ISRAEL/LEBANON: Report: Israeli Warplanes Rushed to Lebanon Border Area Over Suspicious Jet

The Israel Air Force has reportedly rushed fighter jets to the border with Lebanon after a suspicious aircraft was detected approaching its airspace. Two jets and an attack helicopter were rushed to the border after an unidentified aircraft was spotted flying very close to the border, Jerusalem Post daily said. The aircraft, together with ground forces, conducted searches on the ground and shortly later returned to base after the plane turned around and flew back north into Lebanon, it added...(Naharnet).

Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&7B633BE76031D05FC22574DF0020F5B4

IRAQ: Iraq PM Nuri Al Maliki visits Najaf

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki arrived today in the morning to the holy city of Najaf where he visited the tomb of Imam Ali Ben Abi Taleb (A.S) then headed to meet Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani. Al Maliki said that the present meeting comes in light of political and security successes achieved so far and aims to brief Al Sistani about endeavors deployed to execute construction and services projects. Al Maliki affirmed that the US-Iraqi security agreement has reached final stages while negotiations are ongoing on different pending issues mainly immunity of US soldiers. He added that the US has cooperated regarding the timetable for US troops withdrawal from Iraq...(Alsumaria).

Full Article: http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-23339-Iraq-PM-Nuri-Al-Maliki-visits-Najaf.html

IRAN'S PRESS TV REPORTS: US, UK agree on settlement with Taliban

The US and Britain have agreed on seeking a negotiated settlement with the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, a British diplomat says. British High Commissioner to Islamabad Robert Edward Brinkley revealed the plan while talking to a Pakistani daily, The News at the Saudi National Day reception hosted by its Ambassador Ali Saeed Awadh Asseri Friday night. "There were good Taliban and bad Taliban present in Afghanistan. We are prepared to talk to good Taliban, who renounce violence and lay down their arms," Brinkley said...(Press TV).

Full Article: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=71895&sectionid=351020403

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan intelligence: Attack on Afghan prison thwarted

Afghanistan's intelligence service said Saturday it broke up a Taliban plot to attack the country's most notorious prison with a wave of suicide bombers. The thwarted attack on the Policharki prison on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, was meant to free Taliban and criminal prisoners, the Afghan intelligence service said in a statement...(JPost).

Full Article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1222017507116

IRAN: Iran calls for halting oil price slide

Iran's Oil Minister is calling for stability in the oil market, saying the biggest challenge now is falling demand for oil due to global economic recession...The stunning collapse in oil markets accelerated Friday, sending a barrel of crude plunging below US$78 as investors grow more pessimistic about resolving a mushrooming global economic crisis...(JPost).

Full Article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1222017507547

MIDEAST: Haniyeh: American Empire is collapsing

Enemies of US exalt in financial crisis wracking Western nations, despite toll it has taken on region. Muslim clerics, al-Qaeda leaders: 'Allah is punishing America'...(Ynet).

Full Article: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3607616,00.html

LEBANON: Lebanese banks cash in on worldwide turmoil

The credit squeeze in the United States, Europe and some of the oil-rich Gulf countries has convinced many Lebanese expatriates and Arab nationals to transfer parts of their massive assets to Lebanese banks, local bankers said Friday. "The deposit base in some Lebanese banks surged in the third quarter and this trend is continuing due to the global financial crisis," Saad Andary, the adviser to the chairman of Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries (BBAC), told The Daily Star...(The Daily Star).

Full Article: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=96679

IRAQ: Iraqi Kurds push for Turkish dialogue

Turkey must engage in dialogue if it wants the assistance of the northern Iraqi administration in its fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, the prime minister of the semi-autonomous region said...Both Turkey's civilian and military authorities have harshly criticized the Iraqi Kurdish administration for politically and logistically supporting the PKK, the headquarters and training facilities of which are located in northern Iraq, following the PKK's attack on a military post on the Iraqi border that killed 17 troops last Friday...(Turkish Daily News).

Full Article: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=117147

Iran News Round Up (Oct. 11): Turkey accelerates trade with Iran; Inflation surpasses 30%; Labor summary; Did Larijani embezzle 5 trillion rials?

From the Office of Michael Rubin

[Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation; (E) signifies English link]

Terrorism

• Hezbollah leader Nasrallah promises to avenge "martyrdom of Mughniyah: with a "surprise."

Economy

• 24 hours after president Ahmadinejad's claim that "level of prices is decreasing," the Central Bank announces that inflation has surpassed 30 percent.
• Speaking on the occasion of the former Central Bank director's farewell ceremony, Ahmadinejad discusses the "failure of U.S. economy": "The U.S. economy has reached a dead end and we don't want to have the same destiny as them...There is a lot of talk on what ought to be done in the economic field. We want to act...The claim that the free market manages all things is a huge lie and only benefits thieves and criminals..."
• The merchant Assadollah Asgar-Owladi launches attacks the Ahmadinejad government, saying that it has worsened relations with the world and its economic policies are "even worse than the effect of economic sanctions."
• Ahmadinejad's Economic advisor Morteza Tammaddon, who has just been appointed governor general of Tehran, says the Islamic Republic's foreign currency reserve reaches $20 billion.
• The council of ministers transfers power plants from the aegis of the Energy Ministry to Economy and Finance Ministry prior to their privatization.
  • Ahmadinejad inaugurating Binaloud Wind Turbines in Khorasan Razavi expresses interest in privatization of the energy sector.
• (E) Majlis seeks to curb inflation potential of Ahmadinejad's subsidy plan.

Human Rights and Labor

• (E) Labor summary

Politics

• Seyyed Mostafa Tajzadeh, central committee member of the Mojahedin-e Enghelab Eslami, continues attacks against Interior Minister Ali Kordan: "I have heard that Mr. Kordan bought his Ph.D. by paying £3000 and by submitting an article. But the very day he did so, he knew that Oxford was not one of those universities that one can pass a Ph.D. in Law by submitting a journalistic article. Therefore, in my opinion, Mr. Kordan has not been deceived [as he claims] and he knew from the very beginning that the Ph.D. degree was a forgery but, despite this, he called himself a university professor and taught Master's courses at a university... But I do not intend to attend to Mr. Kordan's past because I have warned against them in the past. I [much rather prefer] to address the case of the 5,250,000,000,000 rials which vanished from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) at a time parliamentary speaker Larijani and Mr. Kordan held central positions at the IRIB... Labor Minister Jahromi should also explain two matters. First, when and how did Mr. Jahromi achieve his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees? Second, he should answer whey he was called Ali-Naghi Jahromi when he was appointed governor general of Fars, but today he is called 'Dr. Seyyed Mohammad Jahromi'. He must explain since when and how he has become a 'Seyyed' [descendant of the prophet Muhammed]..."
• Speaking to an assembly of school teachers, former president Khatami demands "election monitoring to secure the free popular vote" and comments on the state of affairs after four years of Ahmadinejad: "The people and those who want to participate in elections must know that the present state of affairs taken into consideration one can't [recreate] - even by miracle - the state of affairs as they were four years ago. The people must show endurance, but whoever wins [the presidential elections] must plan so the country moves towards improvement of affairs...If poverty has been reduced during the recent years this trend must continue. But today buying meat has become a luxury for a considerable part of the society. Based upon statistics one must ask if poverty, corruption and discrimination has been reduced during the recent years..."
• Alef News Agency releases the video of Ahmadinejad's latest TV interview.
• Presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi holds meetings with Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili and Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani.
• Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati: "The enemies desire to make economic problems seem grander than they really are, and thereby propagate despair among the population. The enemy desires to alienate the people from the regime and make it look as if the regime no longer is capable of managing the country...The new generation must be confident that they can't be penetrated by conspiracies and propaganda of the enemy...The enemy is trying to target and influence presidential elections in Iran..."
• Larijani answers questions at Shiraz University: "We believe that we gradually can correct subsidies and avoid inflation pressure. But we do not have any opinion on the 50 to 600,000 rial [cash handout] since the president has not made any decision in this regard. This is an issue in need of research and we need to see what effects it has on inflation… The loan to parliamentarians is provided to people from the provinces in need of housing in Tehran...The Palizdar affair has nothing to do with the parliament...There was a difference of opinion between me and  [Ahmadinejad] and this is why I resigned from my post as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. This difference of opinion risked dilution of the work of the council...When it comes to forge Ph.D.'s, we have a lot of them in this country..." More here.

Religion, Culture, and Society

• Expediency Council chairman Rafsanjani praises Mahdism but says superstition is deviation from religion.
• Judges in the Islamic Republic to wear special robes.
• Mashhad Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Alam al-Hoda claims "opposition to the government is polytheism."

Trade

• (E) Turkey continues gas deal.
• Somali pirates release Iranian vessel Diyanat.
• (E) Chinese car plant launched in Iran.

Military and Security

• Basij begins maneuvers in five cities of Iran.

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad, speaking in Mashhad, celebrates a new power plant: "The era of imperialism has badly damaged culture, thought and social relations in the community of man kind in an unprecedented way, since the greatest number of killings, migrations and class division has happened in this era and was perpetrated by the imperialist powers...The enemy thinks as soon as a [U.N. Security Council] Resolution passes against us and they pressure the Iranian nation we will surrender. They were so sure in this matter that they even did not calculate with one percent of deviation. They sanctioned our banking sector, which indeed was a heavy-handed move, but our nation - despite the fact that some people inside the country provided the enemy with false information - has resisted all those sanctions. This is a great honor for our nation..."

Photo of the Day

• Women's track and field.

IRAN/RUSSIA: Nuclear Aid by Russian to Iranians Suspected

ALERT

International nuclear inspectors are investigating whether a Russian scientist helped Iran conduct complex experiments on how to detonate a nuclear weapon, according to European and American officials. As part of the investigation, inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency are seeking information from the scientist, who they believe acted on his own as an adviser on experiments described in a lengthy document obtained by the agency, the officials said...

...Still, it is the first time that the nuclear agency has suggested that Iran may have received help from a foreign weapons scientist in developing nuclear arms. The American and European officials said the new document, written in Farsi, was part of an accumulation of evidence that Iran had worked toward developing a nuclear weapon, despite Iran’s claims that its atomic work over the past two decades has been aimed solely at producing electrical power...(NY TIMES).

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/world/10nuke.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

U.S./IRAN: US Congress shelves Iran draft war resolution

The US Congress has shelved recently a draft resolution calling for a naval blockade on Iran in a sign that shows it won't approve starting a war with Iran, Iranian-American activists said. Many analysts in both Tehran and Washington, meanwhile, believe the global financial crisis, the upcoming US presidential elections and the "shift" in Israeli strategies in dealing with Iran, all eliminate the military option for the near future, at least. "There were a group of organisations, who made an efficient effort in pointing out to the members of congress that the language of the draft was potentially very dangerous," said Tripta Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC)...

...The draft resolution, which was introduced last May, called on the President to stop all shipments of refined petroleum products from reaching Iran. It also "demands" that the President impose "stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran". In case the same draft with the same language is introduced again in the next Congress session, it will end up in the same fate. But if it has been reintroduced with a different language and clarifications that "it is not a naval blockade" it will pass, Parsi noted...

...Iran, meanwhile, is monitoring closely the developments in the US and on the international arena. Iranian analysts said the draft resolution was a "useless" attempt in the first place, and an "American attempt aims to be a prelude for the issuance of a Security Council Resolution"...(Gulf News).

Full Article: http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10250956.html

U.S./NATO: US urges NATO to target Afghan drugs trade

The United States called on NATO allies on Thursday to allow the alliance to attack the Afghan opium trade, which it said was bringing the Taliban up to $80 million a year. NATO's operations commander, Gen. John Craddock, has asked the 26 NATO countries for authority to attack laboratories, trafficking networks and drug lords to stem a trade helping to finance a worsening Taliban insurgency.

Germany and several other NATO states are wary of extending the role of the NATO mission, whose long-term aim is to create conditions for Afghans to take over responsibility for their own security. Some are concerned it could worsen the violence and might cause civilian casualties that could turn Afghans against foreign forces. Proponents of the plan argue it is essential if NATO is to reduce violence in the longer term, and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the drugs trade was bringing the Taliban $60-$80 million a year...(Reuters via Today's Zaman).

Full Article: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=155471

LEBANON/SYRIA: Saniora: Syrian Military Intervention 'Not Possible'

Premier Fouad Saniora has said that it was not possible for Syrian troops to enter Lebanon despite a recent Syrian forces buildup on Lebanon's northern border. Saniora also hinted after meeting President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace that the cabinet would discuss the issue of Syrian deployment during its session on Friday...(Naharnet).

Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&D4A585A26E674644C22574DE0014FD5B

HAMAS/GAZA: Hamas to regulate Gaza tunnels

The Hamas government in Gaza has issued new ordinance under which all underground tunnels connecting the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with its Egyptian side, must be register with local bureaus and connected to the city's power grid, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday...The area surrounding Gaza's border with Egypt is believed to have some 200 tunnels running underneath it, each nearly a mile long. The families formed an association dubbed "the association of tunnel casualties," and are said to be pressuring Hamas' government to order the tunnel owners to pay them restitution, as well...(Ynet).

Full Article: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3607233,00.html

COUNTERRORISM BLOG: Treasury Reports on Assets in U.S. of Terrorist Countries and Designees

The U.S. Treasury has released its latest annual report on the assets in the U.S. of state sponsors of terror and the other international terrorism program designees (Acrobat file). This report, mandated under law since 1991, is the sixteenth released by the Treasury and covers calendar year 2007. As of December 31, 2007, the amount of assets of international terrorist organizations and individuals which were blocked totaled over $20.7 million. Of that, over $11.3 million constituted assets of Al Qaeda, and that level was an increase of almost 46 percent over the level blocked as of the end of 2006...(COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG).

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

PNA/HAMAS: Fatah-Hamas Talks Set for October 25 in Cairo

Fatah and Hamas will meet in Cairo on October 25 for Egyptian-mediated talks aimed at forming a transitional government comprising ministers acceptable to the rival factions, Hamas said on Thursday...(AFP via Asharq Alawsat).

Full Article: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=14344

SYRIA: Two American reporters held in Syria

Two American journalists who went missing during a vacation in Lebanon eight days ago were arrested on Thursday in Syria after they crossed the Lebanese-Syrian border with the help of smugglers, Syrian officials said. Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23 were detained after they crossed into the country, the Syrian foreign ministry said. It said the two will be handed over to the US Embassy following a completion of “necessary measures.”...(The News International).

Full Article: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=140156

Iran News Round Up (Oct. 9): IRGC launching unmanned naval vessels in Persian Gulf; Direct subsidies to begin; Iranian Kurds on hunger strike; more on scandal involving cash subsidies to parliamentarians

From the Office of Michael Rubin at AEI

[Thanks to Ali Alfoneh for his compilation; (E) signifies English link]

Economy

· Ridiculing the economic policies of the Ahmadinejad government, Alef News comments: "Some years ago, in every neighborhood there was a doctor who would prescribe Aspirin as a cure to all ailments and maladies... The appointment of Dr. Bahmani as director general of the Central Bank shows a similar tendency...whatever happens to the Iranian economy the government prescribes infusion of more money into the economy as the sole solution!"

o (E) Direct subsidies to begin, according to Ahmadinejad.

· Alef News describes the mechanics of train ticket racketeering in Iran.

Human Rights and Labor

· (E) 46-day hunger strike for Kurdish prisoners in Iran.

Military and Security

· Deputy chief of the Revolutionary Guards Navy commander Ali Fadavi says the Islamic Republic will launch unmanned vessels in the Persian Gulf.

o (E) More, in English.

· Salary of Iranian military servicemen to be doubled.

· Intelligence Ministry Public Relations Office claims "the famous villain Omid Aliz-Dehi known as Sardar [commander]" has been identified and arrested in Mashhad.

· Intelligence Minister Ezheh'i: "What defeats all conspiracies is belief in God and self-confidence, unity of slogans and solidarity of the elites...We expected that this year would be a very tough one and this has been the case to a degree. Let's not forget that the United States and some of its allies claimed they would attack Iran by military means, even if limited to a few targets... This issue affected the atmosphere so much that some domestic experts considered it a serious possibility and some precautions were made. The United States and her allies even threatened more sanctions, which partially have been imposed... Sanctions, pressures and psychological instruments were used against Iran and we had predicted that the enemy thought they could create a tumultuous atmosphere in the domestic arena. After the effects [of rising prices and psychological operations had worked] the enemy would seriously enter the arena. This too was foreseeable...The enemy has activated dormant or marginalized counter-revolutionary movements by providing logistical support, training and organization in order to instigate insecurity in the Western borders of the country...the enemy is also behind counter revolutionary movements in the East of the country and by providing them with logistical support, training and propaganda in different Western media...These elements are well known to the Intelligence Ministry and we expect they stop from doing so. Otherwise we will take appropriate measures with regard to them...the enemy thought that by hard countersecurity measures and provoking some tribes they could create costly mayhem for us but the intelligence of our people and executives this did allow this to happen."

Trade

· (E) Iranian car maker blasts France's political approach to cooperation.

Religion, Society, and Culture

· Son of Sunni religious leader Qaradwi refutes rumors on his conversion to Shi'a Islam.

· Asr-e Iran publishes an article on Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani's immigration to the United States.

· Hojjat al-Eslam Re'isi, a judiciary official, warns against spread of superstition.

Nuclear Issue

· (E) NATO support for Israel's nuclear arsenal shocks Iran.

Politics

· Asr-e Iran compares editorials of Kayhan on cash handouts to the members of the sixth parliament and the current parliament.

· Asr-e Iran publishes a report on Ahmadinejad's interview with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Channel One.

· Khatami vice president Abtahi attacks potential candidate Abdollah Nouri, Khatami's former interior minister, as being an opponent of the Islamic Republic.

Diplomacy

· Ecuador's president to visit Tehran.

Photo of the Day

· Ahmadinejad visits North Khorasan.

HEADLINES 10.09.2008

Afghanistan on downward spiral, U.S. draft intell report

Russia denies selling missiles to Iran

Hezbollah's Mughniyeh replaced by Iran Secret Serviceman

VIDEO: Manouchehr Mottaki on Charlie Rose

THE LONG WAR JOURNAL: Taliban have not split from al-Qaeda: sources

On Sept. 6 IRGC threatened to shoot down U.S. Helicopters in Gulf

Ahmadinejad: No difference who will be next U.S. president, our position will remain the same

U.S./AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan in downward spiral, says draft US intelligence report

Afghanistan is in a downward spiral and efforts to defeat the Taliban are being hampered by government corruption, according to a draft report by US intelligence agencies. The classified document casts serious doubt on the ability of the Afghan government to tackle rising violence from militants, according to a report in the New York Times.

It finds that the breakdown in central authority in Afghanistan has been accelerated by rampant corruption within the government of President Hamid Karzai and by an increase in violence by militants who have launched increasingly sophisticated attacks from havens in Pakistan. The intelligence briefing will be the most comprehensive American assessment of the situation in Afghanistan when it is completed in November, after the Presidential elections...(Telegraph.co.uk).

Full Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/3164057/Afghanistan-in-downward-spiral-says-draft-US-intelligence-report.html

VIDEO: Manouchehr Mottaki on Charlie Rose

Video Submitted by Joshua Adlakha, MEMG Arabic and Urdu Translator

RUSSIA/IRAN: Russia denies missile sales to Iran

Russia on Thursday denied reports it plans to sell S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran, a move that could complicate an attack on that country's nuclear infrastructure. "We have repeatedly said at the highest political level that we do not plan to deliver such types of weapons to countries in... unstable regions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said when asked about the reports...

...The comments came two days after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Russia in a bid to urge Moscow to stop possible arms sales to arch-foes Iran and Syria. Russia has in recent months repeatedly blocked Western calls for tougher action on Iran's nuclear programme, but President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday assured Olmert that Moscow wants to play a "constructive role" in the region...(AFP via Khaleej Times).

Full Article: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2008/October/international_October650.xml&section=international&col=

LEBANON/IRAN: Hizbullah's Mughniyeh Replaced by Iranian Secret Serviceman

Iran has dispatched to Lebanon secret serviceman Mohammed Riza Zahdi, nicknamed Hassan Mahdawi, to replace top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh who was assassinated in Damascus last February. The report, carried by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, said Thursday that Mahdawi's primary assignment is to coordinate between Hizbullah and the Syrian intelligence as well as help set up new combat positions in south Lebanon and guarantee regular import of weapons to Hizbullah. The daily, citing Lebanese sources, said Mahdawi was second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Beirut between 1998 and 2000...(Naharnet).

Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&9B4ED14D038946A1C22574DD003EC4A1

FRANCE/SYRIA: France to Damascus: No to Turning Lebanon into another Georgia

Paris has warned Damascus against crossing the border into Lebanese territory, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Thursday. Citing European diplomatic sources in Beirut, the newspaper said France has informed Damascus of its "clear position" regarding Syrian troop buildup along the border with Lebanon: "No to turning Lebanon into another Georgia."...A Lebanese army spokesman had said that nearly 10,000 Syrian Special Forces have been deployed in the Abboudiyeh region along the border. The French source, however, said that the Syrian measure is strictly internal and on Syrian territory, and that it is aimed at cracking down on smuggling and other crime...(Naharnet).

Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&554220330B1658C2C22574DD0038F3AD

LEBANON: Hizbullah's Man in Gaza

Palestinian Salem Thabet, a ranking official of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigade group, is Hizbullah's man in Gaza. He commands the "Mughniyeh Squads," named after the party's commander killed by a car bomb in Damascus last February. Thabet told Asharq al-Awsat daily he named his group after Mughniyeh "because he was a leader of Fatah's squad 17 and had worked with the (late) President Yasser Arafat" when the latter was commanding the mainstream guerilla faction and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon before the 1982 Israeli invasion...(Naharnet).

Full Article: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&1552BF6EFD987378C22574DD00387407

PAKISTAN: New spymaster briefs MPs on security

The new chief of Pakistan's intelligence service Ahmad Shuja Pasha on Wednesday briefed members of the Parliament on the government's fight against terrorism in militant strongholds along the Afghan border. Sources said MPs attending the special closed-doors session were made to take an oath, swearing they would not divulge information given to them by Pasha on operations in the Bajaur tribal area or in the Swat Valley in restive North West Frontier Province...

Pasha told MPs that most of Bajaur has now been cleared of militants and that the state would re-establish the rule of law there within the next few weeks. He accused foreign intelligence agencies of conducting a proxy war in the volatile Swat Valley and Kuram tribal area, with the complicity of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Pasha also stated that several Afghan intelligence agents had been arrested in anti-Taliban operations in the northwest in recent weeks...(AKI).

Full Article: http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.0.2559030825

CANADA/AFGHANISTAN: Foreign troops can't bring peace to Afghanistan: Canadian PM

Nato-led forces alone cannot bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday, a week before Canada votes in a general election..."I don't think it's viable, knowing the history of Afghanistan, what we know about it, to believe that foreigners are going to be able to run Afghanistan or Afghan security on an ongoing basis." Harper added: "What we can do is to establish some basic security and train the Afghan security forces to gradually accept responsibility for the day-to-day security of their country...(The News International).

Full Article: http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17720

EUROPE/AFGHANISTAN: Denmark, Norway back political solution to Afghan problem

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said in an interview published on Wednesday that he supported the idea of the Afghan government holding talks with the Taliban, albeit with some conditions...Denmark, which currently has 700 troops serving in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, "wouldn't accept that there are talks with Taliban who support Al-Qaeda," said Moeller...Meanwhile, Norway added its backing on Wednesday to a political solution to Afghanistan's extremist insurgency following reports that the Afghan government has already begun talks with the Taliban...(The News International).

Full Article: http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=17726

TURKEY/IRAQ: Turkey extends mandate for n. Iraq operations

Turkey's parliament on Wednesday approved a government request to extend a mandate to launch military operations against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, days after a cross-border attack killed 17 soldiers...(Reuters).

Full Article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L8320757.htm

ISRAEL: Arabs, Jews Clash in Israel City

Cars and stores were damaged as Jews and Arabs clashed in the Israeli city of Acre after an Arab man was assaulted for driving during Yom Kippur, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday. The unrest erupted around midnight (2200 GMT Wednesday), several hours after Jews began marking Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest observance in the Jewish calender, when Israel comes to a virtual standstill. A group of Jewish youths assaulted an Arab man who was driving his car, in an incident that touched off large-scale rioting between Jews and Arabs, resulting in extensive damage to dozens of cars and shops, Haaretz said in its internet edition...(AFP via Asharq Alawsat).

Full Article: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=14342

AFGHANISTAN: Reports Link Karzai’s Brother to Afghanistan Heroin Trade

When Afghan security forces found an enormous cache of heroin hidden beneath concrete blocks in a tractor-trailer outside Kandahar in 2004, the local Afghan commander quickly impounded the truck and notified his boss. Before long, the commander, Habibullah Jan, received a telephone call from Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai, asking him to release the vehicle and the drugs, Mr. Jan later told American investigators, according to notes from the debriefing obtained by The New York Times. He said he complied after getting a phone call from an aide to President Karzai directing him to release the truck...(NT TIMES).

Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=afghanistan&st=cse&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

HEADLINES 10.08.2008

THE LONG WAR JOURNAL: Taliban have not split from al-Qaeda: sources

On Sept. 6 IRGC threatened to shoot down U.S. Helicopters in Gulf

Ahmadinejad: No difference who will be next U.S. president, our position will remain the same

Israel has 3-6 month to hit Iran, DEBKAfile

Iran forces down Western Plane, conflicting reports

Yemen dismantles supposed Israel-linked 'terrorist' cell, Israel says 'totally ridiculous'

THE LONG WAR JOURNAL: Taliban have not split from al Qaeda: sources

FEATURE ARTICLE

The Taliban have not broken ranks with al Qaeda, senior US military and intelligence sources told The Long War Journal. The idea that the Taliban has severed relations is promoted by European countries who wish to back out of Afghanistan after years of bloody fighting, the sources, who wish to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the subject, said.

The reports of a split between al Qaeda and the Taliban originated with CNN after sources claimed senior Taliban leaders were in Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah and several members of the Afghan government.

But sources familiar with al Qaeda and the Taliban in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region told The Long War Journal there is no evidence of a split, and the members of the so-called Taliban delegation have no influence with the senior Taliban leadership...(The Long War Journal).

Full Article: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/10/taliban_have_not_spl.php

Related Article:

• Mullah Omar No Longer an Ally of Al Qaeda - Afghan Source (Asharq Alawsat)

IRAN: Ahmadinejad on Obama and U.S. anti-War movement

Ahmadinejad, in a live television interview, says: "During my most recent trip to the U.N., we started a theoretical debate, and parallel with this, we aimed to establish relations with the people of America...15 anti-war groups in the U.S. are of the opinion that the doings of the U.S. government are not acceptable by the people [of the U.S.]...Iran has been the iconoclast...the icons have collapsed in the minds of the people...

• We have asked to become members of the U.N. Security Council...If we become members we will fight for the rights of oppressed countries.... If they don't let us [join the U.N. Security Council], their democracy will be questioned. Regardless what happens we will win....
• [Regarding opening of the American-Iranian Council's office in Tehran], it is not the U.S. which must give a permission, but us. This office is not an issue at all and the important matter is that U.S. hegemony has reached the end of the road and [the U.S.] must change behavior...
• With regard to a U.S. interest section in Iran, they seem to be busy with their own elections...It really does not make any difference who will come to power in the U.S. Our position shall remain the same...The reason why Obama says he wants to negotiate with Iran in case he is elected into office is that he knows it is what the people want. Those who are intelligent always say what the people want in order to improve their vote...
• There has been a major transformation of our relations with the U.S., because we have managed to conduct effective public diplomacy and have managed to establish contact with the people of the U.S....
• The U.S. nation has found out that the U.S. government has lied to them for the past thirty years. Therefore they are very interested in expanding relations with Iran... It is not true that the key for solving our problems is solving the problem of our relations with the U.S....The Americans can't even manage themselves and save their own country, not to mention saving other countries..."

(From the Iran News Round Up)

Full Article: http://www.mideastmonitoring.com/2008/10/iran-news-round-up-oct-18-ahmadinejad.html

PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN: Pakistan Deports 50,000 Afghani Refugees

Pakistan has ordered the deportation of 50,000 Afghani refugees located in one of the tribal regions amid efforts to eradicate Taliban and Al-Qa’ida fighters. Pakistan has announced it is expelling all Afghani refugees in the Bajaur region, alleging they have ties to terror groups. Police in the Bajaur region recently arrested 25 Afghans and said they would be deported. Some of these refugees have been in the area since the1980s...(The Media Line).

Full Article:  http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=22935

U.S./LIBYA: U.S. Trade Office Opens in Libya

The American Commercial Services Office intended to improve trade between the United States and Libya was inaugurated on Monday in the presence of both American and Libyan officials, the state-owned Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation reported on its website. The opening of the office comes exactly a month after the historic visit to the Libyan capital Tripoli by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...(The Media Line).

Full Article:  http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=22939

DEBKAfile REPORTS: Israeli has 3-6 months to hit Iran’s nuclear sites if Moscow sells Tehran S-300 systems

Russian military experts calculate that the window for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will shrink to 3-6 months if Moscow sells Iran (and Syria) the sophisticated S-300 system for guarding those sites against air, missile or cruise missile attack. DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources report that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert failed in the key missions of his Moscow trip to persuade Russian leaders to discuss Tehran’s nuclear weapons program and to refrain from selling this advanced weapon to Iran and Syria...(DEBKAfile).

Full Article: http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5635

YEMEN/ISRAEL: Yemen nabs Israel-linked 'terrorist' cell

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced on Monday the dismantling of a "terrorist cell" which he said was linked to Israeli intelligence services...He said the group operated under the "slogan of Islam."...In Jerusalem, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry called the accusations "totally ridiculous." "To believe that Israel would create Islamist cells in Yemen is really far-fetched. This is yet another victory for the proponents of conspiracy theories," Igal Palmor said...(Middle East Online).

Full Article: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=28179

U.S./IRAN: U.S. Military: Tense Encounters With Iran Occur Almost Daily in Strait of Hormuz

...On Sept. 6, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened to shoot down U.S. helicopters flying cover aboard the USS Peliliu patrolling in the area, according to a classified military transcript of the radio exchange...(FOXNEWS).

Full Article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,433832,00.html

HEADLINES 10.07.2008

Iran Claims to have downed U.S. Aircraft

ASIA TIMES: Pakistan, U.S. await militant showdown

Iran writes very important letter to E.U.

Afghan militants key to country's future, Gates

U.S. sending Cobras to Lebanon to avert Syrian intervention threat

P5+1 Meeting on Iran in Sharm al-Sheikh Nov. 26th

NATO doubts world will stop Iran getting Nuke

Iran News Round Up (Oct. 18): Ahmadinejad on Obama, US anti-war movement; strike in Qazvin; protests over unpaid wages; can Iran survive $50/barrel oil?

[Thanks to Ali Alfoneh and Ahmad Majidyar for their compilation; (E) signifies English link]

Diplomacy

• Ahmadinejad, in a live television interview, says: "During my most recent trip to the U.N., we started a theoretical debate, and parallel with this, we aimed to establish relations with the people of America...15 anti-war groups in the U.S. are of the opinion that the doings of the U.S. government are not acceptable by the people [of the U.S.]...Iran has been the iconoclast...the icons have collapsed in the minds of the people...
  • We have asked to become members of the U.N. Security Council...If we become members we will fight for the rights of oppressed countries.... If they don't let us [join the U.N. Security Council], their democracy will be questioned. Regardless what happens we will win....
  • [Regarding opening of the American-Iranian Council's office in Tehran], it is not the U.S. which must give a permission, but us. This office is not an issue at all and the important matter is that U.S. hegemony has reached the end of the road and [the U.S.] must change behavior...
  • With regard to a U.S. interest section in Iran, they seem to be busy with their own elections...It really does not make any difference who will come to power in the U.S. Our position shall remain the same...The reason why Obama says he wants to negotiate with Iran in case he is elected into office is that he knows it is what the people want. Those who are intelligent always say what the people want in order to improve their vote...
  • There has been a major transformation of our relations with the U.S., because we have managed to conduct effective public diplomacy and have managed to establish contact with the people of the U.S....
  • The U.S. nation has found out that the U.S. government has lied to them for the past thirty years. Therefore they are very interested in expanding relations with Iran... It is not true that the key for solving our problems is solving the problem of our relations with the U.S....The Americans can't even manage themselves and save their own country, not to mention saving other countries..."
• Islamic Republic's ambassador to Iraq says the real reason behind refusal to allow the Iraqi parliamentary speaker's plane to land in Tehran was lack of preparations inside Iran.
  • Report quotes Ahmadinejad as warning Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadandi of America's "opportunistic" motives and emphasizing that "the duty of the Iraqi government and people is to resist the occupiers' extravagant demands."
• Interior Minister Ali Kordan, meeting with the executive committee of Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Revolution, says "weakness of the U.S. must be utilized."
• Iranian think tank convenes a conference on "Iran and British Colonization," to explore the current British policies and interests in the Middle East.
• In a reaction to the criticism about why the foreign ministry spokesman speaks from a podium which looks like the podium used at the U.S. State Department, Ghashghavi welcomes suggestions for improvement of the decorations. Asr-e Iran also points out that on this particular map Iran is the same size as India!
• Basij chief Hojjat al-Eslam Ta'eb, presenting commander Ebrahim Jabbari as the deputy chief of the Mohammad Rasoulollah IRGC unit of Tehran: "Today, while showing resistance of the Iranian nation towards foreign sanctions, we witness that those imposing sanctions have become victims of the worst kind of economic conditions...not only the U.S., but also those who tied their economies to the U.S. economy are going through economic sanctions...These are all signs of collapse of the camp of the West, which is due to the endurance and resistance of the down trodden nations of the world."

Economy

• Commenting declining prices in the oil market, Asr-e Iran's analyst predicts further decline to $50 to 60 per barrel and asks "what Iran would do then?": "The fundamental question is this: How much did we save from the period when oil price was up to $130 per barrel? Did we build up a foreign exchange reserve? The authorities don't provide us with a clear and official answer about the foreign currency reserve...and there is some fear that the entire reserve has gone to imports of junk."
• Ahmadinejad on the economy: "Excessive liquidity is not the problem in Iran, the important matter is the circulation of the money and to where it is channeled... What we see in Iran is not inflation. World prices have increased and this has also affected price mechanisms in Iran...Some people have taken loans from banks and they don't want to pay back...If they don't, we will publish their names in the newspapers...The inflation rate is declining...Housing prices are going down...The housing effort in the rural areas is going very well. This government alone has built 500,000 houses, and 300,000 houses are being built...We want to fight speculation in the housing sector...Our foreign exchange reserve is record high and even if we don't export oil for some years we will have the reserve..."
• At the farewell ceremony of the former director of the Central Bank, Tahmasb Mazaheri stresses that the Central Bank should be separate from the government: "People know the meaning of infusion of more money into an overheated economy...the government says it desires development. All governments want development, and it is not problem. The problem begins because this government believes development can be achieved with infusion of money into the economy, and unfortunately this misunderstanding has not been corrected..."
• The bazaar in Qazvin stages strike in protest against the municipality's attempt to fine stores displaying their products in the street.
• Energy minister Parviz Fattah says Iran faces a harsh year because of drought; expects energy and water shortage.
  • Minister of Energy warns of a "harsh winter" compounded by severe drought and electricity shortage.
• Article, entitled "Inflation is a byproduct of government's policies," critically analyzes the government's economic strategies and offers recommendations to bolster up the financial market.
• Ahmadinejad describes free market and capitalism as "big lies benefiting thieves," and calls for the implementation of Islamic financial laws to deal with economic issues.
• Report highlights notable improvement in the mining industry in Khorasan.
• Article, entitled "Lessons from US economic crisis," provides an in-dept analysis of the US financial system and economic policies. The author accuses the Bush administration of exploiting the current situation to expand the crisis to other world economies with the aim of "ensuring the interest of American businesses."
• Report says conditions are not yet set for privatization of Iran Airlines (Homa).
• Iranian daily examines the impact of global financial crisis on Tehran's stock exchange.
• Commentary in Kargozaran brushes aside worries expressed by Chairman of the Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati about foreign enemies' "plots to take advantage of Iran's internal problems, particularly inflation, to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections," saying that the regime is threatened more by "ignorance" prevailing in the government system, rather than by "foreign foes". It criticizes the government of having pursued "imprudent policies," for example "squandering $200bn of oil revenues."

• Deputy Minister of Commerce says a joint conference of all Iranian national and private banks will be held in two weeks to explore ways for further privatization. "There are no obstacles to privatization. All issues have been resolved," he concludes. He also praised the success of Sepah Bank in rechanneling some $2bn of its foreign assets into the Iranian banking system.

Trade

• Donya-e Eqtesad reports on a 39 percent rise in Iran's non-oil exports. The United Arab Emirates, China and Iraq have respectively been the greatest importers of the Iranian goods. UAE, Germany, China, Switzerland and North Korea are described as the largest exporters.

Military and Security

• Commander Hassan Daghighi, director general of the Social Security Organization of Armed Forces, provides shares in Ghadir Company for a community composed of retired members of the armed forces. According to Daghighi, there are 550,000 retired members of the Iranian Armed Forces; with families included, the number reaches 4,500,000.
• Iranian press report Iranian fighters force a U.S. plane to land in Iranian territory; the plane was allowed to proceed to Afghanistan.
  • Fars News Agency claimed that the Falcon airplane which was forced to land in Iran was a NATO airplane transporting military personnel. See also, here.
• Mayor of Bushehr, Shapour Rajaee. complains that Bushehr residents have access to only 20 percent of the city as the rest is occupied by military bases.
• Basij chief Ta'eb says Basij is the symbol of "soft power" of the Islamic Republic.

Politics

• Isfahan parliamentarian Hassan Kamran files a complaint against Ali Larijani for providing a 1,000,000,000 rial subsidy to members of the parliament.
  • Kamran criticizes Larijani for trying to silence him and says "the society is forgetting the values prevalent in the era of the Imam [Khomeini]...The Imam urged us to live an ascetic life, how does it correspond to such behavior in the parliament?"
  • Upon Kamran's disclosure of the 1,000,000,000 rial subsidy to the accounts of each parliamentarian, an unnamed clerical member of the parliament disrupts Kamran's press conference, covers Kamran's head with his clerical robe and drags Kamran away from the microphones of the press by force.
    • Baztab News Agency discloses that it was Ghazvin parliamentarian Ghodratollah Alikhani who interrupted Hassan Kamran's press conference. Baztab also discloses that Azeri members of the parliament watching the spectacle were shouting: "yalan di" [Azeri: It's a lie]. The parliamentarian from Tavalesh Mohammad-Yari screamed "he is a populist" during the press conference.
  • Parliamentarian Elias Naderan says not all parliamentarians have been granted such a subsidy; when parliamentarians applied for a lower amount of cash to cover housing and transport costs, they were provided with a more modest handout.
  • Asr-e Iran publishes a satirical article on the 1,000,000,000 rial subsidy to parliamentarians: "We are indeed very happy that the housing problem of the members of the parliament - who generally belong to the unprivileged strata of the society - has been solved with public funds. If the rest of the people have a housing problem..., it is their own problem...It is also a source of happiness that principalist and reformist members of the parliament have managed to set aside partisanship and act in unison...It is also interesting that a member of the presidium of the parliament has said that this news should not reach the media!"
  • Karaj parliamentarian Akbarian links parliamentarian Hassan Kamran's accusations against cash handouts with the Palizdar affair in which senior members of the clergy were accused of economic corruption.
  • Fars News Agency comments the 1,000,000,000 rial subsidies to parliamentarians.
• Interior Minister Ali Kordan resigns following charges that his doctoral degree is bogus.
  • Interior Minister Ali Kordan refutes rumors of his resignation.
  • Tehran parliamentarian Sarvari says he will do his utmost not to impeach Kordan at an open session of the parliament.
    • Parliament passes a law to force cabinet ministers to resign in case they refuse repeatedly to respond to the questions of parliamentarians.
  • Asr-e Iran ridicules Kayhan's attempt to rescue Kordan from the crisis caused by his forged Ph.D. degree by disclosing that also other cabinet members have had forged degrees, but this did not prevent their public service.
• Ahmadinejad to participate in a live debate with Iranian television viewers.
• Kayhan editor Shariatmaari says Khatami's second condition amounts to permission to act outside the framework and structures of the Islamic Republic.
  • Article in Kargozaran analyzes pros and cons of Khatami's participation in the upcoming polls. The writer describes the decision as a dilemma for the former president, but argues that "the advantages of taking part far outweigh the disadvantages."
  • Commenting on Khatami's "