IRAN

• Understanding US policy options on Iran.

• The U.S. is piling on the diplomatic pressure, accusing Iran of decieving arms inspectors.

• On the other hand, the US is considering incentives, too. For instance, letting Iran join the WTO and buy new airliners.

• An Iranian commander says 190,000 troops are a target if Iran is attacked.

• Iran has declared sevearl sites off-limits to UN weapons inspectors.

• Another blogger has been arrested in Iran.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• A truck-bombing has been thwarted by the IDF and Shabak. The Islamic Jihad had packed half a ton of explosives in to the truck.

• The al-Aksa Brigades and Hamas are working together to build Qassam rockets to fire over the fence built in Judea and Samaria.

• 75% of palestinians believe the retreat plan is a victory for terrorism.

• The P.A. is looking to buy heavy weapons, including APCs, from the Russians.

• Shabak have revealed that they arrested an Islamic Jihad terrorist in December. The arrest thwarted an attack on an elementary school, besides other attacks.

• Israel has held secret talks with Syria, according to the Jerusalem Post.

• American campuses have their problems, but terrorist students don't usually threaten to lynch university presidents.

• The leader of the Hofstad group might well be in Syria.

IRAQ AND THE GULF

• The Carnival of the Liberated is up, featuring posts by Iraqi bloggers. Of particular interest: The Mehdi Army - where are they now?. Marching in Basra. Liberal Iraqi's solution to the problem is simple enough: fight them until they stop coming.

• The US is considering sanctions against Saudi Arabia due to its next to non-existant religious freedom,

• BAe believes that an al-Qaeda attack is imminent in Saudi Arabia, warning employees and raising their threat level to 'red'. A BAe spokesman says that the threat isn't specific to BAe, but to all Westerners.

THE AMERICAS

• Bin Laden orders Zarqawi to attack 'abroad' - Dan Darling has more.

• The man accused of plotting to assassinate President Bush admitted his guilt - under Saudi interrogations.

• Jose Padilla must be charged or released, says a federal judge.

• A Michigan man has pleaded guilty to aiding Hezbollah.

• U.S. intelligence has concluded that Hamas could launch attacks in the United States. Good news, though, that they don't think Islamic Jihad can, thanks to the arrest of Sami al-Arian and his deputies.

EUROPE

• Something called the Muslim Council of the Netherlands opposes Dutch gov't plans to train imams. They want to do it themselves.

• A terrorist suspect fighting extradition from the UK to the US ran a network of jihadi website from his home in South London.

• Seven Russian soldiers have been killed in Chechnya.

• I expect this link is time sensitive, so I've copied it here. The French are sending a supply ship to the eastern Med, a ship used to support around 200 troops.

ASIA & AUSTRALASIA

• The man believed to have videotaped the brutal murder of Daniel Pearl has been arrested.

• A terrorist convicted in absentia of murdering 11 French nationals in 2002 has been arrested.

• Lashkar e-Toiba have hung another villager from a tree.

• The Supreme Court of Kazhakstan has decided not to ban several terrorist groups, including the Taliban and Lashkar e-Toiba.

• No-jihadis-in-Bangladesh watch: 5 jihadis arrested, police hunt more.

• Phillipine troops have killed five members of Abu Sayyaf, and 10 more members have surrendered elsewhere.

And finally...

• This isn't humourous so much as genius: an Israeli counter-terror veteran has designed a system to escape from a burning skyscraper.

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