Intelligence & Counterterrorism News for the week of:

January 7-13, 2007

Iraq Qaeda-linked group calls Bush's plan a defeat

…"What we hear in the media about a so-called security plan in Baghdad and Bush's new strategy, will not change anything. They are tasting the bitterness of defeat after announcing to limit their troops to Baghdad instead of all around Iraq," the so-called Islamic state in Iraq group said in the Web posting. Iraqi Sunni militant groups announced in October the creation of what they described as an Islamic state in Iraq…..(Reuters, 13 Jan 07)

Pakistanis Protest 2006 U.S. Airstrike

Thousands of protesters on Saturday chanted "Death to America" and burned effigies of President Bush on the first anniversary of a U.S. airstrike that witnesses said killed 13 villagers. U.S.-forces stationed in Afghanistan fired missiles on two homes in the village of Damadola in the Bajur tribal region a year ago. Bajur is located near Afghanistan's Kunar province, where remnants of al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents often target Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces….(AP, 13 Jan 07)

Iran and Venezuela Plan Anti-U.S. Fund

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad _ fiery anti-American leaders whose moves to extend their influence have alarmed Washington _ said Saturday they would help finance investment projects in other countries seeking to thwart U.S. domination. The two countries had previously revealed plans for a joint $2 billion fund to finance investments in Venezuela and Iran, but the leaders said Saturday the money would also be used for projects in friendly countries throughout the developing world…..(AP, 13 Jan 07)

Canada Unveils Border Security Plan

Canada plans to spend more than $368 million over the next five years to protect its border from terrorist, economic and environmental threats…..(AP, 13 Jan 07)

MI5 terror alert blunder sends private data to US mailshot firm

Confidential details sent to MI5 by thousands of individuals and businesses have ended up with an American company specializing in supermarket mailshots….(This is London, 13 Jan 07)

Choices Dwindle if Iraq War Plan Fails

If the revamped Iraq war plan fails, it will be time to withdraw most U.S. troops. Or send more in. The United States is seen as having a limited number of options, all grim, if President Bush's "new way forward" hits a wall….(AP, 13 Jan 07)

Iraq oil city rocked by attacks

Iraq’s northern oil hub of Kirkuk was rocked by attacks on Saturday as insurgents shot dead two contractors and blew up a Shia mosque under construction, police said. Gunmen planted explosives in the mosque in the Nida neighbourhood of eastern Kirkuk and flattened the building site….(Agence France-Presse, 13 Jan 07)

Rice Says Bush Authorized Iranians’ Arrest in Iraq

A recent series of American raids against Iranians in Iraq was authorized under an order that President Bush decided to issue several months ago to undertake a broad military offensive against Iranian operatives in the country, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday….(New York Times, 13 Jan 07)

Padilla terrorism trial postponed

A U.S. judge postponed until April the trial of alleged Al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla on charges of aiding Islamist terrorists in a case that tests the limits of U.S. presidential authority….(LA Times, 13 Jan 07)

German Court Refuses Moroccan's Appeal

…Mounir el Motassadeq, 32, was convicted in November of being an accessory to the murder of the 246 passengers and crew on the four jetliners used in the 2001 terrorist attacks….(AP, 12 Jan 07)

Islamist Websites Monitor Project No. 44-47

…..MEMRI, 12 Jan 07)

Suspected bomber of Cuban airliner indicted

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted militant Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles on immigration violations that could send the 79-year-old to prison for at least 10 years. But those charges may not be enough to keep him locked up beyond another federal court's Feb. 1 release order….(LA Times, 12 Jan 07)

Immigration Charges for Cuban Militant

…(AP. 12 Jan 07)

Blast at U.S. Embassy Called 'Terrorism'

An anti-tank shell was fired at the U.S. Embassy early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. A senior police official said the blast was an act of terrorism, raising fears of a resurgence of far-left Greek militant groups….(AP, 12 Jan 07)

Rocket slams into U.S. Embassy in Athens

An anti-tank shell was fired at the U.S. embassy early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. Greece's Public Order Minister said the blast was probably an act of domestic terrorism, raising fears of resurgent violence by far-left Greek militants…..(MSNBC, 12 Jan 07)

Bomber Attacks Foreign Convoy Near Kabul

A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-filled car into a two-vehicle convoy carrying foreigners south of Kabul on Friday, wounding at least one Afghan civilian…..(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

NATO kills Taliban, Afghan civilians, police say

NATO aircraft attacked Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan and killed 16 insurgents and 13 civilians, Afghan police said on Friday, but NATO denied causing civilian casualties….(Reuters, 12 Jan 07)

Al-Qaeda 'rebuilding' in Pakistan

The head of US spying operations says the leaders of al-Qaeda have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said al-Qaeda was strengthening its ties across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe….(BBC, 12 Jan 07)

Pakistan takes issue with Negroponte over al Qaeda

Pakistan said on Friday the United States had not given it any information about the presence of al Qaeda leaders, following remarks from U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte that they were holed up in Pakistan. "We have no such information nor has any such thing been communicated to us by any U.S. authority," Pakistan's military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters.….(Reuters, 12 Jan 07)

US reinforcements 'will go home in coffins'

A senior ally of radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr warned Friday that thousands of the planned 21,500 extra US troops en route for the war-torn nation would "go home in coffins." Launching a new strategy to rescue Iraq from civil war, Washington told the government of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, who owes his job to Sadr, it was on "borrowed time" and declared new "no holds barred" military operations…"The American people have to prevent their sons from coming to Iraq or they may return in coffins," threatened Sheikh Abdel Razzaq Al Nadawi, a senior official in Sadr's movement, slamming the planned US troop increase….(Agence France-Presse, 12 Jan 07)

Islamist Websites Monitor No. 47

New Book Describes the Virgins of Paradise. On January 11, 2007, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) posted on Islamist websites a 20-page book titled "The Desire of the Souls for the Women of Paradise."….(MEMRI, 12 Jan 07)

Iranian and Syrian Government Papers on Renewed Superpower Role for Russia to Counter U.S. in Middle East

In a December 20, 2006 op-ed in the Syrian government daily Teshreen, columnist Issam Dari wrote that the uni-polar world order that the U.S. has sought to impose upon the world is a thing of the past, and that today Russia is playing a role no less important than that of the U.S. in promoting world peace and security…..(MEMRI, 12 Jan 07)

Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din: Democracy in the Middle East Can Only Be Established by Force

The following are excerpts from an interview with Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on December 28, 2006….(MEMRI, 12 Jan 07)

Iraq backs Iranians seized by US

..."It is absolutely unacceptable for troops to storm the consular offices of a foreign state on the territory of another state," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said. "It is also not clear how this fits in with American statements that Washington respects the sovereignty of Iraq,"….(BBC, 12 Jan 07)

'Shadow' of Iran growing, spy czar says

Iran has exploited the war in Iraq and a proxy fight with Israel to emerge as a more powerful and confident foe of the United States and is casting a growing "shadow" of influence across the Middle East, the nation's top intelligence official testified Thursday….(LA Times, 12 Jan 07)

Negroponte: al-Qaida the Biggest Threat

…Al-Qaida is America's top concern among terrorist groups, he said. Osama bin Laden's network maintains active connections "that radiate outward from their leaders' secure hide-out in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, northern Africa and Europe,"….(AP, 12 Jan 07)

Intelligence Chiefs Pessimistic In Assessing Worldwide Threats
Iraq is at a violent and "precarious juncture," while al-Qaeda is significantly expanding its global reach, effectively immune to the loss of leaders in battle, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte told Congress yesterday. He also warned that the Taliban is mounting a vigorous insurgency in Afghanistan, that Pakistan has become a safe haven for top terrorists and that Iran's growing regional power is threatening Middle East stability….(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

Afghan heroin flow to jump in Central Asia: Tajikistan

Heroin smuggling through Central Asia is likely to jump this year after a record opium harvest in Afghanistan, the head of Tajikistan's drug control agency and United Nations officials said on Friday….(Reuters, 12 Jan 07)

Iran, Syria Denounce Bush's Iraq Plan

Iran and Syria on Thursday denounced President Bush's new Iraq strategy that blames them for fueling violence in the war-torn country, and they said the plan to send more U.S. troops would only increase bloodshed…..(AP, 12 Jan 07)

Detained Iranians had Iraq approval

The Iraqi foreign minister said Friday that the five Iranians detained by U.S.-led forces in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq were working in a liaison office that had government approval and was in the process of being approved as a consulate….(AP, 12 Jan 07)

Southeast Asians Consider Pact Against Terrorism

Ten Southeast Asian countries meeting here are hammering out a regional antiterrorism agreement, officials said Thursday, the day after a series of terrorist bombings in the southern Philippines underscored the need for such a measure…..(New York Times, 12 Jan 07)

U.S. Troops Went Into Somalia After Raid
A small team of American military personnel entered southern Somalia to try to determine exactly who was killed in a U.S. airstrike Monday that targeted suspected al-Qaeda figures thought to be hiding in swampy mangrove forests along the Indian Ocean….(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

Somali warlords agree joint army but gunmen clash

Somali warlords agreed on Friday to merge their forces into a new national army to tame the anarchic nation, but fighting outside the presidential palace where they met showed how hard that task will be….(Reuters, 12 Jan 07)

U.S. Preparing for Trials of Top Qaeda Detainees

The Bush administration has set up a secret war room in a Virginia suburb where it is assembling evidence to prosecute high-ranking detainees from Al Qaeda including the man accused of being the mastermind of the September 2001 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, government officials said this week. ….(New York Times, 12 Jan 07)

Justice Dept. Hit With Hiring Freeze

…The hiring crunch is largely the result of Congress' failure to approve the Justice Department's 2007 spending request. Lawmakers who oversee spending bills are now negotiating how much _ if at all _ to increase government spending….(AP, 12 Jan 07)

E.U. Satisfied With Data Sharing
European Union officials said yesterday that the U.S. government had allayed their concerns about a homeland security program that creates and retains risk assessments on millions of air travelers to the United States…..(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

Soldier Gets 18 Years in Killing of Detainees at Alleged Al-Qaeda Site

A 101st Airborne Division soldier was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murdering three detainees during a raid on a suspected al-Qaeda compound last year in Iraq. Spec. William B. Hunsaker, 24, pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder and obstruction of justice during a hearing at Fort Campbell….(AP, 12 Jan 07)

A Push for a Pakistan Plan

…Pakistan remains one of Washington's biggest unspoken worries. It seems to be in perpetual crisis, just one event away from going over the edge. No one doubts that the costs of Pakistan's freefall would be tremendous. Yet the current options to prevent this from happening are few and far between…..(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

U.S. needs help of Syria and Iran, analysts in Middle East say
Iraq neighbors' assistance would carry a high price

By accusing Iran and Syria of supporting Iraq's terrorists and insurgents Wednesday night, President Bush inadvertently highlighted a key stumbling block to peace -- the difficulty of reconciling the rival Sunnis and Shiites without also sitting down face-to-face with the Tehran and Damascus governments….(San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Jan 07)

Wisdom From Down the Chain of Command

…For this officer, winning entails getting the politics right in Iraq at both the local and national levels…"We discovered that we were not fighting a military campaign, but a political campaign -- not too different from what a small town mayor might do to win reelection back in the U.S. . . . Fighting terrorists was only something we did when needed, because it interfered with our political objectives. If we could ignore the terrorists, we were winning. If we had to stop our economic and political activities in order to fight terrorists, they were winning."….(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

Shiite Radicalism Could Fuel Wider Violence, Official Warns

The nation’s top intelligence official said Thursday that the spiraling violence in Iraq, along with Iran’s ascendancy in the Middle East, had led to a rebirth of Shiite Islamic radicalism that could fuel sectarian violence and destabilize nations across the region…..(New York Times, 12 Jan 07)

Afghan warlord 'aided Bin Laden'

Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar says his fighters helped al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden escape a US offensive five years ago. Bin Laden was moved to "a safe place" when the US assault on the Tora Bora mountains began in late 2001, the Hezb-e-Islami leader told Pakistani TV….(BBC, 12 Jan 07)

U.S. Troops Raid 2 Iranian Targets in Iraq, Detain 5 People

U.S. troops launched two raids on Iranian targets in Iraq yesterday, following through on President Bush's vow to confront and break up Tehran's networks inside Iraq. Five Iranians were detained, and vast amounts of documents and computer data were confiscated, according to U.S., Iraqi and Iranian officials….(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

Five Flaws in the President's Plan

The president's speech gives rise to five broad observations…(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

Rice Seeks Backing Abroad for Iraq Plan
With President Bush's plan to boost troops in Iraq facing blistering criticism at home, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice departs today on another difficult sales mission: winning the support of Arabs for the Iraq plan and seeking momentum for a renewed push on Middle East peace….(Washington Post, 12 Jan 07)

To Counter Iran’s Role in Iraq, Bush Moves Beyond Diplomacy

In promising to stop Iran from meddling in Iraq, President Bush returned Wednesday night to a strategy of confrontation in dealing with Tehran, casting aside what had been a limited flirtation with a more diplomatic approach toward it….(New York Times, 11 Jan 07)

Sa'd Al-Hariri: 'Iran is Playing a Dangerous Role in Lebanon'

In an interview with Algerian TV, Sa'd Al-Hariri, chairman of the Al-Mustaqbal faction in Lebanon and one of the leaders of the March 14 Forces, accused Hizbullah of being a militia taking orders from Iran…..(MEMRI, 11 Jan 07)

Imminent release of new jihadi software

The Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) has announced the imminent release of new computer software, Mujahideen Secret, to further jihadist outreach to the world. The Middle East Media Research Institute reports that according to the advertisement for the software, it is "the first Islamic computer program for secure exchange [of information] on the Internet," and it provides users with "the five best encryption algorithms, and with symmetrical encryption keys [256 bit], asymmetrical encryption keys [2,048 bit], and data compression [tools]."…(UPI, 11 Jan 07)

A Somali Jihadist: We're Not Al-Qaeda

Said Ali, 21, is a volunteer fighter for the Shabab militia, the feared enforcers of the Islamic Courts Union. The U.S. brands the organization as an ally of al-Qaeda; in reality, it is also a nationalist anti-warlord movement that contains many Muslim moderates and has no international ambitions…..(Times Magazine, 11 Jan 07)

Mubarak Says Brotherhood Are Threat to Security

President Hosni Mubarak said the Muslim Brotherhood poses a threat to Egypt's security and the country would face isolation in the world if the Islamist movement became more powerful….(Reuters, 11 Jan 07)

Islamist Websites Monitor Project No. 46

….(MEMRI, 11 Jan 07)

Sa'd Al-Hariri: 'Iran is Playing a Dangerous Role in Lebanon'

…Al-Hariri, son of assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, claimed that the Lebanese opposition's decision to take to the streets of Beirut had been made based on instructions from Syria and Iran, and with the aim of preventing the establishment of the international court to rule on the Al-Hariri assassination….(MEMRI, 11 Jan 07)

Anti-Terrorism Restrictions Eased

The Bush administration is shifting policy to allow foreigners who have aided armed groups not considered terrorists to seek asylum or resettle in the United States. Hundreds of foreigners already in the country _ including some who have been held for months or years in detention _ claim to have been forced to help violent groups…(AP, 11 Jan 07)

Somali raids miss terror suspects

The US air strikes in Somalia failed to kill any of the three al-Qaeda suspects they targeted, a top US official says. The three were wanted in connection with the 1998 bombing of US embassies in East Africa and a 2002 attack on Israeli targets in Kenya.…(BBC, 11 Jan 07)

11 Shi'ite pilgrims shot dead

Gunmen opened fire on two buses of Iraqi pilgrims returning to the Shi'ite city of Kerbala from the haj at Mecca in neighboring Saudi Arabia today, killing 11 and wounding 14….(Reuters, 11 Jan 07)

NATO: 150 Fighters Killed in Afghanistan

NATO forces fought two large groups of militants crossing the border from Pakistan, and as many as 150 insurgents were killed, the alliance said Thursday. A Taliban spokesman called the report "a complete lie."…(AP, 11 Jan 07)

Taliban threaten to kill 5-abducted Afghan engineers

Taliban commander in Ghani Province, Mulla Nasir Kakar has threatened to kill the five abducted Afghan engineers if the five Taliban detained in Kabul were not released….(Pak Tribune, 11 Jan 07)

Russian Police Kill 4 Suspected Terrorists in Caucasus City

According to a local police source, 14-hour operation to apprehend an armed group of suspected militants in Russian city of Makhachkala, Dagestan republic, ended with four militants killed, RIA Novosti reported January 11….(MosNews, 11 Jan 07)

Bush Iraq plan likely to cost dear

…The potential for increased violence here is very great. And the worst kind of violence: dirty street fighting in some of Baghdad's poorest neighborhoods, places where America's enormous technological advantage over its adversaries is eroded….(BBC, 11 Jan 07)

Iran Nuke Work Seems Slow, Puzzling West

Iran's uranium enrichment program appears stalled despite tough talk from the Tehran leadership, leaving intelligence services guessing about why it has not made good on plans to press ahead with activities that the West fears could be used to make nuclear arms…(AP, 11 Jan 07)

U.S. Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq: Tehran

U.S. forces stormed an Iranian consular office in the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil early on Thursday and arrested five people, including diplomats and staff, Iranian officials said…..(Reuters, 11 Jan 07)

Iran says more U.S. troops in Iraq will lead to further insecurity

… U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to increase the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq "will only result in further insecurity and tension in that occupied country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said….(Xinhua, 11 Jan 07)

China Tells U.S. Its Iran Ties Private

China warned the United States on Thursday not to meddle in its trade relations with Iran after Washington expressed concern about a planned investment by a Chinese oil company in an Iranian gas field….(AP, 11 Jan 07)

U.N. Experts Say Iran Plans Executions

…The investigators said in a joint statement that relatives of seven Arabs from Ahvaz, Iran, the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, were told earlier this week that the executions would occur "in the next few days."….(AP, 11 Jan 07)

U.N. Nuclear Inspectors Arrive in Iran

Two inspectors from the U.N. nuclear agency arrived in Iran on Wednesday to inspect the country's nuclear facilities, the official IRNA news agency reported….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Somali Capital Awash in Anger At Ethiopia, U.S., Interim Leaders

A messy, low-level battle for control of the battered streets of Mogadishu continued Wednesday, as a fighter shot a rocket-propelled grenade at a convoy of Ethiopian trucks passing through the combustible Somali capital….(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

Sudan's Leader Agrees to 60-Day Cease-Fire in Darfur

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agreed on Wednesday to a 60-day cease-fire in his nation's troubled Darfur region but again rejected calls for a U.N. force to help end one of Africa's bloodiest conflicts….(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

Pashtun tribes oppose plan to fence, mine border

The unmarked border between Pakistan and Afghanistan passes invisibly through Kulli Musa village. Now its ethnic Pashtun residents are alarmed by a Pakistani plan to fortify parts of the frontier to stop Taliban rebels crossing over to fight Afghan, Nato and US troops on the other side. "How can we allow fencing and mining between us. We will never accept this. Not at any cost,"…(Gulf Daily, 11 Jan 07)

Britain 'to pull 2700 troops from Iraq '

…Citing a timetable for British withdrawal from the war-torn country that had been disclosed to it, the newspaper said the number of British soldiers in Iraq would drop to 4500 by May 31 from 7200, the vast majority of whom are stationed in the south of the country.…(Australian, 11 Jan 07)

Kenya detains wives of Somalia al Qaeda suspects

Kenyan police on Thursday interrogated two al Qaeda suspects' wives caught fleeing Somalia, as mystery remained over whether their husbands survived a U.S. air strike….(Reuters, 11 Jan 07)

Bush to Add 20,000 Troops In an Effort to Stabilize Iraq

President Bush appealed directly to the American people last night to support a renewed campaign to pacify Iraq, saying it is necessary to add new troops so that the beleaguered Iraqi government can regain control of the streets of Baghdad and revive the process of political reconciliation and economic rebuilding…..(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

Tough moves on Iranians and Syrians in Iraq planned

U.S. forces will step up their offensive against Iranians and Syrians in Iraq as part of President Bush's new plan for the country, American officials said Wednesday, in a step likely to further inflame Washington's relationship with Tehran….(LA Times, 11 Jan 07)

Bush's New Plan for Iraq Echoes Key Parts of Earlier Memo

President Bush's new Iraq policy was said to be the product of weeks of meetings, discussions and analysis by the president and his national security advisers. Yet core elements of the plan were contained in a classified memo that national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley sent to members of Bush's Cabinet on Nov. 8 -- a month before the bipartisan Iraq Study Group issued its report…..(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

'Gated communities' planned for Baghdad

The military's new strategy for Iraq envisions creating "gated communities" in Baghdad — sealing off discrete areas and forcibly removing insurgents, then stationing American units in the neighborhood to keep the peace and working to create jobs for residents….(LA Times, 11 Jan 07)

At-a-glance: New strategy for Iraq

…..(BBC, 11 Jan 07)

A Diplomat Who Loves The Really Tough Jobs

…Crocker -- the career diplomat the Bush administration has nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador in Baghdad -- was blown against the wall. Bloodied but not seriously injured, he and his wife fled the building….(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

U.S. Says Iran Able to Weather Economic Shocks

U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte told the Senate on Thursday that Iran is capable of weathering shocks to its economy, at a time when the Bush administration hopes sanctions will pressure Tehran over its nuclear program…..(Reuters, 11 Jan 07)

China Dismisses Report Of Another North Korea Nuke Test
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on Thursday said Beijing has no knowledge of a reported plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to conduct a second atom bomb test, but said China's position on the issue remains strong….(All Headline News, 11 Jan 07)

Insurgents Play Role in Bin Laden Escape

…..(AP, 11 Jan 07)

FBI seminar a hit with Hollywood

FBI memo to Hollywood: If it's not too much trouble, could you please portray our counterterrorism efforts with a bit more realism? Hoping for an answer in the affirmative, the FBI hosted its first workshop for screenwriters Wednesday at the Federal Building in Westwood….(Reuters, 11 Jan 07)

Guantanamo Remains Source of Outrage

…world outrage over the detention center has grown. Protests around the world will mark the fifth anniversary Thursday of the arrival of the first 20 prisoners at Guantanamo, including a demonstration on the Cuban side of Guantanamo's gate. Critics say the camp, where hundreds of men face indefinite incarceration, has damaged U.S. credibility and should close…..(AP, 11 Jan 07)

Iraq Urges Delay Saddam Case Executions

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday the government should delay the execution of two of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants. Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan Ibrahim, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to death with Saddam...(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Hicks must be tried soon, Howard tells Bush

Prime Minister John Howard has told US President George W Bush that Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks must be charged and tried as soon as possible….(Australian, 11 Jan 07)

6 Face Trial for Failed London Bombing

The trial of six men who authorities allege attempted to bomb London's transit network in 2005, two weeks after suicide bombers killed 52 bus and subway commuters in the city, opens Thursday at a high-security London court….(AP, 11 Jan 07)

Mirsad Bektašević, Abdulkadir Cesur, Bajro Ikanović and Senad Hasanović found guilty

Today, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) handed down the first instance verdict in the case of Mirsad Bektašević and Others, which is being processed before Section II for Organized crime, Economic crime and Corruption….(Court of Bosnia, 11 Jan 07)

Terrorism Convict's Family Held for Deportation

A day after a man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiring to bomb Manhattan's Herald Square, his parents and sister were detained by federal immigration officials seeking to deport them….(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

Terror ruling faces scrutiny

As they left the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday morning, defense lawyers for terror suspect Jose Padilla and his two co-defendants seemed braced for disappointment….(Sun-Sentinenl, 11 Jan 07)

A Nation With a Long Memory, but a Truncated History

History classes across the globe serve two purposes — they educate the young and they shape national identity. They also often sidestep controversy to avoid offense….(New York Times 10 Jan 07)

Islamist Websites Monitor Project No. 45

….(MEMRI, 10 Jan 07)

The Boston mosque's Saudi connection

… According to financial documents supplied to The Boston Globe, major funding for the mosque is being provided by the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In December 2005, for example, two payments of approximately $250,000 each were wired from Jeddah to the Citizens Bank account of the mosque's general contractor in Boston.….(Boston Globe, 10 Jan 07)

Moroccan Editor Faces Five Years in Prison for Insulting Islam

A magazine editor in Morocco who published jokes about sex and religion faces up to five years in prison on charges of damaging public morality and Islam, in the latest case to test the freedom of the press in the country…..(Bloomberg, 10 Jan 07)

Tunisian Reformist Abdelwahab Meddeb: It's Up To the Arab to Take the Courageous Step Of Questioning His Faith
Reformist author Abdelwahab Meddeb was born in Tunisia in 1946, and has been living in Paris since 1968. He is the editor of the international French-language literary journal Dédale and professor of comparative literature at the University of Paris X in Nanterre…..(MEMRI, 10 Jan 07)

British troops fight four-hour battle with Taliban

More than 100 elite British troops today fought a furious four-hour battle at close quarters with the Taliban as they built checkpoints to keep the insurgents away from a local town. A company of Royal Marines was ambushed at dawn in Helmand by rebels hiding in trenches and compounds just 40 metres away. The force included marines from J Company of Plymouth-based 42 Commando and from Arbroath-based 45 Commando. They were helped by Danish and Estonian troops and the Afghan National Army….(Independent, 10 Jan 07)

Al-Qaeda's East African 'big three' still at large

The United States has been trying to track the "big three" al-Qaeda figures in East Africa….(Globe & Mail, 10 Jan 07)

10 Kidnapped at Nigerian Oil Pipeline

Gunmen stormed a compound housing expatriate pipeline workers in the oil-rich southern region Wednesday, kidnapping nine South Koreans and a Nigerian, officials said….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Third explosion in southern Philippines, injures two

A third bomb blast hit the southern Philippines late Wednesday, injuring two people, just hours after six were killed and 24 others wounded in two earlier explosions….(AP. 10 Jan 07)

Bombings, shootings kill 13 across Iraq

…At least 12 people were also injured by the blast when the bomber walked into a crowd of people gathering outside the building about 90 miles east of the Syrian border, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Philippine Soldiers Kill Muslim Militant

…Binang Sali was killed in a brief gunfight with intelligence agents and army Scout Rangers in the village of Anuling on Jolo island late Tuesday, said Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Former Ohio imam is arrested

Israel arrested the former imam of Ohio's largest mosque after he was deported from the United States last week, the Shin Bet domestic security service confirmed….(LA Times, 10 Jan 07)

Official: Bomb suspect killed in Somalia strike

The suspected al-Qaida militant who planned the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in east Africa was killed in an American airstrike in Somalia, an official said Wednesday….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Airstrike Rekindles Somalis’ Anger at the U.S.

…Several residents of the area, in the southern part of the country, said dozens of civilians had been killed, and news of the attack immediately set off new waves of anti-American anger in Mogadishu, Somalia’s battle-scarred capital, where the United States has a complicated legacy…..(New York Times, 10 Jan 07)

Video: US hits Al Qaeda operatives in Somalia

Terror trial defendants described as humanitarians

…Ashqar, 48, of Springfield, Va., and former Chicago grocer Muhammad Salah, 53, are accused by the federal government of serving as major suppliers of funds and fresh recruits for Hamas terrorist operations….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Recent Events Fuel Arab Ire Toward U.S.

…The conflicts in Iraq and Somalia are not directly connected. But this week's U.S. strikes in the Horn of Africa country are feeding fears of Sunni Muslim Arabs that their historic dominance of the Middle East is under threat….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Olmert 'to discuss Iran' in China

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is likely to discuss Iran's nuclear program during talks with his counterpart Wen Jiabao. He will probably ask China to support tougher measures against Iran, if it ignores a UN resolution asking to halt work on its nuclear program…..(BBC, 10 Jan 07)

CIA gets the go-ahead to take on Hizbollah

…It authorizes the CIA and other US intelligence agencies to fund anti-Hizbollah groups in Lebanon and pay for activists who support the Siniora government. The secrecy of the finding means that US involvement in the activities is officially deniable…..(Telegraph, 10 Jan 07)

Afghan Government Recruiting Thousands of Auxiliary Police to Battle Insurgents

With violence on the rise throughout Afghanistan, the Kabul government is recruiting thousands of auxiliary police to combat a growing insurgency. The auxiliaries will relieve Afghanistan's thin-stretched international security forces and regular police, but they get only the most basic training….(Voice of America, 10 Jan 07)

U.S. Bars Iranian Bank To Curb Access to Dollars

…The move will prevent Bank Sepah, Iran's fifth-largest bank, from conducting business in U.S. dollars and is part of a larger White House plan, put in place last year, to cut off Iran's access to U.S. and European currencies. Though U.S. officials say the effort is aimed at the Tehran government, it is also likely to affect millions of Iranian citizens…(Washington Post, 10 Jan 07)

U.S. Prohibits All Transactions With a Major Iranian Bank

…..(New York Times, 10 Jan 07)

With Iraq Speech, Bush to Pull Away From His Generals

…Pentagon insiders say members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have long opposed the increase in troops and are only grudgingly going along with the plan because they have been promised that the military escalation will be matched by renewed political and economic efforts in Iraq. Gen. John P. Abizaid, the outgoing head of Central Command, said less than two months ago that adding U.S. troops was not the answer for Iraq….(Washington Post, 10 Jan 07)

Timing of Iraq Intelligence Estimate Questioned

…As the White House puts the finishing touches on his speech, the nation's top intelligence analysts are toiling away on a document of their own — a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq…This is the first NIE on Iraq in two and a half years. But it won't be ready until the end of the month, after the President proposes his new Iraq policy. That's leading some to question whether the NIE is being held back, to avoid embarrassing the president….(NPR, 10 Jan 07)

As He Touts a 'Way Forward,' Bush Admits Errors of the Past

…The evolution tracks the sharp deterioration not only of the U.S. position in Iraq, but also of Bush's position at home. As he argued to send even more troops into a war that has lost public support, Bush labored to convince Congress and the American people that he understands where he went wrong and has learned from those errors….(Washington Post, 11 Jan 07)

Bush Rhetoric Hard to Square With Facts

…The war that toppled Saddam Hussein's Sunni-run regime has rekindled the centuries-old divide between Sunni and Shiite Muslims through Middle East, suspicions that have grown stronger since Saddam's Dec. 30 execution….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

A Couple of Polarizers

…In refusing to do anything to curtail the anti-Sunni pogroms of Moqtada al-Sadr's legions, Maliki, after all, is just dancin' with the ones that brung him. He owes his office to Sadr. More broadly, he is the governmental leader of the Shiites at the very moment they and the Sunnis have embarked on a ghastly civil war….(Washington Post, 10 Jan 07)

Set a spending limit on Iraq

…Either Congress immediately cuts off funds, or the president can do what he wants. But there is a third way: Congress sets the ultimate financial constraint, leaving it to the president and his generals to figure out the most sensible way to spend their limited resources. The president is given a significant time horizon to plan and execute…(LA Times, 10 Jan 07)

Implications of Hamas` alliance
…The expert, intelligence Brig. Gen. Shalom Harari, told diplomats and foreign correspondents in Jerusalem Tuesday he believed the military 'will have to enter Gaza in a very wide scale operation in the next year if not in the next six months.' …..(UPI, 10 Jan 07)

Pakistan Rejects U.N. Claim on Taliban

Pakistan angrily rejected a U.N. claim that it is harboring Taliban leaders, accusing multinational troops in Afghanistan of doing little to crack down on commanders of the insurgency….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Muslim Activist Urges China Raid Probe

An exiled Chinese Muslim activist living in the U.S. urged China on Wednesday to allow an independent probe of an anti-terror raid that officials say killed 18 militants…..(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Somalia terror 'funded in Britain'

The Foreign Office is investigating reports of British casualties in US air strikes on al Qaida suspects in Somalia. The attacks came amid claims that support for the Islamic militant movement had come from the UK….(Guardian, 10 Jan 07)

Terrorist intelligence now available to bomb squads

Metro Nashville’s five-member bomb squad can now access up-to-the-minute information on the latest improvised explosive devices (IED) used by terrorists in every corner of the globe. A new Department of Homeland Security Program called TRIPwire (Technical Resource for Incident Prevention) made its way into Tennessee…(Tennessee City Paper, 10 Jan 07)

House Passes Bill to Implement More of 9/11 Panel's Suggestions

In a lopsided vote that masked underlying divisions, House Democrats approved legislation yesterday to implement many of the remaining recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission even as portions of the sprawling package faced immediate problems in the Senate….(Washington Post, 10 Jan 07)

Defense Dept. Settles Suit on Database for Recruiting

…The Defense Department agreed to use the database only for recruiting, giving up the possibility of sharing it with law enforcement and intelligence agencies. It agreed to destroy information on individuals after three years rather than five years or longer….(New York Times, 10 Jan 07)

Air Sensors Act As Terror Sentry

…Over the past three years, the U.S. government has deployed hundreds of air-sniffing sensors in at least 30 metropolitan areas to create an early warning system for a chemical or biological attack. In some cities, the devices test the air 24 hours a day for traces of anthrax, smallpox and other deadly germs….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Terror Suspect Halts British Hearing

A terror suspect who is subject to severe restrictions on his movements launched a furious outburst in court Wednesday in which he threatened to take his own life. Lawyers for Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh argue that the restrictions imposed on their client contravene the European Convention on Human Rights…(AP, 10 Jan 07)

NYC subway bomb plotter's family arrested, face deportation

…A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the New York Times that Siraj's father, Siraj Abdul Rehman, 54, was arrested after a final deportation order was filed against him. Siraj's mother, Shahina Parveen, 50, and his sister, Sanya Siraj, 19, were arrested and detained on other immigration violations….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Appeals Court Weighs Padilla Charge

A federal appellate court is weighing whether to restore the only charge against alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla that carries a sentence of up to life in prison….(AP, 10 Jan 07)

Algerian Terror Group Linked to Al Qaeda Threatens Attacks on U.S. Interests

…France was taking the threat seriously, the country's Foreign Ministry said, adding that it is monitoring the activities of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known by its French acronym GSPC. The group recently announced links to Al Qaeda….(AP, 9 Jan 07)

Egyptian Weekly Roz Al-Yousef: Bush Should Be Executed

On the cover of its January 6, 2007 issue, the mainstream Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef featured a manipulated photo of Saddam Hussein's execution, in which Saddam's head was replaced with that of U.S. President George W. Bush (see below). The photo was titled "Bush's Execution."….(MEMRI, 9 Jan 07)

Banned in Pakistan
The government of Pakistan has banned my book The Truth About Muhammad, confiscating all copies and translations. Why? Because it contains “objectionable material” about Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Said Shahid Ahmed, counselor of community affairs at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington: “The book is very, very damaging — let me tell you.” ….(Front Page, 9 Jan 07)