Winds of War: March 24/06

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.

TOP TOPICS

• The Jawa Report has more links than you could ever want on the rescue of three 'peace activists' by coalition forces north of Baghdad.

• Seven British men are on trial for planning a terrorist campaign in Britain. They were found to have over a ton of ammonium nitrate fertilise as well as aluminium powder. Potential targets included Bluewater shopping mall, trains and nightclubs. One of the accused men is accused of trying to purchase a radiological bomb from Russia mafia contacts in Belgium. The Times has lots of information about the American 'supergrass' whose evidence is so vital to the case. Mohammed Babar went to Pakistan shortly after 9/11 to join the jihad. After meeting Omar Bakri Muhammad and Abu Hamza, he prepared for terrorist attacks in Britain.

• The IAEA says Iran's nuclear program is more advanced than previously thought. Details after the jump.

• Pakistan's Council of Islamic Ideology has 22 suggestions for ending Pakistan-based terrorism. A few of them: seal the borders, close the camps, stop calling terrorist attacks 'jihad', clean out ISI, and bring the tribal regions under control.

• ETA has thrown in the towel and announced a permanent ceasefire. They have demands, of course: legalise Batasuna, a referendum on self-determination and an 'end to repression'

Other Topics Today Include: Britain wants tough options on Iran; China follows Russia; Japan to continue oil field development; Israel charges A-Q cell; PFLP-GC offers to join Leb. Army; Hamas doubletalk; Egypt attack thwarted?; Jordan Islamists optmistic; Iraq documents reveal Russian perfidy; U.S.-Iran talks on Iraq; terrorist 'doctor' kills 43; AQ in Saudi Arabia replaces dead commanders; FARC leaders indicted; Albany imam charged; Bolivia bombings; Frenchman throw packages at White House; Danish imam recorded calling for assassination; more rioting in France's 'suburbs'?; '10 Euros for Resistance'; Lords back down on 'glorification' clause; Kadyrov says Basayev has no safe haven; Kazakhstan applauds Uzbek handling of Islamic riots; the Pakistani Taliban in Waziristan; five SeS convicted of terror charges; 172 terror camps in Bangladesh; Afghan faces death for conversion to Christianity; North Korea says it can carry out pre-emptive strike; JI's young leader; crackdown on Abu Sayyaf; communist, Islamist rebels form alliance; Pentagon praises Morocco; calls for U.S. troops for Sudan; more fighting in Mogadishu; EU force for Congo; and much more.

Iran

• Behind closed doors, Britain is pushing a strategy intended to gain Russian and Chinese support for a Chapter VII resolution by mid-summer. Chapter VII resolutions can allow for political and economic sanctions, as well as justify military attacks.

• If Kenneth Timmerman is to be believed, this plan is hopeless due to Russia's double game.

• Which ever way it goes, China is following the Russian line.

• An Iranian regime paper voices the obvious: we must declare that 1385 is being foreseen to be a particularly dangerous year for the Islamic regime...

• How dangerous? Well, it could be worse for 'em. Check out Mark Buehner's argument in favour of nuking Iran.

• Is Iran helping al-Qaeda? Well, yeah, probably....

• The link between the Libyan and Iranian nuclear weapons programs.

• President Bush has said that the U.S. military would defend Israel from Iranian attack.

• A Japanese newspaper has claimed that the U.S. asked the Japanese government not to develop an Iranian oil field. Japan denies the claim, and will not halt the project.

The Middle East

• Israel has released summaries of the indictments of two palestinian al-Qaeda terrorists recruited in Jordan to carry out a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. The plan involved a suicide bomber attacking a pizza restaurant, with a car bomber detonating amongst the rescue workers and onlookers.

• Israeli forces thwarted two suicide bombings in two days, the first following a chase on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, the second caught by special forces in Ramallah.

• The PFLP-GC says it is willing to serve under the Lebanese Army. This came after calls for the group to be disarmed or even destroyed by the Lebanese military.

• A Lebanese paper claims that it has documented the incarceration by Syria of 25 Lebanese citizens on political charges, prior to the recent goings-on in Lebanon. Note that this is 25 out of a total of 600 people on a list given to the Syria government. Syria denies the existence of all political prisoners.

• Leading Lebanese politicians, including Saad Hariri, are to hold a meeting with Syrian opposition figures in Paris.

• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi personally threatened Abdullah Azzam's son after he denounced the bombing of three hotels in Amman, Jordan.

• British sources say that there was 'very specific' intelligence about a plot to kidnap American and British monitors from Jericho prison. They also noted the frequent rioting and general feeling of insecurity.

• Hamas, emulating Arafat, is edging towards peace in English, while denying it - and pledging war - in Arabic.

• After 25 years of emergency powers, Egypt is considering calling off the alert.

• The new Hamas interior minister has not only pledged not to arrest terrorists, but to co-ordinate attacks between terrorists and his 'security forces'.

• A terrorist attack on an Egyptian fuel facility may have been thwarted. A post on a jihadist forum recounts how a car full of explosives was halted by security forces

• The PA finance minister says they can do without EU aid.

• Jordanian Islamists are pushing for a big victory in the next general elections.

• Jordan has sentenced nine men to death for inciting riots in 2002. The rioting took place in the 'conservative' city of Maan, a repeat of similar violence in 2000, 1998, 1996 and 1989. Six people, including two policemen, were killed in the 2002 riots.

Iraq and the Gulf

• Documents recovered from Iraq reveal that a Russian diplomat named Vladimir Teterenko gave the Iraqi government a detailed account of coalition war plans. Teterenko allegedly recieved allocations of 3 million barrels of oil, approximately $1.5 million. Other documents at that ABC page discuss contacts between al-Qaeda and Iraq, and Saddam's interest in French campaign finance laws...

• An Australian who has been held without charge for 18 months by Kurdish authorities denies he tried to join a jihad group. Ahmed Jamal says he arrived in Iraq three months after the invasion to buid a mosque and find a wife.

• TIME looks at the use and misuse of U.S.-trained Iraqi forces by the Interior Ministry.

• Global Jihad - the Yemeni connection.

• Good News & Bad From Iraq's Front Lines.

• Iran has agreed to holding talks with the U.S. to discuss Iraq.

• An 'insurgent doctor' working in a Kirkuk hospital murdered at least 43 wounded policemen, soldiers and officials with lethal injections.

• Iraqi intelligence believes that al-Qaeda's presence in Iraq has decreased from over 2,000 in 2004 to only several hundred. While many were killed or captured, many have returned to their own countries.

• The Iraqi foreign minister gave the CIA intelligence about Iraq's WMD's prior to the war - some of it was wrong, some of it was right. Of course, MSNBC wants to know 'why didn’t the agency listen?'

• Is there really a civil war in Iraq? Heated debate...

• Al-Qaeda in Saudia Arabia have replaced the commanders killed by Saudi forces over the last few months. They may need to do it again soon, at this rate. Another three suspects have been detained.

• PM Blair says that Iran is meddling 'furiously' in Iraq, saying: The conventional view is that, for example, Iran is hostile to al-Qaeda and therefore would never support its activities. But as we know from our own history of conflict, under the pressure of battle, alliances shift and change.

• The UAE has pledged to continue to sponsor the PA after Hamas takes control.

• Kuwait is one of several Arab countries concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

The Americas

• A former FBI agents has testified that, had Zacarias Moussaoui confessed when arrested a month before 9/11, the attacks could have been prevented.

• The U.S. government has issued federal indictments for 50 leaders of the narco-terrorist FARC outfit. The indictments said that FARC supplies over half of the world's cocaine. The 50 leaders were wanted for ordering the murder of Colombian farmers, the kidnap and murder of U.S. citizens and for shooting down U.S. aircraft spraying coca crops.

• Speaking of murderous narco-terrorists, the Peruvian Maoist Shining Path may be back - thanks to an alliance with drug traffickers.

• A good discussion of the problem the U.S. faces when considering the establishment of Islamic enclaves.

• The U.S. has listed al-Manar television, al-Nour Radio and the Lebanese Media Group as Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities for being mouthpieces of Hezbollah.

• An Albany imam has been accused of gathering intelligence for al-Qaeda. Yassin Aref's name and contact details were discovered in terrorist training camps, including the Ansar al-Islam base in Kurdistan.

• An American man and his Uruguayan wife have been arrested in Bolivia for carrying out two bombings, which killed two and wounded seven. The couple planned several other attacks, including one thwarted by police. President Evo Morales said: "The U.S. government fights terrorism, and they send us terrorists." However, other officials suggested Claudio Lestad, of New Orleans, was mentally ill.

• An international audit of Venezuela's electoral rolls found over 50,000 dead voters, and another 35,000 who are over 100 years old. The electoral council president noted that these accounted for a tiny proportion of the 15 million-strong electorate.

• Some analysis of those statistics floating around about casualties under the Bush and Clinton administrations - they're not what they seem.

• A long piece covering the main players on the Mexico-U.S. border.

• Joe takes a look at the Hummer v2.1. Lots of improvements, but ultimately still a deathtrap when facing mines and IEDs.

• An American of Iranian origin has been charged with trying to export pressure sensors to Iran. The components are said to be useful for manufacturing bombs.

• A Frenchman has, for the second time, thrown a suspicious package in to the White House grounds, prompting a call for the bomb squad. The man was arrested.

Europe

• The intrepid Mohamed Sifaoui has recorded a Danish imam calling for the murder of Naser Khader, the founder of an organisation called 'Democratic Muslims'.

• After reports of gangs vandalising government property (more than usual) in some French 'suburbs' this week, the French government is concerned that the students' rioting might prompt more of what we saw in October-November.

• French politicians have been subsidising the activities of Islamists such as Hassan Iquioussen and Tariq Ramadan.

• Swedish security forces say that serious threats were made to their embassies following the publication of Those Cartoons by a right-wing Swedish website.

• Germany's intelligence chief says that his country is now considered a target, rather than a fund-raising or staging area for attacks elsewhere.

• The Swiss government has declared that it considers Hamas a partner.

• Europeans are still giving to the "10 Euros for Resistance" campaign, and European governments are doing little to stop it. Note that this overt terror financing operation has been gathering fund since at least since at least December 2004.

• Britain's House of Lords has backed down over a controversial clause of the government's latest terrorism legislation, namely the glorification of terrorism.

• 32 men are being charged for plotting a truck bombing targeting Madrid's National Court. Spain believes the group, named 'Martyrs for Morocco', is connected to al-Qaeda.

• Louia al-Sakka is making a nuisance of himself in his Turkish court-room. The man is charged with funding four truck bombings in Turkey in 2003, but is wanted by Jordan for plotting with Zarqawi to attack targets there during millenium celebrations. He was captured while preparing a yacht-bombing of an Israeli cruise-liner.

• Daniel Hannan says the EU constitution never died, but is being instituted as law without referendums. Well, as Giscard d'Estaing said: "The rejection of the constitution was a mistake that will have to be corrected".

• Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami and the Cartoon Fracas.

• Three Austrian Muslim conscripts have refused to salute the Austrian flag. Austria is planning to have imams on site in future to 'mediate', but an Austrian paper suggests the army follow the police's example, and only have Muslims serve under Muslim officers...

• The British government, in a change of position, has decided to press for the release of a British resident held in Gitmo.

• A British Muslim leader says that child abuse is widespread in British madrassas. At least 100,000 Muslim children attend madrassas in the U.K.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

• The latest issue of Jamestown's Chechnya Weekly is out. A new offer of amnesty for Chechen terrorists; a Dagestani district chief is gunned down; Islamists chuckle over Russian fears that Kadyrov will start an Islamic revival in Chechnya; and much more.

• Chechnya's president says Shamil Basayev has nowhere to feel safe.

• A Russian analyst has some grim predictions for Chechnya.

• Is Russia trying to reassert itself in the former Soviet republics? This article says yes.

• Kazakhstan's president has praised the actions of Uzbek forces during the brief uprising of May 12-13. Official statistics claim 187 dead, most of them terrorists, but human rights groups claim closer to 700 deaths.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh

• The U.S. is looking for those Taliban Stingers ISI provided batteries for.

• The Guardian has a good overview of the 'Pakistani Taliban' takeover of Waziristan. Related, a cleric who had recently distanced himself from the Taliban was gunned down in Waziristan by masked gunmen.

• The former head of ISI says that the former Prime Minister of Pakistan met with Osama bin Laden several times to seek financial support for his political party.

• India is putting pressure on Bangladesh to close 172 terrorist camps. Bangladesh, of course, denies the camps exist.

• Five Pakistani men have been convicted of involvement in the murder of 45 Shi'ite pilgrims in a bombing in March last year. Two of the Sipah-e-Sahaba men will be executed, while the other three will be given life sentences.

• Pakistan claims that 16 men killed by Afghan forces were not Taliban, but tribesmen celebrating Afghan New Year. Pakistan claims they were kidnapped in Kabul, handcuffed, and killed near the border.

• An Afghan man is facing death for converting to Christianity. The prosecution, possibly in an attempt to assuage mounting international concern, suggested Abdul Rahman is insane, and thus unfit to face trial. Rahman denies he is insane. An Arab Maronite writer comments that more than a few Afghans have secretly converted to Christianity.

• The CSM looks at the growing influence of Islamist groups on campus life in Pakistan.

• The Pakistani Interior Minister has pledged to destroy the foreign terrorists living in Waziristan, much to the consternation of local elders.

Far East & South East Asia

• A North Korean ship seized in 2003 by the Australian navy, after it deposited over 300lbs of heroin, was bombed by the Aussie air force in what FM Downer called a 'public demonstration of outrage'. Australia and many other countries believe North Korea sells heroin in order to bolster its basketcase economy.

• North Korea says it has the ability to carry out a pre-emptive strike against the United States.

• After the U.S. refused to sell smart-bombs to Taiwan, that Taiwanese have decided to build their own.

• Jemaah Islamiyah's leader is one Abu Dujana, an Indonesian who learned terrorist techniques in Afghanistan alongside Hambali and retains good relations with al-Qaeda.

• Three sets of Molotov cocktails thrown at the homes of Westerners or Malaysians working for Western companies. Is there a connection? Malaysian police say no.

• TCS looks at Japan's developing military. Japan is considering replacing their old F-4s with F-22s

• A senior Malaysian official says that, while piracy in the Melaka Straits is serious, it is not connected to terrorism.

• A senior Indonesian counter-terror official says that capturing or killing Noordin Top would make little difference in terms of preventing future attacks.

• The Filipino security forces are stepping up efforts to track down Abu Sayyaf members on Mindanao.

• The Communist Party of the Philippines says it has formed an alliance with the Islamist groups of Mindanao.

Africa

• The Algerian government has admitted that its forces killed at least 17,000 Islamic terrorists since the early 1990s.

• The Pentagon has praised Moroccan efforts against terrorism, particularly the GSPC. Al-Horra reported that GSPC cells in Morocco are transporting arms from Algeria to Europe for terror attacks.

• The Algerian parliament has voted to ban all attemps to convert Muslims to other religions. Those who commit this 'crime' will serve 2-5 years and have to pay a 5-10,000 Euro fine.

• Ugandan gunmen attacked U.N. forces working in southern Sudan, wounding two. The blue-hats killed at least three - good work.

• Senator Clinton has urged President Bush to use the American military to prevent genocide in Sudan.

• Chad has attacked what it claims are Sudan-backed rebel groups in the east of the country.

• Somali warlords are still blocking food aid as a weapon to starve Somalis.

• Fighting between the (deep breath) Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic courts militias have claimed sixty lives in two days.

• The EU is to send a peace-keeping force to Congo to safeguard upcoming elections. The force will number over 1,000, with France and Germany contributing 500 soldiers each.

The Global War

• Michelle Malkin reports on the UN's backpedaling from branding Denmark as racist.

• 82 countries are meeting in Turkey to discuss means of combating terrorism.

• Harry's Place covers PM Blair's speech that pretty much says it all about the war on terror.

And finally...

• Which country has the hottest military babes?

Thanks for reading! If you found something here you want to blog about yourself (and we hope you do), all we ask is that you do as we do and offer a Hat Tip hyperlink to today's "Winds of War". If you think we missed something important, use the Comments section to let us know.