EU-DIGEST

Mumbai attacks: Was computer expert aged 36 the mastermind? - by Emily Pykett

Uncertainty is a key weapon in the armoury of Islamic fundamentalist terror. As investigators, experts and analysts grope for the truth, someone somewhere is taking satisfaction from the horrified confusion the Mumbai attacks have caused. Analysts are divided over whether the hand of al-Qaeda can be detected. The only claim of responsibility comes from a group that may not even exist: an e-mail message claiming responsibility and sent to Indian media on Wednesday night said the attackers were from a group called Deccan Mujahideen. Alex Neill, head of the Royal United Services Institute's Asia security program, believes the attacks were probably carried out by local jihadists linked to the radical Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), a banned Islamic fundamentalist organization which advocates the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic state. One possible mastermind and Simi member is Abdul Subhan Qureshi, a 36-year-old computer engineer suspected of being behind multiple bombings in Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad earlier this year.

Labels: India, Mumbai, Terrorism

Sandra Samuel and Moshe Holtzberg escape from Chabad House in Mumbai

An EU-Digest editorial on the dramatic events at the Rohr Chabad House in Mumbai

Sandra Samuel and Moshe Holtzberg - The Mumbai Miracle: God lives in all

Last Thursday, as the world watched the horrors unfolding in Mumbai, many of us saw Moshe Holzberg being carried out of the Rohr Chabad House by Sandra Samuel (44), an Indian nanny who had worked at the Jewish community center for years. She had found Moshe crying beside his parents’ bodies, drenched in blood. The parents, his mother Rivkah Holtzberg, 28, was an Israeli citizen, while his father, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, had dual American and Israeli citizenship. They had come to Mumbai in August 2003 to operate a home for the Jewish community, where travelers could get a kosher meal, attend Shabbat services, and relax in a library filled with a variety of works, including many books even some by Woody Allen and manuscripts on Jewish philosophy.

Last week their lives on earth abruptly ended, when they were executed in their home by a highly trained, tightly knit, and well-financed, ruthless group of Islamic militants.

When the attack on the Rorh Chabad House began last Wednesday, Sandra Samuel heard explosions and gunshots on an upper floor of the center and locked herself and fellow employee Zaki Hussein in a downstairs utility room. Late Thursday morning, she heard Moshe screaming, ran upstairs, eluded roaming gunmen, even stared some of them down, and found the child beside the bodies of his parents, carried him downstairs, and brought Moshe to safety. Mr. Hussein helped Ms. Samuel conceal Moshe, as the three escaped from Rorh Chabad House.

Sandra Samuel now continues to help care for Moshe Holtzberg in Israel. Her emigration from India was expedited when the Israeli government declared her one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” and issued her an immigration permit. Recipients of this honor, awarded by a special commission headed by a Supreme Court Justice in Israel, include Oskar and Emilie Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, and Corrie ten Boom. People and groups that receive this title, have risked their lives to save others, many during the Holocaust. Sandra Samuel is the first citizen of India to receive this honor.

As dramatic as this report may sound, it underscores the fact that God does not belong to any religion, but that he lives in all of us. Moshe Holtzberg and Sandra Samuel are a living proof of that, and as difficult as this is to say, also in those militants, who decided not to kill Moshe, after they killed his parents.

Labels: God, India, Israel, Moshe Holtzberg, Mumbai, Religion, Sandra Samuel, Terrorism

For years, terrorists and insurgents around the world have used off-the-shelf hardware and software to stay ahead of bigger, better-funded authorities. In 2007, former U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid complained that, with their Radio Shack stockpile of communications gear, "this enemy is better networked than we are." The strikes in Mumbai, India that killed at least 174 appears to be another example of how wired today's "global guerrillas" can be.The Mumbai terrorists used an array of commercial technologies -- from Blackberries to GPS navigators to anonymous e-mail accounts -- to pull off their heinous attacks. Once the coordinated attacks began, the terrorists were on their cell phones constantly. They used BlackBerries to monitor international reaction to the atrocities, and to check on the police response via the internet. The terror group then took credit for the bloodshed with a series of e-mails to local media. They used a "remailer" service to mask their identities; earlier attacks were claimed from cyber cafes.

Labels: India, Internet, Mumbai, Technology, Terrorism

Mumbai Attacks: 'If You Go After the Wrong People, You Convert Moderates into Extremists' - by Deepak Chopra

There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. That's 25 percent of the population of the world. It's the fastest-growing religion in the world. We cannot, if we do not appease and actually recruit the help of this Muslim world, we're going to have a problem on our hands. And we cannot go after the wrong people, as we did after 9/11, because then the whole collateral damage that occurs actually aggravates the situation.India at this moment has to contain any reactive violence from the fundamentalist Hindus, which is very likely and possible. So India has to condemn that by not blaming local Muslims. They have to identify the exact groups. And the world has to be very careful that they don't go after the wrong people. Because if you go after the wrong people, you convert moderates into extremists. It happens every time, and retribution against innocent people just because they have the same religion actually aggravates and perpetuates the problem." Note EU-Digest: "This morning when Special Forces from the Indian military were interviewed they disclosed the terrorists not only carried a large arsenal of munition and explosives, but also US dollars and CitiBank credit cards."

Labels: Citibank, India, Mumbai, Terrorism

India's peaceful illusion has been shattered- by Dibyesh Anand

The attacks in Mumbai raise the question: is a secular democratic setup sufficient to tackle religious extremism? Yet another terrorist attack in an Indian city punctures any illusions Indians and foreigners may harbour about economic growth leading to more peace and stability. The coordinated violence directed at symbolic targets and real people reflect careful planning of a kind hitherto unseen from indigenous extremist movements. The primary aim was to instill overwhelming terror and get maximum publicity. Why target UK and US passport holders and not all westerners? We need to wait for more confirmation but one can guess that the backers of the perpetrators would be using the invasion of Iraq as a defining moment for themselves. The clearest example of the international character of terrorism is not so much the two luxury hotels frequented by foreigners, but holding hostage a Jewish Rabbi and reportedly many other Israelis. In India's domestic scenario, it makes no sense for terrorists to target Jews or Israelis; Israel is not a factor within Indian politics and India has always had close relations with Arab countries.

The only conclusion one can hazard is that like most other Islamist radicals, the actors sought to scavenge upon real and imaginary grievances of Muslims throughout the world. This international jihadi nature of violence, which cannot be described as anything except terrorism, has never manifested itself so visibly in the world's largest democracy. How can any state respond to extremist movements who see their struggle merely as a local chapter of a global war?

Labels: India, Mumbai, Muslim extremists, Terrorism

India -Mumbai - Citizen journalism' offers intimate view of Mumbai attacks

From Twitter to Youtube, online platforms enabled Internet users to read and watch first-hand reports on the series of deadly Mumbai attacks that rocked the Indian financial capital within a few hours of the first blasts. Internet users were able to read and watch first-hand reports on the series of deadly Mumbai attacks that rocked the Indian financial capital within hours of the first blasts, a sure sign that the World Wide Web is revolutionising the way information reaches readers. Online blog and chat service Twitter gathers fresh news from dozens of commentators every few seconds. Some use the chat to reassure their friends and family: “In Mumbai and safe”, wrote user s4ur4bh at 2h50 am. Others offer their analysis on the nature of the little-known Deccan Mujajideen terrorist group, whose members claimed responsibility for the attack. An entry on the attacks was quickly created on the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia, with fresh updates that provided more detailed reports than many traditional media sources could offer. “Attacks took place in South Mumbai, at the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station; two five-star hotels, the Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace & Tower; the Leopold Cafe, a popular tourist restaurant; a hospital; and the police headquarters where at least three high-level officers, including the anti-terrorism chief, were killed by gunfire,” it stated late on Wednesday.

Labels: India, Mumbai, Muslim extremists, Terrorism

Labels: EU, Islam, Terrorism, US

Travelers to US without visas or visa waivers required to register via the Internet

Travelers who don't need visas to enter the United States will be required to register on line with the U.S. government at least three days before they visit, a security regulation set to begin next year.Those needing to register will be travelers from the 27 countries whose citizens are not required to obtain visas for U.S. entry. The counties include those in most of western Europe as well as Andorra, Australia, Brunei, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. Eight other countries — the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Korea among them — are expected to be admitted to the visa waiver program.

When the Homeland Security Department began discussing the online registration rule last year, European businesses worried that business travel could be impeded. NOTE EU-Digest: This will not only be the kiss of death for business travel to the US, but also work negatively on European tourist travel to US.

Labels: EU, Terrorism, Tourism, travel, US

When talking with terrorists makes sense- by Paul Staniland

While many politicians are willing to engage with "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea, they draw the line at terrorists, who are seen as intrinsically ruthless and radical. That's why "I will not negotiate with terrorists" is a refrain heard across the political spectrum – and why Jimmy Carter took such flak recently for visiting with Hamas. But this knee-jerk rejection of negotiation with radicals is deeply misguided and likely to do more harm than good. The smart question is not whether to talk to terrorists, but, instead, which terrorists to talk to and how to talk to them. Some terrorist and insurgent groups are very powerful. They are embedded in robust social networks, generate revenues from areas under their control, and have enough military power to impose serious costs on governments. They cannot be easily crushed, nor can they be wished away.Negotiations and cease-fire talks, or their offer, should be seen as one of a range of tools for overcoming militancy. Indeed, there are three good strategic reasons to talk to these kinds of armed organizations.

Labels: EU, Terrorism, US

Out of Africa: a growing threat to Europe from al-Qaeda's new allies - by David Sharrock

Intelligence sources and Western diplomats have told The Times that a new force – an Algerian group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – aims to create an arc of influence throughout North Africa by spreading Osama bin Laden’s “brand” through a fusion of disparate fundamentalist groupings. Ernst Uhrlau, the head of the German foreign intelligence agency, said recently: “We are watching the activities of al-Qaeda in North Africa with great concern. A handful of groups have become ensconced there, largely unobserved, and are strengthening bin Laden’s terrorist network. What is evolving there brings a completely new quality to the jihad on our doorstep.” In Tunisia this week the French President echoed this nervousness. “Who could believe that if tomorrow, or after tomorrow, a Taleban-type regime were established in one of your countries in North Africa, Europe and France could feel secure?” President Sarkozy asked.

Note EU-Digest: It is amazing that most of these alarming reports about terrorism all seem to originate from conservative circles in the US, Britain,France and probably soon also Italy, after Berlusconi took power again. Fear mongering in these circles seems to be their hidden agenda to curb civil liberties and use force to establish a foothold in those countries which have large reserves of natural gas and oil. All we have to do is look at Iraq to see what arguments were used to attack that country and the results following the invasion. We were all fooled then, lets us not fall for the same nonsense again.

Labels: Africa, Conservatives, EU, Middle East, Terrorism

Official Explanation Of Deadly Mosque Explosion Questioned

Two days after a deadly explosion at a mosque in one of Iran's largest cities, controversy has erupted over the cause of the blast. Eyewitnesses and some local officials say it appeared to be a bomb blast, while Iranian officials in Tehran say the explosion was accidentally caused by leftover ammunition from an exhibition recently held in the mosque.The latest official figures say 12 people died and some 200 were injured in the explosion at the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on April 12. The explosion happened as the main cleric, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Enjavinejad, was leading his regular service for some 800 people.

Labels: Iran, Terrorism

Terrorism - The mission to crack the 911 case gains traction

After shouting from the rooftops for months, regularly aggrevating friends and acquaintances and pestering outright strangers standing in line at the grocery store about the travesty of the 911 attacks, I am encouraged to see that the movement to get to the truth is gaining legitimate traction. A sober, sensible examination of the events of 911 by a growing number of once-duped Americans is well under way, bolstered by an impressive collection of professionals in a wide variety of fields. The taboo once attached to questioning your government is fading, and rightly so. The deliberate, insidious lies and procedures that cloaked the facts about the horrible attacks - and later lured the American public and Congress to support the Iraq catastrophe - shows just what persons of the highest power are capable of - in pursuit of hidden agendas, engaged in the worst kind of group-think and without conscience.

Labels: 9/11, Terrorism, US

What France Does Best — y Reuel Marc Gerecht & Gary J. Schmitt

Two waves of terrorist attacks, the first in the mid-1980s and the second in the mid-1990s, have made France acutely aware of both state-supported Middle Eastern terrorism and freelancing but organized Islamic extremists. In comparison, the security services in Great Britain and Germany were slow to awaken to the threat from homegrown radical Muslims. Britain’s gamble was that its multicultural approach to immigrants was superior to France’s forced-assimilation model. But with the discovery of one terrorist plot after another being planned by British Muslims, as well as the deadly transportation bombings that took place in London on July 7, 2005, the British have begun to question the wisdom of their “Londonistan” approach to Muslim immigration.

Similarly, until recently, the belief in Berlin was that Germany was safe from homegrown Muslim terrorism; but two major bomb plots over the past year and a half—one aimed at German trains, the second at American installations and interests in Germany—have raised serious doubts in the minds of many German security officials about that previous assumption. And French scholars and journalists have been way ahead of their European and American counterparts in dissecting Islamic extremism and in analyzing the phenomenon of European-raised Muslim militants. French officials who work in counterterrorism are well apprised of this intellectual spadework, often maintaining friendly relationships with scholars and journalists working in the field. The French interior ministry and prison system, for example, were remarkably helpful to the Franco-Iranian sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar in his interviews of jailed al-Qaeda members.

Labels: EU, Europe, France, Terrorism

Wilders's great ordeal - by Mark Bogaers

This Dutch MP deserves some credit for challenging social democracy and multiculturalism in the Netherlands. I have been pretty critical of Geert Wilders lately. I have dismissed his plans to ban Muslims from obtaining permanent residence in the Netherlands, and I never liked his call for banning the Qur'an either. If Wilders's soon-to-be-published film on the Qur'an consists of nothing more than him shockingly calling the book "fascist" and burning its pages on the fireplace, the Dutch will be better off without it. On the other hand, it might just turn out that this film, entitled "Fitna" (Arabic for "ordeal"), will actually teach us something about the Qur'an and the way it is currently being adopted by radical Muslims all over the world.

One particular development has raised my hopes in this respect: just after I had in a Dutch blog mourned the fact that Wilders hardly ever explains his views in extensive interviews (but, indeed, usually limits his parliamentary contribution to mere oneliners), he was interviewed by Fox News. Even though Fox's anchor was clearly anxious about religious sensitivities on the part of his Muslim audience, Wilders brought his message across in a polite, calm and thorough manner, speaking with a clear accent but in otherwise excellent English.

Asked about his upcoming movie, Wilders answered: "Qur'an is Islam, unfortunately. The movie is about both. The main issue is the book, the fascist book, the Qur'an. And what I want to show with this movie ... is to show to people that many verses from many surahs are very bad indeed, and still, even today -- and I'm not talking about centuries ago -- are inspiring people to do the worst. Often implemented in laws in many countries in the Middle East, but, once again, also in Europe and the United States, it's inspiring people to do the worst things. And this is what I want to show, why we should get rid of this terrible book."

Despite his pessimism on this matter, he made one thing crystal clear when he said: "But I do believe in people. Which means that if Muslims try, really want, to assimilate in the Dutch society, they will have to get rid of the tough and intolerant and fascist parts of the Qur'an. But if they want to assimilate, and take our values to their values, of course, I have nothing against them. They are worth, and have chances, as much as you and me or any other." How radical is it, really, to expect Dutch residents to live up to the standards of this country?

Labels: EU, Geert Wilders, Terrorism, The Netherlands

Fewer European overseas tourists visit US

The number of overseas tourists visiting the United States declined last year, serving as yet another indication that the slowing of the world economy, coupled with high oil prices, is also hurting the travel industry. The US Department of Commerce made public key figures earlier today that suggest a noticeable drop in the number of overseas visitors to America. Most conservative estimates indicate that the number of tourists arriving on long-haul flights decreased by about 11 percent last year, when compared with figures from 2000. The Travel Industry Association (TIA) also contends that the number of overseas visitors is likely to continue to decline, at least over the short-term. The drop in European tourists to the US, however, is somewhat surprising, considering the fact that these visitors can take advantage of very beneficial exchange rates, since in 2007 the US dollar lost a significant amount of its value against both the euro and the British Pound. This exchange rate has made travel to the US much cheaper for Europeans, but trips to Europe far more costly for American citizens.

In concrete numbers, the US saw approximately 10 million fewer tourists last year than what had been expected. Note EU-Digest: Another reason for this drop in tourism to the US from overseas is the increased red-tape related to what seem to be unnecessary US security measures. For instance, transit passengers arriving at a US airport of entry who need to transfer to an ongoing flight have to go through the "belts and shoes off" screening procedure again, even though they or their luggage have not gone out of a secured area.

Labels: EU, security, Terrorism, Tourism, US

Labels: EU, PKK, Terrorism

When is war a crime? - by Carol Rosenberg

When did the war on terror begin? Is the globe really one big battlefield? Can one gunman's firefight be another man's terror?

Or, is it like US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's definition of pornography: "People know it when they see it"? At the military commissions in Guantanamo, the definition of the ongoing war on al Qaeda -- when it started, who is immune from prosecution -- is emerging as a core issue for military judges and eventually U.S. officers who will sit in judgment on alleged terrorists swept up in the Pentagon's global war on terrorism.

Defense lawyers for Guantánamo captives accused the prosecution of, in a sense, shaping the war to fit each detainee's circumstance. In the case of Omar Khadr, accused of throwing a grenade at age 15 that killed an American soldier in a firefight in Afghanistan, his case alleges a war crimes conspiracy dating back to 1997, when his father moved the family from Toronto to Afghanistan. 'According to a recent US government filing, Omar allegedly began `conspiring' with al Qaeda to commit 'war crimes' as a 10-year-old child,'' Khadr's defense lawyer, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said in an e-mail. Ridiculing the US government's case, he added: 'Omar's `war' has consisted of being shot in the back, while wounded, after a four-hour bombardment, followed by years of illegal detention, coercive interrogation, and a planned trial for war crimes, which will likely result in a life sentence for little more than surviving the firefight in which he was shot.''

Labels: Guantanamo, Terrorism

Al-Qaeda Using Internet to Recruit in Germany, Government Says - by Alan Crawford

Al-Qaeda is targeting potential recruits in Germany through the Internet, the government said, confirming a newspaper report that militant Islamists may be planning a terrorist attack in Germany.

German intelligence services have observed an increase in the number of German-language Internet sites that promote al- Qaeda, including video sites with German subtitles, a government spokesman told a news conference in Berlin today. The sites focus on recruitment of potential volunteers, spreading a radical message and providing technical information such as bomb-making instructions, the government said. Germany is increasingly in the sights of al-Qaeda, it said.

Labels: Al-Qaeda, Germany, Terrorism

Europe-wide terror plot thwarted

According to the testimony of a police informant, the 14-member terror cell affiliated with al-Qaeda planned to strike cities in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, and Britain. The police source said the suspects focused their attention on public transportation targets, including subways, in various cities across Europe.Security officials in Barcelona estimated that the terror attack was scheduled to be carried out in the next two weeks. According to the report, other cell members were tasked with similar missions in other European cities based on the same modus operandi.

Labels: EU, Spain, Terrorism

Democracy has another martyr. Now we wait to see whether its enemies will have the ultimate triumph. Will parliamentary rule be restored in Pakistan? Or will the country collapse into the most terrifying sort of rogue state - a nuclear-empowered one - or simply subside back into its familiar condition as a hell's kitchen of tribal corruption and safe haven for resting terrorists? Somehow we must get past the hideous obstacle of George Bush, whose bizarre misjudgments nearly succeeded in discrediting the whole concept of liberal interventionism: there is a sound reason why, in spite of Mr Bush, no serious contender for the White House (or for Downing Street, for that matter) will actually renounce the principle of free-world intervention. Every responsible member of the political class is aware that the West actually has no choice. Its values are not simply being challenged in a global struggle for territory and influence as they were during the Cold War. They are under positive threat of destruction from a fluid alliance of Islamist fundamentalists, feudal warlords and corrupt dictators, all of whom see the spread of democracy as a viral threat to their survival.

The appeasement argument then generally takes on a patronisingly racist dimension: "Democracy is fine for Europeans and their New World descendants, but there are many peoples in the world who are just not ready for self-government. They actually prefer being governed by a strong dictator even if he is corrupt." So, I ask, if these benighted populations are so bovine and content under their dictatorships, why do they flee to our borders in such numbers that we are sinking under the responsibility of accommodating them? And if life under a tinpot tyrant has its consolations, how come so few people are attracted to it? Why are there not crowds of clamouring migrants going in the other direction to enjoy the charms of a voteless, voiceless existence?

Labels: Democracy, Terrorism

Britain Drops 'War on Terror' Label

The words "war on terror" will no longer be used by the British government to describe attacks on the public, the country's chief prosecutor said Dec. 27. Sir Ken Macdonald said terrorist fanatics were not soldiers fighting a war but simply members of an aimless "death cult." The Director of Public Prosecutions said: 'We resist the language of warfare, and I think the government has moved on this. It no longer uses this sort of language."

Labels: Britain, EU, Terrorism

The language of science, like that of the United Nations, is by nature cautious and measured. That makes the dire tone of the just-released final report from the fourth assessment of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a network of thousands of international scientists, all the more striking. Global warming is "unequivocal." Climate change will bring "abrupt and irreversible changes." The report, a synthesis for politicians culled from three other IPCC panels convened throughout the year, read like what it is: a final warning to humanity. "Today the world's scientists have spoken clearly, and with one voice," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, who attended the publication of the report in Valencia, Spain. Climate change "is the defining challenge of our age."

Labels: Global warming, Terrorism, United Nations

Terror List Exposes U.S. Hypocrisy

America has declared its intent to fight terrorism across the globe by attacking extremists wherever they exist. The war on terror extends from the sands of Iraq to the cities of Europe, and in order to combat terrorism effectively, America has placed many extremist groups on its "terror list." Groups that are on this list - which counts al Qaeda, the Irish Republican Army, and Hamas among its members - are severely restricted with regards to their international financing and movements of supplies and people. The long arm of American law has reached out to help Turkey in its recent battles with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), as the group is on the terror list. Other Kurdish rebels, however, don't have the same black label and that is hypocritical. The Party for Free Life in Kurdistan - also known as the PJAK - is a violent Kurdish militia that operates along the border between Iraq and Iran. Similar to the PKK, the PJAK draws Kurdish nationalists to its cause from Iraq, Iran and Turkey. It is well armed and nearly impossible to corner because of the rugged, mountainous regions it operates in. Just like the PKK, the PJAK violently demands an independent Kurdistan. However, the PJAK is not on the US terror list. Its constant attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran go unnoticed, and America has no care for the number of Iranians killed by these terrorists. Since August, the PJAK has killed hundreds of Iranian soldiers and shot down an Iranian helicopter that was patrolling the border between Iraq and Iran. The PJAK also routinely bombs targets inside Iran. Unfortunately for Iranian authorities, the group is based in Iraq - essentially an American protectorate - so any move by Iranian troops to crush the terrorists would be seen as aggression against Iraq.

Recently, Turkish and Iranian leaders have come together and vowed to ally and defeat the Kurdish terrorists. It's time for America to stop the hypocrisy and label the PJAK a terrorist group. If the U.S. is serious about fighting terrorism, it ought to fight these extremists wherever they exist, not just where it's politically convenient.

Labels: Terrorism, US

Netherlands: "Strange bedfellows" - Why Is The Netherlands' Terrorists Favorite Lawyer, Britta Böhler, Representing Ayaan Hirsi Ali now?

Now that American Enterprise Institute scholar Ayaan Hirsi Ali has returned to the Netherlands, searching for sufficient funding to cover her prodigious “security" detail [estimated to cost upwards of $2 million per year], an extremely troubling relationship comes into clearer focus; Ali is represented by Britta Böhler, a naturalized citizen of Holland and a notorious defense attorney for European Marxist and Islamist terrorists.Born in Germany, Böhler was an early devotee of Marx and Lenin as a student and a supporter of the Red Army Faction, a German terrorist group. As an attorney, Böhler’s vigorous defense of terrorists and left-wing activism has brought her acclaim within both revolutionary and radical Islamist circles.

"She also happens to be a great admirer of Abdullah Öcalan, a Turkish-Kurdish macho with a preference for blond European women and the leader of the PKK, an extremely violent Kurdish terrorist network which specializes in liquidating opponents. In Ocalan’s terrorist camps, there were a few German women who previously belonged to, or sympathized with the Baader-Meinhof gang. When Turkey finally captured Ocalan, Britta Böhler simply announced she was his lawyer. Just before Ocalan was captured, Böhler tried to arrange his flight to the Netherlands, but the Dutch authorities did not give Ocalan’s plane permission to land - for reasons of State security. Böhler was upset, claiming that Ocalan’s “right to asylum" had been ignored. Böhler and her associates have also played a legal role - as attorneys - in virtually every major terrorism court case in the Netherlands." as reported by Emerson Vermaat, in Front Page Magazine.

Labels: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Britta Böhler, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Netherlands, Terrorism

Norway: Kurdish Islamist Krekar exploits the system - by Adrian Morgan

Mullah Krekar is designated as an international terrorist with links to Al Qaeda. Yet in Norway, European politically correct legal principles protect his "safety" while he continues to use the internet to urge killing and war. Mullah Krekar was born as Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad in the village of Olaqloo Sharbajer, Sulaimania in Kurdish northern Iraq on July 7, 1956. He has been living in Norway as a "refugee" since 1991, being granted asylum in 1992. He graduated from Sulaimania College in 1982, after studying Arabic. He studied Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) in Sindh in Pakistan, under the tutelage of Abdullah Azzam, the mentor of Osama bin Laden and a suspected co-founder of Al Qaeda. This week, Krekar has been attending Norway's Supreme Court in Oslo, while appealing against an order to have him deported. His battles against deportation have gone on since 2002. He officially lost his "refugee" status in August 2002 but has resisted all attempts at deportation. In 2003, the Norwegian immigration department, UDI, decided that Krekar was a threat to national security, and that he had given incorrect information to immigration officials. Krekar appealed their decision. They also decided that his refugee status should be stripped and his travel documents, work and residence permits taken away. Krekar appealed again, and in March 2005 the UDI reiterated its 2003 decision.

rekar is said to have founded Ansar al Islam with financial support from Al Qaeda. The "seed money" for funding has been estimated as $300,000 to $600,000. Ansar al-Islam's main opponents have been members of the secular Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). In February 2003, Ansar Islam members killed Shawkat Hajji Mushir, founder of the PUK. A US State Department report from April 2003 entitled "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002 states (pp 128-9) that the group is closely affiliated with Al Qaeda, and has provided shelter to Al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan. Ansar al-Islam was then boasting og its production of toxins - ricin, aflatoxins and cyanide.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, Mullah Krekar, Norway, Terrorism

St Maarten - funding terrorism? - by Gijs van den Heuvel

The Caribbean island of St Maarten - part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - is an important centre for international drug trafficking. The island might also be involved in financing terrorism in the Middle East and Afghanistan. These are two conclusions reached in a confidential report about to be published by the Dutch Research and Documentation Centre (RDC).The report claims the authorities in the Windward Islands have details of money being passed to terrorist organisations via St Maarten, and it says huge sums are channelled through bank accounts on the island to organisations said to be linked to the Taliban and Hamas.

There are indications too that St Maarten is being used at a staging post to smuggle people into the United States. Law enforcement agencies say there might also be al-Qaeda trained terrorists on the island who are on the US "no-fly-list" - a list of people banned from flying to the United States.

Labels: EU, Netherlands, St. Maarten, Terrorism

Spain versus the Radicals - by ENRIQUE ZALDUA/SAN SEBASTIAN

Since June, Spanish authorities (in concerted action with French counterparts across the border) have scaled up their anti-terrorist operations and moved aggressively against ETA and Batasuna. Earlier this week, Spanish authorities arrested two other Batasuna leaders. Arnaldo Otegi, the group's main spokesperson was jailed on June 8 to serve a 15-month sentence for participating in a tribute to an ETA activist killed in 1978 by a fascist paramilitary group.

The Socialist Government denies it is directing the reinvigorated police activity, insisting that it is a law-enforcement action, not a politically motivated one. ""The Judicial branch acts independently and the Government does not tell the judges what to do", José Antonio Pastor, the Basque Socialist Party speaker at the Basque Parliament, told TIME. "[This operation] is not an instrumental action by the Government".

Labels: Spain, Terrorism

US and UK - Dangerous financial transactions:are democratic principles and national security pushed aside by greed ?

This week two financial news items silently slipped by in front of us. There were barely any reactions from political circles on both sides of the Atlantic. The first one was that Qatar bought 20 percent of the London Stock Exchange Group Plc in a deal worth about 85 million euro's (US $1.2 billion). On the same day neighboring Dubai agreed to acquire a stake in the U. K. bourse from Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority said, they bought the LSE stake as part of a plan to ``build long-term investments in high quality businesses'' The other report we noted was that "in a complex set of transactions, Dubai is moving to acquire 19.9 percent of the Nasdaq in New York, placing the Arab government in an ownership position of the key U.S. stock exchange". But that is not all. "As a result of the transaction, Dubai also will acquire 28 percent of the London Stock Exchange, one of the oldest and largest in the world." The transaction is being made through Borse Dubai, a holding company 100-percent owned by the government of the Emirate of Dubai and controlled by Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the head of the Dubai ruling family.

Have the British and American Governments gone out of their mind to allow this? Have democratic principles and national security been pushed aside by greed? On the one hand the US and Britain call themselves the "Defenders of Democratic principals, ready to fight terrorism on every corner of the globe", while on the other hand they allow feudal oligarchies from the Middle East to take control of some of their most important and sensitive financial nerve centers in the world.

This has nothing to do with liberalization of world trade. We can only hope the US Congress, the British Parliament and the EU Commission will have "the stomac" to take vigorous action to stop this.

Labels: Britain, EU, Middle East, Terrorism, US, World Economy

Statistics prove prescription drugs are 16,400% more deadly than terrorists

Over 750,000 people actually do die in the United States every year, although not from plane crashes or terrorist attacks. They die from something far more common and rarely perceived by the public as dangerous: modern medicine.

Labels: Drug Abuse, Terrorism

Bush Policies Promote Global Jihad - by Cliff Kincaid

One problem stems from the constitution for Iraq, crafted with U.S. help, that established a Muslim state. Many of us warned at the time that the document could help lead to crushing non-Muslim religions and their followers. Conservatives who supported this war have to face the present-day reality that not only are U.S. troops fighting and dying to maintain a pro-Iranian Muslim government in power in Iraq, but that Iran has emerged as the big winner in the region and the world as a result. What's more, it looks like the Bush Administration has no will to confront Iran over killing our soldiers in Iraq or building nuclear weapons. As a result, the administration now wants to sell Saudi Arabia billions of dollars worth of arms so it can confront or contain Iran. Yet, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, says that Saudi Arabia is undermining U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq.

Labels: Terrorism

All Europe has become target for terrorist apprentices - by Arnaud de la Grange

"Were it not for the backdrop of gruesome designs and the gravest dangers, the latest jihadist attacks across the Channel could raise a smile. From the jet airliners launched into the face of triumphant capitalism to the pathetic car used to crash into Glasgow Airport, the threat seems to have lost its audacity. But it would be wrong to smile, because the incompetence of the terrorist apprentices of London and Glasgow is matched only by their resolve, their indifference to their own death and to the lives of others." Note EU-Digest: "Terrorist threats to Europe: In as much as one can deplore terrorist acts, credit for this looming disaster goes out to our US and British "friends" with their "enlightened" policies for the Middle East and also to European Governments for their failed immigration and integration policies. You usually reap what you sow."

Labels: Europe, Terrorism

Europe criticizes U.S. anti-terrorism role - by Josh Meyer

Two of Europe's most prominent counter-terrorism officials on Friday criticized the United States for not being fully cooperative in the global fight against Islamist extremism, saying its unwillingness to share information and evidence in a timely manner had compromised important investigations and prosecutions. The remarks were made by senior investigative magistrates Armando Spataro of Italy and Baltasar Garzon of Spain at a counter-terrorism conference here that was attended by senior U.S. officials.

Garzon, Spain's most prominent counter-terrorism official, said U.S. authorities had withheld evidence or delayed sharing it to protect sources and methods, which had the effect of undermining the efforts of various European governments. He said he had to wait more than a year in some cases for information from the U.S., and in one case still hadn't received it. Asked why, he said: "I don't have an answer. It is a very important problem with the U.S."

Labels: Europe, Terrorism, US

How terrorism finds root in Europe - Alienation and radical European politics are factors - John C. Cooley - John C. Cooley

It's conventional wisdom that Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian terrorists attack Western societies partly as reactions to conflicts in their own regions, such as the Palestinian-Israeli strife. But there's plenty of evidence that extremist ideologies, even if born abroad, are often nurtured in the West.

New French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his advisers and supporters in the academic world realize this. It's why they recommend that France, Britain, and their European neighbors strengthen integration of their Muslim and other immigrant populations – in the way, for example, that millions of Arab-Americans, Iranian-Americans, and Hispanics have been helped to be successful members of US society.

Labels: Terrorism

The so-called Islamic Threat to Europe: By the Numbers-by Krisoffer Larsson

While America is the Western country most succumbed to the fear of Islamism, things aren't much better in Europe. Its media is highly Americanised and thus eager to reiterate U.S. governmental positions towards the non-Western world. Islamic terrorism is subsequently a theme close to the hearts of European journalists as well.

The European Police Office (Europol) released its first report on terrorism in the EU recently. In fact, to our best knowledge, not a single newspaper or news-channel has paid any attention to it whatsoever.

The report noted: There were 498 incidents in eleven EU countries last year labelled as "terrorist attacks." Of these the Basque separatist group ETA was responsible for 136 and the only deadly attack, killing two in Madrid. The remaining 497 fortunately cost no human lives. How did the so-called Islamic Terrorists rank in this report? Considering the perpetual warnings in our daily papers, the findings in the Europol report is, to say the least, surprising. The truth is that Islamists only carried out one out of the 498 terrorist attacks in the European Union in 2006.

In plain English: Muslims are a group causing very little terrorism in Europe, while at the same time much more likely to be arrested on suspicion of it. The constant media coverage of Muslims being arrested creates the false image of a serious threat and is in support of Washington polies.

For the complete report from the Europol click on this link or go to http://www.europol.europa.eu/publications/TESAT/TESAT2007.pdf

Labels: EU, Islamist, Terrorism

EU Anti-Terrorism Chief Urges US to Change Tactics

The European Union's anti-terrorism coordinator, Gijs de Vries, has criticized US tactics in the war in terror, saying that victory can only be achieved through a return to "mainstream" human rights norms and the abandonment of policies such as special rendition.

De Vries said that the abduction of terror suspects to third-party countries where torture is used in interrogation, the holding of so-called "enemy combatants" without trial at the prison camp in the US naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba and the widely-publicized abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq had all undermined the fight against Islamist extremism.

De Vries, the man charged with overseeing and coordinating the EU's fight against terror, was himself strongly criticized by the European Parliament for not providing answers on the allegations of complicity by EU governments in CIA rendition.

Labels: Terrorism