MEMG: The Middle East Monitoring Group

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Report: India has proof Pakistan spy agency linked to Mumbai attacks

2008-12-05T04:40:00.002-05:00

Indian newspapers reported Friday that the government had proof Pakistan's military spy agency was involved in the Mumbai attacks, including evidence supplied by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. "The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) connection was clear and evident," the Times of India quoted Indian intelligence sources as saying... ...The Hindu newspaper said investigations into the

IRAN: Iranian Maneuvers Reaching To Gulf Of Oman

2008-12-05T04:37:00.001-05:00

Iranian Army naval deputy commander Qasem Rostamabadi has said that during the current naval maneuvers, the Iranian army is training with electronic warfare against enemy naval and aerial units; in identifying and destroying invading forces using missile boats, submarines, RPVs, and naval artillery; and in raiding coastal enemy positions from underwater vessels and destroying them using guerilla

TERRORISM: Al-Qaeda uses Youtube in new media strategy

2008-12-05T04:36:00.001-05:00

Al-Qaeda is now using the popular video-sharing website Youtube to spread its messages after many jihadist sites previously used by the terror network were shut down. In a change of media strategy, a staggering 2,000 Al-Qaeda videos have been uploaded to Youtube since the end of last year. The videos include messages from Al-Qaeda leaders such as Osama Bin Laden and his second-in-command Ayman

FRANCE/SYRIA: French-Syrian Media War over Aoun's Damascus Visit

2008-12-05T04:33:00.001-05:00

...The confrontation between the French and Syrian media was reflected in an article published by the French daily Le Figaro about meetings Aoun had held with the Israeli secret Mossad service during his exile in France. Le Figaro said Thursday that Aoun met several times with Mossad representatives between 1991 and 2005, prompting the French intelligence to advise him against holding such

LEBANON/SYRIA: Assad to Aoun: Syria Will Not Return to Lebanon No Matter What

2008-12-05T04:26:00.001-05:00

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stressed to Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun that Damascus' decision is "no return" to Lebanon, the daily As Safir reported Thursday. It said Assad described Aoun as a "noble foe" during his dispute with Syria. Assad told Aoun that Syria "highly values" him "at the national, not just the Christian, level." "If we were given the choice between

TURKEY/E.U.: Turkey’s existence not dependent on EU entry, says Babacan

2008-12-05T04:24:00.001-05:00

In the face of rising criticism from Brussels over the Turkish government's apparent lack of ambition for reform, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has suggested that the issue of EU membership was not a matter critical to the existence of EU candidate Turkey...The draft report debated by the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs is full of serious warnings for Ankara, which the draft

AFGHANISTAN: Quran in mass Afghan grave unlocks mystery

2008-12-05T04:19:00.001-05:00

A small golden Quran helped Afghan authorities identify the body of a president killed in a coup three decades ago that led to 10 years of Soviet domination, officials said on Thursday. The body of late President Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan was among dozens discovered at two mass graves in the Pul-e-Charkhi area, east of Kabul, six months ago, said Ahmad Farid Raaid, a spokesman for the Ministry of

RELIGION: Vatican: Church backs more mosques for worship

2008-12-05T04:16:00.001-05:00

Italy's Muslims can have more mosques as long as they are used as places of worship, said a senior Vatican official on Thursday. "The place of worship must have its own cultural and spiritual identity, as well as its own religious identity which is a fundamental element, and must not acquire any other identity," said Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, Vatican Cultural Council chief...(AKI). Full

Iran News Round Up (Dec. 4)

2008-12-05T03:00:00.000-05:00

From the Office of Michael Rubin at AEI SUMMARY Iran readies one-million rial note for circulation; Rafsanjani says U.S. readying for attack on Iran; criticizing Ahmadinejad's inflationary policies; AIDS rises Diplomacy Rafsanjani says U.S. readying for attack on Iran Chairman of Iranian Assembly of Experts Akbar Hashimi Rafsanjani warned parliamentarians of external threats

HEADLINES Thursday 12.04.2008

2008-12-05T02:59:00.000-05:00

U.S. should expect WMD Terrorist attacks by 2013 U.S. should focus on Iran, Obama Told, Russia trying to finish Bushehr plant by mid-09, DEBKAfile, Coalition target Iranian backed Hezbollah Brigades in Baghdad, Mumbai Attack a test of Pakistan's Ability to curb Militants, A Guide to December Muslim Holy Days; Hajj, Afghan and Pakistani leaders to meet in Istanbul,

U.S.: US should expect terrorist attack by 2013

2008-12-04T11:13:00.000-05:00

A US commission on weapons of mass destruction has concluded that a terrorist attack using or biological weapons on a major city is likely within the next five years. The study, published on Wednesday, warns of growing threats from rogue states, nuclear smuggling rings and the spread of atomic information in the developing world. It singles out Pakistan as a particularly grave source of danger,

IRAN/IRAQ: Coalition forces target Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades in Baghdad [Includes Interactive Map]

2008-12-04T02:46:00.001-05:00

US and Iraqi forces continue to keep pressure on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades operating in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Six members of the group have been captured and one has been killed over the past three days...The terror group is an offshoot of Iranian-trained Special Groups, the US military said last summer. Hezbollah Brigades receives funding, training, logistics, guidance, and

DEBKAfile REPORTS: Moscow races to finish Iran's Bushehr reactor by mid-2009

2008-12-04T02:36:00.001-05:00

DEBKAfile's Iranian and Moscow sources report that Atomstroiexport, the Russian firm under contract to build and activate Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr, is offering nuclear engineers and technicians top salaries to leave for Iran at short notice. The Kremlin has promised Tehran to have the reactor up and running by mid-2009. Some 1,600 experts are already at work on the site; the project is

AL-QAEDA: Mumbai attacks: al-Qaeda plotter behind Bali bombing linked to terror attacks

2008-12-04T02:35:00.001-05:00

India is investigating links between a senior al-Qaeda terrorist, believed to have been behind the 2002 Bali bombings, and last week's attacks in Mumbai...(Telegraph.co.uk). Full Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3546197/Mumbai-attacks-al-Qaeda-plotter-behind-Bali-bombing-linked-to-terror-attacks-Bombay-india.html

U.S./IRAN: US focus should be on Iran, Obama told

2008-12-04T02:34:00.001-05:00

Barack Obama, the US president-elect, must swiftly tilt the thrust of US foreign policy in the Middle East from Iraq to Iran by engaging unconditionally with the Islamic republic in an attempt to curb its nuclear programme, analysts at two leading American think tanks urge in a new report. The incoming US administration also must press for a peace deal between Israel and Syria and work from the

PAKISTAN: Mumbai Attack Is Test of Pakistan’s Ability to Curb Militants

2008-12-04T02:29:00.001-05:00

...President Asif Ali Zardari says his government has no concrete evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks, and American officials have not established a direct link to the government...Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice landed in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Thursday morning, pressure was building on the government to confront the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which Indian and

LEBANON/SYRIA: Aoun After Open Heart Talks with Assad: Those in Beirut Should Apologize to Syria First

2008-12-04T02:24:00.001-05:00

Change and Reform Bloc leader Michel Aoun on Wednesday said he held "open heart" talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad and advised "those in Beirut" to apologize to Syria first. "Did those in Beirut, who were at one point partners, apologize?" Aoun said in response to a question. "Those in Beirut should apologize first," Aoun told a packed news conference on the first day of a 5-day visit to

THE MEDIA LINE: A Guide to December's Muslim Holy Days

2008-12-04T02:20:00.001-05:00

The Hajj – the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are required to make at least once during their lifetime, begins on December 8. The "Day of Arafat", which falls on December 10, is the most important day in the Hajj ritual. [Mount Arafat is located east of Mecca and it is where, according to Muslim tradition, the Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon to Muslims who accompanied him.

AFGHAN/PAKISTAN: Afghan, Pakistani leaders to meet in İstanbul

2008-12-04T02:16:00.000-05:00

Leaders from Afghanistan and Pakistan will meet in İstanbul this weekend for a summit on security in Asia and cooperation between their countries, President Abdullah Gül said yesterday. Ties have been strained between the two neighboring countries recently, with Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of failing to take action against, or even colluding with, Taliban militants. But Afghan President Hamid

IRAN/AFGHANISTAN: IRAN FORCING AFGHAN REFUGEES TO RETURN

2008-12-04T02:15:00.003-05:00

Afghan politicians have sharply criticized the Iranian government for deporting more than 8,850 Afghans during the past week. Amanullah Atif, the director of returnees of Nimroz province, told Pajhwok, an Afghan news agency, that Afghan youths and families were being pushed across the border via the Abrishim Bridge at a rate of 1,000 per day. More than 30,000 Afghans have been forced out of Iran

HEADLINES Wednesday 12.03.2008

2008-12-04T02:15:00.002-05:00

ALERT INDIA: Explosive devices defused at Mumbai train station-TV U.S./PAKISTAN: U.S. Urges Pakistan to Cooperate in Mumbai Probe TODAY'S ZAMAN: [OPINION] Tribes versus terrorists [Ashley Bommer at CFR] Mumbai police not given warning of attack Larijani considers talks w/ U.S. Congress Mullen visits India after attacks Azeri Intell working for U.S., Israel? McCain opposes military

IRAN NEWS ROUND UP (DEC 03)

2008-12-03T22:50:00.001-05:00

From the Office of Michael Rubin at AEI SUMMARY Capitalism to blame for economic crisis; bread prices skyrocket; Eritrea providing base for Iranian submarines (near US base in Djibouti)? Imminent execution Economy Ahmadinejad in live television interview: "The Western and capitalist bloc is going through an unprecedented crisis. Their managers and theoreticians are hopeless. According to

INDIA: Explosive devices defused at Mumbai train station-TV

2008-12-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

ALERT Explosive devices were found and defused at Mumbai's main railway station on Wednesday, Indian television channels reported. The station was one of the sites attacked last week by militants. Police said a bomb squad was at the station but nothing had yet been found. Maharashtra state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was due to visit the station on Wednesday evening, NDTV reported. CNN/IBN

U.S./PAKISTAN: U.S. Urges Pakistan to Cooperate in Mumbai Probe

2008-12-03T08:48:00.001-05:00

As the United States tried to calm tensions between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressured Pakistan to cooperate fully in the effort to track down those responsible for the bloody attacks in Mumbai last week...In a two-pronged diplomatic effort, Ms. Rice landed in New Delhi to meet Indian leaders on Wednesday while Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the

TODAY'S ZAMAN: [OPINION] Tribes versus terrorists [Ashley Bommer at CFR]

2008-12-03T03:34:00.000-05:00

Sitting next to a four-foot-tall water pipe, I asked the tribal leader in front of me: What does victory mean to you? He sputtered smoke, raised his bushy white eyebrows, and said: “Victory. How can you have victory here?”...US has no presence in FATA. It has little contact or communication with its people and leaders. It provides little support, healthcare or aid to the population there. America