Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record
Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday. In addition to a 26 percent production increase over past year -- for a total of 5,644 metric tons -- the amount of land under cultivation in opium poppies grew by 61 percent….(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

North Korea wants Russia support, offers uranium: paper

…Citing Russian government sources, the Tokyo Shimbun report said Moscow and Pyongyang had been in secret talks since 2002 over a plan for Russia to import the uranium and enrich it before selling it on as nuclear fuel to China and Vietnam, in what the sources said would be a highly profitable venture….(Reuters, 2 Dec 06)

ACLU Urges U.S. to Stop Collection of Traveler Data

…The Automated Targeting System began as a means of screening cargo but was quietly expanded in recent years to screen and create risk profiles that will be retained for 40 years...The government has been scrutinizing air passengers for risks for 10 years, and assessments of some land border crossers have been conducted for about two years, a Customs and Border Protection official said in an interview Thursday….(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

U.S. and Guyana probe chemical threat to airlines

American and Guyanese authorities said they were investigating on Saturday a threatened chemical attack against U.S. airlines flying out of the tiny Caribbean country….(Reuters, 2 Dec 06)

Somalia welcomes U.S. draft on peacekeepers

Somalia's interim government welcomed a U.S. proposal at the U.N. Security Council to deploy east African peacekeepers, but the newly powerful Islamists who have seized control of most of the country rejected it….(Reuters, 2 Dec 06)

Balkan-Based Islamic Terror Network Uncovered, says Police

In an international anti-terrorism operation, Italian police were searching on Friday the homes of dozens of suspects across Italy whom they believe are members of an Islamic terror cell operating in the country and the Balkans….(AKI, 1 Dec 06)

U.S. Reports Unconfirmed Cyber Threat

The government warned on Thursday of a possible Internet attack on U.S. stock market and banking Web sites from a radical Muslim group, but officials said the threat was unconfirmed and seemed to pose no immediate danger. The notice was issued to the U.S. cybersecurity industry after officials saw a posting on a "Jihadist Web site" calling for an attack on U.S. Internet-based stock market and banking sites in December, said Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

U.S. Rates Travelers for Terror Risk

Without their knowledge, millions of Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders in the past four years have been assigned scores generated by U.S. government computers rating the risk that the travelers are terrorists or criminals. The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

White House warned on airlines

A congressional committee has warned the Bush administration it faces legal action if it goes ahead with plans to relax foreign ownership rules of domestic airlines. The Transportation Department, under orders from President Bush, is proposing to allow foreign investors to increase stock ownership in U.S. airlines from 25 percent to 49 percent….(Washington Times, 1 Dec 06)

Imam disputes tie to Hamas

Omar Shahin, one of six imams removed from a flight last week, says he has traveled the country since the September 11 attacks to promote understanding of the Muslim religion, but he once worked for a group linked to terrorist financing. He insists that the terrorists who leveled the World Trade Center were not Muslims….(Washington Times, 1 Dec 06)

Lawmaker to take oath on Koran, faces flak

Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will take his oath of office on the Koran, not the Bible….(Washington Times, 1 Dec 06)

U.S. Considers Ending Outreach to Insurgents

The Bush administration is deliberating whether to abandon U.S. reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents and instead give priority to Shiites and Kurds, who won elections and now dominate the government, according to U.S. officials….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06)

Oath on Qur'an: Provocation or act of faith?

The choice by Keith Ellison, the first Muslim in the U.S. House, to take his oath of office on his faith's holy book, has stirred a debate…"The Constitution guarantees for everyone to take the oath of office on whichever book they prefer," Ellison was quoted as saying. "And that's what the freedom of religion is all about."…(Star Tribune, 1 Dec 06)

Swearing In By The Koran?

The U.S. Constitution is a multiculturalist document. Not in all senses, of course: It tries to forge a common national culture as well as tolerating other cultures. But it is indeed multiculturalist in important ways….(National Review Online, 1 Dec 06)

Pakistan Leader Signs Amended Rape Law

Despite nationwide protests by hard-liners, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Friday signed into law an amendment to the country's controversial rape statute to make it easier to prosecute sexual assault cases….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Iraq-bound man placed under investigation in France

Moustapha el-Sanharawi, 20, from the central city of Tours, was arrested in mid-October on the Syrian-Iraqi border. He was a student at ENSTA, a French engineering institute, in Paris before leaving for Syria…(Reuters, 1 Dec 06)

In Somalia, Rare Suicide Attack Kills 5

Three bombers exploded cars outside the base of Somalia's interim government Thursday, killing themselves and five other people, officials said. The government blamed foreign al-Qaeda fighters for the attack, which was believed to be only the second suicide bombing ever in the country….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

28 Charged In Mumbai Train Blasts

Indian police filed formal charges against 28 people Thursday for suspected involvement in the July 11 train bombings in Mumbai that killed more than 200 people. Thirteen of the accused are in police custody, and the rest are at large, public prosecutor Raja Thackeray said…..(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Sri Lanka President's Brother Escapes Bomb Blast

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's brother, who is also the island's defense secretary, narrowly escaped a suspected suicide bomb attack in the capital on Friday….(Reuters, 1 Dec 06)

Scores more bodies found in Iraq

At least 80 bodies - many with gunshot wounds and bearing signs of torture - have been found in Iraq in the past 24 hours, officials have said. Iraqi security officials said they had recovered at least 52 bodies scattered around the capital, Baghdad.….(BBC, 30 Nov 06)

Indian police file charges alleging Pakistan ties to Mumbai blasts

Police in India has filed charges against 28 suspects over the Mumbai train blasts in July that killed 185 people, and alleged the attacks were linked to Pakistan's spy agency and militant groups….(Agence France-Presse, 30 Nov 06)

Disembowelled and murdered for teaching girls

…Halim is one of four teachers killed in rapid succession by the Islamists at Ghazni, a strategic point on the routes from Kabul to the south and east which has become the scene of fierce clashes between the Taleban and United States and Afghan forces. ..(New Zealand Herald, 30 Nov 06)

The Black-Turbaned Brigade: The Rise of TNSM in Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat- e-Mohammadi (TNSM, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Laws) is emerging as one of the most dangerous religious militant groups in Pakistan. Its founder and leader, Sufi Mohammad, is behind bars and the organization was banned in early 2002…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 30 Nov 06)

Libyan Fighters Join the Iraqi Jihad

Despite Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddhafi's uncompromising stance toward Islamist activism, a number of Libyan volunteers have traveled from Libya to join the Iraqi jihad. From the information that is beginning to emerge about some of these militants, it would seem that they are not part of any organized Islamist group, but rather have their own particular reasons and motivations for joining the jihad…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 30 Nov 06)

The Evolution of the PKK: New Faces, New Challenges

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was founded in 1974 to mobilize Turkish Kurds to fight for independence from Turkey. During the 1980s and 1990s, the PKK fought a guerrilla campaign against Turkey that claimed over 30,000 lives on both sides…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 30 Nov 06)

The Islamist Underground in Southern Kyrgyzstan

Last year's uprising in the Uzbek city of Andijan was only the first symptom of renewed tensions in the Ferghana Valley. The region has seen an increase in inter-ethnic tensions and in operations by Islamist radicals. Groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Akramiya are threatening to destabilize sections of the valley…..(Global Terrorism Analysis, 30 Nov 06)

Islamist Websites Monitor No. 27

….(MEMRI, 30 Nov 06)

On Iranian TV: Puppets of Bush, Blair, Rice, Rumsfeld, and Schwarzenegger in Spitting Image/DC Follies-Style Satire

The following are excerpts from an Iranian TV production titled "13 Dead End St." styled after the satirical Spitting Image and DC Follies series…(MEMRI, 30 Nov 06)

Sharia law is spreading as authority wanes

Islamic sharia law is gaining an increasing foothold in parts of Britain, a report claims. Sharia, derived from several sources including the Koran, is applied to varying degrees in predominantly Muslim countries but it has no binding status in Britain. However, the BBC Radio 4 program Law in Action produced evidence yesterday that it was being used by some Muslims as an alternative to English criminal law….(Telegraph, 29 Nov 06)

The end of one law for all?

Ethnic and religious courts are gaining ground in the UK. Will this lead to different justice for different people? Aydarus Yusuf has lived in the UK for the past 15 years, but he feels more bound by the traditional law of his country of birth - Somalia - than he does by the law of England and Wales. "Us Somalis, wherever we are in the world, we have our own law. It's not Islamic, it's not religious - it's just a cultural thing."…(BBC, 29 Nov 06)

Iranian President Makes Direct Appeal to Americans

…The five-page letter, which was both conciliatory in references to "Noble Americans" and scathing in lambasting Jewish influence in the United States, said there is an urgent need for dialogue between Iranians and Americans because of the "tragic consequences" of U.S. intervention abroad….(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Five Years After the Fall of the Taliban: Afghanistan and the War on Terrorism

Five years after coalition troops defeated Afghanistan's Taliban-led government, a resurgent al Qaeda-influenced Taliban has resurfaced, with many of its senior leaders now receiving support from the terrorist organization, state supporters in Pakistan, wealthy Arab financiers, and other anti-government forces….(USIP, Nov 06)

Jihadi After Action Report: Syria

New report on failure of Jihadi movement in Syria from West Point Combating Terrorism Center….(CTC, Nov 06)

Al-Qaeda in Iraq denounces Jordan's king, Iraqi Sunni leaders

Al-Qaeda in Iraq on Thursday denounced Iraqi Sunni politicians who met recently with Jordan's King Abdullah II, calling them and the monarch “traitors.” ...(AP, 30 Nov 06)

Iran issues fatwa on Azeri writer

One of Iran's most senior clergymen has issued a fatwa on an Azeri writer said to have insulted the Prophet Muhammad. The call on Muslims to murder Rafiq Tagi, who writes for Azerbaijan's Senet newspaper, echoes the Iranian fatwa against Indian writer Salman Rushdie….(BBC, 30 Nov 06)

Insulting Islam breeds violence - Turk religious chief

Turkey's top Muslim official repeated in the presence of Pope Benedict that Islam was not a religion of violence and that arguing so can only encourage those who abuse religion to do wrong….(Reuters, 30 Nov 06)

Taliban Scoff at NATO Troop Increase

…“Increasing or expanding NATO troops in Afghanistan is not a worry for the Taliban, instead it will make targets for the Taliban mujahideen much easier,” Commander Mullah Obaidullah told Reuters, adding the hardline Islamists could fight for 20 years….(Reuters, 30 Nov 06)

Hezbollah calls for huge protests

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has called for a huge turnout for opposition protests aimed at bringing down the anti-Syrian government. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah called on Lebanese people to join protests and civil disobedience starting on Friday….(BBC, 30 Nov 06)

Hezbollah in Latin America

… Teodoro Darnott, aka "Sheidy Daniel," thought he was immune from Hugo's attentions. Darnott, in the remote Zulia section of Venezuela, near the Colombian border, had begun preaching a weird fusion of militant Islam, Marxist theory, and even a sprinkling of Catholic "Liberation Theology" to a group of disaffected Indians. He detested the United States and Israel and called for jihad -- or in Spanish, "yihad," against their interests in Latin America….(Spectator, 30 Nov 06)

Women protest against proposed Dutch burqa ban
About two dozen Muslim women protested today outside the Dutch parliament against a proposed ban on the burqa, the head-to-toe Islamic robe….(IOL, 30 Nov 06)

Iran: Conference on Islam and humanitarian law in Qom

Over one hundred scholars and experts in Islamic law from Iran and other countries in the region took part in a conference on Islam and international humanitarian law held in Qom on 29 and 30 November….(Alert Net, 30 Nov 06)

Talking to the rogues

…Syria has an embassy in Washington and the United States has one in Damascus, and all three countries are represented in organizations such as the United Nations. Since September 11, the Bush administration has discussed issues, including Afghanistan, Iraq and al Qaeda with Iran and Syria. What really bothers Mr. Bush's critics is his refusal to hold higher-level, higher-profile talks with Iran and Syria that would amount to a public-relations windfall for these regimes…..(Washington Times, 30 Nov 06)

Gitmo Justice Is a Joke

The same legal scholars who established beyond doubt earlier this year that the vast majority of Guantanamo Bay detainees are not threats to our national security after all are back with comprehensive new findings -- again from our own military's official records…(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Data on U.S. military's Iraqi operations leaked onto Internet

Internal data such as information concerning U.S. military operations in Iraq have recently been leaked to the Internet from a privately owned personal computer of an Air Self-Defense Force member loaded with a file sharing software, ASDF investigations have shown….(AP, 30 Nov 06)

Strong protests for visa changes

President Bush's proposal to loosen U.S. visa rules for a select group of allies yesterday drew strong protests from security analysts and strong support from countries that hope to benefit from the liberalized rules….(Washington Times, 30 Nov 06)

Ready to cooperate with neighbors, says Iraq PM

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday said he was ready to cooperate with anyone capable of contributing to stability and said Iraq will not be a "shelter" for terrorism.  "We are ready to cooperate with all neighboring countries that wish to work with the national unity government on the basis of non-interference in our internal affairs,"…(Zee News, 30 Nov 06)

Sadr Casts a Shadow Over Bush-Maliki Meeting

…In one swift maneuver Wednesday, Sadr cast a shadow over the diplomacy in Amman and issued a reminder of his growing influence in Iraq when a bloc of his party's lawmakers and cabinet members suspended their participation in the government to protest Maliki's decision to meet with Bush in Jordan….(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Bush, Maliki Meet After First Talks Are Canceled

President Bush began consultations Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on how to halt the deterioration of security in his country, after their scheduled opening meeting was canceled Wednesday evening following political turmoil in Baghdad and disclosure of U.S. doubts about Maliki's capabilities….(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Study Group to Call for Pullback

The Iraq Study Group, which wrapped up eight months of deliberations yesterday, has reached a consensus and will call for a major withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, shifting the U.S. role from combat to support and advising, according to a source familiar with the deliberations…(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Ethiopian parliament authorizes action against Somali Islamists

Ethiopia's parliament has authorized the government to take "any legal action" against powerful Islamists in neighboring Somalia, ratcheting up fears for war that could engulf the region. Lawmakers adopted a resolution Thursday that calls the Islamists, now on the brink of war with the weak Ethiopian-backed Somali government, a "clear and present danger" to Ethiopia…(Agence France-Presse, 30 Nov 06)

U.S. Settles Suit Filed by Ore. Lawyer

The U.S. government agreed yesterday to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by an Oregon lawyer who was arrested and jailed for two weeks in 2004 after the FBI bungled a fingerprint match and mistakenly linked him to a terrorist attack in Spain. Under the terms of the settlement filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Portland, the government also issued an unusual apology to Brandon Mayfield for the "suffering" caused by his wrongful arrest and imprisonment…(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

U.S. Will Pay $2 Million to Lawyer Wrongly Jailed

…(New York Times, 30 Nov 06)

UK terrorism suspects lose U.S. extradition case

Two Britons wanted by the United States to face terrorism charges failed in a legal challenge on Thursday to stop their extradition because of fears they would be mistreated. Babar Ahmad and Haroon Rashid Aswat had argued at London's High Court that they did not trust assurances from the U.S. authorities that they would be given a fair trial and not treated as "enemy combatants."….(Reuters, 30 Nov 05)

Video: Terror Suspects lose appeal

Terrorists condemned to death for Taba bombings

An Egyptian state security court on Thursday condemned to death three Islamic terrorists convicted of taking part in the suicide attacks on Taba and another Sinai resort that killed 34 people in 2004…(AP/Jerusalem Post, 30 Nov 06)

Terror Watch: Showdown Over Padilla

A looming court fight over claims that one-time enemy combatant Jose Padilla was “tortured” by the U.S. military is threatening to create new difficulties for one of the Bush administration’s most high-profile terrorism cases…..(Newsweek, 29 Nov 06)

Morocco arrests imam for recruiting Iraq bombers

…The imam, identified by police simply as Abdelilah according to Aujourd'hui Le Maroc newspaper, was arrested Monday in Tetouan, a city in northern Morocco near the Strait of Gibraltar….(AP, Jerusalem Post, 29 Nov 06)

Deadly Fighting Shuts Down City in Iraq

Fierce fighting Wednesday between coalition forces and insurgents shut down the Iraqi city of Baqouba, which has been roiled by violence in recent days, killing scores of militants and civilians….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Shi'ites, Sunnis amass arms

Rival Shi'ite and Sunni groups are massing their militias in expectation of major confrontations, Iraqis say, even as President Bush prepares to meet today with the nation's embattled prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki…..(Washington Times, 29 Nov 06)

U.S. Military Predicts Rising Violence in Iraq

Parliament voted unanimously Tuesday to keep Iraq under a state of emergency for 30 more days, as a U.S. military spokesman said he expects violence to escalate over the next few weeks in response to Thursday's bombings in Sadr City. Renewed every month since first authorized in November 2004, the state of emergency allows the Iraqi government to impose a nighttime curfew and make arrests without warrants…(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Bomber kills four in Iraq police station assault
A suicide car bomber rammed into a police station north of Baghdad, killing four officers, as dozens of gunmen assaulted a nearby checkpoint and killed two more, a security official said. The city of Samarra, 125 kilometers (78 miles) north of Baghdad, was put under indefinite curfew in the wake of the apparently coordinated assaults….(Agence France-Presse, 29 Nov 06)

4 bombs explode on Pakistan railway line

Four bombs exploded minutes apart on a railway line linking Pakistan with neighboring Iran, but caused no casualties, police and a railway official said Wednesday….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

9 Pak terrorists behind 7/11 attacks: NSA

Nine Pakistan-based jehadi terrorists were involved in the July 11 bomb attacks on Mumbai's commuter trains, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said in New Delhi today….(Mid-Day, 29 Nov 06)

Two Syrian-sent would-be assassins seized

…Al-Mustaqbal, a newspaper owned by the family of slain former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, also said Syria has sent some 200 pro-Damascus militants to the Palestinian refugee camps Al-Badwaii and Borge Al-Baragna in Lebanon. The militants were prepared to carry out instructions sent them from Syria….(AKI, 29 Nov 06)

Pakistan Under Fire Over Detentions

The three men had little in common -- until they all disappeared. The nuclear scientist, engineer and traveling businessman are now at the center of an unprecedented legal challenge by relatives who believe they -- and dozens of detainees like them -- are being held without charge by Pakistan's feared spy agencies….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Iraq exit via Iran?

The Iraq war, civil or not, is costing $226 million a day -- or $8 billion a month, $76 billion a year. It's hard to figure out what to call it when Iraqis are killing Iraqis by the score every day and when the U.S. has been fighting and dying there longer than its involvement in World War II. Iraq also has a civil war within a civil war -- insurgency interspersed by sectarian warfare against a Shia-led government….(Washington Times, 29 Nov 06)

Report Shows Muslims Near Bottom of Social Ladder

Even those who caution against “illusions of grandeur and power,” as the head of India’s governing coalition, Sonia Gandhi, did last week, cannot hide their sense of pride at the idea of India as a nation that extends the concessions of secular democracy to its many castes, creeds and faiths….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Iran Strengthens Ties With Afghanistan

From cheap ice cream to 24-hour electricity, Iran is strengthening economic ties with western Afghanistan that could undermine support for U.S. and NATO forces….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Al-Sadr loyalists boycott Iraq government

Lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have suspended participation in parliament and the government to protest Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's summit with U.S. President George W. Bush….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

U.S. Peacekeeping Plan for Somalia Criticized
The United States has finalized a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize a force of East African peacekeepers to intervene in Somalia to prevent the overthrow of the country's struggling government at the hands of Islamic militias….(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Annan Seeks Summit Outside Iraq to Reconcile Factions

The U.N. Security Council unanimously extended the mandate for the 160,000-strong U.S.-led coalition in Iraq for an additional 12 months yesterday, as Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed an international conference at a venue outside the war-torn country to forge reconciliation among Iraq's political parties….(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

NATO Talks Fail to Agree on a Bush Demand

Leaders of the 26 NATO nations failed to agree today on President Bush’s demand that member countries with troops in Afghanistan lift their restrictions on how the troops are used….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Gates Warns Against Leaving Iraq 'in Chaos'

Robert M. Gates, President Bush's nominee to become the next secretary of defense, said he opposes a swift pullout from Iraq, arguing in written testimony submitted yesterday to Congress that "leaving Iraq in chaos would have dangerous consequences both in the region and globally for many years to come."…(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Lebanon on the Brink of Civil War
In recent days, the Lebanese media has been reporting on impending large-scale street demonstrations planned by Hizbullah. According to several reports, last night Hizbullah and its allies met and set the time and date for the launch of these actions…(MEMRI, 29 Nov 06)

Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable missile

Pakistan test launched a nuclear-capable medium range missile two days after South Asian rival India conducted its first trial of a new ballistic intercept system….(Agence France-Presse, 29 Nov 06)

BBC apologizes to Taliban for running old story

Taliban militants in North Waziristan banned newspapers for two days, torched newspaper copies and detained a journalist after the press erroneously reported that four militants had been killed in a clash with security forces near the tribal agency’s main town of Mir Ali….(Daily Times, 29 Nov 06)

Islamist Websites Monitor No. 26

….MEMRI, 29 Nov 06)

Man Pleads Guilty in Plan to Aid Taliban

…Kobie Diallo Williams, 33, and Adnan Babar Mirza, 29, underwent training in guns and reconnaissance in the Houston area in preparation for joining up with the Taliban, prosecutors said….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Indonesian Muslim militant gets 12 years in terrorism sentence

…Central Java's Semarang district court found Joko Wibowo, alias Abu Sayaf, guilty of violating anti-terrorism laws for giving a semiautomatic pistol to a member of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) that was used for military training….(DPA, 29 Nov 06)

The Wronged Man

Khaled al-Masri was supposed to have been disappeared by black-hooded CIA paramilitaries in the dead of night. One minute he was riding a bus in Macedonia, the next -- poof -- gone….(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Legal immigrants to U.S. face green card logjam

…Some U.S. employers, especially in the technology sector, where global competition is fierce, are also concerned that they are prevented from hiring the best and the brightest, who they need to keep ahead of the curve….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Text of U.S. Security Adviser’s Iraq Memo

Following is the text of a Nov. 8 memorandum prepared for cabinet-level officials by Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, and his aides on the National Security Council. The five-page document, classified secret, was read and transcribed by The New York Times…(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Bush adviser's memo cites doubts about Maliki

A classified memorandum by President George W. Bush's national security adviser expressed serious doubts about whether Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq and recommended that the United States take new steps to strengthen the Iraqi leader's position….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Judge Strikes Down Parts of Executive Order on Terrorism

A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that key portions of a presidential order blocking financial assistance to terrorist groups are unconstitutional, further complicating the Bush administration's attempts to defend its aggressive anti-terrorism tactics in federal courts….(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Order freezing alleged terrorist funds ruled down

A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that the Bush administration violated the Constitution when it froze the assets of more than two dozen alleged terrorist groups after the Sept. 11 attacks….(LA Times, 29 Nov 06)

Citizenship Agency Lost 111,000 Files

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has lost track of 111,000 files in 14 of the agency's busiest district offices and processed as many as 30,000 citizenship applications last year without the necessary files, congressional investigators reported yesterday….(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Visa Waivers May Be Offered To More Nations

The Bush administration will ask Congress to change and expand a program that allows citizens of some countries to enter the United States without visas. In exchange, the U.S. government would require visitors to provide more data about themselves before they board planes….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

45,000 terror-threat illegals released into U.S. population

Half of the 91,516 illegal aliens from terror-sponsoring countries and those of "special interest" apprehended at the border between 2001 and 2005 were released into the U.S. population, according to a report by the inspector general's office of the Department of Homeland Security. …(World Net Daily, 29 Nov 06)

Controversy over Pentagon's war-spending plan

The Pentagon is preparing an emergency spending proposal that could be larger and broader than any since the Sept. 11 attacks, covering not only the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but extending to other military operations connected to the Bush administration's war on terrorism….(LA Times, 29 Nov 06)

Pacific submarine force helps track new enemy

…Today, Adm. Walsh says, the primary targets of American submarines are terrorists, particularly those in Southeast Asia. "The submarine," he contends, "is the perfect platform for the war on terror." The admiral, after 29 years in what submariners call the "silent service," did not discuss specific operations….(Washington Times, 29 Nov 06)

Marshals decry imams' charges

Air marshals, pilots and security officials yesterday expressed concern that airline passengers and crews will be reluctant to report suspicious behavior aboard for fear of being called "racists," after several Muslim imams made that charge in a press conference Monday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport…(Washington Times, 29 Nov 06)

Border security system posts just 1 terror case

A U.S. border security program that photographs and fingerprints visitors from most foreign countries has apprehended just one terrorism-related suspect since its 2004 inception, officials said on Wednesday….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Somalia, U.S. official says

Al-Qaeda militants are operating with “great comfort” in Somalia, providing training and assistance to a radical military element loyal to the Islamic group that controls most of southern Somalia, a senior State Department official said Wednesday…(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Qaeda says Pope wants to pull Turkey from Islam

Iraq's al Qaeda wing on Wednesday condemned Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey as part of a crusade against Islam aimed at pulling Turkey away from the Muslim world….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Pope Backs Turkey’s Bid to Join European Union

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Turkey on Tuesday armed with a surprise gesture of good will aimed at blunting Muslim anger toward him: he backed Turkey’s long-stalled desire to join the European Union, reversing a statement he made two years ago….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Iran President Writes to American People

The letter to "Noble Americans," distributed by Iran's U.N. Mission, denounced President George W. Bush's policies in the Middle East and U.S. practices in the "war on terror." He appealed to the American people to work to reverse them and called on the Bush administration and the new Democratic-controlled Congress to heed the results of the recent midterm elections….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Text of Iran president’s letter to the U.S.

Iran leader appeals to US people

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made an unprecedented and direct appeal to the US people, urging them to reject US foreign policy. In a letter to "Noble Americans" Iran's president said the US administration's use of "coercion, force and injustice" weakened its global position. Mr Ahmadinejad said terrorism had "grown exponentially" in the "military misadventure" of Iraq….(BBC, 29 Nov 06)

Hezbollah denies training Mehdi Army

The Lebanese group Hezbollah denied yesterday that it was training fighters from the Mehdi Army, an Iraqi Shiite militia blamed in sectarian killings in the war-torn country….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

German police arrest Turkish terrorist suspects

Police arrested suspected Turkish extremists during a swoop on homes and offices across Germany, officials said Wednesday….(DPA, 29 Nov 06)

Assassination of Sunni Cleric Inflames Sectarian Tensions in Iraq

On November 15, Sheikh Khadir al-Anbari, a Sunni imam and preacher at al-Sajjad Mosque, was assassinated in Iraq. The mosque is one of the few Sunni mosques in the predominantly Shiite inhabited Sadr City section of Baghdad….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 28 Nov 06)

Slaughter in the mosque: a new terror for Iraqis

… In the war for Baghdad, mosques serve as garrisons. Sunnis use religious sanctuaries as strongholds to fight for mixed neighbourhoods. Shia extremists convert their mosques and prayer rooms, called husseiniyas, into execution chambers….(Time Magazine, 28 Nov 06)

Bush: Iraq Violence Part of al - Qaida Plot

… The president dated the current spike to the Feb. 22 bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine in Samarra, which triggered attacks and reprisal counterattacks between the Shiite majority and Sunni minority, and raised fears of civil war….(AP, 28 Nov 06)

Pakistan's Chitral District: A Refuge for al-Qaeda's Top Leadership?

 In the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders, security services continue to focus on Pakistan's Chitral district in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 28 Nov 06)

Allure of Islam Signals a Shift Within Turkey

…In the past five years, Muslims here have repeatedly felt betrayed by the West. The United States began holding Muslims without charge at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; it invaded Iraq and abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Turkey’s hopes of entering the European Union have dimmed. The pope made a speech citing criticism of Islam….(New York Times, 28 Nov 06)

Islamist Websites Succeed in Recruiting Muslims for Jihad

Jihadi leaders continue to establish new websites on the internet by which they spread their ideology and identify users who can be recruited for the global jihad. If preaching and disseminating fanatical and extreme ideas on the internet is itself a concern, the use of jihadi forums to entice potential terrorists is even more threatening and must be addressed before the young and pious are lured into extremism….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 28 Nov 06)