Jordan Busts Cell Plotting Terror Attacks

ARAB NEWS: Jordan Busts Cell Plotting Terror Attacks

Jordanian authorities have arrested an unspecified number of suspected terrorists plotting attacks in the kingdom, an official spokesman announced yesterday.

“Security men apprehended a number of people last night and this morning for suspected affiliations with terrorist groups and they are being interrogated,” the official news agency, Petra, quoted an authoritative security official as saying.

“The detainees, who have been planning subversive acts inside the kingdom, were found in possession of explosives,” he added.

He would not give the number of people arrested, nor name the organization with which they are suspected of having ties, saying only that “the investigation has only begun.”

Explosive Material Found in UK Anti-Terror Raids

REUTERS: Explosive Material Found in UK Anti-Terror Raids

Police seized a large amount of explosive material and arrested eight men across London and southeast England Tuesday in Britain’s largest anti-terror operation for years.

Peter Clarke, head of Britain’s anti-terror branch, told a news conference more than half a ton of ammonium nitrate fertilizer was discovered in a 6-foot-high plastic bag in west London.

“Part of the investigation will focus on the purchase, storage and intended use of that material,” Clarke said.

An anti-terror source said the fertilizer was similar to explosive materials used in the 2002 Bali bombings, although there was no evidence that a bombing was planned or any possible target.

However the source said there was enough material to launch an attack on the same scale as the huge 1996 bombing near Canary Wharf in London’s financial district. Clarke stressed the operation was not linked to investigations into the coordinated train bombings in Madrid on March 11, which killed nearly 200 people or to Irish republican terrorism.

FYI:

He added all the suspects were believed to be Muslim and of Pakistani origin.

Two Minutes to Midnight

AP:

Russia has developed a “revolutionary” weapon:

If deployed, the new weapon would take the value of any U.S. missile shield to “zero,” the news agencies quoted the [a Defence Ministry] officialofficial as saying.

Another Russian development:

A “hypersonic flying vehicle” that [is] able to manoeuvre between space and the earth’s atmosphere.

Miscellaneous Iran Links

Some recent news stories regarding Iran.

1. Not surprisingly, Iranian filmmakers are facing censorship:

A few weeks ago, enigmatic posters of a green reptile sprang up all over Tehran, urging Iranians to cancel their traditional spring holidays and “Wait for the Lizard”.

But Iranians are still waiting. “The Lizard”, an award-winning movie comedy, has fallen foul of censors for poking fun at the conservative clerics who run the Islamic Republic.

The film follows the fortunes of Reza Marmoulak (Reza the lizard), a thief who disguises himself in clerical robes and turban to escape from prison. Ironically, the escaped convict proves a big hit as a preacher and brings worshippers flocking back to mosques.

“The Lizard” had audiences laughing at the privileges of the turbaned class as it won the best film award at Tehran’s Fajr International Film Festival in February.

“I laughed so hard I could have split my sides,” said Marziyeh, 20. “I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

But apart from being funny, the film carries an underlying message that God is accessible to all. Conservative movie critics deemed the film insulting.

It had been expected to hit public cinemas on March 18, but the reels are still with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

A spokesman, who declined to be named, denied on Thursday that it had been banned, saying: “The screening has only been postponed.”

2. More concern about Iran’s nuclear program:

A committee of senior Iranian officials is overseeing efforts to conceal important elements of Tehran’s nuclear program from international inspectors, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, citing Western diplomats and an intelligence report.

The newspaper said if the allegation was confirmed, it would bolster Washington’s charge Iran was seeking to hide an atomic weapons program.

The United States says Tehran is using its nuclear power program as a front to develop an atom bomb. Iran denies that and insists its program is solely for the peaceful generation of electricity.

The diplomats told the paper Iran set up the committee late last year to coordinate the concealment efforts after inspectors found evidence it had tried to hide elements of its nuclear program, including research on advanced centrifuges that could produce weapons-grade uranium.

The newspaper quoted a diplomat, speaking anonymously, as saying the committee’s work included trying to hide nuclear evidence at almost 300 locations. The committee is said to include senior officials of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization who report to high-level government officials.

3. Finally, a story about one of the leading intellectuals behind the democratization movement in Iran:

IF IRAN’S DEMOCRATIC REFORM movement has a house intellectual, it’s Abdolkarim Soroush. A small, soft-spoken philosopher with fiercely expressive eyebrows, Soroush specializes in mysticism, Sufi poetry, Islamic theology, chemistry, pharmacology, and the philosophy of science. Although he once worked for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s revolutionary government, he now advances a powerful argument for democracy and human rights — and he does so drawing not only on John Stuart Mill and John Rawls, but also on the deepest intellectual traditions of Shi’ite Islam. Religion must remain aloof from governance, he is fond of saying, not because religion is false and would corrupt politics, but because religion is true and politics corrupts it.

Soroush’s work is heady, abstract stuff. And yet, its hold on throngs of young Iranians — hundreds of students show up to the typical Soroush lecture — is so strong that Iran’s ruling mullahs consider him a threat, and pro-clerical militias regularly harass and beat him when he speaks in his native land. That’s why these days, he makes his home at Princeton University, where he teaches a seminar of fewer than 10 graduate students and passes all but unnoticed through the halls of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy.

That is where I met Soroush on Feb. 23, the day the dismal results of the latest Iranian parliamentary election began trickling out. The Guardian Council, a body of clerics with far-reaching powers, had disqualified some 2,000 candidates, mostly reformists, from so much as running for parliament. Unsurprisingly, though the level of voter turnout and hence the strength of the new parliament’s mandate is disputed, the election results were clear: Pro-clerical conservatives packed 156 of the parliament’s 290 seats, with 50 still left to be decided.

But the success of the reform movement, says Soroush, will be measured not in parliamentary seats but in attitudinal shifts, as Iran’s educated youth embrace such notions as “freedom, justice, political participation, and the rights of man.”

“The reform movement actually had two dimensions, if you like, two sides,” he explains as we sit in his bare visiting professor’s office. “One side was the political. Some of the reformists were part of the establishment, of the government. Now they’ve lost their power. But on the other hand, the most important part of the reform movement was intellectual, theoretical, educational.”

That intellectual reform movement finds expression in Soroush’s own work, which attempts to reconcile revelation and reason, religious duties and human rights. Whether or not such a reconciliation is possible is the subject of much debate and experimentation in the Muslim world today. But perhaps no one has attempted to develop so ambitious and unique a philosophical framework for that project as Abdolkarim Soroush.

Read them all.

Olympic-sized Security Effort?

REUTERS/HA’ARETZ: Olympic organizers advised to hone WMD response

Greece needs to do more to prepare for any biological or chemical attack on the Athens Olympics and the mass casualties it could inflict, Israel’s security advisor to the Games said on Monday.

Though he voiced no qualms about Israel attending the Olympics, opening on August 13 under record security, Major -General David Tsur urged Greece to hone the responses of emergency teams to save lives should al Qaeda strike.

“The one main gap the Greeks have yet to bridge is in preparing for the sort of coordination demanded by major terrorist attacks, especially when there are biological or chemical agents involved,” Tsur, one of seven international security experts advising Athens, told Reuters in an interview.

“In Israel, emergency forces close in on the site of suicide bombing within minutes, and clear it within hours. This is a function of hard experience,” he said, referring to attacks in a more than three-year-old Palestinian uprising.

PA dismayed by summit delay

JERUSALEM POST: PA dismayed by summit delay

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday expressed its concern at the decision to postpone the Arab summit meeting in Tunisia, saying the move would have a negative impact on the Palestinian issue.

PA officials warned that Israel might exploit the decision to destroy the PA and create new facts on the ground.

The PA cabinet, which held its weekly meeting in Ramallah, said it was “deeply sorrowed” by the failure of Arab foreign ministers to reach an agreement on convening the summit in the Tunisian capital this week.

“This will have a direct impact on Arab solidarity,” said a statement issued by the PA cabinet following the meeting. “The decision to call off the summit will also weaken joint Arab action in the face of current challenges and global political changes.”

(If this bluster were true, then blowing away Yassin to collapse the Arab League Summit and gain a week or two of PA collapse was actually a very good move.)

Palestinian delegation to Arab League to include Jihad and Hamas

MAARIV: Palestinian delegation to Arab League to include Jihad and Hamas

The Palestinian government decided on Monday to approve the request of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat to include representatives from all Palestinian factions in its delegation to the Arab League convention. The gathering was supposed to take place this week but was postponed due to disagreements between several Arab states regarding the convention’s content. The PA originally planned to send a delegation consisting of Fatah representatives only.

Prints of Two Madrid Suspects Found

AP

Spanish police searching a rural house thought to have been used to prepare the Madrid commuter train bombs found fingerprints from two prime suspects detained for the March 11 attacks, according to news reports Saturday.

More….

Afghanistan to Delay Landmark Elections

AP: Afghanistan to Delay Landmark Elections

Afghanistan’s landmark national elections will be delayed until September to give the United Nations more time to register voters and organize the balloting, President Hamid Karzai said Sunday.

Officials had warned repeatedly that the country’s first post-Taliban elections, originally scheduled for June, would be delayed because of logistical problems and security fears.

“We are ready to manage both elections, for the parliament and presidency, in September,” Karzai told reporters at his palace in the Afghan capital.

Saakashvili, Abashidze Back on Collision Course in Georgia

The crisis between Georgia and its semi-autonomous region of Ajaria that reached a negotiated settlement last week looks to be heating up again ahead of this weekend’s parliamentary vote:

With Georgia’s parliamentary vote only days away, President Mikhail Saakashvili and his nemesis, Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze, appear to be back on a collision course. Renewed confrontation in Ajaria is decreasing the odds that the parliamentary vote will succeed in promoting stability in Georgia.

A political deal announced March 18, designed to clarify the relationship between Saakashvili’s central government and Abashidze’s regional authority, seems to be rapidly unravelling. On March 25, Abashidze announced on local television that he would not disarm local militia groups, as specified under the deal reached with Saakashvili. “The militia in the autonomous republic will be disarmed when democracy is built in Georgia,” the Interfax news agency quoted Abashidze as saying. In addition, the Ajarian leader continues to balk at approving presidential representatives to oversee customs operations in Ajaria – another of the political pact’s provisions.

FBI Warns Texas Oil Refineries of Possible Attack

AP: FBI Warns Texas Oil Refineries of Possible Attack

The FBI warned the Texas oil industry that it may be a target of possible terror attacks, but the agency has no specific, corroborated details about any potential threats, FBI officials said on Thursday.

One official said the advisory, based on intelligence the FBI has received, went to the industry and law enforcement officials in Texas “out of an abundance of caution.” The official said the FBI in the past year processed 7,000 threats, and added, “These communications go out on a daily basis.”

“The alert mentioned threats to pipelines and facilities in Texas to coincide with the election in November,” said a petroleum industry source in Texas who has seen the notification.

(Let’s say it happens… who performs at the benefit concert? Beyonce? Willie Nelson? ZZ Top?)

Randinho's Latin America Briefing: March 24/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Latin America, courtesy of Randy Paul.

TOP TOPIC

• Haiti remains in the news as the aftermath of Aristide’s departure leaves some unanswered questions and a rift between the US and Caricom.

Other Topics Include: Hugo Chávez continues to rail against his foes (real and imagined) and presume he has friends where he, in fact, doesn’t; Interesting news from several Central American countries; Brazil’s financial worries after its worst economic performance in 11 years; Cuba reaches a disgraceful anniversary; An exciting and comprehensive introductory series of books on Latin America.

Read the Rest…

Paris bomb

Breaking news: Explosive device found buried under train tracks east of Paris.

More information as it becomes available.

BLOOMBERG: Bomb Found on French Rail Line Linking Paris, Basel, AFP Says

An unexploded bomb with several detonators was found today in France on the rail line linking Paris and the Swiss city of Basel, Agence France-Presse cited police in the French capital as saying.

The device was similar to one found previously that police linked to AZF, a group whose threats to bomb the French railways prompted a nationwide search of the network earlier this month, AFP cited police as saying. AZF had demanded for $4 million and 1 million euros ($1.22 million), AFP reported at the time.

Abul Abbas buried in Syria

JERUSALEM POST: Abul Abbas buried in Syria

More than 3,000 mourners gathered in Yarmouk refugee camp Tuesday for the burial of Palestinian militant Abul Abbas, mastermind of the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro passenger ship.

Shops closed and women wept openly as a hearse bearing Abbas’ body, draped in a Palestinian flag, made its way slowly through the narrow streets of the camp, on the outskirts of Damascus, to the Martyrs’ Cemetery.

Abbas, 56, whose given name was Mohammed Abbas, died March 10 in U.S. custody in Iraq, where he was captured last April. U.S. officials said he died of natural causes but his faction, the Palestine Liberation Front, accused the United States of assassinating him.

Israel refused to allow his burial in the West Bank, and his body was flown to Syria earlier Tuesday by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Abbas was born in the Yarmouk camp in 1948.

Hamas to pick Yasin's successor after mourning period ends

MAARIV: Hamas to pick Yasin’s successor after mourning period ends

A leading Hamas figure says that Ahmed Yasin’s successor will be picked after the traditional mourning period ends. He added that Yasin’s replacement will be chosen democratically. He refused to provide names of possible candidates and said: “Any talk about a successor could affect the neutrality of elections within the movement”.

(Do you think the Carter Center can get their monitors and observers deployed in such short notice?)

Hezbollah opens fire in north, as "Yasin Brigades"

MAARIV: Hezbollah opens fire in north, as “Yasin Brigades”

Israeli military sources reported this (Monday) afternoon that the Lebanese Shi’ite terror group Hexbollah begun shelling IDF outposts on the northern frontier. The fire was concentrated on the Shaba Farms, which Hezbollah claims as Lebanese territory despite UN rulings to the contrary — and it announced the operation was being conducted by “the Ahmad Yasin Brigades.” The timing soon after Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Yasin was not the only indication given today of growing Hezbollah involvement in the territories.

“Hezbollah pays Palestinian boys NIS 50 for every Molotov cocktail they throw at IDF troops”, The IDF’s Judea and Samaria commander, Brig. Gen. Gadi Eisencott revealed at a conference in Tel-Aviv. According to Eisencott, the Lebanese terror group funds over 60 terror cells and has become a financial powerhouse of Palestinian terrorism.

Eisencott’s words come a week after a 12 year-old Palestinian boy, Abdullah Koran, was caught at an IDF roadblock on the West Bank with an explosive charge hidden in his schoolbag. Following an inquiry, it was revealed that Tanzim-Fatah operatives gave Abdullah NIS 5 for taking a bag they gave him through the roadblock, without telling him explosives were stashed in it.

Afghan Aviation Minister Killed

Afghan spokesman Khaleeq Ahmend reports that aviation minister Mirwais Sadiq was assassinated Sunday in Herat. The gunmen have not been identified.

Ahmend also said that Sadiq’s father was targeted separately, but was unhurt.

There are conflicting reports, though;

Zahir Nayebzada, the government commander in Herat, accused forces of the provincial governor Ismail Khan of provoking the fighting by trying to take command of his division.

Nayebzada said Sadiq was not ambushed, but killed during fighting.

Al-Aqsa Brigades apologizes for killing Israeli Arab in Jerusalem

HA‘ARETZ: Al-Aqsa Brigades apologizes for killing Israeli Arab in Jerusalem

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades on Saturday apologized for killing a young Israeli Arab student in a shooting attack in Jerusalem on Friday evening, saying that he had been mistaken for a “settler.”

George Elias Khouri, a 20-year-old student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was killed in a drive-by shooting as he was jogging in the French Hill area of Jerusalem.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, linked to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, later claimed responsibility for the shooting.

“We will consider him as a martyr like hundreds of Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces,” the leader of the militant group said Saturday, adding that they would send a letter of apology to Khouri’s family.

(Since he was a student of Hebrew University and not Al-Quds, shouldn’t Al-Aqsa brand him a “collaborator” like they do with Palestinian Arabs who cooperate with Israelis?)

Terrorists recruiting more children

JERUSALEM POST: Terrorists recruiting more children

Since the outbreak of “Al Aksa intifada” three and a half years ago there has been a growing trend in the use of Palestinian children aged 11 to 17 who are recruited by terrorist organizations to perpetrate attacks in Israel.

In addition, terrorist organizations often use children’s toys and backpacks to hide bombs they plan to smuggle to activists elsewhere to be used in attacks.

The most recent incident was the attempt by Fatah Tanzim terrorists in Nablus this week to smuggle a 10-kg. bomb hidden in a bag which they asked 11-year-old Abdullah Quran to carry through the Hawara checkpoint and hand to a woman waiting on the other side. When Quran was stopped by soldiers who asked to inspect the bags he was carrying and the contents of one revealed a bomb, his dispatchers attempted to activate it and blow him up near the soldiers.

Twenty-nine suicide bombers under the age of 18 have been dispatched by terrorist organizations to perpetrate attacks since the outbreak of violence three and a half years ago.

(Midnight Basketball, anyone?)

Will Belgrade Partition Kosovo?

That’s one of the options being considered according to this ABC (Australia) Online article.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica fielded the idea of dividing the United Nations-run province along ethnic lines early this month but the idea was slapped down by the chief UN administrator in Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, as well as by Albanian political leaders.

NATO Sees Specter of Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo

ABC News reports that NATO troops are conducting raids, and that some residents are claiming “ethnic cleansing” of Serbs by native Albanians in Kosovo.

So far 31 people, both Serbs and Albanians, have been killed in Kosovo’s worst outbreak of violence since 1999, dealing a blow to hopes the U.N. and NATO can foster lasting reconciliation between the Orthodox Serbs and Muslim Albanians.

Kosovo Roundup: Local News

If you haven’t noticed, it seems things in Kosovo are going to hell. We’ll cover it here, of course, but here’s a page from TANJUG, the Yugoslavia news service, which has local events in near real-time. Not much detail, but it has the breaking events. Visit it here, and here’s a sample:

KOSOVO-OBILIC-SERBS
IDPs from Obilic, Pristina evacuated to KFOR camp near Kosovo Polje
19:48 BELGRADE , March 19 (Tanjug) - More than 150 Serbs, including children and pregnant women, have been evacuated from Obilic and neighbouring settlements and Pristina to the KFOR camp near Kosovo Polje, the coordination centre for Kosovo-Metohija said in a statement on Friday.
Each of the IDPs has been given just one blanket, they receive food regularly, but say that the portions are small, the statement said.
(end)

SERBIA-MONTENEGRO-GERMANY-MAROVIC-SCHROEDER
Serbia-Montenegro president, German chancellor discuss situation in Kosovo-Metohija
19:39 BELGRADE , March 19 (Tanjug) - Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic and German Chancellor Goerhard Schroeder agreed over the phone on Friday that additional efforts should be invested in order urgently to stop violence in Kosovo-Metohija, especially after the UN Security Council session, in order to secure efficiency in the work of UNMIK and KFOR in keeping with international obligations and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
“The lives of all those exposed to violence are in the hands of KFOR and UNMIK and they are expected, in keeping with the demands of the entire civilised, democratic and modern mankind, to take all measures and show the necessary energy in stopping violence and restoring peace and security, which is a precondition for the necessary dialogue, which primarily has to resolve the issue of security for the entire non-Albanian population of Kosovo,” Marovic said.
(end)

Taiwan's Chen released from hospital: Sympathy votes to pour?

TAIPEI - President Chen Shui-bian was wounded, but not critically, in an assassination attempt on the eve of the presidential election and controversial referendum Saturday on targeted Chinese missiles that has divided this island, provoked Beijing and prompted warnings from Washington. Taiwan was in shock; Chen might benefit from a sympathy vote.

Chen was released from the hospital, all campaigning was suspended, the polling will go ahead as planned on Saturday, and Chen - who leans toward independence and stresses a separate Taiwanese identity - might receive a sympathy vote. The election has been too close to call and a two-week blackout on polling results has made it impossible to predict the winner.

Political violence is virtually unknown on this island of 23 million people, including 16 million eligible voters, and shock and grief were widespread. The assassination attempt was considered likely to boost Chen's chances of reelection. Core supporters were expected to be more motivated to vote while floating voters were expected to see a vote for Chen as a vote against political violence.

On background - North Korea

National Review Online is featuring an excellent series of articles this week that provide quite a lot of background material on the subject of the hell on Earth known as North Korea. Well worth perusing if you wish to brush up on the situation surrounding ‘The Hermit Kingdom’.

The installments may be found here: first, second, third, fourth, with the final in the current lineup. Bit of a read, but worth it.

Breaking News – Taiwanese President Shot

This follows Chinese and French attempts to influence their election.

The election is tomorrow.

NATO to Send Troops To Kosovo

Clashes between Albanians and Serbs have killed dozens and left more than 200 people wounded.

The government says it is considering a request from NATO for 500 more troops to quell an outbreak of unrest in Kosovo.

“We are currently the reserves for NATO and we have received a request from NATO command force to provide forces and that is being considered by the Defence Chief of Staff,” Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman said on Thursday.

Read more on the Kosovo clashes here.

Spaniards Protest Socialist Victory

Reuters reports that thousands of Spaniards took to the streets of Madrid in support of the outgoing government:

Several thousand protesters have taken to the streets of Madrid to back outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and accuse the Socialists of exploiting the train bombings to win power.

"The elections were a robbery," said high school student Maria Garcia, wearing stickers of Aznar's Popular Party (PP) on her jacket, at the protest outside party headquarters on Wednesday.

"The Socialist party has exploited the subject of terrorism so that the PP would lose, after saying throughout the campaign that we shouldn't use terrorism for political purposes."

...

At Wednesday's protest, banners read "Zapatero: president ...of al Qaeda" and some protesters shouted "Zapatero is Terrorism," reflecting a view among many PP supporters that Zapatero would be too soft.

Spain's Prime Minister Elect Endorses Kerry

The Washington Post reports that Spain’s Prime Minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, suggested American voters should follow the example set by Spain and change their leadership by supporting Kerry for president:

“I said during the campaign I hoped Spain and the Spaniards would be ahead of the Americans for once,” Zapatero said in an interview on Onda Cero radio. “First we win here, we change this government, and then the Americans will do it, if things continue as they are in Kerry’s favor.”

[. . .]

Zapatero’s implicit endorsement of Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was a surprising public repudiation of a sitting U.S. president by the incoming leader of an allied country and fellow NATO member.

[. . .]

Members of Spain’s Popular Party — which will become the opposition when Zapatero, a 43-year-old lawyer, takes office next month — immediately criticized Zapatero’s remarks, saying they demonstrated his inexperience in diplomacy.

“I think that was extremely un-careful,” said Gustavo de Aristegui, a Popular Party member of parliament who is expected to become the opposition’s spokesman on foreign affairs. “A prime minister cannot say that — maybe an opposition leader can say that.”

PRC News China Briefing: Mar 17/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Breifings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, courtesy of Adam Morris in Tianjin.

HOT TOPICS

• The Beijing-based doctor previously shot to fame for blowing the whistle on the SARS-era coverup writes a letter to the central government eloquently requesting that the government rethink the 1989 Tiananmen Square “incident.” Official reaction has been muted, but the unofficial reaction is that of blocking and shutting down Chinese-language blog communities as well as some other news-based websites.
• In a sign of increasing belligerence and perhaps of political instability, a series of editorials has appeared casting the debate over Hong Kong’s democratic future in patriotic terms and reminding citizens of the PRC’s right to declare a “state of emergency” should certain bodies not vote a certain way.
• The book China’s Peasants: A Survey hits the stands and the minds of those concerned for the plight of the peasants getting left behind despite solid GDP numbers.

OTHER TOPICS TODAY INCLUDE: Newsworthy tidbits in the run up to Taiwan’s election … Chinese web search engines take on Google … News discussions clamp down … And everything from public sex education to buying pirated software on the streets of Hong Kong.

Read The Rest…

Arafat losing control

HA‘ARETZ: Top Fatah activists leaving the movement to join Hamas

Palestinian officials speaking at a meeting in the Muqata this week presented a grim picture of the Palestinian Authority’s situation in the Gaza Strip, highlighting in particular the PA’s lack of control over many activists from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing.

Militant Palestinian groups already have a reputation for abusing the population of the West Bank and Gaza and scorning PA security chiefs. But the reports from Monday’s meeting, which was attended by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and PA security force chiefs, are even more disturbing for the PA and for Arafat in particular. According to the reports, a significant segment of armed Fatah leaders in Gaza answer to senior Hamas officials. These Fatah leaders aren’t even taking the phone calls of the leadership in Ramallah.

More Reports Of Unrest From Iran

Instapundit traces an item to The Corner, describing rollicking hell breaking out in Iran.

Who knows? I see absolutely nothing about any of this from any mainstream source, anywhere within my reach.

Eyes on Korea: March 16/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today’s Regional Briefing focuses on Korea, courtesy of Robert Koehler in Seoul.

TOP TOPICS

• Impeachment!!!!! South Korea’s opposition-dominated National Assembly voted to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun only a year into a five year term.

• For all your NK diplomacy needs, I direct you NKzone’s archive on this subject — there’s enough info in their to keep you contented until next month’s briefing.

• North Korea has been getting quite a bit of negative press lately, almost all of it — IMHO — deserved. Most of this was covered by my March 5 briefing (Eyes on Korea: Dispatches from Hell) at this very weblog, and if you haven’t read it yet, you are highly encouraged to look at it now.

Other Topics Today Include: NK Nukes; More dispatches from hell; North Korea roundup; More on Roh’s impeachment; South Korea roundup; US Forces Korea; Your moment of Zen from Big Hominid.

Read The Rest…

Report: Islamic group threatens France

JERUSALEM POST: Report: Islamic group threatens France

French officials are investigating threats against France by a radical Islamic group, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday.

The group identified itself as the “Servants of Allah the Powerful and Wise,” the ministry said. It was unclear whether the group is known to French authorities.

The nature of the threats was not immediately disclosed. French Europe-1 radio reported that Le Parisien newspaper received a fax from the group, threatening attacks.

The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation.

Fallout from Spain’s appeasement?

Israel Launches Strike

AP

Israeli attack helicopters fired missiles at a vehicle in the northern part of Gaza City on Tuesday, and witnesses said at least two people were killed.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Smoke was seen rising from the Nasser neighborhood near a refugee camp. Israeli fighter planes were seen flying over Gaza City just after the attack.

The air strike came just hours after Israel’s Security Cabinet decided to step up attacks against Hamas militants in Gaza, a security official said.

The decision was in response to a double homicide bombing on Sunday in the seaport of Ashdod, killing 10 Israelis. It was the first time in more than three years of fighting that Palestinian bombers managed to get out of Gaza to carry out an attack.

Madrid News: More Suspects, Other Updates

• Inspectors say that five more Moroccans suspects have been named and two of the original Indian suspects have been let go.

• An Algerian man who made terrorist threats against Spain has been arrested.

• A 45 year old female bombing victim died in the hospital today, becoming the 201st death attributed to the attack.

Fatah terror group threatens Israel's airports

MAARIV: Fatah terror group threatens Israel’s airports

“The next stage of our struggle will be to strike at Israel’s airports,” a spokesman for the Al-aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades told the London Arabic-language newsparer Al-Sharq al-Awsat. The Brigades are a terror group identified as the military wing of Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian movement led by Yasser Arafat.

The spokesman, Abu-Qusay, said the airport attacks would be carried out if Israel continued “attacking the Palestinian people.”

He also referred to the double suicide bombing at ashdod Port Sunday, which was claimed as a joint operation by his group and Hamas’s Iz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades. “Zionist oppression only spurs the resistance movements to develop their resources in ways that will confound all Zionist calculations.” He declined to reveal how the two bombers penetrated Israel from Gaza, but promised that “we will use the same way to cross all checkpoints and penetrate Israel’s strategic targets.”

Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, blocked any attempt to arrest or halt the terrorist brigade associated with his Fateh party in the most recent “cabinet” meetings in Ramallah.

"All the trappings of another Hama"

Flame of liberty is lighting up Syria:

Syrian Ba’athists are going to take advantage of the relatively sparse media coverage of the crisis that is developing in northern Syria to enact harsh military reprisals against the rebels. The events unfolding have all the trappings of another Hama, where ten thousand people were killed after an uprising there in 1982.

“Public buildings still burned Sunday in the northern Syrian city of Qameshli following riots in which at least 14 Kurds were reported killed in clashes with security forces

Did you have any idea there was an uprising going on in Syria?

Kurdish cities are under seige and militia have taken to the streets, shooting at will. Keep an eye on this page for news and updates.

[Read up on the Hama massacre here]

PM: No negotiations with PA since they fail to fight terror

JERUSALEM POST: PM: No negotiations with PA since they fail to fight terror

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday ruled out peace negotiations with the Palestinians, charging that they are doing nothing to stop attacks against Israelis.

Addressing the Knesset about his unilateral disengagement plan, Sharon cited Sunday’s double suicide bombing in the Ashdod Port, which killed 10 Israelis. Sharon charged that the attack “reinforces the understanding that there is no Palestinian leader with the courage, the ability, to struggle against terrorism.”

Therefore, Sharon said, “Israel has no real Palestinian negotiating partner for peace talks. Therefore, also in the political sphere, Israel will have to act according to its own understanding alone. Clearly, in this situation, there will be no political negotiations.”

Syria reportedly willing to bury Abu Abbas

MAARIV: Syria reportedly willing to bury Abu Abbas

Palestinian sources in Ramallah say that the Syrian government has agreed to bury Palestinian terrorist mastermind Abu Abbas in Syria.

Meanwhile, an Israeli source says that Israel would have rejected any request to transfer Abbas’ body to the Palestinian Authority. Abu Abbas died last week in US custody in Iraq.

Spain's New Leader To Pull Out Of Iraq

Reuters reports that yesterday’s winner of Spain’s election will withdraw Spain’s 1,300 troops from Iraq:

“The war has been a disaster, the occupation continues to be a disaster. It has only caused violence,” Zapatero said in his first interview after a surprise triumph on Sunday.

“There must be consequences. There has been one already — the election result. The second will be that the Spanish troops will come back,” he said.

Putin Wins, Red Square Burns

President Vladimir Putin easily won a second term in elections Sunday with 69 percent of the vote, according to an exit poll, confirming widespread expectations of a landslide victory. Just minutes after polls closed, a huge fire erupted in a 19th-century landmark building off Red Square, and two firefighters were killed.

Within an hour after the fire broke out, about half the 48,000-square-foot structure was in flames and part of the roof had collapsed, news reports said. Flames shot high into the nighttime sky and thick, gray smoke billowed over the Kremlin towers.

Colin Powell didn’t seem too happy about the way the elections were run:

Powell, in television interviews before the polls closed, said he was concerned about how Russia conducted its election. He called on Putin’s government “to do a better job” of making democracy work.

Socialists Win: What's Next?

[The following story originally appeared here and is reprinted with persmission of the author]

SOCIALISTS DECLARE VICTORY IN SPAIN
By By Joe Gandelman

The Socialists are claiming victory in defeating Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar’s conservative Popular Party’s bid for a third term in power. And the defeat — the PP had been narrowly ahead in the polls — is sure to be seen as a response to the March 11 terrorist bombings that killed 200 and injured 1400, the worst violence in Spain since the 1936-1939 Civil War.
—-The numbers show, with 79 percent of the vote counted, the Socialists appeared to have 164 seats in the 350-member Parliament. The PP, which had 183 seats going into the election, apparently wound up with 147.
—-But what the numbers don’t show are two forces analysts believe were at work:
—-1. Feelings the government wasn’t honest about last week’s terrorist attacks that it blamed on the Basque separatist ETA. It also hurt the government’s case when three Moroccans and two Indians were arrested yesterday, a video claiming to be from Al Qaeda was found, and a letter (authenticity still debated) was found that claimed it was from Muslim terrorists taking credit. Angry cries of “coverup” were heard during demonstrations yesterday. The belief: the government didn’t want the public to know who really was involved because it would create backlash over it’s backing the United States in the unpopular war against Iraq.
—-2. Anger at the government for making Spain a target of Muslim terrorists by getting involved in Iraq and sending Spanish troops, a decision overwhelmingly opposed by most Spaniards. The Socialists have vowed to pull all Spanish troops out of Iraq — which means there was indeed a potential payoff, if election results could be swayed.
—-What it means is this: no matter what the final verdict as to who was behind the carnage, terrorists have been sent a message that mass bloodshed during the heat of an election campaign can get results.
—- Even if terrorist groups inaccurately interpret the votes’ real meaning (which will come out later in post-election voting analyses), they will most likely infer that: (a)a spectacular terrorist act during elections does NOT necessarily mean it will stir up angry counter-productive (for them) nationalism, (b)it sends other countries a message that not only no one is safe but that a democracy’s most precious time— election time — could be PRIME TIME for mass murder to achieve political ends.
—-On the other hand, a good part of the PP’s defeat could be due to its own bungling of the investigation, insisting from the very first that it MUST be ETA, thus raising questions about the sincerity of its investigation and its overall credibility as the hours and days passed.
—-Writes Oxblog’s Patrick Belton:”the Spanish government has gone out of its way to play down the Al Qaeda implications (which would make it vulnerable) in favor of ETA (which would strengthen it). An attribution of the attack to Al Qaeda would have made Aznar’s party vulnerable, having brought the country into Iraq and provoked the terrorists’ ire; an attribution to ETA would have strengthened the party, having amassed a strong record in combating the separatist group.
—-“Aznar’s government is seen as having played politics with the investigation, which if true would have been unworthy both of the commitment to principle which brought his government into Iraq and of the continued trust of his nation. And at any rate any nation which had suffered the unprovoked tragedy which Spain did in the March 11th attacks may be given considerable leeway in forgiving actions it takes while grieving.”
—-SO NOW THE QUESTION IS: WHAT NEXT? Two things:
—-1. More information is seeping out about the suspects…and it isn’t pointing to ETA. A new report from AP says one of the Moroccans arrested “is linked to a man jailed in Spain for allegedly helping plan the Sept. 11 attack in the United States…It was the latest suggestion that Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist group may have been involved in the bombings.”
—-2. Europe and the United States are targets now. Al Qaeda is likely to widen and accelerate it’s terrorist war, contends the Israeli website Debka:”Bin Laden and the leadership group of his organization have been arguing over their next directions. Their debate is conceptual between those who advocate building up Islamic fundamentalist gains in Europe before turning to America and those who see Europe as a springboard to the United States. Bin Laden has issued a fatwa deciding the issue: the organization is instructed to strike simultaneously on both continents.”

Joe Gandelman is a former Madrid-base Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor

Voters Oust Spain's Ruling Party

MSNBC reports that voters have swept Spain’s ruling party from party:

The Socialist Party declared victory with 79 percent of the votes counted, as results showed it winning 164 seats in the 350-member parliament and the ruling Popular Party taking 147. The latter had 183 seats in the outgoing legislature.

[. . .]

Critics have said Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar invited the attention of Osama bin Laden’s terror group by allying Spain with Washington in the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Fueling anger were suspicions that the government withheld information in the investigation to avoid political fallout from the Thursday bombings, which killed 200 people and injured 1,500. The government had initially blamed the Basque separatist group ETA.

Before the attacks, polls gave ruling the Popular Party and its candidate, Mariano Rajoy, a 3-5 percentage point lead over the Socialists and their leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in the race for the 350-seat Congress of Deputies. Prime Minister Aznar is not seeking a third term; in the outgoing legislature, his party had 183 seats.

Spain Suspect Was Under Surveillance

AP

One of three Moroccans arrested in connection with the Madrid train bombings was already being closely watched by authorities in his homeland, where he was suspected of ties to an al-Qaida-linked group, a Moroccan official said Sunday.

Jamal Zougam, 30, was one of thousands of Moroccans put under surveillance by authorities after May terrorist bombings in the coastal city of Casablanca, a high-level official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. There were no formal accusations against him.

PA releases suspected bombers of US convoy

MAARIV: PA releases suspected bombers of US convoy

In a move that is certain to arouse resentment in Washington, the Palestinian authority this (Sunday) morning released four members of the “popular committees” in Gaza who had been accused of mudering three US security guards. The Americans were killed when a convoy on its way to a scholarship-granting ceremony for young Palestinians was hit by a roadside bomb last October.

the PA stated that the suspects were freed for lack of evidence linking them with the attack. earlier, the Palestinian prosecution said the for had intended to hit Israeli tanks, and the Americans were struck inadvertently.

An American diplomatic source said the US had not been informed of the release.

Spain's Two Raging Questions

[The following story originally appeared here and is reprinted with persmission of the author]

IS THE TAPE CLAIMING CREDIT REALLY FROM AL QAEDA…AND WHO WILL WIN TODAY’S ELECTIONS?
By Joe Gandelman

Spain faces a double-pronged cliffhanger today…but some of the suspense will be ending soon.
—-PRONG ONE—THE TAPE: Right before the polls were set to open for general elections Spanish authorities got a phone call leading them to a videotaped message in which a man purporting to represent al-Qaida claimed it was behind the bombing massacre that killed 200 and wounded 1,500 in Madrid, the Spanish interior minister said early Sunday. The Spanish government said it couldn’t guarantee the tape’s authenticity, but the find did come on the heels of the arrest of three Moroccan and two Indian suspects.
—-Spain has been a key ally in Washington’s war against terror, and the Spanish government generally got support for that — but the Spanish government’s backing Washington in the war with Iraq was highly unpopular. So that leads to some possible conclusions:
—-(1)If it is Al Qaeda, the goal is clearly to influence the outcome of the elections (see below).
—-(2)If it is Al Qaeda it would indicate Europe has now become a formal new front in the terrorism war.
—-(3)If it is Al Qaeda it would mean Europe’s governments will have to take measures to clamp down to prevent possible future terrorist attacks. This could create some political problems within some countries, particuarly those with large Muslim populations.
—-According to Interior Minister Angel Acebes, the speaker on the videotape said the bombings were “a response to your collaboration with the criminals Bush and his allies” — and threatened more attacks.
—-PRONG TWO —THE ELECTIONS: The attacks and precisely who is behind them have become mired in election-eve politics.
—-Demonstrators opposed to the ruling conservative Popular Party and supporting the main opposition Socialist Party held rallies claiming the government was involved in a massive cover-up, to shift the blame for the attack on ETA rather than Muslim terrorists. The reason for that, they asserted, is that the government doesn’t want backlash over its backing the U.S in the war with Iraq. Some who support the government line suggest the opposite: that the Socialists and others are trying to put the blame on Muslim radicals to impact the elections.
—-Poll show a majority of Spaniards didn’t support their government backing the U.S. in the Iraq war. The Socialists have pledged to remove all 1,300 Spanish troops from Iraq if they win a four-year term.
—-If you read government statements, various opposition statements, and comment boxes on blogs originating from Spain you notice one thing: the subject of who is possibly behind the attacks has become highly politicized and wrapped up in ideology.
—-So that leads to these tantalizing questions:
—-(1)Could ETA have timed this to shift the blame on radical Muslims? Iberian Notes points out “that the people detained in Madrid are linked to having sold the mobile phone and fake phone card used as a timer in the backpack bomb that didn’t go off, so this isn’t precisely ironclad proof of an Al Qaeda job. The left is trying to take full advantage of the situation……”
—-(2)The ruling conservative Popular Party only has a 4 percent lead going into the elections. If it is defeated, especially by a wide margin, it would indicate terrorism has triumphed as a political tool used to change votes.
—-(3)If an attack right before an election adversely impacts the more conservative party, then it might portend trouble elsewhere. There have been alleged new threats against the United States. If a carefully timed pre-election mass murder does help shift votes in Spain’s elections, will we see the same thing here aimed at influencing the outcome of the U.S. Presidential race?

Joe Gandelman is former Madrid-base Correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor

Still Mourning, Spain Goes to Polls

Spain’s general election is underway, just days after the terrorist bombings that killed 200 people and wounded over 1,000.

The bombings could have a huge impact on today’s elections. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar’s party (Anzar is stepping down and has hand picked Mariano Rajoy to take over his role) could face defeat if the 90% of the people in Spain who opposed their country’s participation in the Iraq war vote with their anger.

al-Qaeda, in claiming responsibility for the bombings, stressed that the terrorist attack was in return for Spain’s role in Iraq. Many residents of Spain believe that Anzar was trying to pin the blame on separatist group ETA in an effort to keep the voters from believing the deaths of 200 people had anything to do with Spain’s war efforts.

Before Friday, Anzar’s party had a slim 4% lead over the rival Socialist Party.

If the majority of the people believe the words on the alleged al-Qaida tape - “This is an answer to your cooperation with the Bush criminals and their allies. This is an answer to crimes which you committed in the world, notably in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there will be more, so help us God,” - it could spell doom for Anzar and Rajoy.

Uprising in Iran?

Noted by SR - this posting on a photoblog/discussion board out of Iran

Mar 13, 2004
The demonstrations began some hours ago. Fereydunkenar is a small town in the northern province of Mazandaran. The people attacked and were able to liberate a building used by the Islamic Republic’s security forces (Sentry Post #2). They then started moving to the city of Babolsar, but were soon confronted by Mazandaran’s provincial security forces. They’ve been pushed back into Fereydunkenar and the latest news I’ve heard is that the small town is now divided between the rebels and the security forces and the scene of fierce street battles.

At least 5 people have been killed and scores injured.

Numerous photos of street demonstrations are included in the article.

There is also this -

Deadly clashes rocked, today, the northern city of Fereydoon-Kenar located by the Caspian sea in the Mazandaran province. Several protesters have been killed and tens of other wounded and arrested.

Several official buildings, including the Security divison, have been damaged as the crowd retaliated to the regime forces extreme brutality and use of lethal force.

The situation is very tense and the regime forces have blocked all accesses to the city in order to avoid the spread of riots to the neighboring cities, such as, Babolsar and especially Amol where sporadic clashes have happened in the last days.

Currently no reflections on the major wire services…

Tape: Blasts Response to Collaboration With U.S.

Details of the purported tape from al-Qaeda claiming responsibility for the Madrid blasts:

“We declare our responsibility for what occurred in Madrid, just 2.5 years after the attacks in New York and Washington.

“It is a response to your collaboration with the criminals [U.S. President] Bush and his allies. This is a response to the crimes that you have caused in the world and specifically in Iraq and in Afghanistan. And there will be more, God willing. This is a message from the military spokesman for al Qaeda in Europe.”

Meanwhile, thousands gathered in the streets of Madrid, protesting that the government is holding back information about the attacks.

Some 5,000 angry demonstrators gathered outside the ruling Popular Party’s headquarters in Madrid on Saturday, accusing the Spanish government of concealing details of the investigation into the country’s worst terror attack.

Reuters:

Spontaneous demonstrations also broke out in several other Spanish cities Saturday night, including one in the Basque city of Bilbao that drew 8,000 in front of a city government building.

The demonstrators were upset that the government had initially blamed the armed Basque separatist group ETA for the Thursday bombings that killed 200 people, suspecting it had done so in order to boost the Popular Party candidates’ chances in the general election Sunday.

Many of the protesters expressed anger over Spain’s part in the Iraq war, saying that joining the coalition has made Spain a terrorists target.

Video Claims Al Qaeda Responsible for Madrid Attacks

From the Sunday Herald Sun:

14mar04

AL-QAEDA had claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings in a video tape, the Spanish interior minister said today.

The authenticity of the Arab-language tape could not immediately be confirmed, Angel Acebes said.
He said that the attacks were claimed on behalf of al-Qaeda’s military spokesman.

“A man dressed like an Arab (and speaking) Arabic with a Moroccan accent claimed responsibility (for the attacks) on behalf of al-Qaeda’s military spokesman in Europe,” Acebes told a news conference at 12.45am local time (10.45am Sunday AEDT).

Moroccan Security Team Heads to Spain

Reuters:

A Moroccan security team is to travel to Spain on Sunday after three Moroccan citizens were arrested in connection with the Madrid train blasts that killed 200 people, a government spokesman says.

“High officials from the security services will travel to Madrid tomorrow to help with the inquiry and identify the suspected Moroccan citizens,” Moroccan Communications Minister and Government spokesman Nabil Benabdallah told Reuters on Saturday.

Reuters is also reporting that Muslims in Spain are fearful of a backlash:

Proof that al Qaeda or Islamic militants carried out the Madrid train bombings would be a nightmare scenario for Muslim residents of Madrid who fear it could fuel a new wave of animosity towards them.

“Terrorism is blind, it simply seeks out the weakest people. We’re victims too, and if it turns out to be al Qaeda, we’ll be double victims,” said Ahmed, a 38-year old Moroccan in Madrid.

Five Arrests Made in Madrid Bombing [Updated]

[Update to this story]

AP:

Spain - Spain’s interior minister Saturday announced the arrest of five suspects in the Madrid bombings, including three Moroccans.

The other two are Spaniards of “Hindu” origin, minister Angel Acebes said.

The five were arrested in connection with a cell phone inside an explosives-packed gym bag found on one of the bombed commuter trains.

Reuters phrases it this way:

Spain’s Interior Minister Angel Acebes is set to announce the arrest of at least four Muslims in connection with a series of deadly bombings in Madrid, the web site of newspaper El Mundo says.

The news came from the Spanish Paper el Mundo.

(Very) Loose translation:

The minister of the Interior, Acebes Angel, has announced the halting in Madrid of three Moroccans and two Hindu by his presumed entailment with the attacks in the capital the past day 11. In addition, there are two Spaniards of Hindu origin to which declaration is being taken them . The arrested ones would be related to the card prepayment found in the knapsack pump that the police deactivated next to the police station of Vallecas.

Acebes explained that the last finding of the security forces was the one of a stock market of sports that contained an explosive of Plastic explosive of the mark ECHO made in Spain , reinforced with shrapnel to multiply its effect, along with a detonator and a movable telephone. The detonator was just as found Thursdays in a van in Alcala de Henares and were made in copper and not in aluminum, that are those that usually uses ETA.

In his appearance of Thursday, the minister of the Interior related the attack to the attempts of ETA to cause a massacre in Nochevieja of 2002, and Christmas Eve of 2003 in Chamartín and the Valley of Arán.

The experts in the antiterrorist fight also are looking for DNA tests in gloves, a jersey and a t-shirt that were inside the van of Alcala de Henares. In addition they are studying tens of gathered digital tracks in the vehicle.

The found movable telephone in the knapsack of Vallecas, card prepayment and the Trium mark, was programmed so that its alarm sounded to one hour certain and to activate therefore the explosive. In addition, according to the chain informs To be, the configuration of the options of the apparatus was in Spanish.

DJ News:

Citing sources within Spain’s intelligence services, Cadena Ser said security agents were “99%” sure the bombings were carried out by around 10-15 people who were Islamist radicals. These sources said they couldn’t be sure if the bombers were affiliated to al Qaida and added that said that they are likely to have left the country shortly after the attacks.

Three Arrested Were "Infrastructure Operatives"

From Iberian Notes, a weblog from Spain:

It is 8:25 PM. Interior Minister Angel Acebes has just given a press conference live on national television in order to announce that five arrests have been made and two more interrogations are taking place. Three of the arrested are Moroccan and two are Indian. The two people being interrogated are Spanish citizens of Indian origin. All the arrests and detentions were made in Madrid by Spanish national police. The clue that lead investigators to these people was the mobile phone used as a timer in the backpack bomb that didn’t go off.

The reports floating around, I do not know with what validity, are that at least one of the Moroccans has connections with a Moroccan radical Islamic group, that they are all males under age 30, that at least some of the arrests were made in the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapies, that these men were infrastructure operatives (safe houses, transport, and the like) rather than the material authors of the bombing, and that the police are looking for three men seen wearing ski masks and getting on and off trains at Alcala de Henares.

Madrid: moslim terrorists?

Reuters reports:

Spain’s intelligence service is “99 percent certain” Muslim not Basque militants perpetrated the Madrid train bombings that killed 200 people, a Spanish radio station reported

.
AP reported:

The Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, which is close to the opposition Socialist Party, quoted sources at the national intelligence agency CNI as saying agents were “99 percent sure” that Islamic militants, not Basque separatists, were behind the attacks

Report: Palestinians preparing for "day after withdrawal"

MAARIV: Report: Palestinians preparing for “day after withdrawal”

Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram: PA security forces start implementing plan aimed at preventing Gaza Strip anarchy following Israeli evacuation.

According to the newspaper report, Palestinian security forces have started implementing the plan this past Tuesday. The plan, slated to take three weeks to implement, was approved by the Palestinian National Security Council headed by PA chairman Yasser Arafat.

The newspaper is reporting that the plan was formulated following meetings with various Palestinian factions, including Fatah, the Popular Front, the Democratic Front, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. Palestinian legislative council members in the Gaza Strip have also approved the plan.

The plan, designed to prevent anarchy in the Gaza Strip following an Israeli withdrawal, includes several steps that are meant to emphasize a single Palestinian government, law and order, and prevention of a civil war. Only official Palestinian security forces and guards protecting public facilities will be allowed to carry weapons.

According to the newspaper, a command post comprising most security apparatuses in the PA has also been set up in order to guard the border, prevent mortar and missile fire, and foil arms smuggling through tunnels.

U.N. Censures Iran Over Nukes

The U.N. atomic agency reached agreement Saturday on how harshly to censure Iran for its spotty record of revealing suspect nuclear activities at a session overshadowed by Tehran’s decision to put nuclear inspections on hold for six weeks.

Iran’s decision to suspend inspections, announced Friday, heightened tensions at a board of governors’ meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Members have been debating for days how to censure Iran over its failure to declare all its nuclear secrets.

A group of 13 developing nations wanted to lighten the tone of the Iran resolution, while the United States and other Western nations that insist Tehran was interested in making nuclear arms had been pushing for harsher language

.

Recent discoveries of equipment used to enrich uranium is cited as the reason for the censure.

Iran’s nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani said the resoultion was unfair and will protests the passage by not letting inspectors, who were set to arrive today, into Iran.

“It’s our legitimate right to enrich uranium,” Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Tehran.

Dutch to mourn Madrid massacre victims

All trains, all over the country, will be stopped … Dutch to mourn Madrid massacre victims

Madrid feedpaper

Feedster offers a Madrid feedpaper, with news and blog postings from the aftermath of the terrorattacks in Madrid. There is also a RSSfeed.

Bombs Were "Spanish Made"

Signs poin to ETA:

The explosive used came from inside Spain and is similar to explosives used in previous attacks by ETA, according to Glenn Schoen, a security analyst who has seen the latest police analysis.

Or do they?

On the other hand, the copper detonators used in the backpack bombs were more sophisticated than the aluminum detonators previously used in bombs linked to ETA, said Schoen, who has worked with Spanish police on train security.

Believe it or not, the carnage was meant to be even worse:

Authorities said they found and safely detonated three more bombs, apparently set on timers to explode later, when rescuers and security forces were on the scene.

Meanwhile, the death toll has creeped up to 200, following the death of man in the hospital last night.

Only Security Council can call for UN probe of Aristide's leaving Haiti - Annan

UN NEWS CENTER: Only Security Council can call for UN probe of Aristide’s leaving Haiti - Annan

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said the Security Council was responsible for deciding whether there should be an investigation of how President Jean-Bertrand Aristide came to leave Haiti.

“This is an issue that the Council will have to discuss and determine whether it takes it up or not, because the Council acted on the assumption that the President had resigned and they had a letter of resignation before them,” he said as he entered UN Headquarters, replying to a question on calls for a probe from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union (AU).

“If they want to get into the investigation and they gave me the mandate, I would be duty-bound to undertake it. And so this is an issue that we will need to discuss with the Council,” he said.

Aristide heading for Jamaica

CNN: Aristide heading for Jamaica

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is to travel to Jamaica early next week, Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has said.

Aristide is currently in the Central African Republic, where he fled after resigning and leaving his turbulent country February 29 in the face of an advancing rebel insurgency.

Aristide has said he was abducted by the United States and forced to leave, a charge Washington has vehemently denied.

Protests, Prayers in Madrid

They took to the streets in Spain Friday by the thousands. They stood in the rain and cried and prayed for the victims of yesterday’s terrorists attacks that killed 198 and wounded over 1,000 people. In the evening, nearly two million people marched through the streets in a mass protest against terrorism. The marchers were led by Spanish royal family members and leaders, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and EU President Romano Prodi. The march, which is still going on right now, is making its way through the city and towards the train station where the blasts occurred.

A silent protest was held in Washington, D.C. today in front of the Spanish embassy.

The attacks claimed their 199th victim; a baby who die in the hospital today.

U.S. embassy in Jordan urges Americans to remain alert

AP/HA’ARETZ: U.S. embassy in Jordan urges Americans to remain alert

The U.S. Embassy in Amman this week urged American citizens residing in the kingdom to increase their security awareness following recent information of possible plots to attack hotels.

“This new message is in response to information that has come recently available to us,” Embassy Press Attache Justin Siberell told The Associated Press Friday.

Jordan said it was taking precautions to ensure safety in the country.

South Korean President Impeached

Cross-post from OTB

WaPo: Divided S. Koreans Impeach President

President Roh Moo Hyun on Friday became South Korea’s first leader in history to be impeached, losing his constitutional powers in the climax of a political struggle that left South Koreans more sharply divided than at any point since the restoration of democracy in 1987.

***

The key legal charge against Roh is that he made statements asking voters to support the Uri Party, made up of his core group of supporters. This was considered by the National Electoral Commission to be a minor infraction of electoral laws; presidents in South Korea are not allowed to campaign for legislators.

Roh was also accused of incompetence in leadership and connections to a swirling political corruption scandal that has hit his political opponents even harder than his own administration. Analysts said that it remained unclear whether the constitutional court would uphold the impeachment.

Hahm Sung Deuk, a leading political analyst at Korea University in Seoul, said: “There will be major fallout from this for South Korea; impeachment will mean increased economic and political uncertainty. This is a time when we need stability, and instead, we have the opposite.”

Looking for Nine Suspects

John at Iberian notes writes:

The official death toll is 198, with 1463 wounded. Some 15 corpses have not been identified yet.

The technique used by the bombers was quite simple. They got on commuter trains heading for Madrid at the Alcala de Henares station, placed backpacks loaded with explosives on the luggage racks, and slipped out of the train during the two minutes the trains stop at Alcala.

The Interior Ministry is looking for nine suspects, six men and three women. According to La Vanguardia, they’ve even got photographs of at least some of them. It seems to me that when these people get caught the “mystery” of who planted the bombs will be solved.

Following that, John lists many reasons why he believes ETA was behind the bombings and not al-Qaida:

2) The operation was within their capacity. To pull this one off you would need a bombmaker, who obviously never got anywhere near the trains; a couple of spies to spend a couple of weeks scouting the ground; a couple of people to transport the bombs; somebody running a safe house or two; and the actual bomb planters. While ETA is weakened and on its last legs, they’ve got the capability to pull off an operation of this size. They didn’t need any specially trained pilots or suicide fanatics or the ability to beat airport security or huge amounts of money or international connections to commit such a massacre. All they needed was a hundred kilos of explosives, a skilled bombmaker, and 15-20 conspirators who may well have been working in several different cells.

Read the rest

Spain Says No Thanks to Israeli Medical Examiners

REUTERS: Spain Says No Thanks to Israeli Medical Examiners

Spain has turned down an offer by Israel to send medical examiners to assist Spanish pathologists identify victims of the Madrid train blasts, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

“They thanked us for our offer, but in the meantime they do not need our help,” said the spokesman, David Saranga.

Earlier, Dr Yehuda Hiss, head of Israel’s national forensic institute said the medical examiner’s office in Madrid asked the Israeli embassy for assistance and that three Spanish-speaking pathologists were preparing to head to Spain.

Hiss said the Israeli experts had wide experience in identifying victims of dozens of Palestinian suicide bombings that have rocked Israel since the start of a Palestinian uprising more than three years ago.

OxDem Global Democracy Brief: March 12/04

In this installment of OxDem’s Global Democracy Briefings - the latest addition to the Winds of Change.NET regional briefings series - Patrick Belton of OxBlog and OxDem reviews the Greater Middle East Initiative, the drafting and approval of an interim Iraqi constitution, democracy protest in Syria, and the weekend’s Russian elections. Patrick is a researcher at Oxford and also serves as president of the Foreign Policy Society.

TOP TOPIC

• The administration is backing down on its Greater Middle East Initiative, after a massive diplomatic effort led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to portray the initiative as neocolonial meddling by the United States in the internal affairs of sovereign Arab states. The process collapsed in the aftermath of the leak of a draft of the proposal two weeks ago to the London-based Arabic newspaper Al Hayat, which precipitated the Saudi and Egyptian diplomatic campaign to oppose it. Drafted by the administration with minimal involvement from the State Department, the Initiative was to draw on the models of the Helsinki Accords and the Marshall Plan to create and fund institutions to promote democracy in the region and hasten reforms in governance, education, the economy, technology, development and the role of women.

Other topics today include: More on the Greater Middle East initiative; Greater budgetary support for National Endowment for Democracy; Russia’s coming elections; Developments in the Palestinian Authority.

Read the Rest…

Updates from Madrid

• AP brings up some numerical ties between Madrid and New York.

• Spain began three days of mourning with a moment of silence for the victims. Campaigning for Sunday’s election has been halted, but the election itself will go on.

• Madrid fatalities come from eleven different countries.

• The death toll rose overnight to 198, with 1,400 injured.

Iran: 'We're not going to take it anymore'

More threats and demands are coming out of Iran, with the Middle East nation now threatening to end its cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set to release its damning new resolution on Iran’s nuclear program.

Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that Iran is working with the IAEA, but he said such cooperation should be bilateral. He said, “If one side does not respect its obligations, the cooperation will end.” Kharrazi said the IAEA should honor its commitments to Tehran and stop being “influenced” by the United States. He said Tehran will react to any improper decisions made by the IAEA.

(RFE/RL — Asia Times)

Silent Demonstration at Spanish Embassy

From Instapundit:

From the Spanish Embassy:

The Embassy of Spain convenes a silent demonstration tomorrow, Friday, March 12th, to express its outrage for today’s terrorist attack perpetrated in Madrid, in which approximately 200 people have died and 900 have been injured.

The demonstration will take place at the Washington Circle (Pennsylvania Ave and 23rd St NW) at 12 [noon].

Please convey this information to others.

A book of condolences will be open at the Embassy (2375 Pennsylvania Ave NW) from 10 am to 2 pm today, Friday 12th and Monday 15th.

A funeral service for the victims will be held at St. Matthews Cathedral (1725 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington DC 20036) on Monday, March 15th, at 5:30 pm.

Glenn asked that any of his readers attending send accounts photos, if possible. Command Post requests the same.

Spain's Impact on the Ecomomy

One of the many effects of terror attacks.

The Dow dropped about 170 today in the aftermath of the attacks on Spain. In Europe, the FTSE 100 dropped 100 points, its biggest one day fall since May of 2003. Japanese also fell.

Trading declined sharply after al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Updates on Spain Attacks [Will be updated frequently]

[This post will be updated throughout the day]

Euronews is reporting that there were 13 explosions in all.

[Basque Party Arnaldo] Otegi blamed “the Arab resistance”, noting the example of Spain’s role in the US-led war against Iraq.

However, Spanish officials brushed aside suggestions Thursday’s attacks were carried out by Muslims. “It is absolutely clear that the terrorist organization ETA was seeking an attack with wide repercussions,” Interior Minister Angel Acebes told a press conference.

9:17 (EST): EuroNews (who knew that these add-on channels would pay off?) is reporting that the explosives and other material used today are the same materials that have been used in the past by ETA. ETA is still denying responsibility.

9:21: Comments from world leaders:

Tony Blair: “This terrible attack underlines the threat that we all continue to face from terrorism in many countries and why we all must work together internationally to safeguard our peoples against such attacks, and defeat terrorism.”

Jack Straw: “These atrocities are a disgusting assault on the very principle of European democracy. … We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Spanish people and government in their fight against this kind of terrorism.”

Vladimir Putin: “Terrorism has once again shown it is prepared deliberately to stop at nothing in creating human victims. … An end must be put to this. As never before, it is vital to unite forces of the entire world community against terror.”

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar: “There is no possible negotiation with these killers. … Our aim is to win over terrorism. Only by being firm we can stop (terrorism). We must be firm fighting the terrorists and opposing the final aims they want to achieve.”

• 10:02: [Interior Minister Angel Acebes] said security services knew it was Eta because the group attempted a similar attack on Christmas Eve, placing bombs on two trains bound for a Madrid station. He also noted that on February 29, police intercepted a Madrid-bound van packed with more than 500 1,000 pounds of explosives and blamed Eta.

• 10:12: Former Ambassador Dennis Ross, now a Fox News foreign affairs analyst, believes it possible that al Qaeda had something to do with the attacks:

“I think there could be an Al Qaeda connection simply because of the coordination because the style theirs. But a lot of these groups like to work together now. Al Qaeda seems to be franchising. If it’s Al Qaeda, that’s a reminder that what Al Qaeda stands for is death and destruction … nothing that benefits humanity.”

• At least one package of explosives didn’t go off - police found a backpack stuffed with what appeared to be dynomite. The police later blew the explosives up to destroy them.

• 10:28: The death toll could have been much higher, if not for a University strike which kept most students - most of whom use the rail transportation - at home.

• 10:46: The number of injured has been updated to over 1,000.

• 1:59: Timeline of the attacks (via Yahoo)

7:39 a.m. — Three backpacks loaded with explosives blow up on a commuter train in Madrid’s Atocha station.

7:44 a.m._ Four backpack bombs explode on a commuter train entering Atocha station.

7:49 a.m. — Backpack bomb explodes as a commuter train enters Santa Eugenia train station, nine miles from Atocha.

7:54 a.m. — Two bombs explode on double-decker commuter train in El Pozo station, six miles from Atocha.

10 a.m. — Police carry out controlled explosions of three booby-trap backpack bombs — two in Atocha, one in El Pozo

2:09 Expat Yank has constant updates and a ton of links.

Ali in Iraq thinks this was the work of Islamists.

4:44: Updated figures: 190 dead, 1400 wounded

France raises terror alert level

Excerpts from al-Qaida Letter

This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America’s ally in its war against Islam

“Aznar, where is America? Who will protect you, Britain, Japan, Italy and others from us?”

“When we attacked the Italian troops in Nassiriyah and sent you and America’s agents an ultimatum to withdraw from the anti-Islam alliance, you did not understand the the message. Now we have made it clear and hope that this time you will understand.”

“Is it OK for you to kill our children, women, old people and youth in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Kashmir? And is it forbidden to us to kill yours?”

[FOX}

Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility For Spanish Bombings

FoxNews is reporting Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for this morning’s deadly massacre in Spain. No link yet.

3:25 Update: Fox reports a letter has been sent to a London newspaper claiming to be from Al Qaeda, which claims responsibility for the bombings.

3:42 Update: CNN reports Spanish officials are investigating the possiblity of Islamic terrorism after the discovery of a van containing detonators and “an Arabic tape with Koranic teachings.”

The Aftermath of 9/11: Bigger Terror Attacks

Terror experts are claiming that the shift in tactics by terrorist groups stems from 9/11 and the amount of people killed on that day.

In other words, they’ve got to go big if they want to make a big impact.

“Since September 11, there has been a qualitative leap. Small attacks are no longer adequate. They (ETA) have to aim higher to have influence,” he said. A fourth analyst, Sebestyen Gorka, said any evidence of Islamist involvement or influence on a traditional European guerrilla group like ETA would mark a major precedent.

Read the rest right here.

Madrid bombings: more news

The news is steamrolling over the web, be it in the mainstream media, but also in the blogosphere. Get a quick overview at:

• NewsNow
• Newstrove
• Feedster

Suspected car bomb found in Jerusalem

MAARIV: Suspected car bomb found in Jerusalem

Police found what they suspect to be a car bomb parked on Narkis Street in Jerusalem, Thursday afternoon. The area has been closed off for traffic and police sappers are inspecting the vehicle.

Palestinian youths stab cab driver in Be'er Sheva

HA‘ARETZ: Palestinian youths stab cab driver in Be’er Sheva

The two Palestinian youths who stabbed a Be’er Sheva taxi driver on Thursday planned a much larger attack in the southern city, police said.

The cab driver was evacuated to Soroka Hospital with moderate-to-serious wounds.

Be’er Sheva police, who believe the motive behind the stabbing was nationalistic, said the two youths had originally planned to steal a soldier’s rifle and carry out a much larger-scale attack.

The driver, 60, was stopped by the two youths in be’er Sheva’s Neve Ze’ev neighborhood. They stabbed him upon entering the taxi. A bystander who saw the incident fired his handgun in the air and managed to overpower the two youths until police officers arrived at the scene.

Emergency Numbers, Blood Donations

[Repeated from posts at the GWOT page]

For worried relatives, according to the BBC
(+34) 900 200 222
(+34) 915 767 000

At least 600 people have been injured and Madrid’s hospitals, swamped with casualties, have made an urgent appeal for blood donations.
Photo from BBC website

Annan Says He Is Shocked, Indignant at Spain Blast

AP: Annan Says He Is Shocked, Indignant at Spain Blast

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on Thursday expressed “shock and indignation” at the deadly bombings in Spain as the 15-member Security Council went to work on a resolution to condemn the attack.

Annan, on arrival at U.N. headquarters, told reporters, “It is indeed with profound shock and indignation that I learned about the terrorist attack in Madrid today. Once again we see senseless killing of innocent people.”

“Killing of innocent people can not be justified regardless of the cause,” Annan said, adding that he offered his “deepest sympathy” to Spanish King Juan Carlos I, the government, friends of the dead and injured survivors.

“I hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice swiftly,” he added.

(No mention of a “cycle of violence” or a demand for the Spanish Government to engage in talks with the ETA.)

Witnesses to Horror

From the BBC website, words from witnesses:

• My mother was in one of those trains and the bomb exploded barely 20 metres far away of her seat. She wasn’t injured but the man in front of her seat was dead. All the lights of the train went out. Everybody screamed and ran. Everybody is still phoning his/her friends and relatives to know if they are ok.All the people in those trains were workers and students. What will ETA (if they were responsible, because they usually warn before an attack and today there weren’t any warnings)achieve with all these deaths? I think violence doesn’t achieve anything, only shedding innocent blood and tears.
  Alba, Alcala de Henares, Spain

• My parents live in front of the El Pozo station and they heard the explosions. There is a nursery behind my parent’s house. People drop their kids off there then catch the train and they can’t contact the parents of 7 of the children.
  Montserrat Medina , New Malden

• An eerie silence has descended on the streets of Madrid. As an Englishman living here for 15 years I trust the Spanish people to stand by their constitution and fight ETA the terrorist - not separatist - group with the laws of the land. Tomorrow I, with millions of others, will attend the demonstration with my Spanish wife and twin babies to show my support for the families of the victims and the Spanish people. Charles, Madrid, Spain

• A woman living across Atocha found the door of one of the metro wagons in her living room. Luckily she was in one of the other rooms helping the kids get dressed and no one was injured. Pedro, Madrid

• I want to say that ETA is a terrorist group and not a separatist group. There are many differences between both words. Please change the word after today. That is very important for Spanish people. Thanks.
  Alberto, Spain

al-Qaeda or ETA?

There are whispers of an al-Qaeda connection to today’s bombings in Madrid. Some say the way the attacks were organized is a hallmark of al-Qaeda bombings.

However, authorities say that the type of explosives used are consistent with the type of materials used by ETA.

ETA has denied responsibility, which is not their usual way of operating.

BBC: Who is to blame?

3/11

Has anybody noticed that today is March 11 — exactly six months off from September 11? Probably a coincidence, but who knows…

Spain is not ruling anyone out in its investigation of the bombing, Reuters reports:

Spain is “not ruling anything out” in its investigation of who is responsible for a series of train blasts Thursday which authorities initially ascribed to armed Basque separatists ETA, the interior minister said.

“We do not rule anything out,” Interior Minister Angel Acebes said when asked if he believed ETA was behind the bombs or if it could have been the Islamic militant group al-Qaeda.

Denial

MAARIV: Basque politician denies ETA involved in Madrid bombings

A Basque politician in Spain says that ETA was not involved in the terror attacks on Madrid train stations that killed at least 173 and injured hundreds more, Thursday. The Basque politician said that the ETA movement’s policy is to give warning before an attack so as not to harm innocent people. He said that he believes the Al-Qaeda terror group is behind the attacks because of Spain’s alliance with the United States.

Live Blogging from Spain

Iberian Notes has been all over the story, since the bombs first went off. Keep checking there for a first person account of the events as they unfold.

Interior Minister Angel Acebes just gave a press conference. He stated that there were at least 173 dead and some 600 injured. There were 13 bombs; 3 went off at Atocha, 4 in the neighborhood of the Calle Tellez, one at Santa Eugenia, and 2 at El Pozo. 3 booby traps were disactivated by the bomb squad. In response to a direct question, Acebes placed the responsibility on ETA. He pointed out that ETA frequently acts without warning and does not usually immediately claim responsibility. Evil scum Arnaldo Otegui, the “leader” of ETA’s political branch, Batasuna or whatever they call themselves now, made a speech in which he denied ETA responsibility and blamed some unnamed Islamic group, a strategy which Acebes termed “miserable”.

There’s much more over there.

Facts About ETA

• ETA stands for (in Basque Language) Basque Homeland and Freedom.

• ETA - a separatist group - wants independence in the Basque region of northern Spain, plus Navarra and three French-side provinces.

• Their goals - or at least their means of achieving the goals - are only supported by a small minority of Basques.

• ETA is said to be responsible for at least 850 deaths since the late 1968.

• 123 ETA members and accomplices in were arrested by French officials in 2002. In August of that year, a provisional ban on was placed on ETA’s political wing, Batasuna.

• ETA members have supposedly received training in Libya, Lebanon, and Nicaragua, and have sought and received sanctuary in Cuba.

• History of ETA and more facts

Update on Spain Train Attacks

Update: The death toll has been raised to 173.

France has tightened its border security in response to the attacks.

ETA has denied involvement. A Basque spokesperson claims that Arab resistance forces are behind the blasts.

Madrid Massacre

The Associated Press reports that explosions rocked three Madrid train stations today, killing at least 62 rush-hour commuters and wounding hundreds more. Officials called the explosions the deadliest attack ever by the Basque separatist group ETA:

“This is a massacre,” government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana said.

At least two bombs exploded around 7:30 a.m. local time in a commuter train arriving at Atocha station, a bustling hub for subway, commuter and long-distance trains in Spain’s capital. Blasts rocked two other stops on a commuter line leading to Atocha.

[. . .]

There was no claim of responsibility, but officials blamed ETA.

[. . .]

On Feb. 29, police intercepted a Madrid-bound van packed with more than 1,100 pounds of explosives, and blamed ETA. On Christmas eve, police thwarted an attempted bombing at Chamartin, another Madrid rail station, and arrested two suspected ETA members.

UPDATE: Reuters reports that the explosions killed 131 people and injured more than 400.

Arafat hails Abu Abbas as a martyr

Via The Telegraph:

“President Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leadership, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian National Authority, mourn the martyr leader Abu al Abbas, former PLO Executive Committee Member and the Secretary-General of the PLF,” it said. “The Palestinian leadership mourns him as a distinguished fighter and a national leader who devoted his life to serve his own people and his homeland.”

Malvo Gets Life

Assistant Sniper John Lee Malvo was sentenced today to life without parole.

Malvo still maintains that he had nothing to do with the shooting spree in the D.C. area that left ten people dead. Yesterday, his partner in crime, John Allen Muhammad, was sentenced to death.

Malvo could still get the death sentence in another venue in which he might have to face trial.

Iran says it foiled terror attack on holy city

MAARIV: Iran says it foiled terror attack on holy city

Iran announced today that if foiled a terror attack on the holy Shiite city of Qom. The Intelligence Ministry said that the attack was planned to coincide with the recent wave of bombings against Shiite targets in Iraq that killed 181 people.

Sniper John Allen Muhammad Sentenced to Death

Muhammed is scheluded to be executed on October 14th, two years after he and his accomplice, John Malvo, went on a shooting spree in the D.C. area.

“These offenses are so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension,” Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr. said in court.

Millet turned down a plea from Muhammad’s lawyers to spare their client’s life and ordered Muhammad executed on Oct. 14, but that date likely will be postponed to allow appeals.

Said Muhmmad’s attorney:

“I’ve represented a lot of bad guys,” Greenspun said. “I’ve represented guys that you look them in the eye and see evil. I’ve spent a lot of time with John Allen Muhammad and that’s not him.”

Meeting Requests

JERUSALEM POST: PM Qurei says peace with Israel possible by 2005

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei on Tuesday said he believes it is still possible to reach a Middle East peace agreement by next year if Israel takes negotiations seriously.

Qurei said high-level delegations from both sides are meeting next week in hopes of preparing for a summit between the Palestinian leader and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

JERUSALEM POST: Arafat says he wants to meet with Sharon

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat would be prepared to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in order to revive the stalled diplomatic process, United Arab List MK Taleb a-Sanaa said following a meeting with Arafat in Ramallah.

Arafat told a-Sanaa that he blames Sharon for decades of Palestinian bloodshed but that he wants to achieve peace with Israel and would be willing to meet Sharon to do so. Arafat said however that he sees no reason for Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei to meet with Sharon, because such a meeting would only allow Sharon to tell the world that he tried and failed to reach a deal with the PA.

“The Palestinian people are paying the price for Sharon’s scandals,” Arafat told a-Sanaa, according to the MK. “Sharon only came up with his diplomatic plans because of the pressure from the investigations against him.”

Posted by Laurence Simon at 09:52 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Aristide will Sue U.S., France for Kidnapping

Lawyer Gilbert Collard said he and an American colleague would file identical suits in France and the United States in the next few days once they receive full authorization from Aristide.

“We will file suit against the French ambassador (in Port-au-Prince) and against the (U.S.) military authorities that carried out the abduction of the president,” he told Reuters.

“The suits will target the Bush administration and the French government,” he said. “If we get support from some African states, we will also appeal to the relevant commission of the United Nations.”

Full story

How They Celebrate Women in Iran

Today is International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women’s groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

Many countries celebrate this day; some even mark it as a national holiday, closing schools and businesses.

In Iran, they tried to mark the day, but were unable to do so without bloodshed.

First, the regime made it clear that they would not sanction any demonstrations:

High security measures have been adopted and will be applied, later today, in order to stop the planned celebration of the “Int.l Women Day”. The regime forces have been mobilized, especially in the Capital, to crackdown against Iranian women and their male supporters by pretexting the unlawful nature of the gatherings.

While the right of making peaceful demonstrations is recognized by the Islamic regime, its Ministry of Interior has not issued any response to the formal request made by several feminist organizations

.

But the women came out anyhow, determined to have their voices heard.

Hundreds of Iranian women along with their male supporters have gathered at this time (17:00 local time) at the Laleh Park located in the center of the Iranian Capital.

They have defied the non declared official ban and the massive presence of the regime forces by reaching the Park located in the Fatemi avenue (former Aryamehr).

They are shouting slogans, singing the baned “Oh Iran!” and making speeches under the desperate eyes of the regime forces which have stayed affar from attacking them till now. Slogans in favor of women’s rights, release of political prisoners and free elections for regime change are shouted.

And then, the regime stifled those in the gathering the only way they know how:

Clubs and chains were used against hundreds of brave women of different ages showing once again the brutality of the theocratic regime which has based one of its main pillars on a back warded and sword forced imported ideology dating of 14 centuries to go and which discriminates women.

Faces of several women were seen in blood and many had injuries on their faces.

Several male supporters who intended to oppose to the brutal repression were beaten up badly and were seen laying on the ground.

Lest you think those paragraphs are somewhat biased, coming from an Iranian activist site, you can find the story at BBC as well:

A gathering to celebrate International Women’s Day in Tehran turned ugly as militia groups broke up what had started as a peaceful demonstration.
Members of the Basij volunteer group beat people with batons and pushed several men and women to the ground.

Most other media carried the story of International Women’s Day by excerpting a speech from Nobel Prize Winner and Iranian, Shirin Ebadi.

No mention was made of the beatings or arrests.

Regime Forces in Iran Beating up Women

The Islamic regime’s forces and plainclothes agents intervened, at Laleh park of Tehran and its surrounding areas, in order to smash the celebration of the “Int.’l Women Day” by beating the female protesters and their male supporters.

Clubs and chains were used against hundreds of brave women of different ages showing once again the brutality of the theocratic regime which has based one of its main pillars on a back warded and sword forced imported ideology dating of 14 centuries to go and which discriminates women.

Faces of several women were seen in blood and many had injuries on their faces.

Several male supporters who intended to oppose to the brutal repression were beaten up badly and were seen laying on the ground.

The English is a little broken, as it was translated on an Iranian website - Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran. You can get up to the date news on the Democracy movement in Iran there.

Zimbabwe Seizes U.S.-Registered Plane

AP:

Zimbabwean authorities have seized a U.S.-registered cargo plane carrying 64 “suspected mercenaries” and military equipment, the Home Affairs minister said Monday.

The Boeing 727-100 was detained at Harare’s main airport late Sunday after its owners allegedly made “a false declaration of its cargo and crew,” Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mahadi said at a briefing.

“The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities,” he said. “Further investigations also revealed that on board was military material.”

Mohadi said more details would be released once officials have established “the true identities of the men and their ultimate mission.”

And the ever-present grain-of-salt disclaimer:

Journalists were not shown the plane and the government’s claims could not be independently verified.

Mubarak calls idea of Egypt controlling Gaza a trap

MAARIV: Mubarak calls idea of Egypt controlling Gaza a trap

Egyptian president, Housni Mubarak has rejected a proposal that his country would help provide security in the Gaza Strip after the expected Israeli withdrawal. “It is a trap that would cause friction between Egypt and the Palestinians and maybe with Israel”, Mubarak said.

(Apparently, Admiral Ackbhar now works for Egyptian Defense Forces.)

Video of British bombers released

REUTERS: Video of British bombers released

Nearly a year after their deaths, the militant Palestinian group Hamas has released a videotape in which two British Muslim suicide bombers speak about the pride they would take in killing Jews.

The recording, which Hamas said it held off distributing for security reasons, marked the first time a suicide bomber has explained in English his motivation for carrying out an attack in Israel.

“What can I say? The real terrorists are these Israelis. They’re really sickos,” said Asif Muhahmmad Hanif.

The 22-year-old Briton of Pakistani descent blew himself up at Mike’s Place, a jazz club on Tel Aviv’s beach promenade, on April 30, 2003, killing three people in an attack claimed by Hamas.

“Muslims are being killed everyday. It is an honour to kill one of those people (Jews),” he said in Pakistani-accented English.

(more)

(FYI: The Mike’s Cafe bombers operated with supposedly false documentation stating they were affiliated with the ISM)

Chavez warns U.S. about '100-year war'

AP: Chavez warns U.S. about ‘100-year war’

President Hugo Chavez on Sunday vowed to freeze oil exports to the United States and wage a “100-year war” if Washington ever tried to invade Venezuela.

The United States has repeatedly denied ever trying to overthrow Chavez, but the leftist leader has accused Washington of being behind a failed 2002 coup and of funding opposition groups now seeking a recall referendum on his presidency.

Chavez accused the United States of ousting former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and warned Washington not to “even think about trying something similar in Venezuela.”

Venezuela “has enough allies on this continent to start a 100-year war,” Chavez said during his weekly television show.

He added that “U.S. citizens could forget about ever getting Venezuelan oil” if the United States ever tried to invade the South American country.

Syria arrests human rights protesters

JERUSALEM POST/AP: Syria arrests human rights protesters

Syrian authorities on Monday broke up a rare protest by human rights activists demanding political and civil reforms on the 41st anniversary of the ruling party’s accession to power.

It was not clear how many of the approximately 20 activists were arrested. Witnesses speaking on condition of anonymity said several were seen taken away in buses by Syrian police.

They said several news photographers and reporters were also arrested, but the reports could not be immediately confirmed.

The protest outside Parliament, organized by the Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria, would have been the first of its kind in a country where political activity is tightly controlled.

Four Killed in Anti-Aristide Rally

An anti-Aristide demonstration ended with at least four people killed Sunday when gunshots were fired from near the presidential palace.

Two policemen, a civilian and a Spanish journalist were shot to death, witnesses said.

One hospital reported that it was treating 11 people for gunshot wounds. At least three journalists were among the wounded.

It was not clear how many victims may have been taken to other hospitals.

Full story

PA asks for international troops

JERUSALEM POST: PA asks for international troops

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday strongly condemned the IDF raids on two refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to dispatch foreign troops to the area to protect the Palestinians.

“Isn’t it enough that [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon’s black history is stained with the blood of Palestinian refugees from Sabra and Shatilla [in Lebanon] and Khan Yunis, Kibya, Nahalin, and other places in the homeland?” asked a statement issued by the office of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.

“The Palestinian leadership calls on the [United Nations] Security Council to supply international protection for our people and homeland in the face of the war of genocide, massacres, and incursions,” said the statement.

Update on Ashcroft's Condition

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft remained in intensive care at a local hospital on Saturday because of a painful illness that involves inflammation of the pancreas, the Justice Department said.

A department spokesman said Ashcroft’s condition was unchanged, without specifying what it was, since he was admitted to George Washington University hospital on Thursday complaining of stomach pains and diagnosed with a severe case of gallstone-caused pancreatitis.

Hamas setting up army in the Gaza Strip

MAARIV: Hamas setting up army in the Gaza Strip

The Hamas is apparently taking Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan seriously. The terror group is currently in the process of establishing an army in the Gaza Strip, with the intention of taking over the region following the expected Israeli withdrawal.

Hundreds of activists have been recruited to the “popular army,” expected to be tasked with taking over the Gaza Strip. The militia’s leaders are amassing weapons, training warriors, and have decided on a command structure.

Israeli sources assume the popular army has one intention only – to fill the vacuum in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli withdrawal, take control of the area and support the Hamas, after the Palestinian Authority collapses.

14 Dead in Raid on Palestinian Refugee Camp

Gaza Strip — Israeli troops raided the outskirts of two Gaza refugee camps Sunday, sparking gun battles that killed 14 Palestinians and wounded more than 80, just one day after militants staged an elaborate attack on soldiers at the main Gaza crossing into Israel.

The dead included at least six militants and three boys — ages 8, 12 and 15. At least 81 Palestinians were wounded in fighting, local officials said.

Hundreds of children chased after Israeli tanks and soldiers, throwing stones.

The violence was part of a new wave of fighting in Gaza as each side tries to make a proposed Israeli withdrawal from the area look like a victory.

The army said it was hitting the “terrorist infrastructure” in Bureij. However, the target of the raid was not immediately clear as no arrests were made.

“Terrorism is pouring out of this refugee camp, and we have to stop it,” Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said. “We believe that by doing so we have prevented acts of terror in Israel and saved many human lives.”

Bombing Attempt in Israel: One Story, Two Versions

At least three Palestinian police officers are dead following a botched joint attack by Hamas and Islamic Jihad near the Erez border crossing, Fox News has learned.

At least nine were also wounded, according to the source.

…

The militant groups claimed responsibility, calling the attacks a joint “self-sacrifice operation” in a message posted on the Hamas Web site.

Israel is on heightened alert for an attack during the holiday of Purim that begins at sundown on Saturday.

One assailant entered the Israeli side of the crossing terminal in a jeep altered to look like an Israeli military vehicle, an army spokeswoman said. The man fired on soldiers, who shot back, killing him.

The second attacker blew himself up inside a vehicle on the Palestinian side of the crossing point. The blast destroyed a car and body parts were strewn around the wreckage.

The stories are bit confusing at this point; some sources claim it was a botched suicide bombing, other sources leave that out and claim that it was the inent of the bombers to just blow themselves up.

Palestinian sources say that there was a lot of machine gun fire, and the Palestinian officers who died were actually killed by Israeli guards who fired on them.

Update:

Here’s how Arab News reports the story:

At least two Palestinian policemen were killed and five others injured in the Gaza Strip Saturday when Israeli occupation troops shelled their police barracks with tank fire, police sources reported.

Israeli tanks fired several shells at a Palestinian security barracks not far from the Beit Hanoun border crossing, destroying the structure and killing at least two policemen.

The latest victims of Israeli state terror were identified as Husam Ileiwah and Bashir Abu Al-Amrain, both 28 years old.

The Israeli army denied responsibility for the bombardment, accusing Hamas of inadvertently hitting the police barracks.

And here’s the AP version:

Palestinian suicide bomber and a gunman attacked a crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Saturday, the military said. Both attackers and two Palestinian policemen were killed, and nine other people were wounded.

The militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, calling the attacks a joint “self-sacrifice operation” in a message posted on the Hamas Web site. The attacks followed the groups’ promises of revenge for recent Israeli airstrikes that killed several of their members.

One assailant entered the Israeli side of the crossing terminal in a jeep altered to look like an Israeli military vehicle, an army spokeswoman said. The man fired on soldiers, who shot back, killing him.

The second attacker, apparently blocked from entering the crossing point, blew himself up inside a vehicle on the Palestinian side of the crossing point. The blast destroyed a car and body parts were strewn around the wreckage.

Two Palestinian policemen were killed by the blast, the army said.

Near miss on Bin Laden

WASHINGTON TIMES: Report: Bin Laden escaped dragnet

Reports have been received in eastern Afghanistan that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden dodged a Pakistani raid to capture him, the BBC said Friday.

A local official told the BBC the information came in a fax sent to a former Taliban member three days ago.

The official, who did not want to be named, said he met a former member of the Taliban who had received a fax that said “the Sheikh” — bin Laden’s nickname — was alive and well and had escaped an attempt by Pakistani forces to catch him on their side of the border last week in the tribal areas of South Waziristan.

Breaking: Ashcroft in Intensive Care

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is in the intensive care unit of a Washington hospital after being admitted Thursday night for gallstone pancreatitis, the Justice Department said Friday.

The nation’s top legal officer was brought to George Washington University Hospital’s emergency room for evaluation of stomach complaints, Justice Department spokesman Mark Corrallo said in a statement.

Emergency room doctors determined he was suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, and Ashcroft was admitted to the intensive care unit for monitoring and treatment with antibiotics, the department said.

*In 85 to 90 percent of patients, acute pancreatitis resolves completely in three to seven days after treatment is instituted. *

Venezuelan UN ambassador Resigns

Milos Alcalay, Venezuela’s UN ambassador resigns in protest to the policies of the government of Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Milos Alcalay, announced Thursday that he was resigning because he could no longer represent a government that abuses human rights.

”I regret to see that my country is moving away from basic principles that should always be present in the implementation of a diplomacy based on democratic values,” Alcalay said in a letter read to reporters.

There are recent reports of brutality and torture of those opposing the Chavez government.

They then forced him (Venezuelan protestor Eduardo Izcaray) into a truck, where one guardsman “put a 9-mm pistol in my mouth and said he would kill me then and there.”

Guardsmen then took the contents of a tear-gas canister and smeared it over the faces of the four prisoners in the truck, he said.

Source: The Miami Herald

For day to day reports and observations on the Venezuelan crisis check out Miguel Octavio and the Caracas Chronicles.

More on France

As more details come out about the situation this is turning into a real cloak and dagger drama.

In one letter in February, AZF announced that a series of bombs programmed to explode at certain times had been laid in the railway system. It demanded a ransom of four million euros (about $4.8 million) to stop them, a senior intelligence official said.

As a sign of good faith, AZF demanded that the French authorities place an ad in the personals section of the left-leaning daily Libération that said: “My big wolf, don’t take useless risks. The earliest will be the best. Give me your instructions. Suzy.” The ministry complied with the request, the official added.

AZF responded the next day with the exact global positioning satellite coordinates of a surprisingly sophisticated 4.4-pound bomb, Interior Ministry and intelligence officials said.

The device was made with a nitrate-fuel mixture, a detonator and timing system set in a round Tupperware-like container. It was found under a railroad bridge near the central French town of Folles, about 20 miles from Limoges on the Paris-Toulouse line, and detonated by the police.

Mr. Sarkozy said the bomb had “proved to be dangerous,” because it had shattered a rail track during the detonation.

French authorities placed a total of six coded messages in Libération, the last one on Wednesday.

AZF also asked the ministry to land a helicopter on the roof of the Montparnasse tower, the tallest office building in Paris, to prove that the government was ready to follow instructions. But the operation was too complicated to carry out.

In a telephone call on Monday, a woman who identified herself as from AZF told the police that the demanded sum had changed to $5.214 million — in the form of $4 million and one million euros — and that a helicopter should drop the ransom money on a plastic tarpaulin on a field near the town of Montargis, 65 miles south of Paris. But visibility was poor and the agents were unable to locate the spot.

French investigators have ruled out the possibility of international terrorism by a radical Islamic or Chechen group, two senior officials involved in the investigation said in telephone interviews. The officials said the letters seem to indicate that the individual or group had anarchist or extreme left-wing or right-wing tendencies.

At least one of the letters contained a condemnation of French politicians and called the country’s economy corrupt and educational system backward, a senior French official said.

AZF is also the name of a chemical factory that blew up in the southern city of Toulouse on Sept. 21, 2001, killing 30 people and injuring about 1,000. French investigators said the explosion was an industrial accident, but it brought an enormous outcry at the time. The police said they saw no link between the factory and the group.

The Interior Ministry was so intent on keeping the investigation secret that on Tuesday evening it took the unusual step of sending faxes to French and foreign news organizations announcing that an investigation was under way and asking for a press blackout.

After the daily newspaper La Dépêche du Midi broke the embargo on Wednesday, other news organizations swiftly followed suit and the government was forced to go public.

The Gare d’Austerlitz and Gare du Nord train stations in Paris were calm at rush hour on Wednesday.

NYT

Haiti's Crisis: The Need for Investigations

I am distraught by all the manupulation happening around Haiti’s crisis. Aristide’s claim that he was “kidnapped” necessitates a full investigation. We all need to know what really happened at his home during the hours leading up to his departure. While I personally doubt the validity of his claim and feel that he is, yet again, acting on self-interest and not on the interest of Haiti, the investigation needs to take place.

The issue of Aristide’s claim of being kidnapped aside, there are pressing issues in Port-au-Prince as armed factions struggle for power. These deserve our attention.

It has been clear to me, based on statements from a wide range of grassroots and non-governmental organizations, and on my knowledge of repression of peaceful opposition, that Aristide needed to go. There has been widespread corruption in his government along with clear violations of human rights. Mechanism which could have lead to his removal democratically simply did not exist.

The fact that members of U.S. congress defending Aristide seem relatively uninterested in the voices of legitimate grassroots organizations and leaders of Haitian institutions such as the Haitian State University, is disgraceful. This needs to be questioned. I am curious as to why, when these members are demanding investigations of the U.S. role in Aristide’s leaving Haiti, they are not also requesting investigations into the multitude of allegations from reliable sources, of Aristide’s implication in drug trafficing and assisinations of people opposing him.

http://JohnEngle.blogspot.com
http://TheExperiment.info

Haiti News

REBEL leader Guy Philippe said today his forces would lay down their arms as US Marines fanned out from the presidential palace with rifles at the ready to help restore some order amid the country’s bloody uprising.

“Now that there are foreign troops promising to protect the Haitian people . . . and they have given the guarantee to protect the Haitian people . . . we will lay down our arms,” Philippe told a news conference.

Acting leader appoints police chief:

Haitian interim President Boniface Alexandre called on Wednesday all sectors to reconcile despite political differences and announced the appointment of a new police chief, reports reaching here from Haitian capital Port-au-Prince said.

Boniface Alexandre, the former head of the Supreme Court, sworein as interim President after Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned last Sunday. He assured in a radio broadcast he wished to unite all thecitizens because he was the “president of all the Haitians.”

He also announced the appointment of Leon Charles as director of the national police to replace Jocelyne Pierre and stressed that the new head would be in charge of gathering all the forces of order and giving back trust to Haitians.

The First Blogger Retires

…after 58 years of blogging.

For that’s what Alistair Cooke’s Letter From America is, or rather, was. It was a Blog in all but name.

How it all began : As Alistair Cooke said back in 1997 :

The head man said, “why don’t you talk about the things you talk to me about? American children, the chemistry of the New England fall, out west, anything?” I said, ” well, it opens quite a field.” He said, “well, we’ll set you up for thirteen weeks, and if it’s a wild success another thirteen weeks.”

That was 58 years ago. Of course in 1946, there was no Internet, no Web for a Web Log. So he had to make do with another broadcast medium, that of Radio. And "make do" he did, with a unique perspective. When he made comparisons between the anti-war movement this time last year, and 1930’s Europe, he did so having lived through those times, not just having read about them.

He blogged about Politics, peculiar American customs such as Thanksgiving, he blogged about Golf, Tennis, Tornados, Mark Twain and Humphrey Bogart. In 58 years, he missed only three weeks, two of them in the last few months as his 96-year-old-body started to let his razor-sharp intellect down. His broadcast of 9th June, 1968 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated just yards away from him still makes compelling reading, even today.

As for his judgement, here’s a quote from a post from December :

We know the many things that have gone wrong in the wake of the false dawn of victory but, among people who’ve been against the war from the start - whether on the streets or in the study - there is a question that is still unanswered.

I’ve put it to many people, including a famous philosopher and a leading delegate of a major member of the Security Council.

Last March, if you had a choice of agreeing to invade or having the UN approve a three-month round of more inspections, what third alternative would you have had in mind? No answer.

The true, unconfessed alternative was to say - okay, Saddam, you win; go about your missiles and your labs. We’ll wait till you try to shatter Israel overnight, acquire a flock of allies and become king of Arabia, and then by golly we’ll start to fight you.

That was, in March, the true alternative on everyone’s mind that dared not speak its name.

Alistair Cooke - retired not out at 96. The First Blogger.

France being blackmailed by bomber.

The French government is being blackmailed by a previously-unknown group which has planted at least one bomb on the country’s railway system and is demanding a ransom of more than $US5 million, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.
Since December a group calling itself AZF has sent six letters to President Jacques Chirac and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, condemning France’s political and economic establishment and threatening to explode 10 bombs on the railways unless the money is paid.
The government said it is taking the threat seriously and has activated the anti-terrorist section of the police as well as the domestic intelligence agency DST.

The first letter, received on December 14, contained a series of denunciations of “politicians more pre-occupied with themselves than with the state … a corrupt economy … and a reductive education system” and ended with the words, “You will hear from us again soon.”
In subsequent messages AZF described itself as a “pressure group of a terrorist nature.”
It said that 10 devices had been planted across the railway network, and that these had been fitted with timers to go off at intervals unless $US4 million and one million euros were handed over.
A letter received on February 21 indicated that police would find a bomb planted by the Paris-to-Toulouse railway line at a point in central France.
“After tests the device was shown to be dangerous in as much as it could have smashed the track,” the interior ministry said.

Police do not believe the group has any connection to Islamic terror networks.
Anti-terror magistrates are investigating.

(cross posted at Temporal Globe)

Protests Rock Iran

From a Blog Iran email:

Thousands of Iranians seized, this evening and for the 2nd consecutive night, the religious ritual of Ashura in order to come into the streets and to show their rejection of the theocratic regime.

Slogans qualifying the regime as tyrannical and despotic were mixed to the noise of fire crackers and gave again a total different aspect than a religious mourning which the regime has based on it one of its ideological bases. Many slogans accused the regime to be the real mastermind behind the today’s deadly explosions of Karbala and Baghdad as many Iranians still remember the scandal over the bombing of the 8th Imam of the Shi-a, in Mashad, which was in reality carried by agents of the Islamic regime instead of opponents who were executed few years ago for such charge.

Sporadic clashes leading to injuries and arrests, among the demonstrators and also the regime forces, rocked several areas of the Capital and also several provincial cities, such as Esfahan and Shiraz. Hand Made grenades and incendiary devices responded to the regime’s men clubs, chains and tear gas which were used against young Iranians striving for freedom and an end to the promotion of the culture of mourning.

Several security patrol were damaged by the incendiary devices thrown by the crowd angered by the persistent repression and back warded ideology.

Most perimeters to Madar, Mirdamad, Zarab Khaneh Shahrak Gharb, Tehran Pars, Narmak, Vanak, Eslam Shahr, Dolat, Tajrish and Vali- e-Asr (former Vali-Ahd) were closed in the Capital due to the wide scale demos and sporadic clashes. The same security measure were instated by the regime’s local forces in the cities of Esfahan, Abadan and Shiraz.

For more news on this, keep checking with Activist Chat.

Philippe Says He's Haiti's Military Chief

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Rebel leader Guy Philippe declared himself the new chief of Haiti’s military, which was disbanded by ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and pledged Tuesday that rebel forces will disarm.

Philippe then said he would arrest Prime Minister Yvon Neptune on corruption charges.

“The country is in my hands!” Philippe announced on Radio Signal FM.

Philippe, flanked by other rebel leaders and senior officers of Haiti’s police force, told reporters, “I am the chief,” then clarified that he meant “the military chief.”

He said he was “not interested in politics” and was ready to follow the orders of interim President Boniface Alexandre, chief justice of the Supreme Court, who was installed Sunday.

Asked whether he would disarm if requested to, he said, “We will.”

He then summoned 20 police commanders to meet with him Tuesday and warned that if they failed to appear he would arrest them.

U.S. Marines guarded Neptune’s office in the Petionville suburb, where Philippe was headed with hundreds of supporters in a convoy impeded by adoring and cheering crowds.

Neptune’s whereabouts were not immediately known. Local radio reported that he was evacuated by helicopter. It was also unclear whether American or French marines - who arrived in recent days to secure diplomatic missions and other sites - would try to protect him. Neptune is a top member of Aristide’s Lavalas party and his former presidential spokesman.

In a phone call to The Associated Press, Philippe said Neptune would face corruption charges. The rebels appear to be taking advantage of a power vacuum in the wake of Aristide’s abrupt departure Sunday.

Shortly before that phone call, Philippe appeared on the second-floor balcony of the colonnaded former army headquarters before a cheering crowd of hundreds. A burly rebel standing next to Philippe urged them to accompany the rebel chief to Neptune’s house.

“Arrest Neptune!” the crowd chanted.

In Washington, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Roger Noriega said Philippe “is not in control of anything but a ragtag band of people.”

The international military buildup in Haiti will make Philippe’s role “less and less central in Haitian life. And I think he will probably want to make himself scarce,” Noriega told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“We have sent that message to him. He obviously hasn’t received it.”

Philippe, who arrived in Port-au-Prince in a rebel convoy Monday, apparently plans to transform his fighters into a reconstituted Haitian army.

The army ousted Aristide in 1991 but then was disbanded by him in 1995, a year after he was returned to power by 20,000 American troops.

Meanwhile, killings continued in the seaside, fetid capital. At least two more bodies showed up Tuesday on streets still littered with charred barricades set up by Aristide supporters, who rampaged and looted the capital before he fled Sunday.

A young boy with a bullet hole in the head lay by a market square. Residents said he may have been shot for looting.

At the state morgue, six more bodies arrived overnight and more than two dozen had been recovered in recent days, according to a worker there.

The rebellion began Feb. 5 in Haiti’s north. Aristide opponents accused him of breaking promises to help the poor, allowing corruption fueled by drug trafficking and masterminding attacks on opponents by armed gangs - charges the president denied.

More than 100 people died in the three-week insurgency and reprisal killings that, combined with pressure from the United States and France, prompted Aristide to flee. He currently is in the Central African Republic, trying to arrange asylum elsewhere.

The crisis was brewing since Aristide’s party swept flawed legislative elections in 2000, prompting international donors to freeze millions of dollars in aid.

Politicians and rebels in Port-au-Prince have made no public comment on Aristide’s charges Monday that the United States forced him out of power. He was Haiti’s first freely elected president in 200 years of independence.

Secretary of State Colin Powell has called those claims “absolutely baseless, absurd.”

But American officials acknowledged privately that Aristide was told that if he remained in Haiti, U.S. forces would not protect him from the rebels who wanted to arrest him on corruption and murder charges.

Some 300 U.S. Marines and 140 French troops were in Haiti on Tuesday. In Washington, U.S. defense officials said the Marines would not act to stop looting or other crimes, but would return fire if fired upon. Commanders of both forces said they also had no orders to disarm Haiti’s armed factions and instead planned to secure key sites and protect their countries’ citizens and government property.

“We are not a police force,” U.S. Marine Col. Dave Berger said.

His forces were expected to reach 500 by Tuesday night, U.S. defense officials said.

Chile also said it was sending 120 special forces to Haiti on Wednesday as part of a 300-soldier contingent that will join an international security force authorized by the U.N. Security Council.

As scattered looting continued, Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a former death squad leader convicted of murders while in exile, said the rebels planned patrols Tuesday, possibly to the Cite Soleil seaside slum that is a stronghold of die-hard Aristide followers.

Brian Concannon, who had successfully prosecuted Chamblain, in absentia for a 1994 massacre, expressed concern the violence could continue. “I’m extremely afraid for all people who have fought for democracy because they all could be killed.”

Philippe, whom Human Rights Watch said had a “dubious human rights record” as police chief of the capital’s Delmas section, was expected to meet Tuesday with opposition coalition members, who pointedly have not met with other rebel leaders notorious for human rights violations.

Aristide, meanwhile, was staying in the palace of Central African Republic President Francois Bozize, said Bozize’s communications minister, Parfait Mbaye.

A diplomatic source in Washington, asking not to be identified, said Wednesday that Aristide wanted exile in either Morocco or South Africa but both said no.

Previously, Panama and Costa Rica said they would offer Aristide exile.

Mars: The Wet Planet

NASA has made the expected announcement that there is proof Mars was once wet enough to sustain life.

Mars rover Opportunity has found evidence that the Red Planet was once wet enough for life to exist there, but the robot has not found any direct traces of living organisms, NASA scientists announced Tuesday.

“Opportunity has landed in an area of Mars where liquid water once drenched the surface,” said Edward Weiler, associate NASA administrator for space science, at a news conference. “This area would have been a good, habitable environment.”

A study of a fine, layered rock by the rover detected evidence of sulfates and other minerals that form in the presence of water. The finding suggests that if there had been life present when the rocks were formed, then the living conditions could have permitted an organism to flourish. The study, however, has found no direct evidence of life.

Duvalier Wants to Return to Haiti Soon

REUTERS: Duvalier Wants to Return to Haiti Soon

Deposed Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier wants to return as soon as possible to his homeland, where Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned as president after armed rebels took over much of the country.

Duvalier said in a television interview aired late on Monday, a day after Aristide fled Haiti, that he had requested a diplomatic passport several weeks ago, although he does not plan to run for president.

“That is not on my agenda,” the 52-year-old former ruler, now living in France, told WFOR-CBS4 television in Miami.

Duvalier said he welcomed the presence of U.S. Marines sent to help restore order in Haiti and that he was deeply concerned by the situation in the Caribbean state, although he expected Haiti to stabilize quickly.

“I’m shocked by the situation my country is in,” he said.

Arafat Adviser Killed

Gunmen shot dead an adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Palestinian-ruled Gaza City on Tuesday, witnesses and medics said.

They said unknown assailants killed Khalil al-Zebin, 59, who advised Arafat on human rights and media issues and ran a Palestinian Authority funded magazine, outside his office.

Zebin was shot several times and died shortly after arriving at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, medics said. He was a longtime Arafat loyalist whose monthly magazine focused on the rights of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

U.S Denies Aristide was Kidnapped

As noted here, Congresswoman Maxine Waters claims that Aristide was kidnapped by the U.S.

The U.S. is denying that report, maintaining that Aristide left of his own free will.

The White House and Pentagon (news - web sites) on Monday dismissed allegations that Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped by U.S. forces eager for him to resign and flee into exile.

With U.S. military forces already on the ground in the Caribbean nation and more on the way, chief presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said, “It’s nonsense, and conspiracy theories do nothing to help the Haitian people move forward to a better more free, more prosperous future.”

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also vehemently denied that Aristide had been forced out by the United States, and Secretary of State Colin Powell forcefully denied it as well, saying that Aristide boarded the plane willingly.

India to complete a fence along Kashmir border

JERUSALEM POST/AP: India to complete a fence along Kashmir border

An electrified fence being constructed by India along the Kashmir cease-fire line with Pakistan will be ready by summer, India’s army chief said Monday.

India has ignored Pakistani concerns that the fence along more than 550 kilometers (340 miles) of the Line of Control, the disputed frontier, violates bilateral accords and U.N. resolutions on the disputed Himalayan region.

“Fencing in Jammu and Kashmir should be over by this summer,” Gen. N.C. Vij, the army chief, told reporters Monday during a visit to the western desert state of Rajasthan.

Indian soldiers began building the fence after the South Asian nuclear rivals agreed to a cease-fire last month along the Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between the two countries. Both India and Pakistan claim the region in its entirety.

Indian officials say the fence will help to block infiltration by Pakistani-based separatist rebels who are fighting for independence for India’s portion of Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

Sound familar?

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
1 March 2004

Haiti: Lessons must be learned from past mistakes

Only by learning from the mistakes of the multinational intervention of 10
years ago can the international community effectively protect human rights in
Haiti today, Amnesty International said, calling on the UN Security Council to
heed five key human rights lessons from the 1994 multinational intervention in
Haiti and its aftermath as the Multinational Interim Force is deployed.

The UN Security Council has mandated the force to assist Haitian security
forces “to establish and maintain public safety and law and order and to promote and protect human rights”. Significantly, the resolution also states that
“there will be individual accountability and no impunity for violators.” On the
basis of these commitments, Amnesty International urgently calls for the
following:

1. that the Multinational Interim Force (MIF) commit to ensuring the
disarmament of both the rebel forces and the pro-Aristide militias. The failure
to disarm the disbanded Haitian military and paramilitary in 1994 has been one
of the root causes of ongoing political violence in Haiti.

for more, go to Amnesty International Press Release on Haiti

Aristide kidnapped?

DEMOCRACY NOW: President Aristide says ‘I was kidnapped’

Multiple sources that just spoke with Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide told Democracy Now! that Aristide says he was “kidnapped” and taken by force to the Central African Republic. Congressmember Maxine Waters said she received a call from Aristide at 9am EST. “He’s surrounded by military. It’s like he is in jail, he said. He says he was kidnapped,” said Waters. She said he had been threatened by what he called US diplomats. According to Waters, the diplomats reportedly told the Haitian president that if he did not leave Haiti, paramilitary leader Guy Philippe would storm the palace and Aristide would be killed. According to Waters, Aristide was told by the US that they were withdrawing Aristide’s US security.

TransAfrica founder and close Aristide family friend Randall Robinson also received a call from the Haitian president early this morning and confirmed Waters account.

Whatever his ransom is, I’m sure the Haitians will pay more to keep him kidnapped.

UPDATE:
The White House is issuing and denials proving that Aristide resigned and was not kidnapped.

Feel free to write Maxine Waters with how you feel about Congressional rumor-mongering in the press.

Aristide Leaves...The Challenge Mount

I support Grassroots International recommendations.

Sunday, February 29, 2004
Aristide Leaves…The Challenges Mount
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is no longer the issue in Haiti. Under intense international pressure and threat of a rebel attack on the capital, Aristide left Haiti today. While many will celebrate his departure, the failure of the Aristide experiment cannot be cause for celebration for any supporter of the Haitian people. There will be ample time to debate his legacy, but now is not that time.

To read more Grassroots International: Aristide Leaves…The Challenge Mounts

TheExperiment.info

Haiti: What next?

The chief justice of Haiti’s Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, has declared he’s taking charge of the country under the constitution.

Text of the the U.N. draft resolution authorizing an international force for Haiti .

With history as a guide, little can be predicted about Haiti’s future.

Read some analysis of what’s next for Haiti here and here.

Quotables:

“That’s why, if … my resignation is the decision that can avoid a bloodbath, I consent to leave with hope there will be life, not death,” - Jean-Bertrand Aristide

“This government believes it essential that Haiti have a hopeful future. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the country’s history”. -GW Bush