Joe's Winds of War: 2003-09-29

Welcome! Our goal 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.

TOP TOPICS

• The Valerie Plame Affair is disturbing - even if her husband is a bit of a nincompoop, there's no justification for blowing a CIA agent's cover like that. As expected, Instapundit has a fine roundup.

• Stefan Sharkansky, who translated & published Die Zeit's "Arafat Bombs, Europe Pays" expose, reveals an interesting anecdote from Abu Mazen that points to premeditated, deliberate support of the EU for Arafat's terrorism. If this is true, then the terror attacks on Israel are effectively E.U. policy.

• Fierce Highway: "Pape's work shows, convincingly to me... suicide terrorism is a successful tool. Groups are learning that it does work..." Our present approach of rewarding it is certainly doing a great deal to encourage that belief - and not just among Islamists.

Other Topics Today Include: Musharraf says Bin Laden alive; More on Iran's bomb project; How bloggers can make a difference in Iran; DARPA cuts I like; Guantanamo treason update; A Israeli's journey through The Gate of Tears; Why Ausralia stands with the USA; Malaria; Reports re: The Philippines, Algeria, Uzbekistan, Indonesia; More on the Saudi-ISI-Islamist triangle; Musharraf answers back; Support for terror about to bite France back; Happy Meal confessions at Camp X-Ray.

IRAN UPDATES:

• Hossein Khomeni, grandson of the late Ayatollah, explains how he thinks the West can help free Iran. See the excellent sidebar resources, too.

• Hossein "Iranian Blogfather" Derakhshan has a post up about how blogs can help change Iran. They'll need to be able to circumvent censorship, though, via web surfing tools like Anonymizer and software that generates newsletters from MT blogs for use as opt-in emails that can't be blocked so easily (we're developing that here).

• Mehrad Vaezinejad's brief summary of the nuclear situation to date is a good one, and reader sashoyant's comment that some of these reactors are near major fault lines should be sobering in and of itself.

• Meanwhile, the news is not good re: Russian cooperation to stop Iran's race to the Bomb. Iran's refusal to stop uranium enrichment isn't exactly promising, either.

• Tomorrow's blog will feature more updates on Iran's nuclear program, and a sobering outline of the dangers it creates for Iran and its people. Where are Jonathan Schell and the anti-nuke crowd when you really need them?

U.S.A HOMELAND SECURITY BRIEFING

• More on the second Guantanamo spy, from Sgt. Stryker. Apparently, he wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. But his lawyers say there's an explanation. Or ten.

• Unsurprisingly, the U.S. Army is reviewing its selection procedures for Muslim chaplains. Rev. Donald Sensing, formerly Maj. Donald Sensing, offers some perspective.

• Speaking of Camp X-Ray, military tribunals to begin by 2004? There, and elsewhere it seems, as the Moussaoui case looks more and more like the defining argument for not prosecuting terrorism cases in U.S. Federal Courts.

• Normally, I wouldn't see DARPA cuts as a good thing. But if they cut some of the Pentagon's creepier surveillance ideas, I can change my mind.\

THE WIDER WAR

• Speaking in Canada, Pakistani President Musharraf says he has intelligence that Bin Laden is alive and moving freely in the "lawless frontier" with Afghanistan.

• In "Through the Gate of Tears," Sara Yoheved Rigler starts by providing a human face to the most recent casualties in the Arafat-E.U. Oslo War on Israel, then explains how an incident that haunts her still points the way to important spiritual insights during the Jewish High Holidays.

• Paul Sheehan of the Sydney Morning Herald explains "Why we're all the way with the U.S.A" - in ways that go beyond Iraq. So that's why they step up and say stuff like this. Paul also throws in some useful background on Aussie politics.

• Boomshock sees an important development in the Phillipines' War on Terror - help from an unlikely source.

• What do you mean, malaria is part of the War on Terror?

• We know that Algeria has a military campaign underway against the al-Qaeda linked GSPC (Special Analysis briefing) in the province of Setif, 300 kilometres east of Algiers. Do I believe the reports of conflict? Yes. The casualty figures in the reports? Not really.

• Nathan Hamm's Regional Briefing predicted an al-Qaeda upsurge in Uzbekistan last week. Looks like the Washington Post is noticing too.

• al-Qaeda affiliate Jemasah Islamiyah may also be ramping up for a new series of December attacks in Indonesia. Fortunately, it's being leaked with months to go.

• Christopher Hitchens on the Islamic Mafia and tenderness toward their sensibilities from the same people who ignored the killings of Muslims in Sarajevo. Hitch's article builds on our recent posts re: Pakistan & Saudi Arabia, and reviews Bernard Heri-Levy's bestselling book. (Hat Tip: Butterflies and Wheels)

• Pakistan's President Musharraf actually answered questions about Henri-Levy's book in a very rare appearance by a foreign leader before a special session yesterday of Canada's House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. In a later appearance before the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, he also discussed his plan for Pakistan's transition to democracy.

• "Bandar is considered the most Western-oriented member of the [Saudi] royal family, having served as ambassador to the United States for decades, facilitating generally friendly relations with administrations of both political parties. His stark views on freedom and democracy illustrate the contradiction in the Bush doctrine..."

• The Franch may wind up paying for their encouragement of terrorism sooner than they think.

• We try to close on a lighter note if possible. Merde In France reports that Guantanamo Bay prisoners are giving information in exchange for... McDonald's Happy Meals!