Your Ad Here

The Saudi Connection
31 July, 2007
In Iraq and elsewhere, terrorism thrives with Saudi support.
by Stephen Schwartz


ALMOST SIX YEARS after September 11, 2001, and more than four years since the beginning of the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq, the American government and media have begun to admit something every informed and honest Muslim in the world has known all along. That is: the "Sunni insurgency" in Iraq, as well as 9/11 and certain acts of extremist Sunni violence inside Iraq before then, are consequences of the official status of the ultra-fundamentalist Wahhabi sect in Saudi Arabia, Iraq's southern neighbor. Saudi Wahhabi clerics have preached and recruited for terror in Iraq; Saudi money has sustained it; the largest number of those who have carried out suicide bombings north of the Saudi-Iraqi border have been Saudi citizens.

Does this sound obvious and familiar? Perhaps to regular readers of THE WEEKLY STANDARD and THE DAILY STANDARD , which have reported frequently on the Saudi connection to terror in the Iraq war since the phenomenon first appeared. But the truth is finally seeping out elsewhere. On Friday, July 27, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported on the links between Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabi terror in Iraq, employing their usual cautious and polite language when dealing with the desert kingdom. The Post ran a Reuters rewrite of the Times reportage, casting the problem in terms of Saudi distrust for the Shia-led Iraqi administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the resulting difficulties facing Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates as they visit the Saudis this week. Seven paragraphs down, the story quoted the Times about the real issue: "the Saudis had offered financial support to Sunni groups in Iraq and U.S. officials were increasingly concerned about its close Arab ally's 'counterproductive' role in Iraq."

"Counterproductive" is a euphemism for Saudi state subsidies to Wahhabi clerics who demand the genocide of Shia Muslims, urge young men to go north and sacrifice themselves to that end, and preach eulogies after their deaths. It is also a diplomatic way to describe the official Saudi policy of ignoring financial contributions by rich Saudi citizens to support Wahhabi terror in Iraq. Others might call such behavior acts of war rather than merely "counterproductive."

The Times itself, in an article by Helene Cooper, further noted, "Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis have not done enough to stem the flow." Administration officials, the paper reported "spoke on the condition of anonymity because they believed that openly criticizing Saudi Arabia would further alienate the Saudi royal family." Then came the bald truth: "the majority of suicide bombers in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia [and] about 40 percent of all foreign fighters are Saudi. Officials said that while most of the foreign fighters came to Iraq to become suicide bombers, others arrived as bomb makers, snipers, logisticians and financiers."

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has "revealed" information about the Al Rajhi Bank, one of the kingdom's main financiers of Wahhabism, most of which has been available in print for several years. The "fresh" disclosures include the role of the Al Rajhi Bank in facilitating Saudi extremist operations. But the Journal admits that the Al Rajhi name appeared on a document many Westerners were loath to take seriously, the "Golden Chain" roster of al Qaeda donors seized by Bosnian authorities in Sarajevo, and handed over to the U.S. government in 2002.

Yet even the Journal seems not to have noticed that the Al Rajhi financial system's Suleiman Abdul Al-Aziz Al Rajhi also created the SAAR Foundation, an object of the federal raid known as GreenQuest, which struck a nest of Islamist entities in Northern Virginia in 2002.

Why has there been so little media interest in the role of Saudi money and influence in Iraq and elsewhere? The best explanation is media cooperation with the official U.S. preference for the "quiet, behind-the-scenes influence" that one administration after another has defaulted to in dealing with Saudi problems, and which the Saudis exploit to continue their deceptive ways.

Saudis and Iraqis, even with own imperfect media, are much better informed. Here is what they have been reading.

* On July 25, the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported on 61 Saudis held in Iraqi jails. The inferred charge was terrorism.

* The day before, Al-Watan described an uproar over Saudi clerics advocating the destruction of Shia holy sites in Iraq. According to Iraqi sources, the Wahhabis have specifically called for the destruction of the shrines of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in Karbala, and of Caliph Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, in Najaf--the two most sacred Shia sites. As also reported in Iraqi media, students at the Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, located in Riyadh and known as the "terrorist factory," have organized activist groups and sent members streaming north to join the onslaught on Iraqi Shias.

* On July 17, the Grand Mufti or chief Islamic cleric of the Saudi kingdom, Abd al-Aziz Al Ash-Shaykh, cautioned Saudis not to go to Iraq to engage in terror, and said that "those who mislead young Muslims, calling them to jihad, refuse to send their own sons to participate in the same conflict."

* On July 16, the Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted the comment of Prince Nayef, the Saudi interior minister who wriggles like an eel on this issue, that Saudis lured to participate in the Iraq terror are "brainwashed teenagers." The same day, the Saudi daily Al-Hayat interviewed U.S. Treasury undersecretary Stuart Levey, who argued that financing terror in Iraq is no different from contributing to al Qaeda elsewhere.

* And the day before that, on July 15, the Wahhabi website Al-Sahat posted a list of Saudi terrorists recently killed in Iraq, with names, addresses, and dates and places of their demise.

This, too, is merely the beginning of a long inventory of such information reported in the Muslim world. Nobody can say the Saudis, Iraqis, and other Muslims do not know who organizes and supports the Wahhabi terror in Iraq.

None of the recent "revelations" should come as a suprise to anyone. In 2002, THE WEEKLY STANDARD reported on the Al Rajhi financial network and terrorism; in 2003 on the Saudi injection of Wahhabi radicals into Iraq, including Saudi media publicity about their deaths in defense of Saddam Hussein and on Saudi involvement in combat against the U.S.-led coalition at Falluja; in 2004 on general Saudi support for terror in Iraq, and yet more on the Saudi involvement in the fight for Falluja.

One question remains: How many more American and Coalition soldiers, as well as innocent Iraqis, will be killed before the Saudis are compelled to end their support for terrorism in Iraq?

Stephen Schwartz is a frequent contributor to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

Rice and Gates in joint trip to Middle East
30 July, 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates today start a key Middle East mission to seek Arab support for the Iraqi government and also discuss weapons sales to regional allies.

The secretaries of state and defense are making their trip at a time when America’s credibility in the Mideast has plummeted. The United States has failed to stabilize Iraq, destroy al-Qaida, pacify Lebanon, isolate Syria or bolster moderate Palestinians.

So far, U.S. support for Israel’s ill-fated war in Lebanon and its efforts to undermine radical groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon have borne little fruit. Along with its support for autocrats such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, such actions have undercut U.S. claims that it is championing Muslim democracy.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a news briefing in Washington on July 27 that a primary objective of the tour is to seek Arab support for Iraq.

They hope to persuade Iraq’s neighbors to help stabilize the country, to counter Iran’s growing ambitions and to try to get real movement on peace between Israel and the Palestinians. There is also an overarching aim: to reassure worried allies in the Middle East that despite its troubles in Iraq, the United States remains committed to the region.

In my opinion Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates face a tough assignment. Because Gulf states - particularly Saudi Arabia - have started to get nervous about Tehran's increasing influence in the Persian Gulf region.

Source : Munaeem's Blog 

Pope's secretary speaks of Islamic threat for Europe
28 July, 2007
July 27, 2007

BERLIN --  Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary has warned against the spread of Islam in the West in an interview with a German newspaper published Friday.

"We cannot deny the attempts to spread Islam in the West. And we should not be too understanding and let this blind us to the threat to Europe's identity," Georg Gaenswein told the weekly magazine of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. "The Catholic Church sees it clearly and is not afraid to say so," he added.

Gaenswein described as "prophetic" the highly controversial speech that the Pope made at the University of Regensburg when he visited Germany last September in which he seemed to link Islam to violence.

"The speech was precisely meant to counter a kind of naiveté. It is clear that there is not only one Islam and the Pope does not know anybody who speaks with binding authority to all Muslims," he said. "The concept groups many different schools ... some of whom use the Koran to justify reaching for a gun," he said.

In the speech at the University of Regensburg in his native Germany, Pope Benedict quoted a medieval Christian emperor who criticized some teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman."

The lecture sparked days of sometimes violent protests in Muslim countries, prompting the pontiff to say that he was "deeply sorry" for any offense and to attribute Muslim anger to an "unfortunate misunderstanding."

But he stopped short of apologizing for the remarks.

The Vatican Web site posted an annotated version of the speech, in which Pope Benedict wrote that the offending phrase "does not express my personal opinion on the Koran, for which I feel the respect that is due to the holy book of a great religion."

On a lighter note, Gaenswein revealed in the interview that the Pope always wears white, even in private, but declined to confirm reports that he wears shoes by the Italian luxury brand Prada.
Posted by munaeem 19:55 | Pakistan | Comment(0) | Permalink
Why is the United States restless about Pakistan’s Islamic identity?
26 July, 2007

via Munaeem's Blog : 

Pakistan is a nuclear power and its nuclear weapons are not aimed at the United States. Its nuclear weapons are largely a deterrent against any Indian adventure.

Why is the United States restless about Pakistan’s Islamic identity?

Prior to the 2002 general elections, the Islamists could not muster more than 5 percent of the votes. But the situation changed in 2002 the Islamic alliance Muttahida Majils e-Amal (MMA) won 60 seats and became an influential kingmaker in Pakistan politics.

Such a possibility heightens US anxiety. An Islamist leader, who is more likely to follow an anti-US policy, may offer resistance to US policy in Afghanistan.

The proliferation of nuclear weapons will pose a major threat to US hegemonic designs and neutralize Israel's military dominance in West Asia.

In short, it poses a major threat to US security interests. So denuclearizing Pakistan is one of the national interest objectives of the United States.

Tony Blair’s empty rhetoric
26 July, 2007

via Dawn : 

MORE of meaningless rhetoric poured forth from Mr Tony Blair’s lips as he arrived in the Middle East on Tuesday on his first visit after being named the Quartet’s envoy. As is typical of all western diplomats when they speak about the Arab-Israeli conflict, the former British prime minister merely beat about the bush when he discovered a “moment of opportunity” and a “sense of possibility” for … for nothing. Here is what the longest serving Labour prime minister had to say: “whether that sense of possibility can be translated into something, that is something that needs to be worked at and thought about over time”… Brilliant diplomatese! What he simply could not utter was the truth — that Israel should withdraw from the occupied territories so that a Palestinian state could come into being. If he were to say that, Israel’s doors would be closed on him forever. More of the rhetoric: “I am just trying to have a sense of what’s happening here…” This is from a leader who was actively involved in Middle Eastern affairs for his long 10 years in office and who in January 2003 called a conference in London to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Now, in his post-prime ministerial days, he is “trying to have a sense of what’s happening here…”

In his heart of hearts, Mr Blair must be a happy man, for the brief given to him by the Quartet does not entrust him with the task of doing anything concrete. The brief itself is a vegetable. It asks Mr Blair to concentrate his efforts on the occupied territories’ economic development, governance and institution building — but mention of the real issue is at stake. As chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat wondered, how can one speak of economic development and institution building while “the settlements, the wall, the denial of movement, the obstacles, and the road blocks are eating up the whole idea of a Palestinian state? Let’s be realistic.” That is where Mr Erakat is wrong. Mr Blair’s brief does not authorise him to be realistic.

Mr Blair is not alone: besides Israel and the pro-Israeli lobby in America and Europe, the Quartet is behind him. His job is to obfuscate the Palestinian question with non-issues. The process of sidetracking the real issue began in Yasser Arafat’s time. For instance, one of the tricks for bypassing the real issue was to ask Arafat to have a prime minister and reform the Palestinian Authority. He did both, but there was no progress on the question of Israel’s withdrawal. Now again Mr Blair will concentrate on ‘institution building’ at a time when the Palestinians themselves have gladdened their enemy’s heart by fighting a civil war and turning the West Bank and Gaza into two warring cantons. Israel could not be happier. Clearly, it is futile to expect Mr Blair or the Quartet to do anything substantive, when between them Hamas and Fatah have scuttled the Palestinian cause. Irrespective of how the US, the European Union and Israel view Hamas, both President Mahmoud Abbas and Mr Ismail Haniye have acted very irrationally. President Abbas has received fulsome praise from America and the EU, and aid has started flowing in, but that is not going to take him and the Palestinian people any closer to the goal of liberation of the Israeli-occupied territories and living in freedom and dignity in their own areas.

This conflict's too tricky for ham-handed Bush team
26 July, 2007

via Seatle Times :

After four years mucking up Iraq, President George W. Bush is calling an American-led "international meeting" on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Please, Mr. President, let it be, bad as it is. Go fishing, send Dick Cheney hunting, whatever. Don't blunder again in a region in which you and your neoconservative advisers have zero credibility.

The much-abused Israelis and Palestinians deserve an honest broker.

Events in the region have deteriorated since Israel's victory in the 1967 war resulted in control and eventually occupation of those lands left to Palestinians after creation of the state of Israel.

Reporting from the West Bank in 1982 for King Broadcasting, I concluded a 30-minute documentary: "The occupation has taken the land, diverted the water, and filled village life with tension and conflict. Palestinian boys leave to become guer-rillas, for there is little reason to stay under the guns and in the prisons of occupation. This is an occupation financed and forgotten by Americans. But while it continues, there will be no peace, on the land or in the souls of the people."

Shortly after the documentary aired, Israel invaded Lebanon and drove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) into exile. Two Islamic organizations — Hamas and Hezbollah — emerged in the chaos, and now dominate the Palestinian cause. Palestinians were overwhelmingly secular in 1982 — the only PLO element with religious overtones was a Christian militia. Gradually, Palestinians turned to Islamists because nothing else worked.

With the exception of the Oslo agreements in 1993, events have gone downhill in the past 25 years, directly related to the building of permanent Israeli settlements (now 271) in Palestinian territory. Jerusalem is ringed by fortresslike settlements, a 30-foot wall is sealing off the West Bank, and a network of roads exclusively for Israeli settlers carves the West Bank into a series of isolated and impoverished enclaves.

Some 400,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians, but control more than 40 percent of the land. Israeli soldiers protect them, staff some 500 roadblocks and checkpoints, and control much of West Bank life.

These "facts on the ground" must be addressed along with the violence from both sides if any progress is to be made. The policy of the Bush administration has been to turn a blind eye to expansion of Israeli settlements while condemning Palestinian violence. Our Cheney-driven policy is black-or-white, us-or-them, good-or-evil, in a region where everything comes in shades of gray.

We have not helped our cause by promoting democratic elections in Palestinian territories and then refusing to accept the overwhelming victory of Hamas in a free and fair election. Just as our invasion created al-Qaida in Iraq, isolating and demon-izing Hamas may create a branch in Gaza.

Israel "gave" Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005, an overcrowded slum with no jobs and with borders sealed off by Israel. No one wanted Gaza — it has no religious significance — and its predictable implosion gave Israel an excuse not to yield on the West Bank.

Politics have failed on both sides. Israel's vibrant and democratic politics have been captured by right-wing religious zealots and sometimes-violent settlers. Among Palestinians, the Fatah government has been ineffectual and corrupt, and educated secular professionals have emigrated to find a better life, leaving a gap that has been filled by violence. Ordinary people on both sides want peace and support a two-state future.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds the shredded cloth of secularism, but is increasingly unpopular. Hopes for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah remain, but lack a leader.

Israel is releasing some Fatah prisoners, but not Marwan Barghouti, perhaps the only Palestinian with the street credibility to unite Palestinians. Israel says Barghouti "has blood on his hands." Indeed. No major player in the dispute has clean hands. In 2006, according to B'tselem, an Israeli human-rights group, Israeli forces killed 660 Palestinians; Palestinians killed 23 Israelis.

My dictionary defines terrorism: "The use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce." There is terrorism on all sides. Palestinians carry suicide bombs and lob mortar rounds into Israel. Israeli soldiers raid Palestinian neighborhoods and shell from the air. One terrorist wears a robe, the other a uniform.

Earlier this month, departing British Prime Minister Tony Blair was named a special envoy to the Middle East. Better to give Blair a chance rather than turn this vital area over to the tender mercies of Bush, Cheney and the neocons. They need to make a genuine effort to get Syria and Iran to help extricate us from Iraq, not look for one more place to intervene.

Floyd J. McKay, a journalism professor emeritus at Western Washington University, is a regular contributor to Times editorial pages. E-mail him at floydmckay@yahoo.com

 

 

Arab Islamist parties would do well to study Turkey's AKP example
25 July, 2007

via metimes.com: 

An editorial in Jordan's Al Rai described Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP as a "secular Islamist" group that was not atheist simply because it was secular, adding that the party believed Turkey had to form part of Europe and the Western alliance.

"Its Islamism doesn't mean its hostility toward everything; it deals with the world based on Turkey's interests," the mass-circulation daily said.

The paper, partially owned by the government, noted that Arab Islamist parties had not launched political dialogue with the AKP to study its "unique experience and the Islamic renaissance movement."

This party, it stressed, was different in that its rhetoric was not as forceful as Iran's, nor was it as bloody as similar groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan; it did not have dealings with Al Qaeda, but was an independent group.

The paper urged Arab Islamist parties to learn from Turkey's Justice Party, and to emulate its objectives and plans, without having to seek support from Iran.

Posted by munaeem 15:39 | Turkey | Comment(0) | Permalink
BLAIR kicks off his first visit to the Middle East as the international community?s new envoy
24 July, 2007

via Munaeem's Blog :

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the region as the new envoy for the "Quartet" of Mideast mediators hoping to add new momentum to fledgling peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

Blair arrives at a time when the Palestinian uprising has fizzled out and Israel has indicated its readiness to work with the new Palestinian leadership after seven years of stalemate.

But critics say. How can the man who brought havoc to Iraq/refused to condemn Israel last summer/rode shotgun with Bush for so long etc, possibly be a plausible peacemaker now?

 

US officials are only making false claims about re-emergence of al-qaeda in the tribal belt of Pakistan.
24 July, 2007

via Munaeem's Blog : 

The White House homeland security adviser, Frances Townsend, told Fox News Television that the United States would strikes against militant targets within Pakistan's tribal territories.

Pakistan strongly reacted to his statement. Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told press that this ill-conceived action would undermine Pakistan’s efforts and would generate resentment in the tribal area.

Mr. Townsend’s irresponsible statement has generated anger among Pakistanis. They are of the opinion that Pakistan should stop supporting US in war on terror.

The US does not have any evidence that al-qaeda is operating in Pakistan’s tribal. These officials are making assertions to justify their illegal activities of NATO action in Afghanistan.

Look at the statement of the US director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell. He said :

"My personal view is that he's alive, but we don't know because we can't confirm it for over a year," he told NBC television on Sunday. "I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan."

It is evident from his statements that US officials are only making false claims about re-emergence of al-qaeda in the tribal belt of Pakistan.

Posted by munaeem 08:37 | General , Pakistan | Comment(0) | Permalink
Pak Army should not get sucked in
23 July, 2007

via Munaeem's Blog :

 

IN a prelude to putting more pressure on Pakistan, President Bush  has endorsed questionable intelligence report alleging that Al-Qaeda has established a safe haven in the tribal areas of Pakistan. In his weekly radio address he also claimed that September 5 agreement between the Governor NWFP and tribal elders has failed and offered joint action against so-called safe haven.

 On the face of it, the offer of the American President seems to be quite innocent and a simple gesture from a friend. Pointing out that Pakistan Army was in a state of war against militants, Mr Bush pretends to extend a helping hand in dealing with the problem but the proposition has much more to it than the eyes meet. This is part of the long term strategy of the United States that is aimed at pitching Pakistan Army against militants with the ultimate objective of destabilizing the country.

It is now quite evident that the Bush administration is working on a systematic campaign to project Pakistan’s tribal areas as hot bed of terrorism. This is in line with the standard practice of Washington to mount propaganda of this sort to mould public opinion and build up necessary pressure providing excuse for physical intervention in an area anywhere in the world. Release of an intelligence report that has strongly been rejected by Pakistan and its immediate and public endorsement by President Bush speaks volumes about intentions of the United States. Pakistan is already passing through a difficult phase due to its unparalleled support to the American war on terror. The war has been launched by Washington to safeguard American interests the world over but as a consequence Pakistan’s interests are in danger.

To cover up their failure in Afghanistan and to befool the international public opinion Americans are now raising the bogey of Al-Qaeda reorganizing in FATA. They have been urging Pakistan every now and then to do more and in a bid to please them, the authorities in Pakistan have been involving Pakistan Army here and there in operations as a result of which it is openly being targeted by militants. If Pakistan adopts the policy, which Washington is trying to dictate, then there will be further deterioration in the law and order and further tainting of Pakistan’s image. Should that happens, Americans would go for their hidden agenda of depriving Pakistan of its nuclear capability and assets. Therefore, our authorities and strategists should remain on the vigil and must not fall into the American trap.

 

Posted by munaeem 22:49 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink
Options for general Musharaf
23 July, 2007

via Munaeem's Blog :

A…To stay as President;

  1. Re-election from present assemblies. It has become very difficult after the recent SC verdict.
  2. A deal with BB and get elected through new assemblies. He will loose uniform and staying without uniform makes him vulnerable especially when they don’t trust each other.
  3. Get elected through new assemblies with help of Chaudrys. He has to arrange massive rigging, which will be challenged in the born-again independent Judiciary.
  4. In both the above-mentioned scenarios, the two year legal embargo will hang on his head preventing him taking part in such election. 
  5. Declaring emergency and postponing elections for a year. It will be challenged in the Supreme Court. With the existing public and Judicial mood, he will be extremely lucky to get away with it.
  6. Declaring martial law. Will the new independent SC support it as ‘Doctrine of Necessity’?

 

B…To keep his uniform;

  1. Through the present assembly. For this, he needs BB’s support and Constitutional change which is just not possible in present circumstances.
  2. Through Referendum. The public will not accept it this time. There will be mass uprising.
  3. Through new assemblies. It’s impossible after March 9th.

 

It seems that not many options are left in President Musharaf’s kitty. The only viable way out from him is to leave presidency to the Senate Chairman and choose a successor as Army Chief; a suggestion loudly coming out from the US electronic/print media and influential think-tanks. As far as George Bush’s personal support is concerned; general Musharaf should take it as buzz by a mosquito that caught itself in a shielding nest.

Dr. Ghayur Ayub
via email
London

 

Posted by munaeem 22:45 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink
Officials report massacre in Diyala
17 July, 2007
 Iraqi officials reported that Sunni extremists massacred dozens of Shiite villagers in the north. Police Col. Ragheb Radhi al-Omairi told AFP that Sunni gunmen raided the village in the night and killed 29 people.

Al-Omairi said he had not seen the bodies and it was unclear whether they had been retrieved.

Who will confirm that this act was committed by Sunni extremists?
Posted by munaeem 13:41 | General , Iraq | Comment(0) | Permalink
Israel to release prisoners this week, says Olmert
16 July, 2007
    Ron Bousso
AFP
July 16, 2007
PROMISE: Israel's PM Ehud Olmert (L) meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem July 16. Olmert met Abbas Monday and promised to speed the release of 250 prisoners in a bid to shore up his West Bank administration against rival Hamas Islamists.
(REUTERS)
JERUSALEM --  Israel plans to release 250 Palestinian prisoners by the end of the week, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as the two leaders met in Jerusalem Monday.

The pair held discussions for an hour in the presence of aides and then for nearly an hour one-on-one, in their second meeting since fighters loyal to Abbas were overrun in Gaza by Islamist Hamas a month ago.

The prisoners, the vast majority of them from Abbas' Fatah party, are slated to be released Friday following Israel's pledge to free them as a goodwill gesture to Abbas, a senior Israeli official quoted Olmert as saying.

"The ministerial committee will convene tomorrow to go over the list of 250 prisoners, which has been drawn up by the Israeli security services, and once it is approved, the prisoners will be released Friday unless there are legal steps taken against the release," the official said.

But while welcoming the release, the Palestinians said that the freeing of 250 prisoners out of the more than 11,000 currently held in Israeli jails was not enough.

"The president demanded that political leaders be included among them," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters in Ramallah after the encounter, the sixth official meeting since Olmert took office in May 2006.

The prisoners include 11 minors, with the rest adults who have at least a year left to serve in their sentence, and all will have to sign a "commitment not to be involved in terror," the official said.

The prisoner release was one of a series of moves undertaken by Israel to boost Abbas since the Gaza takeover by Hamas, a group pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.

Olmert insisted that Abbas, who has ruled out dialogue with Hamas in the wake of the bloody Gaza takeover, not re-engage with the Islamists, saying that this "means blowing up the current peace efforts."

Other recent Israeli steps have also included a pledge to take off wanted lists nearly 190 militants who had promised not to wage anti-Israel attacks and allowing veteran Palestinian nationalist leader Nayef Hawatmeh to enter the West Bank for the first time in 40 years.

Israel has also unblocked part of Palestinian custom duties that it has withheld for more than a year after Hamas came to power.

The Palestinians, however, have insisted that talks between the two sides focus on long-term issues, like borders, instead of gestures.

"The president wants his meetings with the Israeli prime minister to focus on political negotiations, the Arab initiative" and steps toward establishing the Palestinians' long-promised state, Erekat said.

Ahead of the meeting, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned Israel that it had to be willing to discuss substantive issues with the Palestinians if the stalled Middle East peace process were to move ahead.

"To give confidence to the Palestinians in the peace process, you have to deal with long-term and short-term issues at the same time," the respected economist said in an interview with the Ha'aretz newspaper, excerpts of which were published Monday.

Fayyad said that although recent gestures by Israel were important, it would be a "pathological" mistake to focus talks on these issues exclusively.

Monday's meeting came ahead of an expected statement by US President George W. Bush, in which he is due to outline new economic and diplomatic support for Abbas and the Fayyad government.

"And he's going to talk about what we can do to support President Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad in their efforts to build now a democratic and effective Palestinian state," National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said Sunday.

 via metimes.com

Posted by munaeem 20:41 | General , Israel | Comment(0) | Permalink
Palestinian militants renounce anti-Israel attacks
15 July, 2007
Dozens of wanted Palestinian militants have made a rare pledge to halt anti-Israel attacks, officials said Sunday, in a deal that could bolster moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The pledge, part of a deal in which Israel offered an effective amnesty to the gunmen, was unveiled a day before Abbas is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem.

Israel handed the Palestinians a list of 189 militants, most from Abbas' secular Fatah party, saying it would stop hunting them if they pledged to cease activities against the Jewish state.

"All of the 189 people included on the list handed in by Israel" have signed, a senior Palestinian security official said.

Israel has said that if the men respect their promise for three months, and not leave West Bank areas under exclusive control of the Palestinian Authority, their names would be erased from the list of wanted men, and they would be able to join Palestinian Authority security services.

Included on the list was Zakaria Zubeidi, leader of the Fatah offshoot militant group the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian and Israeli officials have said.

Zubeidi said that all Al Aqsa militants on the list "have signed a pledge to stop their attacks against Israel. The Al Aqsa Brigades will not be an obstacle to any political project to solve the Palestinian question in a just manner."

The effective amnesty is the latest gesture by Israel to strengthen the moderate Abbas after forces loyal to him were overrun in Gaza by fighters from the Islamist movement Hamas, exactly a month ago.

"There are no other ways of helping Mahmoud Abbas except to allow modifications in the list of wanted Palestinians," Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai told army radio.

In another move, Olmert also favors allowing veteran Palestinian nationalist Nayef Hawatmeh, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, to go to the occupied West Bank this week, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.

Hawatmeh would attend a "crucial" summit of the Palestine Liberation Organization, an umbrella group of several Palestinian movements, which is expected to discuss preparations for a general election.

It would mark the first visit by Damascus-based Hawatmeh to the Palestinian territories since they were captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Abbas and Olmert are due to hold talks Monday in Jerusalem, instead of the West Bank town of Jericho, as previously reported by the media, an Israeli official said.

A senior Palestinian official said that the meeting was "most likely" to take place Monday, with the two sides still discussing the location.

Following the bloody June 15 takeover of Gaza by Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, Israel has taken several steps aimed at bolstering Abbas in his West Bank stronghold.

During the last meeting between Abbas and Olmert June 25 in a four-way summit in Egypt, Israel announced that it was releasing some Palestinian custom duties that it had withheld for more than a year after Hamas came to power.

Around $118 million have since been paid out, allowing Abbas' emergency government, led by Salam Fayyad, to pay full monthly salaries to civil servants for the first time in more than a year.

The government has also agreed to free 250 Palestinian prisoners, the majority members of Abbas' Fatah movement, out of the more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israel.

The final list of those to be released will be ready in the coming days, the Israeli official said.
Posted by munaeem 23:31 | General , Palestine | Comment(0) | Permalink
Ghazi killed in operation silence: Reports
10 July, 2007
The deputy chief of Lal mosque Abdul Rasheed Ghazi has been killed in operation silence lunched against the militants holed up in the Lal mosque, the reports said on Tuesday.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, a militant Islamic cleric who had vowed to die with his students inside an Islamabad mosque rather than surrender to Pakistani forces, once had a relatively moderate lifestyle.

Ghazi, the deputy leader of the Red Mosque, was holed up in a basement with several women and children on Tuesday after troops raided the compound, officials said. At least 58 people have died in the assault.

The bespectacled, articulate 43-year-old -- who attended a madrassa in his youth -- was remembered as a moderate pupil by a professor at the moderate Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad.

"He was a normal, moderate student who was well adjusted to a co-educational system," Naim Qureshi, one of Ghazi's history professors said.

Ghazi did a master's degree in history in 1987-88. A photo of him and his classmates still hangs on the history department's wall.

"In studies he was okay but I don't remember his grades. I remember that he had a normal beard," Qureshi said, comparing it with the bushy, grey, Islamist-style beard that Ghazi now sports.

Ghazi married into a moderate family and lived a relatively westernised life. He got a government job in the education ministry and also worked with UNESCO, the UN's culture organisation.

"Ghazi used to share jokes, often spoke in English, moved in mixed company and was an active student," said a university friend who asked not to be named.

His father, Abdullah Aziz, who founded the Red Mosque, was so angry about his lifestyle that he handed over his property to his brother, current mosque leader Abdul Aziz.

Abdul Aziz was caught last Wednesday trying to flee the compound in a burqa.

Ghazi completely changed after his father was shot dead inside the mosque by a lone gunman, thought to be from a rival Islamic group. He joined his brother Abdul, who took over the mosque in 1998 and nominated him as his deputy.

Ghazi also established links with Pakistani intelligence services, who earlier had used his father and brother to help foster Islamists who would support the anti-Soviet "jihad" in Afghanistan and the subsequent rise to power of the Taliban.

When the 9/11 attacks took place in the United States, friends said no trace of the "old", westernised Ghazi remained. But he also began to move away from his state sponsors.

Security sources said he had close links with pro-Taliban militants and agitated against President Pervez Musharraf's decision to back the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Colleagues said that in 2004 he survived an attempt on his life and since then had always carried a Kalashinkov with him. "You always find an AK-47 in his car, with him in the madrassa and even at his bedside," one colleague said.

By 2007, Ghazi and Aziz had become entirely committed toward turning Pakistan into a Taliban-style Islamic state.

Their students raided music stores and brothels, and kidnapped people allegedly involved in "vice", including seven people from Pakistan's closest ally and biggest military supplier, China.

Since the mosque came under siege a week ago, Ghazi has repeatedly said that he would rather be "martyred" than give in to the government.

Rasool Bakhsh Raees, a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management and Sciences, said Ghazi was foolish to take on the government in the first place.

"No sane person could think of doing that," he said.

Update : Interior Ministry confirmed his death.
Posted by munaeem 14:21 | General , Pakistan | Comment(0) | Permalink
AL inching towards recognition of Israel?
10 July, 2007

THE 22-member Arab League will send envoys on a historic first
mission to Israel this week to discuss a sweeping Arab peace initiative.
Foreign Ministers of Jordan and Egypt would be leading the delegation that is
expected to exchange views with Israeli leadership on the Arab peace plan.
Given the fact that officially the Arab League has all along been hostile
towards Israel because of latter's atrocious policies and stubborn attitude, the
planned visit of the delegation indicates softening of AL's stand towards Tel
Aviv. Some observers believe that it amounts to beginning of a journey that may
lead to ultimate recognition of the Jewish State. It would, however, be too early
to draw any conclusion and things would become clear after discussions between AL delegation and Israeli leaders.

This is a major Arab departure from their stated osition and shows flexibility and sincerity of the Arab world for resolution of he longstanding dispute in the Middle East. Arabs demonstrated similar lexibility in the past as well and elements of the peace plan unfolded by Saudi rabia way back in 2002 rested on the premise of land for peace but Israel utrightly rejected it. In March this year, leaders of the Arab world again threw heir weight behind the Saudi-proposed plan but Israelis are not yet ready to ccede to the demands for complete vacation of Arab lands occupied in 1967 and esettlement of Palestinian refugees. Under these circumstances, no breakthrough s expected at the forthcoming talks especially when an important party - Hamas - s being sidelined. Anyhow, the visit of the Arab League delegation would be a ajor diplomatic boost to Israel but it is to be seen if the new level of ngagement brings any relief for Palestinians.

Understand Islam and Muslims
08 July, 2007
via indian Muslims :

It’s so easy to hate Muslims these days. Similar sounding names keep coming after every bomb blasts and every day the bitterness against Islam keeps growing.

It’s so easy to blame the entire community for this act and why shouldn’t others blame us when Muslims kill, torture and spread terror on this planet! Iraq and Afghanistan are living hells.

Its not that piousness leads to extremist but its actually something else. It’s the pride of being the chosen one, it’s the contempt that one inculcates and its the hatred one generated within oneself.

IndianMuslims.in has more...
Posted by munaeem 14:15 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink
Spanish tourists killed in Yemen
04 July, 2007
The attack on Spanish tourists is a criminal act. Seven innocent Spanish tourists have been killed in the name of Islam. Yemenis militants should know that it will only destabilize their country. It will hurt their tourism industry and national economy.

Yemenis should put aside their internal differences and take a unified stance against these  destructive forces to save their country.
Posted by munaeem 18:39 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink
Bush, Putin point out mutual faults while blind to own
02 July, 2007

MIAMI, FL, USA --  How can Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin be expected to see each other's viewpoints when they are blind to the fact that each is guilty of the same faults as he accuses the other of displaying?

The US and Russian leaders' day-long July 1 session in Kennebunkport, ME, brings together two men who share a common proclivity for belligerent conduct and personal power aggrandizement. These traits have diminished their stature in the eyes of both their domestic and international critics, yet they do not acknowledge error and have stubbornly pursued their goals.

Indeed, both Bush and Putin have proved absolutely relentless in the prosecution of their respective wars. Bush insists on intensifying the Iraq war even as key republican senators turn against him, and polls show the overwhelming majority of the public wants "out." As for Putin's war in Chechnya, Lev Ponomarev, of the For Human Rights organization, once told CDI Russia Weekly: "Only Putin and his generals want to continue the war."

Both leaders have blamed their troubles on "terrorists," yet both have been accused of human rights violations of their own that qualify them for that epithet. Neither finds himself guilty of misjudgment or error.

Last March, the Council of Europe's human rights chief, Thomas Hammarberg, said Russian-backed authorities in Chechnya were guilty of "a real widespread pattern of serious ill-treatment and many cases of torture against those who have been arrested." Similarly, Amnesty International called for the closure of the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The human rights group also called for an end to the Central Intelligence Agency's "extraordinary renditions."

Putin's regime has also been accused of kidnappings and the murder of political enemies. A year ago, the Duma enacted a Kremlin-sponsored bill to allow the assassination of "enemies of the Russian regime" on foreign soil. In an interview published in the January 29 issue of the The New Yorker magazine, Boris Berezovsky, an anti-Putin billionaire, reminded: "This guy [Putin] is a KGB guy ... [He] issues a law allowing the Russians to kill opponents abroad. So, they kill opponents abroad." The sensational murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with a lethal dose of radioactive polonium-210 could be rationalized by this statute.

What's more, since Putin took power in 1999, the magazine noted, 13 Russian journalists have been murdered, yet not one of the assassins has been brought to justice. The shade of Anna Politkovskaya, a Putin critic on the staff of the liberal Novaya Gazeta, will certainly haunt the Bush-Putin sessions. She was murdered last October 7, 2006 in the lobby of her Moscow apartment building by a killer who fired three bullets into her chest and a "control shot" to the head. Her "crime" apparently was documenting torture by forces loyal to Chechnya's pro-Russian Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov.

For Putin, a former KGB career service officer, not to find the killers of any of the journalists raises questions about his complicity. Similarly, the failure of America's Federal Bureau of Investigations to find the source of anthrax-laced letters mailed from Fort Detrick, MD, to two opposition senators, has also raised questions about possible Bush administration involvement. Five persons were killed and the US government shut down, yet, in nearly six years, the perpetrators have not been found.

The two heads of state both seek aggrandizement of political power. Putin is consolidating his by appointing governors, by jailing business opponents, and seizing control of all major television outlets. Putin allows only a few small-circulation opposition newspapers to publish, and only if they do not mention the C----- word.

In the US, civil libertarians are deeply troubled over the powers President Bush has assumed as commander in chief of the military, and by his refusal to respond to congressional demands for information about his illegal spying on US citizens. Bush is also asserting that, in the event of a "national emergency," he can assume control of all branches of government, including Congress and the courts.

While so engaged, the Bush administration has slammed Russia for backtracking on democracy, which a top Putin aide dismissed as "groundless." It will be nothing short of a marvel if the two presidents reach agreement on such issues as Kosovo and the Europe-based "missile defense system" when both are blind to the qualities they share with each other. They are much more alike than they know.

Sherwood Ross is an American Columnist and Magazine Writer. He can be reached at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com.

Posted by munaeem 11:03 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink
Hamas contacts with Israelis for Gaza services hypocritical
02 July, 2007
A commentary in another London-based daily, Asharq Al Awsat, opined that while Abbas sitting by Olmert in Sharm El Sheikh was "embarrassing," the truly "scandalous scene" would be if Hamas representatives met with Israeli officials to negotiate on the provision of electricity, water, and gas services to the Gaza Strip.

It claimed that while the Islamist movement had blasted Abbas for dealing with Israel and refusing to negotiate with Hamas, the Islamic group, itself, had begun contacting Israeli officials to seek necessary services for the Gaza Strip, as if its contacts for services were not similar to political contacts.

"Contacting Israel, and [having dealings] with it is, in reality, the same thing," it argued, adding that "Hamas' negotiations with Israelis for services help the Jewish state's objective, which has, for a long time, said it was ready to discuss with 'Palestinian citizens' their domestic needs, [but] refuses to recognize their political rights."

By contacting the Israeli authorities, it stressed, Hamas was effectively recognizing Israel, following the Islamic group's toppling of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.
Posted by munaeem 11:00 | General , Palestine | Comment(0) | Permalink
Mission unaccomplished
01 July, 2007
via Khaleejtimes.com:

SO, NOW, it looks as if the America has admitted to defeat in the matter of one of its long-held obsessions, namely to see the end of Fidel Castro, the socialist titan who has been a thorn in the Yankees' flesh for decades.

Which is what one is tempted to deduce from President Bush's invocation of divine intervention to achieve US' as-yet-unfructified goal, when he said, “One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away”.

Posted by munaeem 20:54 | General | Comment(0) | Permalink
A service provided by Al Bawaba