Bomb kills one, wounds 6 in the port city of Jounieh

Who is behind this bombing? Is it the same bombers as the February and March bombings? Is this in response to Christian rallies of support for Geagea and Auon? Are the Syrians via Lebanese mukhabrat executing these strikes? Friday nights are still a dangerous time in Lebanon. An article from the Daily Star:

Friday, May 06, 2005

BEIRUT - A bomb exploded in a Christian port town north of the Lebanese capital on Friday, killing one Sri Lankan woman, wounding six people and damaging shops and houses, a security source said.

The explosion, the fifth to target the country's Christian heartland in two months, came on the eve of the return of anti-Syrian opposition leader Michel Aoun to Lebanon from 15 years of exile.

Four bombs have killed three people and wounded around 40 in Christian areas since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which plunged the country into its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanese eye Palestinian posts

Will the Lebanese turn attention to Palestinian armed factions and camps in the run-up to the elections? Will this be a way of avoiding the Hizballah question? How will the return of Geagea and Aoun have an effect on the debate? What of the alleged offer made by Abbas to Syria to disarm the Palestinian camps in Lebanon? Will the Palestine elections held yesterday help to solidify credability for Mahmoud Abbas and cement the dominance of Fatah? Do the Paleistinians in Lebanese camps owe allegiance to Abbas after Arafat's death? I didn't see posters of Abu Mazen in Sidon, but rather Arafat.

An article from CS Monitor.

QUSSAYA, LEBANON – On a lonely wind-swept plateau high above Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, a commander in a militant Palestinian faction defiantly rejects disarming his men and dismantling the outposts scattered along the remote mountainous border with Syria.

The mountaintop position, some 3,000 feet above this village, is one of several in the Bekaa Valley manned by the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC).

Most Palestinians in Lebanon live in crowded refugee camps - some of which are heavily militarized. Although the refugee camps are ringed by Lebanese Army troops, they lie outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanese state.

Lebanese authorities are clearly reluctant to deploy troops in the heavily populated camps to forcefully disarm the Palestinians.

Lebanon: Exiled general to return

This is bad news, but not unexpected. The support for Geagea is also distressing; he holds radical Christian views and advocates against the Muslim population. It was easy to find posters of Geagea scattered around Beirut, particularly Ashrafi, and I passed several pro-Geagea rallies.

Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian and staunch foe of Syria, was charged in 1990 with assaulting state security, national unity and the constitution, as well as embezzling state funds. But a court ruled on Wednesday that he was exempt from those charges by an amnesty law that cleared the bloody records of Lebanese politicians after the 1975-1990 civil war. Many Maronites say the arrest of Christian former militia leader Samir Geagea and the exile of Aoun symbolise the targeting of their community by the Syrian-dominated order after the war.

In a seperate aticle from the Daily Star protestors in Beirut called for the release of Geagea on Thursday.

BEIRUT: Thousands of opposition supporters gathered in downtown Beirut Wednesday to call for the release of Samir Geagea, leader of the disbanded Lebanese Forces (LF), who has been in jail for the past 11 years. Gathering near Parliament in Beirut, at least 3,000 flag-waving protesters urged MPs and the Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to act on an amnesty bill that would end Geagea's life term in prison.

Al Qaeda's No. 3 a major capture

Abu Farraj al Libbi.

An article from CS Monitor giving the first public information about a Qaeda capture.

The capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, Al Qaeda's new No. 3 leader, in a remote region of Pakistan is a major step forward in the fight against terrorism, according to government officials and terror experts.

"Abu Farraj al-Libbi's one of the hard-core Al Qaeda members," says Bruce Hoffman, a terror expert at the RAND Corp. in Washington. "He's not as well-known to Americans as many of the 9/11-era Al Qaeda leaders. But since Al Qaeda's expulsion from Afghanistan, he has become an increasingly important player - stepping into the role vacated by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed."

Robert Fisk

I'm still reading the Robert Fisk book about Lebanon. I'm enjoying the style of writing and starting to gain a better understanding of Lebanon. I read this interview with him from 1998. I'm really starting to like this guy.

Jihad Crusaders

Today I read an article from the Times reviewing the new movie Kingdom of Heaven. When I first saw the previews I groaned. I could already envision the conversations that would flow about the historical Western propensity to attack the Arab/Muslim population in their homeland that had been occuring for nearly a thousand years. There is already a buzz about the movie and, I am afraid, it will only re-enforce the existing views of American/Christian/Jewish aggression.

So, the article was good and led me to Crusader expert Professor Johnathon Riley-Scott and a short piece on the modern Islamic interpertation of the Crusades. This explanation jives with the view presented by Michael Scheuer in Imperial Hubris, a book I hold in very high regard. I've decided to include it here because it is short and very worth the read.

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Jihad Crusaders
What an Osama bin Laden means by "crusade."

By Jonathan Riley-Smith

When Osama bin Laden and his followers refer, as they often do, to crusades and crusaders, they are not using language loosely. They are expressing a historical vision, an article of faith that has helped to provide moral justification for the actions of both Arab nationalists and radical Islamists.

It originated over a century ago, when the Turkish sultan and Sunni caliph, Abdulhamid II, publicized his conviction that the European powers, who had seized much of his territory and had engineered the "liberation" of other parts of his empire, had embarked on a new "crusade." In using this term, he was echoing romantic nonsense that had been washing around Europe, where many writers compared contemporary colonialism to crusading. But his language was taken up by the pan-Islamic press; the first Muslim history of the crusading movement, published in 1899, drew attention to the fact that "our most glorious sultan, Abdulhamid II, has rightly remarked that Europe is now carrying out a crusade against us in the form of a political campaign."

Up to this point, Muslims had looked back on the crusades with indifference and complacency. They felt that they had beaten the crusaders comprehensively, driving them from the Levant and occupying far more territory in the Balkans than the Westerners had ever held in Palestine and Syria. But as they began to take an interest in the historical parallels between contemporary and medieval Christian-Muslim interaction, they were confronted with Western rhetoric portraying contemporary empire builders as quasi-crusaders returning to complete the work their ancestors had begun. It was easy to gloss this with the view that Europe, having lost the first round in the crusades, had embarked on another. This struck a chord in Arab nationalism, which was beginning to emerge in response to the British and French occupations of much of North Africa and the Levant, and the settlement of Jews in Palestine.

Even before the First World War an Arab author, warning against the threat posed by Zionist settlement, had taken as a nom de plume the name of Saladin, who was being adopted as a model counter-crusader. A university named after Saladin was opened in Jerusalem in 1915, and as early as 1920 he was praised for thwarting the first European attempt to subdue the East. In 1934 a writer maintained that "the west is still waging crusading wars against Islam under the guise of political and economic imperialism." By the 1950s the creation of the state of Israel, established on the very ground occupied by the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem, was being portrayed as an act of vengeful malice. The Lebanese novelist Mahmoud Darwish, referring to the invasion of Lebanon by the Israelis in 1982, described them as "leftover crusaders" and their siege of Beirut as "revenge for all medieval history."

Since the 1970s Arab nationalism has been challenged by pan-Islamism, an ideology enshrining the unity of all Muslims dedicated to the worship of one God. Islamists anathematize the nationalists, but they have adopted their view of crusading, even though the Islamists recognize its ideological base, and have globalized it. Nationalists, on the other hand, see crusading as colonialist avarice masked by religion, and their vision underwrites an Arab struggle for freedom from colonial oppression. The Islamists maintain that the term "crusading" can be applied to any offensive — including a drive for economic or political hegemony — against Islam anywhere by Christians, and to any aggressive action by their surrogates, like Zionists (which is why the terms "European Crusading" and "Jewish Crusading" are interchangeable), or even Marxists. Indeed, "international Zionism" and "international Communism" are ideologies employed by the imperialism of the outside world to mask its "crusaderism." This explains why Mehmet Ali Agha, the Turk who tried to assassinate the Pope in 1981, could refer to John Paul II as "the supreme commander of the crusades."

Osama bin Laden's militant wing of Islamism is also inspired by a theory of jihad that demands turning inwards to purge Islam of infidels and heretics, renewing individual spirituality and creating a united, triumphant society dedicated to God. This is why Osama appears to be so emotional about infidel penetration, which, he believes, defiles Islam and particularly its holy places:

Our lord, the people of the cross had come with their horses (soldiers) and occupied the land of the two Holy Places (Mecca and Medina) and the Zionist Jews fiddle as they wish with the al-Aqsa mosque.

The Arabian Peninsula has never — since Allah made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas — been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies, spreading in it like locusts, eating its riches and wiping out its plantations.... For over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.

To be found fighting under the sign of the cross are not only Christians, but also their surrogates, Jews, Marxists and secularists. And Afghanistan has been for decades a theatre of crusading warfare in a world-wide conflict.

This is a battle of Muslims against the global crusaders....God, who provided us with his support and kept us steadfast until the Soviet Union was defeated, is able to provide us once more with his support to defeat America on the same
land and with the same people.

In a war of civilizations, our goal is for our nation to unite in the face of the Christian crusade...This is a recurring war. The original crusade brought Richard (Lionheart) from Britain, Louis from France and Barbarossa from Germany. Today the crusading countries rushed as soon as Bush raised the cross. They accepted the rule of the cross.

It is this radical vision of crusade history which has suddenly and spectacularly forced itself on the outside world. Although merely a fantasy to the West, it finds expression in many Muslim societies. It is said that in mosques in Egypt, the word "crusader" has become a synonym for "Christian." In Indonesia last year, local preachers were referring to the dead at Bali in the same terms.

We are therefore confronted by a dangerous view of the past and of the present, moral as well as historical, shared by both Arab nationalists and Islamists. It has been spreading for a century and nothing has been done to counter it. Indeed, over and over again, in words and deeds, Westerners have thoughtlessly reinforced many Muslims' belief in it.

Campus Watch

I shouldn't even bring it up here, but it just infuriates me to no end. The overwhelming climate, in my experience, in US university classrooms is blind support for Israeli policies in the region and demonetisation of all Arab policies. If you publicly speak out against an Israeli policy then you are considered anti-Semitic. I'm not sure how this happened, but it makes me sick that university forums are under siege because of the ideal of Israel and the belief that American foreign policy is tied to Israeli policy by Israeli/Jewish influence groups and students.

Now anyone can go to a central website and report professors and students for voicing anti-Israeli policy opinions. If Campus Watch thinks Columbia is bad, they should spend a class period in any Middle Eastern university. Take your collective heads out of the sand. American policy must begin to evolve for the next generations by students in university now. The climate in our universities must change so that arguing the Israeli debate does not leave one branded a bigot.

Turning Strategic Location Into Economic Advantage

This one completely slipped past me. Apparently, the US has been operating from Djibouti since late 2003. The Djibouti president gave permission for a 2,000 plus strong contingent of Marines and others to open up shop. Smart move to gain access to Somalia, Eritrea, and Yemen all from one central base. I had wondered how the Qaeda people in Yemen met their end via Predator. I figured the US was basing from Yemen, but it makes strategic sense to fly across the Gulf of Aden. A DoD report also came during the google search. Interesting stuff.

In addition, the Central Intelligence Agency is widely reported to be using a Djibouti airfield to launch pilot-less Predator drones, which both conduct surveillance and attack selected targets using laser-guided Hellfire missiles. One Predator flying from Djibouti is credited with killing a suspected Al-Qaeda leader and five other occupants of a car traveling in a remote region of Yemen.

Last November, Marine Corps Expeditionary Units conducted full-blown exercises in Djibouti, using heavy weapons and live ammunition. Another military exercise was staged in the country earlier this month. Djibouti's full-tilt engagement in the global anti-terror campaign represents a "courageous decision" on the part of President Guelleh, the American ambassador to Djibouti, Donald Y. Yamamoto, told last week's business gathering in Washington, which was sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa.

Sudan's Unbowed, Unbroken Inner Circle

I am continually fascinated by Sudan. This is an excellent article by the Post. It's rare to read something that is as well written as this about a group that is difficult to access and understand.

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The men who control Africa's largest country -- the key architects of the conflict in Darfur -- hail from two tiny, interwoven Arab tribes. Many of them grew up together and graduated from Khartoum University. They often sit together in cafés beside the Nile, bickering about politics and religion over endless cups of sweet tea. During the 1960s, Sudan's Muslim Brotherhood was born on the campus of Khartoum University, once one of Africa's most prestigious schools. The charismatic, urbane Turabi taught law there, wearing neckties as comfortably as turbans, sliding easily between Arabic and English, and courting Western visitors with warm hospitality.
This reflects my experiences visiting Khartoum University and attending an economics class there. The power is held in very small tight circles. For instance, the economics professor was a former Communist who studied under Soviet scholars in Poland. He was prosecuted in Sudan, but his brother is also a former professor and Attorney General. He was given a pardon and of course an in-law was the head of intelligence until his death in a helicopter incident several years ago. Power is held tightly.

Still ostracized by the West and unable to tap into U.S. oil markets, the Khartoum government began fostering ties with China. Once oil production began in 1999, the government began collecting $500 million a year in revenue. This paid for Chinese-made tanks, guns and planes used to fight southern rebels, the group Human Rights Watch reported. Khartoum's military budget doubled, and the State Department described it as the richest government in Africa.

There is a substantial Chinese population in Khartoum. They are responsible for most of the new road, bridge, and building construction.
Around that time, the government also declared that a coup had been launched, a claim largely viewed by diplomats as political theater. Officials held news conferences warning that if the United Nations imposed sanctions on Sudan, it could end up in chaos, becoming a failed state and even a threat to the war on terrorism.

Whether the coup "attempted" by Turabi was real or a political farce is a moot point. While I was there a suspected coup happened which shut down all roads and bridges in the capital. It also brought out more troops then usual. If there is one place a foreigner power should never attempt to send troops it is Sudan. Any military option in Sudan must be entirely punitive because I suspect that country to be the most hostile of all if invaded. Of course, every Western government knows this and that's why nothing will be done about Darfur other than some saber rattling and economic/travel restrictions.

Odyssey of an Al Qaeda Operative

article from the Post:

Moroccan's Trail of Terror Illustrates Ongoing Ability to Organize Attacks

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- In the post-Sept. 11 world, Karim Mejjati was the perfect undercover al Qaeda operative. The former medical student from Morocco could speak several languages, had many passports and excelled at building bombs. He was also good at avoiding attention as he crisscrossed four continents to organize a wave of catastrophic attacks.

In Morocco, counterterrorism officials said Mejjati provided explosives training to a cell of Islamic radicals recruited from the slums surrounding Casablanca. At first, investigators thought the operation was conceived and planned locally. But a suspect who later divulged Mejjati's name to interrogators led them to conclude that those responsible for the attacks were taking their cues from al Qaeda's top leadership.

The article is an interesting read. The part that stuck out to me was the information contained in the second paragraph I've included. The profiles of many Qaeda operatives have included degrees from universities or studies in higher education and a middle class family background. These people possessed higher level scientific, religious, and political knowledge that isn't taught in the slum areas found around major urban centers. Past attacks have been successful because of these types of individuals. It would be surprising if Mejjati collected a group of uneducated religious zealots and quickly organized and executed an operation of the scope undertaken in Casablanca.

More likely this is false information given by the Moroccans to throw attention from respected middle class families with well educated and traveled sons. Hopefully, public news will come out of Morocco and/or Europe in the coming months after the capture of cells affiliated with Mejjati about their members.

Don't Rush on the Road to Damascus

commentary from the Saban Center:

For starters, any effort to engineer a pro-Western Lebanese government would be resisted by Hezbollah, the largest party in Lebanon's Parliament, which because of its record of fighting Israel is at least as legitimate in Lebanese eyes as the anti-Syrian opposition. In the face of such resistance, efforts to establish a pro-Western government would fail, creating more instability in the region when the United States can ill afford it.

Does the Bush administration understand that for the foreseeable future, any political order in Lebanon that reflects, as the White House put it, the "country's diversity," will include an important role for Hezbollah? Does the administration feel confident about containing Hezbollah without on-the-ground Syrian management and with the group's sole external guide an increasingly hard-line Iran? Even Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's national security adviser recently said that an overly precipitous Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon could pose a threat to Israel.

Moreover, the sudden end of the regime headed by Bashar al-Assad would not necessarily advance American interests. Syrian society is at least as fractious as Iraq's or Lebanon's. The most likely near-term consequence of Mr. Assad's departure would be chaos; the most likely political order to emerge from that chaos would be heavily Islamist. In the end, the most promising (if gradual) course for promoting reform in Syria is to engage and empower Mr. Assad, not to isolate and overthrow him.

Arabic-Teaching Videogame Ships Out to Iraq-Bound Soldiers

from those crazy kids at University of Southern California:

The Tactical Iraqi game arena reproduces the environment of Iraq, geographically and architecturally. Most important, the characters are recognizably Iraqi, speaking Iraqi Arabic and using gestures and other non-verbal cues characteristic of the nation.

Using a headphone and microphone system, Tactical Iraqi trainees communicate with these characters in Arabic, using appropriate body gestures, to perform typical war-theater tasks: entering a town and locating a head man, check documents at a road crossing, and other civil administration tasks.

Learning Arabic is a topic near and dear to my heart. It has been an incredibly difficult task for me over the last year. The idea of using a computer game to teach situational language is very impressive. I think that one still needs a background in the language sounds and alphabet, but this is a great leap forward for learning to interact on the street. I'm sure there are commercial possibilities for this product.

Imagine a game that challenges you to move up from a school environment to a blue collar job to general and then specialized white collar situations. It could all begin with a quick course in vocalization and basic reading skills. Awesome potential for any language and a great way to teach young students and get them wrapped into the culture. Nothing can replace living inside the culture, but this is a better alternative than others that I have tried. Go USC.