- BREAKING NEWS (Twitter): Yemen sends thousands of security forces to 3 provinces as part of anti-al-Qaida campaign; authorities detain 5 suspected fighters - Reuters
- LAT: CIA bomber was a Jordanian double agent, ex-spy official says
The suicide bomber who killed eight people at a CIA compound in Afghanistan was a Jordanian recruited by that nation's spy service who lured operatives to a meeting with a promise of important new information about Al Qaeda's inner circle, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official. The bombing last week killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer who is believed to have served as the main point of contact with the informant...(Full Article).
- JIHADICA: CIA Bomber a Jihadi Blogger?
...it appears that a spokesperson of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed that the suicide bomber at Forward Operating Base Chapman was Jordanian national Hammam Khalil Abu Milal, famous in the jihadi blogosphere as Abu Dujana al-Khurasani. If true, this news is sure to galvanize the online jihadi community, and would represent the most dramatic case to date of the potential for virtual-to-actual jihadi activism...(Full Article).
- REUTERS: U.S. Spy Effort In Afghanistan 'Ignorant'
...In a report issued by the Center for New American Security think tank, Major General Michael Flynn, deputy chief of staff for intelligence in Afghanistan for the U.S. military and its NATO allies, offered a bleak assessment of the intelligence community's role in the eight-year-old war. He described U.S. intelligence officials there as "ignorant of local economics and landowners, hazy about who the powerbrokers are and how they might be influenced...and disengaged from people in the best position to find answers."...(Full Article).
- TREND: Iraq to beef up border security, Interior Ministry says
Iraq plans to beef up border security by deploying another 13,000 guards in a bid to prevent the entry of armed groups, an official Iraqi newspaper reported Tuesday, DPA reported..."The current troubles with Iran require a search for ways to secure that border. This is the case with every neighboring country," he said...(Full Article).
- THE MEMRI BLOG: Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki On Iran's Takeover Of The Fakkah Oil Well
- NAHARNET: Report: Risk of Hizbullah Attack on Israeli Aircraft Rises
The Israeli defense ministry believes that the risk of an attack on an Israeli aircraft will rise slightly over the next few weeks, ahead of the second assassination anniversary of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, The Jerusalem Post reported. Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Damascus on February 12, 2008. Hizbullah has held Israel responsible for the attack...(Full Article).
- NAHARNET: Jumblat-Aoun Meeting Thursday
...The reunion will precede a similar gathering scheduled for Sunday that will group representatives from Hizbullah, AMAL, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Lebanese Democratic Party of Talal Arslan and the Syrian Social National Party...(Full Article).
- LWJ: Analysis: US air campaign in Pakistan heats up
The US air campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas remains the cornerstone of the effort to root out and decapitate the senior leadership of the terror group and to disrupt both global and local operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan...(Full Article).
- HAARETZ: Iran: Clinton is right - nuclear deadlines are meaningless
...Clinton said Monday that the United States has begun discussing with its allies methods of "pressure and sanctions" to take on Iran. She emphasized that the goal was to keep the door to dialogue open, so as stop the Islamic regime without harming innocent civilians. "We share the same idea with her. Deadlines are meaningless," Iranian government spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on response on Tuesday. The U.S. and other Western allies accuse Iran of working to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge and says its program is for peaceful purposes...(Full Article).
- THE MEMRI BLOG: Yemen Source: U.S. Lenient With Houthis – So As Not To Anger Iran
- TIMES ONLINE: Freed Guantánamo inmates are heading for Yemen to join al-Qaeda fight
At least a dozen former Guantánamo Bay inmates have rejoined al-Qaeda to fight in Yemen, The Times has learnt, amid growing concern over the ability of the country’s Government to accept almost 100 more former inmates from the detention centre...(Full Article).
- RFE/RL: Clinton Says Al-Qaeda In Yemen Poses 'Global' Threat
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the increased Al-Qaeda activity in Yemen poses a threat that goes beyond that country and the Middle East at large. Clinton made the remarks January 4 at the State Department following a meeting with the prime minister of Qatar, Hamad Bin Jassim Jabr al-Thani...(Full Article).
- WASHINGTON POST: Yemeni officials, fearing backlash, play down partnership with U.S.
As the United States ramps up its counterterrorism role here, senior Yemeni officials are publicly playing down the partnership, fearing that the government could pay a heavy political price for aligning with the United States and appearing too weak to control al-Qaeda on its own...(Full Article).
- WSJ: U.S. Reopens Embassy in Yemen
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopened Tuesday after a two-day closure, saying successful Yemeni counterterrorism operations have addressed the threat that prompted the measure...(Full Article).
- PRESS TV: UN Chief: Situation in Yemen, worrying
The UN secretary-general has voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in Yemen, where fighting continues between Houthis fighters and the Yemeni army. Ban Ki-moon made the comment in a Monday phone conversation with the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his Spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, told reporters in New York...(Full Article).
- TODAY'S ZAMAN: Turkish premier says no one should mention early election
...The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party chairman Erdoğan delivered a speech in his party's parliamentary group meeting and said that the government had reached almost all goals in the past seven years.
"We have witnessed several crises. There have been many important developments like occupation in Iraq, terrorist attacks, elections and closure case. Turkey has overcome all uncertainties thanks to its sound economic structure and powerful ruling party," he said.
Erdoğan said, "some are talking about elections in Turkey. A reasonable person must not mention early elections for now. A person who loves this country should not mention it. It is a trap and it harms the country."...(Full Article).
- ALARABIYA: Israel oks new settler homes in east Jerusalem
Israeli authorities said on Tuesday they had approved the construction of 24 homes for Jewish settlers in occupied east Jerusalem in a move the Palestinians said would further threaten peace efforts...(Full Article).
- HAARETZ: Israel believes Abbas on the verge of agreeing to peace talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed cautious optimism Monday that talks with the Palestinians will soon resume. "In recent weeks, I've had the impression there is a certain change in atmosphere, and I hope that a maturation that would enable the negotiating process to move forward has occurred," he told a meeting of his Likud faction at the Knesset...(Full Article).
- HAARETZ: Palestinians: Israel making peace talks impossible
..."Israel is insisting on the impossible," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Army Radio. "It is [Israel] who is setting conditions. We demand an authorized Israeli leader publicly commit to negotiations based on the 1967 borders, in accordance with the road map plan."...(Full Article).
- M&C: Syria's al-Assad to receive Saudi foreign minister, in sign of thaw
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to host the Saudi foreign minister in Damascus Tuesday, in a further sign of thawing relations between the two countries. Diplomats in Damascus said efforts to revive the Israeli- Palestinian peace process would be 'near the top of the agenda' in the talks between al-Assad and Prince Saud al-Faisal...(Full Article).
- REUTERS: Karzai to try again with new cabinet line-up
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to present a new list of cabinet nominees to Parliament on Saturday, an official said, replacing 17 names unexpectedly rejected by members last week in a humiliating snub...(Full Article).
- AFP: Iran bans contact with 60 groups
- RFE/RL: Iran President To Open Gas Pipeline During Turkmen Visit
- ALSUMARIA: Al Maliki meets Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani
- FP: All the President's Leaks
Backed into a corner by events on the ground in Iran and a hawkish Congress that wants to enact a foolish sanctions regime, Barack Obama's administration has played the press masterfully...(Full Article).
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