Thursday Winds of War: June 09/05

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. Thursday's Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Outside Iraq, but Deep in the Fight. A long and fascinating look at the trails of jihad leading to Iraq from Syria. Bill Roggio chimes in with The Syrian End of the Ratline

• The Pentagon is looking to kill off the mid-level A-Q terrorists who enable the top-tier to function.

• Iraqi government officials have praised a Shi'ite organisation that many Sunnis say is behind the recent spate of murders of Sunni notables.

Other Topics Today Include: A-Q living in Iran; Iran to work with IAEA; Hezbollah does well; IDF wants to fight Hamas; Hamas willing to talk; PIJ test rockets in Judea and Samaria; poisoned melons; Sunni terrorists may disarm; Kurd president favours Israel ties; Saudi preacher changes tune; bloody-chainsaw man allowed to enter U.S.; father-son A-Q pair arrested in CA; al-Arian's lawyers deny everything; HRW worried for al-Libbi; Dutch nab two Iraqi 'resistors'; Zapatero says ETA talks will end terror; CSM picks up 3/11 weirdness; Uzbek jihadis threaten U.S.; Taliban finished as battle force; OIC says Thai terror not religious; GSPC claims attack; and much more besides.

IRAN

• A must read: What ails Iranians? Via Regime Change Iran, link from Joe Katzman.

• Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, says Iran has deported some 500 al-Qaeda terrorists.

• Hmm. Well, intelligence seems to indicate that many al-Qaeda members are living in Iran.

• Nuke news? Okay. Iran will continue co-operating with the IAEA.

• Sort of related, the U.S. has dropped the campaign against ElBaradei.

• Rafsanjani has warned against a low-voter turnout in the upcoming 'elections'. U.S. plots, instability, that sort of thing.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• The Hezbollah coalition won all 23 seats in the South Lebanon elections, running on a platform of continuing to kill Jews. Christian turnout was low. A Daily Star editorial comments, the discrepancy between Christian and Muslim voting rates contrasts with the concept of national unity.

• In the wake of a fatal terrorist missile strike in Gaza, I ponder the problems facing the Israelis in hunting down Qassam missile crews.

• Senior voices in the IDF and Shabak are calling for a 'crushing blow' against Hamas before the retreat.

• The tunnel leading in to Gush Katif, blocked by the PLO police? They did it because the IDF were going to do it.

• Hamas says they are willing to talk to the U.S. and Europe, amidst reports that the U.S. stance on Hamas has softened.

• Islamic Jihad have been testing rockets in Judea and Samaria.

IRAQ AND THE GULF

• The always-interesting Carnival of the Liberated is up. The Six-Day War, the complicated insurgency, the federal system and more.

• Suspected al-Qaeda terrorists have poisoned U.S. soldiers with a cyanide-injected melon.

• Two major Sunni Iraqi terror gangs, including the hostage-murdering Islamic Army of Iraq, may lay down their arms.

• Bill has another good post up: Progressing in Iraq.

• The president of Iraq's Kurdistan province says he has no problems with establishing relations with Israel, and requested the Israelis set up a consulate in Erbil when they open an embassy in Baghdad.

• A Saudi preacher who has personally financed the expeditions of jihadis to Iraq now says that Saudis should not go.

THE AMERICAS

• An American citizen carrying a blood-stained chainsaw, amongst other weapons, was allowed in to the United States after being fingerprinted. He has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a gruesome double-murder in Canada.

• Proposals in a new bill proposed the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence would give the CIA more power to act overseas.

• A father and son have been arrested in California, after the son admitted that both men had attened A-Q camps in Pakistan to learn 'how to kill Americans'.

• Gangs and guerillas versus the state - interesting stuff.

• Al-Arian's lawyers say the suspects have no ties to terrorism, and have perfectly innocent explanations for their rather interesting comments recorded by investigators

• Human Rights Watch is urging the United States to respect the rights of senior al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Farraj al-Libbi.

• A man has been arrested for possession of ricin - it doesn't sound terrorism-related.

• A Canadian teenager who hates Americans has been arrested for trying to blow up his school (in America).

EUROPE

• Mohammed B., the killer of Theo van Gogh, kidnapped his younger sister for 'dishonouring the family'.

• Dutch authorities have arrested two men of Iraqi origin for involvement in the 'resistance' in Iraq.

• Zapatero says that dialogue with ETA will mean they will end their terrorism 'forever'.

• Danish doormen are arming themselves with handguns to defend themselves against violent immigrant gangs.

• Yet another weird link between the 3/11 terrorists and other well-connected persons.

• The Christian Science Monitor is picking up the story about the events surrounding 3/11. I've been following this pretty closely, starting with a guy named Fernando Huarte. Every story I've posted on Winds of War about this, plus several more, can be viewed here: 3/11 questions. Be sure to check Barce-Pundit, too.

• A Spanish judge wants to question U.S. troops about the fatal shooting of a Spanish cameraman in Iraq.

ASIA & AUSTRALASIA

• Uzbek jihadists are threatening the United States.

• Afghan officials in the south say the Taliban are done as a fighting force, but will remain a threat.

• Australian money was used by the Bali bombers to finance the attack.

• U.S. and Filipino troops are conducting joint exercises.

• A small bomb has exploded in the house of a suspected Indonesian terrorist.

• You'll be shocked to learn that the Organization of the Islamic Conference has concluded that the jihadist violence in southern Thailand is not religiously motivated.

• Three policemen, one a senior officer, as well as two civilians were wounded by a bomb in southern Thailand.

AFRICA

• Internecine fighting between the two main Darfur rebel groups has claimed 11 groups. The two groups have issued an apology.

• The GSPC has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Maurtianian barracks.

'OTHER'

• Bioterrorism and biodefence - cheerful reading.

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