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Posted on 08/01/2007 10:32:19 PM PDT by nwctwx
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http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/08/18/iran.guard/
Iranian Guards vow to ‘punch’ U.S.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said they would not bow to pressure and threatened to “punch” the U.S., in their first response to Washington’s plan to list them as a terrorist organization, newspapers reported Saturday. Local press in the Iranian capital of Tehran quoted Revolutionary Guards leader Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi saying that he could understand Washington’s ire toward the group because of their “leverage” against the U.S.
“America will receive a heavier punch from the guards in the future,” he was quoted as saying in the conservative daily Kayhan. “We will never remain silent in the face of U.S. pressure and we will use our leverage against them.” There was no elaboration on what Safavi meant by the punch or the organization’s “leverage.” . . .
Iranian armed forces spokesman Gen. Ali Reza Afshar hit out precisely against this attempt to declare a state body terrorist in an editorial Saturday in the country’s largest circulation newspaper, calling it illegal. “America’s long time hostility against the Guard is clear and understandable, but this move against organization that is part of Iran’s armed forces is illegal,” he wrote in the daily Hamshahri. The estimated 200,000-strong Revolutionary Guards is an elite force separate from Iran’s regular military and has its own ground, naval and air units.
>>>>>”Iranian Guards vow to ‘punch’ U.S.”<<<<<
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP47303
(excerpted)
. . . According to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Zakiri had worked as a supervisor and director of intelligence for the Revolutionary Guards, and had then moved to the Security Ministry, where he served in several positions for a number of years. Later, he joined the security apparatus of the Leader’s Office, where he was a supervisor in charge of the apparatus’s secretariat, and learned of the secret links between the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian security apparatuses, and revolutionary forces in the region.
. . . Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: “Did you know about the plans to attack the World Trade Center in New York?”
Zakiri: “No, but we had in our headquarters models of the [WTC] two towers, the White House, the Pentagon, and the CIA building at Langley. Thus, Imad Mughnia came to Iran, met with a number of top officials in the security apparatus of the Leader [Khamenei] and gave them a letter from Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, which said: ‘We need your help to carry out a most important mission in the land of the ‘Great Satan.’’ The issue was presented but his request was denied. Afterwards, it was decided by the head of our department and Natiq Nouri’s deputy, head of the investigations section in the Leader’s [Khamenei’s] Office and his representative in the Higher Council for Security, to entrust Mughnia with keeping the relations with Al-Zawahiri and his comrades, provided he did not get involved in their activity.”
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP134706
(excerpted)
In early October 2006, Sunni Islamist websites affiliated with the jihad groups in Iraq posted what they claimed was a top-secret Iranian document. The document, dated May 2001, indicates contacts between top Al-Qaeda figures and the highest echelons of the Iranian intelligence apparatus, which is part of the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and can be viewed at the end of this document. . .
The following is a translation of the document:
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Intelligence Apparatus of the Supreme Leader - Top Secret.
“Date: May 14, 2001.
“Reference: 4-325-80/s/m
“By: Head of the Intelligence Apparatus of the Supreme Leader
“To: Head of Operations Unit No. 43 [in the Iranian Intelligence Ministry]
“Re: Orders regarding the decisions of the Honorable Leader [Khamenei]
“[Dear] Hujjat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimin [Mustafa] Pourkanad, [director-general of Operations Unit No. 43], we wish your dedicated and courageous team every success. The results [described] in your recent reports have been examined, along with other opinions. After consideration, and in order to remove the existing lack of clarity regarding support for Al-Qaeda’s future plans, the Honorable Leader [Khamenei] has emphasized that ‘the battle against the global arrogance headed by the U.S. and Israel is an integral part of our Islamic government, and constitutes its primary goal. Damaging their economic systems, discrediting all other institutions of these two allied enemies of the Islamic government [in Iran] as part of [our] political confrontation [with them], and undermining the stability and security [of the U.S. and Israel] are [all] obligatory duties that must be carried out.’
“The Honorable [Leader Khamenei] stressed the need for each of you to be vigilant in his field of activity, and asks you to be particularly attentive [in dealing with the issue at hand]. He also stressed [the need] to be alert to the [possible] negative future consequences of this cooperation [between Iran and Al-Qaeda].
“The Honorable [Khamenei] said that this struggle must be stepped up by tightening the collaboration with other security and intelligence apparatuses in Iran and with supporters outside Iran, thereby hindering the enemy’s steadily expanding activities.
“[Khamenei further instructed] that in carrying out your duties, you must operate under the direct supervision of the security division of the headquarters of the organization [i.e. the intelligence apparatus of the Supreme Leader]. Naturally, identifying [potential] damage is the responsibility of the vigilant and diligent Unit [No. 43 of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry].
“It has also been decided that, in the upcoming meetings, discussions must be held in order to formulate clear goals and remove the main obstacles and difficulties in achieving these goals and in promoting the issue of expanding the collaboration with the fighters of Al-Qaeda and Hizbullah [Lebanon].
“Finally, I wish to convey [Khamenei’s] full satisfaction with Unit [No. 43] and his full support [of this unit] in the implementation of its future plans. The Honorable [Khamenei] is aware of the important and dangerous [nature of] the tasks you perform. [He] emphasizes that, with regard to cooperation with Al-Qaeda, no traces must be left that might have negative and irreversible consequences, and that [the activity] must be limited to the existing contacts with [Hizbullah Operations Officer ‘Imad] Mughniyah and [Bin Laden’s deputy Ayman] Al-Zawahiri.
“May Allah grant you success.
“Sincerely,
“20th of [the Muslim month of] Safar.
“[Seal and Signature:] Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri . . .
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/14/wiran14.xml
Iran plotting to groom bin Laden’s successor
By Con Coughlin and George Jones, Political Editor
Last Updated: 2:30am GMT 14/11/2006 (excerpted)
Iran is trying to form an unholy alliance with al-Qa’eda by grooming a new generation of leaders to take over from Osama bin Laden, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. Western intelligence officials say the Iranians are determined to take advantage of bin Laden’s declining health to promote senior officials who are known to be friendly to Teheran. . .
But intelligence officials have been most alarmed by reports from Iran that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to persuade al-Qa’eda to promote a pro-Iranian activist to a senior position within its leadership. The Iranians want Saif al-Adel, a 46-year-old former colonel in Egypt’s special forces, to be the organisation’s number three. Al-Adel was formerly bin Laden’s head of security, and was named on the FBI’s 22 most wanted list after September 11 for his alleged involvement in terror attacks against US targets in Somalia and Africa in the 1990s. He has been living in a Revolutionary Guard guest house in Teheran since fleeing from Afghanistan in late 2001. Alarm over al-Qa’eda deepened yesterday with a Foreign Office warning that the group was determined to acquire the technology to carry out a nuclear attack on the West. A senior Foreign Office official said that the terrorists were trawling the world for the materials and know-how to mount an attack using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The official said: “We know that the aspiration is there, we know attempts to gather materials are there, we know that attempts to gather technologies are there.” . . .
http://www.nysun.com/article/58507
Iran Is Found To Be a Lair of Al Qaeda
Intelligence Estimate Cites Two Councils
BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
July 17, 2007 (excerpted)
WASHINGTON — One of two known Al Qaeda leadership councils meets regularly in eastern Iran, where the American intelligence community believes dozens of senior Al Qaeda leaders have reconstituted a good part of the terror conglomerate’s senior leadership structure.
That is a consensus judgment from a final working draft of a new National Intelligence Estimate, titled “The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” on the organization that attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The estimate, which represents the opinion of America’s intelligence agencies, is now finished, and unclassified conclusions will be shared today with the public. . .
“We know that there were two Al Qaeda centers of gravity. After the Taliban fell, one went to Pakistan, the other fled to Iran,” Roger Cressey, a former deputy to a counterterrorism tsar, Richard Clarke, said in an interview yesterday. “The question for several years has been: What type of operational capability did each of these centers have?”
A senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Iran expert, Vali Nasr, said he did not know that the Shura Majlis had reconstituted in eastern Iran, but he did say his Iranian contacts had confirmed recent NATO intelligence that Iran had begun shipping arms to Al Qaeda’s old Afghan hosts, the Taliban in Afghanistan. . .
The link between Iran and Al Qaeda is not new, in some cases. The bipartisan September 11 commission report, for example, concluded: “There is strong evidence that Iran facilitated the transit of Al Qaeda members into and out of Afghanistan before 9/11, and that some of these were future 9/11 hijackers.” According to the commission, a senior Al Qaeda coordinator, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, said eight of the September 11 hijackers went through Iran on their way to and from Afghanistan. In 2005, both Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and the then ambassador at large for counterterrorism, Cofer Black, disclosed that America believes that senior Al Qaeda leaders reside in Iran.
http://www.nysun.com/article/55920
Police, FBI Plan To Examine Iran Links in JFK Plot
BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 5, 2007 (excerpted)
WASHINGTON — As New York police and the FBI interview suspects in an alleged plot to attack John F. Kennedy International Airport, one thread the ongoing investigation will explore is why one of the suspects was planning to go to Iran.
A former Guyanese legislator, Abdul Kadir, was arrested in Trinidad on Friday on a plane bound for Caracas, Venezuela. According to Mr. Kadir’s wife, Isha Kadir, he was in the island nation to pick up an Iranian visa so he could attend an Islamic conference in Tehran. Two of Mr. Kadir’s children are studying in Iran, according to Mrs. Kadir.
Trinidad’s counterterrorism police are also investigating whether one of Mr. Kadir’s alleged co-conspirators, a 56-year old Shiite imam in Trinidad named Kareem Ibrahim, had ties to Shiite organizations in southern Iraq and Iran through an Islamic discussion group he hosted, according to the Trinidad Express. . .
http://itn.co.uk/news/1f23c3a77f7d0f641a9903e235bc84f7.html
Russian bombers fly over North Sea
Updated 11.56 Fri Jul 20 2007 (excerpted)
RAF fighter planes have been scrambled to monitor two Russian bombers that flew unusually long sorties. The Tu-95 bombers stayed in international air space during the flight on Thursday morning and they flew close to the North Sea oil area, where British businesses operate. “It’s a long time since Russian bombers have been that far south” - John Inge Oegland.
Norway also scrambled fighter jets as the bombers passed between Aberdeen and Stavanger. John Inge Oegland, spokesman for Norway’s armed forces, said: “It’s a long time since Russian bombers have been that far south. I would say that is rather unusual. “Since they were so far south, the RAF followed the same procedure and went up to identify them.” The incident was the latest of several sorties in recent days . . .
Mr Oegland also revealed Norway scrambled fighters on Thursday to follow two Tu-160 Russian bombers, a more modern jet-engine strategic bomber than the propeller-driven Tu-90, which passed near Norwegian air space in the Barents Sea. The Tu-160s flew west into the Atlantic, where they were met by two tankers for air-to-air refuelling, before heading back to Russia.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/10/content_6506746.htm
U.S. detects Russian aircraft during exercise
www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-10 10:33:29
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — U.S. military detected two Russian aircraft flying toward a U.S. naval exercise in the Pacific Ocean, Pentagon said on Thursday.
The aircraft, two TU-95 Bear strategic bombers, were detected on Wednesday as they were approaching the exercise site in waters off Guam, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Commander Chito Peppler said.
However, no air-to-air interception ensued since the Russian aircraft didn’t get close enough to Guam, where the U.S forces were engaged in a naval exercise involving about 30 naval vessels and over 20,000 U.S. military personnel, the spokesman added.
Russia said a long-range Russian bomber flew over a U.S. military base on Guam, a claim denied by Pentagon.
Editor: Song Shutao
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2281387,prtpage-1.cms
Russian nuclear bombers hold exercises over North Pole
14 Aug 2007, 1939 hrs IST,AFP (excerpted)
MOSCOW: Russian strategic bombers on Tuesday began five days of exercises over the North Pole, marking the latest in a series of displays of Moscow’s military muscle. The nuclear-capable bombers will practice firing cruise missiles, navigation in the polar region and aerial refuelling manoeuvres, the Russian air force said in a statement.
The exercises come barely a week after Russian strategic Tu-95 bombers flew over the Pacific to within a few hundred kilometres (miles) of the US military base on the island of Guam - and, according to a Russian general, exchanged grins with US fighter pilots sent to intercept. They also follow recent attempts by Moscow to bolster Russia’s territorial claims in the Arctic region. . .
About 20 Russian aircraft will take part in the polar exercises: TU-95s (Tupolevs) a long-range strategic bomber; TU-22s, the strategic supersonic bomber most used by Russia; and Il-78s (Ilyushins), a four-engine aerial refuelling aircraft.
Russian bomb flights spark ‘grave’ fears
Luke Harding and Ewen Macaskill
August 19, 2007 (excerpted)
RUSSIA has resumed long-range flights of strategic bombers capable of striking targets deep inside the United States with nuclear weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had restarted the Soviet-era practice of sending bomber aircraft on regular patrols beyond its borders. Speaking after Russian and Chinese forces completed a day of war games in Russia’s Urals, Mr Putin said 14 Russian bombers had taken off simultaneously yesterday on long-range missions. “We have decided to restore flights by Russian strategic bombers on a permanent basis,” he said. “Russia stopped this practice in 1992. Unfortunately not everybody followed suit. This creates a strategic risk for Russia … we hope our partners show understanding towards the resumption of Russian air patrols.”
Analysts described Russia’s move as a “grave development”. They said Mr Putin appeared to have unilaterally abrogated an agreement with the US and Britain signed in 1991 not to engage in long-range nuclear bomber flights. Russia’s then president, Boris Yeltsin, and the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, signed the agreement with the then US president, George Bush snr. All sides agreed to reduce their strategic rocket forces and to stop long-range bomber flights.
“This is a very grave development that threatens the US with nuclear weapons. It means that Russian bombers will be ready to attack the US at a moment’s notice, just like in the Cold War,” said Pavel Felgenhauer, a leading Moscow-based defence analyst. Mr Felgenhauer said the bombers would be deployed in positions north of Britain over the North Pole, from where they would be able to fly across the Pacific or Atlantic to attack US targets. He said there was a real risk that bombers equipped with nuclear warheads might crash. “These flights are very dangerous. The planes are old and the maintenance is patchy. Crews are not always as best prepared as in the Cold War. A crash with nuclear weapons is very possible,” he said. . .
Omar urges Afghans to unite against Western troops
Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:28 AM EDT
By Sayed Salahuddin (excerpted)
KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, in a rare message on Saturday called on Afghans to shun their differences and join the militant Islamic movement’s campaign to drive Western troops from Afghanistan. Omar made the appeal in a message through a Taliban spokesmen, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, on the eve of the 88th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from Britain.
He said Afghanistan was once again “occupied by colonialist forces,” referring to the nearly 50,000 foreign troops led by NATO and the U.S. military in the country. “The enemies of the religion of Islam and independence of the country have launched satanic propagandas under the slogans of democracy and freedom and are trying to disperse Afghans and exploit from it,” said the message. “We have to ... put aside all of our internal, regional and linguistic differences and get united against the enemy,” said the message, which was read to Reuters over the telephone by Yousuf from an undisclosed location. . .
Only one person arrested? Sounded like there were more hijackers than one. Will check for updates later. Thanks for posting that info Cindy.
Ooopps, I should have kept reading before I posted the above. Thanks for the update Cindy.
The “Bear” is acting like it has a thorn in its paw. I don’t like Russia acting bi-laterally with China. Back in the mid- ‘60s, one of my professors said his greatest fear would be such an alliance.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883060/posts?page=72#72
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883060/posts?page=91#91
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1869194/posts
#
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883060/posts
#
16. August 2007
Schrift:
“LOGBUCH AL-QAIDA
Großangriffchen auf den Cyber-Dschihad”
Von Yassin Musharbash
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Am 19. Juli rief “jveritas” im Internet dazu auf, von ihm identifizierte Pro-Terror-Websites auszuschalten. Seine Idee war simpel: Die Hostingfirmen mit massenhaften Beschwerde-Mails dazuzubringen, die Seiten zu sperren. Und sie funktionierte auch - ein bisschen.”
No problem.
It was interesting updating that thread.
Between the breaking news writers and the various “officials;” it was a bit like digging in a sandbox to find that proverbial needle of real information.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=flight93
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883199/posts
“Flight 93 Memorial Design Worries Father”
BellSouth.com ^ | 8/18/2007
Posted on 08/18/2007 3:03:09 PM PDT by Paige
PITTSBURGH (AP)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=peru
#
UPDATE:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47103
“Soto Cano Task Force Arrives in Peru”
By Senior Airman Shaun Emery, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service
PISCO, Peru, Aug. 18, 2007
http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?board=2.0
#
QUOTE:
http://truthusa.com/a/index.php?PHPSESSID=ec1cc9f4c589b6474451411d8b0cc464&topic=482.0
“Imam puts ‘unlimited reward’ on Taslima’s head”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/017824.php
August 18, 2007
“Imam puts ‘unlimited reward’ on Taslima’s head”
#
Previously...
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/017788.php
August 15, 2007
“India to charge writer Nasreen with ‘hurting Muslim feelings’”
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Previously...
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/017710.php
August 9, 2007
“Muslim “lawmakers” assault critic of Islam”
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blog:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26710_Fatwa_Watch_2&only
“Fatwa Watch 2
Sat, Aug 18, 2007 at 10:49:13 am PST”
SNIPPET: “Muslim “scholars” in India have issued a death fatwa against author and women’s rights activist Taslima Nareen.”
#
http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14998&Itemid=2
(APP)
“Indian Muslim scholars issue Fatwa against Taslima”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (APP): Taslima Nasreen, an exiled controversial Bangladeshi writer, who is in India, has asked the Indian government to provide her security in the wake of the Fatwa for death to her, issued by Indian Muslim scholars for writing a blasphemous book.
Media reports quoted Majidulla Khan Farhad of Hyderabad-based Majlis Bachao Tehriq while addressing a rally at Tipu Sultan mosque in Kolkata after Juma prayers as saying Taslima has defamed Islam and announced “unlimited financial reward” to anybody who would kill her. “
#
Previously...
Note: Video Included/
blog:
“Video: Islamist Mob Attacks Bangladeshi Writer”
Thu, Aug 9, 2007 at 5:06:27 pm PST
...Iranians are determined to take advantage of bin Laden’s declining health...
Just how are the Iranians so sure that bin Laden's health is declining? Have they seen him recently? Wouldn't surprise me, especially considering the talk of "cooperation with Al-Qaeda" and ..." existing contacts with [Hizbullah Operations Officer ‘Imad] Mughniyah and [Bin Laden’s deputy Ayman] Al-Zawahiri..."
The Iran / AQ connection continues to be an enigma to me. Iran=Shia, AQ=Sunni. I don't know how an Iranian replacement of OBL would have the clerical support of the Wahabi's?
“I don’t like Russia acting bi-laterally with China. Back in the mid- ‘60s, one of my professors said his greatest fear would be such an alliance.”
Such an alliance could indeed do great damage to the world if the wrong players end up calling the shots in each country. However, such a partnership is inherently unstable and cannot last over the long term because they are natural adversaries by virtue of history, demography, and geography. Modern Russia and China’s interests have realigned temporarily, but China has centuries-old claims on the southern part of Siberia and will need both resources and “lebensraum” in coming decades.
By the late 60s, China and the USSR had become so adversarial that a border skirmish nearly escalated to a full-out nuclear exchange. As you know, Nixon saw the opportunity (and the need) to intervene and initiate contact with Maoist China (an 800-lb version of today’s North Korea). Nixon, who made his name as an anti-communist, going to China, would be like GWB going to North Korea to have a summit with Kim Jong-Il.
Geopolitics makes for strange bedfellows.
Russian elections are early next year. Putin will still be running things one way or another in the end, and to make sure one of his guys ends up as his successor, he will not allow anyone to play the nationalist card and have a ultra-nationalist or neo-fascist dark horse candidate outflank him. So he is taking things up several notches. Plus if the international situation implodes, Russia will want to make clear it can still defend its interests.
But again, much will depend on who is running each country.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=6283627
A mystery in Beijing: Who runs military?
By David Lague
Friday, June 22, 2007 (excerpted)
BEIJING: As China converts its growing economic power into military muscle, a lack of transparency and a habit of secrecy pose formidable challenges in assessing the country’s long-term ambitions, according to defense experts. For foreign governments and analysts monitoring the Chinese military, one of the biggest mysteries is who is actually in charge.
Nominally, President Hu Jintao, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, the top military command body, is head of the armed forces, but there is considerable doubt among experts about the extent of the authority that he and his fellow civilian leaders exert over the 2.3 million-strong People’s Liberation Army. “I think Hu Jintao is still facing some challenges from top generals,” said Philip Yang, an expert on the Chinese military and a professor of international relations at the National Taiwan University. “Especially those with their own agenda from the different services and others with their own agenda and perceptions about changes in the outside world, particularly in East Asia.” . . .
Some foreign military analysts believe that there is now considerable debate under way in the Chinese military about the role of pre-emptive force in some circumstances including the use of nuclear weapons. . .
Doubts about the chain of command in China were heightened in the aftermath of the PLA’s successful test of an antisatellite missile on Jan. 11 when most analysts concluded that top officials from the Foreign Ministry and civilian bureaucracy were clearly in the dark about the military’s plan to shoot down an obsolete weather satellite. Despite widespread protest from the international community, it took almost two weeks before the Foreign Ministry confirmed the test.
Other analysts point to an incident in October when one of China’s newest conventional submarines approached the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and its battle group in international waters off Okinawa and was only detected when it surfaced near the American ships. U.S. officials played down the incident, but some experts questioned whether China’s civilian leadership would have sanctioned what could be seen as a highly provocative move. For some analysts, both incidents could be interpreted as a clear demonstration for Washington of China’s growing military capabilities and perhaps evidence that elements in the PLA leadership were less concerned about the diplomatic consequences than their civilian counterparts. . .
“Just how are the Iranians so sure that bin Laden’s health is declining? Have they seen him recently?”
Not sure how reliable their information would be. If UBL is indeed somewhere in the Afghan-Pakistan border regions, the Iranian hosts may be playing an “out of sight, out of mind” game with their guests among the remaining AQ leadership and may have an interest in reminding them that UBL is mortal and they need to think about the future of their organization. They would probably like to have individuals rise to the top leadership who they feel are friendly and are on the same page with them. Whether such rumors are true or not, Iran would have an interest in keeping them alive just to keep the pot simmering.
“The Iran / AQ connection continues to be an enigma to me. Iran=Shia, AQ=Sunni. I don’t know how an Iranian replacement of OBL would have the clerical support of the Wahabi’s?”
I don’t think any Qaeda leader that is seen as a Persian puppet would have any street cred among the much larger Sunni communities. So I think that part of the article might be overblown a bit. But apart from the leadership issue, if you put yourself in the shoes of an Iranian “true believer” in the Islamic Revolution and you are part of the military or security services that serve its cause in the region, you would face the glaring problem that only 10% of the Islamic world is Shia.
So to be a player in regional politics and to further the Iranian agenda, you would have had to build working relationships from the start with Sunni movements that share some of your tactical or even strategic objectives. Otherwise, if you limit yourself to purely Shia organizations, you will never be effective outside of Iran, southern Iraq, parts of Lebanon, and pockets of Shia among the Gulf states to the south.
To actively combat the “Zionist enemy” in “Palestine”, you have two choices, Fatah, which is nominally secular, and Hamas, which is part of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. There are no Shia Palestinians. Anywhere in the Greater Mideast (and the Islamic world as a whole), apart from southern Iraq, southern Lebanon, and parts of the southern coast along the Persian Gulf, you are dealing with majority Sunni populations. So you end up supporting radical Sunni organizations like Egyptian Islamic Jihad and even helping in the creation of Sunni Hamas in 1988 during the first intifadeh. It was only natural for Iran to send Hezbollah and IRGC trainers to Sudan after the Gulf War to help stand up al Qaeda as a fighting force and use them to drive us out of Somalia in 1993. Not coincidentally, that was the year they first hit the WTC.
If we, a moral nation (relatively speaking), have made deals with devils to further our objectives - - partnering with Stalin to fight Hitler in the 1940s, partnering with third-world dictators to fight communism in the 1950s, partnering with the mob to overthrow Castro in the 1960s, partnering with Mao to challenge the USSR in the 1970s, and partnering with Saddam to fend off Iran in the 1980s - - how much more would the devil himself strike a deal with one of his own?
Iran was present at the creation.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=aclu
http://stoptheaclu.com/
#
Thanks to Jay777 for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883232/posts
Al Qaeda’s Useful Idiots At ACLU Want Secret Records
Stop The ACLU ^ | 18 Aug 2007 | Jay777
Posted on 08/18/2007 5:37:15 PM PDT by Jay777
Via Washington Post:
A secret U.S. intelligence court has ordered the Bush administration to register its views about a records request by the American Civil Liberties Union, which wants the court to release a series of pivotal orders issued earlier this year about the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program.
The move is highly unusual, because the court — which approves warrants for electronic surveillance within the United States by intelligence and counterterrorism agencies — operates in almost total secrecy and has made only one ruling public in its 29-year history.
In a scheduling order issued Thursday and released yesterday by the ACLU, the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court instructed the government to respond to the ACLU’s request by Aug. 31. The civil liberties group has until Sept. 14 to file its own response.
The ACLU’s argument is based on the false premise that our enemies in a time of war have a privacy right under the constitution. Always over the top and relentless in their pursuit, the ACLU never take into account the dangers they pose to the very liberties they claim to protect. Their irresponsible and reckless ways towards these things need to be checked. I’m sure the government’s response will be a big negative and the ACLU will respond in kind with their usual whining. Its been a losing battle for them so far on this issue, and I expect and hope that will continue.
(Excerpt) Read more at stoptheaclu.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883300/posts
“Border violence spills into Southwest”
Los AngelesTimes ^ | August 19, 2007 | Richard A. Serrano
Posted on 08/18/2007 11:24:58 PM PDT by yorkie
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