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.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=15125

CLERIC CALLS FOR 'DAY OF ANGER' AGAINST POPE'S REMARKS

A highly influential Muslim cleric is calling on Muslims to mark this
coming
Friday as a "day of anger," to protest comments made by Pope Benedict
XVI
last week, which Muslims found offensive to Islam.

Sheikh Yousuf Al-'Qara'dawi, the Qatar-based cleric who heads the World
Union of Muslim Clerics, said that Friday should be a day of "rational
anger."

However, speaking on a program broadcast on the Qatar-based satellite
channel Al-Jazeera, he urged "peaceful, not rash anger," and asked
Muslims
not to target churches or places of worship.

He also called on Arab and Muslim ambassadors to the Vatican to submit
protests in writing.

During a speech last Tuesday, the pope cited a medieval text which said
that
Muhammad's teachings brought the world evil, comments that sparked
angry
protests throughout the Arab world.

Gunmen shot and killed an elderly Italian nun in the Somali capital
Mogadishu on Sunday, in what many perceive as a possible angry
retaliation
to the pope's remarks.

The nun, said to be in her 70s, was shot outside a nursing school and
children's hospital where she had taught for several years.
On Sunday, the pope apologized and said the views he cited did not
reflect
his own opinions. He said he was "deeply sorry" for the reactions in
some
countries to certain passages of his speech.

The apology was received with mixed feelings among Muslims. While some
Muslims accepted the apology, others said it seemed that he regretted
the
angry reactions his comments caused, and not the actual comments.

Al-Qara'dawi said this was not considered an apology, as long as his
comments still stood.

Al-Qara'dawi, 80, has been described as the leading and most
influential
cleric in the Muslim world.

By The Media Line Staff on Monday, September 18, 2006

Google Alert - shooting of people on street

Duquesne left 'saddened and shocked' by shooting
Monessen Valley Independent - Monessen,PA,USA
... teammate and helped him across the street to Mercy ... a great deal
of pride to see people's character.". Dougherty called the shooting
"unprecedented"
and said his ... [This is the basketball game, that I heard on the radio yesterday]

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Father and son in Dunedin double shooting
Radio New Zealand - Wellington,New Zealand
Dunedin police says two people who died in a double shooting in the ...
from anyone who may have seen or heard anyting suspicious in the Argyle
Street area on ...

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One Person Killed In Shooting on Bennett Street
First Coast News - Jacksonville,FL,USA
Two people were involved in the shooting. JSO officers tell us one
person
was killed in the shooting and another was taken to Shands
Jacksonville.
...
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It's war: Police want more gangbusters
Hamilton Spectator - Ontario, Canada
... is too soon to know if Friday's shooting outside CD's ... "People
want
retribution and then it starts," he said. ... the comments on a tour of
James Street North where ...

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Three dead on bloody Sunday
Globe and Mail - Canada
... Several people at the scene were screaming and may have ... we've
been
since the Yonge Street murder last year ... he said, referring to the
wild shooting rampage among ...

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Jury begins deliberations in Brown double-murder trial
Utica Observer Dispatch - Utica,NY,USA
... Delamar Brown is guilty of shooting Ricky Powell ... perceived
“disrespect”
inside the West Street apartment, while ... Brown shot these two
people,”
Walters said ...

http://www.uticaod.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060918/NEWS/60918010

City police investigate stabbing; family mourn shooting victim
Greensboro News Record - Greensboro,NC,USA
... When their fighting flared back at the apartment they shared, a
large
crowd gathered on the street outside, and other people got involved in
the tussle, the ...

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Family mourns Smoketown shooting victim
Louisville Courier-Journal - Louisville,KY,USA
... death in the 2700 block of Magazine Street in western ... On Sunday
afternoon about 30 people gathered in front ... he heard the news of
the
shooting yesterday, “I ...

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Little support for refugees on streets of London
Guardian Unlimited - UK
... There's an inherent racism there.". "If people hearing this have
seen
Shooting Dogs or Schindler's ... "I found people dead on the street;
inside
burnt houses ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,1874813,00.html

Violent parties rise in county
San Bernardino Sun - San Bernardino,CA,USA
... in the shooting, but police suspect some people may know ...
McBride
said the last party-related shooting occurred in May ... in the 3000
block
of East Cedar Street. ...
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_4354236

Students make emotional return to Dawson College five days after ...
940 News - Montreal,Quebec,Canada
... There was a stunned silence on the street outside Dawson ... before
that a gunman began a shooting rampage that ... an 18-year-old student
and wounded 20 other people. ...
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globeandmail.com : Woman, gunman killed in Montreal shooting
I live just down the street from the school and went there from. ...
“The
guy was shooting at people randomly,” he said. “He was just bucking
shots. ...

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Nina Delgadillo, PIO, ATF
Pager: 888-416-4533

For Immediate Release
September 14, 2006

ATF, TRINITY COUNTY SHERIFF ARREST ARMED BRITON, SEIZE WEAPONS, SILENCER AND 3 SUSPECTED
EXPLOSIVES DEVICES AT RURAL RESIDENCE

WEAVERVILLE, Calif. – Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and deputies from the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department announced today that they arrested Mark Sherman, a British citizen living in this rural northern California community, for violations of federal firearms and explosives laws.

Sherman, 26, was arrested yesterday in a mountainous area east of Weaverville. He was armed at the time of his arrest, but was taken into custody without incident.
A federal search warrant was later served at Sherman’s residence on Grandview Drive in Weaverville and among other items, investigators seized an SKS assault rifle, a semi-automatic shotgun, a rifle and a homemade silencer designed for the rifle. In addition, three suspected improvised explosives devices (IEDs) were located and removed safely from the property by ATF Explosives Enforcement Officers.

The arrest and search of Sherman’s residence culminated a five-month investigation by the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department and ATF. Sherman is an illegal alien prohibited from possessing firearms, and was alleged to have several firearms and illegal explosives devices. Sherman was transported to Sacramento for his initial appearance in federal court today.
“As a team, ATF and the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department worked diligently and after careful planning, were able to take Mr. Sherman into custody without incident,” ATF San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Stephen K. Martin said. “The illegal possession of firearms and explosives will not be tolerated by law enforcement in Northern California.”

More information on ATF and its programs to reduce violent crime is at www.atf.gov.

###

http://www.atf.gov/press/fy06press/field/091406sf_atf_trinity.htm

Contact:
Earl Woodham, (704) 716-1843
Kevin Brewer (843) 763-3683
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 12, 2006

ATF OFFERS $3,000 REWARD FOR CHURCH ARSON

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Zebedee T. Graham of the Charlotte Field Division is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the Sept. 9 fire.

The preliminary investigation conducted by ATF, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office have determined the fire at Bible Way Baptist Church, 2019 Savage Road, Charleston, S.C., was deliberately set.

Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call the toll free SLED Arson Tip Line at 1-800-922-7766, or the anonymous, toll free ATF arson hotline at 1-888-ATF-FIRE (1-888-283-3473). All information will be treated as confidential and the caller will remain anonymous.

ATF is the federal law enforcement agency charged with investigating church fires, like the fire at the Bible Way Baptist Church. More information about ATF is available on its Web site at www.atf.gov.

###
http://www.atf.gov/press/fy06press/field/091206char_reward.htm

Contact: Thomas Mangan, PIO
602-776-5408

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2006

ATF DEFENDANT CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED PRODUCTION OF RICIN, BOMB MAKING AND WEAPONS VIOLATIONS

PHOENIX–William D. Newell, Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced June 30, 2006, that Denys Ray Hughes, 59, of Phoenix, Ariz., was found guilty of Attempted Production of a Biological Toxin for Use as a Weapon, Possession of an Unregistered Destructive Device and Possession of an Unregistered Silencer, by a federal jury in Phoenix.

Newell stated: “Any individuals that are intent on producing poisons such as ricin or other biological weapons will be dealt with severely.”

The evidence at trial showed that Hughes grew castor bean plants and cultivated thousands of their seeds, which contain the toxin called ricin. Hughes further possessed the necessary precursor materials, as well as written instructions for extracting the toxin. The government also proved at trial that Hughes possessed a destructive device, specifically, a pipe bomb, and multiple silencers.

A conviction for Attempted Production of a Biological Toxin for Use as a Weapon carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a $ 250,000 fine or both. Hughes remained in custody after trial. Sentencing is set for Oct. 2, 2006.

The investigation leading to the guilty verdict was conducted by The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin and the Russell County Sheriff’s Department in Kansas.

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http://www.atf.gov/press/fy06press/field/070106pho_atf_def.htm

http://www.edendailynews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=EDN/MGArticle/EDN_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190695025

Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Authorities are searching for a woman and another person they believe could shed light on an explosion early Friday morning.

Candace Terry's 917 Gracewood Drive home in Eden burned to the ground after an explosion launched the home's walls as much as 8 feet from the foundation. Terry's family told investigators they haven't seen or heard from her since Sept. 12, one week ago.

Family said Terry was going to Richmond, Va., to find a place to live, according to Fire Marshal Robert Cardwell. Cardwell said no one from his office or the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office has been able to find Terry.

"We're concerned as of right now for her well-being," Cardwell said. Terry left her two young children with a family member in Virginia, he said.

Investigators are also searching for "a person of interest" for questioning, but they are not disclosing that person's name.

The explosion was reported at 4:40 a.m. north of Eden and was strong enough to shake homes more than a mile away, according to authorities.

"First, I heard a big 'ka-boom,' like an explosion. I thought the ground in the back of my yard had come up and thought a tree had come down on my house," neighbor Irya Moyer said.

Investigators quickly ruled the fire arson, Cardwell said. He said it is one of the strangest arsons he has investigated in his more than 30-year career.

"What we had was a vapor explosion from the accelerant," Cardwell said. The explosion is typical of those caused by a LP gas or natural gas leak, but neither was present at the home, he said.

Gasoline also could cause an explosion of this type, Cardwell said. He would not say if he believes gasoline was used in the fire, but he said, "We did have an odor at the scene that was pretty distinguishable." Gasoline fires are known for having a distinct smell.

Cardwell believes vapor from the accelerant filled the less than 1,000-square-foot home. When the accelerant was lit, rather than a fire, the arsonists got an explosion, Cardwell said.

Samples from the burnt wreckage were shipped to the State Bureau of Investigation.

No one was hurt in the fire.

Several witnesses reported seeing a silver or light-colored Lexus with loud muffler pipes near or leaving the area of the fire. The car may have a Virginia license plate.

There have also been reports of someone, limping and stunned, running from the area of the fire. Cardwell said whomever ignited the fire probably did not expect the explosion.

"I'm fairly certain that the individuals who ignited that were injured by it," he said. Authorities are monitoring local hospital emergency rooms for anyone with injuries that may have been caused by the explosion.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said Steve Perkins, a criminal investigator for the Sheriff's Office, said the home has been the target of multiple break-ins and theft prior to Friday morning's fire.

Cardwell would not comment on whether investigators suspect a crime in Terry's disappearance and its connection with the explosion. He said Terry could be the key to closing the case.

"We're definitely looking at why this house was set on fire and we may not have answers until we find Ms. Terry," Cardwell said.

Cardwell's office has been busy over the last year investigating more than 12 arsons in the county. He said the fires have caused as much as $1 million in damage. Although there have been numerous arsons recently, Cardwell said he does not think they are the work of a serial arsonist.

No deaths are attributed to the arsons, but earlier this month a firefighter with Leaksville Volunteer Fire Department was injured when he fell through a floor into a basement. It was the second time that night firefighters had responded to the Friendly Road home.

Cardwell said firefighters understand the inherent danger of their jobs, but arsons are another story.

"What's irritating is when you get repeated arson fires and you're risking the lives of firefighters," he said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crimestoppers at 349-9683.

Staff Writer J. Brian Ewing can be reached at jewing@edendailynews.com or 349-4331 ext. 26.

Staff Writers John Barbour and Jim Sands contributed to this article.
© 2006 Media General

Riots over Hungarian PM's 'lies'
The offices of the state television station were ransacked
Budapest protests
Hungarian police have used tear gas and water cannon to quell violent overnight protests in Budapest in which buildings were attacked and cars set alight.

The clashes happened following a rally demanding the resignation of PM Ferenc Gyurcsany, after it was revealed his government had lied during an election.

The worst fighting came when protesters stormed the state television building.

Dozens of people were hurt, including many police officers. The city is now said to be calm.

It was the first such unrest to take place in Hungary since the fall of communism and the establishment of democracy in the late 1980s.

An emergency meeting of the national security cabinet was called for Tuesday morning. The main opposition party, the centre-right Fidesz, says it will boycott parliament.

Petition

The BBC's Nick Thorpe, in central Budapest, says the trouble at the state television station began when a small group of protesters who had spent the day outside parliament tried to hand in a petition.

The police used tear gas and water cannon on a group of protesters who broke into the building. For a brief period the station went off the air.

We screwed up. Not a little, a lot. No European country has done something as boneheaded as we have
Ferenc Gyurcsany
Excerpt from leaked tape recorded in April

"Nothing like this has happened since 1956," one young protester told Reuters news agency, referring to Hungary's failed uprising against Soviet rule in October 1956.

Officials told state news 150 people were injured in the violence, including 102 police officers.

Our correspondent says the city is now mostly quiet, with only a handful of protesters left in the area.

Earlier Mr Gyurcsany told the state news service he had no plans to resign.

"The street is not a solution, but instead causes conflict and crisis," he said. "Our job is to resolve the conflict and prevent a crisis."

He said those who had called for a "radical solution" to Hungary's problems were also partly to blame.

Smaller protests were also held in other cities around Hungary.

Leaked tape

Mr Gyurcsany's comments, which sparked the violence, were heard in a tape of a meeting he had with his MPs a few weeks after April's election, and leaked to local media on Sunday.

In excerpts broadcast on state radio, Mr Gyurcsany says harsh economic reforms are needed.

"There is not much choice. There is not, because we screwed up. Not a little, a lot. No European country has done something as boneheaded as we have.

"Evidently, we lied throughout the last year-and-a-half, two years... You cannot quote any significant government measure we can be proud of, other than at the end we managed to bring the government back from the brink. Nothing."

In a speech sprinkled with obscenities, Mr Gyurcsany says: "We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening."

'Telling the truth'

The prime minister has received the backing of Socialist MPs who on Monday voted unanimously to support him.

However, Hungary's President, Laszlo Solyom, said Mr Gyurcsany had created a "moral crisis", and opposition parties have called for his resignation.

Matyas Oersi, an MP with the Free Democrat Party - the junior coalition partner in the government - told the BBC: "It's a surprise - though understandable - that the people are angry at a political leader who, for the first time, is telling the truth: that the whole political class was lying."

Protests had already been planned this week over tough austerity measures imposed following the Socialists' victory in last April's election, which have seen the government's popularity plummet.

The measures, imposed under pressure from Brussels, include higher taxes and benefit cuts, are aimed at reducing Hungary's large public deficit.

But our correspondent says the leaked revelations were, for some of the protesters, the straw that broke the camel's back.

Local elections are scheduled in two weeks' time. The Socialists and their liberal coalition allies are trailing Fidesz in the polls.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/5358546.stm

Published: 2006/09/19 07:24:22 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Crucial role for Yemen monitors
By Ginny Hill
Bilad al-Rous, Yemen

In the compound outside the local administration building, the police chief and his men are smoking and idling in the sun, leaning on their battered Kalashnikovs as they chat.

A camouflaged pick-up truck with a mounted anti-tank gun is parked nearby.

The windscreen displays several images of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the uniformed driver is playing pro-government music on the sound system.

Inside the building, Claudia Aranda and Carlos Albisu, members of the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission, are ensconced in talks with local election candidates and officials.

This is Bilad al-Rous district, less than 30 miles (50km) south of Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

The 16,000-strong population, spread out among 50 villages, forms a stronghold of Mr Saleh's ruling party, the General People's Congress (GPC), and constitutes his tribal base.

The president's home turf - the village of Beit al-Ahmar - is only 10 miles away.

The GPC's support here is so strong that there is no visible sign of support for any of Mr Saleh's presidential rivals and there is no opposition candidate standing in the local elections, only the incumbent councillor and two independents.

Cultural barriers

Carlos and Claudia are both long-term observers, spending a month in Yemen ahead of the joint presidential and local elections, and one of 20 teams operating in each of Yemen's governorates.

We want the international media to see that we have fair, just and democratic elections in Yemen
Hafdullah al-Reisani

It is their job to talk to the voters, get to grips with the local issues and establish the procedures that will be in place on election day.

"We spend every day in the field. It can take time to get a satisfactory answer to our questions, even with a good interpreter, but we'll stay until we've clarified our points," says Claudia.

The election observers aren't just facing a language barrier. Throughout Yemen, the EU's culture of transparency is coming face to face with close networks of traditional tribal and family loyalties.

"People can be a little cautious and reluctant to open up at first but we remind them that the Yemenis themselves invited us to come here," says Carlos.

Raising standards

During lunch at a road-side restaurant, the EU team cuts a very different profile from their hosts.

The election committee, sporting full-length robes, woollen shawls and curved ceremonial daggers, sit alongside Claudia in her Puma trainers and cropped hair, and Carlos in his short-sleeved shirt.

But there is certainly a spirit of co-operation.

"We welcome Claudia and Carlos. We want the international media to see that we have fair, just and democratic elections in Yemen," says Hafdullah al-Reisani, the GPC councillor who is standing for re-election after six years in office.

His sentiment is supported by the chair of the district electoral committee, Ahmed Saleh al-Naheem. "We're glad that Claudio and Carlos will be present on election day," he says.

But Ahmed, who represents the opposition People's Union of Popular Forces, adds: "We also want the EU monitors to raise our electoral standards."

Democratic principles

On 20 September, the 100-strong EU team will be supported by parallel but separate domestic and international monitoring operations. It's the first time that Yemen's elections will be monitored on this scale.

Yemen's four million women voters will be asked to remove the veil so the photos on their identity cards can be checked by female election officials.

And the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum is hoping that Yemen's men will heed the ban on guns in polling stations and prevent the violence and bloodshed that has blighted Yemen's previous elections and already claimed at least seven lives in this campaign.

"During Yemen's parliamentary elections in 2003, we documented credible reports of political intimidation, underage voting, vote buying and improper behaviour by security forces," says Robin Madrid, director of the US-funded National Institute for Democracy.

"This election is an important opportunity for Yemen to demonstrate that it respects democratic principles and the monitors have a crucial role to play."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5357354.stm

Published: 2006/09/19 07:50:27 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Chavez warns against Iran attack
By Greg Morsbach
BBC News, Caracas

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has launched a robust defence of Iran's nuclear programme.

During a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mr Chavez warned the world of dire consequences if his ally was attacked by the US.

Mr Chavez has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if provoked.

This, he explained, on top of Iran shutting off its oil exports, could send oil prices soaring to well above $100 a barrel.

It was difficult for the Iranian leader to dodge questions by reporters on his country's controversial uranium enrichment programme at the end of his brief visit to Venezuela.

He had few surprises in store, saying that Iran would as before continue international negotiations on the subject.

He said there was no need to speed up the talks.

'Disastrous consequences'

President Chavez's tone, however, was far more confrontational.

"What gives the US the right," he asked, "to stop any country developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes?

"After all, they dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

And then he had this warning for Washington: "We don't want another war, but there will be disastrous consequences if Iran is attacked."

In terms of Venezuela's own nuclear ambitions, President Chavez said all countries needed to develop alternative sources of energy, including atomic power.

He then confirmed that Venezuela's energy ministry had its own department for nuclear affairs.

"We're looking into the whole nuclear subject at the moment," he explained.

In the early 1950s, Venezuela had Latin America's first nuclear research facilities. But when the then military dictatorship ended, they were shut down due to lack of funds.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/5358486.stm

Published: 2006/09/19 04:16:45 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Canada clears 'al-Qaeda suspect'
By Lee Carter
BBC News, Toronto

A public inquiry in Canada has strongly criticised the country's authorities for wrongly accusing a Syrian-born Canadian of terrorism.

Maher Arar was arrested in New York in September 2002 and accused of being an al-Qaeda member.

He was deported by US officials to Syria where he claimed he was tortured.

The inquiry absolves Mr Arar of any suspicion of terrorist activities and urges the Canadian government to compensate him financially.

In his long awaited public report, Justice Dennis O'Connor quite definitely concludes that Mr Arar is an innocent victim.

"I am able to say categorically that there is no evidence to indicate that Mr Arar has committed any offence or that his activities constitute a threat to the security of Canada," he states.

Extraordinary rendition

The software engineer from Ottawa was on his way home from a holiday in the Middle East in 2002 and was arrested as he changed planes at JFK Airport in New York.

After being interrogated by US customs agents, he was deported not to Canada but to Syria.

The report has backed up Mr Arar's claims that he was tortured in Damascus before being released in 2003.

Justice O'Connor singles out Canada's national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), for particular criticism.

He said that the police shared inaccurate and unfair information with US authorities, although he does make it clear that Canadian officials did not encourage Mr Arar's deportation.

The report says that the Canadian government should assess Mr Arar's claims for compensation.

The inquiry only had the mandate to scrutinise Canadian agencies - it did not address the behaviour of US authorities for what appears to be a clear case of so called extraordinary rendition.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/5358762.stm

Published: 2006/09/19 06:33:34 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Chirac urges no sanctions on Iran
French President Jacques Chirac has said referring Iran to the UN Security Council is not the best way to resolve a crisis over its nuclear programme.

"I don't believe in a solution without dialogue," Mr Chirac told Europe-1 radio, urging countries to remove the threat of sanctions against Iran.

The US is leading calls for sanctions to be imposed on Iran if it refuses to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iran denies US accusations that it is trying to build nuclear weapons.

Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is solely for power generation.

I think that Iran is a great nation and that we can find solutions through dialogue
President Jacques Chirac
The US is pressing for sanctions against Iran, but some European countries are hesitant to do so, preferring to offer Iran incentives to halt enrichment.

The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says that after the relative success of French international diplomacy during the recent crisis in Lebanon, Mr Chirac appears keen to continue to offer the world French leadership on Iran as well, another country with which France has long historical ties.

'Sanctions ineffective'

Mr Chirac said that he believed that there was still potential for fruitful dialogue between Iran and the six nations currently involved in the Iran nuclear issue - the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China.

"I am not pessimistic," he said. "I think that Iran is a great nation and that we can find solutions through dialogue."

Mr Chirac said he had never noticed that sanctions had been effective, although he said that he was not ruling out using them if necessary.

Instead he suggested that the way forward was for negotiations to begin without any preconditions and for each side to make concessions once they are under way.

"We must, on the one hand, together, Iran and the six countries, meet and set an agenda for negotiations then start negotiations," Mr Chirac said. "Then, during these negotiations I suggest that the six renounce seizing the UN Security Council and Iran renounces uranium enrichment."

This is the first time that a European leader has made clear that Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment is not a precondition for opening talks, but could come during the negotiations, our correspondent says.

Bush agenda

Iran has ruled out accepting any preconditions for talks and dismissed calls to suspend uranium enrichment, ignoring a 31 August UN Security Council deadline to do so.

Meanwhile the head of the UN's nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has called for Iran and the six world powers to begin talks as soon as possible.

Speaking at the opening of the IAEA's annual conference in Vienna, Mohamed ElBaradei said talks could "address the international community's concerns about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme, while on the other hand addressing Iran's economic, political and security concerns".

Mr ElBaradei said he remained hopeful that such talks would create the conditions to "engage in a long-overdue negotiation that aims to achieve a comprehensive settlement".

Meanwhile, Mr Chirac was preparing to go to New York, joining other world leaders for the UN General Assembly.

Iran's nuclear ambitions are expected to be a key topic of discussion at the meeting, along with the situation in the Middle East, especially Iraq.

US President George Bush is due to address the 192-nation assembly on Tuesday, where he is expected to further outline his vision for fostering democracy in the Middle East and the role the international community should play in the region.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5355334.stm

Published: 2006/09/18 14:06:25 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[This was on the news all weekend]

US man held in text-rescue kidnap
US police have charged a man with the abduction of a schoolgirl who was freed from a forest bunker last week after she sent a text message to her mother.

Vinson Filyaw was arrested on Sunday along a highway in South Carolina.

He is accused of abducting the 14-year-old schoolgirl on 6 September by posing as a police officer.

The girl was rescued after police traced a text message she had sent to her mother, using her captor's phone, to a crude bunker hidden in woodland.

"This little lady getting that message out was really the break in the case," Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill told the Associated Press news agency.

"She helped herself as much as we helped her," he said.

The girl sent the text message to her mother while her captor was asleep, Mr McCaskill said.

Police began combing an area of woodland where the mobile phone message had originated.

The girl was found in a booby-trapped bunker, carved into the side of a hill and concealed with plywood.

The bunker had a hand-dug toilet, a camp stove and shelving made with branches and canvas.

Mr Filyaw has been charged with abduction, possession of an incendiary device and impersonation of a police officer, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/5355688.stm

Published: 2006/09/18 10:23:31 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Vatican opens pre-WWII archives
By David Willey
BBC News, Rome

The Vatican has opened to scholars and historians part of its vast collection of archives.

The section being opened covers the rise of Mussolini and Hitler and the run-up to the World War II.

It dates from the reign of Pope Pius XI, who was pope from 1922 until just before the outbreak of war in 1939.

Details of the Vatican's relations with Germany's Adolf Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini are expected to be of great interest to scholars.

The Vatican houses one of the world's most important historical archives, the so-called "secret archive" which contains some 2m documents dating back up to 1,000 years.

Treasure house

They are kept for safety mainly in underground fireproof bunkers and storerooms placed along some 50 linear miles (80.4km) of shelving.

Periodically the pope decides to open to scrutiny by scholars and professional historians a new treasure house of documents.

The latest release covers the years when no less than four notorious dictators came to power - Benito Mussolini in Italy, Joseph Stalin in Russia, Adolf Hitler in Germany and Francisco Franco in Spain.

Details of relations between the Vatican and these countries during this period will be of outstanding interest to scholars.

The future Pope Pius XII was the Vatican's nuncio or ambassador in Berlin in the 1930s and his correspondence with Rome will also be eagerly scrutinised.

Pope Pius XI refused to meet Hitler when he visited Rome in 1938 at Mussolini's invitation.

The Pope ordered the Vatican museums to be closed and shut himself up at his residence at Castel Gandolfo until Hitler had left town.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/5356862.stm

Published: 2006/09/18 14:56:51 GMT

© BBC MMVI

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/09/19/262.html

Tuesday, September 19, 2006.

Kenyan Coffee Farmers See No Profit
By Helen Nyambura-Mwaura
Reuters

NYERI, Kenya -- Growing coffee for 20 years has not lifted 60-year-old Maina Kimondo from poverty.

So fine talk of a new marketing system that could boost earnings fails to raise a spark in his eye.

Despite putting in many hours daily to tend his 100 coffee trees, meager pay has condemned the old man to wearing a shirt with a threadbare collar and patched trousers. In years past, he and farmers in his village say they have received very little money, or none at all, for coffee sold through a central auction in the capital Nairobi.

Once, they were told that their coffee had been stolen, and on another occasion, that it had sunk with a ship en route to buyers overseas. Both times, there was no payment.

But in a move to improve their lot, Kenya has published rules to govern direct sales between farmers and overseas buyers. The change is intended to put more money into farmers' pockets by cutting out a long string of middlemen.

Many farmers, however, are ignorant of what the new marketing system portends for them, and those who have an inkling are skeptical.

"I will only believe it when I see the money," Kimondo said while tending coffee trees laden with unripe berries near Mount Kenya, on a chilly, rainy day.

"This is a stupid job," he said. "You don't know how much your coffee was sold for, you don't know what exchange rate they used at the bank. You are powerless once you hand over your coffee at the factory."

For seven decades, all Kenyan coffee has been sold through a central auction. Although most of it fetches premiums at the weekly sales, many farmers receive a pittance, as fees and debt payments cut into their earnings.

Farmers in Kimondo's village, which produces some of the best coffee in the country, received 32 shillings ($0.44) per kilogram of cherry produced in the previous season.

Top Kenyan coffees fetch more than $200 per 50-kilogram bag at the auction.

Under the new system, farmers can bypass the auction to sell more directly to roasters abroad, but must still use the services of a marketing agent. These agents cannot be licensed without proof that they have access to overseas markets. They must also provide a bank guarantee to protect farmers' money.

The old auction will still be held as usual in case any farmers choose to stick with it. "We will use whatever system works best for us," said Moses Nderitu, chairman of the Giakanja Farmers Cooperative Society. Unlike many cooperative groups in the district, Giakanja already has a copy of the rules governing the structure. But Nderitu said most of the 1,400 farmers in his society had no clue what the direct sales entailed. "We don't have the knowledge to explain it to them but before we sell their coffee, we will get experts to explain," he said.

© Copyright 2006 The Moscow Times. All rights reserved.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/09/19/051.html

Tuesday, September 19, 2006. Page 9.

LUKoil Is Stamping Its Name Across the U.S.
By Deepa Babington
Reuters

Reuters

A LUKoil billboard in Philadelphia. Almost overnight, LUKoil gas stations have begun multiplying across New Jersey.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, New Jersey -- Like many New Jersey motorists, Kevin Teeter had never heard of LUKoil until his local gas pump began sporting the name last month.

Now, he couldn't escape the oil company's presence if he tried. Almost overnight, gas outlets boasting its name in a splash of red and white have begun multiplying across the state's car-clogged highways and suburbs.

Bolstered by ambitions to grab a foothold in the United States and take on better-known gasoline brands like Mobil and BP, LUKoil is in the middle of a $35 million campaign to stamp its name prominently across a vast network of U.S. gas stations.

In just a few years, the company has quietly built up a network of nearly 2,000 gas outlets in 13 states along the U.S. East Coast by taking over Getty Petroleum and, later, pumps shed by ConocoPhillips.

Until recently, they all continued to operate under the well-known Getty and Mobil brand names. Emboldened by initial signs of acceptance from U.S. drivers, however, LUKoil is rebranding most of them under its own name, hoping to become a household name itself and save on royalties to ExxonMobil.

Few Americans are batting an eyelid as Cold War-era fear of Russia is replaced by anxiety over dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

"All we hear is they don't care whether we are Russian or not," LUKoil Americas CEO Vadim Gluzman said in an interview. "They would certainly care if we were from the Middle East, but there's no concern over Russia."

LUKoil's U.S. web site notes that its presence here will help displace some U.S. oil imports from the Middle East. But for the most part, as long as the gasoline is cheap and the outlet clean, motorists care little about filling up with an unknown brand, Gluzman said.

His assessment is backed by drivers like college student Teeter, who remained faithful to his local South Brunswick, New Jersey, gas station even after the Mobil sign came down. "I've been coming here for two or three years, and I don't really care that the name's changed," he said, standing outside the outlet's convenience store, which is now bathed in red and white and sports LUKoil T-shirts along the walls.

Still, in an age where energy security is a deeply emotional issue -- Chinese company CNOOC's deal to buy a U.S. oil firm unraveled under public pressure last year -- LUKoil is treading carefully.

The company shies away from unduly publicizing its Russian roots, billing itself as a global oil company instead.

"We found out that not too many consumers knew that BP is not a U.S. company; they were as much unaware of BP being British as LUKoil being Russian," Gluzman said. "They don't position themselves as a British company; we don't position ourselves as a Russian company. We just position ourselves as an international oil company."

It seems to be working. The company's statistics show LUKoil-branded gas stations are doing almost as well as its Mobil outlets and performing better than the Getty outlets.

So far, about 400 gas stations, mainly in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, have been converted into LUKoil outlets.

An advertising campaign with the slogan "We 'heart' cars" to hone in on the American love affair with their automobiles is in full swing, and the company sponsors local baseball and football teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles.

Today, LUKoil owns more gas stations in the United States than it does in Russia. It became the first Russian oil firm to buy a New York Stock Exchange-listed company when it acquired Getty Petroleum and its 1,300 stations in November 2000, and then added nearly 800 Mobil-branded stations from ConocoPhillips to its network in 2004.

But that's only a start.

Gluzman hopes to increase its U.S. network to as many as 3,000 gas stations, and ultimately, have them supplied with crude oil shipped in from northern Russia. He also plans to go shopping for U.S. refineries to process that Russian crude.

All this is part of even larger ambitions LUKoil has of becoming a force to reckon with in the world's largest gasoline market, and play in the same league with so-called supermajors like ExxonMobil and Chevron.

It already has the second-largest oil reserves behind Exxon, and was named by Boston Consulting Group as among the 100 most promising companies from rapidly developing economies giving traditional U.S. titans a run for their money.

"It's dramatic but it's based on many years of preparing and building it up. They have always aspired to be a global brand," said Clifford Gaddy, a Russia expert at the Brookings Institution. "There's a general consensus among the Russian elite that their big companies should be international players."

But while LUKoil rolls into American neighborhoods, its U.S. rivals are finding it far from easy to expand in Russia.

Russia's vast reserves are coveted by Western oil majors hungry for new sources of production, but the Kremlin's push to regain control over energy resources and pursuit of Yukos over back taxes has deterred foreign majors.

Gluzman dismisses those claims, pointing to LUKoil's own joint venture with ConocoPhillips and a large Exxon-led project on Sakhalin Island. "I don't believe this is a real problem," he said. "It's all been politicized."

© Copyright 2006 The Moscow Times. All rights reserved.

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