SYRIA/RUSSIA: Syria, Russia cooperate on military security

...The Tartous port is being renovated to provide a permanent facility for the Russian navy, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass said Sept. 12, giving Moscow a key military foothold in the Mediterranean at a time when Russia's invasion of Georgia has led to fears of a new Cold War with the West...But Igor Belyaev, the Russian charge d'affaires to Syria, recently told reporters that his nation would increase its presence in the Mediterranean and that "Russian vessels will be visiting Syria and other friendly ports more frequently."

The announcement - which stopped just short of saying Tartous would become a Russian military base - followed a meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in the Black Sea port of Sochi after Russia's swift victory in August over Georgian forces and quick recognition of the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia...

...Now, with Ukraine threatening to restrict the movement of the Russian Black Sea fleet from its naval base in Sebastopol - the only route for the Russian navy into the warm waters of the Mediterranean - Moscow's long-standing military cooperation with Damascus appears to have taken on new zeal...For the past few weeks, Russian engineers have been dredging and widening the port at Tartous and repairing broken piers, once used by the Soviet navy when Syria was Moscow's top Middle East client, buying billions of dollars worth of arms...

...Since then, the two nations have talked about upgrading Syria's missile defense system with Russia's technologically advanced Strelets system, provoking condemnation from Israel...Though no mutual defense pact has been signed between Syria and Russia, observers suggest the presence of Russian warships in Tartous would bolster Damascus' military standing in the region. "Israel would think twice about attacking Syria again with Russian ships stationed in Tartous," said analyst Abdel Wahed...(San Francisco Chronicle).

Full Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/02/MNIB135E52.DTL

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban leader rejects talks with Afghanistan

A senior Taliban commander on Friday rejected reconciliation with what he called the "puppet" Afghan government, the latest in a series of pronouncements from both sides on potential peace talks...the strategic stalemate and gained a clear advantage, leading many to call for talks to end the conflict and bring the Taliban into peaceful politics. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said this week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace.

But Karzai's plea appeared to have fallen on deaf ears and was rejected by a senior Taliban leader. "We reject an offer for negotiation by the Afghan's puppet and slave President Hamid Karzai," Mullah Brother told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. He said Karzai had no right to negotiate. He only says and does what he is told by America...(Reuters via Today's Zaman).

Full Article: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=154875

SYRIA: Military sites off limits to UN nuke agency: Syria

Syria pledged on Friday to cooperate with a UN probe of allegations it had a hidden nuclear program that could be harnessed to make weapons but said its military sites would remain off limits a condition that could hamstring the investigations...But diplomats familiar with the issue say requests for further visits that would include onsite inspections of three other locations allegedly linked to the reactor were turned down by Syria after the initial trip. Then as on today Syria argued that to allow access would compromise the country's military secrets...

Any refusal by Syria to permit visits to the suspected sites could spell the end of the IAEA's investigation. Initial results of environmental samples taken at the bombed site by IAEA experts have shown no nuclear link. But that was anticipated - US intelligence said the Syrians had not yet introduced radioactive material into the facility...(AP via NDTV).

Full Article: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080067611

SYRIA: ‘Syria pulls out of race for IAEA board seat’

Syria said on Friday it would cooperate with the UN atomic watchdog over its suspected nuclear programme but stressed it would not compromise on national security...The United States and its Western allies complained during this week’s general conference that Syria was dragging its feet on the IAEA probe...(The News International).

Full Article: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=139046

U.S./U.K./IRAQ: US officials 'not interested' in release of British hostages in Iraq

American commanders in Iraq dismissed a plea from the family of one of the British hostages in Baghdad for a goodwill gesture of prisoner releases during the holy month of Ramadan...(Telegraph.co.uk).

Full Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3131927/US-officials-not-interested-in-release-of-British-hostages-in-Iraq.html

IRAQ: Iraq's presidency approves elections law

Iraq's presidential council on Friday ratified a law that paves the way for the first provincial elections in four years, officials said. US officials hope the election will give greater representation to minority Sunni Arabs and disaffected members of the Shiite majority. Today's ratification will allow preparations to go ahead for the vote, which must be held by January 31. But it came only after Iraqi lawmakers agreed to set aside the divisive issues of power-sharing in an oil-rich northern region and the representation of minorities...(AP via NDTV).

Full Article: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080067609

ISRAEL: Sheetrit: Livni has 50-50 chance of forming government coalition [Visa agreement with U.S.]

4Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) expressed cautious optimism Friday regarding newly elected Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni's chances of forming a government coalition...Livni narrowly beat out rival Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz last month in the Kadima Party primary election, after which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert officially stepped down from his post in light of several corruption allegations...

...Sheetrit spoke to Haaretz while in the U.S for talks aimed at achieving a visa waiver agreement for Israelis. He said he received positive signals regarding the initiative, despite the preoccupation in Washington with the current financial crisis...(Haaretz).

Full Article: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1026268.html

U.S./TURKEY: US Senate confirms Jeffrey as new ambassador to Turkey

The US Senate has confirmed career diplomat James Jeffrey as the new ambassador to Turkey, replacing the incumbent Ross Wilson...Jeffrey, currently Bush's deputy national security advisor, was pressured by some members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation process last week to describe World War I events in eastern Anatolia as a genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. He declined to describe the events as genocide in the face of questions from Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez during the confirmation hearing and added that he would support initiatives encouraging Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. He also said that Washington favors the unconditional opening of borders with Armenia by Turkey as well as the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries...

...When Jeffrey used the term "forced exile" while speaking of the 1915 incidents, Menendez said that he was disappointed that this term fell short of the term "ethnic cleansing," ...(Today's Zaman).

Full Article: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=154916

PAKISTAN: 45% Pakistanis say US a threat

Pakistanis were leery of their government's anti-terror cooperation with the United States even before President George W. Bush authorized U.S. military action inside Pakistan without their government's approval, according to a poll out on Friday. The poll by the Gallup organization, taken in June, found that almost half the Pakistanis, or 45 percent, thought the U.S. military presence across the border in Afghanistan posed a threat to Pakistan. Only 17 percent said it was not a threat and more than one-third, 38 percent of respondents, had no opinion or would not answer...(DAWN).

Full Article: http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/04/rss.htm#e8

IRAQ: Sadr: US pullout ends sectarian violence

Moqtada al-Sadr describes the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq as the only solution to the sectarian violence in the country. The influential leader and Shia cleric said there will be no conflict between Iraqi factions once foreign forces have left the country, urging Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government to speed upthe eventual withdrawal of US troops. "I ask the government to end the occupation," Sadr's representative Sheikh Sattar al-Battat read a message to the worshippers attending the first Friday prayers after Ramadan in Baghdad's Sadr city...(Press TV).

Full Article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=71221&sectionid=351020201

U.S./IRAN: US group to set up office in Iran [American Iranian Council granted approval to set up office in Iran]

The United States has granted rare approval to a US-based group to establish an office in Iran, the State Department said on Thursday, stressing however that US policy towards the Islamic republic has not changed. The American Iranian Council (AIC), a research and policy think tank devoted to improving ties between the two arch enemies, was given a license to establish a presence in Tehran by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), officials said...(The News International).

Full Article: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=139057

HEADLINES 10.03.2008

Pakistan Intell Aided Taliban, Spanish Intell

Sunni and Shia Hackers Battle Online

NATO can't be in Afghanistan forever, Canada's PM

Palin: A Two state solution is the solution

Ramallah Real Estate Booming

ROOZ ONLINE: Bickering between Larijani and Ahmadinejad ‎

The joint sessions of members of the ninth administration and eighth Majlis, which was ‎held on Sunday night at the presidential palace in Tehran, was the scene of harsh back ‎and forth bickering between the Majlis speaker and the president; an event that is ‎unprecedented in the new Majlis era. At the meeting, Larijani accused the Ahmadinejad administration of breaking the law on ‎numerous occasions, and Ahmadinejad invited Larijani in an obviously sarcastic ‎comment to make another run for the presidency if he feels the present administration ‎really had that many flaws...

...This clear criticism from Larijani and his emphasis that the ninth administration’s radical ‎departure from policies of previous administrations accounts for current problems was ‎met with Ahmadinejad’s harsh response: “None of the previous administrations achieved ‎the goals of the development plan. The ninth administration, according to credible data ‎and figures, has had the most success in realizing the goals and has been much more ‎successful in comparison with previous administrations. Despite these achievements, ‎however, some people outside the administration and Majlis propagate negative ‎propaganda against the administration.”‎...(ROOZ Online).

Full Article: http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2008/10/bickering_between_larijani_and.html

PAKISTAN: Spanish Report: Pakistan Intelligence Aided Taliban

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) provided explosives and possibly training to the Taliban, in clear contradiction of its declared war on terror, a Spanish military intelligence report revealed, according to the Spanish Cadena Ser radio station. The report, which was issued three years ago, stated that the Taliban, with the help of Al-Qa'ida and Pakistan's ISI, received explosives that were to be activated at long distance. The Spanish report added that the ISI may have also trained Taliban operatives in camps inside Pakistan...(The Media Line).

Full Article: http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=22883

MIDEAST: Sunni and Shia Hackers Battle it Out Online

Hackers, believed to be of Iranian origin have destroyed a number of Sunni Internet websites, including the alislamnet.com website, which belongs to Dr. Aaidh al-Qarni, a Saudi preacher, and another website that specializes in the prophet's Sunna [line of conduct] and its sciences, in addition to other websites. This campaign is believed to be in retaliation for a similar campaign that was led by Sunni hackers against Shiite websites.

The hackers drew the Iranian flag on an unidentified face and wrote at the top of the website's main page in both Arabic and Persian the following Koranic verse: "If then anyone transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him [Koranic verse, Al-Baqarah, 2:194]," which indicates that this campaign falls within the framework of "retaliation."

The Iranian hackers posted on each of the destroyed electronic websites an Israeli flag divided in half next to a picture of the Arabian Gulf on which they wrote: "The Persian Gulf." They also drew on the right cheek of the face, which is painted in the colors of the Iranian flag, a logo that is similar to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]...In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat over the telephone, Aaidh al-Qarni condemned the destruction of his website by Iranian hackers. He said that "alislamnet.com has been completely destroyed and has lost all its contents."...(Asharq Alawsat).

Full Article: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=14264

COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG: Iran's Nefarious Plans for the Gulf

...Qatar-based Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi recently set off a hot controversy. The influential Sunni cleric, a regular on Al-Jazeera, stated that "Shiites are heretics and their danger comes from their attempts to invade Sunni society." Interestingly enough this is far from just a religious debate, because it actually encompasses the fear that Sunni Gulf states feel regarding Shiite Iran's expansion. In the context of a very tensed geopolitical situation in the Gulf, Qaradawi warned: "We should protect Sunni society from the Shiite invasion…. I am only trying to preempt the threat before it gets worse. If we let Shiites penetrate Sunni societies, the outcome won't be praiseworthy. The presence of Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon is the best evidence of instability."...

...Just two weeks ago, Adel al-Assadi, the former Iranian ambassador to the UAE told Gulf News that since 1979 Iran has assembled a force of infiltrators and collaborators who are ready to destabilize the region when needed...(COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG).

Full Article: http://counterterrorismblog.org/2008/10/irans_nefarious_plans_for_the.php

SYRIA/LEBANON: Syria Officially Asked Lebanon for Border Control Coordination

Syria has officially asked Lebanon for border control coordination between the two countries which requires an understanding on a number of measures, including countering terrorism and ending smuggling along the northern and eastern frontiers.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Thursday quoted sources as saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has raised this issue with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman at their recent summit in Damascus. The Lebanese Cabinet is studying Syria's request to come up with a response.

The sources said that the Syrian request for border coordination with Lebanon coincided with Damascus' keenness to deny any knowledge of the much talked about Syrian military intervention in Lebanon. They said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has discussed rumors about Damascus' intentions of a military comeback to Lebanon with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in New York...told the Syrian FM that it was impossible for Damascus to think of crossing the border into Lebanese territory not for any reason because this would be a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and UNSC resolutions as well as a challenge to the international community...(Naharnet).

Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&F0B3F5D793BE4F06C22574D60028AC96

CANADA: NATO can't be in Afghanistan forever - Canada's PM

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has committed to pulling out Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011, said on Thursday some other Western leaders wrongly believed NATO forces could stay there forever. Canada has around 2,500 troops based in the southern city of Kandahar, in a region where the Taliban is strong. It has lost 97 soldiers and a diplomat since late 2002. Harper initially said Canada would not leave Afghanistan until the country was able to cope for itself. Earlier this year, amid increasing public and political pressure, he agreed to bring the troops back by the end of 2011...(Reuters).

Full Article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N02268395.htm

U.S. ELECTIONS: Palin: A two state solution is the solution

"A two state solution is the solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said during the US vice presidential debate on Thursday night. "Israel will be at the top of the agenda in a McCain-Palin administration," the Republican vice presidential candidate insisted. Sen. Joe Biden responded by saying that "no one in the United States Senate has been a better friend of Israel than Joe Biden… You must back Israel in negotiations… not insist on accepting policies."...(JPost).

Full Article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1222017445571 

Related Article:

• ARUTZ SHEVA REPORTS: Palin Wants Embassy in Jerusalem; Biden: No Comment

PNA: Ramallah real estate boom sends prices skyrocketing

Real estate costs are breaking new records in the West Bank. The economic capital of the Palestinian Territories appears to be undergoing a facelift. Record high levels of construction are producing unprecedented numbers of new apartments, houses and office buildings. And with all the new construction comes unprecedented housing costs...(Haaretz).

Full Article:  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1025963.html

UAE: Priced out of a home in UAE

Many tenants who are having to find new homes as Dubai Municipality enforces the one-villa-one-family rule will have to pay double their existing rent. Tenants sharing houses are receiving eviction notices - and some will have trouble securing alternative accommodation as the delayed delivery of residential projects has led to a shortage of properties. Those who have been sharing villas in contravention of the rules for two or more years pay much less than than present market rates...(Zawya).

Full Article: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081003052850

HEADLINES 10.02.2008

Hezbollah orders its men to visit Syria

U.S. expert says Iran will get Nuke in 2-5 years

Russian nuke missile cruiser docked in Syria, DEBKAfile

Greece Denies Military Drills with Israel

IRAN: Iran hints at nuclear rethink if gets guarantees

A leading Iranian nuclear envoy on Thursday suggested the country could reconsider its uranium enrichment program if it gets cast-iron guarantees of regular international fuel supplies for its nuclear power plants. "We are going to continue as long as there is no legally binding internationally recognized instrument for assurance of supply," said Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, the chief Iranian delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency...

..."We have to have a contingency (safeguard) in case of interruption," he said. "This is not an overnight situation that there is a paper today, and tomorrow then they say Iran will stop. No, it's not possible. There is no way." Previous efforts to persuade Iran to stop its enrichment program by offering outside fuel supplies, notably from Russia, have failed...(AP via Yahoo).

Full Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081002/ap_on_re_mi_ea/eu_iran_nuclear

RT: Iran: We Don't break the Rules

On the sidelines of the annual conference the International Atomic Energy Agency is holding in Vienna, Iran's ambassador to the agency spoke exclusively to RT about the treatment of his country by some UN member states saying its not his country that break the rules.

LEBANON: Hizbullah orders its men not to visit Syria

Lebanese media report organization has issued 'travel advisory' to its members following Mugniyah assassination, car bomb explosion in Damascus last Saturday. Senior Hamas members in Syrian capital on high alert as well...The Syrian security organizations are experiencing problems on two levels, the report said. On the one hand, they are penetrable to radical Islamic groups which have entered Syria and settled in the country, and on the other hand, they are penetrable to foreign security organizations, leading to security concerns in Syria...

...Meanwhile, a Syrian security source reported that the country's security organizations have exposed the cell responsible for Saturday's attack...all cell members were citizens of Arab states and none of them were Syrian...According to the source, the car accidentally exploded in a neighborhood in south Damascus, and was actually meant to be detonated in a different place...(Ynet).

Full Article: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3604082,00.html

U.S./IRAN: US expert: Iran 2-5 years from nuke bomb

Former head of American weapons-hunting team in Iraq warns Tehran already 80% of the way to nuclear weapon. 'You've got a clear record of country that is damned determined at some point to develop nuclear weapons,' says David Kay...Kay, who led the Iraq Survey Group from 2003 until early 2004, said the US should line up international support to pressure Iran to give up on a nuclear weapon, while also preparing for the strong possibility that effort will fail...

...Kay said there is "virtually no possibility" Iran will give up its uranium enrichment program...He dismissed the notion that a US or Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure would be effective or useful. He said it would only delay the development of a weapon by one to two years at the most, and would unite Iran's people more firmly behind its leaders. Kay would only advocate a military attack "if I found the Iranians had transferred a nuclear weapon to a third party, a terrorist organization or another state," or if it used a nuclear weapon in an attack...(AP via Ynet).

Full Article: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3604255,00.html

DEBKAfile REPORTS: Russian nuclear missile cruiser to dock at Syrian port on Yom Kippur eve

Russian Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo disclosed Wednesday, Oct. 1, that a four-ship squadron led by the Peter the Great nuclear missile cruiser will call in at the Libyan port of Tripoli and “other Middle East ports” before heading out to the Caribbean for joint maneuvers with Venezuela. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that one of those ports is Tartus, Syria, where preparations are afoot to receive the visiting Russian flotilla...(DEBKAfile).

Full Article: http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5623

IAEA: Syria, Afghanistan battle for seat on IAEA board

Despite opposition from the West and the United States in particular, Syria appears determined to pursue its bid for a seat on the UN atomic watchdog's board, now that Iran is officially out of the running. But in a looming clash at the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference here this week, Afghanistan -- a US ally -- also announced its candidature on Wednesday...A seat has become free for the so-called Middle East and South Asia (MESA) group with the expiry of Pakistan's one-year term.

Iran had also been seen as a potential candidate, but it pulled out in favour of its staunch regional ally Syria. If MESA cannot agree on a single country, it will be up to the general conference to vote between the different candidates...Syria, for its part, refuses to withdraw its candidacy, in spite of US-led opposition, saying it has the support of the Arab League. But Afghanistan had the wider backing of other Islamic countries, a diplomat close to the IAEA said...(AFP via Google).

Full Article: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h2kzrZLoYJLwluVh1Jzra8ZfnrwA

PAKISTAN: Pakistan Navy Accepts Hamza Submarine

The Pakistan Navy has completed customer acceptance of the Hamza diesel-electric submarine, an Agosta B-class boat equipped with a Mesma air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, French naval company DCNS said Sept. 30...Pakistan Naval Dockyard, Karachi, built the Hamza submarine under a technology-transfer deal with DCNS. Two more Mesma modules are being built for retrofit on the sister boats PNS Khalid and PNS Saad...(Defense News).

Full Article: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3749395

Article Submitted by Joshua Adlakha, MEMG Arabic and Urdu Translator

IRAN/GREECE: Greece Denies Military Drills With Israel

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Saturday her country did not and will not undertake any military exercises aimed against a friendly country like Iran...She also briefed Mottaki on the initiative by the EU to address the Caucasus crises, IRNA reported. Mottaki voiced Iran’s readiness to expand bilateral relations in all areas, particularly in the energy and trade fields. He criticized the recent joint Greece-Israel military exercises over the Mediterranean...

...Israel conducted military exercises over the eastern Mediterranean and Greek territory in early June in preparation for strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Pentagon officials said...Two Greek political and economic delegations will soon visit Iran to review issues of mutual interest and help expand collaboration between the two nations...(IRAN DAILY).

Full Article: http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3233/html/national.htm#s335028

Iran News Round Up (Oct. 2): Iran will not import US grain; Israel's destruction in our lifetime; electronic warfare; IRGC white pages; teachers arrested for attending union meeting; limiting female students

Politics

• Supreme Leader Khamenei urges the Iranian nation to set aside differences of opinion and unite, warns against discord.
• Abdol-Reza Torabi, parliamentary representative from Ahmadinejad's home town of Garmsar, warns against the Iranian president's economic reform scheme.
• Ahmadinejad cancels his speech at Tehran University.
• Shahrvand-e Emrouz discusses factionalism among the combatant clergy and the background of Mehdi Karrubi's National Trust Party.
• Sobh-e Sadeq's Yadollah Javani slams the Revolution's Mojahedin's announcements on unhealthy elections in the Islamic Republic and accuses the faction of cooperating with the "enemy."

Trade

• Mohammad-Hossein Ansari-Fard, spokesman of the Agricultural Jihad, claims that "Iran will not purchase a single kilogram of grain from the United States."

Diplomacy

• Iraqi president Jalal Talabani: "Iran and the U.S. desire to reach an agreement with regard to the security situation in Iraq and the Iranians are ready to improve relations with the United States...When Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Baghdad, he informed us of his intention to negotiate with the Americans unconditionally to solve all the problems...From a high ranking Iranian official we heard that Iran is also interested in negotiation and exchange of views with the U.S. aiming at solving problems with regard to Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine...The Iranians understand the necessity of U.S. presence in Iraq until 2011."
• The U.S. government allows American Iranian Council headed by Houshang Amirahmadi to open an office in Tehran.
• The Supreme Leader adds that "this generation of Palestinians will witness the decisive debacle of the Zionist regime..."
  • (E) Supreme Leader pledges support for Palestinians.
• Raja News accuses Mossad of the bomb explosion in Damascus.
  • Basirat News Agency claims Israeli satellites transmit Mojahedin-e Khalq's television broadcasts to Iran.

Nuclear Issue

• (E) IAEA turns its sites on Israel
• (E) David Kay warns against military action to delay Iranian nuclear ambitions.

Military and Security

• Hayat publishes the latest titles from the Sacred Defense literature.
• Defense Minister Najjar praises the Islamic Republic's electronic industries especially in the field of electronic warfare.
• Hadiyan-e Siyasi-e Basij [Political guides of the Basij] stage their tenth conference on political threats against the Islamic Republic.
• Inactive defense doctrine of the Islamic Republic to be discussed by Basij leadership and academics.
• Sobh-e Sadeq publishes an interview with Hojjat al-Eslam Habibzadeh, representative of the Supreme Leader at the Command Council of the Revolutionary Guards.
• The Revolutionary Guards publishes its white pages on who is who in the guards and distributes it among the IRGC officer corps.

Religion, Culture, and Society

• Bandar Abbas Municipality inaugurates a matchmaking bureau for local youth.
• Khorramshahr governor Mohammad-Reza Amol-Zadeh says 500 pilgrims cross the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq on daily basis.
• Ayatollah Shabestari representative of the Supreme Leader in East Azerbaijan province warns the public against "spread of Satanism" in Iran.
• Amir Kabir Technical University's independent student claims the new plans for reforming the university law in the Islamic Republic prohibits female students to study at universities in other than their city of residence.
• Tabnak News Agency slams Iraqi president Jalal Talabani's statements that "the Iraqi sources of emulation do not believe in Velayat-e Faqih [Guardianship of the Jurist] which is an Iranian theory."
• Tabnak News Agency publishes Al-Zaman's (London) report on thousands of Iraqis who were expelled from Iraq in the beginning of the 1980's and received Iranian ID's, and thousands of Iranian citizens who sought refuge in Iraq and now possess Iraqi IDs.

Human Rights and Labor

• (E) Arrest of teachers attending a union meeting.
• In an open letter to Judiciary Chief Shahroudi, 1400 human rights activists demand an end to death penalty in Iran, "especially in case of political prisoners."
• Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi receives a German Tolerance Prize.

Photos of the Day

• Destruction of cemetery in Kerman.

HEADLINES 09.30-10.01.2008

Insurgents in Afghanistan gaining, Patraeus

U.S. approves F-35 sale to Israel

Afghanistan seeks help from Saudi Arabia in Taliban Peace talks

Pentagon announces 2009 deployments of 6 Army Brigades, Nat'l Guard Unit and 3 military HQ to Iraq

Pakistan changes Spy Chief

Pakistan's President met with CIA director, Report

Russia Defends arms sales to Syria

Syria's Mukhabarat Responsible for bombing?

Recent Operation against Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq

U.K./AFGHANISTAN: British envoy says mission in Afghanistan is doomed, according to leaked memo

The official version of the US-led campaign in Afghanistan received a blow today with a leaked report that the British Ambassador in Kabul believes that US strategy is wrong and the war is as good as lost. The potentially explosive views were published by Le Canard Enchaîné, a respected French weekly, which said that they were direct quotations from a diplomatic cable written by François Fitou, the French Deputy Ambassador in Kabul...the British Ambassador, believed that "American strategy is destined to fail" in Afghanistan, according to the newspaper...

...“The current situation is bad. The security situation is getting worse. So is corruption and the Government has lost all trust. Our public statements should not delude us over the fact that the insurrection, while incapable of winning a military victory, nevertheless has the capacity to make life increasingly difficult, including in the capital. “The presence — especially the military presence — of the coalition is part of the problem, not the solution. The foreign forces are ensuring the survival of a regime which would collapse without them. In doing so, they are slowing down and complicating an eventual exit from the crisis (which, moreover, will probably be dramatic)."...

...The allied governments should start preparing public opinion to accept that the only realistic solution for Afghanistan was to be ruled by "an acceptable dictator". "In the short term we should dissuade the American presidential candidates from getting more bogged down in Afghanistan," the ambassador was quoted as saying...

...The British side is particularly dismayed that they reportedly support a dictatorship in Afghanistan. Insiders insist these words were never uttered. There is a suspicion that the British position was deliberately “exaggerated” to produce a version that Paris wanted to hear...(TIMES ONLINE).

Full Article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4860080.ece

IRAQ/U.S.: Iran meddling in Iraq-U.S. security deal – Crocker

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Sunday accused Iran of trying to interfere with a new security pact between Iraq and the United States, and said Americans need to view Iraq with “a sense of strategic patience” because the stakes in the region are so high...The talks hit an impasse recently and are taking place against a backdrop of increasing calls in the United States for a U.S. withdrawal and declining interest in the war itself from many members of the American public...

...However, he warned, those gains could be in jeopardy if U.S. interest in the country is allowed to flag. “So I think what Americans need going forward is a sense of strategic patience,” he said. “If we decide we are tired of it, if we decide we don’t want to do it anymore and that it is time to turn our attention to other things, this could all go the other way,” Crocker warned. “And it is certainly my sense as someone who has served in the Middle East for the better part of three decades, that you would pay a major long-term price.”

He suggested it could be seen as a repeat of the U.S. withdrawal from Lebanon in the early 1980s, a move that led countries like Iran and Syria to draw assumptions about U.S. lack of resolve and to embrace an attitude of defiance. “These kinds of actions have profound and very far-reaching consequences,” he said...

...He said it is becoming obvious that Iran wants the current negotiations to fail. “The evidence is pretty clear,” said the ambassador. “It is the stream of public statements coming out of Tehran, political and clerical figures, all criticizing the agreement. So they are being very open about their interference.”...(Voices of Iraq via Iraq Updates).

Full Article: http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/37280

Related Articles:

• Iraq government to pay Sunni groups (Aljazeera)

U.S./AFGHANISTAN: Insurgents in Afghanistan Are Gaining, Petraeus Says

As he prepares to take up his post as head of Central Command, Gen. David H. Petraeus said in an interview this week that he expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it got better...Turning things around in Afghanistan and Pakistan would require taking away militant sanctuaries and strongholds that the insurgents would defend tenaciously, he said. “Certainly in Afghanistan, wresting control of certain areas from the Taliban will be very difficult,” he said. The same went for Pakistan, he said, where extremism presented a deadly threat, graphically highlighted by the recent Marriott Hotel bombing...

...He visited Afghanistan in August and spent a day with the Pakistani chief of army staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on a United States aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea as part of his information gathering, he said...(NY TIMES).

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/world/asia/01petraeus.html

Related Articles:

• U.S./PAKISTAN: U.S.-Pakistani Brainstorming on Border Violence (NYT via MEMG, 08.28.08)

U.S.: Pentagon announces 2009 US deployments to Iraq

Six Army brigades, a National Guard unit and three military headquarters have been ordered to Iraq next year in a move that would allow the US to keep the number of troops largely steady there through much of 2009. The planned deployments involve about 26,000 troops and would maintain 14 combat brigades in Iraq from about February to early autumn. But the decisions do not rule out potential changes as military leaders assess the security there and eye more troop withdrawals...(JPost).

Full Article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1222017427711

DEBKAfile REPORTS: US approves 25 F-35 fighter aircraft sale to Israel

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency has approved the $15.2 billion sale of 25 F-35 Strike Fighters for Israel with an option for another 50, saying it is vital to US national security interests to assist Israel develop “a strong and ready self-defense capability.” DEBKAfile’s military sources report that President George W, Bush, in mid-financial crisis, fully discharged his promise of a defense package for Israeli before he left office. There was no announcement of the date of supply. Earlier this month, the Pentagon approved up to $330 million in three separate arms deals for Israel and posted its advanced FBX-band radar system to an Israeli Air Force base in the Negev. Israel is the first foreign nation to receive the up-to-the-minute Lockheed Martin F-35 Strike Fighter...(DEBKAfile).

Full Article: http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5622

AFGHANISTAN/SAUDI ARABIA: Karzai Seeks Saudi Help in Taliban Peace Talks

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he has asked the king of Saudi Arabia to help facilitate peace talks with the Taliban in order to bring an end to the Afghan conflict. Karzai said there has not yet been any negotiations, only requests for help. But he said that Afghan officials have traveled to both Saudi Arabia and to Pakistan in hopes of ending the conflict...

...He underscored that he has in the past reached out to fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar to "come back to your home soil and work for the happiness of the people." Omar, meanwhile, released his own Eid message and launched a barrage of accusations against Afghanistan's security forces, calling them thieves, smugglers and criminals not worthy of people's trust...

...A former senior Taliban official told The Associated Press last week that the militants do not consider Karzai a strong leader who can uphold and implement any potential deal if America does not agree with it...U.S. officials have not indicated they are ready for any contacts with high-level Taliban leaders, though U.S. officials do encourage fighters to lay down arms and join the Afghan government's reconciliation program...(AP via Asharq Alawsat).

Full Article: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=14236

U.S./TURKEY: US to sell Turkey air-to-air missiles

The United States is planning to sell a new shipment of powerful AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, worth $157 million, to the Turkish Air Force, the Pentagon has confirmed. "The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Turkey of AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles, as well as associated equipment and services," the U.S. Defense Department's DSCA said in a statement late Friday...(Turkish Daily News).

Full Article: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=116475

Related Articles:

• DSCA notifies congress of possible sale of Targeting and Navigation Pods to Turkey (DSCA Press Release)
• DSCS notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Turkey of AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles (DSCA Press Release)

SYRIA/LEBANON: Syria-Lebanon tensions rise

Tensions between Lebanon and Syria rose sharply yesterday in the wake of bomb attacks in both countries. Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Beirut, accused Damascus of posing "a clear and direct threat" to his country's sovereignty. Concerns are mounting in Lebanon over Syrian troop reinforcements on the border between the two countries after remarks that Bashar al--Assad, Syria's president, was reported to have made on Sunday to a Lebanese -journalist.

Just a day after a car bomb killed 17 people in Damascus, Mr Assad said that northern Lebanon had become a bastion of extremism. Syria has blamed militant Islamist fundamentalists for Saturday's explosion. It was the second time Mr Assad had expressed worries about fundamentalist Sunni groups in north Lebanon. Last month he called the situation in Lebanon "fragile" and shortly afterwards sent 8,000 troops to the border.

Full Article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed310db0-8f50-11dd-946c-0000779fd18c.html

Related Article:

• France Warns Syria against Military Intervention in North Lebanon (Naharnet)
• LEBANON: Parliament approves new election law (France 24)

HEADLINES 09.29.2008

Dustin' off the Cold War Playbook, ABU MUQAWAMA

Syria's Mukhabarat Responsible for bombing?

Recent Operation against Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq

Lebanese Cleric claims CIA, Mossad behind bombing in Damascus

Obama wrong about Pakistan, FP

Iran's Central Bank Governor's Farewell Letter Revealed

U.S./IRAN: Dems bury resolution due to war fears

The House Democratic leadership has effectively shelved a resolution calling for what critics say would amount to a naval blockade of Iran because of concerns that it could provoke another war, officials on Capitol Hill said. Even though the document would not be a law but a "statement of policy" aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the Democratic leadership is worried that it could be viewed by the Bush administration as a green light to use military force against Iran, officials said...

...The nonbinding resolution, which is a top legislative priority of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), also says that "nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization of the use of force against Iran."

"We'll resubmit it when Congress comes back, and we'll have even more signatures," said Rep. Gary L. Ackerman, New York Democrat and author of the resolution, adding that it now has at least 270 co-sponsors...

...The draft has divided congressional Democrats, some of whom are torn between their support for Israel and concern about Iran's behavior on one hand, and potentially helping to provoke hostilities with Iran on the other.

It has also prompted aggressive lobbying against the document by Iranian-American groups...

A similar draft has been introduced in the Senate. Although its language appears to be less controversial than the House version, it will not reach the floor either, officials said...(Washington Times).

Full Article: http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/sep/26/democrats-bury-resolution-due-to-fears-of-another-/

IRAQ: Iraq buys 12 US-made reconnaissance planes

Iraq has bought 12 new U.S.-built reconnaissance planes to bolster surveillance of its borders and better track movement of extremist groups, the Defense Ministry said Monday. Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said six King Air planes have been delivered, with six more expected to arrive soon...

...Defense Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obeidi said in a statement Sunday that "these planes have been bought with Iraqi money" but he did not disclose the value of the purchase. The planes already have been flown over Baghdad by trained Iraqi pilots, according to the statement...(IHT).

Full Article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/29/news/ML-Iraq.php

PAKISTAN: Pakistan changes chief of controversial spy agency

Pakistan has appointed a new chief for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, months after U.S. officials had questioned the reliability of the military's premier spy agency in the war against terrorism. In a statement released late on Monday evening, the military said Lieutenant General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, formerly head of Military Operations, had been appointed Director-General of the ISI, replacing Lieutenant-General Nadeem Taj...(Reuters).

Full Article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL254043.htm

U.S./PAKISTAN: Zardari met CIA director secretly: Report

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari secretly met the director of America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Michael Hayden on his recent US visit, a media report said on Monday. Details of the meeting were not given but a regular columnist of the New York Times reported that Zardari has replaced heads of three directorates of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. Zardari said Pakistan's new government will confront the Taliban militants, to "free the country" from their hold...(NDTV).

Full Article: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080067181

ISRAEL: Olmert: Israel should give up nearly all occupied land

Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a newspaper interview that the Jewish state would have to withdraw from all the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in order to achieve peace...(France 24).

Full Article: http://www.france24.com/en/20080929-israel-ehud-olmert-peace-jerusalem-golan-withdraw-occupied-land-palestinians-syria

RUSSIA/SYRIA: Russia defends arms sales to Syria

Russia's foreign minister said Monday his country's sale of weapons to Syria won't upset the balance of power in the Middle East...Syria is adding the latest Russian MiG-29SMT fighter to 36 Pantsir S1E air-defense systems purchased from Russia, RIA Novosti reported, noting Syria also hopes to buy Strelets short-range air defense systems, Iskander tactical missile systems, Yak-130 aircraft and two Amur-1650 submarines -- all Russian-made. Russia plans to turn a Soviet-era navy site in the Syrian port of Tartus into a permanent naval base, RIA Novosti reported, adding that 10 Russian warships are deployed there now while Russia expands the port...(UPI).

Full Article: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/29/Russia_defends_arms_sales_to_Syria/UPI-28611222726785/

TURKEY/IAEA: Turkey likely to be elected to IAEA board, sources say

Turkey is likely to be elected to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in elections that will be held during the ongoing annual assembly of the international body in Vienna, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday, citing diplomatic sources...(Today's Zaman).

Full Article: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=154703