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. I’m evariste and I blog at Discarded Lies. Thursday’s Winds of War briefings are normally given by Colt of Eurabian Times. This week, I’ll be pinch-hitting for him.

TOP TOPICS

• Does Osama’s newest audiotape indicate that Al Qaeda is now akin to a virtual organization or a brand?

• Palestinian terrorists have acquired ground-to-air missiles, according to Ariel Sharon. He promised a harsh response if attempts were made to hit aircraft. Meanwhile, the head of the LAPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau, John Miller, told Aviation Week’s Airports that security officials are undergoing training specifically to deal with the shoulder-launched missile threat, and air and ground perimeter patrols are being beefed up at LAX.

• House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner promises a tough fight to tighten immigration security on the first day of the 109th Congress, calling it “must-pass” legislation. Among the provisions sought: making terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility to the US also grounds for deportation, giving immigration judges wider latitude and subjecting their decisions to fewer opportunities for appeal, and expediting deportations of unwelcome immigrants, even if they might face torture in their home countries.

• Either two or three car bombs went off near-simultaneously in Riyadh, one of them attempting to drive into a compound where Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism forces are stationed. DEBKAfile says there were definitely three, and makes much of the fact that it’s the first Al Qaeda attack on a member of the royal family. One of the seven people killed in a Riyadh shootout Wednesday is believed to be a top Yemeni Al Qaeda member-and the main point of contact between Osama bin Laden and the Saudi Al Qaeda organization.

• Terrorists are unlikely to be able to obtain nuclear weapons or successfully use them if they do obtain them, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Other Topics Today Include:
Should PMOI be considered a terror group?;UFOs, UAVs and satellites in Iran;terrorists sentenced in Syria, imprisoned in Spain, acquitted in Jordan, shot at in Saudi Arabia;FBI can’t keep people;CIA can’t get rid of people fast enough;How Al Qaeda cases buildings;Hambali sentenced to life;US commander says Al Qaeda has bases in the Horn of Africa and more.

Read the Rest…

A recently released government intelligence bulletin addresses several Al Qaeda surveillance techniques.

“The focus is on maximizing the destructive and killing power of an attack,” the bulletin says.
…
In one report, an unidentified Al Qaeda operative notes that a building “is almost completely made to resemble a glass house — which could be devastating in an emergency scenario … that is to say, that when shattered, each piece of glass becomes a potential flying piece of cutthroat shrapnel!”
…
The reports note such things as when people take lunch and smoking breaks, where surveillance cameras are positioned, what public events were scheduled near buildings and how many cars and pedestrians typically pass by per minute.
…
In two reports, the Al Qaeda author assumed that undercover security officers are likely to be stationed near possible targets. That shows that security officials must “regularly review, refresh and reinforce” their undercover teams to prevent them from being identified, the bulletin said.
…
“Surveillance of a potential target can occur as little as one week to as much as three years prior to an attack,” the bulletin said.

In CT, as in crime prevention, it is best to present a hard target to potential enemies. Like all wolves, terrorists will go after the weak in the flock first.

[update to this story]

Saudi security forces have killed seven militants suspected of involvement in twin car bombing attacks in Riyadh, reports Xinhua.

The seven were killed in an exchange of fire with Saudi security forces in northern Riyadh on Wednesday.

The militants were suspected of being involved in two car bombing attacks against the interior ministry and a security forces training camp on Wednesday.

[by Dan Darling]

Reading through the rants of Osama bin Laden is not the way I imagine most people would want to spend the week before New Year’s, but I figure somebody has to it, so why not yours truly?

And my is there a lot of a bile to sort through this time around, so I apologize in advance for the length of this post. All the same, I’ve been out of circulation for awhile so I hope to make it worth your while.

The Saudi Tape

• The Dec. 16 message to the Saudi People
• The Dec. 16 message: International Dimensions
• The Dec. 16 message: A Saudi Ultimatum

Etc.

• And While I’m At It… Comments & Notes from the Global WoT

Two large explosions shook the Saudi capital late Wednesday, the first believed to be from a car bomb that wounded several policeman and shattered windows at the Interior Ministry, followed by the second blast targeting a troop recruitment center, officials said. State television reported at least one bystander was killed.

At about the same time, Saudi security forces clashed with militants who fired small arms and threw grenades in a northern district of Riyadh, police said. Militants later holed up in a building surrounded by police. Six armored cars sealed off the area.

Read more…

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. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• The Information War. Charles Johnson reports on the bias of the Associated Press reporting in Mosul. Belmont Club, in a series of posts, analyzes the actions of an AP photographer during the murder of Iraqi election workers on Haifa Street (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4). Powerline believes the AP has actually admitted to a relationship with terrorists.

• Stratfor says the Saudi attack on the US consulate was intended to be far more complex. See a quick synopsis inside, or follow the link if you have a STRATFOR membership.

• The United States is stepping up its espionage against Israel, according to Middle East Newsline, which paints a picture of a remarkably frayed relationship between the USA and the Jewish state. Recently, the United States demanded that Israel basically confiscate Chinese aircraft that were sent to Israel for maintenance and upgrades. More inside…

Other Topics Today Include:
Iranian air defense, US-approved EU-Iran trade talks, US surveillance of Iranian agents, Hamas gains in the West Bank Palestinian elections, the arrest of two senior members of Zarqawi’s group, charity assets frozen, thawing Turkish-Syrian relations, the dangers of a dress code for Federal Air Marshals, EU demands Maoist rebels in Nepal negotiate, low-level tribal uprising in Baluchistan, army coup in the Philippines, Spain arrests more terrorists, violence threatened in Kosovo over war-crimes indictments, and more.

Read the Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: IDF forces kill Fatah Al-Aksa fugitive in Jenin refugee camp

Shouldn’t that be Arafat Martyrs Brigade? Who didn’t get the memo?

In the Jenin refugee camp overnight, Egoz and Nahal troops killed Palestinian fugitive Taher Abu Kamal, deputy to Jenin leader of the Fatah Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades, Zakariyah Zubeidi.

According to Army Radio, IDF forces arrived at the building in which Abu Kamal was residing with the purpose of arresting him, and called on the people in the building to come out.

From inside the house, Abu Kamal opened fire on the troops, igniting an gun-battle which lasted for many hours.

During the battle, anti-tank missiles were fired at the four-story house, which caused great damage to the structure.

After the battle, soldiers scoured the wreckage and discovered Abu Kamal’s body inside the ruins of the house.

HAARETZ: Unoffical results: Hamas strong in local W. Bank elections

Hamas made a strong showing in local Palestinian elections in 26 communities across the West Bank on Thursday, according to preliminary elections results. Official results will be announced Saturday night.

This is the first time the Islamic faction has competed in the polls.

Some 150,000 eligible voters choose among more than 800 candidates in the election. Sixteen percent of the 360 local council seats were reserved for women.

According to the preliminary results, the ruling Fatah movement won a majority in 14 towns, while Hamas took control in nine communities. In two, a joint Hamas-Fatah slate won. The outcome of the vote in one community, Ya’bed, was not immediately available.

However, Hamas officials said they had won a majority in at least 17 local councils, based on reports from their election observers.

The discrepancy could not immediately be explained. However, on the local level, membership in a political faction is not always clear-cut, and some candidates could have been claimed by the rival groups.

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

• UPDATE: A senior official in the US administration has told the Jerusalem Post that the United States may strike Syria. Not full-scale hostilites, mind, and he emphasised that cross-border military action is still a matter of discussion.

• Asia Times Online reports that the Pakistani army is taking a firm line against the jihadists in their midst: Purging Pakistan’s jihadi legacy.

• A special analysis: A window in to al-Qaeda.

• A Hamas front is operating quite openly in the United Kingdom, with the blessings of the British government.

• Iraq says they have photographs of Syrian officials with insurgents and terrorists.

Other Topics Today Include: organ harvesting infidels; Iran’s nuclear efforts; Iran no match for U.S.; Ansar al-Sunnah primer; Arafat’s kosher investments; peace activists or Zionist saboteurs?; GCC pledges to fight jihadi cashflow; Egypt builds more tanks to fight Nile crocodiles; honeymoon suicide bombers; French journalists released; ‘I married a terrorist’; Spain terror cell busted; Basayev defrauding financiers; Basayev and Maskhadov key to Chechen jihad; Zio-drones in Kashmir; JI leader: “Jemmah what?”

Read the Rest…

What if “Gulf War Syndrome” is real (contrary view here), and it and other degenerative diseases showing up in U.S. veterans were the result of a “second generation” U.S. government vaccine against anthrax administered to troops without informed consent in 1991?

What if the U.S. military was about to restart that vaccine program (see also this oficial .MIL site), despite that experience and despite a long history of medical understanding that a key vaccine component called squalene was a dangerous catalyst for degenerative auto-immune diseases?

What if these aren’t just idle “what-ifs”?

Read the Rest…

HAARETZ: Blair: There must be a ‘total end’ to terrorism

British Prime Minister Tony Blair presented a clear message during his visit to Jerusalem Wednesday: The cessation of Palestinian terrorism is a paramount need for the renewal of the peace process, and the quid pro quo from Israel has to be the provision of a diplomatic horizon.

“There has to be a complete and total end to terrorism” in order for peace talks to succeed, Blair said. The world has changed in the last few years and people everywhere are fighting terrorism, he said. Terror was not a means to peace but an obstacle, he added.

In private talks, Blair was even more blunt, saying the Palestinians would get no assistance or political support from Britain unless terror stops. U.S. President George W. Bush will also not help them, he added.

When there are actions, “not just declarations,” it will be possible to return to the road map, he said.

Accusations from the Arab World of the UK not being an honest broker in 5… 4… 3… 2…

JERUSALEM POST: Would-be suicide bomber arrested

A 22-year-old resident of Abu Tor in Jerusalem, holder of an Israeli identity card, planned to carry out a double suicide bomb attack together with his 16 year old fiancee after being recruited by Hamas in Hebron – the same Hamas infrastructure who was responsible for the double suicide bomb attack in Beersheba in August this year.

Details released for publication by the Shin Bet on Wednesday revealed that Ahmed Yakub Jizawi, 22, who was arrested by the Gideonim undercover police unit on November 15, maintained close ties with Mutsab Hasalmon a senior member of the Hebron infrastructure who studied with Jizawi at the Abu Dis university.

Both were active in the Hamas Students Committee at the university. Shortly before his arrest, Jizawi informed Hasalmon of his intention to carry out a suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem on behalf of the Hebron infrastructure.

Where are they registered? Habib’s House Of Coffins?

HAARETZ: Police: Murder of woman near Green Line was act of terror

Police have determined that the murder of an Israeli woman in Moshav Nehousha near the border with the West Bank on Tuesday was a terrorist attack, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.

The body of Ariela Fahima was found at the entrance to her home by her 10-year-old daughter. The 39-year-old mother of four had been stabbed in the neck.

Police sources said Tuesday that they did not know if the attack was carried out by one or multiple attackers.

The commander of the Beit Shemesh police station, Meir Vardi, said Tuesday that a number of Palestinians who worked at the moshav have been arrested.

Police later discovered a hole in the moshav’s security fence, and residents said that the moshav’s alarm system has not been functioning due to a technical problem.

Will Tony Blair nod at her grave?

From The Australian :

Australia and Indonesia are to jointly host a biological weapons convention (BWC) regional workshop in Australia next year.

Defence Minister Robert Hill said today the aim was to reduce the possibility of bioterrorism in South East Asia.

He said the workshop would be held in Melbourne in February 2005 with representatives from regional countries invited to attend.

“There are increasing concerns about the possibility of terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMD) including biological weapons and we see a valuable role for this workshop and follow-up activities in reducing the possibility of bioterrorism in our region,” he said in a statement.

“By holding this workshop, Australia and Indonesia continue to demonstrate their strong commitment to stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and keeping our region free of biological weapons.” Senator Hill said the workshop was intended to assist regional officials in translating the Geneva BWC into appropriate national practices.

HAARETZ: 117 U.S. victims of terror in Israel sue Arab Bank

The Jordan-based Arab Bank has been hit by a massive lawsuit filed by Americans whose family members were killed or injured in terror attacks in Israel. No less than 117 plaintiffs are lining up against the bank, which has a branch on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue.

The plaintiffs joined an earlier suit pursued by 30 families of terrorism victims. One new name on the list is the family of Matthew Parsons, who was killed in October 2003 when a roadside bomb exploded near Beit Hanun as he was guarding an American convoy. Another family joining the lawsuit is that of Abigail Litle, who was killed in the terror attack on Bus 37 in Haifa.

The plaintiffs claim that Arab Bank illegally funneled dollars from various Islamic charitable foundations and others to known terrorist organizations. Recipients of the financing allegedly included Hamas, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, say the plaintiffs.

Back during the Cold War, the rule with intelligence was, “If it’s sensational, don’t believe it.” Of course, back then we were fighting something resembling a rational enemy, whereas these days it seems like we’re reliving the plots of far too many bad novels. I’ve got half a mind to recommend that they open up US intelligence to all of these comic book geeks who keep track of every detail of their favorite characters online. They, at least, could remember all of these damned names.

— Former senior US intelligence official in conversation to me, circa July 2004

As some of you already know, last weekend I was at a counter-terrorism conference in New York City at the behest of my patrons, who were nice enough to fly me out there and for the purposes of me posting on the Internet would prefer to remain anonymous, if for nothing else than so they can plausibly deny everything they say ;) I’ve also been finishing finals and watching the extended edition of The Return of the King, so I apologize in advance for the number of Tolkien references that are likely to be used here.

The conference’s attendees included a wide variety of law enforcement, intelligence, military or former military, and think tank types from pretty much across the ideological spectrum and I learned a great deal both from the presentations and in conversation. None of the information that was shared at the conference was classified or anything like that, and I have my own doubts (and in some cases extreme disagreement) about some of what was said. Still, I figure that this may all be valuable to you, perhaps because it runs against some of what I have argued.

• Al-Qaeda Command & Control
• Al-Qaeda Training Facilities & Infrastructure
• Al-Qaeda in General
• Iraq and al-Qaeda
• Iran & al-Qaeda

HAARETZ: Shin Bet arrests Hezbollah agent in territories

The Shin Bet security service said Tuesday that it recently arrested a Hezbollah agent who was sent to establish a terror cell in the West Bank. The agent allegedly planned to bomb train tracks and kidnap soldiers to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners.
The man, Mohammed Abu Rhweid is a Syrian-born Palestinian who later lived in Jordan. He entered the territories in 1998 and worked in the Galilee up until the beginning of the second Palestinian initifada in 2000.

According to the probe, Abu Rhweid underwent training by Palestinian militant group Abu Musa - a Fatah splinter group - in 2002. A year later he volunteered for the Iraqi army.

In Iraq, Abu Rhweid was trained by the Iraqi military and fought against American forces. He was stationed in a battalion that defended a Baghdad neighborhood and suffered a light head injury. After the war he returned to Jordan, where he was contacted by Hezbollah agents.

JERUSALEM POST: Anti-Katyusha laser to be tested

A new radar system for a Katyusha-killing laser cannon has been brought to Israel to be tested against Kassam rockets and mortar shells fired by the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The joint US-Israeli mobile laser gun, called the Nautilus, is still being developed and tested in the United States, but the radar arrived in the country a few days ago and will be deployed shortly near Sderot to track incoming rockets, military sources said.

They hope the radar will boost early warning of incoming rockets by a few precious seconds and help pinpoint their launch sites so the IDF can retaliate against the Kassam or mortar crews.

“This is just the radar and that is just one component of the Nautilus system. The main component is the laser gun, which fires a beam that destroys Katyushas, rockets, Kassams and mortar shells in the air,” said Prof. Yitzhak Ben-Israel, a former head of military research and development. He said the laser gun is still being tested and developed.

HAARETZ: Hamas vows revenge against Israel

In comments on Monday, the Islamic group’s leader in Gaza, Mahmud al-Zahar, also poured cold water on calls for a ceasefire with Israel.

“Aggression from Israel will be reacted by self-defence … whether within the occupied territories or outside the Green Line,” al-Zahar said.

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. In addition, we also have our in-depth Iraq Report today.

Today’s Winds of War briefing is brought to you by Bill Roggio of the fourth rail and evariste of Discarded Lies.

Top Topics

• A secretive government scientific advisory panel called “The Jason Group” is telling the government that the current security classification system, devised in the 1940s, has grown too unwieldy and inflexible, and is hampering America’s warfighting and intelligence needs. Both under-classification (by warfighters who fear not being able to share intelligence freely enough) and over-classification (by zealous bureaucrats) are a problem. It’s a document-centered relic of the industrial age and does not fit into an information-age military-a fascinating alternative system is proposed that is better suited to the way intelligence is consumed today, based on the risk of compromise of any individual transaction rather than on the control of access to physical documents.

• Russia has broken the US monopoly on long-range conventional cruise missiles launched from strategic bombers, the closest comparison to them being called America’s Tomahawk missile in the Russian press. Russia plans to use them to preemptively strike terrorist bases much more cheaply, a policy it has announced but not begun to implement yet.

• Osama bin Laden released his latest tape praising the attack in Jeddah, calls for the overthrow of the Saudi government and directs his followers to attack the oil infrastructure in the Middle East.

• Dan Darling profiles Said al-Adel, al Qaeda’s commander of military operations.

• Canada’s Senate (an appointed body) has issued a scathing report on Canada’s lax border and interior security and cited the grave threat to $1.4 billion dollars a day in trade with the US if a terrorist attacker on the US arrived via Canada.

Other Topics Today Include: Russia builds Iran’s nukes; More terror in the Middle East; Iran meddles; Hezbollah TV banned; Congo Capers; Death in Darfur; Pakistan cleaning house?; Taliban finished?; Thailand points fingers; arrests in Europe; Is recruitment a problem?; The secrets of Gitmo; Contracting Colombians; Gaddafi speaks.

Read the Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: Two Kassam rockets fired into Sderot

Two Kassam rockets were fired into the western Negev town of Sderot and a nearby town early Sunday morning.

Two people were being treated for light shrapnel wounds, and six were being treated for shock, Magen David Adom rescue workers said.

The wounded were taken to the Barzelai Hospital in Ashkelon for treatment.

(If Canadians in Windsor were doing this to Americans in Detroit, there’d be a lot of dead Canadians and not much left of Windsor.)

JERUSALEM POST: Steinitz calls for ‘Defensive Shield’ operation in Gaza

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said Sunday that Israel should embark on an “Operation Defensive Shield” in the Gaza Strip to stop the firing of Kassam rockets and mortar shells on Sderot and Gush Katif settlements. Steinitz was referring to the army operation in West Bank cities in April 2002 following the Park Hotel Massacre in Netanya and a rash of Palestinian suicide bombings.

“During ‘Operation Defensive Shield’ we succeeded in harming the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. And I have for a long time now have been calling for the same thing to be done in the Gaza Strip,” Steinitz said.

He added that interim Palestinian leader Abu Mazen is not able to wrest control of the Gaza Strip from the terrorist groups. “There is no such thing as a unilateral ceasefire. If there is shooting, then we don’t just defend, we attack. Or there is no shooting. We have to embark on an ‘Operation Defensive Shield number two’ in the Gaza Strip.”

Steinitz made the remarks while on a tour of the northern border with other Committee members.

JERUSALEM POST: US declares Al-Manar terrorist group

The United States State Department designated Al-Manar, the TV station of Lebanon’s militant Hizbullah group which was ordered off French airwaves on Monday, as a terrorist organization, according to a notice published Friday in the US Federal Register.

“Acting under the authority of … the Immigration and Nationality Act … and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State has concluded that al-Manar is a ‘terrorist organization’ within the meaning of that section of the INA,” the notice said.

“We consider (al-Manar) to be disgusting programing that preaches hatred and violence and … ideas that are antithetical to the values which we believe in,” Reuters quoted department spokesman Adam Ereli, who spoke at a briefing on Dec. 9.

Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat announced Tuesday that it stopped broadcasting Al-Manar at 4:00 p.m. (Israel time) Tuesday afternoon, in compliance with the order Monday by France’s highest administrative body that the TV station be taken off French airwaves within 48 hours for broadcasting hateful content in some shows and posing risks to public order.

If Eutelsat did not stop broadcasting Al-Manar within two days, they would be fined 5,000 per day.

JERUSALEM POST: Rockets fired into Sderot

Two Kassam rockets fired from Beit Hanun fell in the Sderot area Friday morning.

They landed in an open area and no one was injured, though shrapnel from one damaged a vehicle, Army Radio reported.

Security forces are currently combing the area, searching for the remains of the second rocket.

HAARETZ: 5 Palestinians die in Gaza tunnel collapse

Israeli and Palestinian rescue forces were cooperating Friday in their search for three Palestinians declared missing after a weapons-smuggling tunnel collapsed along the Gaza-Egypt border overnight, killing at least five Palestinians who were trapped inside.

The IDF allowed Palestinian ambulances and rescue workers to get to the scene of the tunnel collapse, which is usually off-limits to Palestinians. Rescue forces extricated the bodies of the dead Palestinians from the tunnel, the radio said.

The tunnel, which is located between an IDF base and the south Gaza area of Rafah, collapsed late Thursday, but neighborhood residents only discovered the gaping hole that remained of the tunnel on Friday.

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). Past briefings and posts on related topics can be found here. Entil’zha veni!

HIGHLIGHTED TOPICS

• Religious Hate: Texas Shi’as honor Khomeini; Sectarian hatred from Hamas; MSA – pro terror organization? Radical Islamists proselytizing in Prison; Coptic Christians forcibly converted in Egypt; Portrait of an Iranian martyr and her father; Web site warns kids against loving infidels.

• Idiotarian Seethings: Mark LeVine blames the West; Erasing Christ from Christmas in Italian schools; Islamic Rights chairman: Van Gogh should have been arrested; Michael Moore: Republicans are like domestic abusers; Antiwar, Anti-American & Right-Wing.

• Race and Culture: Iranian TV promotes Jewish conspiracy theories; Hizballah TV banned in France; Swastika flower beds in Melborn; WWII Legacies slipping from memory in Europe; We don’t hate Jews… as such; Weisenthal center promoting Islamophobia?

• A Hopeful Note: $156M judgment against charities funding Hamas; World Net Daily gets results shutting down Hamas web sites; Times of London on the reaction against Eurabia; Dearth of bad news at MEMRI.

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Israel and its neighbours, courtesy of Inkgrrl.

TOP TOPIC

• Opportunities for peace are always present despite ongoing conflict in the region. Since Colt’s wonderfully done Winds of War has scooped many of the key news events in and around Israel of late, this Roundup will focus more on possibility, conjecture, and acts of hope than on cold, hard body counts.

Topics Today Include: Good News In Spite Of It All, One Religious Challenge To Another, Music Soothes Not Only The Savage Breast, The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend, Israeli-Egyptian Relations Warming Up, and Conspiracy Theory Much?

Read the Rest…

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

• A yet-to-be-authenticated message from Osama Bin Laden calls upon followers to attack oil targets in the Gulf and Iraq.

• Musharraf says he will not tolerate Jaish, Sipah or Lashkar or organisations like them.

• Will al-Qaeda focus more on Arab governments and Israel? According to these guys, yes

• The hijackers of an Athens bus were bluffing when they threatened to blow it up unless their demands were met.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran plots to attack NH reactor; Iran report; Hezbollah in P.A.; Israel-Syria talks?; Hamas vs PIJ; U.S. looks at Syria insurgency; Israeli airport security; the carnival of the liberated; Al-Manar = terrorists; A-Q responsible for anthrax?; LAX guards against SAMs; FSB report on A-Q; Belgian link to Van Gogh murder; 3/11 arrests; 10 years for Strasbourg plotters; LeJ prisoners in Karachi; Jaish & Sipah ‘neutralised’; LeT hang villager; spawn of Bashir denies terror role; New Year’s Eve plot thwarted?; and much much more.

Read the Rest…

JERUSALEM POST: Hamas urges Israel’s Beduins not to serve in IDF

In the first appeal of its kind, Hamas on Thursday called on Israeli Beduins to prevent their sons from serving in the IDF.

The call followed last Sunday’s attack on an IDF outpost near Rafah, in which five Beduin soldiers were killed and six others injured.

“We were very shocked to learn that a number of Beduin soldiers are serving in the Zionist occupation army, especially at the border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt,” Hamas said in a message to the heads of the Beduin community.

“Similarly, we were shocked that these soldiers are carrying out the orders of their commanders to kill innocent children and women and destroy houses.”

In its message, Hamas condemned as “disgraceful” the fact that young Beduin men have enrolled in the IDF, “this defaming the reputation of all Beduins.”

Addressing the chiefs of Beduin clans, Hamas added: “We don’t hold you responsible for al the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist occupation army, but we do say to you that you can prevent your sons from enlisting in this murderous army, which knows nothing but the language of death and destruction. It’s not an honor for you to join an army that is renowned for its racism and crimes.”

In another development, a senior Hamas official said he did not rule out the possibility that his movement would start targeting Israelis abroad.

The voice sounded like the Al Qaeda terror chief’s, and the tape was posted on a site known as a clearinghouse for militant Islamic comment.

The speaker said that while Saudi leaders blame “holy warriors” for trouble in the kingdom, “the truth is that the whole responsibility falls on the shoulders of the regime.”

The speaker, in calm and even tones, accused Saudi rulers of “violating God’s rules,” a common theme of statements from bin Laden, who accuses Saudi rulers of being insufficiently Islamic and too close to the “infidel” United States.

Read more….

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

• Russia may now be in the midst of a new kind of cold war, as her heavy-handed influence is challenged by presidential elections being won by opposition candidates in Abkhazia, Belarus, and the Ukraine. The fact that Putin and fellow derzhavniki are incapable of pressing their colelctive agenda with any tact makes the pressure exerted on these other nations quite obvious. There are examples, which indicate Russia is prepetuating regional conflicts, while maintaining a death grip on an attempt to hold some semblance of post-Soviet empire together.

• Russia is part of the “peacekeeping” apparatus in Georgian breakaway South Ossetia. In fact, Russian officials have denied any obligations to remove troops from Georgia or Moldava, as noted in the OSCE’s year end conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. In Kazakhstan, opposition leaders express concern over possible Russian meddling in their upcoming Presidential elections - as they realize the power which comes from being quite oil rich. Even in Armenia, it appears Russian influence is not flagged - with political jokes along the lines of the Armenian President needing to watch Russian state television to find out which Ukrainian presidential candidate to congratulate.

• Vladimir Vladimiri’tch Putin will finish his second, and final, presidential term in 2008. In a government, where 60% of high offices are held by former “Kah Geh Beastniks” (securities services personnel), will Putin maneuver a mandate to extend his term? Will there be a peaceful, democratic transfer of power? Will a “special powers” act be invoked due to some national emergency? Has he learned what to do or what not to do in Ukraine and Belarus?

Other Topics Today Include: Economic boom or bane?; steps needed to reduce inflation; middle class emerging; incorporating autonomous states; direct election of governors eliminated; norilsk nickle cashing in; St. Pete gets a China Town; Chechen War 10 years later; Sino-Russia military exercises; Russia proliferates nuke missiles; Ex-FSB agent gets 10 years; A short history of Russia

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

HAARETZ: Leading Hamas preacher warns of clash with Islamic Jihad

A growing rift between Hamas and Islamic Jihad has led to a break in cooperation between the two groups, and is threatening to lead to an all-out clash between them, according to a leading Hamas preacher who recently slammed Jihad for trying to outmuscle Hamas.

“There was a time when there were more Islamic Jihadists than us, but now we are more than them, but nonetheless they have managed to take over the media and to get ahead of us, and are now intensively competing with us,” said Fathi Hamad, a member of the Sura Council, the supreme Hamas religious body in Gaza responsible for the the organization’s communications system in Gaza.

“An Islamic Jihad takeover would means the Shi’ites take over, and if that happens you will all be turned into heretics …. We must fight and clash with all those who are not Sunni and guarantee our faith remains pure.”

JERUSALEM POST: Head of military wing of People’s Front arrested

Security forces arrested Salah Ali, head of the military wing of the People’s Front Tuesday night in Gaza.

Large numbers of army and police surrounded the house in which Ali was hiding Army Radio reported. When he attempted to escape, they opened fire, wounded him lightly.

Ali was brought to Hadassah-University Hospital, Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.

Ali is suspected of involvement in several shooting incidents and the placing of explosives in the Ramallah area.

JERUSALEM POST: Hamas cancels annual Gaza rally for fear of Israeli reprisal

Fearing an Israeli reprisal attack, Hamas has decided to cancel a major rally marking the 17th anniversary of its founding.

The rally was supposed to be held in one of Gaza City’s stadiums on Friday, but Hamas decided to postpone it indefinitely out of fear that Israel would target the Islamic movement’s leaders in retaliation for Sunday’s attack on an IDF outpost near Rafah, in which five soldiers were killed and six others wounded.

“For security reasons, and because of Israeli threats to target Palestinians, Hamas has decided to call off the annual rally,” said Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri. “We are aware that the decision will come as bad news to Hamas supporters, who have been looking forward to seeing the Hamas leaders for the first time in more than one year.”

Hamas, in a statement on the anniversary of its establishment, reiterated its opposition to a cease-fire with Israel and said the “resistance remains our strategic option.”

[Carl psychically probes the captured alien]
Carl: It’s afraid. It’s afraid!
[Everyone cheers]
- Starship Troopers, 1997

MAARIV: Major suicide bombing terror attack averted

Security forces recently foiled a planned suicide bombing, planned by the joint Hamas-Tanzim terrorist infrastructure in Nablus.

According to senior defense sources, the IDF and ISA, acting on recently received intelligence information, uncovered at the Hawara checkpoint, at the entrance of Nablus, an large shipment of explosives hidden inside a cupboard, which was transported in a furniture truck on its way from Nablus to Jerusalem. The discovery was made two days ago.

The cupboard was hidden under a false bottom in the truck, which indicates a strict planning and a cynical use of innocent drivers transporting goods along the West Bank.

An investigation provided evidence that the explosives were intended for use in a major suicide bombing in Israel.

Hashem Shweike, a resident of Nablus who lives and works in A-ram, was waiting to receive the explosive device, and following that, to meet the suicide bomber.

Hashem Shweike was arrested on December 12 at the A-Ram checkpoint. His investigation shows that a wanted Tanzim operative from Nablus, Jamil Fukaha, was the director of the suicide bombing attack. Fukaha was, until recently, the assistant of Majdi Merai, a wanted terrorist who was killed in an encounter with IDF soldiers in November 2004.

JERUSALEM POST: Straw condemns Hamas election boycott

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw criticized the Palestinian militant group Hamas Tuesday for its plans to boycott elections to choose Yasser Arafat’s successor.

Straw said Hamas could “disrupt the electoral process and damage democratic Palestinian causes” by not participating in the Jan. 9 Palestinian Authority presidential election.

“It is utterly cynical of Hamas to boycott these elections,” Straw said. “It would not even serve their real purpose, which is trying to improve the lot of poor Palestinians, were they to succeed in this disruption.”

HAARETZ: Three foreign workers hurt by mortar fire in Gaza Strip

Three foreign workers from Thailand were wounded Tuesday, one critically, when a pair of mortar shells struck the hothouse of a settlement of the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.

The two others sustained light injuries. All three were initially treated at the scene before being evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva.

No one else was injured in the attack.

From Reuters via The Australian :

Afghan security forces have captured Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar’s personal security chief as he travelled in a van to the southern city of Kandahar, provincial officials said today.

The capture of Toor Mullah Naqibullah Khan, who headed Mullah Omar’s household security during his time in power, could help US and Afghan forces track down his boss, one of the most wanted fugitives in the US-led war on terror.

Osama bin Laden, who ran his al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, is also believed to be at large in the area.

“We have arrested top Taliban figures Toor Mullah Naqibullah Khan and Mullah Qayoom Angar on the way between Arghandab and Kandahar,” a senior Kandahar security official who requested anonymity said.

“They were carrying a satellite telephone and some important documents.

“We are hopeful we will arrest more Taliban figures and we hope that we can arrest their leader, Mullah Omar.”
[…]
With the latest capture, security forces have picked up 19 militants since Saturday night, including the brother of a former Taliban governor of Kandahar.
[…]
They were picked up following a tip-off from a Taliban insider, a security official said.

HAARETZ: Hamas leader says Hamas still meets with EU, U.S.

The leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said his organization is still in contact with the European Union even though the EU considers it a terrorist organization, the BBC reported Monday.

He also said the United States had made contact “in past months” but did not specify how or when.

“The European Union, which put Hamas on a list of terrorist organizations, is still continuing communications and meetings,” Khaled Mashaal, Hamas’ top political leader, told the British Broadcasting Corp.

“They recognize Hamas’s authority and that there is no understanding or stability in Palestine without a dialogue with Hamas.”

JERUSALEM POST: Sharon: No change yet in PA attitude to terror

The new Palestinian leadership is not doing enough to restrain terrorists, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday, after attackers blew up an IDF outpost in Gaza and killed five soldiers.

The comments marked the first time since Yasser Arafat’s death last month that Sharon criticized Arafat’s moderate successor, Mahmoud Abbas, though he did not mention Abbas by name. It was not clear whether the outpost attack would disrupt the fledgling good will between Israel and the Palestinians.

Hamas and gunmen with ties to the ruling Fatah movement claimed responsibility for the attack they dubbed “Operation Angry Volcano.” Hamas said it had dug an 800-meter-long tunnel over four months to reach the outpost.

Sharon said Monday that progress in peace efforts “depends on the Palestinians, if they will act against terror.

“By now, we don’t see any change,” Sharon said, speaking in English. “Myself and my government would like to move forward toward peace, but it depends on one thing, that it should be quiet and I’m really sorry to say that by now we don’t see any changes.”

HAARETZ: Syria accuses Israel of attempted assassination of Hamas man

Syria on Monday accused Israel of being behind a car bomb that targeted a Palestinian member of Hamas in the Mazzah neighborhood of the Syrian capital.

A passer-by was wounded in the explosion, but the Hamas member and his wife, who left the car minutes before the blast, were unhurt.

Speaking to Syrian state-run television, Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan said a bomb placed under the seat of the vehicle exploded minutes after the Palestinian man and his wife stepped out for a dentist’s appointment.

An Interior Ministry official said that the explosion was aimed at Palestinians living in Syria.

“The vehicle is owned by a Palestinian. This points to a subversive action against Palestinian brothers in Syria,” the unnamed official told the state-run news agency SANA.

“This is the second incident in which an explosion targets a Hamas member,” a Palestinian source said. He said the bomb, placed under the driver’s seat, blew up shortly after the unnamed Hamas member and his daughter had parked the car and left it.

AFP: France’s highest civil court orders end to Hezbollah TV broadcasts

France’s Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, ordered the satellite company Eutelsat to stop broadcasts of Al-Manar television, the mouthpiece of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.

The bans on the broadcasts within the European Union had to be implemented with 48 hours, the court said after ruling that the channel had violated laws against inciting racial hatred.

Al-Manar is broadcast in Europe via Paris-based Eutelsat as part of a package of nine channels put out by Saudi-based Arabsat.

Note: Also available from the “Opinion Journal” and Chrenkoff. As always, big thank you James Taranto and Joe Katzman for their support in publicizing the good news - and to all of you who read it, link it, and pass it on.

A few days ago, hundreds of Afghan leaders and some 150 foreign dignitaries, including the Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, got to witness a historic event; the swearing in of Afghanistan’s first democratically elected president, Hamid Karzai:

Wearing a black lambskin hat and traditional striped silk coat over his shoulders, Mr. Karzai took his oath before the aging former king, Zaher Shah. The president himself then swore in his two vice presidents, Ahmed Zia Massoud and Mohammed Karim Khalili, who represent the two largest ethnic minorities, the Tajiks and the Shia Hazaras, after Karzai’s own ethnic group, the Pashtuns.

“We have now left a hard and dark past behind us, and today we are opening a new chapter in our history, in a spirit of friendship with the international community,” said Karzai in his inauguration speech, switching between Pashto and Dari, Afghanistan’s two main languages.

The irony of the situation, if irony is indeed the correct word, is that the country that only three years ago was still ruled by the most dictatorial and backward of regimes can now claim to have one of the few democratically elected leaders in the whole region. Electing a president, of course, is only a start; great many challenges remain for this impoverished and war-scarred country. How much still remains to be done to improve security, eradicate the scourge of drugs, and rebuild the physical and human infrastructure should not blind us to how much has already been achieved in the three years since the overthrow of the Taliban regime - indeed, how much continues to be achieved every day throughout Afghanistan, for most part out of the media spotlight. Below is a snapshot of the past month’s unsung efforts to face and meet the