IRAQ BRIEFING * A British firm has recruited hundreds of Fijian security guards to protect UN offices, VIPs, banks, and oilfields in Iraq. * Imam Sadreddine al-Qobanji, the former second-in-command to Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, is calling for peaceful resistance to US occupation in Iraq, which somehow equates to a return of the Badr Brigades, the military wing of SCIRI. As Michael Ubaldi notes, al-Qobanji isn't the only one taking advantage of the An Najaf bombing. * The US has successfully deployed the Tikrit Patrol, a US-trained Iraqi militia loyal to the Governing Council, which is now patroling the troubled city with American assistance. * While he was alive, Yusuf al-Ayyeri served as one of bin Laden's key loyalists in Saudi Arabia and the webmaster of the al-Qaeda website al-Neda (the Call). According to Amir Taheri, al-Ayyeri wrote a book before his death explaining to al-Qaeda's followers what a US victory in Iraq would mean for al-Qaeda's dreams of global domination. Surprising at it may seem, our enemies seem to understand these things far better than our own press. * The media isn't reporting this, but the US is doing quite well when it comes to occupation and control in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city. * The Washington Times reports that 12 VEVAK (Iranian intelligence) agents have been arrested with plans to stir up trouble in Baghdad. * Pierre-Richard Prosper, the US Ambassador-at-Large for Crimes, has told Kuwaiti authorities that the Iraqi officials who brought so much carnage to that nation during the Gulf War will be tried as war criminals. * In a rare display of common sense, the Arab League has agreed to allow the Iraqi Governing Council to assume Iraq's seat in the body, signifying a recognition on behalf of the Arab states of the new Iraqi government. * A suicide car bombing at the US intelligence base in Irbil has killed 3. Ansar al-Islam is the most likely culprit. * Denmark is sending 90 additional troops to Iraq to add to its initial force of 400. Meanwhile, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council is welcoming a Turkish offer to deploy 10,000 peacekeepers in Iraq. * Which "cards" have we captured so far? The CENTCOM list. And the visual version of "Ba'ath Poker." * The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops. American, British and Australian. Anyone out there with more information, incl. the Poles and Czechs? [updated August 19, 2003] IRAN REPORTS * Iran is warning Britain over the detention of former Iranian diplomat Hade Soleimanpour, who has been indicted over his involvement in a 1994 Hezbollah bombing in Argentina that killed 85. This warning comes as armed men on motorcycles (Hezb-e-Ansar? Baseej?) are firing shots at the British Embassy in Tehran. * The US is giving Iran a last chance to come clean to the IAEA about the issue of its nuclear program. Tehran's response? Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi says that Iran is reviewing its cooperation with the IAEA, a probable reference to calls within the Iranian leadership to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. * The US isn't the only one concerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Israel is now hinting at a possible military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent is archenemy from obtaining nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Sharon has raised the issue of India's ties to Iran at a recent meeting with Indian leaders in New Delhi. U.S.A HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEFING * As I noted in my earlier al-Qaeda in the US special analysis, I noted the danger that Adnan el-Shukrijumah (aka "Jaffar the Pilot") posed to the United States. Now, it seems, he has returned to the spotlight with three associates in connection with potential terrorist attacks against US interests. Apart from el-Shukrijumah, the highest-ranking member of the quartet is Abderraouf Jdey, in part because his "martyrdom video" was recovered with four others in Afghanistan that include tapes from Abd Rahim al-Nashiri (Persian Gulf operations chief, apprehended) and Khalid ibn Mohammed al-Juhani (Saudi Arabia operations chief, possibly killed during the Riyadh bombings). * Al-Qaeda may not need to import jihadis from overseas in order to strike the United States. This US News and World Report story from July 2002 that recounts the number of Americans who trained in al-Qaeda's camps during the 1990s and went on to fight for the terrorist network in Kashmir, Chechnya, and other global hot-spots. While we don't know how many of these jihadis maintain active ties to al-Qaeda or support its objectives, it doesn't appear to be too much of a stretch to assume that many were retained by the network for later terrorist activity. Tip of the hat to Paul Moloney for digging this one up. THE WIDER WAR * An Afghan district in Zabul province fell to the Taliban for several hours during the course of the battle that Andrew recounted on Monday, which elaborates on the new Taliban command structure and how they've been able to regroup in northern Pakistan. * Pakistani troops have entered the Bannu district of the Northwest Frontier Province in search of al-Qaeda and Taliban fleeing their defeat in Zabul. * Spain has arrested al-Jazeera reporter Tayseer Alouni on charges of being a member of Abu Dahdah's al-Qaeda cell. Most Americans haven't heard Alouni's name, but he was the network's Afghan correspondent who received an exclusive interview with Osama bin Laden and gave al-Jazeera its now-infamous reputation for an anti-American bias. Alouni was also beaten up and robbed during the fall of Kabul by members of the Northern Alliance. * A fruit market bombing in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, has left six dead and twenty-five wounded. * With Hanbali arrested and Abu Bakar Bashir behind bars, the word from the International Crisis Group is that Jemaah Islamiyyah is wounded but still dangerous, with its primary focus on transforming Indonesia into the center of a future Islamist superstate in Southeast Asia. * Jemaah Islamiyyah leader Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi stayed at a MILF base in Lanao after his escape from Filippino custody in July. The good news is that al-Ghozi may have been killed by the Filippino military, which is still under public scrutiny following the coup attempt over the attempted coup. * Rumors about Venezuelan communist wannabe President Hugo Chavez working with al-Qaeda and Hezbollah first surfaced over a year ago on anti-Chavez English websites and were widely regarded as propaganda by opponents of the pro-Cuban leader. Now it appears there may be some fire to all of that smoke in the case of at least two al-Qaeda operatives. Note that this isn't as implausible as it may sound, al-Qaeda was more than willing to work with former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor despite the fact that Taylor is an avowed Christian with substantial ties to US-based Protestant leaders like Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson. * Al-Qaeda backer or not, Venezuela under Chavez seems mighty friendly to the Colombian terrorist group FARC, which is still holding several Americans prisoner. * * Italian intelligence says that al-Qaeda is using illegal immigration routes to raise money as well as transfer its own operatives across Europe. * Pierre Robert, one of the Salafi Jihad members on trial in Morocco for their role in the Casablanca bombings apparently worked for French intelligence to infiltrate Islamist groups at one point according to Robert's court testimony. * Israeli army chief Moshe Ya'alon has warned that al-Qaeda is recruiting Saudi pilots for a possible aerial suicide attack against Israeli targets. * We try to close on a lighter note if possible. In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, China's public security bureau is training its crack police - with a phrasebook.