Thursday Winds of War: February 09/06

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 Matt 'Colt' of Eurabian Times and Steve 'USMC_Vet' of The Word Unheard.

TOP TOPICS

• President Bush has announced that the U.S. (working with four South East Asian allies) thwarted a plot to fly an airliner in to Los Angeles' Library Tower. The plot was planned by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Jemaah Islamiyah's leader, Hambali (both rotting in prison). The four hijackers were to use shoe-bombs to breach the cockpit door.

• The cartoon riots are increasingly being seen as a co-ordinated effort. Amir Taheri has some of the details, claiming that the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas wanted to postpone the rage so as not to ruin their chances in their upcoming elections. Gateway Pundit notes that the Danish imam who spread the word about the cartoons is an al-Qaeda supporter. Personally, I wonder whether it is a coincidence that the Muslim Brotherhood's Qaradawi and Hezbollah's Nasrallah both referred to Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy on the same day while giving sermons on the cartoons. Jihadi talking points? Similarly, both Iran and the Europe-based Arab European League are printing Holocaust-denying cartoons. In the UK, the Muslim Action Committee is calling for laws to prevent any images of Mohammed being published. There are similar calls being made all over Europe, and also from the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Now, Hamas is offering to mediate between the West and Islamic worlds.

• Martin Kramer notes the popular support for Sharia in parts of the Middle East. Poll results found over 60% wanted Sharia to be the only source of legislation in the PA, Egypt and Jordan, with nearly a third in Syria and not even 10% in Lebanon.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran says it can carry out fission reaction; IRGC tests new SSM; Aoun-Hezbollah accord; Hamas says terror got victory; Sinai forces guard against attack; Iraqi oil funds jihad; al-Sadr pledges loyalty to Iran & Syria; Bush to let Congress see wiretap details; another Khadr in the dock; American Zarqawi aide; Abu Hamza goes in the slammer; British police say there may be terror camps in U.K.; France tougens terror laws; GSPC in Italy; Russia nabs Beslan 2 planner; China spy caught in U.S.; Pakistani operation in Baluchistan; JI in Pakistan; Sunni-Shi'ite killing in Pakistan, Afghanistan; has Libya changed?; Yemen escapee info; and more besides.

Iran

• A senior Iranian official says that Iran is capable of carrying out a controlled fission reaction. Note that the FDI says it has been told that Iran will test a nuke before March 20th (Iranian New Year).

• The Iranians have designs for a 400-metre deep shaft, possibly for testing nuclear weapons.

• Another official says that the U.S. will not attack Iran.

• Die Welt says that the IRGC has tested a new surface-to-surface missile as part of their research in to long range missiles.

• An Iranian regime-owned newspaper is calling for IAEA inspectors to be kidnapped and murdered.

• American and British diplomats have met to discuss ways to promote democracy in Iran.

The Middle East

• Wow - Michel Aoun, an anti-Syrian politician before it was cool, has signed an agreement with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Read it here. Colour me shocked.

• 46 terrorists have been released from Jericho prison, on the order of Mahmoud Abbas. Most were members of Islamic Jihad.

• After a brief display of spine, the Israeli government has decided to transfer tens of millions of dollars to the PA.

• If coughcough Arab terrorists continue to attack Israel, Israel may close the Gaza crossings and phase out Gazan labourers from the Israeli economy.

• Hamas has released a new video, claiming its terrorism prompted Israel to retreat from Gaza and suggesting it as a means for gaining further concessions.

• Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal says Islam will rule the world, and the West will be full of remorse. In Arabic, naturally. In English, he talks of realism.

• Putin says Hamas is not a terrorist group.

• Former Syrian vice president Khaddam has joined forces with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood to try to depose the Assad clique.

• The multi-national forces in Sinai have stepped up security measures following attacks on the MNF in 2005 and increased jihadi activity.

Iraq and the Gulf

• Corrupt Iraqi politicians selling oil illegally are funding the terrorist insurgency in Iraq, according to American and Iraqi sources say.

• Al-Qaeda have murdered the mayor of Fallujah, a supporter of the removal of al-Qaeda terrorists from al-Anbar province.

• Moqtada al-Sadr is back, pledging loyalty to Iran and Syria.

• The Saudi ambassador to the U.S. has slammed the Iranian nuclear program, blaming Iran for regional instability.

The Americas

• The Bush administration has given in to Congressional pressure and agreed to share details of NSA wiretaps with a House committee.

• Nine churches in the South have been burned down in the past week. Five had predominantly black congregations, four predominantly white.

• Another Khadr is facing charges of aiding al-Qaeda. Daniel Pipes has a frequently-updated page on Canada's First Family of Terrorism.

• The family of an American who allegedly met with Zarqawi, allegedly tried to gas Amman and allegedly aided in the kidnap of Westerners says this is all a big mistake. Of course it is.

• A Congressional subcommittee will hear testimony from Texan sherrifs about a stand-off between U.S. border guards and heavily armed criminals, some dressed in Mexican army uniforms. Attacks on the Border Patrol have increased by over 100%.

• Gitmo inmates are being force-fed in order to prevent them committing suicide by hunger strike.

Europe

• Abu Hamza's going to jail - despite British intelligence having amassed evidence of his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Western tourists in Yemen. This evidence is not legal in British courts, but will be used against him in the U.S. when he is extradited after his sentence. Which, by the way, will be a lot less than seven years - more like three.

• A Populus poll of British Muslims has found that over 1/3 believe British Jews are a 'legitimate target'. 7% support suicide bombings in the U.K., but that jumps to 12% in the 18-24 y.o. bracket. 20% justify suicide attacks on military targets.

• A British Muslim group is planning a march in London to protest the cartoons. The Muslim Action Committee is expecting 100,000 to attend, approximately 100,000 more than marched to protest the July 7th bombings, 9/11 or anything else besides the invasion of Iraq.

• British police believe that there may be terrorist training camps in the U.K.. This is far from unlikely - the Dutch found a PKK camp in November 2004

• The UNSC has ordered Britain to freeze the assets of three Libyan Islamic Fighting Group front organisations. The LIFG is linked with al-Qaeda.

• France is toughening prison sentences for terrorists, increasing CCTV in airports, ports and public transport and moving to bring France's domestic intelligence agency under parliamentary scrutiny.

• Was Chirac threatening the United States with nuclear war?

• Italy is becoming the GSPC's forward base in Europe.

• In parts of Antwerp, "non-native youth unemployment is nearly 50%"http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_id=27480&name=Half+of+Antwerp+immigrant+youths+jobless.

• Realising that Russia is demographically toast, Vlad Putin is trying to repatriate millions of ethnic Russians from the former USSR.

• Russian forces have arrested a jihadi they believe was planning a back-up school massacre, if Beslan failed.

• Jamestown looks at the switch in rhetoric, from independent Chechnya to independent North Caucasus.

Asia

• A Taiwanese national working for the Chinese has been charged for attempting to export military technology - including F-16 parts - to China.

• Good news! The Chinese academy of sciences has decreed, sorry, claimed that by 2050, no Chinese citizen will live beneath the poverty line.

• A major military operation is underway in Baluchistan.

• JI maintains an indoctrination centre in Pakistan, in order to prepare Malaysian and Singaporean 'students' for jihad.

• A suicide bomber has struck a Shi'ite Ashoura procession in Pakistan, killing 27 people. Sunni-Shia internecine violence is common-place in Pakistan, but has recently been on the increase in Afghanistan, particularly in Herat.

• The Filipino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are close to signing a peace agreement.

• Teachers in southern Thailand are refusing to work, due to the targeting of teachers by Muslim terrorists - five were attacked last Friday.

• Jamestown: The Threat of Maritime Terrorism in the Malacca Straits.

Africa

• Two views on Libya - has Khaddafi changed his leopard-skin poncho? A Libyan exile says no, a think-tank director says yes. Both make good cases...

• A very senior member of the GSPC, and an Islamist ideologue, was killed in a gunbattle with Algerian forces.

• Taking the 'better-safe-than-sorry' approach, Yemeni forces have arrested 200 family members of the 23 escaped terrorists.

• The Yemen prison break has prompted Saudi Arabia to beef up security along the border.

• The U.S. Navy is joining a Dutch-led taskforce patrolling the coast of Yemen, in order to prevent the escaped terrorists fleeing to Africa.

Last and least...

• Would you believe that the Burmese junta is fretting about a U.S. invasion?

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