In Baghdad, Pressing to Meet, With Iraqi Help, Pentagon’s Own Standard for Force Levels

When Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus assumes his duties as the new American commander in Iraq, he will be guided by a new military doctrine on counterinsurgency that makes the security of the population a chief objective….(New York Times, 19 Jan 07)

Rice Highlights Opportunities After Setbacks On Mideast Trip

…Under Rice's formulation, the time is not ripe to deal directly with Iran and Syria, both of which are causing problems in Iraq, because they have not indicated they are ready to change their behavior. While the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government is trying to build ties to Iran, which Rice said she does not oppose, the administration is ratcheting up the pressure, sending a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf….(Washington Post, 19 Jan 07)

Iraqi Militia Expressing Siege Mentality

Two Shiite militia commanders said Thursday that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has stopped protecting radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Madhi Army under pressure from Washington, while the fighters described themselves as under seige in their Sadr City stronghold….(AP, 19 Jan 07)

Top Aide to Shiite Cleric Arrested in Baghdad

A top aide to Muslim Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was arrested Friday shortly after midnight in Baghdad in an operation led by the Iraqi government, which is under pressure from Washington to crack down on Shiite militias. Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, Sadr's media director in Baghdad, was arrested at a house in the eastern neighborhood of Baladiyat, said Abdul Razak al-Nadawi, a spokesman for Sadr….(Washington Post, 19 Jan 07)

Sunni Insurgent Group Asserts It Killed American
A Sunni insurgent group linked to the group al-Qaeda in Iraq asserted responsibility Thursday for the killing of an Ohio woman working in Baghdad who died Wednesday after her convoy was attacked, according to a posting on a Web site used by some Sunni groups….(Washington Post, 19 Jan 07)

Turkish-Armenian writer shot dead

A well-known Turkish-Armenian editor convicted of insulting Turkish identity has been shot dead in Istanbul. Hrant Dink, editor of newspaper Agos, was shot three times by an unknown gunman outside his offices…(BBC, 19 Jan 07)

One of al-Sadr's aides arrested in Baghdad, official says

…Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, al-Sadr's media director in Baghdad, was captured during a 2 a.m. raid on a mosque in the eastern neighborhood of Baladiyat, an official in al-Sadr's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. The U.S. military said special Iraqi army forces operating with coalition advisers captured a high-level, illegal armed group leader in Baladiyat, but it did not identify the detainee….(Canadian Press, 19 Jan 07)

Bomb kills two in India bus station

A bomb hidden in a vegetable basket exploded in a crowded bus station in India's troubled northeastern state of Assam today, killing two people and wounding 10…(Herald Sun, 19 Jan 07)

Palestinian militants say plan more abductions

A Palestinian militant group involved in abducting an Israeli soldier said on Friday it will try to seize more soldiers and settlers to secure the return of the bodies of Palestinians it says Israel is holding….(Reuters, 19 Jan 07)

No-Fly List Checked for Accuracy, Cut

The Bush administration is checking the accuracy of a watch list of suspected terrorists banned from traveling on airliners in the U.S. and will probably cut the list in half, the head of the Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

TSA chief: Checking all air cargo unwise

U.S. Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley has denounced a congressional plan to require all cargo on passenger aircraft to be screened….(Washington Times, 18 Jan 07)

Wire transfer database plan 'technically feasible' reports Fincen

The US banking industry is facing up to potential legislation that would require the country's top banks to report details of their international wire transfers under initiatives to track money laundering and terrorist funding….(Financial Extra, 18 Jan 07)

U.S. Inclusiveness Dampens Terror Risks

Though the U.S. is not immune to the grass-roots extremism that has inspired attacks in Europe, the inclusiveness of American society may help against radical Islam's spread here…(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Turkey welcomes U.S. raid on Iraq camp, wants more

Turkey on Thursday welcomed a raid by U.S. and Iraqi forces on a refugee camp of Turkish Kurds in northern Iraq as a first step towards combating Kurdish rebels, but insisted the camp must be shut down. Iraqi and U.S. troops conducted a search operation on Wednesday at the Makhmur refugee camp in northern Iraq….(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

U.S. Launches Armed Force to Block Iranian Influence in Iraq

The U.S. military has launched a special operations task force to break up Iranian influence in Iraq, according to U.S. News sources. The special operations mission, known as Task Force 16, was created late last year to target Iranians trafficking arms and training Shiite militia forces….(Newsweek, 18 Jan 07)

High alert for terrorist attacks lifted in Russia

Russian security and police units stood down and resumed routine operations Friday after warnings from an unnamed foreign intelligence service of possible terrorist attacks on the country's public transportation system proved unsubstantiated….(RIA Novosti, 19 Jan 07)

Maliki: More Weapons, Less Advice

…On Wednesday he (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki) said Iraq needed more weapons, not more advice, from the Bush administration. "I can strongly say that we could have been in a better situation right now regarding the equipment we have and the weapons we have," Maliki said through a translator in an interview with six reporters from Western media, including TIME. "And if that would have happened, it would have greatly decreased the level of our losses and the losses of the Multi-National Forces as well….(Time Magazine, 18 Jan 07)

Afghanistan, Pakistan, NATO to set up joint intelligence center

In a bid to share intelligence information and coordinate operations against insurgents, the armed forces of Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have agreed to set up a joint intelligence operation center…(Pak Tribune, 18 Jan 07)

Iraqi PM seeks US weapons boost

….(BBC, 18 Jan 07)

Kyrgyzstan's Manas Airbase: A Key Asset in the War on Terrorism

The collapse of communism in the USSR in 1991 and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States a decade later offered the Pentagon basing possibilities impossible even to conceive of during the Cold War….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 18 Jan 07)

U.N.: Lebanon Has Not Approved Tribunal

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern Wednesday that Lebanon has not given final approval to an international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of its former prime minister, Rafik Hariri….(New York Times, 18 Jan 07)

Russia keeps security alert in place

Russia maintained extra patrols around the Moscow metro, military and key energy sites on Thursday, following a warning from the country's spy chief two days earlier of a potential attack by extremists…..(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

Give us guns – and troops can go, says Iraqi leader

America’s refusal to give Baghdad’s security forces sufficient guns and equipment has cost a great number of lives, the Iraqi Prime Minister said yesterday. Nouri al-Maliki said the insurgency had been bloodier and prolonged because Washington had refused to part with equipment. If it released the necessary arms, US forces could “dramatically” cut their numbers in three to six months….(Times Online, 18 Jan 07)

Iraqi PM seeks US weapons boost

Iraq's need for US troops could fall in three to six months if the US supplied more weapons to the Iraqi security forces, PM Nouri Maliki has said. Shortages of weapons and equipment had led to the insurgency being more prolonged and bloody, he told the UK's Times newspaper. He urged the US to honor a deal to give Iraqi forces more equipment….(BBC, 18 Jan 07)

100 Saddam Regime Officials to Be Tried

More than 100 former members of Saddam Hussein's regime will stand trial this year in connection with the deaths of tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims during an uprising after the 1991 Gulf War, prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi said Thursday….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Somalia Seeks U.S. Aid to Revive Nation

Somalia is asking the U.S. government for help in building efficient police, military and intelligence organizations as it attempts to overcome years of strife and impoverishment…(AP,18 Jan 07)

Iraq Slams U.N. Report on Casualties

Iraq's government on Thursday strongly criticized a U.N. report on human rights that put its civilian death toll in 2006 at 34,452, saying it is "superficial" and discussed subjects that are taboo in Iraqi society such as homosexuality….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Iranian Involvement in Afghanistan

The Afghan media has published an increasing number of critical reports about Iran's secret contacts with insurgent groups in Afghanistan, specifically those groups fighting against the U.S. presence in the country. On September 5, for instance, the Pashto-language newspaper Weesa referred to unidentified local officials in Nimruz province who claimed that Tehran was financing and providing weaponry to Afghanistan's militant groups….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 18 Jan 07)

Expelling the Infidel: Historical Look at Somali Resistance to Ethiopia

The U.S.-supported Ethiopian invasion of Somalia has an unsettling resemblance to the British-supported Ethiopian incursions in the early years of the 20th century. In both cases, the Western powers became involved because of perceived strategic considerations, while their proxy, Ethiopia, went to war as a result of Somali resistance to Ethiopian domination of the ethnic-Somali Ogaden region….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 18 Jan 07)

Israel urges silence on U.S. weapons to Palestinians

Israeli leaders are pressuring senior officials in the Israeli Defense Forces to put aside reservations regarding U.S. plans to train, finance and arm militias associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party….(World Net Daily, 18 Jan 07)

Hezbollah image suffers in south Lebanon village

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, was a hero in this Sunni village in south Lebanon when Israeli troops were forced to withdraw in 2000 but his picture was torn down a few weeks ago….(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

Pakistan rejects claim Mullah Omar in Quetta
Pakistan on Thursday denied its intelligence service was sheltering Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in the city of Quetta near the Afghan border. “It is an absurd and sheer lie,” top military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP. The claim was made on Wednesday by a Taleban spokesman captured in Afghanistan where the fundamentalist movement has been waging a deadly insurgency after being ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001…(Agence France-Presse, 18 Jan 07)

Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'

Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight program. Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilize Iraq following the US-led invasion….(BBC, 18 Jan 07)

Sanctions could escalate Iran standoff: ElBaradei

The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said on Thursday sanctions against Iran could escalate a standoff over its nuclear program and called for a new impetus to break the deadlock….(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

Analysis: Shiite Crackdown May Be Risky

U.S. commanders have signaled they will shy away from a Fallujah-style assault on the Baghdad stronghold of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia _ even though President Bush insists that driving armed groups from the capital is key to his plan for success…..(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Arab World Outraged Over Hangings in Iraq

Beirut's daily an-Nahar newspaper ran a caricature Tuesday of the Iraqi flag adorned with three nooses. At the center of the red, white and black banner, the outline of the coiled ropes appears similar to the word "Allah" in Arabic script. The cartoon appears under the caption "The New Iraq."….(Washington Post, 18 Jan 07)

Militant Commander Vows To Avenge Strike On Waziristan

Top militant commander Baitullah Mehsud on Wednesday vowed to avenge the Hamzola air strike in the next two weeks in his native South Waziristan which, in his words, would cause pain to Pakistan….(AKI, 18 Jan 07)

High-level Iran delegation visits N Korea

The Iranian Foreign Ministry delegation, led by Vice Minister Mahdi Safari, arrived in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency reported in a one-sentence dispatch without giving any further details. North Korea and Iran — both labeled by President Bush as part of an "axis of evil" along with prewar Iraq — are under growing international pressure to give up their pursuit of nuclear programs….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Iran asks envoys to nuclear sites  
Iran had invited envoys from developing nations accredited to the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog to visit its nuclear sites in a show of openness about its atomic fuel programme, diplomats said yesterday….(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

Iran Envoy: Iraq to Free Captured Iranians

Iran's ambassador said Thursday that Iraq's foreign minister promised him that Iranians captured by U.S. troops in north of the country last week will be freed "within days," adding that their detention was an insult to the Iraqi government and people….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Iran condemns US 'kidnap' in Iraq

Iran has accused the US of kidnapping five diplomats who were arrested in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. The US has denied the men were diplomats - it says they were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and were arming Shia fighters in Iraq….(BBC, 18 Jan 07)

Australian Muslim cleric, Sheik Feiz Mohammed, incites jihad on DVDs

An Australian Muslim cleric has urged children to be martyrs for Islam and referred to Jews as pigs in a series of DVD's, sparking condemnation by the government and further straining tensions with the nation's Muslims. The Australian federal police said it would investigate the videos to determine whether the cleric, Sheik Feiz Mohammed, had breached Australian laws against sedition and inciting violence….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

American-Born Imam Spews Message of Hate in England

A New Jersey-born Muslim cleric with links to a suspected Al Qaeda operative who surfaced at a college not far from the cleric's Peoria, Ill., mosque the day before the Sept. 11 attacks has found a new home. The imam now is spewing his message of hate to a growing group of followers at a mosque in Birmingham, England…(Fox News, 18 Jan 07)

Alleged Canada terror leader was "time-bomb" -mole

A Toronto man who infiltrated a group accused of plotting terror attacks on Canadian targets, including Parliament, says the alleged leader of the gang was a "time bomb", who hoped to build an insurgent army in Canada's north. Mubin Shaikh said in an interview on CBC television on Wednesday that accused ringleader Fahim Ahmad had hoped to set up a "Chechnya-style" resistance in northern Ontario….(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

Accused Egyptian Blogger Stands Trial

An Egyptian blogger went on trial Thursday on charges of insulting Islam and causing sectarian strife with his Internet writings. Egypt's first prosecution of a blogger came as Washington has backed away from pressuring its Mideast ally to improve its human rights record and bring democratic reform….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Al-Suri's Doctrines for Decentralized Jihadi Training - Part 1

The evolution toward smaller, more autonomous and decentralized organizational structures has been identified as a key trend in jihadi terrorism during the past few years. Confronting amorphous structures and networks, which lack clearly identifiable organizational linkages and command structures and in which self-radicalization and self-recruitment are key elements, is a formidable challenge for security services….(Global Terrorism Analysis, 18 Jan 07)

Iraq Developments Reported Thursday

….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Pakistan rejects claim Mullah Omar in Quetta
Pakistan on Thursday denied its intelligence service was sheltering Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in the city of Quetta near the Afghan border. “It is an absurd and sheer lie,” top military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP…(Agence France-Presse, 18 Jan 07)

Series of Blasts Kill 19 in Baghdad

A series of explosions and shootings rocked Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens…(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Terror Suspect Dies in Shootout in Philippines

A militant leader tied to al-Qaeda and accused of masterminding one of Southeast Asia's worst terror attacks has been killed, the Philippine military said Wednesday….(AP, 18 Jan 07)

Shiite Fighters Are Arrested, Iraq Says

Facing intense pressure from the Bush administration to show progress in securing Iraq, senior Iraqi officials announced Wednesday that they had moved against the country’s most powerful Shiite militia, arresting several dozen senior members in the past few weeks….(New York Times, 18 Jan 07)

Bush picks new ambassador to Afghanistan

President George W. Bush on Thursday nominated William Wood to be ambassador to Afghanistan, the latest in a shuffle of top diplomats in a region the United States considers central to fighting terrorism….(Reuters, 18 Jan 07)

Arab Group Signals Iran To Avoid Meddling in Iraq

A group of eight Arab nations on Tuesday joined the United States in issuing a veiled warning to Iran against interfering in Iraq's affairs but offered only tepid support for President Bush's new plan for stabilizing Iraq….(Washington Post, 17 Jan 07)

Gates to consider more troops for Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday he would consider sending more troops to Afghanistan where U.S. commanders say they expect the Taliban to step up attacks from Pakistani sanctuaries…..(Reuters, 17 Jan 07)

Islamist Websites Monitor Project No. 50

….(MEMRI, 17 Jan 07)

Al-Qaeda Linked Algerian Group Resurgent Says Intelligence Expert

Al-Qaeda linked Algerian terror formation the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) is still active in Algeria and is setting its sights on Morocco and Tunisia in a bid to become an international network….(AKI, 17 Jan 07)

Officials: Bomb Found on Witness' Truck

The pickup truck on which a pipe bomb was found and later detonated by authorities over the weekend belonged to a key witness in the federal case against jailed Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles…(AP, 17 Jan 07)

Appeals court throws out 1 Ressam felony conviction

A federal appeals panel has knocked down one of the nine felony convictions of Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian serving a 22-year sentence for a failed attempt to set off a bomb at Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the millennium. As a result, the appeals court sent the case back to the trial judge, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, to "arrive at an appropriate sentence on the remaining counts of the conviction" and elaborate how he got there. The Tuesday decision followed the prosecutors' appeal of Coughenour's 22-year sentence as too lenient….(Seattle Times, 17 Jan 07)

Court Opinion

Relatives of bombing victims want Posada charged with terrorism
Relatives of the 73 people killed in a 1976 jetliner bombing urged the U.S. government Wednesday to charge the Cuban militant suspected of the attack with terrorism, saying that anything less is an "insult to the memory of the thousands of citizens who have died victims of terrorist actions."….(AP, 17 Jan 07)

Posada Makes 1st Court Appearance

…Shackled at the wrists and ankles, Luis Posada Carriles was read the charges in a seven-count indictment made public last week but did not enter a plea. He was ordered held without bail pending a bond hearing Friday….(AP, 17 Jan 07)

Jury Sees Tape From London Bomb Scare

British prosecutors played the video to a jury in London on Tuesday. The man, they said, was Ramzi Mohammed, 25, one of six men on trial for conspiracy to murder commuters that day, July 21, 2005. The dust, they said, was residue from a bomb hidden in his backpack. Its detonator fired and caused the puff of dust, prosecutors said, but the shrapnel-laced main charge failed to explode…(Washington Post, 17 Jan 07)

Google erases British bases in Iraq

…According to a recent report in the Telegraph, "documents seized during raids on the homes of insurgents last week uncovered print-outs from photographs taken from Google". The images showed in detail "the buildings inside the bases and vulnerable areas such as tented accommodation, lavatory blocks, and where lightly armored Land Rovers are parked"….(Register, 17 Jan 07)

New Book Details Militant Islam in U.S.

Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the U.S., by Steven Emerson

…It is a comprehensive summation of what is known about the activities of al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other jihad groups within the United States. Although the tone of this book is sober and straightforward throughout, the cumulative effect is startling: The extent to which these jihad groups have penetrated American society is likely to come as a surprise even to relatively informed readers…..(Human Events, 16 Jan 07)