Iran & the Middle East

• Hamas is accusing the Palestinian Election Committee of distorting the results of the most recent round of municipal elections, after Abbas' Fatah Party won 51 seats and Hamas won 13.

• The Basij Resistance Force, created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979, is experiencing a revival under the current Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. A paramilitary organization with ties to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the Basij is believed to have about 90,000 active uniformed personnel, and as many as 300,000 reservists.

• According to an Israeli Secret Service Report, Iran has funneled more than $ 10 million dollars to support terrorism against Israel, primarily through Hezbollah who then redirects the money.

• Hamas is now encouraging women to take up the cause of jihad and participate in terrorist attacks.

• Palestinian security forces and Hamas gunmen exchanged fire in Gaza City, killing two Palestinians and wounding 40 others.

• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave Khaleej Times an exclusive interview, where he introduced the possibility of using oil as a weapon if the U.N. Security Council pushed forward with sanctions on Iran.

America Domestic Security & the America's

• U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has ruled that additional photographs from Abu Ghraib must be allowed to be publicized, sparking concern "that al-Qaeda and other groups will seize upon these images and videos as grist for their propaganda mill."

• U.S. authorities have released an Egyptian detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and are transfering him to Egypt. Thus far 247 detainees have been transfered or released, while 505 remain detained.

• Imam Intikab Habib, slated to become the New York City Fire Department's chaplain, was dismissed from service following his questioning of whether or not 9/11 was a conspiracy. The NYFD lost 343 men in the attacks on the World Trade Centers.

• Training remains the key for identifying biological attacks, with a recent study finding that "trainee doctors misdiagnosed diseases caused by biological terror more than half the time."

• The FBI has acknowledged that some technical errors have been encountered in wiretaps used to monitor potential terrorists inside the United States.

• White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley returned from a trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey and called for an increased effort of cooperation in fighting terrorism along the Pakistani-Afghan border.

Russia & South/Central Asia

• The Chechen Supreme Court has convicted 18 people on charges of terrorism thus far in 2005.

• U.S. and Afghan forces raided a home in the Andar district of Ghazni province and captured Abdul Gafar, a Taliban commander responsible for a host of attacks in the region.

• Pakistani forces have launched fresh offensives in North Waziristan against al Qaeda linked militants, killing at least 35 in the mountainous terrain along the Afghan border. Eleven Pakistani soldiers have been killed in the operations, which are ongoing.

• British Defence Secretary John Reid is touring Afghanistan, and following a meeting with Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, said that terrorists are failing to destablize the country.

• Uzbekistan has terminated cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism according to reports. Registan has some additional thoughts on the subject.

• The recent Afghan elections deserve our attention. Don't they?

Far East & Southeast Asia

• Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to renew emergency rule over four Muslim majority provinces in southern Thailand. More than 960 people have died in violence over the last 21 months.

• Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said southeast Asian countries are not doing enough to address terrorism, saying that they "must be ready to face and understand what are the root causes of terrorism...a sense of being marginalized, a sense of alienation."

• Peter Brookes offers an overview of some of the security challenges that Asia presents in testimony before the Committee Defense Review Threat Panel on Asia Armed Services Committee. Despite current conflict in the middle east, Brookes says that "Asia is likely to define American international relations more than any other region or transnational issue in this century."

• China remains focused on security threats from their Muslim minority, primarily located in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. A small number of militants in that region maintain ties with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• South Korean officials are reviewing counterterrorism and security measures ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting to be held in Busan on November 18-19.

• The second ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Seminar on Cyber Terrorism begins today in Cebu City, Philippines, with more than 80 delegates from 20 nations attending the three day seminar.

Europe

• The European Union has prepared laws to impose an arms embargo on Uzbekistan, for failing to allow an international inquiry into the May uprising in Andijan.

• British authorities are tracking suspects who may be plotting new attacks in London. According to Andy Hayman, assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, they "have a number of people who are of interest." Other reports indicate police are frustrated with the level of cooperation from the Muslim community.

• Counterterrorism chiefs from across Europe held talks in London, in a call to coordinate their efforts against terrorism.

• Germany has announced they will increase their troop levels in Afghanistan from 2,250 to 3,000. Britain is also said to be finalizing plans to increase their presence in Afghanistan as well.

• The Times of London reported that Osama Bin Laden sought asylum in Great Britain in 1995. According to former Home Secretary Michael Howard, "it was apparently a serious request."

Africa

• The African Union has accused Sudan of involvement in a series of attacks in Darfur over the past two weeks. On more than one occasion, the Sudanese military coordinated offensive operations with Janjaweed Arab militia's.

• Algerian citizens have overwhelmingly approved (97.4 percent) a referendum that calls for national reconciliation between all parties involved in a decade long civil war that has killed more than 150,000. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has rejected the offer for amnesty.

• Soldiers from Italy, the United States, Spain, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, and Morocco are participating in West African Training Cruise 2006, an exercise designed to "enhance security cooperation and foster new partnerships between the United States, NATO partners and participating West African nations through real-world training and engagement opportunities."

• Exercise Green Osprey is being held in the west African country of Senegal, and includes soldiers from the United States, Spain, Italy, U.K., Norway, the Netherlands and Senegal. Troops involved will "conduct small-boat training, riverine operations, live-fire exercises and amphibious raids."

• U.S. Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) is calling on the Bush administration to follow through and remove Libya from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

• A select team of U.S. combat advisors has deployed to Niger, an important ally in the war on terrorism, in an effort to assist Niger's fledgling Air Force and improve cooperation.

• A U.S. Navy explosive ordance disposal team concluded training with a Kenyan Navy Clearance Diving Unit, on improvised explosive devices.

The Global War

• The Global Islamic Media Front, described as "al Qaeda's mouthpiece," has recently put out a three part information series titled "Where is Your Gear for Jihad? How Do You Gear Up?"

• Information War, al Qaeda & Power Struggles.

• Prominent Arabs continue to proliferate the myth that 9/11 was an inside job. Iran's Jaam-e Jam 1 TV also held a debate on the subject. In related news, tinfoil has been selling at record rates in the Middle East.

• A recent study has concluded that jihadist websites have grown from just 20 five years ago, to over 4,000 today.

• If you're not regularly reading Good News from the Front, ask yourself why. You can't rely upon the mainstream media to highlight progress in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Shashi Tharoor, the UN Undersecretary General for Communication, spoke at the Global Forum for Media Development and told the 500 participants that the media can contribute to peace and help fight terrorism.

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