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Israel is known for its advanced intelligence capabilities but, according to an Iranian cleric, that is because it uses sorcery. The comments by Valiollah Naghipourfar, a cleric and professor at Tehran University, were made in a recent interview he gave to Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and were republished by the IranWire website. …

Cable News Network has sued Blaine County seeking information from a 1999 police investigation involving the family of Bowe Bergdahl, the Wood River Valley soldier who spent five years in captivity of the Taliban. CNN says the report from the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office is subject to disclosure under Idaho public records laws. Sheriff Gene Ramsey has twice denied the network's request. The lawsuit was filed June 25 in District Court. A hearing is scheduled at 2 p.m. July 21 before District Judge Robert J. Elgee.

An ongoing lawsuit has pried loose new records linked to a family of Sarasota Saudis who left home in a hurry just before 9/11. It was Halloween night, 2001. The horrors of 9/11 were still fresh on the the minds of Americans. At a time when everyone was on edge, the sight of a man disposing documents in a dumpster behind a Bradenton storage facility aroused suspicion. Summoned to the scene, Manatee County sheriff’s deputies confronted the man, who had a Tunisian passport. According to FBI records, authorities searched the dumpster and found “a self-printed manual on terrorism and Jihad,...

The Eurasian Politician - Issue 5 (April-September 2002) THE ROOTS OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM Antero Leitzinger (March 2002) This article intends to trace the roots of Islamic terrorism, with special focus on Afghanistan. Notes are added on practical and philosophical problems of world media in finding the right track. From systematic errors in revealing little details, to serious misconceptions about basic facts and principles, we can relatively easily learn how much of "common knowledge" rests actually on superficial research and popular myths. Instead of becoming critical and aware of the traps laid around the issue, both Islamists and Islamophobes fail to...

Top News Story Teheran 'secretly trains' Chechens to fight in RussiaCon Coughlin(Filed: 27/11/2005)Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports.In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom.The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down...

Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports. In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom. The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally...

Russia has given Iran its bear hug and warns Israel and the West that an attack on Tehran would be considered an attack on Moscow. The threat heightens the prospect of World War III in the event of a military strike on Iran. “Iran is our neighbor,” Russia's outgoing ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, told reporters in Brussels. “And if Iran is involved in any military action, it’s a direct threat to our security.”

Oracle Commentaries 7/22/2006 Urgent Intelligence Update UNCOVERED: RUSSIAN-SYRIAN-IRANIAN AXIS For students of Bible prophecy, even the title of this communiqué should set off alarm sirens. I just received some electrifying intelligence data. First, from the Debka-Net-Weekly’s briefing. And second, from some personal intelligence sources (I carefully guard) that confirm Debka’s report. Russia, Iran and Syria have entered a defense pact that is in the process of altered the balance of power in the entire Middle East. Russia’s part in the pact has been kept relatively secret for a long time. But the facts reveal a long steady Russian commitment...

Russia has insisted it is opposed to moves by the United States and its allies to impose sanctions against Iran. At a meeting in Moscow, Russian officials met delegates from the US, Britain, France, Germany and China to discuss the latest moves in Iran's disputed nuclear programme. Afterwards Russian spokesman Mikhail Kamynin insisted that neither the sanctions route nor the use of force would lead to a solution of the problem. In Washington, the Bush administration says further action is needed. White House spokesman Scott McLennan said: "Violations and failures by the regime to comply with its international obligations run...

ast November Russia signed $1bn contract for export of weapons to Iran. Under the contract Russia is to supply the Tehran regime with 29 surface-to-air missile systems Tor-M1 (SA-15 GAUNTLET) and a consignment of military boats, and to upgrade Iran's Soviet-made bombers and fighter jets, in 2006. The deal was declared to be another triumph of Russian defense firms and the Rosoboronexport arms dealer as it is worth of about one fifth of arms export revenues for 2005.Test Meanwhile the deal raised concerns in the West. Russian analysts said the main reason was the West's "military plans" over Iran. They...

Moscow sells Tehran 29 anti-missile systems, cites secret Al Gore agreement as justification WASHINGTON – Russia has signed a deal with Iran to sell 29 of its Tor M-1 anti-missile systems, a development that will complicate any planned pre-emptive attack on the rogue nation's nuclear facilities, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The system would theoretically permit Iran to intercept some cruise missiles as well as airborne missiles that U.S., Israeli or other western countries might use in an effort to keep the terrorist-supporting nation from developing nuclear weapons or using them. The sale was confirmed by a source at the...

Russia threw Iran a diplomatic lifeline yesterday by publicly defending it against the West’s demands that it be held accountable for its nuclear programme. After two days of heated debate among the 35 members of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, the Kremlin said that it was prepared to block moves by the European Union to have Iran referred to the UN Security Council for possible punitive action. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs insisted that the issue could be resolved through diplomatic means. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said: “While Iran is co-operating with the IAEA, while...

Eighteen-year-old Eliyahu Asheri, from the settlement of Itamar, was found dead by Israel Defense Forces late Wednesday night in the A-Tira neighborhood of Ramallah. The location of Asheri's body was tipped off to the IDF by a Palestinian militant arrested on Tuesday. Security forces found the body buried in a field, and determined that he was shot in the head soon after he was kidnapped on Sunday. Soldiers arrested a militant in connection with the murder early Thursday morning. Palestinian militants from the Popular Resistance Committees said they executed the teenager. On Wednesday morning, a PRC spokesman, displaying Asheri's Israeli...

Former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin rejected criticism over a lack of deterrence against Hamas on Saturday, insisting that the only reason rockets have not reached Be'er Sheva and Tel Aviv is due to the threat of IAF retaliation. "It is not true that there is no deterrence," Yadlin stated. "Hamas can fire hundreds of rockets at Tel Aviv and Beersheba, and does not actually do so." Despite this, Yadlin admitted that another operation in Gaza is likely on the horizon. "I have no doubt we are looking at another round with Hamas," admitted Yadlin. "It will be very difficult."...

Israel is ready to meet any Jordanian request to help fight off Islamist insurgents who have overrun part of neighboring Iraq, an Israeli official said on Friday, although he believed Jordan was capable of defending itself. Asked to elaborate on the statement, Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said potential Israeli assistance could include sending troops or arms, though he saw that as unlikely. "We have an interest in ensuring that Jordan does not fall to, or be penetrated by, groups like al Qaeda or Hamas or ISIS," he told Reuters. "If, God forbid, there is a need, if such a...

In the Palestinian Authority's (PA) elections that took place in January 2005, a significant percentage of Arab Jerusalemites stayed away from the polls out of concern that voting in them might jeopardize their status as residents of Israel. For example, the Associated Press quoted one Rabi Mimi, a 28-year-old truck driver, who expressed strong support for Mahmoud Abbas but said he had no plans to vote: "I can't vote. I'm afraid I'll get into trouble. I don't want to take any chances." [1] Asked if he would vote, a taxi driver responded with indignation, "Are you kidding? To bring a...

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman is demanding the eviction of UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry from Israel, on suspicion that he has been trying to assist Hamas. Liberman intends to declare Serry persona non grata, the most serious form of censure which a country can apply to foreign diplomats. Channel 2 reported that the Foreign Ministry has received information according to which Serry is attempting to transfer millions of dollars to Hamas. Serry reportedly asked Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas to transfer $20 million from Qatar to Gaza – a request Abbas turned down. He then asked Israel to be...

… Yes, I remain disgusted by the Hamas terrorists and by Palestinians’ nihilistic political culture that repeatedly chooses violence over negotiations. But as an American—and a presidential historian—I am also furious at President Barack Obama. His seemingly heartfelt comments when the boys were found dead came two weeks too late. His aloofness from the three families during the search exposed a callousness toward Israel which goes far beyond the episodic Netanyahu-Barack follies. Just as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s quick condemnation of the kidnapping meant a lot positively, Obama’s emotional miserliness meant a lot, negatively. […] Of course, Obama and...

Norway’s Foreign Minister on Friday warned against an escalation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and also made sure to point a finger at Israel as “an occupying power”. “The events of the last few days clearly show how quickly the current tense situation could spiral out of control. I urge both the Israelis and the Palestinians to exercise restraint,” Foreign Minister Borge Brende said in a statement. “It is important to seize upon the initiative for a ceasefire, which now appears to be coming from the Palestinians. Israel, as the strongest party, has a particular responsibility to show...

Islamic State vs. Qaeda: Declaration of Caliphate may set off dangerous competition Desperate to retain its preeminent role, Qaeda may be driven to carry out fresh attacks on Western targets to prove it remains relevant. Middle East Online By Michel Moutot and Michael Mainville – PARIS Inevitable confrontation looms in the horizon The declaration of an Islamic caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria is a direct challenge to Al-Qaeda and could set off a dangerous contest for the leadership of the global jihadist movement, experts say. Desperate to retain its preeminent role, the movement behind September 11 may be...