MY MAILBOX!!! AHHHHH!!!!
Posted on 02/26/2007 4:18:14 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
No one to counter Chavez In a region where the leading ideology is Bolivarianism, there is not one leader positioned to offer a better idea for a brighter future.
Commentary by Sam Logan for ISN Security Watch (23/02/2007)
For over two decades, the prevailing ideology in Latin America was neo-liberalism, a Washington-born idea that claimed the power of open markets would lift the region’s poor from misery. It did not, and corruption ran rampant.
While democracy still remains strong, resentful voters ushered in a new generation of neo-populist leaders touting a new idea: a form of socialism, called Bolivarianism, that has slowly but surely become the loudest and most prevalent ideology.
Bolivarianism is anti-capitalist, supports nationalization, regional trade with like-minded countries and above all, suggests that a country should rely on itself or fellow socialist states, not imperialist powers, as a source of the economic growth that will lift all from poverty. It is a sort of refurbished socialism that is not a guiding light for the future.
Latin America cannot readily absorb the economic shock of open markets, nor can it get bogged down in the trappings of old socialist ideas. A blended ideology must be promoted, but the problem is that no one is strong enough to counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the leader of Bolivarianism.
Chavez calls it Socialism for the 21st Century. Cuba's Fidel Castro passed him the torch. Leaders around the region pay homage to their own past as socialist upstarts through hugging and laughing with Chavez on the international stage while taking care of often pro-capitalist, neo-liberal business at home.
Brazilian President Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva is a perfect example. He has the leftist background and eye for fiscal conservatism to become a great ideological counterweight to Chavez. His politics represent an ideal blend for the region. But his politically weak position at home and strong voices from his own left deter any would be shouting match with Chavez.
Within a week after winning his second term in office, Lula visited Chavez for a photo opportunity on a bridge linking both countries. That was in November, and it looks like Lula’s administration will remain bogged down until March as he struggles to get past his party’s sordid past and form a working cabinet willing to share the same table.
Argentina of the past could have been a counter weight to the Bolivarian ideology. But since Nestor Kirchner has come to power, Argentina has become a Venezuelan puppet.
Chavez has literally bought the support of his southern neighbor with over US$3 billion in purchases of Argentine debt. The most recent purchase occurred on 16 February, when Venezuela dumped another US$750 million into Argentine government coffers.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has the politics to promote an ideological battle with Chavez. Colombia has been a model of economic growth through a mixture of neo-liberal policies and social programs. But Uribe has serious problems.
Political allies are falling like dominos due to links with former paramilitary leaders. And if Uribe took the time to speak out for neo-liberalism and against Chavez, he would be dismissed as another of Washington's puppets. Colombia is a top recipient of US aid.
The only other leader who could take up an ideological fight with Chavez is Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He has the right politics and his country has a history of not blindly supporting the US. Voting against the US invasion of Iraq at the UN is a clear indication. But Calderon won on the thinnest possible mandate. His opposition controls enough seats in the Mexican Congress to block any unwanted initiative, and his focus is on Mexican organized crime, not on verbal sword play with Chavez.
Finally, the US has launched a diplomatic offensive in the region. This is to be a year of engagement, but the US president is clearly obsessed with the war in Iraq, not with putting a muzzle on Venezuela’s leader for the sake of the region’s future. Washington is doubly discredited, first for promoting an ideology that clearly did not work, and second for doing nothing about it.
Latin America needs an independent leader willing to stand up to Chavez, but that leader does not exist on the region’s geopolitical map. Bolivarianism will continue to seep into the minds and hearts of millions across Latin America. Chavez and his pool of allies will control the headlines until the next round of presidential elections tell the world how the region has embraced this new ideology.
As Chavez puts it, Socialism for the 21st Century is just getting started. If that is true, then he will continue to trumpet his ideology until Latin Americans learn, the hard way, that Bolivarianism did not carry them much farther from poverty than neo-liberalism. Disillusionment with reality may then spread faster than hope for the future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Logan is an investigative journalist who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is a senior writer for ISN Security Watch based in Brazil.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/terrorpr.html
How Have Terrorists Entered the U.S.?
Study: Since 1993, almost every means of immigration exploited
Read the report
Download the .pdf version
Panel Discussion Transcript
WASHINGTON — A new study from the Center for Immigration Studies examines how foreign terrorists entered and remained in the country over the past decade. To provide a more complete picture of the threat, the report examines the immigration status not only of the September 11 hijackers but of all 48 foreign-born, radical Muslim terrorists, almost all of them linked to al Qaeda, who have been charged, convicted, or admitted involvement in terrorism in the United States since 1993.
The report, entitled "The Open Door: How Militant Islamic Terrorists Entered and Remained in the United States, 1993-2001," by the Center's Director of Research Steven A. Camarota, contains immigration histories for each of the 48 terrorists. Contrary to claims that foreign terrorists have come only as temporary visitors, research indicates that they have manipulated almost every possible means of admission to the United States: Some have indeed come as students, tourists, and business travelers; others, however, have been Lawful Permanent Residents and naturalized U.S. citizens; while yet others have snuck across the border, arrived as stowaways on ships, used false passports, been granted amnesty, or been applicants for asylum.
The report is on line at www.cis.org/articles/2002/Paper21/terrorism.html.
Among the findings:
*
At the time they committed their crimes: 16 (one-third) of the 48 terrorists were on temporary visas (primarily tourists); 17 (another third) were Lawful Permanent Residents or naturalized U.S. citizens; 12 (one-fourth) were illegal aliens; 3 of the 48 had applications for asylum pending.
*
Violations of immigration laws are very common among terrorists. Not only were 12 of the 48 terrorists illegal aliens when they committed their crimes, but at least ten others had significant violations of immigration law prior to taking part in terrorism.
"Because every part of our immigration system has been exploited by terrorists, we cannot reform just one area, but must address the problems that exist throughout," said Camarota. "The solution is not to single out Middle Easterners for exclusion or selective enforcement. Instead we need to more carefully check the backgrounds of all visa applicants, better police the borders, strictly enforce the law within the country, and, most important, reduce the level of immigration to give the INS the breathing space it needs to implement fundamental reforms."
Other findings:
*
Past amnesties for illegal aliens have facilitated terrorism. Mahmud Abouhalima, a leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was legalized as a seasonal agricultural worker as part of the 1986 amnesty, which allowed him to travel abroad, including several trips to Afghanistan, where he received terrorist training.
*
Several terrorists should probably have been denied temporary visas, because they had characteristics that made it likely they would overstay and live in the U.S. illegally. Under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, individuals who are young, unmarried, unemployed, or lack strong attachment to a residence overseas are to be denied temporary visas. Several of the September 11th hijackers, including Mohammed Atta, fit these criteria.
*
Although the September 11th hijackers entered on temporary visas, legal immigrants and naturalized U.S. citizens have also played key roles in terrorism on U.S. soil. For example, Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali, ringleader of the plot to bomb New York City landmarks in 1993, is an LPR, and Ali Mohammed, who wrote al Qaeda's terrorist handbook, is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
*
In addition to overstaying visas, terrorists have engaged in fraudulent marriages to American citizens, such as Khalid Abu al Dahab, who raised money and helped recruit new members for al Qaeda. Others have provided false information on their applications for green cards, like Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. And at least eight terrorists held jobs illegally.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: While no security can be foolproof, if only some of those involved in a terrorist plot can be stopped by our immigration system, then it is possible that whatever conspiracy they are involved in will unravel, as was the case with the Millennium plot. Four general reforms are needed. First, improvements in how visas are processed overseas are needed, including more vigorous background checks and interviews for all visa applicants. Second, the fact that terrorists often flout the law means that strict enforcement of immigration law within the United States could reduce the terrorist threat. Third, there needs to be a significant increase in efforts to police the borders. Improving visa processing while leaving the borders largely undefended is an invitation for terrorists to do as attempted Brooklyn subway bomber Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer did; having been denied a visa, he simply went to Canada and snuck across the border.
The fourth reform that is needed is a reduction in overall immigration, both temporary and permanent. Given limited governmental resources, issuing fewer visas would mean that greater resources could be devoted to background checks on each applicant. It would also mean fewer people to keep track of within the country. Most important, it would give the State Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service the breathing space they need to deal with enormous processing backlogs, now close to 5 million applications, and allow them to undertake necessary reforms. It is simply not reasonable to expect any agency, and especially the INS, to deal with such huge backlogs and take on steadily proliferating responsibilities and at the same time fundamentally restructure itself.
###
The Center for Immigration Studies is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that examines and critiques the impact of immigration on the United States. It is not affiliated with any group.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070330/ap_on_go_ot/pet_food_recall
Yahoo! News
FDA testing reveals chemical in pet food
By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 17 minutes ago
Recalled pet foods contained a chemical used to make plastics, but government tests failed to confirm the presence of rat poison, federal officials said Friday.
The Food and Drug Administration said it found melamine in samples of the Menu Foods pet food, as well as in wheat gluten used as an ingredient. Cornell University scientists also have found the chemical, sometimes used as a fertilizer, in the urine of sick cats, as well as in the kidney of one cat that died after eating the company's wet food.
Menu Foods recalled 60 million containers of cat and dog food earlier this month after animals died of kidney failure after eating the Canadian company's products. It is not clear how many pets may have been poisoned by the apparently contaminated food, although anecdotal reports suggest hundreds if not thousands have died. The FDA alone has received more than 8,000 complaints.
The new finding comes a week after scientists at the New York State Food Laboratory identified a rat poison and cancer drug called aminopterin as the likely culprit in the pet food. The FDA said it could not confirm that finding.
New York officials have detected melamine as well, though it's not clear how that chemical would have poisoned pets. It's typically used to produce plastic kitchen wares, though it's apparently used as a fertilizer in Asia, said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.
New York remained confident in its aminopterin finding, said Patrick Hooker, commissioner of the New York state Department of Agriculture and Markets. Hooker added that neither aminopterin nor melamine should be in pet food, but that it was unclear why the latter substance would be poisonous to the cats in which it was found.
continued.....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1809321/posts
18 Students Fed Laxative in Doughnuts
Breitbart/AP ^ | 03/30/07 | AP
Posted on 03/30/2007 9:40:37 AM PDT by misterrob
HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - Some Long Island eighth graders apparently got an early start on April Fool's Day pranks on Friday, when they handed out doughnuts laced with laxatives to classmates, school officials said. There were no apparent injuries, although ambulances were dispatched to the Sequoya Middle School as a precaution, a spokeswoman for the Sachem School District said.
"Approximately 18 students ate the doughnuts," the district said in a statement. "Although the students are feeling well, the school is taking precautionary measures."
Police were investigating and parents were been informed about the situation. Classes proceeded as usual, but parents were given the option to pick up their children.
The district said it would take "appropriate disciplinary action."
http://foia.fbi.gov/hottopics.htm
Report of Investigation Concerning the Murder of Emmett Till on August 28, 1955
Released March 30, 2007
Photograph of Emmett Louis Till
On August 24, 1955, Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year old black male from Chicago, Illinois, visiting relatives of Leflore County, Mississippi, entered the Bryant Grocery & Meat Market in the town of Money, Mississippi. Till exited the store, and shortly thereafter the store owner's wife, a white woman, exited as well. Upon her exit, Till whistled. The relatives accompanying him knew his whistle would cause trouble, and they left with Till in haste.
On August 28, 1955, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Roy Bryant (the store owner) and J.W. Milam and at least one other person appeared at the house of Till's great uncle and abducted the boy from the home. Three days later his body was found in the Tallahatchie River. In September 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were tried for Till's murder in a Mississippi State Court and acquitted. No other charges were filed on Bryant, Milam, or any other person in connection with Till's kidnapping and murder. Roy Bryant died in 1994, and J.W Milam died in 1981.
The FBI's investigation was opened on May 7, 2004, at the request of the District Attorney in Greenwood, Mississippi, in an effort to determine if other individuals were involved in these crimes.
Below are files from the case, including our 2006 report and a transcript of the September 1955 trial.
Till Files, 464 pages
Inside Hizballah's Hidden Bunkers
Thursday, Mar. 29, 2007
By Nicholas Blanford/Alma Shaab, Lebanon
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1604529,00.html
With its heavy metal lid dragged to one side, dank musty air rose up
from
the entrance to the bunker, the forbidding gloom of the narrow
steel-lined
shaft below unbroken by the bright sunlight. It had taken seven months
of
searching to finally discover one of the underground bunkers that had
enabled Hizballah to fire thousands of rockets into northern Israel
last
summer even under the pounding of Israeli air and ground operations.
But any
sense of exhilaration at the achievement was dampened by the nagging
anxiety
of claustrophobia.
"If we have to crawl when we're down there, I can't do it," said my
colleague Ghaith Abdul Ahad.
The elaborate network of bunkers and fortified firing positions built
over a
six-year period in sealed-off valleys and hilltops throughout south
Lebanon
was key to Hizballah's ability to survive Israel's onslaught during
last
summer's month-long war. Israeli soldiers spoke of Hizballah fighters
bursting out of the ground to loose off a rocket-propelled grenade
before
disappearing into the earth again. Israeli air crews hunted, often in
vain,
for the sources of Katyusha rocket fire, sometimes emanating from
within a
few hundred yards of the border. One bunker complex discovered and
dynamited
by Israeli troops a week after the ceasefire reportedly covered more
than a
square mile and was fitted with hot and cold running water and air
conditioning.
continued.........
Al-Qaeda video threating Spanish troops 'genuine'
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=38267
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=38267
Al-Qaeda video threating Spanish troops 'genuine'
30 March 2007
MADRID - Spain's CNI intelligence service confirmed the authenticity
of a
videotape purportedly from Al Qaeda that threatens attacks against
Spanish
troops serving in Afghanistan.
Defence minister Jose Antonio Alonso said the government "does not
discount
any threat or pressure" coming from international terrorists and
especially
when linked to Al Qaeda.
Regarding the latest violent incident experienced by Spanish troops in
Afghanistan, which occurred on March 15 but was revealed on Wednesday
in
Parliament, the minister commented that "it is thought" that two men
were
using a motorcycle to transport the bomb that exploded prematurely were
going to attack Spanish troops and/or another military contingent.
He said that the motorcycle approached a Spanish convoy but exploded
while
still about 200 metres (yards) away, a blast which did not injure any
of the
troops.
Alonso said that the 550 troops Spain has in Afghanistan will remain in
the
country on the same terms as in the past, "within the strict framework"
of
the U.N., helping to create security and allow the reconstruction of
the
country as per the aim of the NATO-led International Security
Assistance
Force.
Meanwhile, a poll released on Thursday shows that almost half of the
Spanish
public supports their country's continued troop presence in
Afghanistan,
even though nine out of 10 view the military mission as dangerous.
The polling conclusions were drawn from the Real Instituto Elcano
telephone
survey of 1,200 people nationwide.
At the press conference at which the polling results were announced,
Elcano's main researcher, Javier Noya, said that 44 percent of
Spaniards
feel the Afghanistan mission is "rather dangerous" but the percentage
believing that it is "very dangerous" has risen from 34 to 46 percent
of
those surveyed.
Nevertheless, 49 percent of those polled said that the Spanish troops
should
continue to carry out their mission, 4 percent said that Madrid's troop
contingent should be increased in the Central Asian country and 45
percent
said they should be withdrawn.
This item is available on the Middle East Forum website, at http://www.meforum.org/article/1059
Iran's Suicide Brigades
Terrorism Resurgent
by Ali Alfoneh
Middle East Quarterly
Winter 2007
More than five years after President George W. Bush's declaration of a global war against terrorism, the Iranian regime continues to embrace suicide terrorism as an important component of its military doctrine. In order to promote suicide bombing and other terrorism, the regime's theoreticians have utilized religion both to recruit suicide bombers and to justify their actions. But as some factions within the Islamic Republic support the development of these so-called martyrdom brigades, their structure and activities suggest their purpose is not only to serve as a strategic asset in either deterring or striking at the West, but also to derail domestic attempts to dilute the Islamic Republic's revolutionary legacy.
Such strategy is apparent in the work of the Doctrinal Analysis Center for Security without Borders (Markaz-e barresiha-ye doktrinyal-e amniyat bedun marz), an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps think tank.[1] Its director, Hassan Abbasi, has embraced the utility of suicide terrorism. On February 19, 2006, he keynoted a Khajeh-Nasir University seminar celebrating the anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's fatwa (religious edict) calling for the murder of British author Salman Rushdie. As Khomeini often did, Abbasi began his lecture with literary criticism. He analyzed a U.S. publication from 2004 that, according to Abbasi, "depicts the prophet of Islam as the prophet of blood and violence." Rhetorically, he asked, "Will the Western man be able to understand martyrdom with such prejudice? [Can he] interpret Islam as anything but terrorism?" The West sees suicide bombings as terrorism but, to Abbasi, they are a noble expression of Islam.
So what is terrorism if not suicide bombing? To Abbasi, terrorism includes any speech and expression he deems insulting to Islam. According to press coverage of his lecture, Abbasi noted that "[German chancellor] Merkel and [U.S. president] Bush's support of the Danish newspaper, which insults Islam's prophet, has damaged their reputation in the Islamic world and has raised the question of whether Christianity, rather than Islam, is of terrorist nature."[2] From the Iranian leadership's perspective, therefore, Jyllands-Posten's cartoons are evidence of Christian terrorism.
By Abbasi's definition, Iran may not sponsor terrorism, but it does not hesitate to promote suicide attacks. He announced that approximately 40,000 Iranian estesh-hadiyun (martyrdom-seekers) were ready to carry out suicide operations against "twenty-nine identified Western targets" should the U.S. military strike Iranian nuclear installations.[3]
Such threats are not new. According to an interview with Iran's Fars News Agency released on Abbasi's weblog, he has propagated haras-e moghaddas (sacred terror) at least since 2004. "The front of unbelief," Abbasi wrote, "is the front of the enemies of God and Muslims. Any deed which might instigate terror and horror among them is sacred and honorable."[4] On June 5, 2004, he spoke of how suicide operations could overcome superior military force: "In ‘deo-centric' thought, there is no need for military parity to face the enemy … Deo-centric man prepares himself for martyrdom while humanist man struggles to kill."[5]
Abbasi's rise to prominence in the state-controlled Iranian media coincides with the growth of a number of organizations that have constrained those prone to moderation within the Islamic Republic. Take, for example, the Headquarters Commemorating the Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement (Setad-e Pasdasht-e Shohada-ye Nehzat-e Eslami), an organization founded in 2004 as a protest against President Mohammad Khatami's attempts at improving Iran's relations with Egypt.[6]
The organization's prominence continued to grow throughout the year. On June 5, 2004, the reformist daily Shargh granted Mohammad-Ali Samadi, Headquarters' spokesman, a front page interview.[7] Samadi has a pedigree of hard-line revolutionary credentials. He is a member of the editorial boards of Shalamche and Bahar magazines, affiliated with the hard-line Ansar-e Hezbollah (Followers of the Party of God) vigilante group, as well as the newspaper Jomhouri-ye Eslami, considered the voice of the intelligence ministry.[8] Samadi said he had registered 2,000 volunteers for suicide operations at a seminar the previous day.[9] Copies of the registration forms (see Figure 1) show that the "martyrdom-seekers" could volunteer for suicide operations against three targets: operations against U.S. forces in the Shi‘ite holy cities in Iraq; against Israelis in Jerusalem; and against Rushdie. The registration forms also quote Khomeini's declaration that "[I]f the enemy assaults the lands of the Muslims and its frontiers, it is mandatory for all Muslims to defend it by all means possible [be it by] offering life or property,"[10] and current supreme leader Ali Khamene'i's remarks that "[m]artyrdom-seeking operations mark the highest point of the greatness of a nation and the peak of [its] epic. A man, a youth, a boy, and a girl who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the interests of the nation and their religion is the [symbol of the] greatest pride, courage, and bravery."[11] According to press reports, a number of senior regime officials have attended the Headquarters' seminars.[12]
FIGURE 1
Click to elarge
Suicide Units
The Iranian officials appeared true to their word. During a September 2004 speech in Bushehr, home of Iran's declared nuclear reactor, Samadi announced the formation of a "martyrdom-seeking" unit from Bushehr while Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the official daily Keyhan, called the United States military "our hostage in Iraq," and bragged that "martyrdom-operations constitute a tactical capability in the world of Islam."[13]
Then, on November 23, 2004, in response to the U.S. campaign against Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah,[14] Samadi announced the formation of the first suicide unit. Named after the chief bomb-maker of Hamas, Yahya Ayyash, also known as Al-Muhandis (The Engineer) assassinated on January 5, 1996, it consisted of three teams of unknown size: the Rim Saleh ar-Riyashi team, named after Hamas's first female suicide bomber; the Mustafa Mahmud Mazeh team, named after a 21-year-old Lebanese who met his death in a Paddington hotel room on August 3, 1989, priming a book bomb likely aimed at Salman Rushdie; and the Ahmad Qasir team, named after a 15-year-old Lebanese Hezbollah suicide bomber whose operation demolished an eight-story building housing Israeli forces in Tyre, southern Lebanon, on November 11, 1982.[15] Samadi said there would be an additional call for volunteers at Tehran's largest Iran-Iraq war cemetery, the Behesht-e Zahra, the following week,[16] and even promised to consider establishing special elementary schools to train for suicide operations.[17]
He kept his word. On December 2, 2004, the Headquarters gathered a crowd in the Martyr's Section of Behesht-e Zahra,[18] where those who conducted suicide operations are honored. According to the Iranian Mehr News Agency, the organization unveiled a memorial stone commemorating the "martyrs" killed in the 1983 Hezbollah attacks on the U.S. Marine and French peacekeepers' barracks in Beirut. They set the stone next to one commemorating Anwar Sadat's assassin. Samadi concluded the ceremony with a raging speech, declaring, "The operation against the Marines was a hard blow in the mouth of the Americans and demonstrated that despite their hollow prestige and imagined strength … they [have] many vulnerable points and weaknesses. We consider this operation a good model. The cemeteries in which their dead are buried provide an interesting view and cool the hearts of those Muslims who have been stepped upon under the boots of the Yankees while they were ignored by the international community."[19]
The suicide corps continued to expand even though there is no evidence that their patrons have made them operational. In April 2005, the semi-official daily Iran announced convocation of a unit of female suicide bombers nicknamed the Olive Daughters.[20] The Baztab news website, which is associated with Mohsen Rezai, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1981 to 1997 and since secretary of the Expediency Council, cited one Firouz Rajai-Far, who said, "The martyrdom-seeking Iranian women and girls … are ready to walk in the footsteps of the holy female Palestinian warriors, realizing the most terrifying nightmares of Zionists."[21] Rajai-Far, a former hostage taker at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holds the license for Do-Kouhe (Two Mountains, referring to one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Iran-Iraq war) magazine, which is affiliated with the vigilante organization Ansar-e Hezbollah.[22]
Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani bestowed theological legitimacy upon such suicide terror operations in a written message to the gathering.[23] Attendance at the rally indicates some endorsement and a support network for suicide operations. Attending the rally were Palestinian Hamas representative Abu Osama al-Muata; Muhammad Hasan Rahimian, the supreme leader's personal representative to the powerful Bonyad-e Shahid (The Martyr Foundation); Mehdi Kuchakzadeh, an Iranian parliamentarian; Mustafa Rahmandust, general secretary of the Association for Support to the People of Palestine; and model female fighter Marziyeh Hadideh Dabbagh.[24]
More vocal expressions of solidarity are limited, however. The Mehr News Agency reports only a single declaration of solidarity from the spokesman of the University Basij at the Tehran branch of Islamic Azad University, who compared contemporary suicide operations with the "revolutionary deeds" of Mirza-Reza Kermani, the assassin of Nasser al-Din Shah, a nineteenth-century king vilified by the Islamic Republic, and with Navvab Safavi, founder of the Fadayian-e Islam and famous for assassinating the liberal nationalist author and historian Ahmad Kasravi.[25] Still, that a group at the Islamic Azad University endorsed the organization is significant. Founded to broaden the reach of education after the Islamic Revolution, the university has several dozen satellite campuses across the country and today is the largest higher education system in Iran.
On May 13, 2005, officials declared the second suicide terror unit, the so-called "Martyr Shahada unit," consisting of 300 martyrdom-seekers, to be ready.[26] Some months later, there was a gathering of the "martyrdom-seekers" at Shahrud University. While the invited Hamas representative did not attend, they watched Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech from the "World without Zionism" conference on screen.[27] While the status of the third and fourth suicide brigades remains unclear, new suicide units continue to declare their readiness. In May 2006, a fifth "martyrdom-seeking" unit, named after Commander Nader Mahdavi, who died in a 1988 suicide mission against the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf, declared itself ready to defend Iran. The Headquarters even claims to have recruited "thirty-five foreign Jews" for suicide attacks.[28]
Lebanese Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers on July 12, 2006, provided another press opportunity for Iranian suicide brigades. On July 17, 2006, Arya News Agency reported an expedition of two "martyrdom-units," one consisting of eighteen and the second consisting of nine "martyrdom-seekers," to Lebanon.[29] At demonstrations in Tehran and Tabriz ten days later, sixty Iranian volunteers declared their readiness for holy war.[30] There was also a rally in Rasht, capital of the Caspian province of Gilan, on July 29.[31] But despite the bravado, Iranian police stopped a caravan of self-described "martyrdom-seekers" at the Turkish border. A leftist weblog quoted the governor of the West Azerbaijan province in which the border crossings with Turkey lie as saying he received a telephone call from Ahmadinejad asking him to stop the suicide units.[32]
Training and Command
While the Iranian government seeks propaganda value out of announcements of new suicide units, it remains in doubt just how committed recruits are. When an Iranian youth magazine interviewed Rajai-Far, an organizer of the Olive Daughters, she remained elusive about how serious her recruits were about suicide.[33]
Despite its rhetoric and the occasional rally, there is little evidence that the Iranian government has established camps to train suicide terrorists. While the Revolutionary Guards operate a network of bases inside Iran, there is little coverage—at least in open source newspapers and Iranian media—of actual training of those recruited by the Headquarters. There have been two mentions of a military exercise for the suicide brigades around the Karaj Dam. Muhammad-Reza Ja'afari, commander of the Gharar-gah-e Asheghan-e Shahadat (Congregation of the Lovers of Martyrdom) training camp, referred to one exercise as the "Labeik Ya Khamene'i" (We are responding to your call, Khamene'i).[34] With the exception of the representation of Hamas in the early development of the Iranian "martyrdom-seekers," there is little proof of organizational links to external terrorist organizations.
Nor does the training of any unit mean that the Iranian government is prepared to deploy such forces. In June 2004, Samadi explained that the "activities of the Headquarters will remain theoretical as long as there is no official authorization, and martyrdom-seeking operations will not commence unless the leader [Khamene'i] orders them to do so."[35]
But command and control remain vague. Hussein Allah Karam, a well-known figure from Ansar-e Hezbollah without formal ties to the "martyrdom-seekers," stresses that Khamene'i need not grant permission for any exercises since the trainees are not armed. Evading the question of what need there is to create "martyrdom-seeking" units parallel with the Basij, Karam responded, "Martyrdom-seeking groups are nongovernmental organizations," [36] not part of Iranian officialdom.
The Basij, a paramilitary militia of irregulars loosely charged with defending the revolution, has not been happy with the competition. Basij Commander Mohammad Hejazi condemned the Headquarters' declaration that it sought to dispatch suicide units to Lebanon. "Such actions have absolutely no link to [Iran's] official apparatus and only serve propaganda aims," he declared. In an indirect critique of the suicide units' leadership, he added: "Some seemingly independent groups are trying to attract … the youth with no coordination with official institutions and without the approval of the command structure for propaganda purposes. Their goals might be noble, but their means are not correct."[37] Government spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham underlined this argument.[38]
The nongovernmental status of the Headquarters and the "martyrdom-seekers" was reinforced in comments of an anonymous Revolutionary Guards commander to Shargh. He explained, "Since the Headquarters … is a nongovernmental organization, the organization does not look for orders from the military in case they should take action. Their operations are to be compared with the martyrdom-operations of the Palestinians which are not related to the government of Iran." [39] The foreign ministry, which under Khatami was more reformist than the hard-line Revolutionary Guards, referred to the Headquarters members as "irresponsible elements" who did "not reflect the line of government,"[40] and, on August 3, 2006, Iranian parliamentarian Mehdi Kuchekzadeh called the Headquarters an NGO during a rally at Behesht-e Zahra.[41]
Baztab reacted angrily to the publication of advertisements for "martyrdom operations" in Partov, the hard-line monthly of the Imam Khomeini Research Institute in Qom, accusing the publication, the Headquarters, and the director of the institute, Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi—perhaps the most radical of the Islamic Republic's religious theoreticians—of enabling outsiders more easily to label Iran as a terror sponsor.[42] Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi expressed similar sentiments. "Martyrdom-operations against the interests of other states must remain secret … The public exposure of such gatherings is the very proof that they are not going to do anything," he wrote. Abtahi accuses Yazdi of harming the national interests of Iran, and more seriously, of attempting to create parallel institutions in the Islamic Republic in order to eliminate internal opposition to his political interests.[43] Such attacks called member of the parliament Shokrollah Attarzadeh to the defense of Mesbah Yazdi. Attarzadeh said that volunteers without connection to the ayatollah organized the "martyrdom operations," which he claimed, at any rate, to be purely defensive.[44]
An Instrument for Power Struggles
Baztab's hostility toward Mesbah Yazdi is significant. The Islamic Republic of Iran has long sanctioned widespread use of terror and vigilante justice to keep its citizens in line. Perhaps the most prominent example was the 1997-99 serial killings in which the Iranian secret services systematically liquidated Iranian intellectuals with the aim of intimidating dissidents. This case has been subject to extensive debate, causing a considerable uproar among the Iranian public. The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and National Security claims that the murders were committed by rogue cells in the ministry. However, Iran's most famous journalist and political dissident, Akbar Ganji, accuses the former minister of intelligence, Ali Fallahian, and Khamene'i of responsibility for the killings.[45]
During the 2005 presidential campaign, the reformist daily Rooz warned of the formation of a new Forghan,[46] a radical Islamist group from the early days of the Islamic Revolution.[47] Ali Yunesi, minister of intelligence, and Abtahi both seconded such concerns.[48] Baqir Nobakht, spokesman for ‘Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's election campaign, criticized Yazdi by suggesting that he sought to use the "army of martyrdom-seekers" for operations against his political enemies inside Iran.[49]
For more than a century, hard-line officials have turned to vigilante groups during periods of political upheaval.[50] Their political influence is noticeable.[51] The 1979 Islamic revolution only strengthened such tendencies, and there is no doubt that the patrons of the "martyrdom-seekers" have used the Headquarters as a tool to maintain revolutionary values against those that might ameliorate them.
Here, the crisis regarding the change in Iran's policy towards Egypt is instructive. From almost the start of the Islamic Republic, there has been considerable tension between Tehran and Cairo. Ayatollah Khomeini objected to Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's recognition of and peace treaty with Israel. After Sadat's assassination, Iranian authorities named a street after his assassin, Khaled Islambouli. For years after, this action has been an irritant in Egyptian-Iranian relations.[52] But in January 2004, toward the end of Muhammad Khatami's presidency, the Mehr News Agency reported that the Iranian government had asked Tehran's city council to change the street name.[53] The city council acquiesced, renaming it "Intifada Street." Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi attributed the decision to improving Egyptian-Iranian relations.[54]
The Headquarters protested, sending a letter to then-mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[55] Ahmadinejad defended the decision in the name of promoting unity among Muslim countries "in order to face the global Zionist front."[56] The Headquarters responded with a press release,[57] and a demonstration against the decision.[58] Mehdi Chamran, the Tehran city council chairman and brother of the late commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Mostafa Chamran, said that the foreign ministry had imposed the decision but that he preferred to honor Islambouli.[59] In an Iranian-style compromise, the street was finally called Mohammad al-Durrah Street after a 12-year old boy who was caught in crossfire and killed in the opening days of the second intifada.[60] But the Headquarters was successful in scuttling rapprochement with the largest Arab state to make peace with Israel. On January 28, 2004, the London-based Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat announced that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak would not visit Iran due to the presence of a picture of Khaled Islambouli on public display in Tehran.[61]
Those associated with the Headquarters appear willing to use irregular forces against enemies not only foreign but also domestic. Groups connected to Mesbah Yazdi roughed up Rafsanjani on June 5, 2006, in Qom.[62] In the past, vigilantes directed such attacks against reformers or free thinkers, but now the first generation of the Iranian revolutionaries such as Rafsanjani receive the same treatment.
And as in the past, the violence is connected to the same groupings in Iranian politics: the Keyhan editor Shariatmadari, now close to the Headquarters, as the intellectual proponent of violence against liberal elements,[63] and Hussein Allah Karam of Ansar-e Hezbollah, now also linked to the "martyrdom-seekers"[64] and, more directly, with Ansar-e Hezbollah itself, which publishes advertisements for the Headquarters and interviews with their spokesmen.[65]
Conclusions
Since 9-11, the increased focus on international terror has amplified fear of terrorism. By forming suicide terrorists units, Tehran can, at a minimum, exploit such fear. Already, Western policymakers warn that any strike against Iran could spark a resurgence of Iranian-backed terror. That the Islamic Republic has already formed suicide bomber brigades underscores that point. But the fact that the Iranian leadership must embrace such nonconventional deterrents may suggest that Tehran recognizes that the Iranian military is weaker than Iranian figures admit.
However, the suicide units may serve a dual function. They are, in effect, the most radical factions' guns-for-hire, unquestioning loyalists who are willing to die to preserve revolutionary values. As such, Iranian hard-liners can use them to saber-rattle as well as to keep reformers and liberals at bay. This may pose the more immediate threat since the willingness of Iranian hard-liners to use violence against their internal political opponents, could pose an almost insurmountable impediment to those who might seek to liberalize the Islamic Republic from within.
Ali Alfoneh is a Ph.D. fellow in the department of political science, University of Copenhagen, and a research fellow at the Royal Danish Defense College. He thanks Henrik Joergensen and Thomas Emil Jensen, both from the Institute for Strategy at the Royal Danish Defense College, for their input.
[1] Doctrinal Analysis Center for Security without Borders website, accessed Aug. 8, 2006.
[2] Shargh (Tehran), Feb. 20, 2006.
[3] Shargh, Feb. 20, 2006.
[4] Hassan Abbasi weblog, June 5, 2004, accessed Aug. 6, 2006.
[5] Abbasi weblog, June 5, 2004.
[6] Mehr News Agency (Tehran), Jan. 5, 2004.
[7] Shargh, June 5, 2004.
[8] Shargh, June 5, 2004.
[9] Shargh, June 5, 2004.
[10] Ruhollah Khomeini, Tawzih al-Masa'il, 9th ed. (Tehran: Entesharat-e Iran, 1999), pp. 454-5.
[11] Ali Khamene'i, May 1, 2002 speech.
[12] Mehr, Oct. 16, 2004.
[13] Iran (Tehran), Sept. 11, 2004.
[14] Iran, Nov. 20, 2004.
[15] Mehr, Nov. 29, 2004.
[16] Mehr, Nov. 23, 2004.
[17] Iran, Sept. 11, 2004.
[18] For a pictorial report, see Mehr, Dec. 2, 2004.
[19] Mehr, Dec. 3, 2004.
[20] Iran, Apr. 19, 2005.
[21] Baztab (Tehran), Apr. 21, 2005.
[22] Shargh, June 5, 2004.
[23] Baztab, Apr. 21, 2005.
[24] Baztab, Apr. 21, 2005; Shargh, Apr. 23, 2005.
[25] Mehr, Dec. 5, 2004.
[26] Mehr, May 13, 2005.
[27] Rooz (Tehran), Nov. 18, 2005.
[28] Shargh, May 27, 2006.
[29] Arya News Agency, July 17, 2006.
[30] CNN, July 27, 2006.
[31] Shargh, July 30, 2006.
[32] Peik Net (Tehran), Aug. 3, 2006.
[33] Javan (Tehran), July 9, 2005.
[34] Javan, Aug. 16, 2005.
[35] Shargh, June 5, 2004.
[36] Iran, Sept. 5, 2005.
[37] Shargh, July 22, 2006.
[38] Jahan-e Eghtesad (Tehran), July 25, 2006.
[39] Shargh, June 5, 2004.
[40] Shargh, Aug. 17, 2004.
[41] E'temad (Tehran), Aug. 3, 2006.
[42] Baztab, July 24, 2005.
[43] See Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Webnevesht website, July 27, 2005.
[44] Shargh, July 31, 2005.
[45] Akbar Ganji, Tarik-khaneh-ye ashbah. Asibshenasi-ye gozar be dowlat-e democratic-e tosé-gara (Tehran: Tarh-e No, 1999), pp. 408-10; idem, Alijenab-e sorkhpoush va alijenaban-e khakestari: Asibshenasi-ye gozar be dowlat-e demokratik-e tose'e-gara (Tehran: Tarh-e No, 2000), pp. 210-8.
[46] Rooz, June 21, 2005.
[47] For more information, see Rasoul Ja'farian, ed., Jaryan-ha va sazeman-ha-ye mazhabi-siyasi. Sal-ha-ye 1320-1357 (Tehran: Markaz-e Asnad-e Enghelab-e Eslami, 2004), pp. 568-82; Michael Rubin, Into the Shadows. Radical Vigilantes in Khatami's Iran (Washington, D.C.: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2001), pp. 21-2.
[48] Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), July 16, 2005 ; Abtahi, Webnevesht, July 27, 2005.
[49] Iran, June 22, 2005.
[50] Richard Cottam, Nationalism in Iran (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1964), pp. 37-8; Marvin Zonis, The Political Elite of Iran (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971), p. 348.
[51] Rubin, Into the Shadows, p. xviii.
[52] Shahrough Akhavi, "Egypt: Political and Religious Relations in the Modern Period," Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, accessed Aug. 23, 2006; William Millward, "Egypt and Iran: Regional Rivals at Diplomatic Odds," Commentary, May 1992; Neshat Daily (Tehran), June 6, 1999, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 8, 1999; Al-Hayat (London), June 7, 1999, in BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 9, 1999.
[53] Mehr, Jan. 5, 2004.
[54] Mehr, Jan. 6, 2004.
[55] Mehr, Jan. 7, 2004.
[56] Mehr, Jan. 7, 2004.
[57] Mehr, Jan. 9, 2004.
[58] Mehr, Jan. 9, 2004.
[59] Mehr, Jan. 9, 2004.
[60] BBC News, Jan. 5, 2004.
[61] Mehr, Jan. 28, 2004.
[62] For a pictorial account of the attack against Rafsanjani, see ISNA, June 5, 2006.
[63] Iran, Sept. 11, 2004.
[64] Iran, Sept. 5, 2005.
[65] Firouz Rajai-Far, interview, Ya Lesarat al-Hossein (Ansar-e Hezbollah, Tehran), May 10 and 17, 2006; see advertisements for "martyrdom operations," Ya Lesarat al-Hossein, Apr. 12, 2006.
This item is available on the Middle East Forum website, at http://www.meforum.org/article/1059
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/03/travel_tsa.html
TSA Dragnet Aims to Block Potential Threats March 29, 2007
Like Eliot Ness and the Untouchables, squads of special security agents
are
fanning out across the country in an effort to stop potential security
threats posed by airport and airline employees.
The Transportation Security Administration's dragnet follows the arrest
in
San Juan of a Florida-based worker who allegedly smuggled drugs and
guns
onto a Comair flight.
More than 800,000 airline and airport employees have had unrestricted
access
to planes -- even though the nationwide alert system for aviation has
been
stuck on orange, or high, since British authorities broke up a plot
last
August to bomb planes bound for the U.S.
Because of recent problems in the region, the TSA targeted Florida and
Puerto Rico airports first, sending out 160 special officers to screen
the
screeners, as well as others with previously-free access. The list
includes
mechanics, baggage handlers, and fuel workers, among others.
Although all airport and airline employees must submit to TSA
background
checks, random screening of such workers started only last year -- five
years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Such employees need electronic photo ID cards to enter secured areas
but
have not been required to submit to regular screening. That void is
about to
close.
In fact, Congress will soon consider a bill that requires the TSA to
conduct
a six-month test of total screening for employees at five selected
airports.
Passage is probable, since the absence of screening for workers is a
bipartisan issue with strong Congressional support.
Under the TSA's latest action, squads of security officers -- including
air
marshals, screeners, and special inspectors -- will hone in on
particular
airports and spend days examining security procedures, screening
workers,
and even examining passenger cabins of parked planes.
Their presence is expected to have a deterrent effect on potential
problems.
Critics of the new plan contend that checking employees as well as
passengers will clog screening lines and create massive delays. But the
TSA
insists that screening of airline and airport workers will be conducted
separately and apart from the passenger security areas.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/30/Worldandnation/Russian_spies_back_in.shtml
Russian spies back in business, expert says Published March 30, 2007
WASHINGTON - Russia has fully restored its espionage capabilities
against
the United States after a period of decline following the Cold War, a
senior
U.S. counterintelligence official said Thursday.
Joel Brenner, the head of the Office of the National
Counterintelligence
Executive, said the United States is concerned that Russia is
continuing to
ramp up its operations.
"The Russians are now back at Cold War levels in their efforts against
the
United States," he said at an event held by the American Bar
Association.
"They are sending over an increasing and troubling number of
intelligence
agents."
The comments come at a time of greater tension between the two
countries, as
Russian officials have expressed frustration at what they see as U.S.
foreign policy unrestrained by consultation with other world powers,
including Russia.
However, both sides deny that the tension means a return to the Cold
War.
"The Russians have been reeling from being one of the world's great
superpowers to being something very different, and trying to build
themselves up and show that they are going to have to be dealt with as
a
major power is part of their agenda," Brenner said.
Russia Eyes $7 Billion In Arms Sales To Algeria: Report
Russia Eyes $7 Billion In Arms Sales To Algeria: Report Mar 30, 2007
Russia is in talks with Algeria on the sale of ships and fighter jets
worth
$7 billion, the Kommersant daily said March 29.
Algeria invited Russia in March to take part in a tender to supply
ships for
its navy, Kommersant said, citing the Russian federal agency for
military-technical cooperation.
Contacted by AFP, the agency declined to comment on the report.
Kommersant said negotiations between Russian and Algerian officials
were
also underway for the sale of Sukhoi Su-32 and MiG-29 bomber jets,
Pantsir
air defense systems and T-90 tanks.
These deals would come on top of the $8 billion in arms contracts,
including
for 28 fighter jets, already signed in 2006 for the sale of Russian
military
equipment to Algeria.
If the deals are confirmed, Algeria would replace India as the biggest
purchaser of Russian arms. Russia has arms contracts with India
amounting to
$10 billion between now and 2010, Kommersant said.
Tory MP urges Muslims to fly Union Flag at mosques
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=2188141&SectionID
=55
Tory MP urges Muslims to fly Union Flag at mosques
A YORKSHIRE MP has called on Muslims in Britain to fly the Union Jack
from
mosques as a show of national unity.
Shipley's Conservative MP Philip Davies is urging Muslims in the UK to
follow the example of those in Australia flying their country's flag
above
mosques.
He submitted an early day motion which says that it would "show
everyone
that those in the Muslim community are very keen to integrate and
positively
contribute to good community relationships in the UK."
However leading Muslim figures in Yorkshire accused Mr Davies of
singling
out their community, described his comments as offensive and likely to
do
more harm than good.
Mr Davies said: "This is not my idea. I was congratulating the idea of
Muslims in Australia and calling on Muslims here to follow the
example."
He added: "There are some people who feel that part of the Muslim
community
does not feel predominantly British. There are people in my
constituency who
think some Muslims do not feel they are British. This is an issue -
when we
talk about community cohesion we are predominantly talking about
Muslims."
The early day motion, which has also been signed by Conservative MP for
Castle Point in Essex, Bob Spink, calls "on the Muslim community in
Britain
to promote the flying of the Union Flag in the grounds of mosques in
the UK;
believes that this action would demonstrate the Muslim community's
commitment to the UK; and further believes that it would be a very
effective
way of countering any negative publicity and that such a move would
publicly
show everyone that those in the Muslim community are very keen to
integrate
and positively contribute to good community relations in the UK."
But Rashid Awan, president of the Pakistani Society of West Yorkshire
said: "To identify Muslims as needing to do this will aggravate the
situation.
"We are trying to win the hearts and minds of people who are
unfortunately
involved in subversive activities but this will not help.
I believe in one nation and that we should all tackle issues together."
Shahid Malik, the Muslim Labour MP for Dewsbury said: "What this
country
need is not more flags flying above mosques but less irresponsible
politicians."
Bary Malik, a Bradford magistrate and chairman of the Ahmadiya Muslim
Association, said temples, churches and mosques were places of worship
and
he did not think people should be asked to fly a national flag above a
place
of worship. "They belong to everyone, they are houses of God."
Turkey needs more foreign capital
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=106921
Sabancý: Turkey needs more foreign capital Güler Sabancý, chairwoman of
Sabancý Holding's executive board, has said that Turkey is in need of
more
foreign investors like Sama Dubai, reported the Anatolia news agency.
Sabancý was attending the Ninth International Sabancý Theater Festival,
an
event organized with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism,
the Hacý Ömer Sabancý Association and the Directorate of State Theaters
on
Thursday.
She said the purchase by Sama Dubai of a piece of a 46,241-square-meter
piece of property in Levent owned by the Ýstanbul Transportation
Authority
(ÝETT) for YTL 1.156 billion ($705 million) was a significant
development
for the Turkish economy.
Sabancý noted that the purchase by Sama Dubai, which is owned by Sheikh
Makhtum of the ruling family of Dubai, would take its place in the
history
of the Turkish economy as an important milestone, and that the bid
offered
for the land was very striking. She recalled that Arab capital entered
the
Turkish market through the tender of Türk Telekom and emphasized that
similar investments would continue in the following years and that
Turkey
was an attractive country in all aspects.
The chairwoman of the Sabancý conglomerate further emphasized that it
was a
must to welcome all sorts of capital, regardless of their national
origin,
and added: "We should not discriminate against foreign capital.
Capital has no nationality. All capital will benefit Turkey, which
needs to
grow. In this regard, the flow of foreign capital into Turkey will
greatly
contribute to the Turkish economy. Turkey needs foreign capital like
Sama
Dubai. There should be more employment in Turkey, which has a young
population. It is impossible to achieve this by relying solely on our
own
resources. No country in the world can realize growth and create new
job
opportunities with their own resources. 'Gulf capital' has entered
Turkey
through Türk Telekom. Now, it is making itself heard in the real
property
sector. Foreign capital will create new advantages for Turkey in
whatever
field it may be."
She also said that Gulf capital was an important resource and that
recent
developments in the Turkish economy had played a significant role in
attracting it to the country. "What matters is that Turkey should be
continuing on its path of stability and our ability to attract such
capital
to Turkey," she stressed.
Sabanci said in the meantime that the presidential and general
elections
would not have any negative effects on Turkey and that the economy was
now
based on more sound foundations than in the past.
Everyone should take "tolerant steps" without yielding to artificial
tensions, Sabanci said, and added: "The economic world is not expecting
a
surprise in the elections. Turkish democracy as well as the economy
will go
through this process without any incidents. I have no hesitation in
saying
this."
30.03.2007
Today's Zaman Ýstanbul
Al Qaeda, Penny-Pinchers?
March 29, 2007 3:04 PM
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/03/al_qaeda_pennyp.html
John Hendren Reports:
New details on al Qaeda's operations reveal the terrorist group to be
an
apparently budget-conscious organization that closely tracks payments
and
members.
The details -- including information about al Qaeda's accounting
practices,
cash allowances and even an organization phone directory -- emerged
today
from a transcript of a hearing for Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi, the
Guantanamo
prisoner alleged to be a financial facilitator of the 9/11 attacks.
continued............
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/4962
Muslim appointed to UK cathedral
29 Mar 2007
A Muslim woman is to join the staff of a major cathedral, in an
appointment
believed to be the first of its kind.
Anjum Anwar, currently Education Officer of the Lancashire Council of
Mosques, will work with Canon Chris Chivers, showing how dialogue
between
faiths, cultures and communities across Lancashire, and beyond, can be
developed in practice.
Ms Anwar, who has been honoured for community service in Lancashire,
has
been appointed to a post at Blackburn Cathedral as its Dialogue
Development
Officer.
Her post will be funded by the North West Development Agency (NWDA) for
an
initial two years.
She was awarded the MBE in 2005 for her services to the community in
Lancashire.
The appointment was today (Thursday) commended by the Archbishop of
Canterbury's national adviser on inter-faith relations, Canon Guy
Wilkinson.
"By this appointment, Blackburn Cathedral, supported by the NWDA, is
demonstrating what it is to be present at the heart of the community,
and to
engage in positive and constructive ways," he said. "I am very glad to
commend this initiative warmly."
Anjum Anwar said: "It's very brave for the Cathedral to take this
unique
step, and I am very honoured by it. It's a success story for the
Cathedral
and for the Lancashire Council of Mosques. It shows that working
together
has real benefits for both communities, and for wider communities as
well."
The Dean of Blackburn, the Very Rev Christopher Armstrong said: "Anjum
Anwar
and Chris Chivers have worked hard over the past two years to make the
Cathedral a place humming with dialogue.
"They have enabled all sorts of people, of all faiths and none, to have
difficult conversations that needed to happen. The two of them have a
regional, national and indeed international profile, through their
dialogues, broadcasting and writing.
"With the generosity and foresight of NWDA we shall be able to embed
this
public conversation more deeply in schools, colleges, churches,
mosques,
workplaces and other areas in the public sphere. This appointment shows
major institutions in Lancashire coming together to blaze an innovative
trail for cohesive living in our county and beyond."
Welcoming the development, Abdul Hamid Quershi, Chairman of the
Lancashire
Council of Mosques, said: "This is very happy news for us in the Muslim
community. It indicates the level of trust already developed between
communities, and can help to take things to a new level."
Mgr John Devine, the Churches Officer for the North-west at NWDA, said:
"The NWDA recognises that faith communities are major custodians of the
cultural and architectural heritage of this region, and significant
partners
in delivering social cohesion.
"The imaginative work already undertaken by Canon Chivers and Anjum at
Blackburn Cathedral is genuinely groundbreaking. The move to employ
Anjum as
a member of the Cathedral team will ensure that this fine example of
interfaith collaboration and dialogue continues to inspire those
involved in
community regeneration throughout the North-west and beyond."
Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Councillor Kate
Hollern,
said: "This work to increase dialogue between faiths, cultures and
communities is excellent and complements the 100 Voices community
debates
that have given local people the opportunity to discuss their concerns
and
give their views about cohesion in an open, honest and constructive
way."
"We found that local people from different communities have the shared
values of wanting to promote strong families and good, safe, clean
neighbourhoods."
EGYPT: ABDUCTED IMAM DENIED VISA TO ITALY, LAWYER SAYS
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.399538477&par=0
EGYPT: ABDUCTED IMAM DENIED VISA TO ITALY, LAWYER SAYS
Cairo, 28 March (AKI) - An Egyptian imam allegedly abducted by CIA
agents
from Italy in 2003, has been refused an entry visa by Italian
authorities,
independent Egyptian daily al-Masri al-Yom reports, quoting the man's
lawyer. Osama Mustafa Hassan Nasr, better known as Abu Omar, was denied
a
visa for Italy to appear before the judges probing his kidnapping, his
defence lawyer Montasser al Zayat said. The Italian consular officials
in
Cairo, contacted by Adnkronos International (AKI) did not confirm the
report. Abu Omar was released from custody in Egypt
- during which he claims he was tortured - in February.
He was allegedly abducted from a Milan in 2003 in a US practice known
as
'extraordinary rendition'. According to Italian investigators, Abu Omar
was
taken by the CIA to the joint US-Italian Aviano air base, flown to
Germany
and then to Egypt, where he was jailed.
"I want to return to Italy but authorities won't let me leave Egypt,"
the Muslim cleric said in his first public appearence after his
release.
Prosecutors in Milan have charged 33 Italian and US intelligence agents
accused of taking part in his abduction. The trial opens in Milan on 8
June.
Al-Masri al-Yom reported that the lawyer was travelling to Italy where
he
would give evidence on his client's behalf.
Hijacker arrested by Sudan snipers
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7033C5F7-3586-41D9-95F0-62B6BEB9FA3E.
htm
Hijacker arrested by Sudan snipers
A Sudanese hijacker, armed with a knife, has been arrested after he
hijacked
a Sudan Airways aircraft flying from Libya, forcing it to land at
Khartoum
airport, a civil aviation authority official said.
The hijacker forced the aeroplane, which was carrying 210 passengers,
to
land early on Friday and was later arrested by special forces.
Reuters reported Abdel Hafiz Abdel-Rahim, a civil aviation authority
official, as saying: "The hijacker burst into the pilot's cabin about
one
and a half hours from landing and told the captain he wanted to meet
the
British ambassador, then he asked to meet the American ambassador and
the
media."
"Snipers dressed as journalists then took him into custody," he said.
The aeroplane began its journey in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Abdel-Rahim said the hijacker identified himself as Haloub Saeed, but
authorities were trying to confirm this.
Check your Freeper mail.
Check your mail
Laughing and thinking, "it would have been simpler to use the key".
But it is nice that you were in such a hurry to read my mail.
LOL
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