Below are stories from the past week that you won't hear about on the evening news, and you won't read in the New York Slimes (thank you Mark Levin for coining that term).
Iran
Iran and U.S. moving eyeball to eyeball along Iraq border (Registration Required)
U.S. military commanders are warning Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that tensions between Iran and the United States are heading toward a breaking point and that there could be a major clash between the two militaries.Iran Protesters Stage Sit-In on Brussels Plane
The commanders said U.S. and Iranian troops are becoming closer along the Iranian-Iraqi border and that U.S. aircraft have been moving in and out of Iran while Teheran seeks to bolster its air defense forces.
Some commanders are urging the Pentagon to prepare for the prospect of a brief but intense war with Iran. They said Iran has been arming for a major counter-strike for any U.S. attack on Iran — even under accidental circumstances.
"The situation with Iran is tense, and the possibility for miscalculation high," Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week.
"We want the European Union to remove the Islamic leaders from Iran. We want to remove the mullahs from power," Armin Atshgar, a protester, told Reuters by mobile phone from the aircraft.
Saudi Arabia
The Face of Iraqi Terrorism
by Stephen Schwartz
03/04/2005
The Global Research in International Affairs Center in Israel, a highly reputable and reliable think-tank, has published a paper titled "Arab volunteers killed in Iraq: an Analysis," available at e-prism.org. Authored by Dr. Reuven Paz, the paper analyzes the origins of 154 Arab jihadists killed in Iraq in the last six months, whose names have been posted on Islamist websites.
The sample does not account for all jihadists in Iraq, but provides a useful and eye-opening profile of them. Saudi Arabia accounted for 94 jihadists, or 61 percent of the sample, followed by Syria with 16 (10 percent), Iraq itself with only 13 (8 percent), and Kuwait with 11 (7 percent.) The rest included small numbers from Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, Morocco (of which one was a resident in Spain), Yemen, Tunisia, the Palestinian territories (only 1), Dubai, and Sudan. The Sudanese was living in Saudi Arabia before he went to die in Iraq.
Syria / Lebanon
Terrorist Claims Syrian Training
February 24, 2005Israeli general sees war with Syria on the horizon
Iraqi state television aired a video yesterday showing what the U.S.-funded channel said was the confession of a captured Syrian officer, who said he trained Iraqi terrorists to behead people and build car bombs to attack American and Iraqi troops.
He also said the terrorists practiced beheading animals to train for decapitating hostages.
Later, Al Iraqiya aired another round of interviews with men it said were Sudanese and Egyptians who also trained in Syria to carry out attacks in Iraq.
Thursday, March 10, 2005Reform rally disrupted in Syria
TEL AVIV — Israel's military is bracing for the increasing prospect of a war with Syria in a confrontation expected to include Iran and Hizbullah.
The General Staff has discussed an assessment by the military's Northern Command of an emerging threat from Syria and Hizbullah over the next year.
The Northern Command said a weakened Syria, under pressure from the United States to withdraw from Lebanon, was likely to approve an Iranian-Hizbullah campaign against Israel, Middle East Newsline reported.
A protest against the Syrian government in the capital, Damascus, has been disrupted by supporters of President Bashar al-Assad.Can you believe that? It was all the way back in 1963 when Syria issued a "state-of-emergency" and imposed martial law. The only thing is, it's been operating under that same "state-of-emergency" for 42 years!!! Long emergency, I guess? :)
About 100 activists calling for reforms were chased away from a square by marchers wielding placards and sticks.
The protest, intended to mark 42 years since the imposition of emergency laws, came a day after a large pro-government rally in the centre of Damascus.
Syria moves intel headquarters to Hizbullah sector in Beirut
Friday, March 11, 2005And an interesting footnote:
"The Syrians aren't going anywhere," an opposition source with connections in Lebanese intelligence said. "They are fusing with Hizbullah while pretending to pull out some troops from Lebanon."
In Brussels, the European Parliament voted in a non-binding resolution to deem Hizbullah a terrorist group, Middle East Newsline reported. But the parliament rejected a motion to include Hizbullah on the EU's list of terrorist organizations.Russia says Hizbullah should play role in Lebanese politics
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Hizbullah should be allowed a role in the country's politics. ... Lavrov said: "It is in the interests of Lebanon, and the whole Middle East, for Hizbullah's political role to be taken into account."
China
China's parliament passes Taiwan anti-secession law
The text of the draft, according to Xinhua news agency, calls for the use of "non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," if all else fails.(Yup - the Chinese are our friends)
This will be necessary "in the event that the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China," the draft law said.
It does not specify what is meant by "non-peaceful means" but analysts believe it would cover anything from blockade to surgical missile strikes and all-out invasion.
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