Reactions to story from The Washington Post

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  14 May SWJ News, Op-Ed, Events & Blog Roundup (Early Edition)

  http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2008/05/14-may-swj-news-ope...
  203 days ago in 坓⁊求杯 · Authority: 455

  IRAQ Baghdad: Do You Really Live Here? - Anna Badkhen, Christian Science Monitor Cease-fire Holds in Sadr City After Deadly Clashes - Reuters What Would Really Rebuild Iraq - Rodgers and Yasmeen Alamiri, CSM opinion Iraq Status Report - Iraq Status
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  Iranian Assassination Teams Targeting Iraqi Officials

  http://wolfhowling.blogspot.com/2008/05/iranian-assassinatio...
  195 days ago in Wolf Howling · Authority: 135

  Whether Iran is conducting a proxy war in Iraq seems a question that has stymied our MSM. It is, however, hard truth to Ambassador Crocker, who several weeks ago spoke of Iranian attempts to "Lebanize" Iraq - i.e., to keep the country weak and to control it politically through an armed militia. And it is hard truth to Col. McMaster, an advisor to Gen. Petraeus who spoke several days ago on Iran's proxy acts of war, its assassination squads in Iraq, and its goals for Iraq in a speech sponsored by AEI. ___________________________________________________ This from the Washington Post, reporting on a speech by Col. McMaster: Iran has been directing assassination operations in Iraq using trained snipers, in some cases killing Iraqi officials opposed to Iran, according to an officer who has recently served as a senior adviser to Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Army Col. H.R. McMaster, who has served multiple tours in Iraq, yesterday described Iran's activities as part of an unofficial talk on the evolution of the Iraq war he delivered at the American Enterprise Institute here. Although he emphasized that "Iraq's communities have largely stopped shooting at each other" and that the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq "is on its way to defeat," he said Iraq remains a "weak state," and that Iranian involvement was intended to keep it so. Iran's activities are "obvious to anyone who bothers to look into it," and should no longer be "alleged," he said in response to a question. Senior American military officials said last month that the U.S. military in Iraq has compiled a briefing with detailed evidence of Iran's involvement in Iraq violence, but the briefing has yet to be made public. McMaster, who led a successful campaign in the northern Iraqi city of Tall Afar in 2005, said Iran has trained Iraqi militia members as snipers and organized them in "assassination cells" to kill certain people opposed to Iranian influence. Iran has also armed large numbers of militia members in Iraqi cities such as Basra, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah and Sadr City, in Baghdad, training many in the use of the "most effective" Iranian weapons, including long-range rockets and a lethal form of roadside bomb known as an explosively formed projectile, or EFP, McMaster said. . . . . . . McMaster said it was unrealistic to expect "linear progress" in the war in Iraq. He cautioned that recent improvements in security could be compromised if the U.S. military withdraws too quickly. "The war in Iraq doesn't end if we leave prematurely, it gets worse," he said. Read the entire article. Someone notify Time and WaPo's foreign service. They seem to think Iranian involvement in Iraq is minimal and likely a pure figment of our government's imagination - and they quote Sadrists at length to butress their assertions. Addendum: AEI does not have Col. McMaster's full speech up on their website. I have contacted them to ask for a copy of the transcript or that they post the speech on their website.
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  The Rest Of The Week In Review

  http://d-day.blogspot.com/2008/05/rest-of-week-in-review_19....
  197 days ago in D-Day · Authority: 114

  Yeah, it's a day late, so sue me. My schedule dictates that I'm simply not going to have a ton of time this upcoming week; in fact, on Friday I'm out to NYC for the Memorial Day weekend. So I'd like to promise there'll be more tomorrow, but, can't. Here's the rest from last week, though: • The twin tragedies in China and Myanmar are so horrible I find it hard to write about them. The junta refused a UN ship from docking this weekend, and while international pressure is building they are still far from allowing enough aid in to stop a second wave of death and disease. And the death toll in China is so large the state may be concealing it. The rescue mission is spurring public activism in China, which is a sure step toward a more aware populace that will demand greater freedoms. It will be interesting to witness that change. • Iraq is actually showing signs of improvement this week - if you read the New York Times articles about gains in Basra and the intra-Shiite truce holding in Sadr City. If you read elsewhere, you see that the Sadr City truce was marred by deadly clashes, and military personnel is continuing to drumbeat for war with Iran, and a nimrod in the Army was using a Koran as target practice. So like most things in Iraq, it's a mixed bag. (I do agree, however, that when you have hundreds of thousands of military personnel occupying a country, the odds are that some will act like idiots. The problem is that those idiots ruin months of counterinsurgency work, suggesting that large-scale military occupations aren't very good at COIN.) • The fact that Barack Obama praised Ron Wyden's approach to health care reform - and seemed to intuit that it was too ambitious in taking away health care which people might currently like - shows that he has a fairly solid understanding of the issue. Ezra Klein talks about Wyden's Healthy Americans Act and the prospect for health care reform here. • Keith Olbermann had a good special comment on President Bush's nutty "I gave up golf for the troops" comment. I actually think Olbermann's show is getting stale - too much horse race and never any oppositional guests makes it too much of a preaching to the choir production - but he does highlight uncovered issues, and he can bring the scorn like few others. • Michelle Malkin is so off her rocker that John McCain won't let her on their blogger conference calls. Maybe he just doesn't want her to have any campaign phone numbers, for fear that she'd trace them to a location and start inspecting the place to see if there are granite countertops. (context) • This is funny, in Colorado, Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer released his first ad, where he talks about proposing to his wife on Pike's Peak. There's a mountain in the background when he says this, only it was Mount McKinley, which is in Alaska. • I kind of agree that Saturday Night Live was used by John W. McCain this weekend as a tool to make him appear hip and progressive, but if you actually listened to what he was saying he appeared pathetically old and focused on nonsense like eliminating popular projects like roads. The speech he read sounded like an oppo campaign against him. I do give him credit, however, for staying up that late at his age. • Here are some veterans who have served this country and continue to do so through their actions. The Winter Soldiers are detailing for Congress life under occupation and the humiliations and viciousness endured by Iraqis at the hands of the US military. The soldiers themselves are not as responsible as those atop the chain of command, who practically demanded this. But I do commend Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, who refused to serve another tour in this illegal occupation. A soldier is supposed to refuse illegal orders. • Jim Webb wants to be Vice President. Don't let him tell you any different. If this weekend's Parade Magazine story is a template for how he would support the campaign, I'd be all for it. • The Senate is working to stuff Bush on his cuts to Medicaid. • This is a nice sentiment from the Weekly Standard - essentially saying that Al Qaeda will recruit jihadists no matter what, so we ought to not do anything to actually fight them. • When Obama wins, people will have more picnics in the park. • And finally, people saw Bill O'Reilly's blowup on Inside Edition, but have they seen the other side of the story? More specifically, the other side of the studio, behind the camera?
• 

  Concerning Iranian Weapons in Iraq

  http://www.captainsjournal.com/2008/05/19/concerning-iranian...
  197 days ago in The Captain’s Journal · Authority: 139

  Kazakhstani Soldiers received 14 Iranian 107 mm rockets and fuses at Forward Operating Base Delta, Dec. 4, from the Iraqi civil defense corps. The rockets, manufactured in 2006, were the first Iranian rockets to be turned over to coalition forces at FOB Delta (courtesy of DVIDS). Michael Rubin’s Bad Neighbor is required reading for anyone presuming to speak intelligently on the issue of Iranian weapons in Iraq.  He gives a first hand account of Iranian meddling in Iraq in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  This is well known to those who have studied Iraq, and contrary to the latecomers to the Iraq news cycle, the burden of proof should be on those who claim that Iran is not sponsoring fighters inside Iraq. But some of the latecomers to the issue of Iranian meddling (mostly the main stream media) are in a dustup over some recent reporting concerning the same.  We’ll give a very quick synopsis and link the sources so that the reader can assess the whole narrative for himself.  Tina Susman reporting and blogging for the LA Times made some comments on a press briefing by Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner to the effect that it was odd that speaking of seizing a significant weapons cache in Karbala, he didn’t mention any of the weapons as being Iranian. A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was canceled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran. A U.S. military spokesman attributed the confusion to a misunderstanding that emerged after an Iraqi Army general in Karbala erroneously reported the items were of Iranian origin.  When U.S. explosives experts went to investigate, they discovered they were not Iranian after all. Caught red handed, they were, assuming that all weapons must certainly be Iranian, ready to trot out more “evidence” until it was correctly examined.  A little later, MSNBC (Keith Olbermann) used this post as a source to level a number of charges at the Multinational Force (this was the big day … none of these weapons were Iranian … “you do realize, they are making all of this up about Iran” … and so on). Well, Tina didn’t like this very much, and responded with a few slaps of her own at Olbermann. This should set the record straight for those who have no plans to read the blog item or view the MSNBC report: the Los Angeles Times did not report that Bergner’s May 7 briefing was supposed to be “the big day” that the American military showed off the Iranian weapons it has long said are being smuggled into Iraq. The Times did not report that Bergner had told us this briefing was going to be a “dog and pony show” offering conclusive evidence of Iranian involvement in Iraq’s unrest. As reported by us, this was just another of the regular briefings that Bergner and other U.S. military and Iraqi officials hold for the Iraqi and international media.   The Times also did not report that U.S. officials had re-examined the caches listed by Bergner and found none of them to contain Iranian-made or Iranian-supplied items. We stated that one group of munitions — not necessarily among those cited by Bergner — had been scheduled for viewing by some media during an event in Karbala arranged by the Iraqi military. But U.S. explosives experts, taking a closer look at the items, concluded they did not include Iranian items. This event had nothing to do with Bergner’s briefing. In fact, that Karbala cache detonation occurred May 3, four days before Bergner’s briefing, so the items he cited could not have been the same ones scheduled to be shown to the media since they already had been destroyed … As for the alleged Iranian weapons themselves, there’s still no plan to show them off, even though both U.S. and Iraqi officials insist they have not backed off their allegations. The Iraqi government, though, has clearly decided it is better to tread softly when confronting its powerful eastern neighbor on such an inflammatory issue. As Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s advisor, Sadiq Rikabi, said recently, Iraq is the weakest member in the Iran-U.S.-Iraq party. Even if Tehran and Washington want to level accusations at one another, Iraq needs to get along with each of them and prefers quiet talks to public feuding. Maj. Gen. Bergner’s most recent comments should also be noted, lest we fall into the trap of thinking that the sole job of the Multinational Force is to make either Tina Susman or Keith Olbermann happy, responding to their every whim. Before discussing the latest events in Iraq, I would like to briefly address a misinterpretation of comments made last week about a large weapons cache that was found in Karbala by Iraqi security forces. Because of the great quantity of weapons in that particular weapons cache, some speculated that the find was connected to collections of Iranian weapons which we have found num-…and shown numerous times over the past 12 months. The story of the Karbala weapons cache and the previous reports of collections of Iranian-made weapons are not linked. They were not linked in our remarks last week and that was…we were very clear in our comments last week that specifically said that in our remarks. However, over the course of the last several months, we have publicly discussed numerous times and shown numerous times the evidence – on four separate occasions – of what we have found and continue to find: Iranian-made weapons in the hands of criminals in Iraq. We have also discussed what we have…we have also discussed the evidence that we have found that Iraqi militants are being trained in Iran and receiving funding through [the] Iranian Quds Force to conduct violent attacks in Iraq. We have highlighted these finds in public because they are an issue of influence and sovereignty related to how a neighboring country can support or undermine security and stability. With this evidence, the Government of Iraq has recently engaged its neighbor and again sought fulfillment of Iranian commitments previously made to stop the flow of weapons, training, and funding. Prime Minister Maliki has established a committee to collect and analyze the reports of Iranian activity and to develop a unified approach. We will continue to provide information and evidence we have collected to the Government of Iraq to be considered along with their own evidence from the Iraqi security forces. Or in other words, “do you honestly expect us to trot out proof every day of assertions we have previously made, as if without enough evidence to convince you of these facts, we aren’t doing our jobs?  We do have day jobs.”  Keith Olbermann is obviously just a court jester and cannot be taken seriously.  Tina Susman is a reporter, but this is why all of this “reporting” and exchange of meaningless banter is so disappointing.  There is a real story which underlies what is happening.  It comes to us from the Gulf News. Conflicting statements between the Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman and the ruling Shiite coalition led by Abdul Aziz Al Hakim have raised concerns. While the spokesperson for Baghdad operations, Qasem Atta, confirmed that Iranian-made rockets and mortars were found in Baghdad and are used by the Mahdi Army, coalition leaders denied any existence of real evidence of Iran’s involvement in supporting Shiite armed groups. Al Maliki’s position also contradicts with the Shiite coalition led by Al Hakim. Munder Al Khuza’ai, a strategic researcher, told Gulf News: “I believe there is a division within the Shiite coalition bloc. “[One] is led by Al Hakim and [former premier] Ebrahim Al Ja’afari who oppose the US and the Iraqi Defence Ministry. “The [other] is represented by Al Maliki and the national security advisor Muwafaq Al Rubaie who support using pressure on Iran for backing Iraqi militias.” “I am confident that forming a governmental investigating commission about Iranian interference in Iraq’s security is supported by Al Hakim because it was expected that the Iraqi government would take strict actions against Iran especially after finding Iranian weapons in Basra and the Sadr City,” Al Khuza’ai said in reference to Al Hakim’s opposition to form the commission to gain more time to hold talks with the Iranians. The Iraqi Interior Ministry, which is controlled by militias affiliated to Shiite coalition parties, refused to show evidence convicting Iran of supporting the Mahdi Army with weapons, unlike the Iraqi Ministry of Defence which condemned Iran and displayed evidences gathered from Basra. There are many reasons for the ruling Shiite coalition’s denial to all evidence provided against Iran, said political analysts. “Firstly, recognising Iran’s intervention means condemning the Shiite coalition leaders who have close … ties with Iran for two decades,” Imad Jabara, a political analyst, told Gulf News. “Secondly, it would justify the US policy of striking Iranian influence inside Iraq, and thirdly, it would send a positive message to Sunni armed groups that had long talked about an Iranian interference” in Iraq, Jabara said. Iraqi journalists in Baghdad said most Shiite political forces were proud of Iranian support to the political process and that Iran was among the first countries which recognised the new situation in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussain’s regime, yet now there is a feeling of embarrassment because Iran is accused of destroying the whole Iraqi political process. There is posturing and positioning within the Shi’ite political blocs in Iraq.  They know full well the role of Iranian funds, weapons and personnel.  Everyone in Iraq knows it.  Trotting out the evidence means some very significant things, including the Sunni bloc forcing their hand to rid Iraq of Iranian influence, something they have wanted from the beginning.  It also means termination of some very deep seated and long lasting ties with Iran (including not just the IRG but Quds, and with every single Shi’ite political bloc, not just the Sadrists).  Iraq is going through the equivalent of political convulsions right now, and in response reporters are counting numbers and second guessing statements in press briefings.  And of course, Keith Olbermann is entertaining us, wishing that he was a real reporter. There is more, as there always is.  Army Colonel H. R. McMaster, advisor to General David Patraeus, has recently set out a certain course for understanding the role of Iran inside Iraq. Army Col. H.R. McMaster, who has served multiple tours in Iraq, yesterday described Iran’s activities as part of an unofficial talk on the evolution of the Iraq war he delivered at the American Enterprise Institute here. Although he emphasized that “Iraq’s communities have largely stopped shooting at each other” and that the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq “is on its way to defeat,” he said Iraq remains a “weak state,” and that Iranian involvement was intended to keep it so. Iran’s activities are “obvious to anyone who bothers to look into it,” and should no longer be “alleged,” he said in response to a question. Senior American military officials said last month that the U.S. military in Iraq has compiled a briefing with detailed evidence of Iran’s involvement in Iraq violence, but the briefing has yet to be made public. McMaster, who led a successful campaign in the northern Iraqi city of Tall Afar in 2005, said Iran has trained Iraqi militia members as snipers and organized them in “assassination cells” to kill certain people opposed to Iranian influence. There is also the little thing of twenty Katyusha rockets (you know, the same kind that Hezbollah has) recently hurled at the British base at the Basra airport.  But so that The Captain’s Journal doesn’t also get hung up on trotting out evidence, we’ll summarize by saying that the real story lies waiting for Tina Susman and people like her to draw out.  Sitting in the Green Zone (or in Los Angeles) and dissecting press briefings is below the true reporter and analyst.
• 

  Obviously High

  http://thedignifiedrant.blogspot.com/2008/05/obviously-high....
  201 days ago in The Dignified Rant · Authority: 7

  Colonel H. R. McMaster spoke of Iran's efforts to undermine Iraqi stability: Iran's activities are "obvious to anyone who bothers to look into it," and should no longer be "alleged," he said in response to a question. Senior American military officials said last month that the U.S. military in Iraq has compiled a briefing with detailed evidence of Iran's involvement in Iraq violence, but the briefing has yet to be made public. McMaster, who led a successful campaign in the northern Iraqi city of Tall Afar in 2005, said Iran has trained Iraqi militia members as snipers and organized them in "assassination cells" to kill certain people opposed to Iranian influence. Iran has also armed large numbers of militia members in Iraqi cities such as Basra, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah and Sadr City, in Baghdad, training many in the use of the "most effective" Iranian weapons, including long-range rockets and a lethal form of roadside bomb known as an explosively formed projectile, or EFP, McMaster said. Iran has denied playing such a role in Iraq. He also said Iran has tried to "Arabize" its effort by using Lebanese Hezbollah members to conduct some of the training. What is obvious to me is that members of our Left just won't admit that Iran is waging war on America. Our Left insists that pointing out that Iran is killing American soldiers in Iraq and killing far more Iraqis is just an attempt to justify war with Iran. Our Left insists this is the case because it also persists in holding the obviously wrong premise that Iran shares with us an interest in a stable Iraq. This is just insanity. First of all, with at least 400 American troops dead in Iraq because of Iranian support for Shia thugs (and some Sunnis, too), Iran is already at war with us. Second, it is surely appropriate to debate what our response to this should be. If our Left thinks the answer is "nothing" or "run away from Iraq and let Iran win," let them argue that. But to simply deny that Iran is killing Americans, Iraqis, and destablizing Iraq is not exactly the way to prove you are a member of the "reality-based community." To condemn Americans for pointing out that Iranians are killing Americans with far more outrage than they can muster for the Iranian campaign to kill Americans and Iraqis is just bizarre. How high a form of patriotism is that Leftist thinking, anyway?
• 

  MIDEAST NEWS MONITOR 051408

  http://www.mideastmonitoring.com/2008/05/mideast-news-monito...
  203 days ago in MEMG: The Middle East Monitoring Group · Authority: 1

  FEATURE ARTICLE MEMRI: Islamist Forum Member: Bush to be Targeted During Visit to Saudi Arabia On May 10, 2008, a member of the Islamist forum Al-Ikhlas (hosted by Piradius Net, Malaysia) posted a message claiming that an "official in the Jihadi Intelligence Organization" has learned of a plan to assassinate President Bush. According to the posting, members of a pro-Al-Qaeda cell from a Gulf country have undergone sniper training in a Western country, and "will lie in wait during [Bush's] upcoming visit [to Saudi Arabia]…(MEMRI). Full Article: http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP192508 BLOG MEMRI: Al-Qaeda Orders Its Operatives In Saudi Arabia To Leave The Country Against the backdrop of the marking of five years since the May 12, 2003 attack in Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaeda has sent a message over the Internet to its operatives in Saudi Arabia calling on them "to leave the country for Yemen, lest [you] be killed or arrested by Saudi security forces…(Okaz). Full Article: http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7314.htm ALERT IRAN/IRAQ: Iran hitting PKK-affiliated PJAK members in northern Iraq The Iranian military shelled border villages in northern Iraq targeting members of the Iranian wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in the region, reports say. A security spokesman for Iraq's Kurdish region told Reuters on Monday that the Iranian military shelled members from the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) on Sunday. There were also clashes on the Iraq-Iran border between those PJAK members and Iranian forces, but no casualties, he said. PJAK is an offshoot of the PKK that analysts say has bases in northeastern Iraq from which they stage operations against Iran…(Today’s Zaman). Full Article: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=141818 OIL REPORT: Oil prices slightly higher Crude oil prices were slightly higher in Asian trade on Wednesday despite a forecast for slower energy demand growth, analysts said. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, rose 15 cents to 125.95 dollars per barrel…(AFP). Full Article: http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/newsmlmmd.2f1331cbe37ceeaba1bc63b229e85e2e.681.html LEBANON: Calm in Lebanon as Arab Delegation Due in Beirut to Try to Broker Solution Calm prevailed over Lebanon as an Arab delegation was due in Beirut on Wednesday to try to broker a settlement to the ongoing political crisis that led to the country's worst sectarian fighting since the 1975-90 civil war. The army stepped up patrols as part of a drive to restore order after a week of gunbattles left at least 62 people killed and 200 wounded Press reports said several Beirut roads, blocked with earth mounds and cement blocks since violence erupted May 7, were open to traffic on Wednesday…(Naharnet). Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&351DCF52E287758CC225744900210FA8 U.S./IRAN/IRAQ: U.S. Colonel Says Iran Is Assassinating Iraqi Officials Iran has also armed large numbers of militia members in Iraqi cities such as Basra, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah and Sadr City, in Baghdad, training many in the use of the "most effective" Iranian weapons, including long-range rockets and a lethal form of roadside bomb known as an explosively formed projectile, or EFP, McMaster said. Iran has denied playing such a role in Iraq…(Washington Post). Full Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/13/AR2008051303165.html SAUDI ARABIA/IRAN: Saudi Arabia: Iran Accused of Backing Hezbollah The Saudi government accused Iran of backing what it called a coup d’état by Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said at a news conference that Iran’s relations with Arab countries would be affected by its support for Hezbollah. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran responded that his country was the only one not interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs…(NY TIMES). Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/world/middleeast/14briefs-IRANACCUSEDO_BRF.html?ref=world IRAN/U.K.: Iranian students: Shut UK embassy Iranian students have assembled in front of the British embassy in Tehran to protest Britain's role in the occupation of Palestine. The students, condemning the illegal Zionist regime's creation 60 years ago which is being marked with great pomp and show in the Occupied Palestine, demanded the closure of the British embassy and the expulsion of the UK Ambassador, Jeffery Adams, from the country…(PressTV). Full Article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=55566&sectionid=351020101 IRAN: West responsible for Shiraz blast [Ahmadinejad] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Britain, Israel and the US are responsible for a deadly blast in Shiraz that killed 14 Iranians. "The blast took place shortly after the Zionist regime, America and some British agents said they planned to assassinate Iranian officials," Ahmadinejad told a Tuesday press conference in Tehran. The president said Iran holds 'evidence' of the involvements of those countries in carrying out the blast in the Southern Iranian city -a total of 14 people lost their lives and about 200 were injured in the April 12 terrorist attack. "Those responsible for the bombing were shortly arrested and have confessed to having relations with them (the US, Britain and Israel)," Ahmadinejad expounded…(PressTV). Full Article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=55587&sectionid=351020101 LEBANON: Army Chief : Civil War Underway in Lebanon Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman has reportedly told his officers that Lebanon experienced a civil war that no regular force could contain. The Central News Agency said Suleiman ( pictured) made the remarks in messages addressed to all army officers, in the first such practice in the history of the military establishment. "What has happened in the streets of Lebanon is a real civil war that no national army in the world can confront. Major states encountered such wars and its armies could not contain the fight," Suleiman's message said…(YA LIBNAN). Full Article: http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/05/army_chief_civi.php ARAB LEAGUE/LEBANON: Arab League to invite Lebanese for talks in Qatar A high-level Arab League delegation starts a mediation mission to Beirut on Wednesday to try to pull the country back from the brink of a new civil war. Arab foreign ministers had agreed to send the mission, to be led by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani and Arab League chief Amr Moussa, after Iranian-backed Hezbollah briefly seized control of the Muslim part of the capital before handing it over to the army last week. A senior Lebanese political source said the delegation was expected to invite rival leaders to roundtable talks in Qatar later this week if it managed to ease tensions in Beirut…(Reuters). Full Article: http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL13383311.html IRAN/PAKISTAN: Pak to hand over Jondollah terrorists The Pakistani government is due to hand over members of the Jondollah terrorist group to the Islamic Republic soon. Some senior members of Jondollah terrorist group who were detained and imprisoned in Quetta will be officialy handed over to Iranian authorities within days, informed sources connected to Pakistani government told Mehr. The so-called 'Jondollah' is a foreign-backed terrorist group which orchestrates terrorist operations in the southern provinces of Iran in a bid to create sectarian strife among Iranians…(PressTV). Full Article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=55604&sectionid=351020101 BLOG MEMRI: Jamaat-e-Islami Leader: U.S. Is Eternal Enemy Of Islam And Pakistan The Deputy Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province Maulana Muhammad Shah Mengal has said that the United States is the eternal enemy of Islam and Pakistan. According to a report in the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Jasarat, Maulana Mengal criticized Pakistani leaders for allowing the U.S. to mediate in the country’s internal affairs…(MEMRI). Full Article: http://www.thememriblog.org/urdupashtu ISRAEL/HAMAS: Hamas turns down Israeli request to release Shalit Hamas has turned down a request from Israel to include release of Gilad Shalit as part of ceasefire term. Hamas leader Mahmud Zahar responded in a speech in Gaza City by saying: "Whoever thinks that the Shalit issue will be settled for free as part of the period of calm is completely wrong…(IRNA). Full Article: http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0805148389084107.htm IRAN’S IRNA REPORTS: Palestinian envoy expresses gratitude to Iran Palestinian Ambassador to Tehran Salah al-Zawawi on Tuesday expressed gratitude to Iran for supporting the cause of Palestine in international organizations. He said that the Islamic Revolution of iran was a blessing for the Palestinian nation and that that the spirit of Iranian support to Palestine is rooted in aspirations of the late Imam Khomeini…(IRNA). Full Article: http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0805145433095919.htm ISRAEL: ARUTZ SHEVA REPORTS: Activists to Defy Bush by Building New Jewish Town in Judea A new Jewish town will be established during US President George W. Bush's visit to Israel, in defiance of US governmental pressure to cease building in Judea and Samaria…(Arutz Sheva). Full Article: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126162 ISRAEL/GAZA: Two Gaza militants killed in Israeli airstrikes At least two Palestinians were killed on Wednesday in two Israeli airstrikes on southern Gaza, a local radio station reported. The airstrikes on the western outskirts of Khan Younis also left two people injured. Both the dead and injured were identified as militants from the radical Islamic group Hamas, which took control of Gaza last June…(RIA Novosti). Full Article: http://en.rian.ru/world/20080514/107301650.html TURKEY: Türk to Erdoğan: PKK not cause, but effect of Kurdish problem Ahmet Türk, the chairman of the parliamentary group of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), said yesterday that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is not a cause, but an effect of Turkey's Kurdish problem and that the country must first solve the Kurdish problem if it is to solve the PKK problem…(Today’s Zaman). Full Article: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=141732

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