Posted on 08/07/2006 3:43:15 PM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/29/eng20060929_307453.html
Al-Qaida urges 'month of jihad'
Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/iraq.html
called for the kidnapping of Westerners to swap for a Muslim cleric
jailed
in the United
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/usa.html
States,
according to an Internet audio tape issued yesterday.
"I call on every holy fighter in Iraq to strive during this holy month
(Ramadan)... to capture some dogs of the Christians so that we can
liberate
our imprisoned sheikh," said the speaker, identified as Abu Hamza
al-Muhajir.
He accused US jailers of "torturing" Egypt
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/egypt.html
ian cleric Omar
Abdel-Rahman, held over links to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade
Center
in New York.
The speaker also called for attacks on US military camps in Iraq using
"unconventional bombs such as biological and dirty bombs."
The tape's authenticity could not be verified but it was posted on
major
websites used by militants.
Al-Qaida in Iraq has killed a number of foreign hostages, some by
beheading,
in its campaign against US-led forces and the Shi'ite-led Baghdad
government.
Muhajir, who replaced slain former leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June,
offered a "general amnesty" to Iraqis who had co-operated with US-led
forces
or fled the country.
"As for those who supported the occupiers and their agents, becoming
their
eyes and ears, and who betrayed their religion, honour and land for
material
or social gains ... I declare a general amnesty during this month of
generosity and forgiveness," the speaker on the tape said.
"We waive the right to (avenge) the blood that was shed by your hands
and
your betrayal," he said.
Al-Qaida is one of the main insurgent groups in Iraq and has claimed
responsibility for some of the bloodiest attacks.
The voice also said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgents have been
killed
in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. "The blood has been spilled
in
Iraq of more than 4,000 foreigners who came to fight," said the man.
This looks like terror financing to me, a hawala
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala network right here in Alabama.
American's don't see the breadth of the terror problem because articles
and
incidents like this are buried in local and regional news...
_____
FBI arrests Tuscaloosa man for illegal money transfers
9/28/2006, 8:39 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A Tuscaloosa man who shot and killed a would-be
robber late last year was arrested Thursday on charges of making
illegal
money transfers.
Jack Mohamed S. Mused, 29, was arrested without incident at about 8
a.m. at
his place of business, a Raceway convenience store, authorities said.
He was charged with transmitting money without a license, conspiracy to
operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and trafficking in
counterfeit goods, FBI officials said.
FBI spokesman Paul Daymond said several other people in other parts of
the
country were also arrested Thursday in relation to this case.
Daymond said he did not know exactly how many other people were
arrested or
whether they face the same charges as Mused. He declined to reveal the
destination of the money transfers or the type of goods involved
because the
investigation is continuing.
Museds case originates out of the U.S. Attorneys Office in Monroe, La.,
which is near where several of the remaining potential suspects reside.
"There is no present danger to the public related to the arrest of Mr.
Mused
that we are currently aware of," said Donald Washington, the U.S.
Attorney
for the Western District of Louisiana. "Our case against Mr. Mused will
become public tomorrow."
Mused was arrested by members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force,
which
includes local, state and federal agencies.
Daymond said the Joint Terrorism Task Force participates in
investigations
any time there is any potential link to terrorism. But he said he could
not
confirm that Mused's activity had a link to terrorism.
In January, a grand jury exonerated Mused for killing 19-year-old Eric
Dewayne Baggett on Dec. 29, 2005, at Raceway. The investigative panel
found
that Baggett and another man were trying to rob the store when Mused
opened
fire.
___
Information from: The Tuscaloosa News,
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
C 2006 al.com All Rights Reserved.
Granny, you've got mail.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/jonsson092906.htm#america
To Make America Bleed Profusely To The Point Of Bankruptcy
To understand the thinking of Al-Qaeda and economics it is important to
review Osama bin Laden's speech released on October 29, 2004, as
broadcast
by Al-Sahab Institute for Media Production, which is known to produce
Al-Qa'ida's video messages.
The translation is given at Memri Special
Dispatch Series - No. 811 November 5, 2004 No.811: The Full Version of
Osama
bin Laden's Speech
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=sd&ID=SP81104'%20target=
'As previously mentioned, it was easy for us to provoke this
administration
and to drag it [after us]. It was enough for us to send two Jihad
fighters
to the farthest east to hoist a rag on which 'Al-Qa'ida' was written --
that
was enough to cause generals to rush off to this place, thereby causing
America human and financial and political losses, without it
accomplishing
anything worthy of mention, apart from giving business to [the
generals']
private corporations.
Besides, we gained experience in guerilla warfare
and
in conducting a war of attrition in our fight with the iniquitous,
great
power, that is, when we conducted a war of attrition against Russia
with
Jihad fighters for 10 years until they went bankrupt, with Allah's
grace; as
a result, they were forced to withdraw in defeat, all praise and thanks
to
Allah.
We are continuing in the same policy -- to make America bleed
profusely to the point of bankruptcy, Allah willing. And that is not
too
difficult for Allah.' [Emphasis added]
'Whoever says that Al-Qa'ida triumphed over the White House
administration,
or that the White House administration lost this war -- this is not
entirely
accurate, for if we look carefully at the results, it is impossible to
say
that Al-Qa'ida is the only cause for these amazing gains.
The White
House
policy, which strove to open war fronts so as to give business to their
various corporations -- be they in the field of armament, of oil, or of
construction -- also helped in accomplishing these astonishing
achievements
for Al-Qa'ida.
It appeared to some analysts and diplomats as though we
and
the White House play as one team to score a goal against the United
States
of America, even though our intentions differ.
Such ideas, and some
others,
were pointed out by a British diplomat in the course of a lecture at
the
Royal Institute for International Affairs; for example, that Al-Qa'ida
spent
$500,000 on the event [9/11] while America lost in the event and its
subsequent effects more than 500 billion dollars; that is to say that
each
of Al-Qa'ida's dollars defeated one million American dollars, thanks to
Allah's grace.
This is in addition to the fact that America lost a
large
number of jobs, and as for the [federal] deficit, it lost a record
number
estimated at a trillion dollars.'
'Even more serious for America is the fact that the Jihad fighters have
recently forced Bush to resort to an emergency budget in order to
continue
the fighting in Afghanistan and in Iraq, which proves the success of
the
plan of bleeding [America] to the point of bankruptcy, Allah willing.'
In the Financial Times article on September 28, 2006 by Alex Barker and
Stephen Fidler, World military forces face overstretch
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/eb0cc89a-4e88-11db-bcbc-0000779e2340.html'%20target
=
they discuss the severity of meeting the needs of military action
worldwide.
Military analysts are talking of overstretch in the world's largest
military: the US has more than 140,000 troops in Iraq at least into
next
year, and 20,000 in Afghanistan. But the word is now being widely used
elsewhere.
Jeremy Black, a professor of history at the University of Exeter, says
Britain's forces are overstretched. 'There has been a mismatch between
[government] aspirations and the ability to execute,' he says.
Senior military officers describe the UK military as stretched by
commitments that include 8,500 troops in Iraq and the Gulf, 5,600 in
Afghanistan and 8,500 in Northern Ireland. The new chief of the army
last
month described it as 'running hot' and a quarter of the 102,000-strong
army
was deployed on operations and other military tasks, according to a
July
parliamentary report.
In my recent article: Structural Changes -- Destruction Of The U.S.
Dollar
http://www.globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=1697&cid=1&sid=45'%20targ
et=
I discussed the potential impact on the economy. Martin Wolf in
the
editorial in the Financial Times of September 27, 2006 America could
slow
down the world
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c8b24a50-4dc4-11db-8704-0000779e2340.html'%20target
=
continues the analysis; 'In particular, a combination of weakening
US
demand, a tumbling dollar, intractable inflation and a bout of
protectionism
may threaten our happy story.
''At present, perhaps one-seventh of the rest of the world's gross
savings
(and a higher proportion of its net savings) are being absorbed by the
US
current-account deficit. This excess of savings over investment in the
rest
of the world is not the result of high US or global real interest
rates. On
the contrary, real interest rates are astonishingly low. The rest of
the
world's surplus savings and consequent demand for US assets are driving
the
US current account deficits, rather than the other way round.'
Financial events and oil price are significant in war to maintain
freedom
and liberty.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09292006/news/regionalnews/bomb_scare_shakes_jfk_regionalnews_perry_chiaramonte.htm
http://www.nypost.com
New York Post
BOMB SCARE SHAKES JFK
By PERRY CHIARAMONTE
September 29, 2006 -- A bomb scare at Kennedy Airport last night caused
flights to be delayed and the partial shutdown of the AirTrain,
authorities
said.
A black duffel bag, found unattended at 8 p.m. in a parking lot across
from
Terminals 1, 2 and 3, forced the immediate shutdown of the area as a
precaution, police said.
The terminals - among eight in use at JFK - serve several international
carriers, including Air France, Continental and Delta.
The NYPD bomb squad and the Port Authority, which runs the airport,
were
investigating the incident.
_____
NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc.
NYPOST.COM,
NYPOSTONLINE.COM, and NEWYORKPOST.COM
are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc.
Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
[unknown url]
U.N. Report: Taliban relies on al-Qaida
By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer | September 28, 2006
UNITED NATIONS --Al-Qaida's activity in Iraq remains disproportionate
to its
size, and Afghanistan's Taliban rebels continue to benefit from a close
relationship with the network and other foreign terrorist groups,
according
to a U.N. report.
As an indication of the close relationship between al-Qaida and the
Taliban,
the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against the two
groups
said "new explosive devices are now used in Afghanistan within a month
of
their first appearing in Iraq."
"And while the Taliban have not been found fighting outside
Afghanistan/Pakistan, there have been reports of them training in both
Iraq
and Somalia," the committee's terrorism experts said.
By contrast, it said, al-Qaida is not only operating in Iraq but there
have
been many attacks elsewhere that have promoted al-Qaida objectives,
"even if
mounted by unconnected groups or individuals with narrowed sectarian or
political aims."
The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly said in an audio message
posted online Thursday that more than 4,000 foreign militants have been
killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 -- the first
apparent
acknowledgment from the insurgents about their losses.
The Internet message was posted by a man who identified himself as Abu
Hamza
al-Muhajir -- also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri -- the leader of
al-Qaida in
Iraq. The voice could not be independently identified.
The U.N. report examined gains and losses in the last six months for
al-Qaida and the Taliban.
"The violence in Afghanistan has increased considerably, and there has
been
no let up in Iraq, with al-Qaida's contribution remaining
disproportionate
to its size," the report said. A U.S.-led invasion ousted Afghanistan's
Taliban-led regime in late 2001.
It cited the deaths of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
Chechen
warlord Shamil Basayev, who masterminded the 2004 school hostage-taking
in
Beslan, Russia, and other significant losses in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"There have been many arrests and disrupted plots, only some of which
have
been announced publicly," the report added, without elaborating.
Despite serious damage to al-Qaida's leadership, the experts said
Taliban
gains in Afghanistan are evident in the surge of violence that has led
to
more than 2,000 deaths between January and July.
"While ideological support for the Taliban may be low, high levels of
unemployment, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and a general sense of
insecurity
have made farmers vulnerable to Taliban inducements on the one hand and
intimidation on the other," the experts' report said.
"By murdering non-Taliban imams, school teachers and tribal and
community
leaders who might have encouraged a new generation of Afghans to
believe in
the possibility of peace, the Taliban have managed to undermine earlier
progress and have further highlighted the huge problems that face the
Afghan
government," it said.
On the down side for al-Qaida, the report noted that several
intelligence
and security agencies said fewer foreign fighters have been killed or
captured in Iraq in the last few months, "suggesting that the flow has
slackened." On returning home, they noted that some fighters had
expressed
dissatisfaction that they were asked to kill fellow Muslims rather than
foreign soldiers and that the only role for them was to be suicide
bombers.
"As Iraq continues to slide towards civil war, al-Qaida may
paradoxically
see more losses than gains," it said.
"It has gained by continuing to play a central role in the fighting and
in
encouraging the growth of sectarian violence; and Iraq has provided
many
recruits and an excellent training ground," the report said.
But it said "the prominent role of al-Qaida may diminish as the
violence
escalates between communities, and distinctions blur between sectarian
attacks on markets and places of worship, or purely criminal kidnapping
and
protection rackets on the one hand, and the fight against Iraqi and
non-Iraqi forces on the other."
In July 2005, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to
clamp
down on terrorist financing and expand sanctions to affiliates and
splinter
groups of al-Qaida and the Taliban.
Sanctions require all 192 U.N. member states to freeze financial assets
and
impose a travel ban and arms embargo against Afghanistan's former
Taliban
leaders, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and those "associated with" them.
By the end of July, the report said the list of those subject to
sanctions
included 478 names -- 142 individuals and one entity associated with
the
Taliban and 213 individuals and 122 entities associated with al-Qaida.
[unknown url]
Smoke in Cabin Diverts Flight
(AP) A Delta Air Lines flight from Paris to Atlanta was diverted
Thursday
after passengers reported smelling smoke in the cabin.
It was unclear where the smoke came from, and no injuries were
reported,
Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said.
Delta Flight 21 originated at Charles de Gaulle Airport and was en
route to
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The plane made an emergency
landing after 1:30 p.m. at McGhee-Tyson Airport in Knoxville, officials
said.
The passengers boarded another Delta aircraft four hours later to take
them
to Atlanta.
Normal traffic at the Knoxville airport resumed shortly after the
landing,
an airport official said.
Investigators Unsure Why El Al 747 Dived On Approach To Heathrow
Pilots Recovered Safely After Uncommanded Descent
A Boeing 747 plunged nearly 3000 feet over London earlier this year...
and
investigators are still wondering why.
The Associated Press reports the plane descended as low as 1,200 feet
before
the crew disconnected automatic systems, and hand-flew to a safe
landing a
London Heathrow. Heathrow was reporting a 1,500-foot ceiling at the
time.
The El Al flight, with 450 passengers aboard, was on a coupled ILS
approach
to Heathrow at 4000 feet when the aircraft began an uncommanded
descent.
Investigators say the glide slope system -- that's the part of the ILS
that
provides altitude guidance to the pilot or the autopilot --directed the
plane to descend, and they don't know why.
Investigators noted the crew recovered the aircraft and flew back to
the
proper glide slope manually before making a safe landing. No other
aircraft
flying into Heathrow that day reported autopilot or glideslope
problems...
and no theory has yet been forwarded to explain the El Al 747's bizzare
behavior.
An El Al spokeswoman says at no time were the passengers in danger. She
says
the aircraft's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) would
have
warned the pilots before the aircraft became dangerously low.
The crew noted the malfunction in the 747's log... but didn't submit an
incident report with authorities after landing at Heathrow. There is no
indication UK's Department for Transport will investigate further on
this
on... for now, it remains in the unsolved mysteries catagory.
FMI: www.dft.gov.uk, www.elal.co.il
aero-news.net
MiG-29 jet crashes in Dera Bassi
(Ambala): A MiG-29 fighter of the Indian Air Force plane has crashed in
the
Dera Bassi area of Punjab.
The single seat fighter, which took off from Adampur air base, crashed
at
3:22 pm.
The pilot of the MiG-29 ejected safely and there are no casualties on
the
ground. The Indian Air Force has launched an inquiry into the incident.
It is the 8th crash involving the MiG-29 since the Russian-built
fighter was
inducted into the Indian Air Force in the mid-eighties.
The MiG-29 has one of the best safety records among fighters in the
Indian
Air Force.
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=MiG-29+jet+crashes+near+
Ambala%2C+pilot+safe&id=93925&category=National
BULGARIA'S AVIATION MEETS EU STANDARDS
Bulgaria's civil aviation met the EU standards and was 'completely
secure
and reliable', Bulgarian Airlines Association chairman Svetoslav
Stanoulov
told Darik Radio.
The Bulgarian aviation companies were 'worried and surprised' by the
criticism on the safety of Bulgaria's aviation branch in the European
Commission (EC) monitoring report, he said.
One of the criticised areas was the usage of Russian AN-12 airplanes,
but
this problem would be resolved by March 2007, Stanoulov said.
Civil Aviation Administration director general Georgi Stoyanov said
that all
lapses referring to aviation safety would be resolved by the end of
2006.
Bulgaria's civil airplanes fit in EU standards, he said. Only the cargo
and
agricultural aviation had standardisation problems.
http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/bulgarias-aviation-meets-eu-standards/id_17
918/catid_68
NASA Chief Reluctant To Partner With China
Says Spaceflight Partners Need Trust
Trust and openness. That's what partners in spaceflight need... and
something NASA's current relationship with China lacks.
So says NASA's administrator Michael Griffin, who wrapped up a five-day
get-acquainted visit between top NASA officials and representatives of
China's space program on Wednesday. In comments to the press, as
reported in
the New York Times, Griffin said the idea of a civilian agency like
NASA
working with a Chinese military-dominated space agency would place too
many
restrictions on the relationship for it to work.
"We have to have a great degree of trust. If not, there is a real
danger in
the mix," Griffin said. "If we’re going to fly together, we’re going to
have to depend on each other."
China is cozying up to NASA in hopes of more cooperation between China
and
the US on its space programs... but Washington has consistently blocked
those overtures, citing national security issues.
Griffin says his trip was enjoyable, and that his hosts couldn't have
been
nicer... but he doesn't see much chance of any near-term joint
US-Chinese
human spaceflight projects. The US, Russia and China are currently the
only
countries with human spaceflight capability.
Better cooperation between the three would certainly benefit all... but
the
current US administration is worried about missile technology
proliferation.
Still, Griffin did not discount a future partnership with China.
"We did discuss closer cooperation in our nations’ science programs,"
Griffin said. "We’re all very encouraged by those initial discussions."
In a perhaps telling turn of events, the NASA contingent had permission
to
-- but chose not to visit -- a launch facility in the Gobi where China
launches its rockets. Griffin learned NASA's officials would see the
launching pads, but not the buildings at facilities where the rockets
are
maintained and prepped for launch.
Griffin says those were off limits... which gave him little reason to
make
the trip.
"I am not a tourist; this is, in fact, my profession," Griffin said. "I
have
seen a lot of launch pads in my time and didn’t need to go that far to
see
another one."
Trust and openness, indeed...
FMI: www.nasa.gov
aero-news.net
Nostalgic for the KGB
September 26, 2006
http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/spicer/20060926.html
Nick Spicer Nick Spicer has been the CBC News
correspondent in Moscow
since October 2004. Before that, he was a Paris-based
reporter for the
CBC and National Public Radio in the U.S. for 10
years. His Russian
reporting has taken him the length and breadth of the
country as well
as into Afghanistan with Canadian troops.
When I can't sleep at night, I wonder what dark dreams
could have
disturbed the rest of the KGB executioners who for
decades lived in my
building here in Moscow, in bedrooms just metres
above, beside and
under my bed.
My friendly neighbour is an amateur historian, and the
son of one of
the KGB officers who lived here.
"Actually, they were just the men who gave the
execution orders," he
told me one sunny day as we crossed paths in the
parking lot. "The
guys who did the actual killing lived in that building
over there."
I haven't yet asked him what his father's exact job
was.
I live in Moscow's Lubyanka district. For decades, the
yellow building
overlooking Lubyanka Square was the headquarters of
the KGB. For
Russians over the age of 30, the name Lubyanka evokes
secret police
interrogations, torture and summary executions in the
maze of
underground jail cells on the square.
Under Stalin, it was a world of anonymous terror and
industrial-scale
killing. But for the KGB officers who populated this
part of town
before the end of communism, Lubyanka was a nice
neighbourhood, with
all the amenities needed to stay loyal. I buy food at
the same
gastronom where they would purchase imported goods
with the special
coupons reserved for the favoured servants of the
workers' state.
The KGB is now called the FSB. The yellow building is
still filled
with agents. Under President Vladimir Putin (a former
lieutenant-colonel in the KGB), there are perhaps even
more agents
than before. You can't take a picture of their
workplace without being
stopped and told to delete your picture. I've tried.
However, there is something like a KGB place nearby
were you can take
pictures, I discovered recently while looking to have
a drink with a
Canadian filmmaking friend.
It's a restaurant called The Sword and the Shield,
after the motto of
the KGB. The food is cheap, the beer is good, and the
walls are
covered with espionage memorabilia and the portraits
of former secret
police bosses.
These include Lavrenti Beria, the architect of
Stalin's great terror,
who also patrolled Moscow's streets in a limo, looking
for beautiful
women to rape.
There is no irony in this place, no tongue-in-cheek.
It's just a theme
restaurant — like many others now in Moscow — a
five-minute walk from
Lubyanka Square. The only thing special about it is
that it is
frequented by a disproportionate number of FSB agents.
The night I was there with my friend Peter Raymont,
the place was
about to close down. They were turning off the lights,
but Peter, true
to his trade, wanted some pictures, and therefore some
light. I
doubted the waiter flicking the switches would oblige,
but then Peter
asked me to tell the waiter that his dad was the head
of Canadian
intelligence during the Second World War.
I translated his request, and the lights went back on
with a knowing
smile. In the new light, it was as if to say we were
all from the same
world of shadows, somehow.
Out of the shadows
The KGB's successor, the FSB, is still powerful, but
like so many
other things in Russia, it can be bought. The
corruption and greed
that hurt the rest of this country have struck its spy
world as well.
If you are rich, or desperate, you can actually buy
your FSB file. It
could be considered a kind of insurance, because you
never know …
Nowadays, the old KGB is a source of nostalgia in
Russia. Even the
statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet
Union's first
secret service, has been discreetly re-erected in
Moscow.
In 1991, the toppling of the statue in Lubyanka
Square, before Western
TV cameras, became one of the iconic images of the
fall of communism
around the world. But more and more, "Iron Felix" and
KGB T-shirts and
theme restaurants have come back, at least into
Russian pop culture,
evoking perhaps a time that seems simpler and (for
some) nobler in its
struggles.
Which may help explain the enduring popularity of
President Putin. He
was, of course, a KGB man in the Cold War, posted in
East Germany —
something American conservative commentators love to
point out, as if
that were proof of innate skulduggery and neo-imperial
ambitions.
The fact is many talented people served in the KGB, as
their
counterparts did in the CIA, or MI-5 in Britain, in
roles that did not
involve bullying dissidents or stifling democracy.
People admire Putin in part because he reminds them of
that simpler
era. It was the Cold War, of course, a time of us
against them, black
versus white, do or die. And Putin reminds his
compatriots of a period
when Russia was feared and ready to fight.
It's a feel-good reflex, the psychological equivalent
of enjoying a
meal at the KGB theme restaurant, rather than
contemplating solitary
confinement and impending execution, deep under
Lubyanka Square.
[a post for study and research]
Al Qaeda tape: 4,000 insurgents killed
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060928-010922-7554r.htm
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060928-010922-7554r.htm
Al Qaeda tape: 4,000 insurgents killed
By Patrick Quinn
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington Times - September 28, 2006
1:07 p.m.
BAGHDAD -- The new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq said in an audio
message
posted on a Web site today that more than 4,000 foreign terrorists have
been
killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 -- the first
apparent
acknowledgment from the insurgents about their losses.
"The blood has been spilled in Iraq of more than 4,000 foreigners
who
came to fight," according to the Internet message by a man who
identified
himself as Abu Hamza Muhajir -- also known as Abu Ayyub Masri -- the
leader
of al Qaeda in Iraq. The voice could not be identified independently.
The Arabic word he used indicated he was speaking about foreigners
who
joined the insurgency in Iraq, not coalition troops.
Masri's message also urged Muslims to make the holy month of
Ramadan a
"month of holy war" and urged insurgents in Iraq to kidnap Westerners.
Masri
is believed to have succeeded Abu Musab Zarqawi, who died in a U.S. air
strike north of Baghdad in June.
Masri also called for explosives experts and nuclear scientists to
join
his group's holy war against the West. He said U.S. military bases in
Iraq
were "good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether
biological or
dirty."
Masri urged Muslims to escalate their attacks during Ramadan, which
Sunnis began observing in Iraq on Saturday and Shi'ites on Monday. He
called
on insurgents in Iraq to capture Westerners so they could be traded for
the
imprisoned Egyptian sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted in 1995
of
conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks.
"I appeal to every holy warrior in the land of Iraq to exert all
efforts
in this holy month so that God may enable us to capture some of the
Western
dogs to swap them with our sheik and get him out of his dark prison,"
the
voice on the tape said.
Meanwhile, police found 40 more bodies in the capital, and bombings
and
shootings killed at least 21 persons in a spike of violence with the
onset
of Ramadan.
A car bomb exploded near a restaurant in central Baghdad, killing
five
persons and wounding 34, police said. Although the Muslim fasting month
of
Ramadan is under way, some Iraqis -- including Christians -- are not
abstaining from eating meals during daytime hours.
September 29, 2006 Anti-Terrorism News
Senate Approves Terror Detainee Interrogation Bill
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216458,00.html
House Approves Wiretap Law
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15051779/
(NSA) Judge gives feds 7 more days to wiretap
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20060928-053021-7307r.htm
(Albany, NY) Defendant (Imam Yassin Aref) Faces Cross-Examinations In
Terrorism-Related Trial
http://www.13wham.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=4D3BC341-31E3-45C2-BB3B-1D9D4BA0BA5E
(Israel) Tel Aviv car bomb kills one - in a town south of the coastal
city of Tel Aviv today, killing at least one person and wounding up to
six others
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20500166-1702,00.html
Israel backs off plan to kill Nasrallah
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060929/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_nasrallah;_ylt=AjeTE.gqkKpKGt_EJoIIkzsLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
Israel seals Palestinian territories for Yom Kippur
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/September/middleeast_September641.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
Two killed by trash bomb in Philippine capital
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/29/eng20060929_307548.html
7 tortured bodies found in Baghdad
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060929/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_bodies_found;_ylt=AhAvb3RYNLuqeR16lufml6gLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--
NATO extends Afghan mission eastward - where Osama bin Laden is
believed to be hiding
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20060928-111921-1881r.htm
Taliban say they shot "spy" in Pakistan's Waziristan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060929/wl_nm/security_pakistan_dc_1;_ylt=Ar0.N6HfywPSJU18YfpCzQDOVooA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Accord between Pakistan, Afghanistan - countries have agreed to hold
two Loya Jirgas along border to involve tribal leaders in war
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.345354277&par=0
Taleban militants gain ground after deal with Pakistan
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2380044,00.html
Commentary: A battle lost - regarding Pakistan truce with Taliban
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060926-093816-7041r.htm
(Pakistan) Bounty hunters 'selling terror war suspects to America'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/29/wafghan229.xml
(Pakistan) "CIA did not pay Pak government" - Musharraf now claims CIA
paid the agency which hunted Al Qaeda suspects down
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/September/subcontinent_September1092.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
(UK) Radical Muslim who made death threats against Pope escapes
prosecution
MP Davies: "It sends out a message to Muslim extremists across the
world that we, as a country, do not have the moral courage to stand up to
them."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=407498&in_page_id=1770
(Indonesia) Bali remembers bombing - hundreds of police will be on
patrol
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20498690-1702,00.html
(India) Islamic rebels warn India against militant’s execution
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/September/subcontinent_September1099.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
(India) Strike in Kashmir over execution
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5391470.stm
(Spain) El Pais Report - Spanish intelligence analysis: Al-Qaeda and
Iraq prompted Madrid bombings
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20500174-1702,00.html
(Sudan) Boy slave 'crucified' by Sudanese Muslim - for attending a
Christian church
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52181
Australia Wheat Board (AWB) may face terrorism charges over Iraq
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ac40c6be-4fa7-11db-9d85-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=7f5f6b12-2f66-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html
Australian prime minister says he fears terror attacks at football
grand finals
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/sports/AS_SPT_Australia_Football_Terror.php
Shofar, not so good: Blower barred from Temple Mount
Israelis concerned sound of Jewish instrument offensive to Muslims
congregating at holy site
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52194
(San Francisco) Livermore police warn residents of pipe bomb
discoveries
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/09/28/state/n224059D53.DTL
(NY) Islamic prison chaplain sentenced to year at his New York home
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NY_ATTACKS_PRISON_IMAM_BAOL-?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=MIDEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/013335.php
September 28, 2006
Al Qaeda in Iraq leader calls scientists to jihad
Better dying through chemistry. From AP: "Iraq terrorist calls scientists to jihad"
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Al-Qaida in Iraq's leader, in a chilling audiotape released Thursday, called for nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war and urged insurgents to kidnap Westerners so they could be traded for a blind Egyptian sheik who is in a U.S. prison.
The fugitive terror chief said experts in the fields of "chemistry, physics, electronics, media and all other sciences -- especially nuclear scientists and explosives experts" should join his group's jihad, or holy war, against the West.
"We are in dire need of you," said the speaker, who identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir -- also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri. "The field of jihad can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them."
The 20-minute audio was posted to a Web site that frequently airs al-Qaida messages. The voice could not be independently identified, but it was thought to be al-Masri's. He is believed to have succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who died in a U.S. airstrike north of Baghdad in June, as head of the al-Qaida-linked organization.
Thursday's message focused attention on Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric who was convicted in 1995 of seditious conspiracy for his advisory role in a plot to blow up five New York City landmarks, including the United Nations.
Barghouti isn't the only one scheming about prisoner swaps:
"I appeal to every holy warrior in the land of Iraq to exert all efforts in this holy month so that God may enable us to capture some of the Western dogs to swap them with our sheik and get him out of his dark prison," said al-Masri, who is also Egyptian.
He also said more than 4,000 foreign militants have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 -- the first known statement from the insurgents about their death toll.
It was unclear why al-Masri would advertise the loss of the group's foreign fighters, but martyrdom is revered among Islamic fundamentalists, and could be used as a recruiting tool. Analysts said the announcement was likely a boast aimed at drumming up support.
"It's showing the level of dedication to their cause, the level of sacrifice jihadists are making," said Ben N. Venzke, director of the Washington-based IntelCenter, which monitors terrorism communications.
"In a strange kind of way, it's almost showing a sense of strength and purpose in their cause to other people around world who might be thinking about joining the fight," Venzke said in a telephone interview.
The statement followed the release of a U.N. report Wednesday that said fewer foreign fighters have been killed or captured in Iraq in the last few months, "suggesting that the flow has slackened." The report also said some fighters had expressed dissatisfaction they were asked to kill fellow Muslims rather than Western soldiers and that the only role for them was to be suicide bombers.
Still, the report said al-Qaida "has gained by continuing to play a central role in the fighting and in encouraging the growth of sectarian violence; and Iraq has provided many recruits and an excellent training ground."
Posted at September 28, 2006 10:16 PM
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
September 29, 2006
Teacher forced into hiding after writing article describing Qur'an as "book of extraordinary violence"
Say we're peaceful, or we'll kill you. Robert Redeker Update: "Teacher forced into hiding after attacking Islam," from the TimesOnline, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
A philosophy teacher today described how he was forced into hiding after a newspaper article in which he attacked Islam provoked death threats against himself and his family.
Robert Redeker, 52, from Toulouse in south-west France, is receiving round-the-clock police protection and changing addresses every two days, after publishing an article describing the Koran as a "book of extraordinary violence" and Islam as "a religion which ... exalts violence and hate".
He told French media today that he had no regrets about writing the article and that it was part of his job as a philosophy teacher to ask difficult questions.
In an interview with i-TV he said that he had received several e-mail threats targeting himself and his wife and three children and that his photograph and address were available on several Islamist internet sites.
"There is a very clear map of how to get to my home, with the words: ’This pig must have his head cut off’," he said.
Another e-mail says: "You will never again be safe on this earth. One billion, 300 million Muslims are ready to kill you."
And interviewed over the telephone from a safe house by Europe 1 radio, he complained that the education ministry had left him alone and abandoned. He said the ministry "has not even contacted me, has not deigned to get in touch to see if I need any help."
He accepted that his detractors had "already won a victory of sorts."
"I cannot do my job. I have no freedom of movement. I am in hiding. Already they have succeeded in punishing me ... as if I was guilty of holding the wrong opinions."
Dominique de Villepin, the French Prime Minister, said that the threats were "unacceptable".
He said: "We are in a democracy, everyone has the right to express his views freely -- of course while respecting others. That is the only restriction that is acceptable on this freedom.
"This shows to what extent we live in a dangerous world... and how vigilant we must be to ensure people fully respect one another in our society."
The Paris state prosecutor’s office today launched a preliminary inquiry for "criminal conspiracy in relation with a terrorist enterprise", asking the intelligence agency to look into the death threats.
Gilles de Robien, the Education Minister, yesterday expressed "solidarity" with M Redeker, but also warned that "a state employee must show prudence and moderation in all circumstances".
Even when "300 million Muslims are ready to kill" him.
Michelle Malkin has the text of Redeker's article, along with the one by German historian Egon Flaig that was banned in Egypt.
Posted by Robert at 05:33 PM | Comments (40) | Email this entry | Print this entry
Pakistan's intelligence agency backs Al-Qaeda: British report
Friend and Ally Update: "ISI backs al-Qaeda: British report," from Associated Press, with thanks to F.:
London, September 28: A leaked British document accuses Pakistan's intelligence agency of indirectly supporting terrorist groups including al-Qaeda, and it calls on Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to disband the agency.
Musharraf, who is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on Thursday, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he rejected the assessment and would raise the matter with his counterpart.
"ISI is a disciplined force, breaking the back of al-Qaeda," Musharraf told the broadcaster, claiming his intelligence service had secured the arrests of 680 suspected terrorists.
Sure, Pervez. They started breaking the back of al-Qaeda right after Armitage threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the stone age, right?
Posted by Robert at 05:20 PM | Comments (8) | Email this entry | Print this entry
Al-Qaida urges 'month of jihad'
Ramadan mubarak! Abu Hamza al-Muhajir adds to the love note just received from Al-Zawahiri. More on this tape from China Daily:
Al-Qaida's leader in Iraq called for the kidnapping of Westerners to swap for a Muslim cleric jailed in the United States, according to an Internet audio tape issued yesterday.
"I call on every holy fighter in Iraq to strive during this holy month (Ramadan)... to capture some dogs of the Christians so that we can liberate our imprisoned sheikh," said the speaker, identified as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.
He accused US jailers of "torturing" Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman, held over links to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York.
The speaker also called for attacks on US military camps in Iraq using "unconventional bombs such as biological and dirty bombs."
The tape's authenticity could not be verified but it was posted on major websites used by militants....
But it is the holy month, after all, and so he offers clemency for those who collaborated with the enemies of Islam:
"As for those who supported the occupiers and their agents, becoming their eyes and ears, and who betrayed their religion, honour and land for material or social gains ... I declare a general amnesty during this month of generosity and forgiveness," the speaker on the tape said.
"We waive the right to (avenge) the blood that was shed by your hands and your betrayal," he said.
Posted by Robert at 05:07 PM | Comments (22) | Email this entry | Print this entry
Somali jihadists close down radio station for reporting on protests
Sharia Alert and Somali Jihad Update from News.com.au: "Somali Islamists close down media"
ISLAMIST gunmen who captured the Somali port of Kismayo have forcibly closed a private media network there which they accuse of distorting news about protests against the takeover, journalists said today.
Islamist fighters on battle-wagons turned up at HornAfrik Radio's Kismayo offices late yesterday, ordering staff to stop operations, the National Union of Somali Journalists said.
"We are strongly bothered by this show of aggression against this media house, which is a conscious attack on the freedom of the press and fundamental freedom of expression," said union secretary general Omar Faruk Osman.
[...]
... there have been anti-Islamist protests this week in Kismayo, and Somalis in general are becoming increasingly worried about signs of hardline practices by the movement, which was born out of sharia courts.
The Islamists' rise has challenged the aspirations of Somalia's western-backed interim government - based in the provincial town of Baidoa - to restore central rule to the Horn of Africa nation for the first time since 1991.
Islamist sources said HornAfrik had made false broadcasts about this week's protests in Kismayo, including reports that a boy had died and women were mistreated in the violence.
The Islamists say they are simply restoring law and order to Somalia after 15 years of anarchy since the ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. They are also openly calling for mainly Muslim Somalia to be ruled by a sharia system.
The above paragraph seems to separate the aims of the jihadists to "restore law and order" and to establish Sharia law. But a decline in crime rates is only part of their larger agenda, which would impose the entirety of the Islamic social order, including the governance of minute details of individual behavior.
Posted by Marisol at 04:49 PM | Comments (3) | Email this entry | Print this entry
A prescription from the Good Doctor Al-Zawahiri
In a new video from the boys at Al-Qaedawood, ol' Doc Zawahiri, like his boy Adam Gadahn, prescribes conversion to Islam as the cure for what ails ya -- or else, of course. Sounds as if the Good Doctor has been reading off Howard Dean's teleprompter.
"A Video Speech from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: Bush, the Pope of the Vatican, Darfur, and the Crusader Wars, by as-Sahab Productions," from the SITE Institute, with thanks to Schoolraider:
As-Sahab, al-Qaeda’s multimedia production arm, issued today, Friday, September 29, 2006, a 17:51 minute video speech featuring Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and titled: “Bush, the Pope of the Vatican, Darfur, and the Crusader Wars”. He appears in two scenes: one, subtitled in English, with an office-setup background with a lamp, flag bearing “No God, but Allah”, and a cannon; the other is without a background, and depicts Zawahiri dressed entirely in white, without subtitles.
To U.S. President George W. Bush, Zawahiri brands him a "deceitful charlation" and liar, and questions: “why don't you tell them how many million citizens of America and it's allies you intend to kill in search of the imaginary victory and in breathless pursuit of the mirage towards which you are driving your people’s sons in order to increase your profits?” He questions his motives for initating the War in Iraq, ridiculing the false prexets under which it was conducted. To this end he cites the purported links of Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda, and the presence of weapons of mass destruction. He also addresses the capture of Khalid Shaikh Muhammad and questions that if it helped in the "war on terror" then “why are your troops retreating in secrete from the south and east of Afghanistan?... Bush...be aware that the liberation of our captives is a debt on our shoulders which we must fulfill”. Other individuals who have been captured, such as Ramzi Yusef, Omar Abdul Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh") and Abu al-Faraj al-Libi are also cited.
That, I trust you understand, is a threat of violent actions to free these jailed jihadists.
Then al-Zawahiri retails some jihad recruitment pretexts:
In the Arabic portion, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri discusses the issue of the Pope Benedict XVI's slanderous comments to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, by prefacing such attacks as beginning with the Satanic Verses of Salmon Rushdie, followed by desecration of the Qur'an at Guantanamo Bay, and banning of the hijab in French schools. He states that the current pope is reminiscent of Pope Urban II, who "provoked the people of Europe to fight the Muslims" in the Crusades. Zawahiri disregards Christinaity due to its "supersitions" and alleged irrationality, but avers that Muslims are not enemies of Jesus as Pope Urban II claimed. On the pope's comments directly, Zawahiri adds: "if Benedict attacked us, we will respond to his insults with good things. We will call upon him, and all of the Christians to become Muslims who do not recognize the Trinity or the crucifixion, and say that Allah united with the human."
What a generous offer!
SITE has made available a one-minute clip of this masterpiece.
Posted by Robert at 03:53 PM
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
"We vow to God that we will never recognise Israel even if we would be all killed"
Holding-Political-Power-Will-Exert-A-Moderating-Influence-On-Hamas Update: "Hamas rally in Gaza draws tens of thousands, denounces Israel," from Reuters, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters held a peaceful rally in Gaza on Friday to denounce the state of Israel and declare that they would never recognize its right to exist.
"We ask God to punish the so-called Israel and the allies of Israel and to punish those who recognize Israel and those who called on us to recognize Israel," Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri told the crowd that thronged the Jabalya refugee camp.
"We vow to God that we will never recognise Israel even if we would be all killed," Masri told the cheering audience of men, women and children, many of whom were wearing green Hamas baseball caps and held aloft Hamas banners.
Masri, a popular young lawmaker, also aimed criticism at Fatah, a rival movement headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, saying it was trying to pressure Hamas, which now runs the Palestinian government, into recognizing Israel.
"Those people are demanding us openly to recognize the occupation and that will never happen," Masri said.
Posted by Robert at 11:25 AM
Islamic prison chaplain sentenced to year at his New York home
Warith Deen Umar Update from AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
NEW YORK (AP) -- The former head Islamic chaplain for the state prison system was sentenced Thursday to a year of home detention by a judge who said he deserved leniency on a gun charge after decades of achievements that followed childhood poverty.
Warith Deen Umar will be permitted to leave home for work, medical care and religious services, Judge Robert P. Patterson said.
Earlier this year, Umar, 62, pleaded guilty to a gun charge after admitting he waved an empty shotgun at an angry tenant who struck him at a Bronx building he owns. He also owned a .22-caliber rifle and four shotgun shells.
The government charged Umar with gun possession, saying he was not allowed to have one because he had been convicted in 1971 of possession of a dangerous weapon.
The judge rejected efforts by the government to get him to take into consideration a published report that quoted Umar as saying in an unpublished memoir that even Muslims who say they are against terrorism secretly admire and applaud the Sept. 11 hijackers.
That would be this Wall Street Journal piece (subscribers only). Prison officials took it seriously enough to ban him from the prison system:
Umar was banned from state prisons shortly after the article was published in 2003 despite his assertion that his comments were taken out of context and that he never said the terrorists were martyrs or honored them.
The judge said he considered the article and two others cited by prosecutors "unreliable for sentencing purposes."...
He said he was shunned by many in his religious community after a false report that he had sympathized with Sept. 11 hijackers. He said one New York mosque has permanently banned him.
Good for them.
He said he had been comforted by neighbors around his home in Glenmont, N.Y., near Albany, where he said a mostly white group of people including Christians, Jews and gays came to his defense.
"These are Americans," he said....
Yes, probably. And besotted dhimmi fellow travelers also, probably.
Umar has said he believes "they are persecuting me because I'm Muslim and I'm black and I speak out and because I was the Muslim chaplain in the state prison system for 25 years."...
Get real, Umar. Being Muslim and black, if you were an outspoken anti-jihadist, would get you front-page, above the fold coverage, plus seats on all the pseudo-fearless conservative talking head shows. There is nothing that American officials and media want to find more than an outspoken, passionate, articulate moderate Muslim. If you were one, you'd be everyone's hero.
The judge told Umar that some Christians and others in the United States had trouble understanding how some Muslims could interpret the Quran in a way to permit people to blow themselves up in Afghanistan and Iraq in an effort to kill others.
"I happen to be Christian," the judge said. "That's very difficult for me to understand."
Well, judge, why don't you explain to us how you think Muslims should interpret the Qur'an? Here is another non-Muslim lecturing a Muslim about how to understand a book that he probably hasn't actually even read.
Posted by Robert at 08:40 AM |
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
http://www.jihadwatch.org/
U.S. Says Iran Buys Iraq Militia with Arms, Cash
Iran's "long-term influence is bound to wane." Among Iraqi Shi'ites? Really? Why?
And of course they don't want a "destabilized Iraq." They want a Shi'ite client state in Iraq, and they're doing all they can to establish one.
From DefenseNews.com, with thanks to DFS:
Iran is funneling weapons and cash to buy the loyalty of armed groups in Iraq, but its long- term influence is bound to wane as Iraqis focus more on their own interests, a senior U.S. military official said.
The United States and Britain have in the past accused Iran of fostering violence in Iraq. The Islamic Republic denies it.
But the official gave far more detail, and said the latest weapons finds -- including explosives bearing factory stamps indicating they come from Iran -- show that the policy of arming Iraqi militia is supported at high levels in Iran and not the work of rogue Iranian operatives.
"You see them enabling all comers," he said. "And by the way, nobody in this country stays bought. You’re rented."
The senior military official was discussing intelligence issues under condition he not be named, in a briefing with journalists in Baghdad on Sept. 27, the transcript of which was made available on Sept. 28.
He estimated that Iran has sent "millions of dollars" to the Mehdi Army militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, including rogue elements that had slipped out of Sadr’s direct control.
Iranian weapons found in Iraq include surface-to-air missiles and anti-tank rockets like those used by Hizbollah in Lebanon against Israel, as well as tank-destroying Explosively Formed Projectiles (EFPs) that have become common in roadside bombs used to attack U.S. and British troops....
But the official said parties seen as pro-Iranian were already falling behind in Iraq, losing ground to groups like Sadr’s who portray themselves more as Iraqi nationalists.
"For them to function effectively inside Iraq, they have to make a decision to be Iraqi," he said.
"Iran only has a window of opportunity to influence Iraq before Iraq -- and its natural tendencies as both an Arab state and one who’s got a whole series of friction points with the Islamic Republic -- will start to take over."
He said Iran had fomented violence in Iraq, especially places like Basra in the south, but this could be counter productive because of mainly ethnic-Persian Iran’s own worries about unrest among its Arab and Kurdish minorities.
"It’s not in their best interest to have a destabilized Iraq, because guess what? There are Arabs in the south (of Iran) and Kurds in the north that pose significant challenges to Iranian internal stability," he said.
"But nonetheless, they’re not sure who is going to come out on top. And so basically they fund everybody."
Posted by Robert at 08:09 AM | Comments (6) | Email this entry | Print this entry
U.S.: Afghan attacks triple since truce
Pakistan's "peace agreement" with the Taliban is quickly yielding predictable results. From AP:
KABUL, Afghanistan - American troops on Afghanistan's eastern frontier have seen a tripling of attacks since a truce between the Pakistani army and pro-Taliban tribesmen that was supposed to stop cross-border raids by militants, a U.S. military officer said Wednesday.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry rejected the U.S. claim and said home-based insurgents were behind the violence in Afghanistan, where at least 25 militants were reported killed in fighting Wednesday.
Raising further questions about the cease-fire, a Pakistani political leader maintained Taliban leader Mullah Omar approved the deal. A government official denied that.
The developments could add to the feuding between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who were having dinner Wednesday night with President Bush at the White House to try to patch up their dispute over how to quell Islamic extremists.
The U.S. officer said the cease-fire that began June 25, cemented by the signing of a peace accord Sept. 5, contributed to the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan. He said ethnic Pashtun insurgents are no longer fighting Pakistani troops and are using Pakistan's North Waziristan border area as a command-and-control hub for attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistani tribal elders brokered the truce between Musharraf's government and militants, which ended years of unrest in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
But the agreement appears to have bolstered Taliban infiltrators, with the number of attacks in eastern Afghan provinces rising threefold since July 31, said the U.S. officer, who agreed to discuss the situation only if not quoted by name due to the sensitivity of the issue.
"That's why they had the chance to rest and refit, because they were in a sanctuary," he said, referring to a surge in Taliban attacks over the last several months without giving specific numbers for incidents before or after the truce.
[...]
Meanwhile, Latif Afridi, a top official in Pakistan's Awami National Party, said he received a letter containing Taliban leader Mullah Omar's approval of the North Waziristan peace deal.
He said the letter also claimed Pakistani militants who back the Taliban in North Waziristan would fall under the command of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a front-line Taliban commander.
[...]
The U.S. officer said the Taliban's connections with Pakistan run so deep that wounded fighters seek treatment on the Pakistani side of the border and even carry their dead to Pakistan for burial.
Some of the suicide bombers in Afghanistan have been recruited in Pakistan, including a 17-year-old boy who blew himself up in front of a U.S. military convoy in Kabul this month, killing a bystander and wounding three American soldiers, Afghan police say.
Posted by Marisol at 12:01 AM |
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