Category Archives: Terrorism

Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Middle East Nuclear, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism

David Ignatius Joins Saudi Intelligence, or is it Bahrain News Agency…………

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“But a Saudi official said Thursday that his country and the United States agree that Iran’s Quds Force was involved in the Karachi killing. That allegation, if true, adds important new detail to the portrait of an Iranian covert-action service that has been escalating its attacks against Saudi targets. The Saudi official, reached by telephone, said that Pakistani intelligence had identified the killer as a member of a Shiite dissident group known as Sapih Mohammed, which has connections with the Quds Force. The Saudi official said this conclusion, that the group had links with Tehran, was based on messages between Iranian officials in Islamabad and members of the dissident group. The Saudi official noted additional examples of Iran’s campaign against Riyadh and its allies. He cited the 2005 killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri. A U.N. Special Tribunal charged this year that the murder was plotted by four officials of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militia in Lebanon. …………. According to the Saudi official, Shakuri was among the Iranians who met Hasan Mushaima, a radical Bahraini Shiite cleric, during a stopover in Beirut last February, when Mushaima was on his way back home to lead protests in Bahrain. A cautionary note: These are all just allegations, and raw intelligence sometimes leads to hasty conclusions, but………..”

“But” indeed. “But a Saudi official said…… The Saudi official said……… The Saudi official noted……. According to the Saudi official……….” Has Ignatius joined Saudi intelligence? If he has, then maybe he can find out from their officials the fate of so many Saudis who have disappeared in their own country: no trials, to charges, no news, and from all over the country. At least CNN bought this tale, according to Wolf Blitzer. This writer is building an all powerful worldwide network around the allegations of a Saudi intelligence official. Apparently, according to Saudi intelligence (and no doubt their Bahrain sidekicks) the uprising in Bahrain was orchestrated by Iran through their Hezbollah proxies. According to the Saudi official the whole thing is tied to the assassination of Hariri. Maybe with some help from Oliver Stone. Now if the Egyptian uprising had gone in a different direction, it still may, the writer would have tied that to the omnipotent mullahs in Iran.
No doubt those Iranian scientists who get murdered by “terrorists” in the streets of Tehran and get kidnapped in Mecca and Istanbul and Europe are not targeted by a network similar to the Karachi network.

(About the Hariri assassination: no doubt Mr. Ignatius, as other Western media, was also convinced two or three years ago that the Syrians had killed Hariri, and most likely wrote something about it. But that was before Hezbollah replaced Syria as the ‘target’ du jour).
Cheers
mhg


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Finance, Iran, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism

Cole on the Wackiest Master Terrorist, about that Money Transfer……………

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Juan Cole’s excellent summary analysis of the Iranian-Texan-Mexican Arbabsiar Bond:

“Here are the top 10 reasons that he cannot be Iran’s answer to 007:
10. Arbabsiar was known in Corpus Christi, Texas, “for being almost comically absent-minded”
9. Possibly as a result of a knife attack in 1982, he suffered from bad short-term memory
8. He was always losing his cell phone
7. He was always misplacing his keys
6. He was always forgetting his briefcase and documents in stores
5. He “was just not organized,” a former business partner remarked
4. As part owner of a used car dealership, he was always losing title deeds to the vehicles
3. Arbabsiar, far from a fundamentalist Shiite Muslim, may have been an alcoholic; his nickname is “Jack” because of his fondness for Jack Daniels whiskey
2. Arbabsiar used to not only drink to excess, but also used pot and went with prostitutes. He once talked loudly in a restaurant about going back to Iran, where he could have an Iranian girl for only $50. He was rude and was thrown out of some establishments.
1. All of his businesses failed one after another
I hypothesized yesterday that Arbabsiar and his cousin Gholam Shakuri might have been part of an Iranian drug gang. But after these details have emerged about the former, I don’t think he could even have done that. Indeed, I have now come to view the entire story as a fantasy…………..”

Then there is the money. Where did the money come from? Where was it wired from and from what account? How can the US authorities not know the source of a US$ 1.5 million into a US bank? In this day and age of the ‘war on terror’.
Cheers
mhg


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GCC, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Reactions: Middle East Region, Saudi Region, Georgetown Think-Tank Region, Cafe Milano Region………….

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“Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said on Tuesday that such ‘ludicrous’ claims hinged on the hostile joint stances adopted by the US and Israel against the country. “These threadbare attitudes, which are based on the age-old and hostile American-Zionist policies, are a ridiculous show in line with certain [instances of] scenario fabrication of divisive ends on the part of the enemies of Islam and the region,” Mehmanparast said. He also condemned all acts of terrorism, adding that Washington was employing the legerdemain to divert attention from the growing domestic protests it was facing. The Iranian official asserted, “Plotters of such manufactured scenarios seek to sow division and help the Zionist regime [of Israel] out of its current isolation.” He emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran was an establishment founded on Islamic ethics and values and that the country had always warned that the enemies of the region were plotting against it……….”

He gave the usual boring expected Iranian litany of explanation. But his claim that it is a fabrication is a point to consider: it will resonate strongly in most of the Arab world, except for the Saudi part on the Gulf. I expect that most Arabs tend to think it is either a fabrication produced in Washington (and/or Riyadh) or grossly exaggerated. Contrary to what we see on CNN from Middle East “experts” opining that it will help discredit the Iranian regime in the region. They must mean the “Georgetown think-tank region”.
At least he did not blame Israel directly: that is so old and uncool these days. He did however say that it was aimed to help Israel. It no doubt does, but only in Saudi Arabia and the “Saudi part” of the Gulf GCC. A Saudi man-about-town related to the royal family (Turki al-Sudairy) wrote a column yesterday saying that Iran was enemy number one and Israel enemy number two. He did got some strong critical reaction from Saudi dissidents on the Internet. He also mentioned some nonsense about the Iranian “prime minister”. Iran has no prime minister, but our Gulf palace faux-liberals don’t read enough to know that.
Cheers
mhg


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Iran, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

The Bombed B-Movie Actor and B-Movie Actress of Georgetown and Tehran and New York …….

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“Just 24 hours after American officials announced that they had disrupted an Iranian plot that sounded like a rejected Quentin Tarantino script — centering on an Iranian-American used-car salesman’s failed attempt to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington — a number of prominent American experts on Iran have suggested that Iran’s government might not have been behind the scheme at all. Even before the experts spoke up, it was hard to escape suggestions that the plot was too good, or too bad, to be true. In a radio interview on Wednesday morning, my colleague David Sanger observed that the alleged plot “sounds a little bit B-movie clumsy.”…….”

In that case, if this is like a B-movie, who is the B-movie actor? Or is it a B-movie actress? Are they in Tehran or in Washington or maybe somewhere in the great State of New York?
Cheers
mhg


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Culture, Iran, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Celebrities: Was Café Milano Behind the Assassination Plot?………….

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“I mention this because the Saudi ambassador’s purported fondness for the place is merely the latest instance confirming that Cafe Milano has become the most fashionable restaurant in Washington, DC., without ever entering the usual intermediate stage of becoming one of the best. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it or anything. Zagat says a bit snottily that it’s got “chow that’s ‘better than you’d expect,'” but shouldn’t the chow be fabulous at such a place? (Zagat also says that “unless ‘your name regularly appears on the Washington Post’s front page,’ prepare for ‘long waits’ and ‘smug’ treatment.”) I can name half a dozen Italian restaurants in DC that offer better food, usually at lower prices. And I don’t get out all that much. Yet celebrities, especially Hollywood celebrities, adore the place. I’m no reverse snob. ………..”

They say Italian food goes best with a good bottle of compatible vino. Of course that is what they say. I wonder if the Ambassador/minion/now celebrity fully enjoyed the fare. And no, I am not hinting that Café Milano, mediocre food and all, was behind the ‘Keystone Cops plot’. Not some kind of twisted publicity stunt, maybe some other kind of stunt.
Cheers
mhg


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Iran, Middle East Nuclear, nuclear Iran, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Casus Belli or “The Plot Thickens”: Slim Pickens Riding the Bomb over Iran………

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“If Iran was indeed willing to attack a Saudi Ambassador and close confidante of the Saudi King on US soil and countenance the death of 100-150 Americans, then the US has reached a point where it must take action. The President’s National Security Council and intelligence teams led by Thomas Donilon must construct a response that is “more than reactive.” This is time for a significant strategic response to the Iran challenge in the Middle East and globally — and if the US does not take action, then the Saudis will most likely retaliate in ways that will escalate the stakes and tensions with Iran throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies any government involvement in this plot — and there no doubt will be much more that surfaces in coming days. But Iran has officially denied any complicity in this plot and has accused the US of fabricating these claims…….”

No, I don’t think the US government has fabricated the story, not at the highest levels. There was some kind of a plot, but it probably was DOA (as in dead on arrival). It was a plot hatched between some idiotic Iranians and some federal agents. Or maybe it was a plot hatched between some rather clever Iranians and some US federal agents. The Iranians may have had relations to elements in the Tehran regime, or they may have had ties to some Iranian groups outside Iran, like the Mujahideen Khalq. The mullahs are not that stupid, they have never done anything like this before, not on US soil. And they have nothing whatsoever to gain by it, au contraire. And all the open ‘simple’ talk about “it matters not if 100 or 150 Americans are killed in the restaurant” sounds worse than Hollywood-ish: it sounds like a children’s horror story. Almost idiotic. The Iranian regime is brutal, but it ain’t stupid or suicidal.

What is interesting is the outcry for ‘revenge’ right away in the media and on the web. All the closer latent hawks see their glory days returning. No doubt if the Iranian regime was behind it, there should be repercussions. As I told some hasty academic tweeters earlier: shouldn’t there be a waiting period before Slim Pickens rides the bomb (over Iran)?
(Re- Slim Pickens: if you haven’t seen Dr. Strangelove, find a copy and see it).
Cheers
mhg


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Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Espionage, Middle East, Pakistan, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Decimating Jihadists: America’s Secret Muslim President Succeeds where Cheney, Talk Radio, and Fox News Failed …………

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“Osama bin Laden, hunted as the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, has been killed, President Obama announced tonight……..”

“Same US military unit that got Osama bin laden killed Anwar al-Awlaki. Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born al-Qaeda leader linked to terrorist plots in the UK and US, has been killed in a drone strike in central Yemen, the country’s military has announced…….”

“A senior leader of the militant Haqqani network, Haji Mali Khan, has been captured in Afghanistan, the Nato-led international force Isaf has said. He was detained during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Paktia province on Tuesday, Isaf said. He was heavily armed but did not resist, it added……”

So this “Manchurian” American president with a Jewish-sounding first name, an African last name, and a decidedly Muslim middle name has bested Dick Cheney in the war against al-Qaeda. I wonder what the Cheneys are up to these days.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Lebanon, Libya, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

Oh Oh Lockerbie, and STL of Lebanon, and Tony Blair, and the Fab Four………

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“Four U.S. senators visiting Libya say they talked to the country’s new rulers about the need for justice in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing. The four are part of the highest-ranking American delegation to travel to Tripoli since Moammar Gadhafi was ousted last month. Libya was implicated in the bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people, many of them Americans. Scotland has asked the new transitional leaders of Libya for help tracking down those responsible now that Gadhafi is no longer in power. Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Thursday he is confident the new Libyan government will help. “We’d like to know who else was connected with this”…….….”

These four senators are ‘an item’ now. Let’s call them the unfabulous Fab Four.
I can tell him who was involved. At least two Western governments, only one of them British. Several Western corporations and major banks. Many two or three faced politicians who feigned concern for the victims of Lockerbie and their families while winking and nodding at the deal the British government made with Libya. Then there is Tony: just follow your nose. Tony the Poodle Blair, the one man “have bank account, will travel; no deal is beneath me” show.
Not that I am convinced anymore that Mr. al-Megrahi was the perpetrator. These “international” investigations and courts sometimes have methods and ways that are not kosher (in almost any religion). Not always, but sometimes. Look how they truly fucked up the STL Hariri investigation of Lebanon: most Lebanese don’t believe that they did an honest non-political investigation, nor do I, nor does any other half-wit who has followed the case. Most also think they and their “findings” are irrelevant now: most except for the March 14 in Lebanon and a gaggle of Saudi Gulf journalists.
Cheers
mhg


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Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Middle East Nuclear, nuclear wepoans, Pakistan, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

The Next Nuclear Failed State………….

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“Shi’ites, who make up over a quarter of Pakistan’s population, are deemed “apostates” by many extremist sectarian Sunni groups. Responsibility for the attack on the long-suffering Hazaras of Baluchistan was claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) — a group also suspected of a devastating attack earlier in the week on the home of a senior police officer in Karachi who has a record of taking on the militants. Though little known in the West, LeJ, a sectarian extremist outfit linked to al-Qaeda and to the Pakistani Taliban, is now widely considered Pakistan’s most dangerous terrorist group…….. The army is reluctant to confront its bases with force; the police have failed to protect those it threatens; the judiciary is unable to successfully prosecute its leading members; and some politicians have sought to appease it with shady deals. While al-Qaeda has suffered a series of setbacks after CIA drone strikes killed successive leaders based in Pakistan’s tribal areas, its local affiliate remains unimpeded. LeJ began life as a particularly vicious offshoot of the banned anti-Shi’ite Sipah-e-Sahaba organization. The sectarian group, with its cells seeded throughout the country, held both doctrinal and organizational appeal for al-Qaeda, which used LeJ’s deep and pervasive network to expand its own presence into Pakistan. While al-Qaeda had operational command, LeJ supplied foot soldiers to carry out attacks…………..”

“Admiral Mullen accuses Pakistan’s ISI of treachery, but says let’s keep talking…….The chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff said to the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday that Pakistan’s
intelligence agency was in the background of the recent attack on our embassy,
as well as a bunch of other assaults. But he seems happy to keep on chatting
with them……….” Media (Sept 23, 2011)

What was all the ‘Western” talk about the dangers of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands through “extremist” states?
Cheers
mhg


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Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Salafi, Terrorism

Post-Abbottabad: Salafi Blood-fest Continues in Pakistan and Iraq………

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“Gunmen in the southwestern province of Baluchistan attacked a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims to Iran on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 6 more, local police officials said. The bus driver said that 8 to 10 attackers ordered the pilgrims off the bus and opened fire on them, the police said. Hours later, the extremist Sunni group Lashkar-e-Jangvi claimed responsibility for the attack. The group, which the authorities say carried out previous attacks against Shiites in Baluchistan, is believed to be affiliated with Al Qaeda. ……… Attacks on Shiite pilgrims traveling to Iran through Baluchistan have been frequent over the last decade. Two such attacks occurred last month. A year ago, 57 people at a Shiite rally in Quetta were killed by a suicide bomber. Shiites are a minority in mainly Sunni Pakistan. Most of the Shiites in Baluchistan belong to the Hazara ethnic group ….….”

I see that the Pakistani Salafis, like their Salafi brothers on my Gulf, are still busy spreading the message of brotherhood and love. Just like their imported virgin-inspired suicidal brothers are still doing in Iraq. If these horny fellows can’t get to their allotted ‘untouched’ virgins by killing Americans, then there are others, more vulnerable fellow Pakistanis or Iraqis or others. The execution of their shaikh of the hashasheen, the master terrorist in Abbottabad has not slowed this bunch down.
Cheers
mhg


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