MJ Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Alpha, I was thinking of organizing better my thoughts and responding to your material at /cgi-bin/forum/ultim...17;t=000340;p=2 , further, but decided to do a little search, first. I found a material which is not great, in my view, but it is not bad either. So, I open this new thread. I think it is worth looking at things without hype and with an attempt to better understand the issues. . So, here it is. You can find some other materials on their site referenced below. If I find some noteworthy materials elsewhere, I will open a new thread and ------------------------------------------------------------------- What the War on Iraq Means AnalysisMarch 2003 by David Tucker The impending war on Iraq is the direct consequence of the Bush Administration's national security strategy. If the Bush administration and its successors follow this strategy, as they should, it will alter in a fundamental way the character of international relations. The strategy argues in effect that a fundamental change is necessary in international relations because the world is changing in a fundamental way. Technological advances mean that greater and greater power—chemical, biological and nuclear—can be in the hands of more and more nations and even individuals. In such a world, we will not be able to count on our ability to deter these nations and individuals from using this great destructive power against us, as we were able to count on deterrence in our confrontation with the Soviet Union. We must, therefore, act preemptively, since we cannot let our enemies strike first. Some commentators who support the Bush Administration's strategy have tried to argue that there is nothing fundamentally new here. Victor Davis Hanson, for example, has claimed that preemption is as old as warfare and that the United States fought preemptive wars in "Grenada, Panama, Serbia, and Kosovo." Hanson is right that nations have acted preemptively but they have not declared it their policy to do so. They have sought, instead, pretexts for their actions, often trying to provoke an action to which they could then respond militarily. This hypocrisy was the honor vice paid to virtue. But this is not what the Bush security strategy calls for. It is not what we are doing in the case of Iraq. Nor is it true that we did this in the cases that Hanson cites. In Grenada and Panama, we did not act until U.S. citizens had been attacked. In both Bosnia and Kosovo, Milosevic and his allies were the aggressors. We responded with our allies on behalf of the international community. To its credit, the Bush administration has been forthright in explaining the character of the innovation it has proposed and is now acting on with regard to Iraq. Its national strategy document notes that international law recognizes that a nation does not have to suffer an attack before it responds. It notes as well, however, that according to international law the threat to which a nation responds must be imminent, "a visible mobilization of armies, navies, and air forces preparing to attack." But in a world where weapons of mass destruction "can be easily concealed, delivered covertly, and used without warning," the strategy argues, "we must adapt the concept of imminent threat." In other words, in the past the fact that an enemy had an army, navy or air force was not sufficient to justify attacking him. These forces had to be poised to attack. Today, more destructive power than military forces of the past possessed can be contained in a few vials or a small device that can be concealed and used clandestinely. Therefore, the mere possession of weapons of mass destruction, along with hostile intent, makes a country a legitimate target for military action. This is what the Bush national strategy means and what the war on Iraq exemplifies. The logic of the Bush administration's position is unassailable. But we should not underestimate its consequences. For example, as we have seen in the case of Iraq, it will make international cooperation more difficult, because it is harder to reach consensus about when to act to counter threats that are less evident than massed military forces on someone's border. In addition, much of the material used in producing weapons of mass destruction can also be used for peaceful purposes, which will introduce more ambiguity into assessments of threats. The cost of war will discourage capricious use of this new doctrine, but even so, less international cooperation will mean a more contentious and possibly more violent world. But wars of preemption are not all that will occur, if we follow the new doctrine. In fact, the logic of the new strategy and the cost of war should make us willing to intervene early in the chain of actions that lead to possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We should be willing to use military force to prevent the production or shipment of material that could be used to produce such weapons. This would mean conducting raids to destroy production facilities and seizing ships at sea. In short, the Bush administration's strategy, if consistently applied, points to a world in which violence is more prevalent but justified by the hope that it will prevent the greater violence of a WMD attack in the United States. The Bush administration's strategy is a revolution because it reverses the now centuries old effort to restrict the freedom of sovereign states to use military force outside their borders. Such a strategy is necessary but, whatever the outcome of the war in Iraq, we should understand it to be a sad necessity. David Tucker is a Member of the Board of Advisors at the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University and an Associate Professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of Skirmishes at the Edge of Empire: The United States and International Terrorism. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the Naval Postgraduate School, Navy Department, or Department of Defense. http://www.ashbrook.org/publicat/oped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted April 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2003 I did some online search of terrorist organizations worldwide. As expected, I found that their absolute majority is of Marxist-Leninist, Socialist-Communist orientation - even some of those which operate within the Islamic paradigm.I have also noticed, for long time, that the traditional US bashers are of the same orientation. The same concerns to the predominant majority of the “anti-war” people. It appears to me that there is something about socialistic sentiment, which turns even the good people into hateful bunch. In NY and elsewhere, the primary organizers of the “anti-war” protests where socialist and communist organizations. The question ( with obvious answer) is what does unify all of them? Here is the list, anyway (obviously it is not complete): 15 MAY ORGANIZATIONDESCRIPTION Formed in 1979 from remnants of Wadi Haddad's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations Group (PFLP-SOG). Led by Muhammad al-Umari, who is known throughout Palestinian circles as Abu Ibrahim or the bomb man. Group was never part of PLO. Reportedly disbanded in the mid-1980s when several key members joined Colonel Hawari's Special Operations Group of Fatah. ACTIVITIES Claimed credit for several bombings in the early-to-mid- 1980s,including hotel bombing in London (1980), El Al's Rome and Istanbul offices (1981), and Israeli Embassies in Athens and Vienna (1981). Anti-US attacks include an attempted bombing of a Pan Am airliner in Rio de Janeiro and a bombing on board a Pan Am flight from Tokyo to Honolulu in August 1982. (The accused bomber in this last attack, Mohammed Rashid, is currently jailed in Greece following his conviction for the bombing, which killed a Japanese teenager.) STRENGTH 50 to 60 in early 1980s. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONBaghdad until 1984. Before disbanding, operated in Middle East, Europe, and East Asia, Abu Ibrahim is reportedly in Iraq. EXTERNAL AIDProbably received logistic and financial support from Iraq until 1984. REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIZATION 17 NOVEMBER (17 November)DescriptionA radical leftist group established in 1975 and named for the November 1973 student uprising protesting the military regime. Anti-US, anti-Turkish, anti-NATO; committed to violent overthrow of the regime, ouster of US bases, removal of Turkish military presence from Cyprus, and severing of Greece's ties to NATO and the EC. Organization is obscure, possibly affiliated with other Greek terrorist groups. ActivitiesInitial attacks were selected handgun assassinations against senior US officials , including US Embassy official Richard Welch in 1975 and US Navy Captain George Tsantes in 1983. Began assassinating Greek officials and public figures in 1976 and added bombings, including attacks against US military buses in 1987 and assassination of US defense attache William Nordeen in 1988. Since 1990 has expanded targeting to include EC facilities and foreign firms investing in Greece, and added improvised rocket attacks to its methods. In 1991 was responsible for at least five of the 15 terrorist attacks against coalition targets in Greece during the Gulf War, including the assassination in March of a US Army sergeant. Also stepped up attacks against Turkish interests with attempted murder of Turkish Embassy official in July and assassination of Turkish Embassy press attache in October. StrengthUnknown, but presumed to be small. Location/Area of Operations Greece, primarily in Athens metropolitan area. External AidMay receive support from ELA and other Greek terrorist group cadres. FIRST OF OCTOBER ANTIFASCIST RESISTANCE GROUP (GRAPO)DESCRIPTIONSmall, Maoist urban terrorist group established in 1975. Loosely associated with the Spanish Communist Party- Reconstituted. Seeks to remove US military forces from Spain and establish a revolutionary regime. ACTIVITIESCarried out small-scale bombing attacks on US and NATO facilities in early 1980s; capabilities reduced by arrests since 1985. During 1991, GRAPO claimed responsibility for bombing a rail line outside Madrid and segments of the NATO pipeline in Spain. STRENGTHProbably fewer than a dozen operatives. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONSpain. EXTERNAL AIDReported to have had ties to the French Action Directe and the Italian Red Brigades. The German RAF has sought ties to the group. FORCE 17DESCRIPTIONFormed in early 1970s as a personal security force for Arafat and other PLO leaders. ACTIVITIESAccording to press sources, in 1985 expanded operations to include terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. No confirmed terrorist activity outside Israel and the occupied territories since September 1985, when it claimed responsibility for killing three Israelis in Cyprus, an incident that was followed by Israeli air raids on PLO bases in Tunisia. STRENGTHUnknown. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONBased in Beirut before 1982. Since then, dispersed in several Arab countries. Now operating in Lebanon, other Middle Eastern countries, and Europe. EXTERNAL AIDPLO is main source of support. ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATION (ANO)AKA:Fatah REvoloutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims. DESCRIPTION: International terrorist organization led by Sabri alBanna. Split from the PLO in 1974. Made up of various functional committees, including political, military , and financial. ACTIVITIES: Has carried out over 90 terrorist attacks since 1974 in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 people. Targets the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Isreal,moderate Palestinians, the PLO. and various Arab countries, depending on which state is sponsoring it at the time. Major attacks include Rome and Vienna airports in DEcember 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul, the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and The City of Poros day-excursion ship attack in july 1988 in Greece. Suspected of carrying out assasination on 14 January 1991 in Tunis of PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul. ANO members also attacked and seriously wounded a senior ANO dissident in Algeria in MArch 1990. STRENGTH: Several hundred plus "militia" in Lebanon and overseas support structure. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONHeadquarted in Irag (1974-83) and Syria (1983-87); currently headquarted in Libya with substantial presence in Lebanon (in the Bekaa Valley and several Palestinian refugee camps in coastal areas of Lebanon). Also has presence in Algeria. Has demonstrated ability to operate over wide aream including Middle East Asia and Europe. EXTERNAL AID: Has received considerable support, including safe haven, training, logistical assistance, and financial aid from Irag and Syria (until 1987); continues to receive aid from Libya, in addition to close support for selected operations. PALESTINE LIBERATION FRONT (PLF)DESCRIPTIONTerrorist group that broke away from the PFLP-GC in mid- 1970s. Later split again into pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro- Libyan factions. Pro-PLO faction led by Muhammad Abbas (Abu Abbas), who became member of PLO Executive Committee in 1984, but left the Executive Committee in 1991. ACTIVITIESAbu Abbas-led faction carried out abortive seaborne attack staged from Libya against Israel on 30 May 1990. Abbas's groups were also responsible for October 1985 attack on the cruise ship Achille Lauro and the murder of US citizen Leon Klinghoffer. A warrant for Abu Abbas's arrest is outstanding in Italy. Others who were involved in the hijacking are wanted elsewhere. Openly supported Iraq during Persian Gulf war. STRENGTHAt least 50. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONPLO faction based in Tunisia until Achille Lauro attack. Now based in Iraq. EXTERNAL AIDReceives logistic and military support mainly from PLO, but also Libya and Iraq. AL-FATAH AKA :Al-'Asifa.DESCRIPTION:Headed by Yasser Arafat, Fatah joined the PLO in 1968 and won the leadership role in 1969. Its commanders were expelled from Jordan following violent confrontations with Jordanian forces during the period 1970-71, beginning with Black September in 1970. he Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 led to the group's dispersal to several Middle Eastern countries, including Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, and others. Maintains several military and intelligence wings that have carried out terrorist attacks, including Force 17 and the Hawari Special Operations Group. Two of its leaders, Abu Jihad and Abu Iyad, were assassinated in recent years. ACTIVITIES:In the 60s and the 1970s, Fatah offered training to a wide range of European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African terrorist and insurgent groups. Carried out numerous acts of international terrorism in Western Europe and Middle East in the early-to-mid-1970s. STRENGTH:6,000 to 8,000. LOCATION / AREA OF OPERATION:Headquartered in Tunisia, with bases in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries. EXTERNAL AID:Has had close, longstanding political and financial ties to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other moderate Persian Gulf states. These relations were disrupted by the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. Also has had links to Jordan. Received weapons, explosives, and training from the former USSR and the former Communist regimes of East European states. China and North Korea have reportedly provided some weapons. ________________________________________________ ARMENIAN SECRET ARMY FOR THE LIBERATION OF ARMENIA (ASALA)DESCRIPTION:Marxist-Leninist Armenian terrorist group formed in 1975 with stated intention to compel Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its alleged responsibility for the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, pay reparations, and cede territory for an Armenian homeland. Led by Hagop Hagopian until he was assassinated in Athens in April 1988. ACTIVITIES:Initial bombing and assassination attacks directed against Turkish targets. Later attacked French and Swiss targets to force release of imprisoned comrades. Made several minor bombing attacks against US airline offices in Western Europe in early 1980s. Bombing of Turkish airline counter at Orly Airport in Paris in 1983 --eight killed and 55 wounded--led to split in group over rationale for causing indiscriminate casualties. Suffering from internal schisms, group has been relatively inactive over past four years, although recently claimed an unsuccessful attack on Turkish Ambassador to Hungary. STRENGTHA few hundred members and sympathizers. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONLebanon; Western Europe, Armenia, United States, and Middle East. EXTERNAL AIDHas received aid, including training and safehaven, from Syria. May also receive some aid from Libya. Has extensive ties to radical Palestinian groups, including the PFLP and PFLP-GC. BASQUE FATHERLAND AND LIBERTY (ETA)DESCRIPTIONFounded in 1959 with the aim of creating an independent homeland in Spain's Basque region. Has muted commitment to Marxism. In 1974 split into two factions--ETA/Political- Military and ETA- Military; the former has been inactive since limited home rule granted in 1982. Despite the arrest of several leaders and terrorist cells in Spain and France over the past two years, ETA-Military has continued to conduct lethal attacks. ACTIVITIESChiefly bombings and assassinations of Spanish Government targets, especially security forces. Finances activities through kidnappings, robberies, and extortion . Bombings are sophisticated, lethal, and sometimes indiscriminate. Over 40 people were killed and over 200 injured in ETA attacks during 1991. STRENGTHUnknown; may have hundreds of members, plus supporters. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONSOperates primarily in Spain and France, but conducted low- intensity bombings against Spanish diplomatic, commercial, and cultural facilities in Italy and Germany in 1991. EXTERNAL AIDHas received training at various times in Libya, Lebanon, and Nicaragua. Also has close ties to PIRA. CHUKAKU-HA (Nucleus or Middle-Core Faction)DESCRIPTIONAn ultraleftist/radical group with origins in the fragmentation of the Japanese Communist Party in 1957. Largest domestic militant group; has political arm plus small, covert action wing called Kansai Revolutionary Army. Funding derived from membership dues, sales of its newspapers, and fundraising campaigns. ACTIVITIESParticipates in mass protest demonstrations and snake- dancing in streets; supports farmers' protest of construction of Narita airport, among other causes; sabotaged part of Japanese railroad system in 1985 and 1986; sporadic attacks usually designed to cause only property damage through use of crude rockets and incendiary devices; anti-US attacks include small-scale rocket attempts against US military and diplomatic targets; no US casualties so far. STRENGTH3,500. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONJapan. EXTERNAL AIDNone known. DEMOCRATIC FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE (DFLP)DESCRIPTIONMarxist group that split from the PFLP in 1969. Believes Palestinian national goals can be achieved only through revolution of the masses. In early 1980s, occupied political stance midway between Arafat and the more radical rejectionists. Split into two factions in 1991, one pro- Arafat and another more hardline faction headed by Nayif Hawatmah. ACTIVITIESIn the seventies, carried out numerous small bombings and minor assaults and some more spectacular operations in Israel and the occupied territories, concentrating on Israeli targets such as the 1974 massacre in Ma'alot in which 27 Israelis were killed and over 100 wounded. Involved only in border raids since 1988. STRENGTHEstimated at 500 (total for both factions). LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONSyria, Lebanon, and the Israeli--occupied territories; attacks have taken place entirely in Israel and the occupied territories. EXTERNAL AIDReceives financial and military aid from Syria and Libya. DEVRIMCI SOL (aka: DEV SOL)DESCRIPTIONFormed in 1978 as a splinter faction of the Turkish People's Liberation Party/Front. Espouses a Marxist ideology, intensely xenophobic, and virulently anti-US and anti-NATO; seeks to unify the proletariat to stage a national revolution. Finances its activities chiefly through armed robberies and extortion. ACTIVITIESConducted attacks against US, Turkish, and NATO targets until weakened by massive arrests during 1981-83. Methods of attack include handgun assassinations and bombings. Since reemergence during late 1980s, has concentrated attacks against current and retired Turkish security and military officials; responsible for the murders of four active and retired generals and nearly 30 police officers in 1991. Resumed operations against foreign interests during 1991, claiming responsibility for assassinating two American contractors and one British businessman; attempted the murder of a US Air Force officer and over 30 bombings against Western diplomatic, commercial, and cultural facilities. STRENGTHSeveral hundred members, several dozen armed militants. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONCarries out attacks in Turkey--primarily in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and Adana . Conducts fundraising operations in Western Europe. EXTERNAL AIDPossible training support from radical Palestinians. REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA (FARC)DescriptionEstablished in 1966 as military wing of Colombian Communist Party; is largest guerrilla group there. Goal is to overthrow government and ruling class; anti-US. Organized along military lines, includes at least one urban front. ActivitiesArmed attacks against Colombian targets, bombings of US businesses, kidnappings of Colombians and foreigners for ransom, and assassinations. Traffics in drugs and has well- documented ties to drug traffickers. Peace talks with Colombian Government have proved unsuccessful. StrengthApproximately 4,500 to 5,500 armed combatants and 10,000 supporters. Location/Area of OperationColombia. External AidFARC has ties to Cuba; amount of aid unknown. FARABUNDO MARTI NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (FMLN)DESCRIPTIONFormed in 1980 with Cuban backing, the guerrilla umbrella organization is composed of five leftist groups: Central American Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRTC), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), Farabundo Marti Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of National Resistance (FARN), and the Communist Party of El Salvador's Armed Forces of Liberation (FAL). The group reached a peace agreement with the Government of El Salvador on 31 December 1991. ACTIVITIESBombings, assassinations, economic sabotage, arson, among other rural and urban operations. Since 1988 the FMLN increased urban terrorism in the capital. STRENGTH6,000 to 7,000 combatants. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONEl Salvador, limited activity in Honduras. EXTERNAL AIDHas received direct support from Cuba and receives support from the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, where it maintains an office. The FMLN also receives significant financial support from front groups and sympathetic organizations in the United States and Europe. HAWARI GROUPDESCRIPTIONPart of Yasser Arafat's Fatah apparatus, the group is named after its leader commonly known as Colonel Hawari, who died in an automobile crash in May 1991 while traveling from Baghdad to Jordan. The group has ties historically to Iraq. Membership includes former members of the radical Palestinian 15 May organization. ACTIVITIESCarried out several attacks in 1985 and 1986, mainly in Europe and usually against Syrian targets. Has also targeted Americans, most notably in the April 1986 bombing of TWA Flight 840 over Greece in which four Americans were killed. Future of group uncertain following Hawari's death. STRENGTHUnknown. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONMiddle Eastern countries and Europe. EXTERNAL AIDPLO is main source of support. HIZBALLAH (Party of God) aka: Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of PalestineDESCRIPTIONRadical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creation of Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from area. Strongly anti-West and anti-Israel. Closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran. Dissidents, however, have conducted rogue operations that were not approved by Tehran. ACTIVITIESKnown or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombing on the US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy anex in September 1984. Elements of the group were responsible for the kidnapping and continuing detention of most, if not all, US and other Western hostages in Lebanon. STRENGTHSeveral thousand. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONOperates in the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and southern Lebanon; has established cells in Western Europe, Africa, and elsewhere. EXTERNAL AIDReceives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran. JAPANESE RED ARMY (JRA)DESCRIPTIONAn international terrorist group formed about 1970 after breaking away from Japanese Communist League Red Army Faction. Now led by Fusako Shigenobu, believed to be in Syrian-garrisoned area of Lebanon's Bekka Valley. Stated goals are to overthrow Japanese Government and monarchy and to help foment world revolution. Organization unclear, but may control or at least have ties to Anti- Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB); may also have links to Antiwar Democratic Front--an overt leftist political organization-- inside Japan. Details released following November 1987 arrest of leader Osamu Maruoka indicate that JRA may be organizing cells in Asian cities, such as Manila and Singapore. Has had close and longstanding relations with Palestinian terrorist groups--based and operating outside Japan--since its inception. ACTIVITIESBefore 1977, JRA carried out series of brutal attacks over wide geographical area, including the massacre of passengers at Lod airport in Israel (1972) and two Japanese airliner hijackings (1973 and 1977). Anti-US attacks include attempted takeover of US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (1975). Since mid-1980s has carried out several crude rocket and mortar attacks against a number of US embassies. In April 1988, JRA operative Yu Kikumura was arrested with explosives on the New Jersey Turnpike, apparently planning an attack to coincide with the bombing of a USO Club in Naples, a suspected JRA operation that killed five, including a US servicewoman. He was convicted of these charges and is serving a lengthy prison sentence in the United States. STRENGTHAbout 30 hardcore members; undetermined number of sympathizers. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONBased in Syrian-controlled areas of Lebanon; often transits Damascus. EXTERNAL AIDReceives aid, including training and base camp facilities, from radical Palestinian terrorists, especially the PFLP. May also receive aid from Libya. Suspected of having sympathizers and support apparatus in Japan. KURDISH WORKER'S PARTY (PKK)DESCRIPTIONMarxist-Leninist terrorist group composed of Turkish Kurds established in mid-1970s. Seeks to set up Marxist state in southeastern Turkey, which has a large population of Kurds. ACTIVITIESPrimary targets are Turkish Government forces and civilians in southeastern Turkey, but is becoming increasingly active in Western Europe against Turkish targets and rival Kurdish groups. In 1986,attacked NATO target in Mardin, Turkey. Last summer the PKK carried out a spate of kidnappings of Westerners; all were released unharmed. STRENGTH3,000, plus 2,000 to 5,000 supporters. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONSIran, Syria, and Iraq. Operates in Turkey and Western Europe; training facilities in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. EXTERNAL AIDProbably still receives some aid and safehaven from Syria, Iran, and Iraq. EMANUEL RODRIGUEZ PATRIOTIC FRONT (FPMR)DESCRIPTIONThe FPMR was founded in 1983 as the armed wing of the Chilean Communist Party. Named for a hero in Chile's war of independence against Spain. The main movement announced it was laying down arms to become a political movement on 1 June 1991. The group splintered in 1987 into two factions, of which the dissident wing (FPMR/D) is now one of Chile's most active terrorist groups. ACTIVITIESFPMR/D is responsible for numerous bombing attacks against domestic and foreign targets and assassinations of Chileans. Responsible for many attacks on Mormon churches and US businesses from 1986 through 1991. In November 1990 an FPMR/D bomb concealed in a softball bat killed a Canadian and injured a US Embassy officer . The group attacked a Marine guard van at the US Embassy on 16 February with an antitank rocket that did not detonate and automatic weapons fire, injuring one US Marine. STRENGTHM1,000 to 1,500. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONChile. EXTERNAL AIDReceived training and weapons support from Cuba in past years, none in 1991. May cross-train with Peru's MRTA. MORAZANIST PATRIOTIC FRONT (FPM)DESCRIPTIONA radical, leftist terrorist group that first appeared in the late 1980s. Attacks made in protest of US intervention in Honduran economic and political affairs. ACTIVITIES Attacks on US, mainly military, personnel in Honduras. Claimed responsibility for attack on a bus in March 1990 that wounded seven US servicemen. Claimed bombing of Peace Corps office in December 1988, bus bombing that wounded three US servicemen in February 1989, attack on US convoy in April 1989, and grenade attack that wounded seven US soldiers in La Ceiba in July 1989. STRENGTHUnknown, probably relatively small. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONHonduras. EXTERNAL AIDHad ties to former Government of Nicaragua and possibly Cuba. LAUTARO YOUTH MOVEMENT (MJL) aka: The Lautaro faction of the United Popular Action Movement (MAPU/L) or Lautaro Popular Rebel Forces (FRPL) DESCRIPTIONViolent, anti-US, extremist group that advocates the overthrow of the Chilean Government. Leadership largely from leftist elements, but includes criminals and alienated youths. Recruits from poorer areas of cities. The leftist group became active in late 1980s. Its assaults during 1990 increased in number and sophistication and have continued through 1991. ACTIVITIES Has been linked to several assassinations of policemen, bank robberies, and bombings and burnings of Mormon chapels. STRENGTH Unknown. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Chile; mainly in Santiago. EXTERNAL AID May have ties to Cuba. MOZAMBICAN NATIONAL RESISTANCE (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana, or RENAMO)DESCRIPTION Established in 1976 by the Rhodesian security services, primarily to operate against anti-Rhodesian guerrillas based in Mozambique. South Africa subsequently developed RENAMO into an insurgent group opposing the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO). ACTIVITIES Operates as a guerrilla insurgency against Mozambique Government and civilian targets; frequently and increasingly runs cross-border operations into Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia, where it has murdered and kidnapped numerous civilians and destroyed property. STRENGTH 20,000 guerrillas. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Mozambique; border areas of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. EXTERNAL AID Assistance previously received from South Africa as well as from private Individuals and groups in Europe and elsewhere. NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY (ELM)--BoliviaDESCRIPTION Claims to be revived ELN that was established by Che Guevara in the 60s and was active into the early 70s. Holds traditional Marxist-Leninist revolutionary ideologies. Operates as an umbrella group over numerous small Bolivian subversive movements that includes the CNPZ. ACTIVITIES During 1991 focused on domestic Bolivian targets. See Nestor Paz Zamora Commissi on (CNPZ) for further information on ELN activities. Threats against US interests continued through 1991. Probably responsible for fake bomb placed in US Embassy elevator in April 1991. STRENGTH Unknown. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Bolivia. EXTERNAL AIDMay receive training, logistic, and other limited support from Peru's MRTA. _______________________________________________________-NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY (ELN)--ColombiaDESCRIPTION Rural-based, anti-US, Maoist-Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group formed in 1963. Engaged in unsuccessful peace talks with the Government of Colombia during 1991. ACTIVITIES Periodically kidnaps foreign employees of large corporations and holds them for very large ransom payments. Extortion and bombing attacks against US and other foreign businesses in Colombia, particularly the petroleum industry. Has inflicted major damage on oil pipelines since 1986. STRENGTH 1,000 to 2,000. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Colombia. EXTERNAL AID In the past received limited arms and training from Cuba and training from Nicaragua. NESTOR PAZ ZAMORA COMMISSION (CNPZ)Discription Radical leftist terrorist organization that first appeared in October 1990. Named after deceased brother of President Paz Zamora. Currently operates under the ELN (Bolivia) umbrella. Violent, extremely anti-US, Marxist-Leninist organization. ACTIVITIES The group attacked the US Embassy Marine guardhouse on 10 October 1990 with automatic weapons and a bomb. One Bolivian policeman was killed and another seriously injured in the attack. STRENGTH Unknown. Probably fewer than 100. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Bolivia. EXTERNAL AIDPeru's MRTA has provided training, limited funding, and logistic support. NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY (NPA)DESCRIPTION The guerrilla arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, an avowedly Maoist group formed in December 1969 with the aim of overthrowing the government through protracted guerrilla warfare. Although primarily a rural-based guerrilla group , the NPA has an active urban infrastructure to carry out terrorism; uses city-based assassination squads called sparrow units. Derives most of its funding from contributions of supporters and revolutionary taxes extorted from local business. ACTIVITIES In addition to guerrilla activities, has used urban terrorism,including attacks on government officials, police, and military officers in Manila and other majo r cities. Has vowed to kill US citizens who allegedly are involved in the government's counterinsurgency campaign. The NPA has killed 10 US military members and private American citizens in the Philippines since 1987. Attacked some US businesses located in rural areas who refused to pay so-called revolutionary taxes. STRENGTH 16,000, plus support groups. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION The Philippines. EXTERNAL AIDReceives funding from overseas fundraisers in Western Europe and elsewhere; also linked to Libya. Diverts some funding of humanitarian aid. POPULAR FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE-GENERAL COMMAND (PFLP-GC)DESCRIPTION Split from the PFLP in 1968, claiming that it wanted to focus more on fighting and less on politics. Violently opposed to Arafat's PLO. Led by Ahmad Jabril, a former captain in the Syrian Army. Closely allied with, supported by, and probably directed by Syria. ACTIVITIES Claims to have specialized in suicide operations. Has carried out numerous cross-border terrorist attacks into Israel, using unusual means, such as hot-air balloons and motorized hang gliders. Hafiz Kassem Dalkamoni, a ranking PFLP-GC official, was convicted in Germany in June 1991 for bombing US troop trains. He faces additional charges in Germany for other terrorist offenses, including manslaughter. STRENGTH Several hundred. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Headquarters in Damascus with bases in Lebanon and cells in Europe. EXTERNAL AIDReceives logistic and military support from Syria, its chief sponsor. Financial support from Libya. Safehaven in Syria. Support also from Iran. PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD (PIJ)DESCRIPTION The PIJ originated among militant Palestinian fundamentalists in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s. The PIJ may be a series of loosely affiliated factions, rather than a cohesive group. The PIJ is committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel through holy war. Because of its strong support for Israel, the United States has been identified as an enemy of the PIJ. The PIJ also opposes moderate Arab governments that it believes have been tainted by Western secularism. ACTIVITIES The PIJ demonstrated its terrorist credentials when it attacked a tour bus in Egypt in February 1990 and killed 11 people, including nine Israelis. The PIJ also has carried out cross-border raids against Israeli targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A PIJ leader in Jordan has publicly threatened to attack US interests. PIJ agents were arrested in Egypt in September 1991 while attempting to enter the country to conduct terrorism. STRENGTH Unknown. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATIONS Primarily Israel and occupied territories and other parts of the Middle East, including Jordan and Lebanon. EXTERNAL AID Uncertain, possibly Iran and Syria. FRONT FOR THE LIBERATION OF PALESTINE SPECIAL COMMAND (PFLP-SC)DESCRIPTION Marxist-Leninist group formed by Abu Salim in 1979 after breaking away from the now-defunct PFLP-Special Operations Group. ACTIVITIES Has claimed responsibility for several notorious international terrorist attacks in Western Europe, including the bombing of a restaurant frequented by US servicemen in Torrejon, spain, in April 1985. Eighteen Spanish civilians were killed in the attack. STRENGTH 50. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Operates out of southern Lebanon, in various areas of the Middle East, and in Western Europe. EXTERNAL AID Probably receives financial and military support from Syria, Libya, and Iraq. PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO)DESCRIPTION Founded in 1964 as a Palestinian nationalist umbrella organization dedicated to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, control devolved to the leadership of the various fedayeen militia groups, the most dominant of which was Yasser Arafat's Al-Fatah. In 1969, Arafat became chairman of the PLO's Executive Committee, a position he still holds. In the early 1980s, PLO became fragmented into several contending groups but remains the preeminent Palestinian organization. The United States considers the PLO an umbrella organization that includes several constituent groups and individuals holding differing views on terrorism. At the same time, US policy accepts that elements of the PLO have advocated, carried out, or accepted responsibility for acts of terrorism. PLO Chairman Arafat publicly renounced terrorism in December 1988 on behalf of the PLO. The United States considers that all PLO groups, including Al-Fatah, Force 17, Hawari Group, PLF, and PFLP, are bound by Arafat's renunciation of terrorism. The US-PLO dialogue was suspended after the PLO failed to condemn the 30 May 1990 PLF attack on Israeli beaches. PLF head Abu Abbas left the PLO Executive Committee in September 1991; his seat was filled by another PLF member. ACTIVITIES In the early 1970s, several groups affiliated with the PLO carried out numerous international terrorist attacks. By the mid-1970s, under international pressure, the PLO claimed it would restrict attacks were later carried out by groups affiliated with the PLO/Fatah, including the Hawari Group, the Palestine Liberation Front, and Force 17, against targets inside and outside of Israel. STRENGTH See numbers for affiliated groups. LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION Tunis, other bases in various countries in the Middle East. EXTERNAL AID See affiliated groups. Accurate public information on financial support for the PLO by Arab governments is difficult to obtain. POPULAR STRUGGLE FRONT (PSF)Description Radical Palestinian terrorist group once closely involved in the Syrian-dominated Palestinian National Salvation Front. Led by Dr. Samir Ghosheh. Rejoined the PLO in September 1991. Activities Terrorist attacks against Israeli, moderate Arab, and PLO targets. Strength Fewer than 300. Location/Area of Operation Mainly Syria and Lebanon, and elsewhere in the Middle East. External Aid Receives support from Syria and may now receive aid from the PLO. RED ARMY FACTION (RAF)Description The small and disciplined RAF is the successor to the Baader Meinhof Gang, which originated in the student protest movement in the 1960s. Ideology is an obscure mix of Marxism and Maoism; committed to armed struggle. Organized into hardcore cadres that carry out terrorist attacks and a network of supporters who provide logistic and propaganda support. Has survived despite numerous arrests of top leaders over the years. Activities Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and robberies. Targets German Government and private sector and US interests. Among the latter, attempted assassination in Belgium of NATO Commander (1979); bombing of NATO Air Force headquarters in Ramstein (1981); rocket attack of USAREUR Commander in Heidelberg (1981); and bombing of Rhein-Main Air Force Base (1985). In February 1991, the RAF fired approximately 250 assault rifle rounds at the US Embassy in Bonn, and in April the group assassinated the German Trust Agency director, Detlev Karsten Rohwedder. Strength Ten to 20, plus several hundred supporters. Location/Area of Operations Germany. External Aid Basically self-sustaining, but during Baader-Meinhof period received some support from Middle Eastern terrorist groups; some ties may still exist. The RAF received logistic support, sanctuary, and training from the German Democratic Republic during the early 1980s. The RAF appears to be developing closer ties to GRAPO in Spain. REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE (ELA)Description Formed in 1971 to oppose the Greek military junta; is a self described leftwing revolutionary, anticapitalist, anti- imperialist group. Organization is unclear, but probably consists of a loose coalition of several very small and violent groups or affiliates, possibly including 17 November. Activities Before 1974, was nonviolent; turned to terrorism after removal of junta. Has targeted US military and business facilities and, since 1986, stepped up attacks on Greek Government and commercial interests; primary method has been bombings of buildings, apparently without intent to endanger life. Safehouse raid in November 1990 revealed weapons cache and direct contacts with 1 May and Revolutionary Solidarity; during 1991, ELA and 1 May claimed joint responsibility for over 20 bombings. Strength Unknown, perhaps up to 20 or 30, plus supporters. Location/Area of Operation Greece. External Aid No known foreign sponsors. SENDERO LUMINOSO (Shining Path, SL)Description Peru's largest subversive organization is among the world's most dangerous and ruthless terrorist groups. Formed in late 1960s by then university professor Abimael Guzman Reynoso. Goal is to destroy existing Peruvian institutions and replace them with a peasant revolutionary regime as well as to rid Peru of foreign influences. Has extensive ties to narcoproducers and narcotraffickers working in Peru. Activities Killed 10 foreigners in 1991. Engages in particularly brutal forms of terrorism. Originally rural based, but has increasingly operated in urban areas since 1986 . Has attacked diplomatic missions of nearly every country represented in Peru, foreign businesses, foreign and domestic humanitarian aid projects, in addition to Peruvian Government and private-sector targets. Strength 4,000 to 5,000 combatants. Strong rural support base. Location/Area of Operation Peru. External AidNo known foreign sponsors. Receives money from drug trade, including Colombian narcotics traffickers. TERRA LLIURE (TL) (Free Land)Description Leftwing Catalonian separatist terrorist group formed in the 1970s with the goal of establishing an independent Marxist state in the Spanish Provinces of Catalonia and Valencia. Leadership announced in July 1991 that the group had ceased terrorist operations, but hardcore members may remain active. Activities Mainly small-scale bombing attacks against property in northeastern Spain. Targets include foreign banks and travel agencies. Reportedly renounced terrorism in July 1991. Strength Unknown. Location/Area of Operation Spain. External Aid None known. TUPAC AMARU REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT (MRTA)Description Traditional Marxist-Leninist revolutionary movement in Peru formed in 1983. Led by Nestor Serpa and Victor Polay. Objective is to rid Peru--and perhaps region--of "imperialist" influence and establish a Marxist regime. Activities Responsible for more anti-US attacks than any other group in Latin America. In 1990 and 1991, attacked the US Ambassador's residence, bombed the US Consulate and US-Peruvian Binational Center, attacked US businesses and Mormon churches. Attacked Peru's Presidential Palace, and President Fujimori's airplane in 1991. Strength 1,000 to 2,000 combatants. Location/Area of Operation Peru. Bolivia in conjunction with the ELN. External Aid Has received training in Cuba. May have ties to Libya. PROVISIONAL IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY (PIRA) aka: The ProvosDescription A radical terrorist group formed in 1969 as the clandestine armed wing of Sinn Fein, a legal political movement dedicated to removing British forces from Northern Ireland and then to unify Ireland. Has a Marxist orientation. Organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council. Activities Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and robberies. Targets government and private-sector interests--including senior British officials and British military targets in Western Europe-and Northern Irish Protestant paramilitary organizations. Has become increasingly indiscriminate in its spectacular bombing attacks. PIRA has stepped up operations on mainland Britain over the past two years, conducting over 20 attacks there during 1991. In February, a mortar attack against No. 10 Downing Street was launched while Prime Minister Major and senior members of his Cabinet were meeting. Bombing at two busy railway stations in central London resulted in the death of one civilian and injury to dozens more. In December, PIRA exploded a 2,000-pound bomb outside a police station in Northern Ireland, injuring over 60 civilians, and launched a wave of bomb attacks against rail lines and shopping centers on the British mainland. Strength Several hundred, plus several thousand sympathizers. Location/Area of Operation Northern Ireland, Irish Republic, Great Britain, and Western Europe. External Aid Has received aid from a variety of groups and countries and considerable training and arms from Libya and, at one time, the PLO. Also is suspected of receiving funds and arms from sympathizers in the United States. Maintains links to ETA. http://members.tripod.com/terrorism_is_ok/groups.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 MJ,Thanks for the info. I found this artilce in reuters today. It goes in line with my theory that US should have more even handed policy in Middle East. By giving all possible weapons and financial support to Israel, US becomes a "Great Satan" in the eyes of desolate Arab youth, whose helplessnes pushes it to terrorism and suicide attacks. Support should not be as unilateral as it is, but more balanced. Why doesn't state department issue a statement condemning killing of Palestinians, but always is resiliant to condemn killing of Israelies? Palestinians, people abandoned by most Arab nations, be it Jordan, Egypt or Syria, are helpless against the might of Israel. Daily destruction of infrustructure by Israeli army using US made weapons will only trigger more terrorism, not less. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=2545512 More Deaths as Israel Tells Palestinians: Heed Iraq Thu April 10, 2003 02:32 PM ET By Nidal al-MughrabiGAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli missile strike killed a Palestinian bomb-making expert in Gaza and gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Thursday in a surge of violence ahead of an anticipated U.S.-led peace drive. Israel said it hoped the fall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would chasten Palestinian militants into laying down their arms. But militant groups spearheading a 30-month-old revolt said they would not be cowed by the U.S. conquest of Baghdad and threatened to intensify attacks in Israel. Israeli security sources said the man killed by helicopter gunship fire was Mahmoud al-Zatma, accused by Israel of preparing explosives for suicide attacks carried out by the Islamic Jihad militant group. The missiles hit al-Zatma, allegedly behind a 1995 suicide bombing that killed 22 Israelis, as he drove through a Gaza City neighborhood and left his car a mangled wreck. Ten Palestinians were wounded in the strike, medics said. The army said that in Thursday's predawn attack in the West Bank, gunmen cut through a fence around an army base in the Jordan Valley and opened fire at a tent housing soldiers, killing two and wounding nine before being shot dead. Violence in the Palestinian uprising for independence had tapered off since the Iraq war began on March 20, but fighting has been on the rise this week. Israeli strikes and raids have killed 13 Palestinians in Gaza in three days. The bloodshed runs counter to Washington's calls for calm before it introduces a long-delayed program for Middle East peacemaking in the aftermath of the war in Iraq. President Bush has said he will present a peace "road map" leading to a Palestinian state by 2005, once Palestinian lawmakers confirm a new reformist cabinet under prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas, a leading moderate. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the killings of Palestinians and accused Israel of trying to sabotage the peace effort. ISRAEL TELLS PALESTINIANS TO HEED IRAQ Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz hammered home his government's wish that the U.S. conquest of Iraq would teach Palestinians the lesson that they must abandon their uprising and install new leaders. "I hope that in the era after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Palestinians will understand that the world has changed," Mofaz told reporters. Palestinians must "give the chance for a new and authentic leadership to grow, end terror and incitement and return to the negotiating table," he said. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, senior political leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, pledged "resistance will escalate and will become more violent." Islamic Jihad official Mohammed al-Hindi accused Israel of trying to exploit the Iraq war to crush the uprising. "The result of this new assassination will be resistance and response," he told Reuters in Gaza after al-Zatma's death. The Israeli army had no immediate comment on the missile strike. Israel has tracked and killed dozens of militants during the uprising. Palestinians call the practice state-sponsored assassination and Israel calls it self-defense . An anonymous caller to Reuters claimed responsibility for the West Bank attack in the name of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. Elsewhere in the West Bank, an Israeli army unit on a raid exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen in the town of Tulkarm, killing one and wounding four, an Israeli military source said. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank town of Salfit said they had shot dead a 65-year-old Palestinian land broker suspected of collaborating with Israel. Palestinians have killed dozens of their brethren accused of helping Israeli forces track and kill Palestinian militants. At least 1,987 Palestinians and 729 Israelis have been killed since the uprising flared in September 2000 after negotiations on a Palestinian state froze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted April 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Alpha, I it is not my place to defend Israel vs. Palestinians. I can just attempt to respond to your last note. In fact, perhaps my best response to your note would be the referencing of a pargrpah or two from the beginning and the end of your own material: “An Israeli missile strike killed a Palestinian bomb-making expert in Gaza and gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Thursday in a surge of violence ahead of an anticipated U.S.-led peace drive. Israel said it hoped the fall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would chasten Palestinian militants into laying down their arms. But militant groups spearheading a 30-month-old revolt said they would not be cowed by the U.S. conquest of Baghdad and threatened to intensify attacks in Israel. Israeli security sources said the man killed by helicopter gunship fire was Mahmoud al-Zatma, accused by Israel of preparing explosives for suicide attacks carried out by the Islamic Jihad militant group.” And “An anonymous caller to Reuters claimed responsibility for the West Bank attack in the name of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. Elsewhere in the West Bank, an Israeli army unit on a raid exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen in the town of Tulkarm, killing one and wounding four, an Israeli military source said. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank town of Salfit said they had shot dead a 65-year-old Palestinian land broker suspected of collaborating with Israel. Palestinians have killed dozens of their brethren accused of helping Israeli forces track and kill Palestinian militants. At least 1,987 Palestinians and 729 Israelis have been killed since the uprising flared in September 2000 after negotiations on a Palestinian state froze.” Overall, the material brought by you only supports Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself and supports the argument that Israel is acting out of self-defense. The support of the US to Israel is the only thing that guarantees the “even handed status quo” in the region – the existence of Israel vs. Arab world. The Palestine issue is a fraction of the overall Arab-Israeli relationship. Finally, the Arab youth, which has no jobs and no hope for jobs, may and will consider “Great Satan” whomever one wishes. The handwriting of the Arab popular thought is similar to the tested way of diverting attention from an “Internal Satan” to an “External Satan.” It is apparent, however, that only the US can help to create conditions for them to get jobs, throughout the whole region, and instead of searching for “Satans,” to build their countries, which are devastated by Arab tyrants, etc. And when that youth has jobs and future, they will start praising the US much like the other segments of the Arab population do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted April 11, 2003 Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 Semi related and if nothing else it is an interesting article to read. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arab World Poverty–Whose Fault? By Larry Elder "I don’t have the knowledge to blame a government," said Bakhtiar Khan, an Afghan man in his mid-twenties. "I don’t know about politics, but for our problems I blame the world community. All humans should be equal, but we are not. You ask me who is to blame. You find out who is to blame." Khan, according to a recent New York Times piece on the origins of Islamic extremism, earns a subsistence level income making bricks in a pit outside the city of Peshawar, an Afghan city of 2 million, nearly 50 percent refugees. When asked about his life, he says, "Life is cruel. You can see for yourself. You wear nice clothes and are healthy. But look at us. We have no clothes to wear and we are not healthy. Your question is amazing." So, whom to blame? A recent story on Afghan schools described a teacher who holds up a wealth pie chart. America, she shows her students, controls this huge slice of the pie, leaving a tiny sliver for us Afghans. The not-so-subtle point? Afghans suffer poverty because of America’s disproportionate wealth. But no, Khan lacks the "knowledge to blame a government." For, through knowledge, Khan would discover that his poverty stems from corrupt, dictatorial governments, the absence of capitalism and free trade, and the lack of individual rights and the rule of law. But who, in the Arab world, spreads this message? Dr. Muqtedar Khan, Director of International Studies at Adrian College in Michigan, challenges American Muslims to set the masses straight, "While we loudly and consistently condemn Israel for its ill treatment of Palestinians, we are silent when Muslim regimes abuse the rights of Muslims and slaughter thousands of them. Remember Saddam and his use of chemical weapons against Muslims (Kurds)? Remember Pakistani army’s excesses against Muslims (Bengalis)? Remember the Mujahideen of Afghanistan and their mutual slaughter? Have we ever condemned them for their excesses? Have we demanded international intervention or retribution against them? Do you know how the Saudis treat their minority Shiis? Have we protested the violation of their rights? But we all are eager to condemn Israel; not because we care for rights and lives of the Palestinians, we don’t. We condemn Israel because we hate ‘them.’ "Muslims love to live in the U.S. but also love to hate it. Many openly claim that the U.S. is a terrorist state but they continue to live in it. Their decision to live here is testimony that they would rather live here than anywhere else. As an Indian Muslim, I know for sure that nowhere on earth, including India, will I get the same sense of dignity and respect that I have received in the U.S. No Muslim country will treat me as well as the U.S. has. If what happened on September 11th had happened in India, the biggest democracy, thousands of Muslims would have been slaughtered in riots on mere suspicion and there would be another slaughter after confirmation. But in the U.S., bigotry and xenophobia has been kept in check by media and leaders…. "It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S. are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you disagree, then prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim country you identify with. If you do not leave and do not acknowledge that you would rather live here than anywhere else, know that you are being hypocritical. "It is time that we faced these hypocritical practices and struggled to transcend them. It is time that American Muslim leaders fought to purify their own lot." But only a few weeks ago, Arab leaders condemned Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for calling Western civilization "superior" because it "guarantees respect for human rights and religion." Harsh criticism forced him to recant his "racist" statement. But if we call Berlusconi’s remarks "racist," in what category do we place the statement made by Abdulrahman Awadi, formerly a high-ranking official in Kuwait? When Kuwait learned that Sulaiman abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti citizen, had become a top lieutenant with Osama bin Laden, Kuwait revoked abu Ghaith’s citizenship. Awadi said, "This is a wake-up call that we have to be very careful with freedom. Democracy and freedom of choice may be good for Western cultures, but for the Gulf countries, those are dangerous things. These people are using freedom to achieve their ends." Whom to blame? Countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt suffer double-digit unemployment rates, estimated as high as 25 percent. Grinding poverty and religious zealotry, wrapped around a blanket of government-led scapegoating of Israel, the United States and the West–all combine to form a dangerous and deadly Third World victicrat mindset. Blame defeats enlightenment, and anger defeats reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 I am not condoning all American policies in Middle East. I am just inclined to question of wisdom of current neo conservative policy. I think more even handed policies in Middle East will lead to less anti-Americanism. Why support Mubarak, Saudis, and other dictators. Why not imply economic sanctions against these dictators, like US applies economic sanctions against Iran? By supporting governments that are dispised by their people will only antagonize US. Just like supporting Kocharyan has antagonized Russia in the eyes of many Armenians. Why give Ariel Sharon free hand in destroying homes and infrastructure of Palestinians? Will it bring more peace or more terrorism? US was not always the "Great Satan". It was the superpower that helped Muslims fight in Afghanistan, brought peace between Egypt and Israel. It almost brought peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Why not become more even handed power, thus gain the respect of people living in the region not the awe. Democracy: the new fig leaf of imperialism? The Daily Star 12 April 2003 A story is told of a visitor who came to see the second caliph, Omar Ibn al-Khattab (who led the Muslim community between 634 and 644). The visitor found the caliph sleeping under a tree, unguarded and unafraid. Waking him, the visitor observed: `Caliph, you have brought your people justice, so now you have peace. Thus, you can sleep.' In light of the current US/UK imperial onslaught against Iraq, can American and British leaders sleep at night with a clear conscience? Are they bringing peace and justice, or will they reap a whirlwind? Given the pronounced ideological - even theological - fervor of the reigning neoconservatives in Washington, DC, it is unlikely that any Washington official, drunk with the glorious certitudes of America's new `civilizing mission,' has entertained doubts about the wisdom, morality, or feasibility of the current invasion, which some characterize as a new Crusade. America is muzzling democracy at home to bring democracy to Iraq. She is squashing dissent within her borders so as to enable Iraqis to dissent from Saddam Hussein's rule. The magnificent capital of Baghdad must be destroyed in order to be redeemed. Mass civilian deaths will - somehow - lead to democratic civilian rule. US endeavors in the Middle East were not always so arrogant and absurd. Much regression has occurred in American policy making circles, as becomes clear when we compare current public attitudes and official actions with those prevalent during the waning years of the 19th century. Then, America's stance toward the Middle East was primarily philanthropic, as evidenced by US provision of humanitarian aid to Armenians and other victims of World War I. America also showed its humanistic and enlightened face by establishing educational institutions throughout the region. The most prominent of these were the American University of Beirut, the American University of Cairo, and Robert College, which later became Bogazici University, in Turkey. These institutions of higher learning were beacons of light that attracted and inspired people throughout the region by embodying such cherished American values as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness regardless of religious background or social class. One century later, alas, America's involvement in the region has been usurped by Messianic politics, extreme right-wing ideologies, and narrow political and economic interests that disregard the experiences, needs, and goals of the peoples of the region. The US mission in the Middle East today implements the `full spectrum dominance' vision of the Project for a New American Century, a think-tank with clout. Its founding members and guiding intellectual lights are well-represented in the administration of George W. Bush, who has happily executed their blueprint, one that aims to ensure and guarantee long-term and unchallenged US military, economic, and political dominance of the entire world. Oil's role in this blueprint is central, much more so than any bogus claims about fostering democracy in the Middle East at gunpoint, under the merciless bombardments of civilian populations. To dominate the world, one must first control world access to oil, not spread the word about the mechanisms of electoral politics. Given today's US troop movements near Baghdad, capital of the second-largest oil producing state in the world, it appears that the US is on the verge of realizing the key component of its new imperial mission. America's new mission, that of full spectrum dominance, has never been put to a public referendum. If they were fully apprised of what this global imperialism will cost - materially, morally, financially, and in terms of lost US lives - most Americans would probably prefer not to pursue it. The processes by which the Bush administration has decided to pursue its new civilizing mission with such evangelical fervor have been long on rhetoric, and very short on genuine democratic participation. These are the ideas and visions of a very small group of highly committed individuals who show a callous disregard for international law, US public opinion, multilateralism abroad or participatory decision making at home. They have the truth, the light and the way. They are not to be contradicted or challenged. To be able to sleep in peace, America should foster and promote justice not only in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israelis, between Indians and Pakistanis, or by supporting the Kurdish people's right to self-determination. America must also beware of losing its soul in the quicksand of a long and tiring occupation of Iraq. Here, America must endeavor not to become Israel, its chief Middle Eastern client. Though its founders may have envisioned it as a `light unto the nations,' Israel today is a zone of political and moral darkness clouded by fear, hate, injustice, and vengeance. Many Israelis and Jews throughout the world are horrified by what the Jewish state has become. They warn of the need to respect international law and human rights. But Israel's leader, like America's George Bush, considers himself above all laws. To establish justice, America must compel the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon to abide by all relevant international laws and UN resolutions and return to substantive negotiations with the Palestinians on the basis of UN resolutions 242 and 338. The Palestinians need and deserve to have their own state, independent of Israeli encroachments. To establish justice, America will have to rein in its thirst for oil while listening to and encouraging the yearnings of millions of young Arabs and Muslims for democracy and freedom of speech. Then, like the Caliph Omar, Americans will be able to live in peace, secure in a world where justice and the rule of law, not military might, dominates. George E. Irani is a professor in conflict analysis and management at Royal Roads University in Canada. Laurie King-Irani is a lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Victoria, British Columbia and a co-founder of the ElectronicIraq.net news site. They wrote this commentary exclusively for The Daily Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted April 27, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2003 Middle East - AP Papers: Documents Show Iraq-Al Qaida Link 1 hour, 46 minutes ago LONDON - Two newspapers reported that they found documents in the bombed out headquarters of Iraq (news - web sites)'s intelligence service that appear to show that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime met with an al-Qaida envoy in 1998 and sought to arrange a meeting with Osama bin Laden (news - web sites). Papers found by reporters working for the Toronto Star and Britain's Sunday Telegraph appear to show that purpose of the meeting was to establish a relationship between Baghdad and al-Qaida based on their mutual hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia, the newspapers reported in their Sunday editions. The 1998 meeting went so well that it was extended by a week and ended with arrangements being discussed for bin Laden to visit Baghdad, said the newspapers, which had reporters working together with Iraqi translators on the story. Journalists found the documents in the rubble of one of the rooms of the intelligence headquarters, the papers said. Bin Laden's name appears three times in the handwritten file, with each reference clumsily concealed with white-out correction fluid and then blackened with ink, the Toronto Star wrote. The Toronto Star recounted how a translator named Amir scraped off the white correction fluid to reveal bin Laden's name. "It says bin Laden! It says bin Laden," the Toronto Star quoted Amir as exclaiming. One of the pages, dated Feb. 19, was marked "top secret and urgent" and referred to plans for the trip from Sudan of the unnamed envoy, who is described in the file as a trusted confidant of bin Laden's, the Sunday Telegraph said. The document, signed, "MDA," which the Telegraph said is a code name believed to belong to the director of one of the Iraqi intelligence sections, said the Iraqis sought to pay for the envoy's costs while in Iraq "to gain the knowledge of the message from bin Laden and to convey to his envoy an oral message from us to bin Laden." The message to bin Laden "would relate to the future of our relationship with him, bin Laden, and to achieve a direct meeting with him," the Telegraph quoted the document as saying. The other documents confirm that the envoy traveled from Khartoum in Sudan to Baghdad in March 1998 and that he stayed at the al-Mansour Melia hotel, it said. The documents do not mention whether any meeting took place between bin Laden and Iraqi officials, the Telegraph said. Separately, The Sunday Times reported that its own journalists had found documents in the Iraqi foreign ministry that indicate that France gave Saddam Hussein's regime regular reports on its dealings with American officials. The newspaper said the documents reveal that Paris shared with Baghdad the contents of private trans-Atlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington. One document, dated Sept. 25, 2001, from Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri to Saddam's palace, was based on a briefing from the French ambassador in Baghdad and covered talks between presidents Jacques Chirac and George W. Bush. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...id=540&ncid=716 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THOTH Posted April 27, 2003 Report Share Posted April 27, 2003 MJ - don't believe everything that you read... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted April 27, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2003 That's about the attitude I have when I read your postings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted April 27, 2003 Report Share Posted April 27, 2003 MJ - don't believe everything that you read... Oh? And YOU are saying that?! Hmmmmm... Maybe you should revise that sentence, cos you too, believe everything you read from mainstream media (i.e. your government). Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THOTH Posted April 27, 2003 Report Share Posted April 27, 2003 Dan - don't suppose that you know (at all) what I believe and why. And MJ - you mention your attitude....well yes I see, and I'll just leave it at that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted April 27, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2003 Here is more of it: Iraq files 'show al-Qaeda link' Documents found in Baghdad show a link between Saddam Hussein's fallen regime and al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, according to a UK newspaper. The Sunday Telegraph says reporter Inigo Gilmore discovered the files in the bombed headquarters of the Mukhabarat, the feared Iraqi intelligence service. It says the files, in Arabic, show an al-Qaeda envoy was invited to visit Baghdad secretly in March 1998. The report comes only days after its sister paper, the Daily Telegraph claimed to have unearthed documents showing left-wing Labour MP George Galloway received money from the Iraqi regime. Mr Galloway denies the claims and plans to sue the paper for libel. These latest documents suggest Iraqi officials wanted to pass on an oral message to set up a direct meeting with Bin Laden. The 1998 visit described in the documents would have taken place before Washington blamed Bin Laden for the bombings of two US embassies in Africa later that year. Correction fluid Mr Gilmore told the BBC he found the documents after being allowed into the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad by US troops guarding the site. He smuggled the papers back to his hotel where his translator translated them into English. Perhaps significantly the CIA had been through many of these buildings but they seem to have missed this particular document Inigo Gilmore Sunday Telegraph He told the BBC: "I noticed on some of the documents there were some marks erased out... we scraped away with a razor and underneath we found the name Bin Laden three times and obviously realised this was highly significant. "These documents explain that an envoy from Bin Laden came to Iraq in March 1998 to discuss contact between al-Qaeda and Iraqi intelligence. "It also talks about sending an oral message back to Bin Laden and it furthermore discuss the idea of setting up a direct meeting with Bin Laden himself." In one document quoted by the paper an Iraqi official wrote: "We suggest permission to call the Khartoum station [iraq's intelligence office in Sudan] to facilitate the travel arrangements for the above-mentioned person to Iraq. "And that our body carry all the travel and hotel costs inside Iraq to gain the knowledge of the message from Bin Laden and to convey to his envoy an oral message from us to Bin Laden." Denial Mr Gilmore said the document was highly significant given the United States' claims of links between Iraq and al-Qaeda. He said: "I have worked in the Middle East for many years and like many other journalists was very sceptical about American claims. "However, having found these documents, and reviewed them and had several people translate them for accuracy it does seem very credible that this contact was made in 1998 and perhaps followed up afterwards. "We don't have any evidence of that." Mr Gilmore said he was not out to provide propaganda for the US but the documents could be something they would want to use to back up their claims. He said: "Perhaps significantly the CIA had been through many of these buildings but they seem to have missed this particular document. "But it is pretty much pot luck. We have been through many buildings this week and this is the first significant thing we have found." Before the war Saddam Hussein made it clear he had no links with al-Qaeda. During an interview with former British MP Tony Benn, he said: "If we had a relationship with al-Qaeda, and we believed in that relationship, we would not be ashamed to admit it." Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...ast/2979405.stm Published: 2003/04/27 09:07:01 © BBC MMIII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted April 28, 2003 Report Share Posted April 28, 2003 ... During an interview with former British MP Tony Benn, he said: "If we had a relationship with al-Qaeda, and we believed in that relationship, we would not be ashamed to admit it." What an odd thing to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph parikian Posted April 28, 2003 Report Share Posted April 28, 2003 Wow so two british reporters found documents that the ' CIA ' agents couldnot found.Is someone telling me that two reporters were allowed to go into what was left from the Iraqi intelligence service headquarters and were given free hands and permision to dig and WALLA found two documents that links Saddam to Alkaeda I pray that the British intelligence did a better job this time than what they did with the infamous document about the Iraqis trying to by uranium from Gana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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