will permit Ramadan to enter the U.S.

However, the evidence uncovered by Jean-Charles Brisard represents a “legitimate and bona fide reason” for denying Ramadan a visa. Among Brisard’s findings are the following:

Tariq Ramadan had contacts with at least 6 convicted terrorists and terrorist designated entities, including:

1. Ahmed Brahim (sentenced to 10 years in prison in Spain in April 2006 for incitement to terrorism)
2. Djamel Beghal (sentenced to 10 years in prison in France in March 2005 for his participation to a foiled terrorist attack against the US Embassy in Paris)
3. Menad Benchellali (sentenced to 10 years in prison in France in June 2006 for his participation to a foiled chemical attack in Paris)
4. Intelligence documents reflect that Tariq Ramadan coordinated a meeting held in 1991 in Geneva attended by Ayman Al Zawahiri and Omar Abdel Rahman, respectively Al Qaeda leader and planner of the terrorist attack against the World Trade Center in 1993, sentenced to life in the United States
5. An abstract of the (terrorist-designated) Al Taqwa Bank phonebook mentions Ramadan and his brother.

In addition to the above, Tariq Ramadan issued statements or publications in support of terrorism:

1. The website of the Islamic Center of Geneva (of which Tariq Ramadan is still an executive director) released a sermon on Iraq in August 2005 calling “to support our brothers in Fallujah and Southern Iraq against this unjust occupation, in reality the terrorists are the US administration, the Sharon government and the Putin government”. This statement was clearly referring to the only insurgency force stationed at the time in Fallujah, Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (Al Qaeda in Iraq), in opposition to the “true” terrorists.
2. Muhammad Hamidullah, co-founder of the Islamic Center of Geneva, wrote that Jihad, whether it be defensive, punitive or preemptive, is allowed by religion, and that Muslim jihad is acted upon a « spirit of sacrifice to impose the voice of Allah »
3. In his book “Islam in questions” (published in 2002) he refers to suicide bombers as a “sacrifice” that “finds its justification in decades of accumulated suffering and Western passive responsibility”
4. He also refers in this book to Palestinians fighting “military targets”, including non-combatants, to justify their terrorist acts
5. In an article published by the Spanish daily “El Pais” in 1996, while condemning the abuses of the Taliban he refers to this regime as “exemplary.”

Finally, two co-founders of the Islamic Center of Geneva, Said Ramadan (Tariq Ramadan’s father), and Abu al-Hassan Ali al-Nadawi, were founding members of the Muslim World League in 1962, which is a Saudi NGO associated with Al-Qaida operations since 1988, and labelled as a supporter of terrorism by several governments. The U.S. government recently decided to take action against several offices of its subsidiary organization, the IIRO.

Five years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, a decision allowing Tariq Ramadan to enter this country would obviously negatively impact the war on terror and the very principles upon which the American nation decided to confront terrorists and those who support or endorse them.

The original article can be found at: http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2006/09/tariq_ramadan_n.html.

Brisard is one of six independent experts on terror finance, based in the USA, Britain, France, Israel and Australia, who recently launched a professional blog that examines how terrorist groups worldwide fund their recruitment, training, and operations. The blog's experts have given expert evidence to the US Senate and House of Representatives, and to the European Parliament. The importance of understanding terror financing was proved as recently as mid-August, when British police arrested a group of suspects in a plot to blow up 10 American airliners in mid-air, thanks to analysis of their financial transactions.

For further information, or for media interviews, find contact information at http://terrorfinance.org, or contact the author of the article, Jean-Charles Brisard, or the blog's editor, Ilan Weinglass, at (202) 203-8183.

Contact Information
Ilan Weinglass
THE TERROR FINANCE BLOG
http://terrorfinance.org
202-203-8183

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