Monday Winds of War: Mar 21/05

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET 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. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• Condi Rice demanded a full and honest accounting from Pakistan of all its nuclear dealings with Iran. She even demanded access to interrogate AQ Khan. Sounds like she means business.

• The US is convinced Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, and Regime Change Iran lays out the case..

• Final Historian has an interesting analysis that argues we're in the third phase of the GWOT-"Breakout". Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3. Great stuff, FH!

• Three US carrier battle groups converge on Middle Eastern waters; something's up, sooner or later.

• Come and get it, Al Qaeda! Saudi Arabia's oil facilities are extremely well-protected against terrorism-the phrase used is "colossal means".

Other Topics Today Include:
Iran intransigence; Irangeles; Kurds inflitrating Iran; Arafat's moolah; Al Qaeda wannabes busted; Full Lebanon pullout; bombings all over the Middle East; Homeland Security is vigilantly protecting the nation's miniature golf courses; blowing up satellites; US weapons import sting operations net many bad guys; East Africa coast threat to shipping; UN to take more concrete action on Sudan?; Ethiopian troops to Somalia?; Taiwan invasion dress rehearsal; Russia offers plastic surgery for tips on Basayev; did we lose our wargame with India on purpose?; IRA threatens to bomb the UK mainland again; Spain arrests a Syrian; UK coppers stifled by bureaucracy, spend 90% of their time filling forms; the SEALs get a really nice new gun while the Marines get virtual marksmanship training; deserters; rendition; blood for oil and much more...

IRAN REPORTS

• Respect my authority! To enrich uranium, that is.

• A look at "Irangeles".

• Iranian Kurdish rebels in Iraq are sending about 15 recruits a month into Iran to conduct clandestine activities after being trained.

• Iran is covertly training nuclear scientists.

• The Ukraine has sold nuclear capable cruise missiles to Iran and China.

• More at the Friday briefing at Regime Change Iran.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• Where's Arafat's money? Here's Arafat's money.

• Israeli police arrested a cell of five ambitious young men who wanted to bomb the Knesset and set various other buildings on fire in order to be invited to join Al Qaeda.

• Full Lebanon pullout starting on April 1st and completed by April 7th, say the UN and Syria.

• OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud office, says "Nothing to see here-the Palestinians didn't use EU aid money to fund terrorism." If you say so, Olaf.

• Jordan promotes a peace proposal with Israel that would not demand a complete withdrawal to the 1967 borders, but Arab regimes reject it.

• A bombing in Beirut wounds nine. The Lebanese opposition blames Syrian intelligence.

• A car bomb is detonated outside a theater in Qatar, just days after al Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia calls for attacks throughout the Gulf region.

• Palestinian terrorist groups agree a temporary peace if Israel will hand over land and prisoners. What a bargain! The Popular Resistance Committees say not so fast, however.
  
• Getting Libya off of the list of state sponsors of terrorism isn't as simple as it seems, nor should it be.

AMERICAN DOMESTIC SECURITY & THE AMERICAS

• The chemicals to test for the presence of anthrax may be in short supply.

• The Department of Homeland Security's comprehensive database of terror targets in the US includes dirt bike tracks and miniature golf courses; one state capitol is not even on the list, while a Mississippi nuclear power plant is listed in the wrong place by several miles. This analysis looks at where the DHS is fumbling its threat assessment mandate. With Michael Chertoff planning on allocating funds, resources and manpower based on a "risk-management approach", the Department would do well to rationalize its byzantine methods of assessing risk.

• The Coast Guard is trying to figure out how to protect the nation's 700 ferries from mass-casualty terrorism.

• OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud office, says "Nothing to see here-the Palestinians didn't use EU aid money to fund terrorism." If you say so, Olaf.

• A look at US efforts via stings to entrap and imprison individuals and groups who would traffick deadly arms to terrorists on US soil. The latest sting involved RPGs, SAMs, automatic weapons, mostly Russian, and fake green cards.

• An independent task force cocreated by the Council on Foreign Relations and similar organizations in Mexico and Canada says we should follow the success of NAFTA with a common continental border policy to make it just as hard (ahem-or easy) for a terrorist to enter any of the three nations.

• Two Syrians are caught crossing the Mexican border and impersonating Americans.

• An FBI task force in Northern Idaho that was once devoted to such groups as the Aryan Nations is switching its focus to terrorism.

• A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Imam Fawaz Darma and he may be deported shortly. Is Sami al-Arian next?

• DARPA investigates the possibility of snagging satellites from orbit.

• The US is suspending all military aid to Nicaragua until it destroys its stockpile of Soviet-made SAM-7 missiles, which we're worried will fall into the hands of terrorists.

• 6 dangerous Mexican maximum-security inmates who overpowered four guards and took their guns and radio may be on their way to the US.

AFRICA

• The US has issued a terrorist attack warning for shipping off of the coast of East Africa.

• The United Nations "vowed on Thursday to adopt a resolution within the next week aimed at securing peace in Sudan." Let's hope the UN peacekeeprs, if any are forthcoming, keep their dollars in their pockets.

• Is deploying Ethiopian troops to Somalia a smart idea?

ASIA & AUSTRALIA

• Drudge says China and Russia's military exercise this fall is a dress rehearsal for a Taiwan invasion. The Dignified Rant reads the tea-leaves and unequivocally says the Chinese will invade Taiwan.

• A Russian journalist says the FSB's ham-handed, Soviet-style tactics (trying to force-feed muslims "government Islam") will create an Islamist underground where none existed before.

• Saudi Abu Havs is a new leader behind the Chechen terrorists. Abu Havs is tied to al Qaeda and behind the Beslan massacre.

• Indian author Arundhati Roy advocates terrorism in Kashmir.

• Russia is offering 10 million dollars, a new identity, a guarantee of safety by law enforcement, and even plastic surgery to any informant that leads it to Beslan massacre conspirator Shamil Basayev.

• Was the COPE Indian 2004 exercise between India and America intentionally lost by the U.S. Air Force? By Dawn's Early Light investigates.

• Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf are training to conduct scuba attacks outside of the Philippines.

• Mein Kampf has become a best seller in Turkey.

• Uzbekistan's "Taliban-alikes" have taken refuge in Pakistan and hooked up (in South Waziristan) with Chechen fighters who fled Afghanistan. Pakistani troops are after the Uzbeks, and their local support is drying up, too. Pakistani military figures warn that they're still formidable fighters.

• Ukraine admitted selling China and Iran long-range cruise missiles.

• Australia will allow Christian converts who may be killed in their home countries to stay even if they're illegal immigrants.

EUROPE

• Sweden pays the ransom for the release of a citizen in Iraq and helps fund the jihad. Thanks!

• British police are warning the IRA may strike the mainland.

• A Syrian involved with the 3-11 Madrid bombings has been re-arrested.

• Bureaucracy is "stifling" UK police as 90% of their time is spent filling out forms rather than fighting crime.

THE GLOBAL WAR

• The New York Times looks at some of the ways some soldiers are seeking to escape doing their duty.

• The Marines are getting virtual training to improve their marksmanship and other weapons skills.

• The White House and CIA agree: nothing wrong with the practice of rendition.

• The "Jihad Donation Campaign" is up and running on the Internet. Make your contribution today!

• The Counterterrorism Blog links to videos of attacks on US forces by the Islamic Army of Iraq.

• BBC & Harper's mag: blood for oil! They say Cheney's 2001 energy task force was planning the takeover of Iraq's oil.

• A brand new tool for the War on Terror: the Navy SEALs are getting this nifty new 0.50 caliber semiautomatic rifle designed for special operations snipers and especially US Navy SEALs.

We try to close on a lighter note if possible.

• Fearsome invisible mermaids need their cellphones, plane tickets, and poolside margaritas!

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