Interesting the name, I have read before, but where?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&client=googlet&q=Mustafa+Yousef+Ibrahim&spell=1
http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=Mustafa%20Yousif%20Ibrahim
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1598122,00.html
Kidnap in Baghdad
'Gunmen
surrounded us,
firing into the
windscreen. The
dreaded moment
had arrived: kidnap'
Rory Carroll, the Guardian's
Baghdad correspondent was
abducted for 36 hours before
being freed on Thursday. This is
his story
Saturday October 22, 2005
The Guardian
We finished the
interviews, deep in the
Baghdad slum known as
Sadr City, and the
Guardian's two vehicles
started heading back to
the hotel. The street was
deserted until three cars,
including a police Land
Cruiser, sliced around a
corner and into our path.
Gunmen piled out and
surrounded us.
One pistol-whipped
Safa'a, the driver,
spraying his blood on to
my lap. Another wrestled
the translator, Qais, out of the door on to
the ground. Another pumped three
bullets into the windscreen of the
follow-up vehicle, narrowly missing the
driver, Omar.
It was 2.15pm on Wednesday, and a
moment I had dreaded since moving to
Iraq nine months earlier had arrived:
kidnap. A potential death sentence for
Iraqi staff as well as the foreign
correspondents who are the targets.
Since hostages started having their
heads sawn off we have all been
obsessed by it.
In agreement with my Iraqi colleagues,
the plan, if cornered, was for me to leg
it. With a gun at my head that was not
an option. I was bundled out and thrown
into a Honda. I glimpsed Omar sprawled
on the ground, an AK-47 trained on him.
We sped away, the Land Cruiser leading.
A man in police uniform in the front
passenger seat pointed a pistol while my
neighbour in the rear seat handcuffed my
wrists behind my back and shoved my
head into his lap. "OK, OK," he said. It
was not OK.
Angling my head it was possible to see
sagging powerlines, crumbling houses,
sheep grazing on rubbish, traffic. I
waved a foot to try to catch the attention
of a trucker. It was rammed back on to
the floor. The driver, stocky and stubbly,
turned with a toothy grin and said
"Tawhid al-Jihad". Otherwise known as
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq,
the beheaders of Ken Bigley. I stopped
breathing.
We pulled off the road and, within sight
of traffic, had a 10-minute pitstop to
change. A different car and different
clothes. I stripped naked and was
handed a brown T-shirt and a pair of
stonewashed fake Versace jeans with no
button. "More Iraqi, good, good," said
one man. I was left barefoot. We rejoined
the traffic. Documents and a copy of
Iraq's draft constitution poked from the
pocket of the front seat, suggesting this
was a newly stolen car. The kidnappers
relaxed. One lit a cigarette and flicked
through my documents.
"Irish. Journalist. Not British?" He
shrugged. American helicopters buzzed
overhead but however hard I visualised
it, no Rangers came shimmying down on
ropes.
The front passenger turned and indicated
his colleagues. "Ansar al-Sunna." The
bad news was that that was the group
that killed an Italian journalist. The good
news was that this contradicted the
driver. I suspected - hoped - they were
winding me up.
The headcutters are Sunni extremists but
Sadr City is Shia, a rival Islamic sect,
and the fiefdom of the radical cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr.
We had gone there to follow Saddam
Hussein's trial on television at the home
of a family persecuted by his regime. The
kidnappers had learned of our presence
and lain in wait.
We pulled into the walled driveway of a
smart two-storey house. The vehicles left
and the house owner, a medium-built
man in his late 30s, took over. A portrait
of a Shia imam gazed down from the wall
of the living room, which was bare save
for rugs and cushions.
As the man I would come to call Haji, a
term of respect for Mecca pilgrims, sifted
through possessions taken from my car,
I asked about my colleagues. He
examined a notebook spattered in blood.
"They OK, no problem."
He said I was to be exchanged for a Shia
militiaman jailed by the British in Basra,
the spark for last month's violent
protests. I wanted to believe that but
feared being sold to the highest bidder.
There was a rumour that Sunni groups
were back in the market after a lull in
hostage-taking.
A separate set of metal cuffs clicked on
to my wrists and I was led into a
hallway. Beneath a stairwell there was a
black cavity, an entrance to an unlit
concrete passageway five metres long,
one metre wide. A rug and a pillow were
laid out.
The door clanged shut and a lock turned.
Pitch blackness and silence. Going by
previous hostage cases, this could be
home for months. Still, no bag over the
head, not chained to a radiator - could
have been worse.
I sat down and tried to remember why I
volunteered for Iraq. Curiosity, ambition
and hoping to clear my head after a
broken relationship, among other things.
It wasn't feeling clear now. No story was
worth this. In any case I'd missed the
story - Saddam could have broken down
and pleaded guilty for all I knew.
Hours passed. I pictured news of my
abduction reaching family and
colleagues. Not a happy image so I
thought about my cat, Edward. Insects
crawled up my leg. Dusty Springfield
crooned in my head. Who invited her in?
Sounds of domesticity reverberated
through the concrete. A woman's voice.
Children running and laughing. Pot
walloping in the kitchen. The television
blared. Egyptian comedies, it sounded
like; Haji's family laughed long and loud.
After fitful sleep the door banged open.
"Morning, Rory," smiled Haji. After being
allowed to use the toilet and shower,
with cuffs removed, a younger man
provided pitta bread, jam, cheese and
sweet tea in the living room. "You on
al-Jazeera, BBC, everywhere," announced
Haji, chuffed. I was a celebrity. Great,
get me out of here.
Cuffed again and back in the gloom, it
occurred to me that the British
government's official position was not to
negotiate with terrorists. Fingers crossed
for the Irish government.
Children banged on the door and took
turns at holes in the chipboard to peer at
this exotic, valuable pet who could not
be allowed to stray.
Unleashed for supper, feeling stiff and
sore, desperate to lengthen my time out
of the tomb and provoke dialogue, I
obtained permission to stretch and do
press-ups. Haji grinned and took a
photograph. The children loved it. The
pet does tricks!
Momentarily more host than captor, Haji
fetched an English-language version of
What is Islam, a summary of the faith by
the late ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi. He
appeared not to have read up on 60
things forbidden by Islam, pages 38-41,
which include a ban on imprisoning
someone unjustly.
Back into the passage for a second night.
Then, Haji's mobile rang. A murmur,
then laughter. Minutes later the door
swung open. I was going home, he said.
In the boot of his car. A moon hung high
over Baghdad as I clambered in.
After 20 minutes of bouncing over
potholes I feared I was en route to
another gang of kidnappers, my buyers.
I found an oil spraycan. The plan: zap
their eyes and sprint.
We stopped. The boot opened to reveal a
police pick-up truck with a mounted
machine gun. Real police. Haji shook an
officer's hand, nodded at me and drove
into the night, apparently a free man.
Ahmad Chalabi, the deputy prime
minister, waited with a smile at his
palm-fringed compound. Elements of
Moqtada al-Sadr's movement had
snatched me, ostensibly to gain leverage
for friends detained by the British in
Basra, he said, though some wanted to
sell me to jihadists.
He said his lobbying had clinched the
release. "We got you out just in time." It
was over. I slumped into a seat. An aide
fished a can of beer from his jacket
pocket. "I think you'll be wanting this."
http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/printer_22646.shtml
From New Nation Online Edition
EDITORIAL PAGE
Prime Minister's address - an objective review
By Yusuf Hassan
Fri, 21 Oct 2005, 10:48:00
The Prime Minister's speech addressing the nation on the 10th instant did not very much convince the people at large
specially with regard to law and order situation, price hike i.e inflation, corruption and for that matter good
governance based on ground realities. It was a defensive, rather an apologetic speech for some glaring failures in the
areas which directly affect the public life. The text of the speech was quite cryptic and weak to give any comfort and
inspire the nation during these difficult days as we hoped to hear more on the vital issues confronting the nation.
The law and order situation was improving gradually across the country with the operations undertaken by RAB,
Cobra, Cheeta and other agencies. People were quite happy and supportive of the Govt. actions despite heavy
criticism by the major opposition party leaders .But suddenly things went wrong. The banned outfits of Sheikh Abdur
Rahman and Bangla Bhai i.e JMB and JMJB emerged with a bang and announced their presence on the 17 th August
by adopting violent means. They made their promise of further attacks good by targetting the judiciary and attacking
the judges with bombs. The threats are still strong. The entire law enforcement and the intelligence agecies were
caught napping and failed to detect and prevent the dangerous activities of these elements. For a long time the Govt
functionaries denied the very existence of the fundamentalist outfits and even described Banglabhai as a fiction
created by the media. These fundamentalist outfits were not created in one day. It took a long time for them to
organise. The fundamentalists were, as it appears from different news items, active since early nineties and no Govt.
since then bothered to take any steps to prevent their rise. Now the question is who helped the situation to come to
such a pass and whether the Govt./establishment knew every thing and connived. The opposition political leaders
have put the blame squarely on the shoulder of BNP for patronising the fundamentalist elements by forging political
alliance with them. With the arrest of an important leader of Harkat ul Jihad, namely Mufti Hannan who was under
warrant of arrest for an attempt to kill a former PM (Sheikh Hasina), the accusations have become more virulent. The
opposition leaders have pointed fingers specifically at some Ministers and party leaders belonging to the alliance
Govt. for taking Mufti Hannan under their wing and asked for their heads to roll. The Govt. have not come out with
any explanation on the emergence of JMB, JMJB or Harkat-ul Jihad nor have they explained the position vis-a-vis Mufti
Hannan to counter the accusations. All these have created a very uncomfortable situation for the country as well as
for the Alliance Govt., specially for BNP. The law enforcement agencies so far have been able to apprehend only some
of the foot soldiers, the big fishes are still out of the net. The speech did not throw any light as to what actions the
Govt. are taking to put down the rise of religious fundamentalism and its instigators, whether the Govt. will take
suitable measures to change the madrasa education system by including science, technology and other professional
subjects in the curriculum and accordingly change the recruitment criteria for the teachers so that the madrasa
students can get modern education. It is also not clear whether apart from banning of JMB, JMJB and Harkat-ul Jihad
the Govt. are going to crackdown on some other fundamentalist groups which are still active in the field. What is the
policy of the Govt. with regard to introducing Islamic rule in the country as demanded by the banned outfits and their
associates?
As for the price increase of almost all essential commodities and inflation in the economy the simplistic explanation
and argument that the enhanced purchasing power of the public has nullified the impact of price hike do not hold
good. The income of the general public has not increased enough to compensate for the inflation. Rather their
purchasing power has further eroded due to inflation. Yes, the salary of the Ministers, Members of the Parliament and
Govt officials has been revised and increased but all this has been cancelled out already by the spiriling inflation which
is estimated to be more than 10% at present. By a rough estimate the cost of living over the last few month has gone
up by more than 30%. If the policy of compensating inflation by salary increase, in the words by supply of money, is
pursued instead of enhancing the purchasing power through better economic/ monetary policies, higher production
and supply of goods at cheaper cost , I am afraid, in no time the Taka will not even be worth the paper it is printed in.
The revised pay scales for the officials had already set off inflation and barely provided the financial benefits that it
seemed to provide.
The politicians, businessmen and the black money holders are not affected anyway by the price hike or inflation but
the officials with integrity, the middle class people, the retired ones, the lower income groups for that matter the
ordinary people are badly affected by the on going inflation. Their income can hardly make both the ends meet, forget
about saving money for their old age. In the international market price of some of the commodities has increased but
not to the extent that is reflected in our economy. Hoarding and profiteering are the main factors responsible for the
artificial price hike. Price increase of the petroleum products in international market, which is a recent phenomenon, is
undoubtedly a contributing factor but not such a big one as the constant devaluation the Taka is undergoing due to
the introduction of floating exchang rate without any safety measures. Incidentally, the devaluation of Taka had a
direct and bigger impact on the price of fuel in the local market. In last 3/4 months the value of Taka has fallen by
about 21% in relation to the US Dollar. In fact the creeping inflation started since the last Ramadan without any
efforts to control it. Inspite of public demand at that time TCB was not activated by the concerned ministry to import
essential items and release the goods in the market to control price which gave the unscrupulous business groups a
free hand to manipulate the market and make windfall gains. Neither then nor even now the anti-hoarding measures
have been taken to control the price manipulation. From time to time all the Govts. had provided fiscal benefits to the
business groups in the form of reduced interest rates, lower import duty, tax benefits, waiver of interest etc. but they
(business people)largely failed to pass on the benefits to the people.
Ours is an import based economy. The country has to import many of the food items and most of the industrial raw
materials, intermediate products, capital machinery, fuel etc. by spending foreign exchange. Naturally, as a
consequence of devaluation of Taka the import costs have gone up. It has adversely affected the cost of production,
transportation and the price of essential items of all types creating a severe inflation in the economy. The crisis has
been further compounded by manipulation of price by the unscrupulous businessmen. In addition to inflation the
floating of the exchange rate will in the long run affect the debt servicing liability of the country with regard to its
foreign debts and may also discourage foreign investment as the investors do not like to invest in countries having
unstable currency.
Only those countries producing most of the agricultural products and industrial raw materials, and/ or having hightech
industries with high value addition can bolster their exports to earn more foreign exchange by taking advantage of
devaluation of currency without serious adverse affect in the economy. We do not have this advantage. It is very
strange to note that while countries like India, China and Malaysia having a bigger and stronger economy and
industrial base are not following the free floating exchange rate, Bangladesh with one of the weakest economies
chose to free the exchange rate with all its ill effects which we are now facing. It was an unwise decision to float the
exchange rate at this stage and that too without a safety net.
The pressure on the exchange rate has been further accentuated by smuggling of foreign currencies out of the
country, smuggling of goods like gold and other valuable items in the country, use of black money to buy foreign
currencies from the secondary market, import of unnecessary luxury items, transfer of funds abroad through banking
channel etc. The present economic policy favours only the predatory business groups. The economic disparity
between the rich(most of whom are novo rich) and the poor has largely widened as the benifits of development have
not been passed on to the disadvantaged section as wealth mostly has concentrated in the hands of few politically
favoured and business groups. The educated middle class, which is considered to be the backbone of the society,
runs the risk of being declassed as it happened after the liberation with all its ramifications. The PM's speech does not
cover any policy statement as to whether the Govt. are taking measures to arrest the runaway inflation and the
manner in which the economic problems are to be dealt with. It seems that our policy makers are slavishly following
the dictats of the international loan giving agencies which has not improved the fate of the people perceptibly.
Though we claim to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line(40%) the number of jobless has
increased resulting in migration of people from the rural areas to the urban areas.
The creeping inflationary trend in the economy will definitely end in reduction of purchasing power of the people
forcing more people to go below the line of poverty and more migration. How is the Govt. going to reverse the trend?.
Instead of depending too much on the advice and directions of the international donor agencies and their experts to
detremine our monetary, economic policies and fix the priorities for development, the Govt. need to appoint a
competent professional / economist to oversee and run the economy more efficiently for the benefit of the common
people keeping in view the social and economic conditions? Will the Govt. do it?
3. While referring to corruption we better read the ratings and reports made by the Berlin based international agency,
the Transparency International, about Bangladesh. This organisation every year is releasing their reports for world
wide consumption. Govt. may decry the report but corruption is not only seen but also felt everyday everywhere in
the society. It is the manifestation of a serious disease in the body politics in our country. All the political parties have
a share in it. Bangladesh has become a record 5- time champion in a row since 2001 when AL was in Govt. This is not
a reflection on the common people who are the victims of corruption but on those who run the affairs of the country
i.e, the Govt. leaders , politicians and the officials connected the rewith. It takes two to indulge in corruption. In this
case, the Ministers, MPs and influential politicians who can distribute favours and perks at the cost of the state and
the ever devouring business class who receive such favours.
The actual nexus is between the politicians and businessmen where the morally weak officials participate for his
personal aggrandisement and share a smaller piece of the cake. In fact corruption starts from the top and percolates
downward. Politicians may raise their voice against corruption, for independence of judiciary, appointment of
Ombudsman and autonomy of the electronic media while in the opposition. But when in power they create stalemate
on different excuses in implementing their promises given to the electroates. In fact politics and corruption go hand in
hand in our country. Politics has become a business to make fortune. That is why we see many of our politicians have
taken up business and many businessmen have taken up politics, thus combining the two professions.
The Anti Corruption Commission has been created in such a manner that it can not function easily. If the Govt. had
appointed a retired senior Civil Servant with good record of honesty and efficiency and without any political bias to
the Commission the troubles like framing organogram, rules and regulations and other important decisions could be
taken easily and the Commission could have run smoothly without any hitch. But this is not happening. It seems the
politicians regardless of their party affiliation will not like the ACC to function in their own interest. Similarly
appointment of Ombudsman and separation of the judiciary will face the same fate.
Corruption is not a new phenomena in this country. It took root right after the independence and was tolerated
politically as it was not a very big problem at that time. But today it has taken a monstrous proportion which has
become a serious obstacle to development, economic prosperity, poverty elimination, good governance and has
become a part of criminalised politics. Mere creation of the Anti Corruption Commission will not serve the objective, it
should be provided with all supports like professional manpower and logostics as well as political backing to function
independently and smoothly if the Govt. really mean business. At the same time appointment of Ombudsman and
separation of the judiciary from the administration are essential to fight corruption and dispense justice. The PM's
speech could be more convincing if these aspects were included in the speech as a commitment to elimination of
corruption.
© Copyright 2003 by ittefaq.com
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-10/21/content_3661444.htm
Bangladeshi jails on high alert after JMB bomb threat
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-21 13:40:41
DHAKA, Oct. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Prisons across the country are on high alert as a banned
Islamic group has threatened to blow up the Tangail District Jail in seven days if police continue
arresting or harassing its activists.
The Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) made the threat in a letter written in Bengali and
Arabic and sent to Shamsul Alam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Tangail District Jail in north-central
Bangladesh, The Daily Star reported on Friday.
According to the daily, the directorate of the jail Thursday verbally asked all jail authorities to
remain alert to ward off any possible attack.
The guards of the jails have also been asked to beef up security measures and check prisoners
when they return to the prisons from courts.
Security measures have been stepped up in and around the jail, courts and key installations in
the wake of the threat.
Jailer ABM Fattah was quoted by the daily as saying that they have taken the threat seriously
and are taking "extra security measures" to face any situation.
"Security in and around the jail has been tightened and check posts have been set up at different
points and streets adjacent to the jail," the jailer said.
JMB is responsible for the countrywide bomb attacks on Aug. 17, which covered 63 districts
of the total 64, killing three people and injuring over 150 others. In another bomb attacks in three
courts in three districts on Oct. 3, two people were killed and scores injured.
Police have so far arrested more than 400 suspects after the Aug. 17 bombings, 303 of whom
were identified as the activists of the banned Islamist outfit JMB. Enditem
http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues/20051021/feat7en.htm
PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL TO
OXFORD UNIVERSITY'S
PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS AND
ECONOMICS SOCIETY:
TERRORIST ACTS PERPETRATED
BY AL-QAEDA HAVE CHANGED
THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, AND
WILL REMAIN A CONTRIBUTING
FACTOR IN INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS.
AL-QAEDA IS A CULT THAT EXPLOITS THE
SUFFERING OF OTHERS IN ORDER TO REALIZE
ITS GOALS.
THE ARAB AND FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC CORPS BID
FAREWELL TO PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL.
IN A SYMPOSIUM HELD IN LONDON ON
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE
PETROCHEMICALS SECTOR IN SAUDI ARABIA,
PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL STRESSES THAT THE
FUTURE OF PETROCHEMICALS IN THE KINGDOM
IS FLOURISHING.
In remarks at Oxford University, Saudi Ambassador to
the United States of America and former Ambassador
of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the United
Kingdom and Ireland Prince Turki Al-Faisal said that
terrorist acts perpetrated by Al-Qaeda have changed
the global perspective, and will remain a contributing
factor in international relations. He remarked that
Al-Qaeda is not a religious or political organization
based on Islamic principles, but a cult that exploits the
suffering of others in order to realize its goals. He
warned that Al-Qaeda is trying to create a wedge
between peoples and religions, and underscored the
importance of a collective counterterrorism effort on
both the local and international level.
Commenting on the Middle East, Prince Turki said that
an unjust handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
above all else has damaged Western relations with the
Islamic world. Prince Turki also said that terrorists
have used the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to justify their
destructive activities, and pointed out that such
international conflicts can never justify acts of
terrorism. He added, however, that it would be naïve
to believe that terrorism will end once the
Israeli-Palestinian issue is resolved, and that cultures
must strive to understand each other.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal also said that governments
should not shelter people who proselytize extremist
ideologies, and should view those individuals as
aggressors, not victims, and prosecute them.
Following is the transcript of Prince Turki Al-Faisal
address to the Oxford University Philosophy, Politics
and Economics Society. Topic: "Terrorism Threats and
Challenges." October 11, 2005.
Go to the link for his speech, it is worth reading, he is exactly what I expected, good at white washing........granny
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5315696-105806,00.html
World dispatch
Back to the future
History casts a long shadow as relations between Britain and Iran
worsen over the situation in Iraq, writes Ian Black
Ian Black
Friday October 21, 2005
Guardian Unlimited
It's suddenly like the bad old days: accusations flying between capitals, crowds
chanting angry slogans outside the British embassy, ambassadors summoned to
explain their governments' positions and public insults attesting to a sudden
deterioration in a long and troubled relationship.
Chilled by winds blowing in from the desert, Anglo-Iranian relations echo the 1950s,
when the US and Britain backed a coup against nationalist prime minister Mossadeq;
Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution that toppled the shah in 1979; or to the decade of
tensions over the fatwa ordering the killing of Salman Rushdie.
Now a fresh layer is being added to this mound of weighty historical baggage by
Britain's military presence in Iraq and the confrontation over the Tehran's nuclear
ambitions.
The latest trouble began in August when talks between the EU and Iran, with Britain
in the lead, broke down over the demand that Iran suspend nuclear reprocessing
activities because of suspicions it was secretly planning to produce nuclear weapons.
The EU initiative was launched in 2003 in order to avoid another Iraq-type situation
with the US on one side of the argument and a divided and impotent Europe on the
other. It has always been viewed with suspicion by the Bush administration, which
favours sticks over carrots, and it was always hard to see how a serious clash could be
avoided. Britain, said a scornful Iranian official as the bilateral temperature
plummeted, was acting like a "19th century colonial power".
Matters worsened in June when Iranians elected a new hardline president, Mahmoud
Ahmedinejad, the mayor of Tehran. But the flashpoint this time was in the volatile
south of Iraq. Anonymous British officials - followed by Tony Blair himself - warned
that Iran was not only supporting Shia militias operating against UK forces in the
Basra area, but arming them.
The alleged evidence was sophisticated armour-piercing explosives and infrared
control mechanisms similar to equipment used by Hizbullah, the Lebanese guerrilla
movement with years of experience fighting Israel with backing from Iran.
This week, Iran retaliated and took the row a step further, with the president accusing
British agents of being behind bomb attacks which killed six people in the southern
city of Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan province, the heart of Iran's oil industry, and just
across the border from Iraq.
"Our people are used to these kind of incidents, and our intelligence agents found the
footprints of Britain in the same incidents before," Ahmadinejad told his cabinet. "We
think the presence of British forces in southern Iraq and near the Iranian border is a
factor behind insecurity for the Iraqi and Iranian people."
Britain has forcefully denied any link with the bombings as well as similar attacks in
June. These were blamed on Iranian Arab extremists with ties to unnamed foreign
intelligence services. Iranian security officials reportedly concluded that the bombers
were trained abroad and that weapons and equipment were smuggled in from Iraq's
al-Amara province, which is under British control.
Khuzestan has often reflected wider tensions: Saddam's intelligence services backed
secessionists amongst the province's Arab population, and it was they who took over
the Iranian embassy in London in the famous 1980 siege ended by the SAS.
In Tehran, the president's remarks were picked up enthusiastically by the
conservative media. The Kayhan newspaper called for a severing of diplomatic
relations between the two countries and demanded the closure of the "den of spies".
It was not the first time the epithet has been applied to the British embassy, still in
the sprawling walled compound bordered by Bobby Sands Avenue. It used to be
called Winston Churchill Avenue but was renamed to honour the IRA Maze hunger
striker during the angry period after the collapse of the Peacock throne.
In those days Britain was routinely vilified in Iran as the "little Satan", while the
"great Satan", of course, was the US, still resentful a quarter of a century later over
the 444-day occupation of its embassy by the "student militants" who swept to power
with Khomeini.
The old ayatollah once gave a sermon in which he said that the days were gone when
the British ambassador could issue instructions to the shah. And one of his most
frequently quoted sayings, daubed for a time on the walls of the embassy was that
"America is worse than the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is worse than America.
Britain is worse than both."
Diplomats suggest Iran is deliberately exploiting the Khuzetsan incidents to divert
attention from domestic problems, and perhaps to hit back at Britain for its role in the
nuclear talks. To underline the point, bilateral trade has been slowed by a sudden
bout of red tape.
British officials suspect that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, linked to the most
conservative elements in Tehran, is working with the Shia militias who have been
making life difficult for the 8,500 British troops in Iraq.
These tensions are part of a new reality that has greatly enhanced Iran's influence in
Iraq. Having watched one old enemy - Washington - deal effectively with another -
Saddam - Tehran is now reaping the rewards.
Last January's Iraqi elections produced a winning coalition of Shia groups, led by the
Islamic Dawa party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
(SCIRI), both based in Tehran while Saddam was in power. The new relationship was
sealed in wide-ranging agreements signed between the two governments in the
summer.
Iranian agents have found it easy to penetrate Iraq's security and intelligence
services, especially since the Iraqi interior minister is the former head of the Badr
Corps, the Iranian-created and funded military arm of SCIRI. The Badr brigades, like
the Kurdish peshmerga in the north, and now being incorporated into the Iraqi
military.
In southern Iraq the portraits of Saddam have been replaced by those of Shia clerics
and Khomeini - the same Khomeini believed by the shah to have organised his
revolution with the help of messages broadcast on the BBC's Persian service, part of
that old Iranian obsession with perfidious Albion. Now that British squaddies are
patrolling the streets of Basra, it is no wonder that old animosities and suspicions are
coming to the surface again.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16991606%255E28737,00.html
Damascus stands condemned
Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent
22oct05
THE road to Damascus is flanked by the presidential palace
on one hill and a foreboding prison on another. For 40 years,
Syrians needed no other reminder of where power in their
nation resided. Neither did neighbouring Lebanon. The two
citadels of state control, run by a father-and-son tag team in
one of Arabia's remaining authoritarian regimes, ruled with
impunity over both countries until early this year.
Then, according to the UN, Syria virtually served itself on a
plate. The Beirut car bomb that killed former Lebanese prime
minister Rafik Hariri on February 15 could easily have been a
metaphor for a suicide attack on the palace in Damascus.
Lebanon lost a leader and 20 other people that day. Now
Syria stands to lose the lot.
Excerpts circulating in Beirut yesterday from the widely
anticipated UN report into Hariri's murder point the finger of
blame for the bombing at the Syrian chieftains and the
Lebanese military men they sponsor.
The excerpts were leaked hours before the official release of
the report, late last night eastern Australian time, by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan. They paint a picture of an
assassination planned months in advance and carried out by
an institution, not an individual. Lebanese MPs who claim to
have seen part of the report say UN chief investigator Detlev
Mehlis names conspirators and has found financial links
between regime strongmen and Lebanese officials.
Four Lebanese generals with staunch links to the Syrian
regime are being held in a Lebanese prison. Among them is a
former security adviser to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud,
who yesterday declined to speak before the report's official
release.
Syrian spook Zuheir Mohammed al-Siddiq has been detained
in France and Lebanese media reported this week that he has
been co-operating with investigators.
The knowledge that Syria was responsible for Hariri's
assassination would be enough to condemn Syria and
President Bashar al-Assad in the eyes of its chief antagonist,
the US. But weighed against the Bush administration's other
gripes, it is only a beginning. The US had already engaged
Assad in a sustained verbal war, claiming he continued to
back Hezbollah in its terror campaign against Israel and
wasn't interested in stopping the flow of Sunni Arab militants
across Syria's borders that has reinforced the Iraqi
insurgency.
The report appears to give the US enormous leverage over a
regime it considers not far removed from its axis of evil. The
US and Israel now have Damascus where they want it:
weakened, sidelined and with no option but to change its
ways.
Even the Arab world, which often adopts the "my enemy's
enemy is my friend" world view when one of its components
is in the crosshairs of the West, isn't falling in behind
Damascus this time. Officials from three Arab countries
contacted by Inquirer say they are baffled by the lack of the
bombers' strategic assessment of any political fallout from
the blast. Hariri's death unleashed a torrent of Lebanese
nationalism and world condemnation. Within weeks, Assad
had called home all Syrian soldiers and most of its spies. The
empire was starting to crumble even before the bomb. Now it
is not far from ruin.
"What were they hoping to achieve with a crude, thuggish
act like that?" asks one Western diplomat. "They do not have
a sophisticated understanding of the world outside their own
country or Lebanon."
For the past fortnight, Assad has insisted to the world that
no Syrian was linked to the bombing. He said he would
surely have known if any member of his regime was
involved.
More pertinent, in the light of the report, is what can be said
about Assad's grip on authority. There is a view in the Middle
East that Syria is still shackled by the old guard put in place
by Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, who died five years ago.
Even in a region where conspiracy theories abound, the
apparent suicide last week of Syrian interior minister and
Syria's former Beirut overlord Ghazi Kanaan, days after he
was interviewed by UN investigators, has been received
sceptically. It was widely believed in Lebanon, where Kanaan
reined as spy chief for 20 years, that if Syria was involved,
he would surely have known. Kanaan was found dead in his
office hours after giving a radio interview in which he claimed
to be innocent and rejected suggestions he had business
dealings with Hariri.
Since assuming the chief job in the family fiefdom, the
Western-educated Bashar al-Assad has attempted to
introduce a reformist agenda into his one-party state.
Sounding like an opposition leader in a robust democracy
rather than a man with totalitarian control, he has pledged to
raise incomes, lower trade barriers, boost services and create
jobs.
"Is he in a position to enforce a reformist agenda? Manifestly
not," according to a Beirut-based Western diplomat.
Says an Arab counterpart: "And nor can he root out the old
guard who still run the apparatus of power. Their raison
d'etre is not Syrian interests but self-preservation."
That being so, why pick a fight with the US, which since 9/11
has made no secret of its pre-emptive counter-terrorist
strategy?
"Even though playing with Iraqi extremists is a very
dangerous game. the temptation to keep America weighed
down [in Iraq] has been too great for them," the Western
diplomat says. "But, that said, there should have been no
national interest in upsetting America, let alone Europe."
Neither should there have been an interest in upsetting the
Sunni Arab world, which has not taken kindly to the slaying
of one of its own and has long held suspicions about Syria.
The Mehlis findings point to an alleged motive for the
bombing that is given wide credence in Lebanon.
"It was easy to see why Syria wanted him dead," says
student Bilal Derbas, 25. "Hariri was talking like a man who
could lead Lebanon on his own. He didn't need them."
Syrian fears of dwindling control had been widely seen as a
spark for the attack. For several decades before that,
Damascus had backed the Christian-led government in
sectarian power struggles with Muslim militias. It also had
provided weapons to the south Lebanon based militia group
Hezbollah, which took the fight to the Israelis from within the
Palestinian refugee camps near Lebanon's southern border.
When Beirut was, at various times, under siege from Israeli
bombs or sectarian wars, the Syrian military had provided
steel to the struggling Lebanese. Damascus saw itself as
intrinsic to the future of Lebanon and the regime eventually
got its hands on all the levers of Lebanese authority.
What now for Assad, Damascus and Lebanon? The US has
raised the possibility of referring Syria to the UN Security
Council, where sanctions are probable.
To avoid a Saddam-like stigma, Assad has no option but to
fall into line with the hawks in the Bush administration.
"This is a perfect storm situation," says a US State
Department official.
The Syrian leadership is clearly fighting for its life. But no
one is quite sure whether it will implode. The same is true of
Lebanon, where Lahoud's future will be decided within days.
With the overlords out of the way, Lebanon's stand-alone
democracy faces a crucial test: a return to sectarian violence
or a turning point in its Cedar Revolution.
© The Australian
This is the Jihad Unspun statement, to go with the article that was written by Laura Mansfield about the planned or stated plan for a Ramadan attack, by jihadii's.
It almost sounds as tho, they are reminding the terrorists that an attack was planned.
granny
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=104961&list=/home.php
ANONYMOUS: Planning The Great Ramadan Offensive 2005
Oct 22, 2005
By "Ossama1", Firdaws
As far back as May 2005, there were rumblings from intelligence apparatus, media “leaks” and of course
the White House that the "Great Ramadan Offensive 2005" was in the works, a battle to end all battles
between the forces of good and evil. Or, at least that was how it was billed at the time.
In early August, 2005, a post was made to the Arabic Mujahideen forum Firdaws by a person using the
name "Ossama1". Written in perfect English, "Ossama1" details the planning of the battle that was to
restore Muslim honor. But with ten days left until Ramadan ends, has the plan been abandoned or was
there actually a plan to begin with? Here is the original post as published by lauramansfeld.com. You
decide.
We remind our viewers that the opinions and points of view expressed in this article are those of the
author and shall not be deemed to mean that they are necessarily those of Jihad Unspun, the publisher,
editor, writers, contributors or staff.
Planning The Great Ramadan Offensive
“Planning the "Great Ramadan Offensive" by late August 2005, the Islamist-jihadist movement was
increasingly consumed by great anticipation for a dramatic breakout: a "Great Ramadan Offensive" led by
both Osama bin Laden and Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, in person and from Iraq. This offensive, several
Islamist-jihadist leaders and commanders were convinced, would overshadow the dramatic impact of the
September 11, 2001, spectacular strikes.
Jihad leaders were convinced that the Great Ramadan Offensive would include a "fateful confrontation"
with the US and Israeli forces in the Middle East, as well as a series of unprecedented spectacular strikes
in Western Europe, Russia, and, perhaps, even the United States. Throughout the Muslim world,
widespread anticipation for the Great Ramadan Offensive has been reinforced by a series of virtually
simultaneous communiques starting around August 24, 2005. This was the first time so many significant
doctrinal-theological statements had been issued at the same time, reinforcing the belief in a forthcoming
well-coordinated global onslaught.
First came the report of a new recorded message by Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi. Apparently made on August
21, 2005, the existence of the message was announced around August 24, 2005. The report that
emerged included the key passage from Zarqawi's message about the next phase of the jihad. "What
happened in Andalusia [Spain], London, the Jordanian Al-Aqabah, and other places and what is going to
happen, with the consent of God Almighty, is accomplished by our devoted mujahedin," Zarqawi
explained. "The mujahedin in Iraq have, praise be to God, moved the battle from the ground [in Iraq] to
the land of the cross." Zarqawi stressed that "jihadist units had been founded in all of Western Europe,
to defend the powerless within the nation. "For the crimes the Crusaders have committed against the
Muslims, they will reap in their own homes [countries], God willing."
The entire post would not fit therefore, it is continued at the link.