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Posted on 02/05/2004 8:31:17 PM PST by Mossad1967
Edited on 02/09/2004 3:20:18 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
SANAA, Yemen, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A purported statement by al-Qaida in Yemen warned Saturday of a "major strike" soon in the United States.
The statement, distributed by the Yemeni Tagamoo Party for Reforms, said: "A major strike, a big event will take place in America soon," reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks.
I like the way you put things! Yah! And I do use more than the average 33 1/3! Hmph!
After 40 years of quibbling with my husband, I've learned the art of creative argument. I refer to liars as people who use "enhanced reality."
Mohammed Rasooldeen, Special to Arab News
RIYADH, 22 February 2004 US diplomats and their families who left the Kingdom two months ago for security reasons have been cleared to return.
The directive, which will be carried out with immediate effect, will bring in families that left the Kingdom two months ago, Robert Keith, press attaché at the US Embassy, told Arab News.
The families will start arriving from today, he said.
However, Keith said US citizens should be alert to security concerns and potential threats of terrorist attacks in the Kingdom. American citizens should continue to evaluate their own security situations, he said.
In a press statement, the embassy said the United States was confident that Saudi authorities were capable of protecting both citizens and foreign residents.
The lifting of restrictions comes against the backdrop of a continuing crackdown on terror suspects here following suicide bombings of residential compounds in Riyadh in May and November last year which killed 52 people.
The Kingdom has since arrested more than 200 terror suspects and unearthed large caches of weapons from all over the country.
Last week, Riyadh residents were alerted against a GMC Suburban car registered in the name of a wanted militant and alleged to be rigged with explosives which could be triggered in an attack.
Kingdom Not Aware of US Democracy Initiative, Says Prince Saud
French President Jacques Chirac welcomes Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Saturday. (AFP)
Paul Michaud, Special to Arab News
PARIS, 22 February 2004 Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said yesterday Saudi Arabia is yet to be officially informed of a new US initiative to promote democracy in the Arab world. He said the initiative would be taken up at an Arab summit in Tunis on March 29-30.
Speaking after talks here with French President Jacques Chirac, the Saudi minister said the Tunis summit would also discuss a Saudi Middle East peace plan, adopted at an Arab League summit in Beirut two years ago.
The Saudi plan offers to normalize Arab relations with Israel in return for full withdrawal from territories seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
We hear the press talk of this (US) initiative but we have not received anything official about it, the prince said. Since it concerns the Middle East, it will certainly be discussed at the Arab League (summit).
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington was considering a major international initiative aimed at encouraging democratic reforms in the Middle East and was looking for ways to institutionalize such a project.
Prince Saud said his talks with Chirac had emphasized the broad convergence of views between Saudi Arabia and France.
A French presidential spokeswoman said Chirac and Prince Saud had agreed that any democratic initiative for the Arab world should be pursued in parallel with a revival of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
France and Saudi Arabia share the view that an initiative aimed at backing modernization and reform in the Arab and Muslim world must necessarily be coupled with a revival of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem, she said.
Prince Saud is on a European trip of France, Belgium, Switzerland and Poland. The trip aimed at reviving the road map which targets the creation of a Palestinian state in 2005 but which has made little progress since its launch in June.
Neither Chirac nor the presidential spokeswoman reacted publicly to a statement made by Prince Saud in Bern. The prince accused the international community of double standards regarding nuclear weapons in the Middle East since it did not question Israels nuclear arms.
A French foreign policy source noted, however, that Chirac was aware of the statement and that on a personal basis he shared Prince Sauds concern.
The foreign policy source said Chirac would inevitably have to deal with the issue of Israeli nuclear weapons, if only because it was France which in the 1950s played a pivotal role in providing Israel with the materials that allowed it to build its first nuclear devices and permitted Tel Aviv to construct its nuclear testing facility at Dimona.
Prince Saud also suggested that he was not opposed to the terms of a Middle East plan put forward by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Prince Saud also emphasized Saudi Arabias efforts to institute comprehensive reforms covering economic, political, educational, judicial and administrative fields.
In an address at the European Policy Center in Brussels, Prince Saud said it was not Islam but injustice and depravation which were to blame for the spread of terrorism.
It is not at all reasonable to accuse a 1,400-year-old culture and civilization of being a breeding ground for terrorism. Your enemy here is not Islam and Muslims. The enemy is the various forms of injustice and deprivation that prevail in the Arab and Islamic world, he said. Such a situation provides a fertile ground for terrorism which is the real enemy and we are all partners and able to confront this evil, the prince said, calling for joint international efforts to combat all forms of terror.
M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News Staff
RIYADH, 22 February 2004 In a move to attract Saudi students, the Canadian Embassy will hold two seminars to introduce Canada as a destination for Saudi students and also as a source for contract training for government and private sector organizations.
Canadian Ambassador Roderick Bell said the educational seminars would be held in Jeddah and Riyadh on Feb. 23 and Feb. 25 respectively.
The seminars are significant since in 2003 Saudi Arabia sent over 650 new students to study in Canada, the ambassador pointed out. The most popular study choices included English as a second language (ESL) courses, business, engineering and medical training, he said. These are in addition to specialized professional programs.
Referring to his countries educational system, the ambassador said: Canadas high quality educational system and open society make it a world-class destination. Saudi students have discovered that Canada provides many excellent choices for advanced studies, and there is a study option suitable for every teacher.
The Canadian Education Center Network (CECN) also plays an important role in marketing Canada as an education destination. It represents some 277 educational institutions across the country.
Canada has more than 85 universities, 200 community colleges and a large number of private and public educational institutions in addition to the CECN network.
A number of Saudi students who left the US after Sept. 11, 2001 are looking to Canada as a possibility for higher education, professional courses and training.
Those interested in the Canadian education seminars may call the educational adviser at 01-4882288.
Taliban official warns of new wave of attacks
KHOST, Afghanistan: The remnants of the Taliban, forced out of power in Afghanistan in 2001, will stage a new wave of attacks against US-led coalition forces in the south and southeast of the country this spring, a man claiming to represent the militia said yesterday.
In an interview in the southeastern city of Khost, the man, who has previously proved himself a credible source of information on the intentions of the militant group, also claimed that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, were both alive and in Afghanistan.
Bin Laden and his deputy, the Egyptian Ayman Al-Zawahiri "are alive and both are in Afghanistan, in different places", Mohamed Saiful Adel told an AFP journalist in an interview in the city of Khost, close to the border with Pakistan.
A former leader of the anti-Soviet Mujahaddin fighters, Jalaluddin Haqqani, "has taken on the role of deputy leader of the Taliban," the Taliban spokesman said. "He is playing a key role in our movement and is responsible for all the military operations," he added.
"Haqqani is personally leading the operations in Paktia, Paktika and Khost," said the spokesman, referring to three southeastern provinces.
Since it was ousted from power in Afghanistan by US-backed forces in December 2001, the militia has been unable to do more than stage isolated attacks on the US-led coalition which supports the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Some Western analysts warn that the Taliban is now attempting to exaggerate its real power in an attempt to destabilise Afghanistan in the run up to elections intended to take place some time this year.
But Adel insisted the movement was capable of mounting serious attacks and boasted, but without providing any proof, that: "We will stage attacks on an unprecedented scale in the spring."
Taliban members would "for example, attack a big town, seize it, occupy it for several hours and then leave ... We will lead attacks against American bases here. We will have a lot of martyrs but we will do it," said the spokesman.
The interview with Adel took place over two hours in a room in a hotel in the centre of the town.
The Taliban spokesman appeared at the interview apparently unarmed but several Taliban fighters were visible nearby, patrolling the surrounding area apparently as security for him. The entire interview took place not more than a few hundred yards from the offices of the local governor and several military installations.
He claimed to have dozens of volunteer fighters in the movement's ranks, "most of them our Arab brothers, but with more and more Afghans. The Americans have killed lots of innocent people in this region and their relatives want revenge," he said.
He also said the Taliban were working with the Al Qaeda group led by bin Laden, providing them with military support in return for their financial assistance.
"We are co-operating closely with members of Al Qaeda. We are providing them with the military means in return for their financial support. Our financial means are very limited."
Parcel bomb wounds police
ROME: Three police officers were injured, one seriously, when a parcel bomb exploded yesterday as it was being inspected at a police station in the central city of Perugia. Police said one of the officers could lose four fingers on his right hand and three on his left. Two other officers were slightly injured.
The package had been posted to a woman who opened it at a local cafe. She called the police when she became suspicious about the contents. The police officers then took it to the station to examine it. The package was reported to contain a booby-trapped video-cassette. - AFP
Even in jest, I do say.
Carry on!
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