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. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.
Today's Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.
Top Topics
- Condi Rice demanded a full and honest accounting from Pakistan of all its nuclear dealings with Iran. She even demanded access to interrogate AQ Khan. Sounds like she means business.
- The US is convinced Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, and Regime Change Iran lays out the case..
- Final Historian has an interesting analysis that argues we're in the third phase of the GWOT-"Breakout". Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3. Great stuff, FH!
- Three US carrier battle groups converge on Middle Eastern waters; something's up, sooner or later.
- Come and get it, Al Qaeda! Saudi Arabia's oil facilities are extremely well-protected against terrorism-the phrase used is "colossal means".
Other Topics Today Include:
Iran intransigence; Irangeles; Kurds inflitrating Iran; Arafat's moolah; Al Qaeda wannabes busted; Full Lebanon pullout; bombings all over the Middle East; Homeland Security is vigilantly protecting the nation's miniature golf courses; blowing up satellites; US weapons import sting operations net many bad guys; East Africa coast threat to shipping; UN to take more concrete action on Sudan?; Ethiopian troops to Somalia?; Taiwan invasion dress rehearsal; Russia offers plastic surgery for tips on Basayev; did we lose our wargame with India on purpose?; IRA threatens to bomb the UK mainland again; Spain arrests a Syrian; UK coppers stifled by bureaucracy, spend 90% of their time filling forms; the SEALs get a really nice new gun while the Marines get virtual marksmanship training; deserters; rendition; blood for oil and much more...
IRAN REPORTS
- Respect my authority! To enrich uranium, that is.
THE MIDDLE EAST
- Where's Arafat's money? Here's Arafat's money.
- Israeli police arrested a cell of five ambitious young men who wanted to bomb the Knesset and set various other buildings on fire in order to be invited to join Al Qaeda.
- OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud office, says "Nothing to see here-the Palestinians didn't use EU aid money to fund terrorism." If you say so, Olaf.
- Jordan promotes a peace proposal with Israel that would not demand a complete withdrawal to the 1967 borders, but Arab regimes reject it.
- A car bomb is detonated outside a theater in Qatar, just days after al Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia calls for attacks throughout the Gulf region.
- Palestinian terrorist groups agree a temporary peace if Israel will hand over land and prisoners. What a bargain! The Popular Resistance Committees say not so fast, however.
- Getting Libya off of the list of state sponsors of terrorism isn't as simple as it seems, nor should it be.
AMERICAN DOMESTIC SECURITY & THE AMERICAS
- The Department of Homeland Security's comprehensive database of terror targets in the US includes dirt bike tracks and miniature golf courses; one state capitol is not even on the list, while a Mississippi nuclear power plant is listed in the wrong place by several miles. This analysis looks at where the DHS is fumbling its threat assessment mandate. With Michael Chertoff planning on allocating funds, resources and manpower based on a "risk-management approach", the Department would do well to rationalize its byzantine methods of assessing risk.
- OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud office, says "Nothing to see here-the Palestinians didn't use EU aid money to fund terrorism." If you say so, Olaf.
- A look at US efforts via stings to entrap and imprison individuals and groups who would traffick deadly arms to terrorists on US soil. The latest sting involved RPGs, SAMs, automatic weapons, mostly Russian, and fake green cards.
- An independent task force cocreated by the Council on Foreign Relations and similar organizations in Mexico and Canada says we should follow the success of NAFTA with a common continental border policy to make it just as hard (ahem-or easy) for a terrorist to enter any of the three nations.
- An FBI task force in Northern Idaho that was once devoted to such groups as the Aryan Nations is switching its focus to terrorism.
- A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Imam Fawaz Darma and he may be deported shortly. Is Sami al-Arian next?
- DARPA investigates the possibility of snagging satellites from orbit.
- The US is suspending all military aid to Nicaragua until it destroys its stockpile of Soviet-made SAM-7 missiles, which we're worried will fall into the hands of terrorists.
AFRICA
- The US has issued a terrorist attack warning for shipping off of the coast of East Africa.
- The United Nations "vowed on Thursday to adopt a resolution within the next week aimed at securing peace in Sudan." Let's hope the UN peacekeeprs, if any are forthcoming, keep their dollars in their pockets.
ASIA & AUSTRALIA
- Drudge says China and Russia's military exercise this fall is a dress rehearsal for a Taiwan invasion. The Dignified Rant reads the tea-leaves and unequivocally says the Chinese will invade Taiwan.
- Saudi Abu Havs is a new leader behind the Chechen terrorists. Abu Havs is tied to al Qaeda and behind the Beslan massacre.
- Indian author Arundhati Roy advocates terrorism in Kashmir.
- Was the COPE Indian 2004 exercise between India and America intentionally lost by the U.S. Air Force? By Dawn's Early Light investigates.
- Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf are training to conduct scuba attacks outside of the Philippines.
- Uzbekistan's "Taliban-alikes" have taken refuge in Pakistan and hooked up (in South Waziristan) with Chechen fighters who fled Afghanistan. Pakistani troops are after the Uzbeks, and their local support is drying up, too. Pakistani military figures warn that they're still formidable fighters.
EUROPE
- Sweden pays the ransom for the release of a citizen in Iraq and helps fund the jihad. Thanks!
- British police are warning the IRA may strike the mainland.
THE GLOBAL WAR
- The "Jihad Donation Campaign" is up and running on the Internet. Make your contribution today!
- The Counterterrorism Blog links to videos of attacks on US forces by the Islamic Army of Iraq.
- BBC & Harper's mag: blood for oil! They say Cheney's 2001 energy task force was planning the takeover of Iraq's oil.
- A brand new tool for the War on Terror: the Navy SEALs are getting this nifty new 0.50 caliber semiautomatic rifle designed for special operations snipers and especially US Navy SEALs.
We try to close on a lighter note if possible.
- Fearsome invisible mermaids need their cellphones, plane tickets, and poolside margaritas!
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A Syrian involved with the 3-11 Madrid bombings has been re-arrested.
I see why Cicero is unable to figure out what is going on in Europe. This information is incomplete.
As The Spain Herald publishes today, The Syrian Mohannad Almallah Dabas was a member of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). Are you surprised now that the Spanish Socialist government pays ransoms to Islamic groups?
Could you imagine Mohamed Atta being a member of the Democratic Party?
AMERICAN DOMESTIC SECURITY & THE AMERICAS
Was it ever a reasonable expectation that the federal government would pay for it all? I agree the tax payer will be footing the bill on many levels of government intervention ( federal /state / local / community). I don't agree that the federal government should foot the bill for all programs related to Homeland Security. As an example would the Mall of America be a prime target? If the answer is yes does security fall under federal jurisdiction or does it fall under state / local / community / private enterprise jurisdiction?
The essential little something? I don't see this as anything new in the way governments on all levels operate. We can certainly point to mismanagement / misappropriation on all levels of federal / state / local / community funds.
Properly involve state and local officials? How did the information get into the current database to begin with? Did some federal official(s) employee(s) just willy-nilly pick items of interest and place them there? I don't think so and I don't think it is a matter of properly involving state and local officials they are involved already. I tend to lean more towards the federal, state and local officials not being properly aligned. Data has been consolidated from the state / local levels and transferred to the federal level without any validations at the levels of collection. Politics, show the reasons for more money for my state? In the end as a politician I can say, see what I got for the state / local communities ($$$$) without regard to need or accountability for expenditures.
Here's another article some may find of interest.
George F. Kennan, the man that helped in understanding the Communist regime in Rusia and hence took the first step to its defeat, died on March 17
So Condi is getting serious about Pakistans proliferation all of the sudden.
Of course she's known about it for quite some time. But now that the administration has gotten caught lying to it's allies about Pakistans proliferation she's suddenly going to "get tough".
Geez, talk about a total lack of gag reflex!
Iranian Kurdish rebels in Iraq are sending about 15 recruits a month into Iran to conduct clandestine activities after being trained.
Is clandestine activities a eupherisme for terrorisme?
Pick items of interest and place them there? I don't think so and I don't think it is a matter of properly involving state and local officials they are involved already. I tend to lean more towards the federal, state and local officials not being properly aligned. Data has been consolidated from the state / local levels and transferred to the federal level without any alidations at the levels of collection