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7 Convicted in France On Terrorism Charges
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2008/ 05/ 14/ AR2008051402250....
PARIS, May 14 -- A French judge on Wednesday convicted seven men on terrorism charges for recruiting young French Muslims to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq.
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15 May SWJ News, Op-Ed, Events & Blog Roundup (Early Edition)
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2008/05/15-may-swj-news-ope...IRAQ War Over Wall Goes on in Sadr City - Michael Gordon, New York Times Iraqi Leader Takes Charge of Offensive in Mosul - Associated Press `Angry' Iran Sharpens Tone with Baghdad's Leaders - Associated Press Bombing at Iraq Funeral Kills 20 - BBC News
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Euro 2008 and Terrorism
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2008/05/euro_2008_and_terror...In 23 days the 2008 European soccer Cup (Euro 2008), this year hosted jointly by Austria and Switzerland, will kickoff. As for any event attracting large crowds and global attention in today’s age, authorities are worried about potential terrorist threats. The Euro Cup, in a way, presents the same security features of a Super Bowl, but it is held in 8 different cities over 3 weeks and with the participation of 16 national teams, making security planning significantly more complicated. Just yesterday Swiss newspaper La Liberté reported an interview with Jürg Bühler, a security official with the Swiss Federal Police, in which Mr. Bühler revealed that his agency has been monitoring threats against the event made by several users of various Islamist websites. While there seems to be no specific threat so far, Mr. Bühler correctly pointed out that vigilance should be kept high, as soccer competitions have attracted the attention of jihadist networks in Europe in the past. Weeks before the 1998 World Cup held in France police across Europe conducted raids against a network of Algerian militants, apprehending more than 100 individuals. According to French authorities the men were planning a string of attacks against stadiums during the World Cup, even though some believed French authorities used the World Cup as an excuse to crack down on Algerian networks (coincidentally, Farid Benyettou, a militant with close links to the 1998 network, was convicted just yesterday in Paris for recruiting young French Muslims to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq). Allegedly, a similar plot was uncovered by French authorities against Paris’ Stade de France in October 2001, when police arrested a handful of North African men reportedly planning to carry out an attack during the France-Algeria soccer match. Authorities suspected a terrorist attack was planned also during the 2004 Euro Cup held in Portugal. Days before the beginning of the tournament Portuguese authorities, acting on a tip from Dutch intelligence, arrested three members of the Hofstad group in the city of Oporto. The men were deported and never charged with any crime, but authorities suspected the three wanted to target former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Barroso (the plot was never fully confirmed). Authorities believe that the 2006 World Cup held in Germany was also targeted by jihadists. Various Islamist websites issued threats against it, but, more concretely, authorities found out, months after the event, that Ayman Hawa and Jihad Hamad, the two Lebanese men that placed suitcases filled with explosives (which, luckily, failed to detonate) on two German commuter trains in July 2006, had initially thought of targeting the World Cup. On one hand major mediatic attention, the possibility of targeting large crowds (in and out of stadiums) and striking at Europe’s most cherished pastime make Euro 2008 a potential target for terrorists. Austria and Switzerland have a small presence of militants and sympathizers (even though in borderless Europe this has only limited relevance, as the threat could easily come from militants based in other European countries). Austria has recently dismantled its first homegrown network, which was running the German-language branch of the Global Islamic Media Front. The 2007 security report recently released by Swiss federal authorities clearly points to homegrown jihadist networks as “the most serious threat” to the country’s security. On the other hand, there is no reason to be alarmists. Not only is there no specific threat, but terrorists like surprises and easy targets and events such as Euro 2008 offer neither. Most of the plots described above, aside from the one targeting the 1998 World Cup in France, seem to have been either very abstract or very amateurish, often little more than just wishes. While the terrorist threat clearly worries Swiss and Austrian authorities, who are working closely with their counterparts throughout Europe, a more concrete fear is that of hooliganism, given the precedents of urban guerrilla that took place before and/or after some games (particularly England’s) of the 1998 France World Cup, 2000 Euro Cup (held in Belgium and Holland) and the 2006 Germany World Cup (and just last night there were riots during and after the UEFA Cup final between Glasgow Rangers and Zenit of Saint Petersburg and a Russian fan was stabbed).
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Cables, dispatches and memoranda
http://peacelikeariverblog.com/?p=230A brief world news roundup for 15 May 2008. United States & the Americas McClatchy - Leading legal defense groups Tuesday accused the Pentagon of foot-dragging on security clearances that would let civilian lawyers help their military counterparts defend the alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks at Guantnamo. AP - Officials say two police officers were shot and killed in northern Mexico when they tried to stop gunmen from kidnapping a family. CSIS - The America’s Program has published the Hemisphere Focus newsletter on the politics of confrontation in Bolivia. MESH - Let us imagine (in the style of political philosophers) that a small country, for illustration let’s say Paraguay, is deemed by its neighbors to be a usurper and illegitimate. Further, that on numerous occasions, Uruguay to the southeast, Bolivia to the southwest, and Chile to the far west, mount military campaigns against Paraguay in order to eliminate it and divide its resources among themselves. It is notable, on the occasion of these invasions, that the great powers, Brazil and Argentina, stand neutral and strictly committed to non-interference. Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia NY Times - Six insurgents were killed in fighting against government troops this week in Ingushetia, the predominantly Muslim Russian republic adjacent to Chechnya, a Russian general said. Three police officers were later shot dead there by insurgents, who fled. Javno - Tajikistan’s security forces have seized a large quantity of drugs with an estimated European street value of $10 million, anti-drugs service officials said on Wednesday. The impoverished republic lies on the main trafficking route out of neighbouring Afghanistan, the world’s top producer of opium and its refined form, heroin, to western Europe. France24 - A call by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to his Russian counterpart at the height of recent tensions over Abkhazia helped avoid a conflict in the region, according to a senior Georgian minister. EurasiaNet - In return for closer ties with Kazakhstan, visiting Tajik President Imomali Rahmon has hinted at support for a Kazakh plan to form a Central Asian Union - an idea also backed by Kyrgyzstan but soundly rejected by Astana’s main regional rival, Uzbekistan, and unlikely to please Russia. Moscow Times - In another sign of the special relationship between Moscow and Berlin, President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday welcomed German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the first prominent foreign guest to the Kremlin since his inauguration last week. Middle East AP - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took personal charge Wednesday of a military operation to rout al-Qaida in Iraq in what the U.S. has described as the terror group’s last major stronghold, even as a tenuous cease-fire took hold over Baghdad’s Sadr City slum. AFP - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a new assault on Al-Qaeda in the main northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, the jihadists’ last urban bastion in Iraq according to the US military. LA Times - Suicide bombers struck a funeral west of this capital and an Iraqi army post to the south Wednesday, killing at least 21 people in attacks that coincided with an Iraqi military offensive in Mosul against Al Qaeda in Iraq. Telegraph - A young girl was loaded with explosives and detonated by remote control, killing her and an Iraq soldier and wounding four others, it was claimed on Wednesday. MNF Iraq - When the Surge Strategy is documented in history, the Sons of Iraq program will be listed as one of its successes. Now, long-term plans are being developed so that gains aren’t lost as its members transition into other roles. AP - A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping center in this southern Israeli city Wednesday, wounding at least 14 people, as President Bush wrapped up talks in Jerusalem with Israel’s prime minister. SF Chronicle - Lebanon’s army held a tense calm Tuesday, pledging to use force if necessary to impose law and order following six days of violent clashes between Shiite Hezbollah-led opposition forces and Western-backed Sunni and Druze government allies that have tipped the country to the brink of civil war. At least 81 people have been killed and 250 wounded. Ya Libnan - Lebanon’s cabinet is under extremely heavy pressure to cancel the resolutions it took against Hezbollah that triggered fighting during which the Iranian-backed movement briefly occupied a part of Beirut, political sources said. RIA Novosti - Turkish army units have killed 11 Kurdish insurgents and injured over 20 in the Hakkari province bordering Iraq, national media reported on Wednesday. Iran FT - Iran says it has foiled an attempt by an alleged US-sponsored “terrorist” group to bomb the Russian consulate in Rasht in northern Iran. “A terrorist network linked to the US intended to stir up Iran’s relations with its neighbours by bombing the Russian consulate in Rasht [in Gilan province which has maritime border with Russia],” Iran’s intelligence minister told reporters on Wednesday. Press TV - Mehdi Hashemi has been appointed as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s new caretaker interior minister, Fars news agency has reported. Press TV - Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian says Iran reserves the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes to attain prosperity. AFPS - So-called “special groups” terrorists operating in Iraq apparently are receiving training, arms and funding from Iranian sources, a senior U.S. military official posted in Iraq said today. “Over the course of the last several months, we have publicly discussed numerous times, and shown numerous times, the evidence on four separate occasions on what we have found and continue to find: Iranian-made weapons in the hands of criminals in Iraq,” Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters during a Baghdad news conference. Southeast Asia AP - U.S. Marines who once planned to be in the southern Afghan town of Garmser for just a few days are extending their mission by several weeks after facing an influx of Taliban fighters. Independent - Afghanistan: What hope is there for the lost children of the bazaar? Their trade is almost as old as the hills that encircle the Afghan capital. But the lives of Kabul’s rug-weavers reveal the fault-lines that scar this proud, complicated nation – and which condemn its people to poverty, desperation and addiction. AP - A suspected missile strike late Wednesday destroyed a house and killed about a dozen people in a Pakistan border village that was targeted by the U.S. military two years ago in the hunt for al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader. AFP - The United States has poured nearly 40 billion dollars in aid to South Asia since the September 11 attacks but the terror threat from the region remains a top problem, a congressional hearing was told Wednesday. BBC - Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships kill at least 21 tribal rebels in Balochistan, officials say. Reuters - Pakistan has begun shifting troops from parts of the South Waziristan region and swapped prisoners with the militants in an effort to make peace with an al Qaeda-linked commander, officials said on Wednesday. Daily Star - Pro-Taliban militants beheaded a soldier in a Pakistani tribal area after accusing him of spying for US forces across the border in Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday. Daily Times - A tribal elder was killed and his driver badly injured when armed men ambushed his vehicle near the Karkhano market in Peshawar on Wednesday. Malik Ahmad Khan Kookikhel was on his way to Peshawar from Bara when armed men in another car intercepted his car and opened fire. MEMRI - Two Arab princes arrested in Pakistan for their alleged links to Al-Qaeda – Prince Abdul Karim of Morocco and Yemen’s Prince Abdul Haq – are to be deported. CSM - The bombs, the deadliest such attacks in India in nearly two years, appear to fit into an emerging pattern in India, in which bomb explosions occur every few months and are attributed to Islamic terrorists. “They want Islamic extremism to take root in India,” says Ashok Behuria, a fellow at Delhi’s Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, referring to Islamic terrorist groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and elsewhere. “These people are slowly but surely beginning to penetrate India.” Press TV - India’s military forces accuse Pakistani troops of firing across the ‘Line of Control’ that divides the disputed region of Kashmir. UPI - India says the air capability of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels could pose a threat to vital southern installations. IHT - Air force jets pounded a Tamil Tiger rebel training base deep in the jungles of northern Sri Lanka, and troops killed 13 guerrillas in other fighting, the military said Wednesday. Far East & Pacific RTT News - The Australian government is mulling over a decision to haul Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before the International Court of Justice for inciting violence against Israel and denying Jewish holocaust, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Wednesday. NPR - Co-host Steve Inskeep talks to Adm. Timothy Keating, head of U.S. Pacific Command, about his attempts to get Myanmar’s military government to allow more relief flights into the country. Reuters - Japan was urged by friends and critics in the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday to abolish the death penalty and take concrete steps to settle the long-standing issue of wartime “comfort women”. Radio Australia - The leaders of New Zealand and Japan have held talks in Tokyo agreeing to enhance co-operation in areas such as the environment and security. AKI - Counter terrorism efforts could backfire in the Philippines and lead to fresh conflict between Manila and Islamic rebels on the southern island of Mindanao, an international think-tank warned on Wednesday. news.com.au - Australia’s high commission in Fiji has received a second death threat. Europe AP - Suspected Basque separatists bombed a village police barracks housing officers and their families on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding four. Spain’s government described it as an attempted massacre. Washington Post - A French judge on Wednesday convicted seven men on terrorism charges for recruiting young French Muslims to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq. Times Online - The world has been introduced to the true face of Julius Caesar with the discovery in a river in southern France of a bust that was sculpted in the lifetime of the Roman leader. Africa Washington Post - South Sudanese former rebels fought northern government forces on Wednesday in the disputed oil-rich Abyei region, killing up to four people and sending hundreds fleeing, south Sudanese and U.N. officials said. BBC - Gunmen in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta hijack a ship belonging to a US company and kidnap its 11 crew. AllAfrica - LRA leader Joseph Kony kept chief mediator and South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar, religious and cultural leaders from northern Uganda waiting for five days at Nabanga at the Congo-Sudan border but failed to show up. State Dept - Briefing on Reward for Justice Search for Rwandan War Criminals. Xinhua - The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that more than 2.6 million Somalis are currently considered “food insecure,” and this number could climb to 3.5 million, almost half of the Horn of Africa nation’s population, by the end of the year. The Global War WSJ - A nuclear-cooperation pact between the U.S. and India is unlikely to get completed before the Bush administration leaves office early next year, U.S. officials now believe. NY Times - Not many investigations are as intricate as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s three-year pursuit of two arms dealers, who are being prosecuted in federal court in Manhattan. RIA Novosti - Two Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers have carried out a routine patrol over remote areas of the Arctic that lasted for almost 20 hours, a Russian Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday. Claremont - As China joins economic growth to military power, the United States is presented with two challenges we have failed to meet, writes Mark Helprin, Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute. He makes the case that we can outwit and deter this rising power, but only if we answer with our historical strengths. David Ignatius - Iran is winning; can the US bolster the Arab center? Sights & Sounds Reuters: Emergency water supplies arrive in the Spanish port of Barcelona which is grappling with a severe drought. Guardian Weekly Podcast: The Chinese earthquake, Burma’s junta and cyclone aid, the battle for Lebanon, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, death penalty opponent, Red Square parades, and a Letter from India CSM: In today’s podcast, we have reports on the Chinese earthquake, Democratic election news, inflation and discretionary spending and studying whales in order to make energy-efficient items.
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MIDEAST NEWS MONITOR 051408 (UPDATE 2)
http://www.mideastmonitoring.com/2008/05/mideast-news-monito...ALERT IRAQ: Bomber strikes Iraq funeral A suicide bomber has killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens more at a funeral being attended by Sunni Arab tribesmen opposed to al-Qaeda…(Aljazeera). Full Article: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/581A35F5-6FD9-42F2-9292-42FDE480E2B4.htm ALERT AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN: Air raid on Afghan-Pakistan border A village on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has come under aerial assault, possibly carried out by a US drone aircraft. Residents said a house in Damadola village had been targeted and that about a dozen people had been killed…(Aljazeera). Full Article: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CAFA5387-5D55-4B5A-9920-4B6ACDF65220.htm ARAB LEAGUE/LEBANON: Arab League Mediates to Resolve Lebanon Crisis An Arab League delegation was meeting with rival leaders in Beirut to mediate a settlement to deadly sectarian gunbattles that have driven Lebanon close to civil war. The meetings came as U.S. President George Bush accused Iran of trying to undermine Lebanese democracy through its support of the Shiite movement Hizbullah, which he said had turned on its own people. The Arab team, headed by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, was holding talks with members of the government and the Hizbullah-led opposition, who have been locked in a bitter political feud for 18 months…(Naharnet). Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&00665E49E27FC0CCC2257449006886E9 U.S./ISRAEL: President Bush Meets with Israeli President Peres President George W. Bush and Israeli President Shimon Peres gave this joint press statement in Jerusalem on May 14, 2008...(CFR). Full Article: http://www.cfr.org/publication/16260/president_bush_meets_with_israeli_president_peres.html IRAN/IRAQ/U.S.: Iranian newspapers criticize US-Iraqi deal Iranian hard-line newspapers rebuke startegic agreement between the united Sates and Iraq Hussein Shariatmadari, Adviser to the Supreme Guide of Iran criticized the strategic agreement between Iraq and the United States considering it as a return to the cold war between Iraq and Iran and the latter’s isolation. In an editorial entitled “Grand Deception” in Keyhan Newspaper, which reflects the Iranian ruling establishment’s view, Shariatmadari affirmed that his stand expresses his personal point of view and is not an official stand…(Alsumaria). Full Article: http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-17651-Iranian-newspapers-criticize-US-Iraqi-deal.html IRAQ: Sadr City cease fire hindered by hold ups Cease fire in Sadr City agreed upon between the government and Al Sadr Bloc is being hindered by many stumbling blocs Cease fire in Sadr City agreed upon between the government and Al Sadr Bloc is being hindered by many stumbling blocs. These violations which threaten the effect of truce is not due to the lack of confidence between concerned parties in the field but are caused by the absence of a resolved political will and the aim of Al Mehdi Army to prevail on the ground...(Alsumaria). Full Article: http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-17649-Sadr-City-cease-fire-hindered-by-hold-ups.html OIL: Three oil fields discovered in Iraq Full Article: http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-17668-Three-oil-fields-discovered-in-Iraq.html ISRAEL: Olmert sees progress in U.S.-backed peace talks Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday that progress was being made in U.S.-backed peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and that "hopefully" a deal would be reached this year. "Israel continues to actively seek peace with its neighbours, especially with the Palestinians," Olmert told an audience in Jerusalem that included visiting U.S. President George W. Bush…(Reuters). Full Article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14871206.htm LEBANON: Hariri Warns Hizbullah Against Targeting Akkar Mufti Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri on Wednesday accused Hizbullah of agitating against the Mufti of Akkar Province Sheikh Usama Rifai. Hariri, in a statement, accused Hizbullah's television mouthpiece, al-Manar, of "twisting facts" regarding clashes that took place in the northern Akkar province in an attempt to depict the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) as a "victim" and the Mustaqbal movement as the executioner. Al-Manar, according to Hariri, also agitated sectarian hatred against Sheikh Rifai. "I warn Hizbullah against repercussions of targeting Mufti Rifai," Hariri said in his statement…(Naharnet). Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&A4DCC8F03CD11CB2C2257449005C2077 ISRAEL/GAZA: Rocket fired from Gaza hits Israeli city, at least 14 injured A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping center in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, wounding at least 14 people, rescue officials said, just as Israel's leader was discussing the violence with visiting U.S. President George W. Bush and threatening large-scale retaliation…(AP). Full Article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/14/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Palestinians.php TERRORISM: In France, 7 Are Convicted on Terrorism Charges Prosecutors Allege Men Were Recruiting Youths to Fight U.S. in Iraq A French judge on Wednesday convicted seven men on terrorism charges for recruiting young French Muslims to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq…(Washington Post). Full Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051402250.html?nav=rss_world/mideast
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NY Times' Favorite Son
http://www.uncorrelated.com/2008/05/ny_times_favorite_son.ht...NY Times worried about a foreign visitor's detention for 10 days. Quite the purple prose: He was a carefree Italian with a recent law degree from a Roman university. She was “a totally Virginia girl,” as she puts it, raised across the road from George Washington’s home. Their romance, sparked by a 2006 meeting in a supermarket in Rome, soon brought the Italian, Domenico Salerno, on frequent visits to Alexandria, Va., where he was welcomed like a favorite son by the parents and neighbors of his girlfriend, Caitlin Cooper. Of course, they think Homeland Security should play favorites. How about fixing FISA, hmm? Meanwhile, the French get tough.
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Latest News on Terrorism
http://globalissuesweb.com/wp/?p=5127Iraq forces launch fresh drive against Al-Qaeda (AFP via Yahoo! News) Iraqi security forces and US troops launched on Wednesday a new offensive against Al-Qaeda in the northern town of Mosul, defence ministry spokesman Major General Abdul Kareem Khalaf told AFP. Pakistan to frame effective strategy to tackle terrorism during Pranab visit (rediff.com) Pakistan on Wednesday said it will use External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Islamabad in May to frame an effective strategy to counter terrorism A TEAM of specially trained police counter terrorism experts will converge on Ba (Western Advocate) A TEAM of specially trained police counter terrorism experts will converge on Bathurst Airport today. The Philippines: Counter-insurgency vs. Counter-terrorism in Mindanao (AlertNet) Source: International Crisis Group The U.S. and the Philippines need to refocus energies on peace processes in Mindanao or they risk new hostilities between government forces and insurgents. Khartoum Seeks Terrorist Label for Darfur Rebels (Voice of America) Thousands of people demonstrated in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, against a rebel group that attacked the capital this weekend. Vietnam supports counter-terrorism efforts (Vietnam Net) VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is committed to counter-terrorism and the non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons under international treaties to which it is a party and resolutions of the UN Security Council. Iraq orders new assault on Al-Qaeda in Mosul (AFP via Yahoo! News) Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a new assault on Al-Qaeda in the main northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, the jihadists’ last urban bastion in Iraq according to US commanders. Iraq PM in Mosul for offensive against al Qaeda (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to oversee a big offensive against al Qaeda in what the U.S. military says is the group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq. In France, 7 Are Convicted on Terrorism Charges (Washington Post) PARIS, May 14 — A French judge on Wednesday convicted seven men on terrorism charges for recruiting young French Muslims to fight against U.S. forces in Iraq. Four charged in Britain with helping Tamil Tigers: police (AFP via Yahoo! News) Police have charged four men with conspiring to support Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, Scotland Yard said Thursday. FDLE Launches Counter-Terrorism Program (Central Florida News 13) The Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched its new BusinesSafe program Wednesday. Iraq PM in Mosul to direct al Qaeda offensive (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to take charge of a big offensive against al Qaeda in what the U.S. military says is the group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq.
