This report comes to us from the g2 bulletin (subscription required): Hamid Mir, the only journalist to interview Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the wake of 9/11, has confirmed that al-Qaida has obtained nuclear suitcase weapons from the Russian black market, that the weapons were tested in Kabul in 2000 and that may […]
Zarqawi tape authentic, says Fisk
Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondant for the UK Independent, is interviewed by Tony Jones for Lateline about the new Zarqawi video: TONY JONES, LATELINE PRESENTER: Well, Robert Fisk is Middle East correspondent for ‘The Independent’ newspaper and more than 30 years of reporting from the region makes him one of the most acute observers of […]
Jihadis Use Media as a Weapon
From our “no kidding” department and Newswise, with thanks to LS. Jihadis place a great deal of emphasis on developing comprehensive public relations and communication strategies to aid their side in the media war. That’s according to communication researchers at Arizona State University who studied recently declassified al-Qaida documents and other open source reports captured […]
Iranian President Ahmadinejad Elaborates on His Plan for the Jews to Leave Israel and Return to Germany and Austria
Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Iranian President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, aired on Iranian News Channel (IRINN) on April 24, 2006, brought to us by MEMRI TV: Iranian President Ahmadinejad: The greatest problem from which humanity suffers today, the main problem facing the countries of the Middle East, is the continuation of the […]
al-Qaida in Iraq Leader Mocks U.S. Forces
From AP, with thanks to Shinoliite. CAIRO, Egypt – In a rare video posted Tuesday on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden and said any government formed in Iraq would be merely a “stooge.” He also mocked the U.S. military in Iraq for what he called […]
Egyptian police detain 10 after deadly bombings
Update on the Egyptian bombings from Reuters: DAHAB, Egypt – Egyptian police detained at least 10 people, including computer engineers, on Tuesday in connection with a triple bombing that killed at least 18 people and wounded scores in the Red Sea tourist resort of Dahab. Security sources provided few details on those detained, but the […]
Shiite Militias Move Into Oil-Rich Kirkuk, Even as Kurds Dig In
As Secretary Rice prates on about how the Iraqi government must respond to the “legitimate aspirations the Iraqi people,” the facts on the ground are solidifying. From the Washington Post aka, the Bandar Beacon. KIRKUK, Iraq — Hundreds of Shiite Muslim militiamen have deployed in recent weeks to this restive city — widely considered the […]
Secretary of State dismisses new threats from Iran
Our Secretary of State’s ignorance of Islam and the mindset it engenders, even among “pot-hole fixers” like the former mayor of Tehran, seems to allow her to believe in a “peaceful solution” to the Iranian nuclear build-up. From AP: ATHENS, Greece Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed new threats from Iran over the future of […]
Iran Ready to Transfer Nuclear Know-How
Joining our “staunch ally in the war on terror,” Pakistan, the Iranians also want to help spread the joy of the Islamic bomb. From AP: TEHRAN, Iran “” Iran’s top leader said Tuesday that Tehran is ready to transfer its nuclear technology to other countries. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comments in a meeting with […]
U.S. military warily eyes Iraqi forces
The major question concerning where the loyalty of Iraqis lie and from whence their sense of identity stems, has been glossed over by the Bush administration from the beginning. Nationhood in the western sense was wrongly assumed to be the main cohesive factor for Iraqi society. From AP: BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. troops aren’t just […]
West is on crusade – ‘Bin Laden’
From the BBC with thanks to Interested. The West’s moves to isolate the new Hamas-led Palestinian government prove it is at war with Islam, a tape attributed to Osama Bin Laden declares. The tape also described the situation in Iraq and Sudan’s troubled Darfur region as further evidence that a “Zionist-crusader war” was being waged. […]
Islamic States Press for Limits on Free Expression
From CNS News: Islamic groups and governments are pressing ahead with a campaign to have international organizations take steps, including legal ones, to provide protection for their religion in the wake of the Mohammed cartoon controversy. In a drive pursued largely away from the headlines, the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) is promoting the […]
Hamas Gets $50 M Boost From Iran
Now we don’t approve of Hamas getting a penny from anyone. Still, this is $50 million that the Thug-In-Chief can’t use for his own galloping nuclear ambitions. And it’s also $50 million unspent by the United States or Western Europe — a small sum, but perhaps someday such sums will be put toward the defense […]
Benedict weighs in on Iran and terrorism
From the Australian: POPE Benedict XVI prayed for peace in the Middle East as he delivered his first Easter Sunday blessing last night to a cheering crowd of 80,000 pilgrims in StPeter’s Square. Celebrating his 79th birthday and clutching the silver staff of his predecessor, John Paul II, Pope Benedict called for an end to […]
Iran becomes UN disarmament leader
Anne Bayefsky writes, “On April 10th the UN Disarmament Commission elected Iran as one of its three Vice-Chairpersons. Afterwards, the UN’s Under Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Nobuaki Tanaka, said the Commission “played a unique role” with “the advantage of being a fully universal deliberative body.– And from IsraelNationalNews, “Iran Threatens to Destroy Israel, Elected to […]
Israel moots freeing Barghouthi for US spy
From Reuters: JERUSALEM – Israel could release jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi if Washington grants clemency to a U.S. Navy analyst convicted of spying for the Jewish state in the 1980s, Israel’s Army Radio said on Sunday. It said Israel plans to propose the swap for Jonathan Pollard once acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is […]
Iran expanding, reinforcing atomic sites – experts
From Reuters: VIENNA – New satellite imagery indicate Iran has expanded its uranium conversion site at Isfahan and reinforced its Natanz underground uranium enrichment plant against possible military strikes, a U.S. think tank said… The Institute for Science and International Security said in an email sent to news media with attached commercial satellite photos that […]
Hamas leader, al-Qaida money man meet
From UPI: JERUSALEM — A leader of the Palestinian Hamas organization has met with an al-Qaida fundraiser in Yemen, the Jerusalem Post reported Friday. The meeting, two weeks ago at a fundraising event by the Hamas office in Yemen, was between Khaled Marshaal and Sheikh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani [link added -RB], said by the United […]
Palestinians to get Russian aid
From the BBC: Russia has said it will grant the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority urgent financial aid, in opposition to the policy of the EU and the US. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the pledge to authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a telephone call, Moscow said. The US and EU cut off aid after Hamas took […]
Egypt church attacks spark anger
Update on this story from the BBC: Egypt’s Coptic Christians have protested in the city of Alexandria to demand greater protection following knife attacks at three churches. Hundreds rallied with banners reading: “Stop the persecution of Copts.” One person was killed and several others injured in the attacks during Friday Mass… One woman worshipper, Nadia […]