Monday Winds of War Briefing
Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Monday's Winds of War briefings are given by Peace Like a River and Security Watchtower.
Top Topics
* Members of the terrorist organization Hamas captured 76 out of 132 parliamentary seats in the Palestinian elections, while the ruling Fatah party won only 43 seats. In response, thousands of Fatah members rioted in Gaza and the West Bank, Israeli authorities gathered for a security meeting and expressed serious concerns, while the United States is expected to review their foreign aid to the Palestinians.
* Gerard Baker writes in the UK Times Online that war with Iran "may be a necessity", something 57 percent of Americans are in agreement with according to an LA Times poll. On Friday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning Iran over its nuclear program, and recommended reporting the nation to the U.N. Security Council.
* Taliban insurgents have torched three schools in a restive southern province of Afghanistan, the latest attacks in the militants' campaign against the U.S.-backed government and its efforts to promote education. The three newly built schools, where 1,000 boys and girls studied, were gutted on Friday night in different parts of Nawa district in Helmand province, said provincial education chief Mohammad Qasim.
Other topics today include: Iran accuses US/UK of terrorism; Mashal to return to Gaza; Hamas wants sharia; Russian nuclear fuel proposal; Hamas ambush police; Israel-Iran exchange barbs; Saudi blogging revolution; Columbian passport ring; Columbians charged in Miami; Reorganization of customs & border protection; Moussaoui lawyers to claim mental illness; Terror trial in Trinidad; Drug trafficking tunnel found; Islamic radicals in Chicago; State of Union preview; US training Georgian soldiers; Russia arrests British "spies"; EU bolstering opposition in Belarus; Firefights in Chechnya; Transformation of Russian military; Taliban burn down schools; Tamil Tiger officer assassinated; Karzai discusses long term security in Afghanistan; Deadly fighting between Taliban and Afghan police; Terror plot foiled in Bangladesh; Gun fights in Kashmir; Japan-North Korea talks; Bombing in Bangkok; Shootout between MILF and Filipino government forces; U.S. counterinsurgency support in Asia; Carlos the Jackal appeals to court; British Muslim charged in 7/21 London attacks; Counterterrorism raids in Belgium; MI5 investigation into 7/7 London bombings; Bombing in Spain; Galloway and oil for food scandal; UN to deploy peacekeepers to Darfur in 2007; Somalian pirates launch threats; U.S. operations in Horn of Africa; UK to increase troops in Afghanistan; USS Forrest Sherman; WMD task force; and more.
Iran & the Middle East
* The chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, accused U.S. and British intelligence of provoking violence in southwestern Iran, and vowed to retaliate with missiles if Iran was attacked.
* In the wake of the Hamas victory in last weeks parliamentary elections, Khaled Mashal, the exiled supreme leader of Hamas and one of Israel's most wanted men has indicated he will return to Gaza from exile in Syria. Mashal declared that Hamas would not disarm and would "form an army like every country."
* According to a senior Hamas official, if the group forms the next Palestinian government they will institute Sharia, or Islamic Law over the Palestinians. This would include altering the education system to include a greater Islamic curriculum.
* Meeting with Saad Hariri, son of slain Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri, President Bush vowed to support justice for those responsible for the assassination, and to put an end to "Syrian intimidation" of Lebanon.
* IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is calling on the United States to provide Iran with nuclear reactors, saying that "eight or nine years would be sufficient for Iran to convince the international community that it was not interested in producing nuclear weapons." Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix is urging the west to offer Iran security guarantees.
* Iran has declared that the Russian nuclear fuel proposal would be considered, but in itself was not enough to meet Iran's "energy needs." President Bush came out and endorsed the Russian proposal if all the fuel was enriched in Russia and transported to Iran under international supervision. The Iranians are scheduled to meet with the EU-3 today.
* A recent report suggests that Israel's Mossad agency plotted to kill Osama bin Laden in 1996 while the al Qaeda leader was living in Khartoum, Sudan. Investigating the attempted assassination on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak while visiting Ethiopia in 1995, the Mossad traced the assassins back to Sudan, where al Qaeda was based at the time.
* Hamas gunmen ambushed a Palestinian police patrol in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, wounding two officers. The ambush came just hours after another shootout in Khan Younis that sent a police officer to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.
* Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi is dismissing claims being made by Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz linking Iran to the recent Islamic Jihad bombing in Tel Aviv. Mofaz has said that Israel had "decisive proof" that "Iran supplied the money and Jihad’s headquarters in Damascus directed the organisation’s operatives in Nablus."
* M. Simon writes that the revolution will not be televised, it will be blogged and points to an article in the Weekly Standard on the blogging revolution in Saudi Arabia. (also see Saudi Blogs)
* The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan is calling on the Jordanian government to start new relations with Hamas in the wake of their elections victory last week. Abdul Majid Thneibat said that Jordan must "look differently at Hamas since it is now in legitimate power and has its influence in Palestine."
America Domestic Security & the Americas
* Colombia has dismantled a false passport ring with links to al Qaeda and Hamas militants, the acting attorney general said Thursday after authorities led dozens of simultaneous raids across five cities in collaboration with U.S. officials.
* Ten people in Colombia have been charged in Miami with attempting to provide material support to a Colombian guerrilla group, including trying to smuggle its members into the United States, U.S. officials said on Friday. They said the indictment by a federal grand jury contained no allegations the defendants had connections to any other foreign terrorist organization, such as the Islamic militant groups Hamas or al Qaeda.
* In a long-awaited move, the Homeland Security Department's Customs and Border Protection bureau announced earlier this week that it is consolidating all marine and aviation assets into an organization known as CBP Air and Marine. The reorganization, which took effect on Tuesday, spells the final chapter in the contentious dismantling of the former Air and Marine Operations office.
* Lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui, the French al-Qaeda member who confessed his role in the September 11 attacks, plan to argue their client is mentally ill and the product of a troubled family in a bid to spare him the death penalty, according to court papers. Moussaoui, 37, is scheduled to be sentenced next month in a US federal court when a jury must decide if he should be executed or imprisoned for life without parole.
* In Trinidad, the leader of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, Imam Yasin Abu Bakr, will know on Monday whether he will be granted bail by a High Court judge pending his trial on charges of promoting a terrorist act and four other criminal charges related to his controversial Eid sermon.
* United States authorities said on Thursday they discovered the largest and most sophisticated tunnel ever detected under their border with Mexico, one that was used by drug trafficking gangs. "We're very concerned," said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. "When we find these tunnels, we see that as a vulnerability to our national security."
* The titusonenine blog links to a Joel Mowbray column at WSJ Online about Omar Najib. Mowbray writes: "Mr. Najib is not the only moderate Muslim fighting Islamic fundamentalists, but the ones he is up against at his suburban Chicago mosque are considered to be among the most radical in the nation."
* In his State of the Union address Tuesday, January 31, President Bush is expected to play up national security and the war on terrorism. It was unclear whether Bush would have any new proposal for dealing with nuclear crises with Tehran and Pyongyang.
Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia
* On Friday the United States began a new stage of training 600 soldiers from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, continuing counterterrorism cooperation and assistance.
* RFE/RL has an interview with Ira Straus, founder and U.S. coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO, on Uzbekistan's relationship with the west and Russia.
* Russia has arrested two spies working for British intelligence and named four British Embassy workers as intelligence officers supervising Russian agents. Reports also indicate one Russian arrested on charges of treason.
* The European Union is bolstering their support for the political opposition in Belarus ahead of scheduled elections on March 19th. The latest move includes a $ 2.45 million effort to fund independent media broadcasts to the former Soviet republic. The move is necessary due to the media monopoly enjoyed by President Alexander Lukashenka.
* Russian forces have detained three terrorists in central Chechnya, with two of them suspected of terrorist attacks on Russian forces, killing at least one soldier.
* According to reports, Azerbaijan is entertaining defense offers from both Washington and Moscow and recently hosted military officials from both countries. In addition, defense ministry officials have been attending military exhibitions in Arab countries, increasing speculation they are looking to make defense purchases.
* Yury Baluyevsky, Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, wrote an article in Krasnaya Zvezda last week that discussed some of the transformation issues of the Russian military and the new challenges being posed within the former Soviet sphere of influence.
Afghanistan & Southern Asia
* Suspected Taliban militants set fire to a girls school Thursday night in Afghan eastern province of Laghman, a local police said. A secondary school was set fire early this month in the southern province of Helmand. Some gunmen entered the compound of a secondary school in Sha Peshti village and after beating the guards, they set the school on fire.
* Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday accused Sri Lanka's government of backing assailants who assassinated a rebel officer just hours after the two sides agreed to restart peace talks, but the military denied involvement in the ambush.
* Afghanistan will probably need foreign troops to ensure stability and security in the country for another five or ten years, President Hamid Karzai said. Speaking days before international partners expect to renew support for Afghanistan at a conference in London, Karzai told journalists at the World Economic Forum that the country was too fragile to envisage life without international security forces.
* Afghan police Friday said that seven neo-Taliban fighters were killed this week and five policemen wounded when the insurgents attacked a district police headquarters in southern Afghanistan. The announcement today said the most recent incident occurred on 25 January in a remote part of the southern Kandahar Province.
* Two policemen were killed and two wounded in Afghanistan when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb on Friday in a restive southern province where British troops will soon be based, police said. The attack happened on a main road in Helmand province. District police chief Haji Zaman blamed Taliban guerrillas.
* Afghan security forces in Kandahar province say they have arrested nine people, including two Pakistanis, suspected of plotting attacks. The governor of Kandahar, Assadullah Khalid, said would-be suicide bombers were among those detained.
* A terrorist plan to strike in the capital during Republic Day celebrations was foiled last week with the arrest of two Harkat-ul Jehad-e-Islami militants and recovery of huge amount of explosives and bombs from them, police said. Said-ul and Sohed-ul, both Bangladesh nationals, were arrested from Shastri Park area of East Delhi last evening where they had gone to deliver a consignment of explosives, Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh told reporters.
* Here are the daily updates from the South Asia Terrorism Portal for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
* Six Islamic rebels and two soldiers were killed in a clash in insurgency-hit Indian Kashmir when an army patrol foiled an infiltration bid by guerrillas, the army said on Saturday. The gunbattle erupted in Poonch district, 240 kilometres (150 miles) from Kashmir’s winter capital Jammu, army spokesman Colonel D.K. Badola told AFP.
* India was the source of tens of thousands of detonators seized by a Sri Lankan navy vessel that were to be delivered to Tamil rebel-held territory, an Indian captain said Friday. On Thursday, the Sri Lankan navy said it had seized a privately owned Indian vessel attempting to smuggle more than 60,000 detonators for anti-personnel mines, a weapon often used by the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Far East & Southeast Asia
* Japan and North Korea will hold talks in China on 4 February aimed at normalizing diplomatic ties. The discussions will focus on North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens, as well as their nuclear and missile programs.
* A bomb exploded in the courtyard of the Software Park building in Bangkok on Friday, wounding three people. The Thai government is investigating and refuses to comment on whether the bombing is related to the Muslim insurgency in the southern region of the country.
* Malaysian blogger Maobi explains how Malaysia's increasingly Islamist laws fit the AD 717 Pact of Omar, which remains the basis of discrimination and second class status for non-Muslim dhimmis in Islamist societies.
* Filipino government forces fought with militants from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), causing residents from five towns in Maguindanao to flee in panic. The fighting has come as federal troops tried to intervene in a dispute between split factions of MILF.
* Asian countries are calling on Hamas to renounce violence in the aftermath of their victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. Japan, Australia and New Zealand are all calling for the continuation of the road map for peace, for Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist and to renounce violence. Singapore has also called upon Hamas to "renounce the use of violence, set aside its old policies, and work with Israel to build lasting peace in the Middle East."
* Indonesia and Iran have agreed to cooperate in the war on terror and "also signed five economic agreements and 11 memoranda of understanding for cooperation on oil, gas, petrochemicals, trade, science and education." Indonesia also expressed support for Tehran's "legitimate rights" for the "peaceful use of nuclear technology."
* The United States has allocated about $265.7 million in assistance between 2001 to 2004 in order to equip and train security forces in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia in fighting against insurgent movements. While assisting in regional security, the vetting process has also come under the microscope.
Europe
* The jailed terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal" appealed Wednesday to the European Court of Human Rights, saying the eight years he was held in solitary confinement in a French jail violated a European human rights treaty. The Venezuelan, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, complained via his lawyer that the solitary confinement amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment, and that authorities did not follow correct procedure in authorizing it. He is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
* A 27-year-old London man was charged today with terrorism violations in connection with attempted bombings in the city on July 21, police said. Muhedin Ali, of Chesterton Road, west London, is facing two charges that he helped an alleged bomber, Hussain Osman, avoid arrest, London Metropolitan Police said in an e-mailed statement.
* A national campaign to inform the public about the government's drive against terrorism begins in the Netherlands on 27 February. Home Affairs Minister Johan Remkes told parliament on Thursday that every household will receive a leaflet and adverts will be run on television, radio and in newspapers. The purpose of the campaign is to explain what the government is doing, and what the public can do to help.
* Federal police raided 20 homes in the Brussels region at about 5am on Thursday in an anti-terrorism operation. Ordered by investigating judge Daniel Fransen, the raids were focused on activities around the Belgian Islamic Centre, based in Molenbeek. Raids were conducted at the Islamic centre itself.
* Norwegian Police Security Service, chief Jorn Holme has told participants at a terrorism seminar that Norway's greatest anti-terrorism challenge comes not from foreigners but its own citizens, particularly second-generation immigrants. Holme cautioned his audience that uncovering small, autonomous extremist Islamic groups is far more difficult than the public imagined and that "sooner or later" Norway, like the rest of Europe, must be prepared for a terrorist attack.
* It is probably only a matter of time before Europe falls victim to a terror attack with a "dirty bomb" combining conventional explosives and radioactive material, according to Germany's interior minister. In an interview with a newspaper released ahead of time, Wolfgang Schaeuble said the spread of "dirty" material and weapons of mass destruction rendered the threat of attacks by international terrorists "extremely serious". "The question is probably no longer whether there'll be an attack with a dirty bomb, the question is when and where it's going to happen," he told Germany's Welt am Sonntag paper, citing reports from intelligence services.
* A leaked secret document reveals that MI5 has discovered almost nothing about the worst terrorist attack against Britain despite months of investigation. After the biggest MI5 and police inquiry ever mounted, a secret report for Tony Blair and senior ministers into the July 7 London bombings states: "We know little about what three of the bombers did in Pakistan, when attack planning began, how and when the attackers were recruited, the extent of any external direction or assistance and the extent and role of any wider network."
* A Spanish policeman has been slightly injured when a bomb went off in Bilbao, in the Basque region of northern Spain, the region's interior ministry said. The ministry attributed the explosion, which went off around 2:00 am (0100 GMT) Sunday and caused considerable damage to an employment agency, to the Basque separatist group ETA.
* Fraud investigators are trying to determine whether George Galloway should face charges in connection with the Iraqi Oil-for-Food scandal. A four-strong team is said to have returned from the US having been given access to thousands of documents, including bank records, relating to the affair. Reports published in America have suggested that large payments, laundered through the Oil-for-Food programme, were made by Saddam Hussein to Mr Galloway’s wife and to his political campaign organisation. Mr Galloway, who was shut up in the Big Brother house yesterday and thus unable to comment on the involvement of the Fraud Office, has repeatedly denied accepting such payments.
Africa
* According to Jan Pronk, the top UN official for Sudan, plans are in place to deploy a UN peacekeeping force to the Darfur region by early 2007. In the past the diplomat has called for a force of 20,000 peacekeepers with a four year commitment in order to address the issues in Darfur.
* Darfur rebels said they attacked a Sudanese military base in West Darfur state on Saturday killing 78 soldiers, and accused Chadian insurgents of working alongside Sudan’s armed forces. Khalil Abdallah, political leader of the Darfur rebel National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD), said 17 soldiers were also taken prisoner in the attack on the town of Arm Yakui, some 30 km northwest of West Darfur’s main town el-Genein.
* A Somali pirate has demanded the release of "comrades" captured by the U.S. Navy last week, threatening to kill hostages in the future if the call was not heeded, according to media reports on Friday. Acting on a report of an attempted attack, U.S. Navy sailors pursued and caught a ship near Mogadishu with 10 Somali pirates on board and 16 Indians believed to be hostages. "The Americans should release the 10 men they are holding," said Garaad Mohamud Mohamed, who told Shabeelle radio he was speaking on behalf of the captured pirates. "If they don't we will kill any hostages we capture and attack any ships unlawfully plying our waters."
* Though far smaller, U.S. military engagement in the Horn of Africa is the most significant in Africa since 25,000 troops went to Somalia in 1992. The emphasis on Africa in the U.S. war on terrorism has grown in recent years. Last year, the American military launched a $500 million program to train the armies of nine West and North African countries in counterterrorism operations. A similar $100 million project began in East Africa in 2003.
The Global War
* British forces in Afghanistan will number 5,700 when soldiers are sent to the Taliban’s heartland in the south for the first time. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, announced yesterday that Britain would expand its military commitment in Afghanistan significantly by the summer, with a pledge to stay for three years.
* The destroyer Forrest Sherman was commissioned on Saturday at Naval Air Station Pensacola, and expects to play an important role in the war on terror.
* The Pentagon is focusing on preventing the transfer of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist organizations according to a report from the Washington Times, which says "the task force will employ special operations forces, other troops and intelligence personnel to prevent states such as North Korea and Iran from supplying nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to terror groups."
* One of the biggest hurdles in fighting terrorism is assessing the risk, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday, as Muslim leaders debated extremism, and weapons experts warned of terrorists building a nuclear bomb. Each day countries are faced with a myriad of risks - to railroads, public transport and chemical plants - but officials need to look at the consequences, the vulnerability and the nature of the threats to prevent attacks, Chertoff said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
* An informative report from the PINR looks at the challenges India has in reconciling its nuclear energy goals with the United States' desire to have India, at minimum, support referring Iran to the UN over Iran's violation of agreements with the IAEA. Last week US Ambassador to India David Mulford said Congressional approval of the July 2005 nuclear agreement with India would depend on what India does with Iran. Those remarks were subsequently softened.
* King Abdullah on Friday wrapped up the first visit by a Saudi Arabian monarch to India in half a century as the two countries agreed to actively cooperate to fight terrorism and develop a strategic partnership in energy sector. In an unprecedented gesture, the king himself signed along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the landmark "Delhi Declaration" which noted that terrorism is a scourge for the entire mankind and the two countries agreed to "closely and actively cooperate to fight the menace." They also agreed to cooperate in dealing with other transnational crimes like money laundering, drugs and arms smuggling in a "sustained and comprehensive manner" and this would include intelligence-sharing, the declaration stated.
* Security, counter-terrorism and press freedom topped the agenda in talks held with the British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kim Howells, who visited Sana’a last week. Howells, whose remit includes security, crime and drugs in the Middle East region, held several meetings with a number of high-ranking officials in Yemen during his three-day visit.
* Yemen wants to return MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters it purchased in 1994, to Moldova in return for the purchase price, declaring the deal an illegal one made by the ruling Yemeni Socialist Party at the time.
* Newsweek reports on direct talks between U.S. official and Iraqi insurgents.
* A Christian Science Monitor article looks at the question of whether the United States is prepared to fight another Iraq-style war.
* The United States is expanding a top-secret effort to kill suspected terrorists with drone-fired missiles as it pursues an increasingly decentralized Al Qaeda, U.S. officials say. The CIA's failed Jan. 13 attempt to assassinate Al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri in Pakistan was the latest strike in the "targeted killing" program, a highly classified initiative that officials say has broadened as the network splintered and fled Afghanistan.
Thanks for reading! If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know. For ongoing tips, email "MondayWindsOfWar", over here @windsofchange.net.
Top Topics
* Members of the terrorist organization Hamas captured 76 out of 132 parliamentary seats in the Palestinian elections, while the ruling Fatah party won only 43 seats. In response, thousands of Fatah members rioted in Gaza and the West Bank, Israeli authorities gathered for a security meeting and expressed serious concerns, while the United States is expected to review their foreign aid to the Palestinians.
* Gerard Baker writes in the UK Times Online that war with Iran "may be a necessity", something 57 percent of Americans are in agreement with according to an LA Times poll. On Friday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning Iran over its nuclear program, and recommended reporting the nation to the U.N. Security Council.
* Taliban insurgents have torched three schools in a restive southern province of Afghanistan, the latest attacks in the militants' campaign against the U.S.-backed government and its efforts to promote education. The three newly built schools, where 1,000 boys and girls studied, were gutted on Friday night in different parts of Nawa district in Helmand province, said provincial education chief Mohammad Qasim.
Other topics today include: Iran accuses US/UK of terrorism; Mashal to return to Gaza; Hamas wants sharia; Russian nuclear fuel proposal; Hamas ambush police; Israel-Iran exchange barbs; Saudi blogging revolution; Columbian passport ring; Columbians charged in Miami; Reorganization of customs & border protection; Moussaoui lawyers to claim mental illness; Terror trial in Trinidad; Drug trafficking tunnel found; Islamic radicals in Chicago; State of Union preview; US training Georgian soldiers; Russia arrests British "spies"; EU bolstering opposition in Belarus; Firefights in Chechnya; Transformation of Russian military; Taliban burn down schools; Tamil Tiger officer assassinated; Karzai discusses long term security in Afghanistan; Deadly fighting between Taliban and Afghan police; Terror plot foiled in Bangladesh; Gun fights in Kashmir; Japan-North Korea talks; Bombing in Bangkok; Shootout between MILF and Filipino government forces; U.S. counterinsurgency support in Asia; Carlos the Jackal appeals to court; British Muslim charged in 7/21 London attacks; Counterterrorism raids in Belgium; MI5 investigation into 7/7 London bombings; Bombing in Spain; Galloway and oil for food scandal; UN to deploy peacekeepers to Darfur in 2007; Somalian pirates launch threats; U.S. operations in Horn of Africa; UK to increase troops in Afghanistan; USS Forrest Sherman; WMD task force; and more.
Iran & the Middle East
* The chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, accused U.S. and British intelligence of provoking violence in southwestern Iran, and vowed to retaliate with missiles if Iran was attacked.
* In the wake of the Hamas victory in last weeks parliamentary elections, Khaled Mashal, the exiled supreme leader of Hamas and one of Israel's most wanted men has indicated he will return to Gaza from exile in Syria. Mashal declared that Hamas would not disarm and would "form an army like every country."
* According to a senior Hamas official, if the group forms the next Palestinian government they will institute Sharia, or Islamic Law over the Palestinians. This would include altering the education system to include a greater Islamic curriculum.
* Meeting with Saad Hariri, son of slain Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri, President Bush vowed to support justice for those responsible for the assassination, and to put an end to "Syrian intimidation" of Lebanon.
* IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is calling on the United States to provide Iran with nuclear reactors, saying that "eight or nine years would be sufficient for Iran to convince the international community that it was not interested in producing nuclear weapons." Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix is urging the west to offer Iran security guarantees.
* Iran has declared that the Russian nuclear fuel proposal would be considered, but in itself was not enough to meet Iran's "energy needs." President Bush came out and endorsed the Russian proposal if all the fuel was enriched in Russia and transported to Iran under international supervision. The Iranians are scheduled to meet with the EU-3 today.
* A recent report suggests that Israel's Mossad agency plotted to kill Osama bin Laden in 1996 while the al Qaeda leader was living in Khartoum, Sudan. Investigating the attempted assassination on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak while visiting Ethiopia in 1995, the Mossad traced the assassins back to Sudan, where al Qaeda was based at the time.
* Hamas gunmen ambushed a Palestinian police patrol in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, wounding two officers. The ambush came just hours after another shootout in Khan Younis that sent a police officer to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head.
* Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi is dismissing claims being made by Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz linking Iran to the recent Islamic Jihad bombing in Tel Aviv. Mofaz has said that Israel had "decisive proof" that "Iran supplied the money and Jihad’s headquarters in Damascus directed the organisation’s operatives in Nablus."
* M. Simon writes that the revolution will not be televised, it will be blogged and points to an article in the Weekly Standard on the blogging revolution in Saudi Arabia. (also see Saudi Blogs)
* The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan is calling on the Jordanian government to start new relations with Hamas in the wake of their elections victory last week. Abdul Majid Thneibat said that Jordan must "look differently at Hamas since it is now in legitimate power and has its influence in Palestine."
America Domestic Security & the Americas
* Colombia has dismantled a false passport ring with links to al Qaeda and Hamas militants, the acting attorney general said Thursday after authorities led dozens of simultaneous raids across five cities in collaboration with U.S. officials.
* Ten people in Colombia have been charged in Miami with attempting to provide material support to a Colombian guerrilla group, including trying to smuggle its members into the United States, U.S. officials said on Friday. They said the indictment by a federal grand jury contained no allegations the defendants had connections to any other foreign terrorist organization, such as the Islamic militant groups Hamas or al Qaeda.
* In a long-awaited move, the Homeland Security Department's Customs and Border Protection bureau announced earlier this week that it is consolidating all marine and aviation assets into an organization known as CBP Air and Marine. The reorganization, which took effect on Tuesday, spells the final chapter in the contentious dismantling of the former Air and Marine Operations office.
* Lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui, the French al-Qaeda member who confessed his role in the September 11 attacks, plan to argue their client is mentally ill and the product of a troubled family in a bid to spare him the death penalty, according to court papers. Moussaoui, 37, is scheduled to be sentenced next month in a US federal court when a jury must decide if he should be executed or imprisoned for life without parole.
* In Trinidad, the leader of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, Imam Yasin Abu Bakr, will know on Monday whether he will be granted bail by a High Court judge pending his trial on charges of promoting a terrorist act and four other criminal charges related to his controversial Eid sermon.
* United States authorities said on Thursday they discovered the largest and most sophisticated tunnel ever detected under their border with Mexico, one that was used by drug trafficking gangs. "We're very concerned," said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego. "When we find these tunnels, we see that as a vulnerability to our national security."
* The titusonenine blog links to a Joel Mowbray column at WSJ Online about Omar Najib. Mowbray writes: "Mr. Najib is not the only moderate Muslim fighting Islamic fundamentalists, but the ones he is up against at his suburban Chicago mosque are considered to be among the most radical in the nation."
* In his State of the Union address Tuesday, January 31, President Bush is expected to play up national security and the war on terrorism. It was unclear whether Bush would have any new proposal for dealing with nuclear crises with Tehran and Pyongyang.
Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia
* On Friday the United States began a new stage of training 600 soldiers from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, continuing counterterrorism cooperation and assistance.
* RFE/RL has an interview with Ira Straus, founder and U.S. coordinator of the Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia in NATO, on Uzbekistan's relationship with the west and Russia.
* Russia has arrested two spies working for British intelligence and named four British Embassy workers as intelligence officers supervising Russian agents. Reports also indicate one Russian arrested on charges of treason.
* The European Union is bolstering their support for the political opposition in Belarus ahead of scheduled elections on March 19th. The latest move includes a $ 2.45 million effort to fund independent media broadcasts to the former Soviet republic. The move is necessary due to the media monopoly enjoyed by President Alexander Lukashenka.
* Russian forces have detained three terrorists in central Chechnya, with two of them suspected of terrorist attacks on Russian forces, killing at least one soldier.
* According to reports, Azerbaijan is entertaining defense offers from both Washington and Moscow and recently hosted military officials from both countries. In addition, defense ministry officials have been attending military exhibitions in Arab countries, increasing speculation they are looking to make defense purchases.
* Yury Baluyevsky, Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, wrote an article in Krasnaya Zvezda last week that discussed some of the transformation issues of the Russian military and the new challenges being posed within the former Soviet sphere of influence.
Afghanistan & Southern Asia
* Suspected Taliban militants set fire to a girls school Thursday night in Afghan eastern province of Laghman, a local police said. A secondary school was set fire early this month in the southern province of Helmand. Some gunmen entered the compound of a secondary school in Sha Peshti village and after beating the guards, they set the school on fire.
* Tamil Tiger rebels on Friday accused Sri Lanka's government of backing assailants who assassinated a rebel officer just hours after the two sides agreed to restart peace talks, but the military denied involvement in the ambush.
* Afghanistan will probably need foreign troops to ensure stability and security in the country for another five or ten years, President Hamid Karzai said. Speaking days before international partners expect to renew support for Afghanistan at a conference in London, Karzai told journalists at the World Economic Forum that the country was too fragile to envisage life without international security forces.
* Afghan police Friday said that seven neo-Taliban fighters were killed this week and five policemen wounded when the insurgents attacked a district police headquarters in southern Afghanistan. The announcement today said the most recent incident occurred on 25 January in a remote part of the southern Kandahar Province.
* Two policemen were killed and two wounded in Afghanistan when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb on Friday in a restive southern province where British troops will soon be based, police said. The attack happened on a main road in Helmand province. District police chief Haji Zaman blamed Taliban guerrillas.
* Afghan security forces in Kandahar province say they have arrested nine people, including two Pakistanis, suspected of plotting attacks. The governor of Kandahar, Assadullah Khalid, said would-be suicide bombers were among those detained.
* A terrorist plan to strike in the capital during Republic Day celebrations was foiled last week with the arrest of two Harkat-ul Jehad-e-Islami militants and recovery of huge amount of explosives and bombs from them, police said. Said-ul and Sohed-ul, both Bangladesh nationals, were arrested from Shastri Park area of East Delhi last evening where they had gone to deliver a consignment of explosives, Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh told reporters.
* Here are the daily updates from the South Asia Terrorism Portal for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
* Six Islamic rebels and two soldiers were killed in a clash in insurgency-hit Indian Kashmir when an army patrol foiled an infiltration bid by guerrillas, the army said on Saturday. The gunbattle erupted in Poonch district, 240 kilometres (150 miles) from Kashmir’s winter capital Jammu, army spokesman Colonel D.K. Badola told AFP.
* India was the source of tens of thousands of detonators seized by a Sri Lankan navy vessel that were to be delivered to Tamil rebel-held territory, an Indian captain said Friday. On Thursday, the Sri Lankan navy said it had seized a privately owned Indian vessel attempting to smuggle more than 60,000 detonators for anti-personnel mines, a weapon often used by the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Far East & Southeast Asia
* Japan and North Korea will hold talks in China on 4 February aimed at normalizing diplomatic ties. The discussions will focus on North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens, as well as their nuclear and missile programs.
* A bomb exploded in the courtyard of the Software Park building in Bangkok on Friday, wounding three people. The Thai government is investigating and refuses to comment on whether the bombing is related to the Muslim insurgency in the southern region of the country.
* Malaysian blogger Maobi explains how Malaysia's increasingly Islamist laws fit the AD 717 Pact of Omar, which remains the basis of discrimination and second class status for non-Muslim dhimmis in Islamist societies.
* Filipino government forces fought with militants from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), causing residents from five towns in Maguindanao to flee in panic. The fighting has come as federal troops tried to intervene in a dispute between split factions of MILF.
* Asian countries are calling on Hamas to renounce violence in the aftermath of their victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. Japan, Australia and New Zealand are all calling for the continuation of the road map for peace, for Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist and to renounce violence. Singapore has also called upon Hamas to "renounce the use of violence, set aside its old policies, and work with Israel to build lasting peace in the Middle East."
* Indonesia and Iran have agreed to cooperate in the war on terror and "also signed five economic agreements and 11 memoranda of understanding for cooperation on oil, gas, petrochemicals, trade, science and education." Indonesia also expressed support for Tehran's "legitimate rights" for the "peaceful use of nuclear technology."
* The United States has allocated about $265.7 million in assistance between 2001 to 2004 in order to equip and train security forces in the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia in fighting against insurgent movements. While assisting in regional security, the vetting process has also come under the microscope.
Europe
* The jailed terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal" appealed Wednesday to the European Court of Human Rights, saying the eight years he was held in solitary confinement in a French jail violated a European human rights treaty. The Venezuelan, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, complained via his lawyer that the solitary confinement amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment, and that authorities did not follow correct procedure in authorizing it. He is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
* A 27-year-old London man was charged today with terrorism violations in connection with attempted bombings in the city on July 21, police said. Muhedin Ali, of Chesterton Road, west London, is facing two charges that he helped an alleged bomber, Hussain Osman, avoid arrest, London Metropolitan Police said in an e-mailed statement.
* A national campaign to inform the public about the government's drive against terrorism begins in the Netherlands on 27 February. Home Affairs Minister Johan Remkes told parliament on Thursday that every household will receive a leaflet and adverts will be run on television, radio and in newspapers. The purpose of the campaign is to explain what the government is doing, and what the public can do to help.
* Federal police raided 20 homes in the Brussels region at about 5am on Thursday in an anti-terrorism operation. Ordered by investigating judge Daniel Fransen, the raids were focused on activities around the Belgian Islamic Centre, based in Molenbeek. Raids were conducted at the Islamic centre itself.
* Norwegian Police Security Service, chief Jorn Holme has told participants at a terrorism seminar that Norway's greatest anti-terrorism challenge comes not from foreigners but its own citizens, particularly second-generation immigrants. Holme cautioned his audience that uncovering small, autonomous extremist Islamic groups is far more difficult than the public imagined and that "sooner or later" Norway, like the rest of Europe, must be prepared for a terrorist attack.
* It is probably only a matter of time before Europe falls victim to a terror attack with a "dirty bomb" combining conventional explosives and radioactive material, according to Germany's interior minister. In an interview with a newspaper released ahead of time, Wolfgang Schaeuble said the spread of "dirty" material and weapons of mass destruction rendered the threat of attacks by international terrorists "extremely serious". "The question is probably no longer whether there'll be an attack with a dirty bomb, the question is when and where it's going to happen," he told Germany's Welt am Sonntag paper, citing reports from intelligence services.
* A leaked secret document reveals that MI5 has discovered almost nothing about the worst terrorist attack against Britain despite months of investigation. After the biggest MI5 and police inquiry ever mounted, a secret report for Tony Blair and senior ministers into the July 7 London bombings states: "We know little about what three of the bombers did in Pakistan, when attack planning began, how and when the attackers were recruited, the extent of any external direction or assistance and the extent and role of any wider network."
* A Spanish policeman has been slightly injured when a bomb went off in Bilbao, in the Basque region of northern Spain, the region's interior ministry said. The ministry attributed the explosion, which went off around 2:00 am (0100 GMT) Sunday and caused considerable damage to an employment agency, to the Basque separatist group ETA.
* Fraud investigators are trying to determine whether George Galloway should face charges in connection with the Iraqi Oil-for-Food scandal. A four-strong team is said to have returned from the US having been given access to thousands of documents, including bank records, relating to the affair. Reports published in America have suggested that large payments, laundered through the Oil-for-Food programme, were made by Saddam Hussein to Mr Galloway’s wife and to his political campaign organisation. Mr Galloway, who was shut up in the Big Brother house yesterday and thus unable to comment on the involvement of the Fraud Office, has repeatedly denied accepting such payments.
Africa
* According to Jan Pronk, the top UN official for Sudan, plans are in place to deploy a UN peacekeeping force to the Darfur region by early 2007. In the past the diplomat has called for a force of 20,000 peacekeepers with a four year commitment in order to address the issues in Darfur.
* Darfur rebels said they attacked a Sudanese military base in West Darfur state on Saturday killing 78 soldiers, and accused Chadian insurgents of working alongside Sudan’s armed forces. Khalil Abdallah, political leader of the Darfur rebel National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD), said 17 soldiers were also taken prisoner in the attack on the town of Arm Yakui, some 30 km northwest of West Darfur’s main town el-Genein.
* A Somali pirate has demanded the release of "comrades" captured by the U.S. Navy last week, threatening to kill hostages in the future if the call was not heeded, according to media reports on Friday. Acting on a report of an attempted attack, U.S. Navy sailors pursued and caught a ship near Mogadishu with 10 Somali pirates on board and 16 Indians believed to be hostages. "The Americans should release the 10 men they are holding," said Garaad Mohamud Mohamed, who told Shabeelle radio he was speaking on behalf of the captured pirates. "If they don't we will kill any hostages we capture and attack any ships unlawfully plying our waters."
* Though far smaller, U.S. military engagement in the Horn of Africa is the most significant in Africa since 25,000 troops went to Somalia in 1992. The emphasis on Africa in the U.S. war on terrorism has grown in recent years. Last year, the American military launched a $500 million program to train the armies of nine West and North African countries in counterterrorism operations. A similar $100 million project began in East Africa in 2003.
The Global War
* British forces in Afghanistan will number 5,700 when soldiers are sent to the Taliban’s heartland in the south for the first time. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, announced yesterday that Britain would expand its military commitment in Afghanistan significantly by the summer, with a pledge to stay for three years.
* The destroyer Forrest Sherman was commissioned on Saturday at Naval Air Station Pensacola, and expects to play an important role in the war on terror.
* The Pentagon is focusing on preventing the transfer of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist organizations according to a report from the Washington Times, which says "the task force will employ special operations forces, other troops and intelligence personnel to prevent states such as North Korea and Iran from supplying nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to terror groups."
* One of the biggest hurdles in fighting terrorism is assessing the risk, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday, as Muslim leaders debated extremism, and weapons experts warned of terrorists building a nuclear bomb. Each day countries are faced with a myriad of risks - to railroads, public transport and chemical plants - but officials need to look at the consequences, the vulnerability and the nature of the threats to prevent attacks, Chertoff said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
* An informative report from the PINR looks at the challenges India has in reconciling its nuclear energy goals with the United States' desire to have India, at minimum, support referring Iran to the UN over Iran's violation of agreements with the IAEA. Last week US Ambassador to India David Mulford said Congressional approval of the July 2005 nuclear agreement with India would depend on what India does with Iran. Those remarks were subsequently softened.
* King Abdullah on Friday wrapped up the first visit by a Saudi Arabian monarch to India in half a century as the two countries agreed to actively cooperate to fight terrorism and develop a strategic partnership in energy sector. In an unprecedented gesture, the king himself signed along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the landmark "Delhi Declaration" which noted that terrorism is a scourge for the entire mankind and the two countries agreed to "closely and actively cooperate to fight the menace." They also agreed to cooperate in dealing with other transnational crimes like money laundering, drugs and arms smuggling in a "sustained and comprehensive manner" and this would include intelligence-sharing, the declaration stated.
* Security, counter-terrorism and press freedom topped the agenda in talks held with the British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kim Howells, who visited Sana’a last week. Howells, whose remit includes security, crime and drugs in the Middle East region, held several meetings with a number of high-ranking officials in Yemen during his three-day visit.
* Yemen wants to return MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters it purchased in 1994, to Moldova in return for the purchase price, declaring the deal an illegal one made by the ruling Yemeni Socialist Party at the time.
* Newsweek reports on direct talks between U.S. official and Iraqi insurgents.
* A Christian Science Monitor article looks at the question of whether the United States is prepared to fight another Iraq-style war.
* The United States is expanding a top-secret effort to kill suspected terrorists with drone-fired missiles as it pursues an increasingly decentralized Al Qaeda, U.S. officials say. The CIA's failed Jan. 13 attempt to assassinate Al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Zawahiri in Pakistan was the latest strike in the "targeted killing" program, a highly classified initiative that officials say has broadened as the network splintered and fled Afghanistan.
Thanks for reading! If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know. For ongoing tips, email "MondayWindsOfWar", over here @windsofchange.net.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home