JULY 7/03: Welcome! Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news, and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday.
TOP TOPICS
* Glenn Reynolds brings together thoughts on "Small Wars," Amir Taheri on Islam and liberty, and David Warren's "Iraq as Flypaper" thesis. Great collection & juxtaposition. But Calpundit thinks Warren's thesis is silly, says there's no master plan. I say if the dynamic is operating, and it seems to be, then who cares if it's part of a master plan?
* The al-Qaeda cell in Malawi had strong and high-ranking ties to official Saudi figures. Very high-ranking ties. Read!
* With July 9 fast approaching, I've turned the Iran Update into its own blog post today.
Other Topics Today Include: Nigerian uranium investigation; Kirkuk oil report; Baghdad's tech boom; turnabout is GIA; Afghanistan's future; missing 727 found; Saudi/Wahhabi influence in USA; the Saudi money trail & Palestinian terrorism; and be very careful what you ask G-d for!
IRAQ REPORT
* TIME Magazine's "Life Under Fire" reports on Paul Bremer and the complications of administering Iraq. It's worth remembering that both Germany and Japan sucked to the point of starvation for several years post-war. This stuff takes time.
* Baghdad isn't a lot of fun right now.
* Joseph Wilson comments on his investigations into allegations re: Nigerian uranium being sent to Iraq.
* Kirkuk's oil fields aren't coming on-line quickly. Recent pipeline explosions have done a fair bit of damage.
* Lack of intellectual property laws are helping, though. Software piracy and unregulated access have led to booming PC and internet demand in Baghdad.
US HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEFING
* Intsaman is on a roll since his return from vacation. Annoyed and worried about the TIA (Total Information Initiative)? Presenting, the GIA (Government Information Initiative) in response. Let's see how they like it!
THE WIDER WAR
* A former NPR reporter writes in the NY Times about the current state and future of Afghanistan. Despite her questionable pedigree, she has some good points.
* More Saudi funding of terrorism. This time, an extremely detailed report on Saudi funds for Palestinian terrorism, 1998-2003.
* It isn't just in Malawi and Israel, either. More on the U.S. Congressional investigations into Saudi/Wahhabi influence within the USA, including terror cells, funding religious extremism and intolerance, and lobbying activities.
* At least 15 people have been arrested in the Pakistani city of Quetta in connection with the attack on a Shia mosque which left 53 people dead. Violence against Shias by Deobandi (similar to Wahhabi) extremists is not unusual in Pakistan.
* Anjem Choudray is a man with grand designs. "One day the black flag of Islam will be flying over Downing Street" [the British PM's residence], he says.
* Good news time. That missing 727 from Angola? Found. Nobody will be flying it into anything.
* More good news: here's how the USA is expanding its Special Forces troop strength.
* We always try to end on a lighter note if possible. The Iranian mullahs might be wise to consider this story from Florida. Be very, very careful what you ask G-d for. (Hat Tip: Ipse Dixit)
You know, I really wish Bush would come out and say, "Whoops, we didn't pay close enough attention on that" or something. It's the only issue that the "Bush lied!" folks have any serious traction on and, as minor as it is, it surely seems like an explanation is in order.
I'll make the same argument regarding the flypaper theory as I did at *Cold Fury*:
First, Warren contends that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is drawing terrorists away from Israel and the U.S. But this contention comes sans evidence. As the number of attacks on U.S. soldiers increases without, apparently, a significant reduction in Palestinian terror, his argument loses water by the day. In fact it seems that the terrorists now infiltrating Iraq are primarily Hizbollah from Syria and southern Lebanon--a dangerous snakepit to be sure, but not the source of recent attacks in Israel or the U.S.
Secondly, if this is in fact a deliberate strategy rather than a stunning (if predictable and predicted) lack of foresight, we ought to be capturing and killing the terrorists that we're attracting. But in most of the recent attacks against U.S. troops, including the fatal ones, the attackers have gotten away. We should at least be taking them out faster than they're being created, and I'm skeptical that that's what's occurring. If that's not what's happening, or even if there's no way to know, then our troops deserve better than to be dangled out there as bait until we learn how to use the net.