Free Republic

- To judge by the press, the world’s sagest and most influential foreign policy expert is a 77-year-old named Brent Scowcroft. Mr. Scowcroft’s argument against an American attack on Saddam Hussein was the lead opinion piece in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal. The New York Times made it its lead, front-page news article on Friday and Saturday and its lead editorial on Friday. The Times editorial called Mr. Scowcroft’s words “an extraordinary challenge to the Bush administration” and “the equivalent of a cannon shot across the White House lawn.” All of which makes it appropriate to ask just who is Brent...

<p>August 19, 2002 -- TEL AVIV - An ex-treasurer of the Palestine Liberation Organization has accused Yasser Arafat of taking more than a half-billion dollars in international aid - and transferring it to his personal accounts.</p> <p>The shocking allegation comes on the heels of an Israeli intelligence report released last week that said Arafat had secretly amassed at least $1.3 billion in bank accounts in Europe, Arab countries, the Far East and the United States.</p>

RIYADH (Reuters) - Several Saudi banks and Islamic charities named in a lawsuit by families of Sept. 11 victims vehemently denied Sunday any role in funding terrorism and blasted the case as an attempt to extort Saudi wealth abroad. The suit has sparked rare calls by commentators and newspapers in the kingdom to review traditionally strong Saudi-U.S. ties. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment officially. Offended that the lawsuit named members of the royal family, including Defense Minister Prince Sultan -- the third highest official in the kingdom -- many Saudis accused Washington of putting pressure on the Gulf Arab...

Judge allows UNC to discuss book 8-16-02 By MIKE FUCHS, Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- A federal judge refused Thursday to stop a UNC-Chapel Hill summer program assigning new students to read a book about Islam's holy text. U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Tilley Jr. denied a temporary restraining order requested by a Virginia-based conservative Christian group on behalf of two taxpayers and three unidentified freshmen. That means the discussion about the book on the Quran can continue as planned Monday unless the plaintiffs succeed with an appeal. The Family Policy Network, based near Lynchburg, Va., argued that...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A 15-count, $1 trillion lawsuit was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by more than 500 relatives of people who died in the September 11 attacks.</p> <p>Calling themselves Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, they are suing seven international banks; eight Islamic foundations, charities and their subsidiaries; individual terrorist financiers; the Saudi bin Laden Group; three Saudi princes; and the government of Sudan for allegedly bankrolling al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.</p>

For half a century, Saudi Arabia has been a key economic and strategic ally of the United States. As the kingdom’s wealth grew and the scale of its oil reserves became apparent, the links became ever more intense, culminating in the deployment of 500,000 American troops during the Gulf War. Since then, a once warm relationship has become ever more strained, as tensions within Saudi Arabia have grown, the Arab world’s anger with America has become intense and Washington’s suspicions of the country’s Islamic agenda have deepened. Almost a year after the September attacks, perpetrated largely by Saudi citizens, relations...

Pat Oliphant on target. When are we going to take care of our Saudi problem?

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has personal assets estimated at a value of $1.3 billion, IDF Intelligence Chief Major General Aharon Ze'evi (Farakash) said Tuesday. Speaking Tuesday before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ze'evi said that Arafat is isolated and criticism of the long-time Palestinian leader is growing - both within Palestinian society and Arafat's own Fatah movement. He said dissatisfaction with Arafat is being expressed in mass demonstrations in Gaza, Jenin and Tubas; newspapers; as well as a phenomenon of smashing photographs of Arafat. Even close associates of the Palestinian leader are distancing themselves, and some are...

S. Arabia affirms solidness of historical ties with US -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xinhuanet 2002-08-13 02:46:56 ¡¡¡¡KUWAIT CITY, Aug. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Saudi Arabia on Monday affirmedthe solidness of its historical relations with the United States and vowed to develop the ties to the best of mutual interests between the two allies, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported. ¡¡¡¡Saudi acting Minister of Information Madani Bin Abdul-Qadir Alaqi made the remarks in a press statement after a cabinet meetingchaired by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz. ¡¡¡¡Alaqi noted in the statement that the cabinet was briefed on a briefing prepared by a Pentagon consultative...

Israel's High Court of Justice today issued a temporary injunction against the deportation to the Gaza Strip of three Palestinians. Yesterday a military court ruled that the three, relatives of terrorists who organized recent terror attacks, would be deported because they knew of, and abetted terror activities. Lawyers for the Palestinians said deportations serve as "collective punishment" and are illegal according to international law. According to the High Court's decision today, the Israel Defense Forces were given fifteen days to reply to the Palestinians' appeal against the deportation orders. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat said that deportations were illegal, and...

'Saddam Willing To Fight America To the Last Palestinian' By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief August 13, 2002 Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is trying to stir up the Palestinians to perpetrate 'mega-attacks' against Israel so that an Israeli retaliation will be so strong that it will upset the entire region and prevent America from attacking Iraq, an Israeli analyst said on Tuesday. Nevertheless, Israel is preparing itself for the possibility that the U.S. will attack Iraq and Iraq will bombard Israel with missiles in return. The war of words between Iraq and the U.S. was heating...

As you might have suspected the list is very long so just go HERE

War with Iraq looms and not everyone is happy about it. "I think the principle of 'first things first' does apply," says Al Gore, "and has to be followed if we are to have any chance of success." By this he means that, instead of Saddam's removal, Afghanistan's stability "needs to be assured first" -- just as in the Second World War we wisely concentrated on nation-building in the Solomon Islands for two or three years instead of rushing on to liberate a lot of other places. I'd say it's Al Gore's stability that needs to be assured first. Across...

The day the skies went silent Air traffic controllers talk about 9/11 August 12, 2002 Posted: 11:30 PM EDT (0330 GMT) Green dots represent planes in the air in these air traffic control maps from 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. September 11. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (CNN) -- Shortly after American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the World Trade Center's North Tower at approximately 8:46 a.m., air traffic controllers knew another plane was minutes away from the same deadly objective. They knew because, as with Flight 11, they had lost communications with United Flight 175 and were watching their radar screens as the second...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen infiltrated a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Saturday night, and one person was killed and several wounded in the ensuing firefight, Israeli security sources said. They said two or more gunmen penetrated Mehora in the Jordan Valley under cover of darkness as the Jewish sabbath ended, and were still exchanging fire with Israeli security forces. Israel Radio put the preliminary Israeli casualty toll at five, including one killed, and said one of the gunmen was also believed killed. Palestinians waging a 22-month-old uprising for independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have...

<p>National Guardsmen patrolled below and federal officials watched the skies over the Golden Gate Bridge during Monday morning's commute, wrapping up a weekend of intensified monitoring due to the latest word of a potential terrorist threat.</p> <p>The bridge was placed on a "super-heightened" state of alert Friday through Sunday after information was shared through an interagency coalition Friday, said Mary Currie, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District.</p>

ARAB TERRORISTS INFILTRATE JEWISH TOWN Two or more terrorist have infiltrated the Jewish town of Mechora, east of Shechem. One Israeli woman has been reported murdered, and two others who were seriously wounded have been taken by helicopter to hospitals. One terrorist is reported killed, and shots are still being exchanged. Click here to read these real-time updates! Do you know what you are missing? Subscribe to the GAMLA Intelligence Report and stay in the know! (FREE email newsletter)

The author is a former political-military analyst with the U.S. Department of Defense and terrorism analyst with the State Department. He is currently a security consultant, focusing on the mitigation of post-Cold War patterns of terrorism and political violence. Definition of Terrorism "the unlawful use of -- or threatened use of -- force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives." -- U.S. Department of Defense publication In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the threat of militant Islamic terrorism --...

<p>"U.S. advisers see Saudis as enemies," said the lead story headline in the International Herald Tribune, a global newspaper read by almost all Americans living abroad and by the elites the world over. "Briefing at Pentagon recommends ultimatum over links to terrorism," was the subhead.</p>

LONDON, Aug 12, 2002 -- As revealed in a recent front-page story in The Washington Post, "Briefing Depicted Saudis as Enemies," neoconservatives in the US are gaining a wider audience for their attempts to demonize Saudi Arabia. Such jingoistic talk runs counter to the position of the Bush administration, which recognizes Saudi Arabia as a vital ally. Still, the talk is fanning resentment in the kingdom and making it more difficult for the royal family to cooperate with the US on a range of initiatives, such as regional peace, economic development, and maintaining stability in the oil markets. Saudis see...