World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #9 Security Watch

DUBAI, June 19 (Bernama) -- The Saudi king has warned of an impending "explosion" in the Middle East, saying that it will not only affect the region but will spread all over the world, the English daily Gulf News reports.

"The Middle East region suffers from the longest conflict in our contemporary history which is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Israel's occupation of Arab lands," King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, said in an interview with the Spanish El Pas newspaper which was published simultaneously in Al Riyadh newspaper yesterday.

"At this point in time we are exerting efforts to solve this conflict, but we are witnessing an expansion of the crisis to include other countries like Iraq and Lebanon," he said.

"This makes the region replete with troubles that pose grave concerns for us. My fears are the fears of all reasonable men that the explosive situation will not be confined to the region but will extend to the whole world," he added.

The Saudi monarch yesterday began a five-nation trip that will take him to Spain, France, Poland, Egypt and Jordan.

King Abdullah also underlined the importance of solving the problem of Iran's nuclear programme peacefully in a way that guarantees all countries in the region to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Gorbachev Says Russia Reversing Democratic Freedoms, US Acting Unilaterally
By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
27 July 2007

Fedynsky report - Download 703k
Listen to Fedynsky report

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev says there has been a reversal of democratic freedoms in Russia. He also accuses the United States of a “victory complex” that is complicating global politics following the end of the Cold War. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has this report.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev made himself available to reporters Friday for 90 minutes of questions at the Interfax News Agency in Moscow.

Russian lawmaker Nikolai Kurianovich
The first question, however, followed a verbal assault coming not from a reporter, but Nikolai Kurianovich, a member of parliament and self-identified Russian nationalist. The lawmaker accused Mr. Gorbachev of destroying the Soviet Union, and then asked why he is hated at home and honored in the West.

The former leader made no apologies, saying that the Soviet Union was one of more than 100 authoritarian and dictatorial countries that left the world stage in the 20th Century. “But frankly,” said Mr. Gorbachev, “there is a wave in the opposite direction today. As it turns out, not everything lent itself to a mechanical fix.” He added that much needs to be done, so that people and institutions learn to live in a free and democratic environment.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
The last Soviet leader cited rollbacks of free media in Russia. Nonetheless, Mr. Gorbachev said, he supports the political positions of Vladimir Putin, and welcomes the current Kremlin leader’s decision to step down next year as required by the constitution.

Mikhail Gorbachev described himself as a social democrat who supports positive aspects of capitalism and such government safeguards as social justice, health care and education. To illustrate the social needs of his country, he cited a recent public opinion poll, which indicates only 17 percent of Russians - the wealthiest - can afford to shop in supermarkets, which have only recently begun to replace traditional and less expensive markets. That, he says, raises questions about the remaining 83 percent who cannot afford the relatively expensive conveniences offered by supermarkets.

Mr. Gorbachev said this indicates an acute problem. “So, these are the problems that need to be addressed, as well as issues of health care, employment, family welfare, and salaries,” he said. “ We have only just begun to pay at least a bit of attention to such matters.

Mr. Gorbachev accused the United States of acting unilaterally after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which he said is increasing tensions around the world, particularly in Iraq.

It’s turmoil, said the former president, and the only way out should be through political solutions, cooperation, and an increased role for international institutions. Americans, he said, need to understand that.

However, Mr. Gorbachev said that understanding is likely to come not from President Bush, but rather his successor.

Asked whether he has plans to participate in upcoming Russian elections, the former Soviet politician says yes, but only as a voter. And speaking from experience, he added that Vladimir Putin will have plenty to do after leaving office.

http://voanews.com:80/english/2007-07-27-voa59.cfm

Rocket blasts kill 10, injure 40 in Pakistan
Militants expand their influence as violence grows
By Riaz Khan, Associated Press | July 26, 2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Four rockets crashed into a city in northwest Pakistan yesterday, killing 10 people, wounding 40, and stoking the confrontation between Islamic militants and the government.

Rockets hit two houses, a mosque, and a shop at about 2 a.m. in Bannu in North West Frontier Province, said Khwaja Mohammed, a city police official. He described the attack as “terrorist activity,” but said it was too early to say more about the culprits.

Taliban militants have been expanding their influence into northwestern Pakistan from strongholds in the tribal belt along the Afghan border. The president, General Pervez Musharraf, is under growing pressure from his key international backer, the United States, to crack down.

Since a bloody army siege of Islamabad’s radical Red Mosque earlier this month, Pakistan has sent thousands of troops to the northwest, triggering a fierce militant response. More than 300 people have died in violence across the country this month.

Abdullah Mehsud, a Taliban veteran of Guantanamo Bay who was one of Pakistan’s most-wanted rebel leaders, killed himself with a hand grenade Tuesday when cornered by security forces in Zhob, south of his home in South Waziristan.

Hundreds of Mehsud’s militant supporters fired assault rifles, rocket launchers, and machine guns into the air after his body arrived yesterday for burial in his ancestral village of Nano, in South Waziristan, according to an intelligence official.

About 5,000 people attended Mehsud’s funeral, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job.

Militants have killed dozens of soldiers with suicide attacks in neighboring North Waziristan, the tribal region closest to Bannu.

Overnight, militants fired a rocket at a fort manned by paramilitary troops and blew up a government utility office in Miran Shan, the region’s main town, forcing authorities to shutter all government offices and banks for fear of casualties, local security officials said.

After militants pulled out of a controversial peace deal with the government on July 15, a local tribal police force, intimidated by Taliban threats, abandoned its post, contributing to the lack of security. The regular army’s presence is confined to checkpoints on roads between Miran Shah and other towns.

Residents say almost half of the shops in Miran Shah have closed, and about 500 families have fled. In a sign of declining government control, five masked men stole a pickup truck from a government office during daylight hours.

“Nobody could say anything to them,” said grocery store owner Mohammed Salim. “We closed our shops out of fear. . . . There is absolutely no security in the bazaar.”

In the nearby town of Mir Ali, a bomb damaged a government-run school, local security officials said. No one was inside at the time.

Despite US criticism that the peace deal allowed Al Qaeda to regroup, Pakistan has been trying to resurrect the accord in recent days.

Over the weekend, US officials said Washington might consider military intervention to stem Al Qaeda’s growing ability to use its hideout in Pakistan to launch terrorist attacks.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/07/26/rocket_blasts_kill_10_injure_40_in_pakistan/

US talks of acting alone in Pakistan
Email Print Normal font Large font Walter Pincus and Joby Warrick in Washington
July 27, 2007

PENTAGON and State Department officials have said US special forces will enter Pakistan if they have specific intelligence about an impending terrorist strike against the US, despite warnings from Pakistan that it will not accept US troops operating independently inside its borders.

The statements on Wednesday were the clearest assertion yet of the Bush Administration’s willingness to act unilaterally inside tribal areas in north-western Pakistan where al-Qaeda’s commanders are believed to have taken refuge.

“If there were information or opportunity to strike a blow to protect the American people”, US forces would act immediately, Peter Verga, the acting assistant secretary of defence for international security, told an unusual joint session held by the House armed services and permanent select committee on intelligence.

Nicholas Burns, the State Department’s undersecretary for political affairs, told the Senate foreign relations committee: “Given the primacy of the fight against al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, if we have in the future certainty of knowledge, then of course the United States would always have the option of taking action on its own.”

The statements were prompted by questions about an intelligence assessment released last week that concluded a resurgent al-Qaeda was using a rugged, largely autonomous tribal area of north-western Pakistan as a sanctuary for planning attacks against the US.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday warned Australians considering travelling to Pakistan that “recent credible reports indicate that terrorists may be planning retaliatory attacks on aviation, government and military targets … including Australian interests”.

* Pakistan said yesterday that it had successfully tested a cruise missile capable of carrying a variety of warheads, including nuclear. The Babur Hatf VII is a terrain-hugging, radar avoiding cruise missile with a range of 700 kilometres.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India routinely carry out missile tests despite a peace process they began in early 2004.

http://www.smh.com.au:80/news/world/us-talks-of-acting-alone-in-pakistan/2007/07/26/1185339167769.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873148/posts

Chief Judge Caught with Loaded Gun at Metro
wxyz.com ^ | Jul 28, 2007 | wxyz.com

Posted on 07/28/2007 8:31:34 PM PDT by Westlander

Federal officials at Metro Airport tell WXYZ they caught Sylvia James, chief judge of Inkster’s 22nd District Court, with a loaded handgun in her luggage. TSA officials tell WXYZ they discovered the gun at 12:50 p.m. Saturday when James attempted to go through a security checkpoint in the McNamara Terminal.

James, who was described as very cooperative with TSA agents, was questioned and released. Charges are pending.

(Excerpt) Read more at wxyz.com ...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873178/posts

Unrest and Arrests at Immigration Rally (5 Arrested, 2 hurt)
The N.Y. Times ^ | 7/29/2007 | ANTHONY RAMIREZ

Posted on 07/28/2007 10:29:49 PM PDT by Altura Ct.

Five people were arrested and two people were slightly injured yesterday at a rally in Morristown, N.J., that attracted hundreds of demonstrators both for and against stricter immigration law enforcement, the police said yesterday.

Morristown police officers, in riot gear and using a fence to separate the rival demonstrators, broke up several fights at the rally, held in front of the Morristown town hall.

In the most serious clash, a man threw two small metal cylinders at a pickup truck. When the driver of the truck and his female companion confronted the man, they were set upon by about 10 other men, said Lt. David Ackerman of the Morristown police.

Three men were arrested and charged with assault, disorderly conduct and other charges. The rest fled, Lieutenant Ackerman said.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873180/posts

Haneef’s departure suspicious: Australian minister
AF-Presse – Hindustan Times ^ | July 29, 2007 | Anon

Posted on 07/28/2007 10:55:08 PM PDT by BlackVeil

Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said on Sunday it was “suspicious” that the Indian doctor held over failed UK bombings had left the country so quickly after charges against him were dropped.

Andrews said Mohamed Haneef’s departure from Australia after he was released from custody made the 27-year-old Muslim look more suspicious. “If anything, that actually heightens rather than lessens my suspicion,” he said.

Andrews also ruled out reinstating the Haneef’s visa.

continues........

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=35454

Saturday, July 28, 2007
Popular Resistance Committees reject PA platform that excludes “armed resistance”
Popular Resistance Committees reject PA platform that excludes “armed
resistance”
Date: 28 / 07 / 2007 Time: 14:27
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=24345

Khan Younis - Ma’an - Abu Mujahid, spokesperson for the Popular Resistance
Committees, criticized Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s caretaker government
for removing the phrase “armed resistance” from the official platform
adopted Friday by the Palestinian Authority.

In a press release issued Saturday Abu Mujahid said, “Resistance has always
obstructed the Zionist project.” Abu Mujahid asserted it is not within the
power of the government to relinquish armed struggle, because resistance is
the right of the Palestinian people.

Originally a group of militias dedicated to defending refugee camps, the
Popular Resistance Committees formed during the second intifada. They have
since grown to include former members of Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad.

The Arabic word “muqawma,” literally meaning “resistance,” was not included
in this edition of the Palestinian Authority platform, even though it has
appeared in all previous versions of it.

Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Ashraf Al-Ajrami confirmed Friday
that the omission of the word was intended to specifically exclude violent
struggle, saying, “The Abbas government has dropped the use of armed
resistance from its program.”

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Hamas also rejected the platform,
reserving the right to take military action against Israel.

[This one bothers me....]

http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=35453

Saturday, July 28, 2007
U.S. Plans New Arms Sales to Gulf Allies - includes weapons for Saudis that make successful attack on Israel considerably easier
[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) are hardly
a defensive weapon. They put the Saudis in the position that a mediocre
pilot who might not have either skill or the will to approach a target and
hit it can carry out a precision bombing against any fixed target.

Even if you think the current regime is fantastic, who will rule Saudi
Arabia in 5 years?

Hamas today has all kinds of weapons that Washington supplied to “moderate”
Abbas in the Gaza Strip.

It should also be kept in mind that previous promises not to deploy weapons
near Israel were not honored by the Saudis - for example F-15’s in Tabuk.]

U.S. Plans New Arms Sales to Gulf Allies
$20 Billion Deal Includes Weapons For Saudi Arabia

By Robin Wright Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 28, 2007; A01
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/27/AR2007072702454_pf.html

The Bush administration will announce next week a series of arms deals worth
at least $20 billion to Saudi Arabia and five other oil-rich Persian Gulf
states as well as new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt, a
move to shore up allies in the Middle East and counter Iran’s rising
influence, U.S. officials said yesterday.

The arms deals, which include the sales of a variety of sophisticated
weaponry, would be the largest negotiated by this administration. The
military assistance agreements would provide $30 billion in new U.S. aid to
Israel and $13 billion to Egypt over 10 years, the officials said. Both
figures represent significant increases in military support.

continued..............

During the visit, Abbas will discuss with Russian leaders the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the situation in the Middle East.

“It is very important for the Palestinian National Authority to continue consultations with Russian officials. We will speak about the peace process in the Middle East and ways to give it a boost,” Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Baker Abdel Monem was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

clipped from:[post 2265]

“Palestinian leader Abbas to visit Russia”

Am I missing the point?

We send them millions and they go to Russia for orders on how to have “peace”.

I admit to not fully understanding the Palestine mind. or maybe I do and don’t want to do so.

I am pleased with all the links in post 2265, most of them are not the sites that turn up on my news alerts and a couple are much better........thanks to M. Espinola.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/mhcwkfauqlql/

Russian opposition group member forced into psychiatric clinic
29/07/2007 - 11:58:23

A member of a Russian opposition group led by former chess champion Garry Kasparov has been forcefully put in a psychiatric clinic in what activists said was revenge for critical reporting.

Marina Litvinovich, a spokeswoman for Kasparov’s United Civil Front, said that the forced treatment of Larisa Arap was the first such move by authorities against a member of the group, which has angered the Kremlin with street protests.

“That smacks of Soviet-era practice of locking dissenters in psychiatric clinics,” Litvinovich told The Associated Press.

Arap, 48, a member of Kasparov’s group in the northern port city of Murmansk, was bundled into an ambulance by police on July 5, her daughter Taisiya said.

She had been visiting a doctor to secure documents attesting to her mental health, as Russian law requires in order to receive a new drivers licence, the daughter said.

When the doctor realised Larisa Arap was the author of an article published in an opposition newspaper in June that criticised conditions at a local psychiatric hospital, she returned with police, Taisiya Arap said in a telephone interview.

A receptionist at the clinic where the daughter said Larisa Arap was being held would not confirm she was there, saying she could only provide the names of patients to their relatives.

Taisiya Arap said she was appealing her mother’s detention in court, but feared she could be moved to a psychiatric hospital where conditions were harsher.

Authorities in the past have barred Kasparov and opposition allies from marching through streets in Moscow, St Petersburg and other major cities.

Police beat and detained scores of demonstrators when they defied authorities ban on marches.

[UK, reads the same as above post on shooting in US.]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1277523,00.html

City Gun Violence ‘Not Out Of Control’

Updated: 19:11, Saturday July 28, 2007
Police have denied that gun crime is out of control after Manchester’s third shooting in a week - and the death of a 23-year-man.
Police in Stretford Road
Police in Stretford Road

The man was murdered in a drive-by shooting that also injured a 33-year-old man just before midnight on Friday night.

Shots were fired from two cars a group of people in the Chorlton-on-Medlock area of the city.

A few minutes later a 14-year-old boy nearby was shot in the leg.

Police are still trying to discover if the two incidents are related.

The latest violence comes after a week of incidents around a small group of districts to the west of the city.

On Thursday a 16-year-old boy targeted in a drive-by shooting in Moss Side escaped with a minor injury to his leg.

And on Tuesday a 36-year-old man was shot in the hip in the Longsight area.

Chief Superintendent David Keller denied that gun crime was out of control but said it was “a difficult time” in the fight against it.

“We have stepped up patrols, we have armed operations running and high-profile local police officers working in conjunction with the community.
Police search the scene for clues
Police search the scene for clues

“I would reassure the community that whilst these incidents do attract a lot of attention, they are very, very rare and the chances of you being a victim are very small.”

Tony Winter, co-ordinator of community group Manchester Street Pastors, said it was not a hopeless situation.

“None of us here today are saying that this isn’t a dreadful problem, but I am encouraged and I think we’re all encouraged by the fact that you can see this response from the community, and all parts of the community, to come together and to continue the good work that has been going.”

http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule.csp

Looks like 8pm East time, today:

Compiled Program
Al-Qaeda Programming
C-SPAN, C3 History
Washington, District of Columbia (United States)
ID: 199855 - 07/25/2007 - 12:00 - ns

Programming on Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda network includes:

- Rohan Gunaratna, Inside Al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror (2002)

- Discussion on Al-Qaeda’s Organizational Structure (2004)

- Fmr. CIA analyst Michael Scheuer and others discuss Al-Qaeda and Militant Islam (2004)

- Discussion on Understanding the Global Insurgency (2005)

- Peter Bergen, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda’s Leader (2006)

- History Booknotes: Stephen Kinzer, Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds (2001)

[I can’t find any evidence of it being on radio, is it??? granny]

Interesting thoughts here didnt want you to miss...

New insights on the Soviet Union’s collapse
www.csmonitor.com ^ | July 23, 2007 | David R. Francis

Posted on 07/29/2007 10:22:06 AM EDT by JohnA

A former Russian official blames the threat of famine, not Gorbachev’s reform policies. Crude oil prices last week were flirting with a record high. It’s great news – for the Russians. Low oil prices contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. In Russia today, high oil and natural gas prices are, to a large degree, the reason for an economic boom. In the first quarter of this year, Russia’s economy steamed along at a level 7.9 percent above the same three months of 2006.

(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873254/posts

don’t miss this one...

Pakistan: ‘Mushasrraf, Bhutto strike deal’
Economic Times ^ | 29 Jul, 2007, 1243 hrs | IST, IANS Sources

Posted on 07/29/2007 10:28:49 AM EDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Pervez Mushatrraf’s re-election for a second term together with homecoming of exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has become a possibility after a “broad based understanding” reached between the two, the media reported Sunday.

“A broad-based understanding between Musharraf and Bhutto was reached in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital Abu Dhabi,” The News quoted a source privy to the deal as saying, noting that the development had surprised both Musharraf’s supporters and opponents.

Bhutto, who heads the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has consented to accept Musharraf as president for a second term, saying she would not oppose his re-election in September-October this year, The News added.

According to the agreement, referred to as “the mother of all deals” in the media here, a neutral person may head a caretaker government that would conduct the general elections, also signalling an end to the present dispensation under Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The deal, the newspaper said, was worked out at meetings held by Musharraf’s aide Tariq Aziz and Rahman Malik, a former intelligence sleuth close to Bhutto.

After disclaimers from the Bhutto camp and a pro-forma official denial Saturday, confirmation was pouring in about the “secret” meeting between the two leaders in the UAE Friday.

Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid, a known Musharraf confidante, told a TV channel that the two had also earlier met Jan 24.

“Things are moving ahead in the right direction with the PPP and one should be hopeful of a better future for both the parties (the government and PPP),” Rashid told Geo TV channel, without elaborating on the discussions between the two leaders.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Niazi said the constitution would be amended, ostensibly as part of the “deal”, to remove a two-term restriction on Bhutto becoming the country’s prime minister for the third time, according to Geo.

“Benazir has assured that her party legislators both in parliament and the provincial assemblies would abstain from the presidential election process without raising the issue of the uniform at any forum including the superior court,” the unnamed source was quoted as saying.

The understanding between the two would give a clear edge to President Musharraf to be re-elected with a claimed 56 percent majority in the electoral college for the presidential polls.

“We have 56 per cent of the total electorates with us and there is no difficulty to see President Musharraf through with a constitutional requirement of returning with simple majority,” disclosed an official who also helped Tariq Aziz in fine-tuning the first phase of the understanding with Bhutto.

What appears to have been worked out is the political aspect of the deal, media reports say. However, the legalities of Bhutto’s return need to be sorted out.

“If I would be an elected prime minister, I would like to have a strong president like Musharraf so that we can jointly deal with militancy, extremism and terrorism,” Bhutto was quoted as saying to one of his confidants before she left London to meet the president in the UAE.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873256/posts

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