From the L.A. Times:

HAARETZ: Military Intelligence chief: Arafat’s death may end intifada

Military Intelligence chief Aharon Ze’evi said Sunday that he believes that there would be a chance to bring about an end to the Al Aqsa Intifada if Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat dies.
Speaking at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Ze’evi stressed that the chairman’s death would only lead to the end of the violence that began in September 2000, and not the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that Israel would continue moving forward with the disengagement plan despite the deterioration in Yasser Arafat’s health and the possibility that he could die soon.

Sharon also said that if a new Palestinian leadership emerged and it would put forth a real effort to dismantle terror infrastructures, Israel would be willing to renew negotiations based on the road map for peace plan. But, Sharon said, “as long as there will be no partner, we will push forward with the disengagement plan that was approved by the government and the Knesset.”

Reacting to a proposal by Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, according to which Israel would not allow Arafat to return to Ramallah in the event his health improved, Sharon said that “Israel has made a commitment to allow Arafat to return to the territories.” Sharon added, however that “so long as I am prime minister, Arafat will not be buried in Jerusalem.”

As per the story here, it seems that it wasn’t a full transcript after all.

New York Post:

Osama bin Laden doesn’t seem nearly so cocky in the unedited version of a videotape aired on al-Jazeera, complaining that the manhunt against him has hampered al Qaeda. AFP/Getty ImagesBin Laden the impotent / Opinion: Page 27 Osama bin Laden’s newest tape may have thrust him to the forefront of the presidential election, but what was not seen was the cave-dwelling terror lord talking about the setbacks al Qaeda has faced in recent months.

Officials said that in the 18-minute long tape — of which only six minutes were aired on the al-Jazeera Arab television network in the Middle East on Friday — bin Laden bemoans the recent democratic elections in Afghanistan and the lack of violence involved with it.

On the tape, bin Laden also says his terror organization has been hurt by the U.S. military’s unrelenting manhunt for him and his cohorts on the Afghan-Pakistani border.

A portion of the left-out footage includes a tirade aimed at President Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, claiming the war in Iraq is purely over oil.

Tip of the hat to reader Clyde.

TIME magazine has 10 Questions with Yeslam Bin Ladin (OBL’s brother). A sample:

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OSAMA’s LATEST VIDEOTAPE?

It was upsetting.

It’s the violence. It wasn’t a surprise to know that he was still alive. I always thought that if he was killed, everybody would know it. It seems that he might have seen the Michael Moore movie Fahrenheit 9/11.

NYT

Militants holding three foreign United Nations workers in Afghanistan have threatened to kill them unless all Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners are released from U.S. custody by noon (0730 GMT) on Wednesday.

The leader of Jaish-e-Muslimeen (Army of Muslims) told Reuters that the U.N. must also cease operations in Afghanistan, or the hostages would be killed “in such a way by which Muslims will be happy.”

The group also released a video of the hostages to the Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera on Sunday showing them in good health.

The three — Filipino Anjelito Nayan, Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland and Shqipe Hebibi from Kosovo — were snatched from their U.N. vehicle in rush hour traffic on Thursday.

They had been helping to organize Afghanistan’s first presidential election, which was held on Oct. 9.

Mullah Sayed Mohammed Akbar Agha, leader of the kidnap group, told Reuters in an interview that the group had four demands.

“The U.N. should leave Afghanistan and it should call Britain and America’s meddling in Afghanistan as illegal,” he said.

“Those who have no military involvement in Afghanistan, such as Philippines, must call Britain and America’s meddling in Afghanistan as illegal and must stop its contributions through the U.N. for America and Britain’s activities.” He also demanded that Kosovo and Britain immediately withdraw their forces from Afghanistan and that all Muslim prisoners in Afghanistan and Cuba, “be they Taliban or Al Qaeda,” be freed.

The kidnappings have stoked fears among the 2,000-strong foreign community that militants in Afghanistan may be copying tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.

But a spokesman for the Taliban — the hard-line Islamic regime ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in November 2001 and now the main group fighting the government and more than 28,000 American and NATO troops in the country — distanced the group from the kidnappings.

“We have no comment about the issue. It is their work and we are not involved in it,” said Hamid Agha, chief spokesman for the Taliban.

GROUP OFFERS PROOF

The Jaish-e-Muslimeen have already proved they are holding the three by giving Reuters credit card numbers that authorities have confirmed are genuine.

Security sources say so far the group has only contacted a handful of journalists in Kabul about the kidnappings, and investigators were trying to open up channels of communication with them.

“We call on those holding them not to harm them,” United Nations spokesman Manoel de Silva e Almeida told a news briefing on Sunday. “All three require medical attention and the best response to such a situation is their immediate release.”

He would not give additional details for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.

Jaish-e-Muslimeen emerged in early August when a group of Taliban commanders said they were splitting because the movement was beset with differences and had become ineffective under the leadership of its one-eyed leader, Mullah Omar, one of the world’s most wanted men for helping shelter Osama bin Laden.

Its leader is Mullah Sayed Mohammed Akbar Aga and the group aims to rid Afghanistan of foreign troops and install an Islamic government.

“The objective of the group is not to weaken the jihad (holy war) but to strengthen it,” Manzoor said at the time.

More than 1,000 people, most of them Afghans, have been killed mostly in Taliban violence over the past year, but President Bush, seeking re-election on Nov. 2, hoped a successful Afghan poll would give his campaign a foreign policy fillip.

The vote count shows that U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai won the election, but official results have yet to be released pending the report of a panel investigating irregularities.

From the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

US forces in Afghanistan have said they believe Osama bin Laden, who has appeared in a video for the first time in 13 months, is still roaming along the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

”He is operating probably in the Afghanistan or Pakistan border area,” [Major Scott] Nelson told a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.

“We are not exactly sure, if we knew exactly where he was we would be there in a moment.

“But we don’t know exactly where he is.”
[…]
US commanders had expressed confidence early this year of finally capturing bin Laden, but since then they have been playing down his importance.

“We don’t have a time frame on when bin Laden will be captured, but we have firm confidence that he will be … it is a matter of time,” Nelson said.

The frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan snakes for some 2,500 kilometres, mostly unmarked, through rugged mountains and remote plains. It is porous and difficult to patrol.

Pashtun tribes straddling the border slip back and forth daily, visiting relatives and doing trade.

Hundreds of Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives have found sanctuary and set up training camps in remote Pakistani tribal areas hugging the border, where hardline tribes support their Islamic extremism and hatred of the US.

Nelson described the frontier as “very rugged”.

“You have been there, you have seen the mountains, you can hide pretty much anywhere,” he said.

The Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera said Saturday that it received the latest videotaped message from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden at its offices in the Pakistani capital.

The tape was dropped off at the gate of the station’s office in an envelope on Friday, just hours before it aired, said Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Pakistan.

“We received it in Pakistan. … Somebody dropped it yesterday at the gate,” Zaidan told The Associated Press. “The guard brought it to me along with other mail. It was in an envelope, I opened it and it was a big scoop.”

Read more…

From NCB News, courtesty of Robert Cox at The National Debate

NBC NEWS TRANSLATION OF AL JAZEERA - BIN LADEN BROADCAST
Bin Laden Translation Al Jezeera 4 pm NY broadcast

Open: I direct my speech to the American people to the best way to avoid another conflict. (OBL)

Newsreader: A new message from Bin Laden to the American people about the reasons and resulats of the 9/11 attacks.

Newsreader 2: The head of AL Qaeda says the continuation of us policy will lead to the repetition of what happened.

Male presenter: The head of AL Qaeda organization directed a message to the American people and this video and audio apearence in this tape which Jezeera required for the first time for two years. In the beginning of his message, he spoke about the reasons why they chose the US to execute 9/11..

OBL: You American people, my speech to you is the best way to avoid another conflict about the war and its reasons and results. I am telling you security is an important pillar of human life. And free people don’t let go of their security contrary to Bush’s claims that we hate freedom. He should tell us why we didn’t hit Sweden for instance. Its known that those who hate freedom don’t have dignified souls.like the 19 who were blessed. But we fought you because we are free people, we don’t sleep on our oppression. We want to regain the freedom of our Muslim nation as you spill our security, we spill your security.

Female presenter: Bin Laden spoke for the first time about the main reasons he thought of executing Sept 11 attacks, confirming that the Israeli operation in Lebanon was the first incident where he thought of it.

OBL: I am so surprised by you. Although we are in the fourth year after the events of sept 11, Bush is still practicing distortion and misleading on you, and obscuring the main reasons and therefore the reasons are still existing to repeat what happened before. I will tell you the reasons behind theses incidents.

I will be honest with you on the moment when the decision was taken to understand. We never thought of hitting the towers. But after we were so fed up, and we saw the oppression of the American Israeli coalition on our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it came to my mind and the incidents that really touched me directly goes back to 1982 and the following incidents. When the US permitted the Israelis to invade Lebanon with the assistance of the 6th fleet. In these hard moments, it occurred to me so many meanings I cant explain but it resulted in a general feeling of rejecting oppression and gave me a hard determination to punish the oppressors. While I was looking at the destroyed towers in Lebanon, it came to my mind to punish the oppressor the same way and destroy towers in the US to get a taste of what they tasted, and quit killing our children and women.

Male presenter: Bin Laden considered in his message that the results of Sept 11 were successful in his opinion and as a reason of that, he said that the similarity between the administration of Bush the father and the arab regimes said Bush learned so much from them during his visits.

OBL: We didn’t find difficulty dealing with Bush and his administration due to the similarity of his regime and the regims in our countries. Whish half of them are ruled by military and the other half by sons of kings and presidents and our experience with them is long. Both parties are arrogant and stubborn and the greediness and taking money without right and that similarity appeared during the visits of Bush to the region while people from our side were impressed by the US and hoped that these visits would influence our countries. Here he is being influenced by these regimes, Royal and military. And was feeling jealous they were staying for decades in power stealing the nations finances without anybody overseeing them. So he transferred the oppression of freedom and tyranny to his son and they call it th e Patriot Law to fight terrorism. He was bright in putting his sons as governors in states and he didn’t forget to transfer his experience from the rulers of our region to Florida to falsify elections to benefit from it in critical times.

Female Presenter: Bin Laden considered the way Bush dealt with the first moments of Sept. 11, giving a good chance to the executors of Sept. 11 to complete it.

OBL: We agreed with Mohamed Atta, god bless him, to execute the whole operation in 20 minutes. Before Bush and his administration would pay attention and we never thought that the high commander of the US armies would leave 50 thousand of his citizens in both towers to face the horrors by themselves when they most needed him because it seemed to distract his attention from listening to the girl telling him about her goat butting was more important than paying attention to airplanes butting the towers which gave us three times the time to execute the operation thank god.

Male presenter: the final part of the message is that the security of the Americans depends on the policy that they execute despite the winner of the elections.

OBL: Your security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or Al Qaeda. Your security is in your hands. Each state that doenst mess with our security has automatically secured their security.

Female Presenter: In Bin Laden’s message he approached other points. He pointed to the contradiction which considers oppression and killing of innocents a legal act. They formed an international law as bush the father did with the children of iraq according to bin laden. Bin Laden pointed to the millions of pounds of explosives dropped on Iraqi children as bush his son had done, as he said to remove an old agent and install a new agent to help instealing the oil of iraq. And bin laden said the events of 9/11 came as an answer to this oppression and said that if the answer to this oppression is considered bad terror, then we need to do it. And he stressed that he wants to deliver this message to the Americans in words and in deeds since the 9/11 events. He reminded Americans of a few warning messages through various news media like Time Magazine and CNN and other Arab and correspondents since 1996. He warned them of the conswquences of their countries policies. He talked abou t the damage Sept 11 caused the US economy and that it cost close to a trillion dollars. He talked about President Bush and that the emergency law requires more money.

From MSNBC:

U.S. officials who had seen the entire tape told NBC News that in the tape, which they said was authentic, bin Laden tells the American people that “Bush cannot protect you.” They said there was no plan to raise the terrorist threat level, currently at yellow, or “elevated,” because it makes no specific threat.

Neither the Qatar-based channel nor U.S. officials would say how it had received the tape.

FOX:

Multiple sources told FOX News that the 18-minute videotape is authentic and said its release was timed to coincide with Tuesday’s presidential elections. Bin Laden makes reference to recent conflicts in Iraq and addresses the American people directly, sources said.

U.S. officials said the tape appears to have been made recently. Bin Laden is speaking from a lectern and he talks about threats to the United States and he says that President Bush will not protect the American people.

UPDATE:
Still waiting on a full transcript/translation…

AP: Al-Jazeera Airs Videotape by Bin Laden

The Arab television station Al-Jazeera aired a video of Osama bin Laden on Friday directly admitting for the first time that he carried out the Sept. 11 attacks and promising to outline “the best way to avoid another Manhattan.”

It was the first footage of the al-Qaida leader to surface in more than a year. The video showed bin Laden in traditional white robes, a turban and a cloak reading from papers and standing in front of a plain, brown cloth background.

“We decided to destroy towers in America,” bin Laden said.

He said the attack was carried out because “we are a free people … and we want to regain the freedom of our nation.”

He also accused President Bush of “misleading” the American people three years since the 2001 suicide airline hijackings that hit the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon.

UPDATE:
Al-Jazeera says that they have subtitled the tape and will be making it available on their web site soon.

More from al Jazeera:

In an address just days ahead of the US presidential election, bin Ladin also said the US administration resembled “corrupt” Arab governments.

He accused Bush of reacting slowly to the September 11 attacks, saying: “I never thought that the supreme leader would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face the terrifying events alone at the time they were in need for him.”

Refering to next week’s elections, he told Americans: “Your security is not in the hands of (Democratic candidate John) Kerry or (President George W.) Bush or al-Qaida. Your security is in your own hands ….”

He accused Bush of “misleading” the American people four years after the September 11 attacks.

Claiming responsibility for the attacks, bin Ladin said, “we decided to destroy towers in America,” because “we want to regain the freedom of our nation.”

He added that “the reasons to repeat what happened” on 11 September 2001 remain.

Reuters reports:

DUBAI (Reuters) - Arab satellite television Al Jazeera said on Friday it would broadcast a video tape from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden addressing the American people.

It said the tape, to be aired at 4 p.m. EDT, would discuss the reasons behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and their repercussions. It gave no further details.

Fox News is reporting the CIA has verified that Bin Laden is on the tape, and that he refers to a recent event in Iraq.

Comment: Until this tape surfaced, the evidence suggested that Bin Laden was dead. Unfortunately, that no longer appears to be the case.

[Admin note: We’ll update as soon as someone reports a translation of the video - so far Fox has only shown a still photo of Bin Laden. Al Jazeera only has a news flash up, no story yet]

JERUSALEM POST: French terror victims seek Arafat criminal probe

The families of French victims of terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel plan to ask judicial authorities to question Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, attorney Michel Calvo said Friday.

Calvo, who represents the victims’ families, said they would present their request to France’s chief anti-terror judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere. They base their claim on “murders in connection with a terrorist enterprise,” Calvo told reporters in Paris.

Arafat will be treated at a military hospital just outside Paris for a still-undisclosed ailment.

“In the next few days, we are going to ask Judge Bruguiere to question Mr. Arafat, as soon as his physical condition allows it,” the attorney added.

JERUSALEM POST: Two Hamas fugitives killed in Kalkilya

IDF soldiers shot and kill two senior Hamas fugitive in Kalkilya Thursday evening.

Ibrahim Isaa, who is also a member of Fatah’s Tanzim, was planning to launch a series of suicide attacks in Israel, including a car bomb attack. Issa was also involved in a numerous attempts to attack soldiers manning the built sections of the West Bank security fence.

Soldiers from an elite IDF unit killed Issa and his deputy in an exchange of fire with the two terrorists, who refused to surrender. A third gunmen managed to flee.

REUTERS: Explosion Hits Islamabad Hotel, Causes Casualties

An explosion hit the Marriott Hotel in the central area of the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Thursday, causing several casualties, witnesses said.

Glass and other debris were blown out the front of the hotel and through the lobby, the witnesses said.

There was no immediate official word on the cause of the blast, although some hotel staff said they thought it might have been caused by an electrical fault.

Blood could be seen on the ground and at least one man was carried out on a stretcher, but he was still alive.

UPDATE:
Further reports confirm that it was an electrical short.

The siren is blaring at Drudge right now. No story, no link yet, just the 40 point headline:

CIA and FBI have authenticated new al Qaeda video

Will update as soon as a confirming source is established.

UPDATE : There’s now a story, still no second source confirmation.

JERUSALEM POST: Would-be-suicide bomber, 16, arrested near Nablus

IDF troops operating in the Ein Beit Ilma refugee camp northeast of Nablus arrested overnight Wednesday two fugitives who planned to launch suicide bomb attacks on Israel.

According to officials, 16-year-old Miyoub Marouf, a member of the Fatah, was on the verge of launching an attack when soldiers of the Charuv Battalion arrested him.

The second fugitive arrested in the camp, Ali Abu al-Ghoub, admitted to security officials that he was also prepared to carry out a suicide bomb attack.

Security forces arrested a total of nine Palestinian fugitives in raids in the Nablus and Bethlehem areas.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Yasser Arafat is either dead or near death. Despite his unconciousness/critical state/coma/depends who you ask, he appointed a commission comprising Abu Mazen, Abu Queria and the PLC speaker Salim Zanoon to rule in the event of his death. Medical teams are flying in from Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria, as is Arafat’s wife, Suha.

• Dan Darling has 4 intel briefings for you: al-Qaeda & Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT); The LeT in Iraq; The ABC Video and Pre-election Plot; and Gerecht’s article asking if Iraq has made Al-Qaeda Stronger.

• Russia was involved in moving Iraq’s WMD before the war, according to the Washington Times. Ion Mihai Pacepa has been saying this for over a year.

• Fallujah is next. The British Black Watch is moving in to position to free up Marines for the job.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran Report; Egypt arrests; SA-7s in Gaza; A-Q iced in Waziristan; Chechen banker financed theatre takeover; Khashiyev killed; Al-Qaeda in Bosnia; GSPC decapitates soldiers; Bashir faces more charges; Russia warns Azeris; more Beslans planned; Zarqawi’s group hit; and much more.

Read the Rest…

This is likely going to be my last post prior to the election (and God willing, this time we’ll know by November 3 who the president is) so I’ll try to cover as many bases as possible on this one.

There’s been two very interesting articles out over the last several days, one of which I want to provide actual commentary for, and there is also a purported al-Qaeda videotape that was obtained by ABC News from an “intermediary” (Jamaat-e-Islami or Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islami, one wonders …) in Waziristan. I’ll also deal with the issue of what I know about the pre-election plot stuff and we’ll go from there. Several of these remarks were prepared in response to questions that WoC reader praktike made on my own blog and I thought would be interesting enough to reference here.

• Al-Qaeda, bin Laden, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba
• The Lashkar-e-Taiba in Iraq
• Gerecht’s Article: Has Iraq Made al-Qaeda Stronger?
• The Pre-Election Plot & the New Video

The South Asia Tribune reports that Osama bin Laden has been spotted in the Tibet-Laddakh region, close to the North-Eastern tip of Pakistan, bordering India and China:

A high-ranking official of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) flew from Islamabad on Sunday to meet top Indian officials here in Delhi after reports of Bin Laden’s presence in the region.

According to sources, following the meeting between Indian security bosses and the FBI, the New Delhi Government has put its security forces in the North Western region, specially the Kashmir Valley, on ‘red alert.’

[. . .]

These sources in the Indian Home Ministry told this correspondent that intelligence agencies had received information that Bin Laden has been spotted traveling. Some such reports were also published in a section of the Pakistan media.

From California Yankee.

JERUSALEM POST: PA calls on Hamas to halt Kassam attacks

For the first time in three years, the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday called on Hamas to halt its rocket attacks on Israel.

The appeal came as Hamas marked the third anniversary of the launching of the first Kassam rocket on a settlement in the Gaza Strip.

“We must have the courage to admit that the firing of mortars and rockets is not only a mistake, but a sin because they could harm civilians,” said the editor of the PA’s official news agency Wafa.

PA officials have in the past made indirect calls for halting the firing of rockets by arguing that such methods harm the national interests of the Palestinians and give Israel an excuse to launch military operations in the Gaza Strip.

A senior PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that the decision to publicly call on Hamas to stop the rocket attacks was the result of increased complaints by Palestinians living in areas where the IDF carried out military operations in recent weeks.

“Israel is using the rocket attacks as an excuse to escalate its aggression against our people,” he explained. “We are under pressure to stop the rockets because dozens of families have lost their homes.”

However, Hamas responded by vowing to step up the rocket attacks and develop more sophisticated weapons.

The John & Ken show (KFI Los Angeles) is currently discussing two internal memos they’ve obtained regarding gangs and terrorism.

The first memo is from the DHS. It’s a 15 page internal report entitled “Latin American gangs in the Americas”. It provides a background on the gang involved and mentions an increase in terror activity in the Americas, that cooperation between gangs and terrorists has created a great possibility of danger, and that gangs have assets to aid in smuggling terrorists and weapons into the U.S.

The other memo is from Los Angeles County’s Terrorism Working Group/Terrorism Early Warning Group. It’s marked “Do not disseminate to the public” and “For law enforcement use only” and dated October 5, 2004.

That memo discusses the possible threat of terrorist activity by gangs, a rash of recent terrorist warning about gangs and terrorists working together, and that the FBI thinks a large car bomb would be the most likely weapon, but WMDs aren’t ruled out…

There were more things mentioned, but I typed these in live off the radio, so perhaps links will be provided.

See also the earlier report Al-Qaida recruiting local U.S. gang ties.

From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

At least 84 people were killed in clashes with Thai security forces during protests in Thailand’s strife-hit Muslim-majority south yesterday, Thai officials said.
[…]
“After we brought people who were arrested into detention, we found that another 78 people were dead,” Manit Suthaporn, deputy permanent secretary from the Thai Justice Ministry, said.
[…]
“The bodies of people who were arrested were weak because of fasting. It caused them to be fatigued and when they came into crowded cars there was no air to breathe,” the official said.
[…]
The Thai government earlier said more than 1,000 people were arrested over the clashes.

”Eighty per cent of them died because they could not breathe,” Ms Rojansun said.

“We didn’t find any dead bodies with broken arms or legs, but between two or three of them had broken necks which may have been caused from the transportation,” she said.

Broken Necks from the transportation. Right. For exactly what the transportation entailed, see corresponding article on the Global Recon Page. Also see the remarks on previous post. Sometimes I hate being right in my predictions.

Freedom is contagious. Blogging from Bahrain, “Chan’ad” is reporting on the “Al-Khawaja affair” - i.e. the closure of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and the arrest of its vice president after he called for the Prime Minister’s resignation at a seminar about Poverty and Economic Rights in Bahrain. Great series.

Chan’ad has a pretty level headed attitude about the whole thing, and it’s fair to note that Bahrain has taken significant steps toward liberty & democracy. Its rulers are now finding that it’s hard to hold the door half-open, and Chan’ad notes the irony of the trial proceeding even as related protests etc. are demonstrating and encouraging the spread of the very freedoms the government is attempting to contain.

I’ve got several copies of this Washington Post article in my Inbox and while I think that there are a number of entirely valid (albeit, at least IMO, politically-timed) criticisms of the administration that can be made.

It is also my belief that the people, likely in the State Department, who leaked details of the early 2002 negotiations with Iran to the Post are not reporting the full details of what was going on. The article makes some valid criticisms of the administration’s approach to the war on terrorism, and I’d still recommend reading it. But there are some egregious errors that the Washington Post makes in this story, either out of ignorance or by design, and as such I thought I’d feel free to point them out.

I’ll briefly deal first with the issue of Iran and then with the al-Qaeda high-value target (HVT) list.

• The Iranians and their al-Qaeda “Detainees”
• The al-Qaeda High Value Target (HVT) List and the War

REUTERS: Saudi Diplomat Threatened by Grenades in Gift Box

A senior Saudi diplomat in Islamabad received a gift box last week that contained four hand grenades and a threatening note, the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan said Monday.

Ambassador Ali Awab Asseri said his deputy, Abdullah al Omari, received the package containing the grenades after midnight Thursday along with a note saying he should leave Pakistan within a month.

“A very nice, well-packed parcel in the form of a gift was delivered to the house of Mr. Abdullah by a man on a motorcycle,” Asseri told Reuters.

Asseri said Abdullah would not leave Pakistan in the wake of the threat.

HAARETZ: Egypt announces arrest of five plotters of Sinai attacks

Five Egyptians have been arrested on suspicion of plotting three near simultaneous car bombings of a hotel and resort in the Sinai that killed at least 34 people, including 12 Israelis, earlier this month.

In a statement Monday, the Egyptian Interior Ministry also said the mastermind of the attacks, identified as Palestinian Ayad Said Salah, died in the October 7 explosion at the Taba Hilton hotel along with a fellow plotter, Egyptian Suleiman Ahmed Saleh Flayfil.

The statement said the two, identified through DNA testing, had been trying to leave the scene but their timed explosives went off prematurely.

According to the statement, two other suspects are said to be at large: Mohamed Ahmed Saleh Flayfil, brother of Suleiman Flayfil, and Hammad Gaman Gomah. Mohamed Flayfil was accused of carrying out the attack on one of the campgrounds and Gomah was accused of carrying out the third bombing.

The statement said the Egyptian suspects were residents of the Sinai, and that Salah, lived in the Sinai town of al-Arish.

HAARETZ: Two militants killed in IDF Gaza missile strike

An Israeli aircraft launched two missiles Sunday at a group of Palestinian militants gathered outside a house in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, killing two militants and wounding five other people, including four bystanders, Palestinian security officials said.

The attack early Sunday morning came as Palestinians were heading to mosques for morning prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.

The missile appeared aimed at militants from the Islamic Jihad group who had gathered outside, Palestinian security officials said. Two militants were killed, their bodies badly burned, and a third was seriously wounded. Four civilians were also wounded, health officials said.

The IDF had no immediate comment.

JERUSALEM POST: Hamas admits to having weapons factories in Gaza

In the first admission of its kind, a senior Hamas official disclosed on Saturday that the movement has a number of factories in the Gaza Strip for manufacturing various types of weapons.

Nizar Rayyan, a Hamas leader from Jabalya refugee camp, said the factories were busy manufacturing different types of mortars and rockets to be used against Israel.

Although he is considered one of the prominent political leaders of Hamas, Rayyan was seen wearing military fatigues and armed with a rifle during the recent 17-day IDF operation against Kassam rocket squads in the northern Gaza Strip.

“Thank God, the weapons of the Hamas fighters are manufactured locally,” Rayyan said. “For several years now we have had our own weapons factories and we are working round the clock to improve the fighting capabilities of our fighters. We first made hand grenades and rocket-propelled RPGs, mortar rockets and their launchers, and then Kassam and Yassin rockets.”

JERUSALEM POST: Hamas kills suspected collaborator in Gaza

The bullet-riddled body of a Palestinian was found near a dumpster in a Gaza City street Saturday, and Hamas said it killed the man on suspicion he provided information that helped Israel to assassinate the group’s founder and nine others.

Hassan Musallam, in his 20s, had been missing from his home for several days. He was shot dead two days after Israel killed the deputy chief of the Hamas military wing, Adnan al-Ghoul, in an air strike. The secretive Al-Ghoul, a top bomb maker and weapons engineer, had been on Israel’s most-wanted list since 1990.

Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said the killing of the suspected informer was meant as a warning to others. Those who come forward and repent during the current holy month of Ramadan would not be harmed physically, al-Masri said.

The Hamas military wing, Izzaddin Kassam, said Musallam was interrogated and “provided us with information and details about the way he assisted the Zionist enemy in carrying out the crimes of assassination.”

The Associated Press reports that Karzai still appears on course to secure a majority and avoid a run-off vote even though his share has slipped from around 60 percent to around 55 percent:

With 6.3 million, or three-fourths, of votes counted as of Saturday morning, the interim leader had 3,426,845 votes or 54.5 percent. Former Education Minister Yunus Qanooni was second with 17.3 percent.

[. . .]

“This really shows the nature of the consensus,” Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani told The Associated Press. “This is not an ethnic vote.”

Karzai has swept eastern and southern regions dominated by his fellow Pashtun tribesmen, as well as more ethnically mixed cities such as the capital Kabul, Herat in the west, and Mazar-e-Sharif in the north.

Welcome! This briefing will be looking hard at the dark places most mainstream media seem determined to look away from, to better understand our declared enemies on their own terms and without illusions. Our goal is to bring you some of the top jihadi rants, idiotarian seething, and old-school Jew-hatred from around the world, leaving you more informed, more aware, and pretty disgusted every month. This Winds of Change.NET HateWatch briefing is brought to you by Lewy14. (Email me at my handle “hatewatch” here at windsofchange.net). Entil’zha veni!

HIGHLIGHTED TOPICS

• Religious Hate: Indicted London mosque leader praises mothers of suicide bombers; Egyptian Islamist party leader justifies terror bombing; Al-Qaida web article praises beheading of Egyptian; Death threats for defamers of the Taliban; Christian Churches attacked in Istanbul – and Badhdad – and Zanzabar; A primer on Tariq Ramadan.

• Idiotarian Seethings: Egyptian editor blames hatred on the West; BBC documentary broaches Al-Qaida denial; Hatred in Arabic at the Frankfurt Book Fair; Nobel winner claims AIDS is western bio-weapon; French neo-fascist too extreme for his own party; Anti-Americanism in Britain?; Neo-anti-Semitism in Italy; Delegitimization of Israel in academia.

• Race and Culture: Racism as the source of conflict in Darfur; Bombing at Ras Shytan aims to drive a wedge between Egyptians and Israelis; Interference with Israeli rescue efforts at Taba alleged.

• A Hopeful Note: Al-Arabiya TV director condemns Taba bombing; Arab progressive denounces terror; Separation of mosque and state in Afghanistan; Muslim apostate debates Muslim convert.

JERUSALEM POST: Kassam falls in garden of Sderot home

A Kassam rocket fell in a garden of a house in Sderot Friday afternoon causing damage to the house but injuring no one.

The rocket is the second to land on Israeli territory since the end of Operation ‘Days of Repentance’, a major IDF offensive meant to end the attacks.

JERUSALEM POST: Church group meets Hizbullah, loses meeting here

The Foreign Ministry Thursday canceled a scheduled meeting with a delegation from the American Presbyterian Church because the group met Hizbullah officials in Beirut and even had words of praise for the organization.

Gadi Golan, the head of the ministry’s religious affairs bureau, said the decision was made after the ministry was informed of the delegation’s meeting with Sheikh Nabil Qauq, a Hizbullah leader in south Lebanon.

Golan said that one of the members of the church’s Mideast fact-finding delegation, Rev. Ronald Stone, a retired social ethics professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, was quoted on Hizbullah’s Al-Manar satellite network as saying, “Relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders.”

He also said, “We treasure the precious words of Hizbullah and your expression of goodwill toward the American people.”

JERUSALEM POST: IAF destroys home of Gaza terrorist

An Israeli helicopter fired a missile in the northern Gaza Strip late Thursday, destroying the home of a local terrorist leader, Palestinian witnesses said.

The home belonged to a local leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group of militant organizations.

A group spokesman said the leader wasn’t home at the time. But witnesses said his family was in the house, managing to flee without any injuries.

The home was located in Beit Lahia, near the Jebaliya refugee camp.

HAARETZ: Hamas holds competition to select movement’s anthem

“In recognition of the role of an anthem in expressing principles, hopes and ideas, and the manner in which it can lend voice to the will to confront danger and defend Palestinian life and land, and make every possible sacrifice, the Hamas movement will sponsor the project of creating an anthem that expresses its unique outlook. The anthem will stand side by side with the Palestinian national anthem,” the movement said.

Hamas activists have also defined the qualifying criteria: the lyrics and refrain should be “patriotic, underscoring the connection to all of Palestine, and the anthem should also be characterized by faith, and belonging to the Islamic movement.”

In addition, the organizers require the hymn to be written in classical Arabic. The wording should be lofty and yet catchy, and the anthem should also not exceed six stanzas. One of the stanzas must be “cathartic,” and have the “natural cadences of a refrain.” The competition guidelines allow composers to submit more than one entry.

Paging Mikis Theodarkis… paging Mikis Theodarkis…

JERUSALEM POST: IAF kills top Hamas explosives engineer

An IAF aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle traveling in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip late Thursday, killing two people and seriously wounding two others, Palestinian medical officials said.

One of those killed was Adnan Al-Ghoul, a Hamas military commander who is said to have been the terrorist group’s chief explosives engineer.

Imad al-Baas was the other Hamas terrorist killed in the strike.

A Hamas spokesman confirmed the death of its No. 2 military leader Adnan al-Ghoul in the Israeli airstrike.

Known as ‘the mechanic’ due to his expertise in bomb making, Al-Ghoul has been wanted by Israel for over ten years. He escaped several assassination attempts in the past, one of which resulted in the death of his son.

JERUSALEM POST: PC game simulates anti-Israel terror

A new video game for home computers is being developed in Syria which allows users to assume the role of Palestinians carrying out terrorist attacks on Israeli soldiers, including at least one suicide bombing.

Entitled “Under Siege”, the game is slated for release by the end of the year by Damascus-based Afkar Media, according to a report in the Beirut Daily Star.

Users will be able to simulate various types of attacks on Israelis, ranging from a teenage Palestinian armed with a slingshot to a 25-year old toting a machine gun.

In addition, one scene is said to depict a Palestinian female suicide bomber in Jenin who hands her child over to relatives before detonating a hand grenade in a crowd of Israeli soldiers.

Nonetheless, the game’s developers insist that it is intended to promote non-violence.

“This is not a game about killing. We are telling a story,” said Radwan Kasmiya, Afkar Media’s executive manager, adding, “It’s not about desperation, it’s about sacrificing your life to let others live,” he said.

The company’s primary target audience is said to be young Arab computer users across the Middle East.

JERUSALEM POST: Explosion at the Philadelphi route near Rafah

An explosion occurred near the Hardon outpost on the Philadelphi route in Rafah, on the border between Israel and Egypt, Thursday afternoon.

Troops operating in the area were conducting maintenance work on the infrastructure along the road when they discovered a tunnel opening. When soldiers got out of their vehicles to inspect the tunnel, an explosion was heard.

IDF officials are still trying to determine whether Palestinians fired an antitank rocket at the troops or detonated a bomb near them.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has pledged allegiance to Bin Laden. If he’s Osama’s rival, this is a funny way to go about undermining the guy. Dan Darling had a piece last week on the cases for and against Zarqawi being an al-Qaeda member.

• The Pakistani Army has launched a major operation to destroy the terrorists protecting former Guantanamo inmate Abdullah Mehsud. His group kidnapped and threatened to behead two Chinese engineers, but Pakistani forces killed the terrorists - one of the two Chinese was killed during the operation. (There was a rumour of a major AQ leader being captured; Mehsud might be a little small-scale to be considered ‘major’. More on the attacks on Chinese in the region…

• Who attacked the Sinai hotels? A letter signed the International Islamic Front and given to a Lebanese paper claims responsibility. Another group claiming responsibility have threatened more attacks against Israel.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran Reports; Domestic Security Briefings from Europe & USA; Mortars in Syria fired at Coalition; Hamas declares war on U.S.; Manilla ferry disaster a terrorist attack?; Hezbollah to negotiate?; Saddam’s philanthropy of terror; French jihadist Willie Brigitte breaks; and much, much more.

Read The Rest…

[by Dan Darling]

Several very important news stories have come out over the weekend that provide a great deal of insight into the nature and composition of our post-9/11 enemy, namely al-Qaeda and those groups aligned with it inside the framework of the Islamic International Front (the same name, one might note, as the group that sent a claim of responsibility for the Taba bombings to Sada al-Balad).

It is important to understand as much as possible with respect to the enemy because such things are very helpful in recognizing how al-Qaeda has changed and adapted since 9/11.

• Africa and the Pan-Sahel Initiative
• In Pakistan…
• And In Iraq…

This was inspired somewhat by a recent post by Gregory Djerejian over at the Belgravia Dispatch. Now just to be clear so that nobody mistakes this as an attack on him, I like Greg, I respect him, and his blog is on my daily reading list right next to such daily Darling reads as Rantburg, Roger Simon, Belmont Club, ect.

Unfortunately, I tend to disagree with Greg’s most recent conclusion that Osama bin Laden is among the deceased. I also think that a number of people (Greg not amongst them) don’t adequately understand where it is that bin Laden falls into the grander picture of what al-Qaeda and its allied groups are. This is key, because if he is at some point confirmed as being captured or killed it will be imperative that the US understand what we’ve done - and what we’ve not done - in terms of the long-term destruction of our current adversary, meaning al-Qaeda and its allies in the International Islamic Front. This post is an effort to demonstrate this, as well as to tie together a number of semi-incoherent threads that have been floating through my feebled mind of late.

Read the Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: Fatah leader: PA forces are private fiefdoms

The power struggle between rival Palestinian security services is the main reason behind the state of anarchy and lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a senior Fatah official said Wednesday.

Sakher Habash, a veteran member of the Fatah Central Committee and close aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, accused the commanders of the Palestinian security forces of running the services as if they were private fiefdoms.

He said Arafat was unable to replace the security chiefs for fear that such a move could trigger internecine fighting. “The security forces have become private fiefdoms of their commanders,” he added.

“Instead of being loyal to the Palestinian Authority, the security forces are loyal to their chiefs. President Arafat is trying to contain the situation in order to prevent a civil war.”

Habash said the main problem was that the security chiefs have been in office for many years. “These forces are responsible for the security chaos in the Palestinian territories,” he charged.

HAARETZ: Hunt on after possible terrorist infiltration from West Bank

Israeli security forces launched a manhunt Wednesday afternoon after receiving intelligence information that a Palestinian terrorist armed with an explosive device was trying to enter Israel.

The warning led to the declaration of a high alert in the Sharon region, Army Radio reported.

Due to the warning, a main highway between the West Bank and central Israel was closed to west-bound traffic from Oranit Junction to Kafr Kassem and Rosh Ha’ayin.

Police are also trying to verify the intelligence information.

JERUSALEM POST: Al-Qaida threatens more attacks against Israel

The al-Qaida affiliated terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the series of brutal attacks two weeks ago in Sinai published a threatening message promising to continue attacks against Israel and Israeli interests.

“Message to the damned [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and [Defense Minister Shaul] Mofaz: We have prepared for you an army of martyrs and we will not rest until you reach the depths of hell,” the message reads.

“We promise the masses of the Islamic nation to continue the Jihad until we destroy the Zionist enemy,” Channel 1 TV quoted the message.

AP: Al-Zarqawi’s Pledge May Show Weakness

The purported pledge by terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to unite with Osama bin Laden’s group raises the horrifying specter of two of the world’s most dangerous terrorists working together, though it may be a sign of weakness rather than strength.

Al-Zarqawi’s group, which has claimed responsibility for beheading foreigners in Iraq and car bombings, could be trying to shore up its support in the radical Islamic community as it faces relentless U.S. bombings in Iraq targeting the organization’s leadership.

Linking up with bin Laden would also give al-Zarqawi’s group better access to funding and potential recruits through the al-Qaida network, analysts and officials said.

“They’re circling the wagons,” said Matt Levitt, director of terrorism studies at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

As the United States continues “to crack down on their capabilities they’re going to reach out to others to fill into their gaps,” he said.

HAARETZ: Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades militants seize PA ministry

A group of armed militants from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant faction of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s Fatah, seized the buildings of the Palestinian Finance ministry and Palestinian parliament in Jenin in the northern West Bank on Tuesday.

The militants are demanding that the PA pay monthly salaries and pensions to the children of those Palestinians who were killed during the intifada.

Palestinian sources say the armed men, led by Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades strongman Zakariya Zubeidi, entered the offices in central Jenin and told clerks they had “ten minutes to leave the area.” Later, they voiced their demands. The militant group has often taken over buildings belonging to the Palestinian Authority.

U.K. police charged Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri with 15 offenses, including encouraging the murder of non-Muslims and inciting racial hatred. The action halted proceedings by the U.S. government to extradite him.

Al-Masri, 47, who has been accused by the U.S. of having links to terrorists, faces 10 counts in the U.K. of encouraging the murder of non-Muslims at public meetings, four counts of using “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior with the aim of stirring up racial hatred,” and one alleging the “possession of threatening and abusive recordings with the intent to stir up racial hatred.”

Read more…

Well, it seems that running from Iraq hasn’t diminished the risk of Islamic terrorism in Spain:

Police arrested seven suspected Islamic militants in raids across Spain on Monday to foil a planned bomb attack on the High Court, judicial sources said.

The arrests came seven months after train bombs killed 191 people in Madrid.

The seven suspects, including four Algerians and one Moroccan, were arrested in the southern region of Andalusia, the Mediterranean city of Valencia and Madrid.

Further arrests could be made in the coming hours as part of the operation against a radical and violent Muslim network, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Crusading Judge Baltasar Garzon ordered the arrests as part of his inquiry into Islamic militant cells in Spain.

The suspects had been in contact with other individuals in Europe, the United States and Australia, the statement said.

According to the newspaper El Mundo (link in Spanish) the planned attack would have consisted on a suicide murderer driving a van loaded with 1,000 lbs. of dynamite purchased from the Basque terrorist group ETA (that’s a very important point if proven, since many analysts have been ruling out the possibility that Islamic and Basque terrorists might be collaborating, on the March 11 bombings or in general; wrongly, of course, as there is a long history of logistic and training support, as well as information exchange between the two. Even judge Garzón himself, during his appearance before the parliamentary commission onvestigating the March 11 attacks, said that the possibility of connection between Islamic and Basque terrorists was “metaphisically impossible”; guess he’ll have to review that).

Apparently the target would have been the Audiencia Nacional, the high court in which, among others, judge Garzón and judge Del Olmo (who is investigating the March 11 bombings) serve. But the Audiencia Nacional is only a few yards away from both the Supreme Court and the headquarters of the Popular Party (of former PM Aznar).

(first posted at Barcepundit in English)

HAARETZ: Karine-A munitions ship commander sentenced to 25 years in jail

The Erez military court on Monday sentenced to 25 years in jail Omar Acawi, a colonel in the Palestinian Authority naval police who commanded the Karine-A, a munition ship seized by Israeli commandos in January 2002 while on its way into PA territory.

Two other crewmen caught onboard, Riad Abdallah and Ahmed Kharis, were sentenced to 17 years in jail.

The men were arrested on January 3 2002 when Israeli navy commandos stormed the munitions ship in the Red Sea on its way from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea.

The ship was loaded with tons of weapons, including 80-kilometer range rockets, 122mm mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles and explosives, all manufactured in Iran.

The three were also accused of involvement in other attempts to smuggle weapons into the PA, including in the smuggling of weapons onboard the Santorini, a ship seized by IDF froces in May 2001.

When Reuters Oddly Enough meets CP-GWOT, everybody ducks…

REUTERS: Saudi Arabia Bans Tinted Car Windows

Saudi Arabia banned tinted car windows Sunday in a move aimed at preventing militants escaping detection on the kingdom’s roads.

An Interior Ministry statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency said drivers will have a maximum of a year to clear their windows — except for one behind the driver’s seat.

Many cars in the deeply conservative Muslim Gulf state have darkened windows to protect the privacy of passengers, particularly women. But officials say militants may have used tinted windows to avoid being spotted by security forces.

Sunday’s decree specified that even remaining shaded passenger window must be 70 percent transparent.

Will someone please explain the underlined statement in the comments for me:

De facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah, who said in August the kingdom had defeated the militants, described them Sunday as “chickens with iron beaks.”

AP: Spain Seizes More Weapons From Separatists

French police, using information from raids that netted the suspected leader of the Basque separatist group ETA and a huge arms cache, have found more weapons in hideouts allegedly kept by the group, Spanish officials said Monday.

The new finds came Sunday night in the towns of Saint Pierre de Irrube and Urrugne in the Basque region of southwest France, the Spanish Interior Ministry said.

A Spanish official said it was not immediately clear if the hideouts were new ones, or simply more weapons were found in ones that French and Spanish police detected on Oct. 3.

Those raids led to the arrest of ETA’s suspected leader, known widely by his alias Mikel Antza, and his companion, Soledad Iparraguirre, also suspected of being a senior ETA member, near Pau in southwestern France.

In the new raids, the weapons seized include 55 pounds of dynamite, 61 pistols, one anti-tank grenade and a number of assault rifles.

AFP via Channel News Asia: Indonesian cleric Bashir gets October date for terrorism trial [Update to this post.]

JAKARTA: Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir will go on trial on October 28 over a deadly hotel bombing and could face the death penalty if convicted on terrorism charges, a court official said Monday.

Yunda Handi, a clerk at South Jakarta district court, said the long-awaited trial would be held in a special court convened in a building capable of accommodating security personnel, press and Bashir's supporters.

Bashir, 66, has been accused of heading the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group and of involvement in the suicide bombing of Jakarta's US-franchise Marriott hotel that killed 12 people on August 5, 2003.

He will also face charges related to the Bali bombings of October 2002 in which 202 people, including 88 Australians were killed.

Jordan has charged 13 suspected militants, including fugitive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for an al Qaida-linked terror plot in the kingdom.

Prosecutors in Amman said the group conspired to use chemical and conventional weapons to attack government sites, the U.S. Embassy and other targets.

Nine of the accused are now in Jordanian custody, but the others remain at large. They face the death penalty if convicted.

Read more…

AP: Saudi Forces Arrest 4 Suspected Militants

Security forces have captured four suspected militants, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday, the latest detentions in a Saudi crackdown on Islamic extremists in the kingdom.

Brig. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said all four men were arrested before dawn Saturday. Two of them were detained in Temair, a village about 85 miles northwest of Riyadh, he said.

“The men did not resist arrest,” al-Turki said of those two, adding they were arrested at different locations in the village.

Al-Turki refused to identify the men. However, local newspapers gave their names as Mohammed al-Abdullah and Rayess al-Rayess.

Okaz daily newspaper, which is close to the Interior Ministry, said al-Abdullah works as a teacher and was arrested in a mountainous area. The paper said al-Rayess was fleeing in a red car when he was caught.

Al-Turki said the two other men were arrested in the Khaleej neighborhood of Riyadh.

HAARETZ: Hundreds of South African Muslims protest Olmert’s upcoming visit

Another of the demonstration’s organizers, Ebrahim Gabriels of the Muslim Judicial Council, said members of Hamas and other violent Palestinian groups behind suicide bombings and other attacks in Israel were not terrorists. Like South Africa’s anti-apartheid movements, they are fighting for freedom, he said.

“Hamas is not a terrorist group. The apartheid government once called the African National Congress terrorists, but we said no … they are liberators,” he said.

Gabriels said his movement supported Hamas “100 percent,” drawing cheers and raised fists from the crowd.

JERUSALEM POST: Report: PA thwarts attack on IDF near Nablus

Palestinian Authority security forces blew up an explosives-laden car Saturday afternoon in the Nablus area, a report on Army Radio said.

The car bomb was meant for IDF forces or other Israeli targets in the area, the report said.

Palestinians also reported several youths were wounded in clashes with IDF troops operating around Nablus.

From The Australian :

Militant Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been charged in connection with the Bali bombings which killed 88 Australians, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said today.

Bashir also faces charges relating to the bombing of Jakarta’s Marriott Hotel last year and for his involvement in terrorist training camps in the Philippines.

“We’ve been advised by our liaison office in Jakarta that Abu Bakar Bashir has been charged with both the Bali bombings and also the Marriott bombings and also in respect of his involvement in training camps in the Philippines with Jemaah Islamiah,” Mr Keelty told reporters.

He said Bashir was charged under two different laws to ensure the charges stick if Bashir mounts a constitutional challenge.

Mr Keelty said Bashir was the central figure responsible for training terrorists responsible for the Bali attacks on October 12, 2002, and he was also behind the failed attempt to bomb Australia’s High Commission in Singapore in 2001.

“He has been the person, the main figure, as we understand it, behind the training given to terrorists and also giving the imprimatur for those bombings,” he said.

From the AFP via the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

Two US troops have been killed and three wounded by a mine detonated by remote control in Afghanistan’s southern central province of Uruzgan, the US military said on Saturday.

”We had five casualties, two killed in action and three injured in action,” US military spokesman Scott Nelson said, adding the troops were all US nationals.

They had been on a routine patrol on Thursday in the Deh Rawood district in the south of the province when the mine was detonated as they passed by, he said.

A remote-controlled bomb also killed five people in the east of the violence-plagued country, an Afghan official said.

The five, who included a policeman, were killed in eastern Kunar province late on Friday after the bomb exploded near a truck supplying food to US bases.

The truck had been stopped and set on fire by suspected loyalists of the ousted Taliban regime and the blast happened after a crowd had gathered, provincial governor Saeed Fazel Akbar Agha told AFP.

The explosion was on the main road in Dap area of Asmar district of Kunar province some 125 kilometres east of capital Kabul.

“The incident occurred after a truck supplying food to US bases in Kunar was stopped and set on fire by enemies of Afghanistan,” the governor said.

“District police went to the site and villagers were there as well when the remote control bomb went off.”

The attacks come after a landmark presidential poll on October 9 that went ahead peacefully despite vows by Taliban fighters to disrupt the vote.

At least 3 of the victims were children.

AP: Germany Nabs Suspected al-Qaida Financier

Authorites on Friday arrested a Syrian-German businessman who is wanted by Spain on charges he helped fund the al-Qaida terrorist network for years and who appeared in a wedding video at a mosque with some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, German officials said.

Mamoun Darkazanli, 46, was taken into custody in Hamburg on a Spanish warrant and is being held for possible extradition, city judicial spokeswoman Sabine Westphalen told The Associated Press.

Darkazanli was questioned by German police shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States after it emerged that three of the suicide hijackers lived and studied in Hamburg. He was freed for lack of evidence and continued to live in the German port city.

His Hamburg-based trading company was has been labeled a front for terrorism by the Bush administration. Darkazanli was one of the first people to appear on U.S. suspect lists after Sept. 11, but has denied any links to bin Laden or the attacks.

JERUSALEM POST: Lebanese newspaper: Al-Qaida claims Sinai attacks

A statement purportedly signed by al-Qaida claimed responsibility for last week’s deadly bombings which targeted Israeli tourists visiting Sinai, a Lebanese newspaper reported Friday. There was no way to verify its authenticity.

The attacks killed 34 people, among them 12 Israelis.

The statement, allegedly issued by al-Qaida’s media office and signed “International Islamic Front,” was emailed Thursday night to Sada al-Balad, a little-known independent newspaper. Sada al-Balad published it on the front page Friday.

It was the fifth claim of responsibility for the attacks on the Sinai Peninsula, just across the border from Israel, which killed at least 34 people. None of the claims have appeared particularly credible.

The statement said the attacks “are not al-Qaida’s first response to the pulse of the holy intefadeh (Palestinian uprising) and will not be the last.”

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too.

This Regional Briefing focuses on the enigma that is Russia, via Joel Gaines of No Pundit Intended. Joel is a veteran of the Gulf War with the 3rd Armor Division, where he worked in an intelligence capacity. He speaks Russian, and has worked in several of the former soviet satellites.

TOP TOPICS

• Shakhmati! The geopolitical chess game turns against Russia as they are forced to choose between being excluded from the WTO and signing the Kyoto agreement.

• No sooner than an Ingush provincial leader has declared ‘no ethnic backlash’ from the Beslan attack, North Ossetians vow revenge when the 40 day mourning period is over. One Beslan resident states, “There will be violence. It won’t be noisy. It will be quiet - one person at a time.”

• The “right” to conduct pre-emptive attacks has become part of the Russian anti-terror doctrine recently. However, many believe it is less about anti-terror operations and more about re-invigorating the Russian effort to maintain control over the Caucasus. Russian policy toward Chechnya especially, has been more political in the past couple of years, but the anti-terror initiative of preemption might tip policy back toward a more overt military prosecution of securing Chechnya. The other side of the coin is a Russia finally awakening to the global threat posed by pan-islamic nationalism. Which is the truth is only known in the Kremlin - for now.

Other Topics Today Include: arms sales and trade surplus; state run oil profits as YUKOS dies; inflation worries; political opposition uniting against Putin; first woman governor assesses first year; military draft excludes Chechens; Alkhanov inaugurated in secret location; Russia-Iran nuke fuel deal; Putin heads to China as two countries celebrate relations and joint ventures; secret uranium mission a success; introducing the Vodnik

• Russia’s Economy
• Internal Politics
• Chechnya
• International Relations & Security
• Paging Mr. Bond…

PakTribune

In an unprecedented parliamentary move the National Assembly Thursday permitted President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to continue as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) even beyond Dec 31 this year.

The House approved the bill 'President to hold another office Act 2004' with simple majority in voice voting amidst forceful protest by the opposition members of the PPP, PML-N, other components of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), MMA, PKMAP and other nationalist parties of Balochistan and smaller parliamentary groups.

...

The bill called as 'President to hold another office Act 2004' shall come into force on Dec 31, 2004 on its adoption with simple majority in both Houses of the Parliament separately and assented by the President.

The law would empower holder of the office of the President to hold another office of profit in the service of Pakistan.

Tipped from In the Bullpen

Originally posted at Diggers Realm

HAARETZ: PM okays IDF plan to redeploy in Gaza

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Thursday night accepted an Israel Defense Forces plan for redeployment in the northern Gaza Strip. This weekend troops will begin moving out of the outskirts of Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanun. The meaning of this move in practice, although it is denied officially, is an end to the current phase of Operation Days of Penitence, which over the past 17 days claimed the lives of some 100 Palestinians, many of them civilians.

Hours after Sharon’s decision, Palestinians reported that the Israel Air Force fired a missile at a group of militants in the Jabalya refugee camp early Friday morning, seriously wounding four. One man later died of his wounds, hospital officials said.

UPDATE:
One less on Al-Aqsa’s 401-k plan.

(Via Internet Haganah and LGF)

If it wasn’t obvious before, at the Official Hamas Web Site:

Hamas published a statement condemning the US and designating it as an enemy country after the US vetoed a resolution in the UN security council that would have unilaterally condemned Israeli military action against the group in the Gaza Strip.

The raids followed a series of rocket attacks on the southern town of Sderot, during which two Israeli toddlers were killed.

The United States vetoed a resolution condemning the Israeli military action against Hamas cells in the Gaza strip. U.S. Ambassador John Danforth cast the U.S. veto after British and German efforts to find compromise language failed.

“Once again, the resolution is lopsided and unbalanced,” Danforth said, noting that the resolution made no mention of the launching of rockets from the Gaza strip at Israeli towns and cities.

In a press release in Arabic on its official web, Hamas leaders said: “Hamas is condemning the U.S vote and stating that Hamas considers the U.S as an enemy and as an accomplice to the Israeli enemy aggression against the Palestinians. Hamas regards the U.S position as a criminal act that puts her in a confrontation with “weak” nations. The U.S will face responsibility for its position as an accomplice with Israel to the animosity.”

UPDATE:
Link on Hamas’ site no longer fucntions, but Internet Haganah has a copy of the statement.

JERUSALEM POST: Officials concerned over growing anarchy in PA

Palestinian officials on Thursday expressed concern at the growing state of anarchy and lawlessness in the Gaza Strip and accused the Palestinian Authority security forces of failing to carry out their duties.

In recent weeks the Gaza Strip witnessed a series of criminally motivated murders, kidnappings and armed robberies, prompting several PA officials to demand an iron-fist policy against the perpetrators.

“The situation there is intolerable,” a senior PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post. “Armed gangsters are roaming the streets freely and imposing a reign of terror on the population.”

The PA is opposed to any imposition of a reign of terror when a perfectly servicible negotiated-for and EU-funded reign of terror in the form of Arafat’s Palestinian Authority is already in place.

Something worth noting:

In the first incident, masked gunmen shot and killed Ali Abu Mahdi, 54, a senior officer with Force 17 (Yasser Arafat’s presidential guard) while he was sitting in a barber’s shop.

Mahdi was being held in a nearby security installation on charges of involvement in the killing of a local man a few months ago. The Palestinian police believe that the officer was murdered by the victim’s family to avenge his death.

Maybe if he’d have been held tighter in the security installation, he wouldn’t have gotten out to the barbershop and been killed.

Welcome! Our goal at Winds of Change.NET is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are given by me, Colt, of Eurabian Times.

TOP TOPICS

• Egyptian holiday resorts on the Sinai, frequented by Israelis, were attacked by what are now thought to be car-bombs. The Hilton hotel was partially destroyed by a car bomb. The number of dead stands somewhere between 31-34, with over 100 wounded. More below…

• After CNS News reported Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda and possession of WMD, based on alleged Iraqi intelligence documents, there was widespread scepticism. However, they have released some of the documents for public verification. Our own Robi Sen is leading a charge to try to evaluate the documents.

• Zarqawi: Is He al-Qaeda? Meanwhile, today’s Iraq Report has a lot to say about developments in Fallujah, where Zarqawi is based.

• The Washington Times reports that 25 Chechen terrorists entered the United States across the Mexican border in July. The paranoid won’t be reassured by news that photographs, evacuation information and other details about several San Diego schools have been found on a CD in Iraq.

Other Topics Today Include: Sinai bombs; Iran Reports; Domestic Security; Chinese hostages; terrorists and CBW; missing nuclear materials; Delhi nuclear alert; Bigley murdered; French hostages in Syria?; Jordan’s secret prison; Bali anniversary; 3/11 bombers had local training; al-Qaeda in Libya?; Chinese foe; al-Qaeda vs. Israel; US military & nation-building…

Read the Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: IAF hits targets in Jabalya

An IAF aircraft fired two missiles at targets in the Jebalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip Thursday, Palestinian witnesses.

Ambulances rushed to scene but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Over the last several months, there’s been a great deal of discussion with respect to Abu Musab Zarqawi and whether or not he’s ally of Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network.

Originally there was no real question about this - nor is there still among actual governments, a point I’ll get to later in the post. Recently, however, the issue has become politicized in the United States by people inside the intelligence community who do not agree with the conventional characterization being put out by the administration. Some have chosen to air those disputes to the press. This is augmented by the fact some intelligence-security officials in Europe, particularly in Germany, adopt a similar view of the man.

In this piece, I’m going to try to put up and the evidence for and against Zarqawi being an al-Qaeda leader and why I believe that the body of evidence swings decisively in favor of the al-Qaeda conclusion.

Read The Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: Hamas member killed in IAF attack in Beit Lahiya

An IAF aircraft fired a missile after nightfall Wednesday at a group of combatants near Beit Lahiya, a town in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, witnesses said, killing one person.

Hamas officials said he was Hassan Shakfi, 24, a member of the group.

Palestinian ambulances were on their way to the scene. Rescue workers said another Hamas member was seriously wounded.

Were they in their underwear?

From the Washington Times:

JTA: Anti-rocket radar works

An Israeli town’s early-warning radar scored a first victory against Palestinian rockets.

The Ma’anim system installed in Sderot sounded a 20-second alert before two Kassam rockets fired by Palestinians in the nearby Gaza Strip struck Wednesday. The Kassams landed harmlessly in an open field, but security chiefs hailed the incident as a successful test for the Ma’anim, which was unveiled Tuesday.

HAARETZ: Head of Hamas military wing in Hebron surrenders to IDF

The head of the Hamas military wing in Hebron, Imad Kawasma, surrendered to the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday morning when troops surrounded his safe house in an arrest raid.

Kawasma is suspected of dispatching two suicide bombers in an August 31 terror attack in the southern city of Be’er Sheva that killed 16 people and wounded about 100.

The surrender of a member of Hamas’ military wing, Iz a Din al-Kassam, is quite a rare occurrence. In the last two years, the organization’s militants in Hebron and Nablus have preferred to fight to their deaths.

Apparently, Hamas has figured out that fighting to the death gets them killed. Surrendering get them across the border with hope for escape, foisting the cost of their upkeep on Israel, etc.

It’s one thing to note that Islamism has a strong strain of Arab cultural imperialism in its philosophy, another thing to read a first hand description from someone experiencing this in their country. Rantburg has an article from Esam Sohail on BangladeshWeb, detailing the process of Arab cultural imperialism in Bangladesh. Once there, click the title to get the original article.

While you’re reading, recall Armed Liberal’s past articles discussing the idea of modern Islamism as a fusion of intolerant Islamic doctrines with Western totalitarian ideologies and methods. The Bangladeshi modus operandi of modern-style political correctness, selective violence, a radical wing of shock troops, and institutional takeover did not escape my attention. It’s a familiar pattern, and it doesn’t come from the Qu’ran.

Bangladesh has had a growing problem with jihadi Islamists for several years now. For more in-depth background, see the 2002 article Championing Islamist extremism, and the July 2003 PDF file Extremist Islamist Consolidation from the Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi. Sohail’s experiences are not projection, nor are they coincidence.

The process of political marginalization continues in Iran:

IRAN Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi resigned today, saying he could not work with the conservative-dominated parliament.

A close ally of reformist President Mohammad Khatami, Abtahi first tendered his resignation in February, but it was not accepted.

Mr Khatami has appointed Majid Ansari as the new vice president for legal and parliamentary affairs, Abtahi told The Associated Press.

Mr Ansari is seen as acceptable to both reformers and hard-liners, who have long waged a power struggle over the future of Iran’s Islamic system.

Mr Abtahi had many enemies among conservatives who saw him as the voice of Mr Khatami’s attempt to introduce greater democracy and freedom. It was Mr Abtahi who exposed that hard-line officials had tried to pass off the death in detention of a Canadian photojournalist as being due to natural causes.

HAARETZ: CIA has 11 Al-Qaida suspects in Jordan facility

The Central Intelligence Agency runs a top secret interrogation facility in Jordan, where at least 11 detainees who are considered Al-Qaida’s most senior cadre are being held, Haaretz has learned from international intelligence sources.

Since the war in Afghanistan ended three years ago, reports spoke of these special detainees being held outside the United States, but no location was mentioned. A report on these prisoners issued Tuesday by the Human Rights Watch organization claims they are being held somewhere so secret that U.S. President George Bush asked the CIA heads not to report it to him.

Haaretz’s international intelligence sources are considered experts in surveillance and analysis of Al-Qaida and are involved in interrogating the detainees. Most of the Al-Qaida detainees who were arrested in Afghanistan in the course of the war or its aftermath were transfered to the American base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A minority were held in Pakistan, where some had been picked up, and were later moved to Jordan.

It is not known where precisely in the Hashemite kingdom they are being held, but they are thought to be at a secret facility belonging to Jordanian intelligence or at a secret base. Their detention outside the U.S. enables CIA interrogators to apply interrogation methods that are banned by U.S. law, and to do so in a country where cooperation with the Americans is particularly close, thereby reducing the danger of leaks.

HAARETZ: IDF admits Qassam was not transported in UN ambulance

The Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman admitted Tuesday that the IDF was wrong to accuse the UNRWA of using its ambulances to transport Qassam rockets.

“It is obvious today, after all the inquiries made into the question, that it wasn?t a Qassam rocket,” she said.

This statement comes several days after the IDF removed from its internet site footage taken by an unmanned plane in the Jabalya refugee in the Gaza Strip, showing what the IDF said was a homemade rocket being loaded onto an ambulance..

Officials in the IDF are now admitting that the object does indeed appear to be a stretcher.

HAARETZ: Explosion reported near convoy of Palestinian security chief

A huge explosion rocked Gaza City Tuesday evening, and witnesses said the blast went off near Palestinian security headquarters as security chief Moussa Arafat’s convoy was leaving.

There was no immediate word on whether Arafat was injured.

Arafat, is a relative of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. His appointment as overall commander of Gaza security in July was torpedoed by riots and demonstrations in Gaza, as residents complained that Moussa Arafat was involved in corruption and was known for his cruelty.

Yasser Arafat reinstated the security official his relative was to have replaced, but kept Moussa Arafat in a senior position.

The Israeli military had no comment on the blast.

Too busy laughing, right?

HAARETZ: IDF chief: Qaida tried, but failed, to infiltrate territories

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon said Tuesday that Al-Qaida has tried in the past to infiltrate the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but that the efforts were foiled by the Israeli defense establishment.

“We see that world terrorism is a threat to Israel,” Ya’alon told a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

“We are ready to deal with the threat of Al-Qaida and this requires international cooperation,” he said.

The IDF also believes that Al-Qaida, which is headed by Osama bin Laden, carried out last week’s Sinai attacks, which killed at least 34 people, Ya’alon added.

A senior Military Intelligence officer told the Knesset panel that the Sinai attacks were carried out by local members of the terrorist organization. He said that the group is active in dozens of countries, and has Al-Qaida at its core.

HAARETZ: New Qassam warning system goes into operation

The new early warning system against Qassams launched from Gaza toward Sderot goes into operation Tuesday, with each incoming Qassam to trigger an announcement over town loudspeakers so residents can either rush to get indoors or, if that is impossible, to crouch.

The loudspeakers will broadcast the slogan “Red Dawn” instead of sounding a siren. The Home Front conducted a test of the loudspeaker system, which was upgraded for the “Red Dawn” alerts. Home Front soldiers were deployed throughout the Negev town to listen for the announcement, to make sure it could be heard everywhere.

The system will also operate at Kibbutz Nir Am and at Sapir College, which have also suffered from Qassam rockets attacks.

The “Red Dawn” alert is said to provide a 20- to 30-second advance warning after a Qassam launch.

Phil Carter’s Intel Dump links to a U.S. News piece covering the expansion of U.S. Special Forces’ role, and the ongoing process of figuring out how to use them and where they fit in. As you might imagine, turf wars are involved - but Phil explains the issues very clearly.

This June 2003 Winds post will give you more background on special forces, what they do, and how they operate. Most people’s assumptions on these subjects are wrong.

There was a great intel story in the Wall St. Journal OpinionJournal last week. It had everything you could ask for: a plot to kill U.S. President Geroge W. Bush, diplomacy in Sudan, Pakistani flight schools, FBI lists, a North Carolina taxi driver, and a frantic race against time.

The intelligence that started this whole cascade was faulty… and the results were paradoxically positive. Or were they? Welcome to the real world of intelligence.

UPDATE: More good discussion over in the Winds comments section.

JERUSALEM POST: Mother of 7 gets 35 years for smuggling bomb-belt

Latifa Abu Diran, 40, a mother of seven from the Balata refugee camp was sentenced by the Samaria military court to 35 years for her role in transporting an explosives belt that was to have been used in a suicide bomb attack in Rosh Ha’ayin on behalf of the Fatah Al Aksa Birgades in Nablus.

Details of the sentencing, which took place on Sunday, were released by the army on Monday.

Abu Diran had agreed to transfer the explosives belt noting that she would not be suspect to searches by soldiers manning the roadblocks.

Arrested by security forces last December in her home, the potential suicide bomber and transporter were also arrested the same night after they failed to carry out the attack because of the presence of security forces in the area.

Abu Diran after meeting with members of the Fatah Al Aksa Brigades who planned to attack and recruited the suicide bomber agreed to smuggle the explosives belt to a meeting point near Kafr Kassem from where the suicide bomber and transporter were to continue until Rosh Ha’ayin.

Abu Diran hid the belt under her dress but because of the bulge was instructed to carry it in a black bag. Once reaching the appointed destination she assisted the suicide bomber to put on the belt and then left and returned to her home.

JERUSALEM POST: Egypt: al-Qaida sleeper cell was activated to hit Sinai

Egyptian officials investigating the Sinai suicide bomb attacks believe that al-Qaida activated sleeper cells in Egypt received the full cooperation from Beduin living in the Sinai who, according to Egyptian media reports, assisted the terrorists in evading roadblocks manned by Egyptian security forces and provided them with explosives.

Egyptian investigators think the cell, whose members carried passports from a number of different countries, received cooperation from a number of Egyptians too.

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom reiterated Monday Israel believes responsibility lies with the al-Qaida terror network led by Osama bin Laden, although it was not “100 percent” sure.

Remember.

JERUSALEM POST: Report: IAF targets Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza

A few missiles fired from a helicopter or unmanned drone targeted the house of senior Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Sheikh Khalil in the Rafah refugee camp Monday afternoon.

Reports are conflicting regarding whether Khalil was wounded or killed in the attack. Some Palestinian sources have alternately reported that Khalil escaped the attack altogether, while his two brothers who were in the house at the time of the attack were hit and wounded.

The blasts wounded five people, two critically, hospital officials said.

Islamic Jihad leaders that Khalil was not home at the time of the strike.

“Sheikh Khalil is in good shape … and he will remain a thorn in the throat of the Jews and will teach them a lesson as he has done before,” said local Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Abdel Rahman.

AP: Saudi Prince Suggests Causes for Terrorism

Poverty and unemployment among Arabs are fundamental reasons for the spread of terrorism, a Saudi prince said Sunday at the opening of a conference on small loans for the poor.

The comments by Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, brother of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd, come as Arab leaders try to curb the spread of Islamic extremism throughout a region consumed by the American-led war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Unemployment creates one of the cornerstones of terrorism, and the poor who cannot get food on his table resorts to other means, which are involuntary human reactions,” the prince said while opening the four-day Middle East-Africa Microcredit Summit in Amman, Jordan’s capital.

So if suicide bombers’ families were paid by Saudi princes before they exploded, they wouldn’t explode in the first place?

JERUSALEM POST: Ya’alon: Terrorists used girl as lure for snipers

The 13-year-old Palestinian girl, Imam al-Hamas, killed last week near an IDF outpost on the Philadelphi route near Rafah, was most likely a lure to get IDF soldiers out of the outpost and into the range of Palestinian sniper fire, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya’alon told the cabinet Sunday.

Ya’alon briefed the cabinet on the findings of an inquiry he headed into the killing of the girl. Palestinians said after the incident that her body was riddled with 20 bullets.

According to Ya’alon, Hamas walked from the Tel Sultan neighborhood in Rafah toward the outpost. “There is no reason for any Palestinian to walk in that direction, and no one does,” Ya’alon said.

Asked by one of the ministers if it is possible she was walking to school, Ya’alon said that it is completely unreasonable for her to have walked to school in that direction.

Ya’alon said that the IDF soldiers in the outpost, who have express orders not to leave the outpost because of the danger of sniper fire, saw her walking in their direction and thought that she was either carrying or bomb, or was trying to lure them out.

Ya’alon said that the investigation showed that the soldiers fired into the air, but when the girl kept walking and then tossed her backpack, which turned out to be full of books, they fired on her.

Ya’alon said that the IDF fire was met by sniper fire from the area. He also said that there was sniper fire in the area before the incident as well.

On my own site, I had posted an imaginary conversation between this 13 year-old Palestinian girl and a group of Hamas snipers where they told her to run into the allery and throw her bookback and run back or they’d rape and shoot her. It was deemed so offensive that I did the unthinkable… I pulled it down.