West Asia News and Discussions

[Johann]

Shyam, there are Al Qods and Hezb'allah cells worldwide. Mostly engaged in procurement, money laundering, fund raising.

That infrastructure supports individuals or cells involved in recces, and if the order comes, actual attacks.

What these guys have are target lists, along with fairly detailed plans of how theyd execute those attacks. But the final decision would have to come from much higher up.

Would the Iranians and Lebanese Hezb'allah be willing to conduct attacks on Israeli and/or American targets if confrontation between Israel and the others escalated?

The most important factor in the decision would probably be how they thought the Indian state would react. Would it hurt Iranian interests in India? Would it lead to serious damage to Hezb'allah infrastructure in India? That is what they will consider. Private Indian messages along with signs that the Indian state has the means and the will to do so will help dter such attacks.

[shyamd]

Shyam, there are Al Qods and Hezb'allah cells worldwide. Mostly engaged in procurement, money laundering, fund raising.

That infrastructure supports individuals or cells involved in recces, and if the order comes, actual attacks.

What these guys have are target lists, along with fairly detailed plans of how theyd execute those attacks. But the final decision would have to come from much higher up.

Would the Iranians and Lebanese Hezb'allah be willing to conduct attacks on Israeli and/or American targets if confrontation between Israel and the others escalated?

The most important factor in the decision would probably be how they thought the Indian state would react. Would it hurt Iranian interests in India? Would it lead to serious damage to Hezb'allah infrastructure in India? That is what they will consider. Private Indian messages along with signs that the Indian state has the means and the will to do so will help dter such attacks.

Thanks Johann, interesting. Action was apparently imminent according to most reports and India is apparently part of the plan for the celebration works for Imad Mugniyeh's anniversary. I hope Foreign Affairs ministry does the necessary.

Meanwhile, what you said about Gaza returning to Egyptian control being the best way forward, well, that could happen at least in the security view point if we believe what Debka says.

IMO I doubt Hamas is going to give up its strong position in Gaza, I dont think the Iranians who are controlling the money strings will accept either.

Cutting out US role, new Egyptian-Saudi plan proposes inter-Arab force for Gaza

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that a new 11-point scheme, just developed by Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, provides for the bulk of the 3,000-strong force to be Egyptian. The plan would effectively restore Egypt’s pre-1967 domination of the Gaza Strip.

It will be presented to Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak when he visits Mubarak’s summer palace in Alexandria, Tuesday, Aug. 26.

Hamas is offered a political comeback on the West Bank and a seat on the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)’s ruling institutions.

When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s arrives in Jerusalem and Ramallah, Sunday, Aug. 24, she will find this plan already on the table for Egypt (speaking also for Saudi Arabia), Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

If Israel accepted the Egyptian-Saudi blueprint, its 1979 peace treaty with Cairo would have to be revised, especially the demilitarization provisions. A parallel proposal would appoint Jordan as overseer of Palestinian government institutions and security forces on the West Bank.

According to DEBKAfile’s sources, Saudi King Abdullah this week discussed the plan with the Jordanian king and the Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

They note that this is the most far-reaching Arab regional plan since the Saudi peace initiative was put forward in 2000. If carried by all the parties involved, it would restore certain key elements of their pre-1967 War status to the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

DEBKAfile’s sources reveal here the 11 points of the new plan:

1. The rival Palestinian Hamas and Fatah must end their vendetta.

2. They will both release prisoners.

3. Fatah fugitives from the Gaza Strip will be allowed to return home.

4. The tit-for-tat bans on Fatah and Hamas institutions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank must be lifted.

5. Hamas must hand Gaza’s ruling institutions back seized two years ago to the Palestinian Authority.

The last six clauses present the toughest challenges.

6. Hamas must suspend the operations of its militia and police forces.

7. Inter-Arab monitors, headed by Egyptian officers, will supervise the Gaza police force.

8. Another panel headed by Egyptian officers will compile a reform program for the Palestinian security bodies in Gaza, effectively removing them from Hamas’ hands.

9. In the interim, until the reform program is implemented, an inter-Arab force of 3,000, commanded by Egyptian security officers, will be in charge of security matters.

10. A provisional Palestinian government will be installed in Ramallah in place of the Salam Fayad administration. It will consist of nonpartisan technocrats acceptable to Fatah and Hamas alike.

11. The PLO’s governing institutions will be overhauled to make room for Hamas representation for the first time.

[Johann]

Hi Shyam,

- Hamas has been working hard since 2006 to convince the Egyptians that they are a rational, reliable party that the Egyptians can work with.

- Hamas plays off Saudi Arabia and Iran in terms of using the competition for influence between the two as a way to secure ever more funding from each of them. Hamas will not give up either of them.

- The real threat for Egypt is long term; the Egyptian army is very carefully monitored and in many cases isolated from the rest of society to reduce the chances of Islamist infiltration or indoctrination. Working with Hamas as a security partner in Gaza (easier than fighting them) will lead to extensive contact, and almost certainly infection by Hamas's Dawa wing.

In the longer term the only option for the Egyptians will be to supress Hamas as they supress the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt - disarm it and force it semi-underground and promote Fatah instead.

[shyamd]

Thanks Johann, makes sense. They are talking a unity government though these days. I doubt thats gonna happen aswell.

Saeed Jallili(iranian negotiator) met with Javier Solana last month. The Europeans and Americans have made it clear that a halt to enrichment is a pre-condition to any negotiations. The refusal of Jallili to bend increasingly irritated Solana and he managed to throw Jallili off balance only once when he raised the option of freezing sanctions for freezing the nuclear program. The Iranian envoy had no ready answer for that possibility.

Burns flew to Abu Dhabi to meet with Condi. Rice appeared somewhat threatening towards Iran in her talks with UAE officials, among them Abu Dhabi’s foreign minister. Condi openly said that Iranians were not taking up Washington on its offer of its political and economic package, including benefits in civil aviation and civil nuclear energy.

Israeli leaders are dropping in on Washington one after the other. The consensus in Israeli mili intel community is that Iranian nuclear enrichment has gone beyond the point of noreturn and that a nuclear weapon could probably be ready by 2010. However, the Bush admin doesn’t share that analysis and refuses give a go-ahead to Israeli fighter’s bombing Iran’s nuclear plant at Natanz (the US controls nearly all the air space around western iran and persian gulf). Israel could be willing to go it on its own. On July 11, the US govt informed Congress that they would sell 186million gallons of JP 8 jet fuel used by fighter aircraft to Israel.
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More on Hezbollah later

[ramana]

The Tinner case provides a clue. What the Tinner documents had was an advanced design half as big as the Chinese one and twice as powerful. Take a look at the Paki prolif thread. What this means is its some thing newer than the AQK old stuff. he passed on somehting newer. Where did he get this from? There are newer sources of info. Israel should be worried about this. But US doesnt want to make a move as that will rile the Islamists.

My hunch is the Iraninans have some thing working.

[shyamd]

Okay Folks, the US is trying to get a handle on the Saudi nuclear program(Yes Saudi has a program apparently). In June, Bush administration signed a nuclear agreement with the Saudi's. Condi Rice was in Saudi Arabia signing away nuke tech. the deal allows the US to assist Saudi Arabia in developing nuclear reactors, training nuclear engineers and constructing nuclear infrastructure. Intel officials confirm that there is a clandestine nuke arms program going on in the military base of Kamis Mushayt (they are so damn sure of it).

The Saudis have been so successful in keeping their nuclear activities under wraps that no Western intel agency is known to have penetrated the KamisMushayt compound or got any solid info about them. All they have come up with so far are evaluations which indicate that the Saudi's have made a lot more progress in their uranium enrichment projects than the US would like to admit.

The contracts Rice signed with the Saudi's were primarily aimed at gaining access to the Saudi program, possibly even the KamisMushayt compound, for US scientists to go in and discover what was going on there.

The nuclear contracts were also calculated to bring about the employment of American scientists and technicians in the Saudi's various nuclear ventures. Their presence would put a damper on possible Saudi efforts to go into production of nuclear weapons without the US finding out.

The Saudi princes appear to have tumbled to the motives behind the American nuclear assistance offer and are in no hurry to sign the new contracts.

Getting US intel behind the scenes of the Saudi nuclear program is expected to be one of the most urgent missions that the next administration will have for US intelligence.

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In July, King Abdulla took off for Casablanca where he spends his summer months, leaving Crown Prince Sultan in charge of stuff in Riyad. The next day, Sultan decides to send his son Prince Bandar, to meet with Putin and sign the arms deal. Apparently Sultan didnt clear the deal with Abdulla first, acting behind the back of Abdulla. Abdulla and his companions werent too happy about this naturally. They werent informed that Bandar was the one who was gonna be sent to sign the deal. Apparently Bandar isn't too much in favour with Abdullah and the ruling circle. So Abdullah was double pissed off. Bandar isn't part of the decision making gang in the family anymore, which his dad Sultan had challenged.

Johann, you were right, the Saudi deal was just to pay off the Russians to slow co-operation with Iran. Some people are claiming Bandar went further and had offered Putin a strategic pact between Saud and Russia that would also cover coordination in international oil markets, in return for Moscow backing Riyadh instead of Tehran.

The king was forced to acknowledge that he cannot manage without Sultan's support. He will therefore vent his anger on Bandar rather than Sultan.

As for the arms contracts with Moscow, the Saudis have a long history of letting their foreign weapons transactions languish and remitting payment later rather thans sooner.

[shyamd]

Dutch sabotage agent recalled from Iran over “impending” US attack - report

[Avinash R]

Hizbullah's attempts to kidnap Israelis thwarted: Jerusalem

Friday 05 September, 2008

Israel has claimed to have foiled several attempts by Hizbullah to attack the crew of its national carrier, El Al, following high alerts issued by its internal security agency, Shin Bet, over possible attacks on its citizens living abroad.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak confirmed reports that Israeli security and intelligence agents have foiled attempts by Hizbullah operatives to kidnap Israelis abroad.

"There have been quite a few intelligence alerts in recent weeks, and there were a number of very important thwarting operations,"Barak quoted.

Israel's Channel reported on Wednesday evening that terror cells have been recently tracking the movements of El Al crew members at a Toronto hotel without giving the nationalities of the alleged plotters.

The Shin Bet issued new orders to Israeli airline companies in the wake of the revelations asking them to take extra precautions when operating overseas.

In a recent meeting with airline chiefs, representatives from the Shin Bet Security Division asked El Al Israel Airways, Arkia Israel Airlines and Israel Airlines to ensure that their crew members remove company uniforms with Israeli markings when on stopovers abroad, a daily reported.

Intelligence experts increasingly think that Hizbullah is determined to attack Israeli targets abroad to avenge the February assassination of Imad Muhgniyeh, one of the guerrilla faction's top leader but Israel had denied any involvement the report stated.

El Al has been targeted in the past as well with two people killed in a July 2002 shooting incident when a gunman opened fire on its passengers at Los Angeles International Airport.

An Israeli security official had then halted the attack by shooting down the gunman.

Several other incidents of thwarting planned hijacking of El Al planes have been reported during the last five years.

Israel has also alerted its nationals travelling abroad of possible attempts to kidnap or harm them in a guideline of precautions they should adhere to prevent such attacks, the daily said.

[Avinash R]

Israel could 'capture' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

An Israeli minister, who ran the Mossad operation to capture Adolf Eichmann, has hinted that Israel might use similar tactics to kidnap Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

[Avinash R]

Another lebanese politician killed in car bomb.

Murder of Lebanon politician threatens reconciliation bid
1 day ago

BEIRUT (AFP) — The killing of a Lebanese politician in the first such attack against a pro-Syrian figure jeopardises national reconciliation efforts already undermined by deep rifts between rival factions.

Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, was assassinated in a car bombing late on Wednesday in his hometown of Baysur, southeast of Beirut.

A security official said the bomb, made of 700 grams (about 1.5 pounds) of explosives, was placed under his car and activated by remote control. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Six people were also slightly wounded in the attack, which was condemned by Lebanese politicians from both ends of the spectrum and by Washington, a key backer of the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

"The United States is deeply concerned about the latest violence in Lebanon," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "Our support for the Lebanese government and its democratic institutions is unwavering."

The Syrian foreign ministry said Damascus "firmly denounces the criminal and terrorist act" and was "convinced that such crimes that target security and stability in Lebanon will not achieve their objectives."

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman warned against any attempt to derail efforts underway at national reconciliation, with the attack taking place just a day after he announced the start of a multi-party dialogue next Tuesday.

"We must beware of conspiracies aimed ... at scuttling efforts toward reconciliation and preparations for national dialogue," Sleiman said in a statement.

Aridi, in his 50s, was a top adviser to pro-Syrian Druze leader and government minister Talal Arslan, a rival to Druze anti-Syrian leader Walid Jumblatt.

Jumblatt said the attack was aimed at sowing discord between his party and Arslan's, which reconciled in May following fierce clashes between rival clans.

Aridi, who was married and had five children, was to be buried in his hometown on Friday. He had played a key role in the reconciliation effort.

"Message received," said Arslan, who rushed back to Lebanon from abroad on hearing of the killing. He refused to speculate as to who was behind the attack.

Aridi, whose party is allied with the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, is the first pro-Syrian figure killed since a string of car bomb attacks began in Lebanon in 2005, targeting mainly anti-Syrian politicians.

In February 2005, five-times former premier Rafiq Hariri was killed by a huge bomb on the Beirut seafront.

The international and domestic backlash against his killing resulted in Syria withdrawing its forces from its tiny neighbour after nearly 30 years.

But Lebanon and Syria just last month announced their intention to open diplomatic ties for the first time since they both gained independence from France 60 years ago.

Hezbollah pointed the finger at Israel, saying Aridi's killing was aimed at destabilising its tiny neighbor.

"This serves the interests of Israel which is affected by ... reconciliation efforts and wants to prevent stability in the country," the group said in a statement.

Tuesday's talks, set to focus on the country's defence strategy and Hezbollah's weapons, come after Lebanon went through its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Sectarian clashes in May left at least 65 dead and brought the country close to fresh all-out conflict before feuding political parties struck an agreement in Doha.

The accord led to Sleiman's election as president and the formation of a national unity cabinet.

[renukb]

Jordan, Russia urge Israel to stop actions derailing peace process

ANALYSIS: Peace with Palestinians should be priority for Israel

[Avinash R]

Muslims urinate on Torah scrolls

Jewish worshippers returning to Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs after Muslims were given exclusive access to the holy site at the weekend reported that the cabinet containing their Torah scrolls had been urinated on.

One Jewish resident of Hebron told Israel National News that he and several other men had to move the cabinet to another part of the room because of the strong smell of urine in the area where it is usually positioned.

Additionally, green Hamas flags were found placed in the windows that mark the burial sites of Abraham, Isaac, Sara, Rebecca and Leah.

The Cave of the Patriarchs is split into Jewish and Muslim sections, as both groups revere Abraham.

Several times a year, the holy site is given over to one or the other group exclusively to mark special holy days. Muslims were given exclusive access to the Cave of the Patriarchs on Friday to mark their holy month of Ramadan.

Another Jewish resident of Hebron said that some damage to Jewish religious articles or the Jewish side of the site is found every time the Muslims take over.

[shyamd]

The french want to set up a training centre at their new base in the UAE. They want to create a centre for combat training in the desert environment for troops heading to afghanistan and training special forces troops aswell.
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Major shake up in Omani govt. Some are saying that the shake up is in preparation for Sultan Qaboos's succession plan. The west are watching Oman closely, as it holds major arms dumps and intel listening stations. CIA and MI6 passed on info in 2005 for a plot by extremists, to depose the King. Oman is also a transit point for arab jihadists to afghanistan.
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10 Russian warships have docked in the Syrian port of Tartuz.

[Paul]

The cleric looked the Takfiri leader in the eye and asked: "What did I just say to you?"

"You said Salaam Aleikum," the man replied.

"And what does that signify?" asked the cleric.

The Takfiri leader looked confused. "The word Salaam is one of the 99 names of Allah," the cleric went on.

"You have just thrown your slippers at Allah." He then turned to the other 19 Takfiris. "This man is an infidel," he said, "are you going to kill him?" He turned and left the room.

That night, the guards woke the cleric at 3am and rushed him down to the detention centre.

The Takfiri leader was huddled in the corner of the room shivering, his arms around his knees. "I didn't mean to offend you. Please get me away from here. I think they are going to kill me," he begged.

"So, in just 12 hours," the cleric concluded, "I dealt with the leader of some of the most hard-line people ever captured in Iraq."

"It's a battle of wits," I said. The cleric laughed. "Let's see who wins."

not where to post this. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/f ... 623097.stm

[Nayak]

Young and Arab in Land of Mosques and Bars

Published: Monday, September 22, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, September 22, 2008 at 5:24 a.m.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In his old life in Cairo, Rami Galal knew his place and his fate: to become a maintenance man in a hotel, just like his father. But here, in glittering, manic Dubai, he is confronting the unsettling freedom to make his own choices.
Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times
Hamza Abu Zanad, right, with friends at a bar in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Here Mr. Galal, 24, drinks beer almost every night and considers a young Russian prostitute his girlfriend. But he also makes it to work every morning, not something he could say when he lived back in Egypt. Everything is up to him, everything: what meals he eats, whether he goes to the mosque or a bar, who his friends are.

“I was more religious in Egypt,” Mr. Galal said, taking a drag from yet another of his ever-burning Marlboros. “It is moving too fast here. In Egypt there is more time, they have more control over you. It’s hard here. I hope to stop drinking beer; I know it’s wrong. In Egypt, people keep you in check. Here, no one keeps you in check.”

In Egypt, and across much of the Arab world, there is an Islamic revival being driven by young people, where faith and ritual are increasingly the cornerstone of identity. But that is not true amid the ethnic mix that is Dubai, where 80 percent of the people are expatriates, with 200 nationalities.

This economically vital, socially freewheeling yet unmistakably Muslim state has had a transforming effect on young men. Religion has become more of a personal choice and Islam less of a common bond than national identity.

Dubai is, in some ways, a vision of what the rest of the Arab world could become — if it offered comparable economic opportunity, insistence on following the law and tolerance for cultural diversity. In this environment, religion is not something young men turn to because it fills a void or because they are bowing to a collective demand. That, in turn, creates an atmosphere that is open not only to those inclined to a less observant way of life, but also to those who are more religious. In Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Algeria, a man with a long beard is often treated as an Islamist — and sometimes denied work. Not here in Dubai.

“Here, I can practice my religion in a natural and free way because it is a Muslim country and I can also achieve my ambition at work,” said Ahmed Kassab, 30, an electrical engineer from Zagazig Egypt, who wears a long dark beard and has a prayer mark on his forehead. “People here judge the person based on productivity more than what he looks like. It’s different in Egypt, of course.”

A Playground for All Sides

No one can say for sure why Dubai has been spared the kind of religion-fueled extremism that has plagued other countries in the region. There are not even metal detectors at hotel and mall entrances, standard fare from Morocco to Saudi Arabia. Some speculate that Dubai is like Vienna during the cold war, a playground for all sides. There is a robust state security system. But there is also a feeling that diversity, tolerance and opportunity help breed moderation.

“There is not going to be somebody who has a grudge against the system,” said Tarik Yousef, dean of the Dubai School of Government. “You might have a problem with something, but there’s enough to make you happy. You have a job — and the mosque is open 24 hours.”

Dubai dazzles, but it also confuses. It appears to offer a straight deal — work hard and make money. It is filled with inequities and exploitation. It is a land of rules: no smoking, no littering, no speeding, no drinking and driving. But it also dares everyone to defy limitations. There is the Burj Dubai, a glass tower that will be the tallest in the world. There is the Dubai Mall, which will be the biggest in the world. There are artificial islands shaped into a palm tree design (they said it couldn’t be done) and an indoor ski slope. There is talk of a new hotel, the biggest yet in Dubai, that will cool the hot sand for its guests. There is credit, and there are credit cards, for anyone with a job. There are no taxes.

“They should give you an introduction when you arrive,” said Hamza Abu Zanad, 28, who moved to Dubai from Jordan about 18 months ago and now works in real estate. “It is very disorienting. I felt lost. There are fancy cars, but don’t speed. You can have prostitutes, but don’t get caught with a woman. I was driving along the beach and there were flashes — I thought someone was taking my picture.”

The flashes turned out to be surveillance cameras. He was speeding. The next day the police called and told him to pay his fines, he said, still laughing at his initial innocence.

He had lived for years in Canada and graduated from college there. He spoke English, drank beer, dated women, lifted weights, lived a Western-style life, but felt culturally out of sync. “At Christmas I was lonely,” Mr. Abu Zanad said one day with a beer in one hand and the tube of a Turkish water pipe in the other. “Everyone is celebrating, but international students don’t know what’s going on.”

In this way, Dubai offers another prescription for promoting moderation. It offers a chance to lead a modern life in an Arab Islamic country. Mr. Abu Zanad raised his beer high, almost in a toast, and said he liked being able to walk through a mall and still hear the call to prayer.

“We like that it’s free and it still has Arab heritage,” he said “It’s not religion, it’s the culture, the Middle Eastern culture.”

“The Arabs have a future here,” said his best friend, Bilal Hamdan. “Where are we going to go back to? Egypt? Jordan? This is the future.”

Mr. Galal sees it as his future too, especially when he thinks of what would await him at home, where success is guaranteed only to those with connections and wealth.

One evening, as he set out for the night to meet Egyptian friends, he was noticeably agitated. It turned out he watched on television as Egypt’s upper house of Parliament, a historic building in the center of Cairo, burned for hours in a humiliating symbol of the state’s decay.

“Look how long it’s taking them to put out a fire in Parliament and they’re using the most primitive methods,” he finally said. “I feel like I’m watching a black and white movie. What would I go back and do?”

Mr. Galal grew up in Shubra, a busy, crowded neighborhood in Cairo, where the streets are packed with young men who are unemployed or underemployed. He comes from a traditional, observant household where family honor is linked to obeying social norms and respecting religious values.

Mr. Galal graduated from college with a degree in social work, but the only job available was as a maintenance man for about $100 a month. He felt as if he was treading water, and so at the urging of his family got engaged to a young woman from his neighborhood. He said that he thought the goal of marriage would give him a purpose, something to work toward.

About a year later, a friend working in Dubai recommended him for a job in construction, and he grabbed the chance. It was a difficult adjustment.

“I didn’t feel like anyone understood how I felt,” he said. He gained weight and got depressed.

He works at a construction company helping to assemble massive air-conditioning units, essential in the withering heat and humidity of Dubai. He reviews blueprints and decides which materials are needed.

His company gave him housing in a dormitory, a three-story, sand-colored building in Jebel Ali, a sprawling desert landscape of big-box warehouses and construction sites.

“When I first arrived it was not what I expected,” Mr. Galal said. “You hear about the Emirates, but all the people I worked with were Indian. I wanted to leave.”

Now his home, or rather, where he sleeps, is in Labor Camp No. 598,655. He shares a room the size of a walk-in closet with two other men on the first floor of the dormitory. The hundreds of men on his floor share a bathroom and a kitchen, where he will not eat because they serve only Indian food. There are about 20 Arab men out of 3,000 mostly Indian residents. Most of his meals are at mall food courts or in cheap restaurants serving Arabic cuisine.

“It’s not nice, it’s normal,” Mr. Galal said as he closed the flimsy door to his room, stepping over the piles of shoes and sandals in the hall. It was 5:30 p.m. and his roommates were fast asleep after a long hot day at the construction site.

A Change of Identity

In fact, the mix of nationalities has made Mr. Galal redefine himself — not predominantly as Muslim but as Egyptian. Asked if he feels more comfortable with a Pakistani who is Muslim or an Egyptian who is Christian, he replied automatically: “The Egyptian.”

His best friend, Ayman Ibrahim, 28, lives in the room next to Mr. Galal, also with two other men. Mr. Ibrahim is from Alexandria, Egypt, and has been in Dubai for more than two years. He works as a senior safety supervisor in another division of the company.

Mr. Ibrahim was waiting outside in a white Toyota Corolla provided by the company. His Egyptian fiancée’s picture dangled from his key chain in the ignition.

Dubai has been built along roadways, 6, 12, 14 lanes wide. There was no central urban planning and the result is a city of oases, each divided from the other by lanes of traffic. The physical distance between people is matched by the distance between nationalities. Dubai has everything money can buy, but it does not have a unifying culture or identity. The only common thread is ambition.

As Mr. Galal and Mr. Ibrahim headed to town, the traffic was ferocious, another downside of Dubai’s full-throttle development. It took two hours to get to Diera, the old part of the city. But the friends did not seem to mind inching along. Popular Egyptian love songs played from the stereo as the car crawled past the Marina, another exclamation point in a city full of them, with skyscrapers, a Buddha Bar and a marina, a real marina, for boats.

“This is not for us, the sheiks live here,” Mr. Galal said as the car passed the Marina. But there was no anger or envy in his voice, as there would be if he were in Egypt, where when he sees wealth he knows that it is beyond his reach. When Mr. Galal came to Dubai his salary was 2,000 dirhams a month, or about $550.

“I wish I can make 40,000 a month,” he said with a dreamy smile. “When I first came here I was hoping for 5,000, now I make 5 and I want 10, and I will start making 10 in a month. Salaries here increase.”

The young men made it to Diera, parked in a hotel lot and walked down the sidewalk, until the smell of scented tobacco was strong and sweet. They turned left at the Domino’s Pizza, up a flight of stairs and into Awtar, an Egyptian-style coffeehouse that served Turkish water pipes, called shisha in Egypt, and showed Egyptian soccer on television. The place was filled with Egyptian men who were smoking, and drinking sweet tea and coffee.

Mr. Galal put his cellphone on the table and lit a Marlboro, again. He described how he no longer felt at home anywhere. The diversity and opportunity in Dubai, he says, have made Egypt seem more unlivable than it was before. But he said the openness, the temptations of Dubai, also frightened him.

“The things I saw here, I can’t tell you,” he said “I can’t trust anyone here, I can’t.”

‘A New Way of Life’

The Rattlesnake Bar and Grill, where he and his friend often go after the coffeehouse, is cheap by Dubai standards, about an $18 cover charge. Inside there is a Wild West theme and a Filipino rock band blasting pop music and many single women lined up like merchandise by the front door. A sign by the bar promised “a new way of life.”

This is where Mr. Galal met Reem — though he said that was probably not her real name. On a Thursday night — the first night of the weekend — Rattlesnake was packed with single men and prostitutes. Mr. Galal seemed jealous when Reem was working the floor, talking to guys. His head was tipped, his shoulders hiked up, a bit like a nervous schoolboy. Reem wore skin-tight black tights, a black, low-cut top, and held a stern gaze as Mr. Galal leaned in and talked to her. They chatted a few minutes before Reem went off.

“Look, I’m not a muscle man and I’m not loaded, she must like me,” Mr. Galal said, sounding a touch unsure of himself.

“She’s here for business and I know she has to do this. She tries to make me understand. But I get attached.”

A week later, Mr. Galal was overloaded. “I am suffocating here,” he said as he walked into the coffeehouse. He moved up his vacation home to Cairo. He said that he needed to get back on track, to break from the drinking and the women, and reconnect with his values.

A few days later, Mr. Ibrahim drove him to the airport for the nearly four-hour flight home to spend the holy month of Ramadan with his family. In Dubai, Mr. Ibrahim said, “There’s work and life and money. There were days when I didn’t have a place to stay, no money, nothing. But I made it as opposed to Egypt where you start at zero and stay at zero.”

But if Dubai offers opportunity, it also poses risks.

For days after his return to Egypt, Mr. Galal could not get hold of Mr. Ibrahim on the telephone. He had been arrested, charged by the police with trying to steal tons of scrap metal from his construction site. Five days after he was taken in, Mr. Ibrahim was released, but the police kept his passport.

“I didn’t do it,” he said. “I am here two and a half years trying to make a life for myself and in two minutes my life is ruined.”

In Cairo, Mr. Galal reconnected with his family. He fasted for Ramadan, including giving up cigarettes during daylight hours. And he went out looking for his friends on the bustling streets of his neighborhood, which is the antithesis of Dubai. It is filled with people, men, women, children, all night long, shopping, chatting, smoking, enjoying the cool night air, the warmth of the neighborhood, and a common culture.

Mr. Galal cut and gelled his hair. He got a close shave and bought himself a thick silver link chain to wear around his neck. He looked as if he would fit right in. But he did not feel that way.

“My friends are all stuck at a certain limit, that’s as far as they can go,” Mr. Galal said after three weeks at home. “Nothing is new here. Nothing is happening. My friends feel like I changed. They say money changed me.”

Mr. Galal and a cousin went out for a night of fun the day before he was scheduled to return to Dubai. They sat on the sidewalk by the Nile where men were fishing. A woman rented them plastic lawn chairs and brought over sweet tea and a drink made from chickpeas. “I want to go back,” he said. “I was living better there. It’s the simple things, sitting at the coffee shop, talking to people, their mentality is different.”

He said he broke off his engagement. Marriage in Egypt is usually a practical matter, a necessary step to adulthood, to independence. It is often arranged.

A year in Dubai changed his view of marriage. “You are looking for someone to spend your whole future with,” Mr. Galal said.

“I want to go back and have fun. My future is there, in Dubai.”

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2008 ... s_and_Bars

[Johann]

Thanks for posting that Nayak.

For those interested in the other side, how young Arab women are trying to blend modernity with an Islamic identity I'd recommend 'Muhajababes' by Allegra Stratton.

The Arabic equivalent of MTV beaming out of Lebanon, the news channels, the growth of consumerism among the middle class, the Dubai phenonmenon are all too attractive to be rejected, but they still want it Islamic. The compromise is to wear a hijab, but perhaps a little more tightly fitting, with lipstick, and maybe a little hair showing. Not very different from Iran. Instead of one Islamic standard prescribed by their mullah, young people experimenting with different levels of observance, cherry-picking what they want to observe, and what they want to ignore. Some of the combinations seem bizarre to the outside eye, but accepting inconsistancy and *choice* is far healthier than the often violent insistance on conformity.

[SSridhar]

Shi'a spread feared in Sunni Heartland of Middle East & Africa

A leading Sunni Muslim cleric warned in remarks published on Thursday that Shias had ‘infiltrated’ the traditionally Sunni countries with Iran’s backing that threatens to destabilise the Middle East.

“They have managed to infiltrate Egypt, which I know well and I know that 20 years ago did not include a single Shia,” Egyptian scholar Youssef Al Qaradawi’s told the London-based Asharq Al Awsat.

“Now they have people who write in newspapers and author books and have a voice that is heard in Egypt. It is the same in Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco,” the Saudi-owned newspaper quoted Qaradawi as saying.

“I am talking about Sunni societies because the situation has intensified,” he added.

Qaradawi, whose views are widely respected in Muslim countries, said that silence towards such a trend would exacerbate the potential for a clash.

“You will get a Shia minority demanding minority rights and clashing with the Sunni majority and here fires are lit and wars happen,” he added. Sunni Arab leaders have often publicised their concerns about the Shia sect, with Jordan’s King Abdullah suggesting a crescent of Shia power was developing across the region from Lebanon to Iran.

[Nayak]

"In the Land of Invisible Women"

By Qanta A. Ahmed

Sourcebooks Inc.

464 pages, $24.95

Most job contracts don't include mentions of the death penalty, but when Dr. Qanta A. Ahmed agreed to a new job in a Saudi Arabian hospital she became subject to the laws of that country which, as she writes in her memoir, can include decapitation.

After being denied a visa to stay in the United States, Ahmed, decides at "the spur of the moment" to accept a job practicing intensive care medicine at the King Fahad National Guard Hospital in Riyadh, the capitol of Saudi Arabia.

During her two-year stint, in which she works with an assortment of Saudi men and women as well as nurses and doctors from around the world, she encounters almost daily situations for which no American medical school could have prepared her: a female patient who is comatose but whose face still needs to be properly veiled; female medical personnel trying to listen attentively to a patient's heartbeat through the rustling fabric of an abbayah, the long black head covering worn by women in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed's portrayal of her time in Saudi Arabia gives the reader insight into life inside one of the United States' strongest allies in the Middle East, and her personal experiences make it a far more interesting read than an academic tome. It is one thing to simply read that in Riyadh groups of men, called the Muttaween, roam the city, enforcing what they perceive to be the correct interpretation of Islam. But through Ahmed's description of how an outing to a restaurant with visiting medical staff is interrupted by the Muttaween conveys the fear that they instilled in her and her colleagues.

While the book is by a woman and Ahmed constantly talks about women in the Kingdom, it would be a mistake to classify this book as being for or about just women. The doctor's insights are fascinating for readers of either gender.

One of the strengths of this book is that Ahmed doesn't seem to hold much back, even revealing the personal details of the high school-like crush she developed on a Saudi doctor named Imad that illustrates the steep barriers to finding love there. Since she cannot be alone with a man, American-style dates - such going out to a movie - are out of the question. Instead, their budding romance plays out mostly on the Internet through e-mails and instant messenger.

However, sometimes her tendency to reveal all types of details crosses from the honest to the merely catty. Do readers really need to know that her first thought upon seeing a photograph of a friend traveling in Thailand in an ankle-revealing dress that was that the friend had "stumpy" ankles?

Another weak spot of the book is Ahmed's description of her participation in the Hajj, the pilgrimage made by millions of Muslims to Mecca, the traditional birthplace of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Unless readers are already familiar with the many aspects of the multi-day journey that attracts Muslims from around the globe, it can sometimes be confusing to understand. It is a shame considering that the doctor, who was born in Britain to Pakistani Muslim parents, reconnected with her Muslim faith while in Saudi Arabia.

Many of the situations that Ahmed encounters during her time in Saudi Arabia are frustrating and shocking to her - the anti-Semitism of many of her colleagues, the joy many people took at the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the hierarchy among fellow Muslims.

But Ahmed is also good at highlighting the positive aspects of life in the Kingdom, the people who give her hope for the country: the women she encounters who are dedicated to their education and careers despite the restrictions placed upon them and the Saudi men who champion women in the workplace and treat them as equals.

And from the first page to the last, it is clear that Ahmed is fascinated by the country. She manages to pass that fascination along to her readers.

Women doctor shares journey into heart of Islam

By Bruce Smith

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Dr. Qanta Ahmed's journey into the heart of Islam began as a spur-of-the-moment decision to practice medicine in Saudi Arabia.

Despite misgivings about women - even doctors - being treated as invisible in the country, the 40-year-old assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina says she took a chance and stayed there for two years.

Reflecting on her experiences almost decade later, she sees her memoir, "In the Land of Invisible Women," as part of a needed "jihad of the pen" by articulate, moderate Muslims. Her hope is that a book written by a Muslim who grew up in the West can, in some small way, bridge the divide of understanding between the Middle East and Western culture.

"One of the central errors Westerners are constantly assaulted with is the use of this term jihad," she says in an interview at her condominium overlooking Charleston's peaceful Ashley River. "The central jihad for all of us is to constantly improve and be the best we can be and try to adhere to some very pure ideals."

She also hopes it might help dispel what she says is a misconception that Islam advocates violence.

"This is absolutely heinous and false," she says. "Islam values life above anything. We are taught in the Quran that man's right to life exceeds even God's rights on man."

Ahmed's "In the Land of Invisible Women" is now in bookstores.

"The book is important because in this country, in the sound-bite generation, stereotypes pretty much prevail," said Sourcebooks Inc.'s Tony Viardo. "When Americans in general think of Muslims, really the radical Islam aspect of it comes to mind. Where we think this book is really important is that is humanizes Muslims and builds bridges between the two cultures."

Ahmed, who is of Pakistani descent, was born in Britain and had advanced medical training in the United States.

In Saudi Arabia, she found a land with tremendous wealth, but one where women remain largely invisible, even highly trained female doctors working side-by-side with male colleagues. It is a land where women must, in public, be shrouded in an abbayah, a flowing robe; where women can't drive and must have a male relative or guardian's permission to travel.

She stayed in Saudi Arabia from 1999 through 2001, leaving in the months after the 2001 terror attacks. She writes of her anger in seeing highly trained physicians laughing and others buying cakes and celebrating the news of 9/11.

But she also found a connection she had never known to a religion she had practiced her entire life after going on the Hajj to the holiest sites of Islam.

There is much confusion about that religion, she says.

In modern Islam, she says, "you see so very few articulate moderate voices coming out. Where are the movies? Where is the music? Where is the poetry? Where are the books to counteract some of this (violent) ideology?"

A decade ago, Ahmed, a pulmonologist and sleep specialist, had to decide about her future when her visa to practice medicine in the United States expired. She wanted to practice in the Middle East because its medicine was more American than in her native Britain. She told a recruiter she would go anywhere but Saudi Arabia.

But then came an offer to practice medicine in a modern hospital drawing patients from all of Saudi Arabia. She took it, despite initial misgivings about living in a land of strict religious rules where the death penalty is administered by decapitation.

"'What's a year?' I remembered thinking to myself, as I had signed the contract recklessly, flicking through pages ignoring bold capitals announcing the death penalty," she writes. "In a thoughtless flourish I found myself now subject to the laws of Saudi Arabia, decapitation included."

Ahmed says it was a paradox to live in a land with such rigid laws but one that was enthralling and spiritual.

She made the Hajj to Mecca, the journey every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it is obligated to make at least once.

Many make preparations months and even years in advance. Ahmed went almost by chance, deciding only a week before when a colleague convinced her that she might never get another chance.

Approaching the Ka'ba, she felt small among the tens of thousands of pilgrims.

"The next thing you notice is the diversity of race and physical features and age and nationalities and languages, and that's when I immediately felt at home," she says. "If you don't quite fit in with the culture or you don't fit in quite with the family where you come from, you have a place you fit in spiritually."

[Zin]

For those interested in the other side, how young Arab women are trying to blend modernity with an Islamic identity I'd recommend 'Muhajababes' by Allegra Stratton. The Arabic equivalent of MTV beaming out of Lebanon, the news channels,

Like Al-Jazeera

the growth of consumerism among the middle class,

And the same middle class which donates money to "causes" throughout the world.

The compromise is to wear a hijab, but perhaps a little more tightly fitting, with lipstick, and maybe a little hair showing.

And to compensate for the guilt of being less islamic, write internet posts and poems praising terrorists for killing kafirs and crusaders and for attacking the zionist entity.

Not very different from Iran.

Were Bahais are regularly kicked out of the country,
Were holocaust is nothing but a exaggerated western lie.

"In the Land of Invisible Women"

Many of the situations that Ahmed encounters during her time in Saudi Arabia are frustrating and shocking to her - the anti-Semitism of many of her colleagues, the joy many people took at the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the hierarchy among fellow Muslims.

Women doctor shares journey into heart of Islam
By Bruce Smith
She stayed in Saudi Arabia from 1999 through 2001, leaving in the months after the 2001 terror attacks. She writes of her anger in seeing highly trained physicians laughing and others buying cakes and celebrating the news of 9/11.

So Johann which type of cake did you buy on 9/11?

[Nayak]

Since arriving in Riyadh I've been noticing a pattern amongst a certain type of women who suddenly turn religious.

Some of them are immediately transformed from being just another guest in someone's house, to women who sit at the head of a meeting to preach the word of God...

Nothing shocking or sudden happened to those women. What happened, then, that might've caused this massive change in behavior and character?

I believe the gains of a transformation often explain the initial calling that has caused it.

Women whose religiousness brought power, leadership and stardom after being semi-absented, were probably yearning for what they have been lacking.

...having God at their side, could finally allow these women a word over their husband, children and the greater society.

If the husband asks them to uncover here, they tell him God said no. If he watches improper TV content they can condemn his acts and (maybe) slowly influence him.

They could challenge tradition by quoting God, the prophet and history. They could silence much of society which would not yield and adhere to them before.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7631927.stm

[Philip]

Holocaust survivor,war veteran,scholar and now peacenik afraid of right wing extremism in Israel,read this intriguing interview of Prof. Zeev Sternhall on the Middle East and right wing extremism in Israel today.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 48610.html

EXcerpts:
The thoughts of Zeev Sternhell: An Israeli scholar's verdict

On Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy on behalf ofthe US, the EU, the UN and Russia, the so-called Quartet:

"Tony Blair is transforming himself from a ten-year successful Prime Minister into a ridiculous figure, a clown. He is now in charge of negotiations, so what is he doing exactly. Where is he?"

On Ehud Olmert, outgoing Prime Minister of Israel and a recent convert to the idea of handing back "almost all" of the West Bank:

"He's just 30 years late. It's unbelievable. This is what [we on the left] have been saying for 30 years."

On Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence Minister:

"It's funny – well, not funny but tragic – to see a man like Ehud Barak, a real war hero, someone who was scared of nothing, who didn't know what it meant to be scared. [Yet] politically, a confrontation with the settlers is beyond his capacity. It's very sad."

How I became a target for Israel's 'Jewish terrorists'
Peace campaigner attacked with a pipe bomb tells Donald Macintyre why right-wing extremism should be feared

Thursday, 2 October 2008
Quique Kierszenbaum

Professor Zeev Sternhell is a Holocaust survivor and a combat veteran of Israel's wars

Zeev Sternhell is careful about his choice of words when he unhesitatingly calls the pipe bomb which exploded outside his front door last week "an act of Jewish terrorism."

As a Holocaust survivor orphaned by the age of seven and a combat veteran of Israel's wars, Professor Sternhell, 73, who was lucky to have only been injured in the leg by flying shrapnel from the bomb, is "horrified" not for himself but because it might have hit his wife, daughter his grandchildren on one of their sleepovers, or their neighbours. "It was a terror act because they couldn't know who would have been hit."

Given that, as he wryly puts it, he has no known enemies in the "criminal underworld", the reason for what police think was attempted murder isn't hard to find. As a veteran member of Peace Now, and vigorous opponent of the occupation since the late 1970s, the Hebrew University scholar, Israel Prize laureate and internationally-known authority on the roots of fascism apparently became the target of the highest-profile attack inside Israel by far right-wing Jewish extremists since Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995.

But if the attack was meant to silence one of the country's foremost public intellectuals, it hasn't worked. For a start he does not rule out a connection with strong signs of increasing violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. In recent weeks, extremist settlers have rioted, blocked roads, burned Palestinian orchards and in one case, armed settlers have attacked a village.

Lamenting that the army and the police are "either unwilling or unable or probably both" to enforce the law against attacks on Palestinians in a West Bank where the settlers enjoy a kind of "self rule", he says the extremists believe that "people like me who think that they are the real danger to Zionism, to the future of the Israeli state, should be neutralised and should be punished... So I think there is a link between the brutality and violence that is the reality of everyday life in the West Bank and this attack."

Of the 250,000 West Bank settlers he estimates that only some 40,000 to 50,000 are truly ideological and of these only "a few thousand are ready to use force." He pinpoints the new generation of "hilltop youth" who, in a pattern familiar from "revolutionary movements", regard their aging leadership as "traitors" for being willing to discuss with the government even the possibility of voluntary evacuation from a few outposts.

Activists who are "deeply convinced that the future of the Jewish people depends on them," therefore regard violence as legitimate and believe that "God is with us, and God will see to it that we will get rid of the Palestinians. That is more or less their philosophy."

For Professor Sternhell, the answer is the early evacuation of "at least 95 per cent of the West Bank" and for the authorities to prepare to bring the settlers across back across the 1967 border and into Israel. But here there is a paradox. On the one hand, he believes that the violence may stem "from a sense of urgency" on the extreme right because "they have reached the conclusion that the Israeli political elite is now much closer to what I think than to their ideas".

This conclusion was reinforced by the outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who this week finally acknowledged something that Professor Sternhell has been arguing for 30 years – that almost all the West Bank will have to be handed back if there is to be peace. But while he thinks ideologically the left may have won a "battle" – though not the "war" – he is highly conscious that after relentless settlement growth over 40 years, bringing the settlers "home" in practice will be "a very tough job" and questions whether the Israeli establishment has "the moral energy and leadership capability" to carry it through.

"The Israeli political elite is very weak... the fact is that the people in power are not ready for the confrontation with the settlers... I am not optimistic. I don't see who is able in the coming years to start confronting the question seriously."

Which is why he believes that the only hope is a "strong intervention by the international community – the US and EU". He adds: "I think that the British, French the Germans should start thinking seriously about moving their arses and trying to do something more than what Tony Blair is doing."

Professor Sternhell may be stretching Mr Blair's mandate as Middle East envoy by declaring that he is "in charge of negotiations". But he is in deadly earnest when he considers: "I personally have reached the conclusion we cannot do it on our own, due to the weaknesses of the Israeli democracy, the weakness of the Palestinian Authority."

Saying that the "step by step" approach of Oslo was a "total mistake", he insists: "All the issues need to be dealt with together and everyone with an interest in the Middle East must participate I don't see how things can move otherwise."

Asked how he feels, as a Jew with his classic Israeli biography, to have had his home attacked by Jews, Professor Sternhell muses that: "Everybody is able to do anything. Being Jewish or not being Jewish does not immunize you from all the evils that can exist in history and politics."

Just as it makes him "very, very unhappy" to see Sudanese refugees arriving in Israel from Egypt being treated not so differently from how "Jews were treated in Europe 70 years ago", so he is also mortified to see "Jews as occupiers of the West Bank" – or the treatment by Israeli soldiers of Palestinians – not because the soldiers want it but because of a "horrible" situation.

And he says: "What I want to do is to change the situation."

The thoughts of Zeev Sternhell: An Israeli scholar's verdict

On Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy on behalf ofthe US, the EU, the UN and Russia, the so-called Quartet:

"Tony Blair is transforming himself from a ten-year successful Prime Minister into a ridiculous figure, a clown. He is now in charge of negotiations, so what is he doing exactly. Where is he?"

On Ehud Olmert, outgoing Prime Minister of Israel and a recent convert to the idea of handing back "almost all" of the West Bank:

"He's just 30 years late. It's unbelievable. This is what [we on the left] have been saying for 30 years."

On Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence Minister:

"It's funny – well, not funny buttragic – to see a man like Ehud Barak, a real war hero, someone who was scared of nothing, who didn't know what it meant to be scared. [Yet] politically, a confrontation with the settlers is beyond his capacity. It's very sad."

[Nayak]

India to gift embassy building to Palestine
By Indo-Asian News Service on Monday, October 6, 2008
Filed Under: Latest India News

http://www.freshnews.in/india-to-gift-e ... tine-80916

In a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, India will gift a piece of prized real estate in the capital's elite diplomatic enclave for building the embassy of the Palestinian National Authority to President Mahmoud Abbas this week.

Abbas will lay the foundation stone of the chancery-cum-residence complex of the embassy of Palestine, likely Tuesday, and formally dedicate the building to the people of Palestine from the people of India.

The complex is being built as a gift of the government and the people of India in Chanakyapuri, the external affairs ministry said in a statement ahead of Abbas' four-day state visit.

The gift underscores India's unwavering solidarity and commitment to an independent Palestine and is seen by some as a balancing exercise in view of its growing relations with Israel.

With some critics accusing the Manmohan Singh government of betraying the Palestinian cause, New Delhi has designated Abbas' trip as "state visit" to underline its special ties with the Palestinian people.

The visit comes at a time when the West Asia peace process is under strain even as India is increasingly seen as a credible interlocutor by Palestine and Israel due to its excellent relations with both sides.

Foreign Minister of the Palestine National Authority (PNA) Riyad Al-Maliki and other senior officials will be accompanying Abbas on this state visit to India.

Abbas will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discuss with him a host of issues relating to the reconstruction of Palestine and latest developments regarding the peace process in West Asia.

He will also meet President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani.

[renukb]

US-Russia divide allows the Middle East arms race to flourish

As the only region in the world after World War II where weapons of mass destruction have been used in armed conflict, the Middle East must be nuclear free

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editori ... 2003425132

By Shlomo Ben-Ami

Monday, Oct 06, 2008, Page 9

Israel’s desperate plea that the world act to curtail what its intelligence service describes as Iran’s “gallop toward a nuclear bomb” has not gotten the positive response that Israel expected. With the UN sanctions regime now having proven to be utterly ineffective, and with international diplomacy apparently futile in preventing the Iranians from mastering the technology for enriching uranium, Israel is being boxed into a corner. What was supposed to be a major international effort at mediation is deteriorating into an apocalyptic Israeli-Iranian showdown.

This is an intriguing anomaly, for, notwithstanding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s vile anti-Semitic rhetoric, the implications of Iran’s emerging power extend far beyond the Jewish state. Indeed, it affects the entire Arab world, particularly the vulnerable Gulf countries, and even Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The US, as a major Middle East power, and Europe also have an interest in stemming the tide of nuclear proliferation that now threatens the Middle East. For a nuclear Iran would open the gates to an uncontrolled rush for the bomb across the region.

The international system’s failure to address effectively the nuclear issue in the Middle East stems mostly from the Russia-US divide, to which wrongheaded US strategy has contributed mightily.

Russia cannot want a nuclear Iran. But in its quest for leverage against what it perceives as hostile US policies, and as a way to bargain for a more acceptable security framework with the West, the Russians refuse to join the US leadership in international efforts to curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Russia holds the key not only to Iran’s diplomatic isolation, but also — through the weapons transfers that it has already pledged to Iran — to the Iranian government’s capacity to protect its nuclear installations.

Last October, then Russian president Vladimir Putin became the first Russian leader since Leonid Brezhnev to visit Iran, bringing along five leaders of the Caspian Sea states. Since then, Putin has sought to expose the bankruptcy of the US policy of isolating Iran.

Russia probably can tame the Iranian regime, but it will do so only in exchange for US respect for its interests in the former Soviet republics, and possibly also a revision of post-Cold War strategic agreements.

But, even if abandoned by the Russians, it is highly unlikely that Iran will give up its nuclear ambitions unless its regional concerns are addressed.

Iran’s nuclear drive reflects a broad national consensus, the result of a deep-seated sense of vulnerability and betrayal. The Iranians remember how the international community remained indifferent when former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein attacked with chemical weapons in the 1980s. Nor is the presence of the US’ formidable might in today’s Iraq comforting to them. Tehran believes that it is the victim of an international double standard — acceptance of Pakistan’s and India’s nuclear status, not to mention Israel’s — which only fuels its sense of discrimination and its resolve to pursue its ambitions.

By exposing the inadequacy of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran, a signatory, has signaled to Israel that the regional order can no longer be based on Israel’s nuclear monopoly as a non-NPT member. Hence, the solution lies not only in forcing NPT members like Iran and Syria to comply with their commitments, but in creating a broader regional security and cooperation architecture in the Middle East. But it is highly unlikely that the Arabs will agree to such a system so long as Israel refuses to address her own nuclear capabilities.

Any regional security architecture will have to be premised on the Middle East becoming a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The Middle East retains the infamous distinction of being the only region in the world to have used such weapons since the end of World War II.

Indeed, Arab states have both developed and used chemical and biological weapons — not against Israel, so far, but against others in the region. Iraq used them against Iran, Egypt in its war in Yemen of the 1970s, and Iraq against its own Kurds. In 1993, Israel signed the international treaty banning chemical weapons, but did not ratify it because of the Arab states’ refusal to follow suit as long as Israel maintained its nuclear advantage.

The international community must recognize that the Middle East security equation is not a simple linear one involving Israel versus the Arab world. The proliferation of nuclear weapons in a region that has seen fit to use weapons of mass destruction before threatens everyone.

So a concerted effort is needed by outside powers such as the US and Russia, not to act as spoilers of each other’s policies in the region, but to create a weapons of mass destruction-free zone. Such a regional system cannot be built in a political vacuum. A major effort to assist in the solution of the region’s major political disputes is a vital prerequisite. The nuclear clock is ticking.



Shlomo Ben-Ami is a former Israeli foreign minister who now serves as vice-president of the Toledo International Center for Peace in Spain.

[renukb]

From Syrian fishing port to naval power base: Russia moves into the Mediterranean
• Military foothold part of closer ties with Damascus
• Move could deter Israel from attacks on Syria


During balmy evenings in the sleepy Syrian port of Tartous locals promenade along the seafront or suck on hookahs discussing the two great pillars of their society: business and family.

Politics, such as it is in the tightly controlled one-party state, rarely gets a mention, and certainly not in public. But few could fail to wonder about the foreign sailors dockside and the grey warship dominating a harbour that was once a trading hub of the Phoenician empire and is now the centre of a new projection of power, this time by Syria's old ally Russia.

Tartous is being dredged and renovated to provide a permanent facility for the Russian navy, giving Moscow a key military foothold in the Mediterranean at a time when Russia's invasion of Georgia has led to fears of a new cold war.

The bolstering of military ties between Russia and Syria has also worried Israel, whose prime minister, Ehud Olmert, was in Moscow yesterday seeking to persuade the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, to stop Russian arms sales to Syria and Iran. Mr Olmert later said he had received assurances that Russia would not allow Israel's security to be threatened, but offered no indication he won any concrete promises on Russian arms sales.

Igor Belyaev, Russia's charge d'affaires in Damascus, recently told reporters that his country would increase its presence in the Mediterranean and that "Russian vessels will be visiting Syria and other friendly ports more frequently".

That announcement followed a meeting between Medvedev and the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, at the Black sea port of Sochi in the immediate aftermath of Russia's victory over Georgian forces and its recognition of the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - actions Assad supported.

Now, with Ukraine threatening to expel Russia's Black sea fleet from its base in Sebastopol, the only route for the Russian navy into the Mediterranean, military cooperation between Moscow and Damascus appears to have taken on a new zeal.

"Israel and the US supported Georgia against Russia, and Syria thus saw a chance to capitalise on Russian anger by advancing its long-standing relations with Moscow," said Taha Abdel Wahed, a Syrian expert on Russian affairs. "Syria has a very important geographical position for the Russians. Relations between Damascus and Moscow may not yet be strategic, but they are advancing rapidly."

Tartous was once a re-supplying point for the Soviet navy at a time when Moscow sold Syria billions of dollars worth of arms. "Tartous is of great geopolitical significance considering that it is the only such Russian facility abroad," a former Russian navy deputy commander, Igor Kasatonov, said, following a meeting on September 12 in Moscow between the naval leaders from Russia and Syria.

Syrian-Russian relations cooled after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But they have taken on a new dynamic since Assad succeeded his father in 2000. After a state visit to Russia in 2005, he persuaded Moscow to wipe three-quarters off a £7.6bn debt Syria owed, mainly from arms sales.

Since then the two countries have been in talks about upgrading Syria's missile defences with Russia's advanced Strelets system, provoking condemnation from Israel, whose fighter jets in September 2007 flew unchallenged into north-east Syria to bomb a suspected nuclear site.

Last month Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Moscow would consider selling Damascus new weapons that "have a defensive character and that do not in any way interfere with the strategic balance in the region". Though no defence pact has been signed between the two, as it has between Syria and Iran, observers suggest the very presence of Russian warships in Tartous would bolster Damascus's military standing in the region.

"Israel would think twice about attacking Syria again with Russian ships stationed in Tartous," said Abdel Wahed, an analyst.

A senior Israeli colonel has also accused Russia of passing intelligence about Israel to Syria and indirectly to Hizbullah.

Describing electronic eavesdropping stations on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights believed to be operated by Russian technicians, Ram Dor, information security chief for the armed forces, told an Israeli newspaper: "My assessment is that their facilities cover most of the state of Israel's territory. The Syrians share the intelligence that they gather with Hizbullah, and the other way around."

During the 2006 July war Hizbullah fighters used advanced Russian tank-buster missiles to cripple at least 40 of Israel's Merkava tanks, a key tipping point in a war that Israel later admitted it lost.

The Russian embassy in Damascus could not be reached for comment.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oc ... ria.russia

[renukb]

Russia's Jerusalem land claim worries Israelis

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7Xi ... AD93LK3R80

By TIA GOLDENBERG – 14 hours ago

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Russians are coming to downtown Jerusalem, reclaiming ownership of a landmark with the approval of the Israeli government, just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Moscow to try to iron out serious policy differences between the two countries.

After years of contacts, Olmert's Cabinet agreed Sunday to hand over the small tract known as Sergei's Courtyard. The area, which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

The property includes a lush garden and the massive buildings around it — a turret-like structure at the intersection of two downtown streets and the sand-colored fortress-like wings leading from it.

The timing of the gesture is clear. After years of relatively smooth relations, serious problems have cropped up between Israel and Russia. One concerned Russia's summer invasion of Georgia, which has become a close ally of Israel in recent years. More importantly, Israel is concerned about Russia's role in helping, or not stopping, the nuclear program of Israel's archenemy, Iran.

Olmert hopes to talk through those issues during his two-day trip to Moscow. He was scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday before returning to Israel.

Not everyone is happy about Israel's Jerusalem goodwill gesture. Hardline groups bridle at any transfer of control in Jerusalem, because they oppose Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts that would require sharing the city.

Israel TV described the transfer as "Russian autonomy in downtown Jerusalem." The Cabinet decision says no major changes can be made at the site without approval of both governments.

The official transfer may be delayed because of an appeal filed by the nationalistic Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which said the deal is a "breach of Israeli sovereignty."

Nachi Eyal, the group's director, warned the deal could set a precedent for other land claims.

A Russian official denied accusations it seeks greater influence in the Middle East through the acquisition of Sergei's Courtyard, calling its desire to own the place a matter of historical significance.

"This has nothing to do with what is being called imperial ambitions because it's not a military base or something that can serve those purposes," said Alexei Skosyrev, a political counselor at the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv. He said the building will be used as a Russian cultural center to "promote bilateral relations" between the two countries.

The site, named for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, a son of Czar Alexander II, was built in 1890 and is part of the larger Russian Compound, most of which Israel purchased 45 years ago. It paid in oranges because it lacked hard currency.

Negotiations over the site began in the 1990s. In 2005, after years of lagging progress on the deal, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised former Russian President Vladimir Putin the land would be returned.

[renukb]

Moscow makes no promises on arms sales to Syria, Iran
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027415.html

By Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies , By Yossi Melman

MOSCOW-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday he received assurances that Russia would not allow Israel's security to be threatened, but offered no indication he won the concrete promises he sought on Russian arms sales or sanctions on Iran.

After meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Olmert also said Israel was not prepared to tolerate a situation in which Iran possesses nuclear weapons, but will not take the lead in preventing it from gaining nuclear capability. Advertisement


Olmert did not receive a clear commitment that Russia would refrain from supplying Syria with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles or sell advanced weapons to Iran. However, he said he succeeded in getting Medvedev to understand his fears that Russian-made missiles and other technology could fall into the hands of anti-Israeli militants in the region.

"My feeling is the Russian government understands well the Israeli position and is aware of the possible influence such supplying could have on stability in the region," Olmert told reporters traveling with him.

The two leaders agreed to open a permanent line of dialogue on defense issues and set up a "strategic team" to continue discussing the weapons sales.

"Russia's policy will continue to be that it would not hurt Israeli security under any circumstances," Olmert said Medvedev told him in the course of a two-hour meeting at the Kremlin. "We agree to upgrade our economic, defensive and strategic ties. We agreed to set up a new mechanism to ensure continuous contacts on these issues," he said.

Olmert distanced himself from talk of attacking Iran, saying: "I have never announced that [Israel] intends to attack Iran and I have not presented a specific plan for a military operation and I have not suggested a date for this. On the contrary, I've noted that there is exaggeration in Israeli statements on the subject."

Israel is particularly concerned about sales of anti-aircraft missile systems, which could threaten Israel's air superiority over Iran and Syria and make it easier for Iran to protect its nuclear sites.

Olmert also informed the Russian leader of Israel's decision to return the Sergei Compound in Jerusalem to Russian ownership, a decision Medvedev openly praised.

Olmert invited Medvedev to visit Jerusalem. The Russian president said he would be happy to accept the invitation, as he has not been to the country in a long time.

Meanwhile, Olmert refused to say whether Israel had made a strategic decision about what the country would do in case of another war with Hezbollah. The head of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, was recently quoted as saying that in another such war, Israel would attack aggressively and bomb Lebanese villages. Olmert would not comment on the content of Shamni's remarks, saying: "Strong countries do not need to make announcements every few days, and therefore there is no need now to announce anything. The GOC of the Northern Command said what is his responsibility and I am speaking as the prime minister here, and that should be enough."

[ramana]

A few X-posts about KSA from the TSP thread...

-----

We need to understand the role played by KSA ( Saudi Arabia ) in Iran-Afghanistan-TSP-PRC-CAR-India , i think their role & intentions have not been properly understood yet in clear as that of other players .Clearly KSA is nervous about resurgent shia Iran more than any other ME state with substantial Shia population & having this 'substantial' Shia population in crude oil producing regions of KSA coupled with leader of Sunni Muslims status and protector of two-M sites , it has most to lose both in terms of face & otherwise.

Many commentators have written about 'understanding' between KSA ruling family and Wahabists and have portrayed it as some sort of truce but now we are seeing KSA increasingly using the benefits of such radicalised philosophy in Iran-Afganistan-Pakistan -India -China-CAR theatre and indirectly becoming a major player than others in this 'great-game' arena.
I might be reading it wrong but what if all this 'tactical understanding' /truce with Wahabists was for world consumption and in reality it was always supposed to be a potent weapon to be used ?

KSA is a Sunni Islamist power that controls the holy places of Islam. As such its behavior towards Shia Iran and Shiite parts of Arab lands is understandable.

KSA ruling family is Wahabist. All this alliance stuff is nonsense. The Ibn-Saud family is intermarried in the Al-Wahab family for generations. Hence what they are doing is combined the family of the Prophet (Mullah class) and the Caliph (Ibn Saud) in one family. That is what Ibn-Saud family innovation is all about and gives them the credibility. The bin Laden type of protests show up when the ruler is non-Suderi i.e. one not born of an Al Wahab mother.

One can have a good thread on the role of KSA in Sunni Islam. If Iran breaks out, then Sunni Islam and Arabist revival will be slowed down. The end of empires is usually due to unfavorable demographics and loss of idea.
-----------------------

Many commentators have written about 'understanding' between KSA ruling family and Wahabists and have portrayed it as some sort of truce . . .

It may be OT, but I wanted to clarify now that you have raised an issue. Ramana is right when he says that there was no 'truce' between the House of Saud and the Wahhabists. The House of Saud were ruling from Al Diriyah, a small oasis just outside of Riyadh. {Their fort is still available for visiting}. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab was a Hanbali practitioner. Though the Arab peninsula had become totally Islamic by his time, the tribes were still following non-Islamic traditions which angered Wahhab. He sought a political figure to carry out reform and so he made a hijra to Al Diriyah in circa 1744. Soon there was a lot of inter-marriage between the House of Saud and Wahhab. Even in modern times, King Faisal, who was the son of King Abdul Aziz, the modern day founder of KSA, claimed his lineage from Abdul Wahhab.

Clearly KSA is nervous about resurgent shia Iran more than any other ME state with substantial Shia population & having this 'substantial' Shia population in crude oil producing regions of KSA

That's true regarding Saudi nervousness. That has been a long-standing problem for KSA. You are right about the Shia population in KSA being present in the important oil producing region of the eastern coast, from Dammam/Dhahran all the way up the coast to Kuwait. To add to KSA's problems, Bahrain is also Shia majority though Sunnis rule it.

coupled with leader of Sunni Muslims status and protector of two-M sites , it has most to lose both in terms of face & otherwise.

The Saudi King considers themselves as de facto Calpih. They are a little wary of openly proclaiming that. When the Ottoman Caliphate collapsed, there was a suitor for the Caliph's position by the Hashemite King (grandfather of the present King of Jordan). He was ruling the Hejaz area of KSA (that includes Makkah, Jeddah & Medinah). The Saud King Abdul Aziz drove him out occupied these areas as the Hashemite King was propped up by the British against whom there was revulsion in the Muslim community around the world at that time for their role in dismantling the Ottoman Caliphate. Abdul Aziz thus acquired several positions like the Head of Arab Tribals, Commander, King, Custodian of the Two Holy Places etc. Since that time, by virtue of their possessing Makkah-al-Mukarramah and Medinah-al-Munawwara, the Saudi Kings have considered themselves as rightful Caliph.

we are seeing KSA increasingly using the benefits of such radicalised philosophy in Iran-Afganistan-Pakistan -India -China-CAR theatre and indirectly becoming a major player than others in this 'great-game' arena.

There intervention started soon after Khomeini returned to Iran triumphantly after the overthrow of the Shah. More bad news came that same year (apart from the Makkah mosque seizure) in the form of Russian occupation of Afghanistan. This propelled KSA to a more central position. In fact, a well controlled turmoil in Afghanistan is to the Saudi advantage as a country like India will not be able to exploit the CAR oil & gas.

-------------

Ramana ,Ssridhar thnxx for your post on KSA's role . Will try to get on this KSA issue for your further comments in OT ( People may very well remember MMS went to greet King Abdullah of KSA , being the 2nd only leader other than Bush to be received by MMS , its now making much sense why he did so ).
On issue of TSP's economic crisis , biggest problem is not whether the bakshish will be received from Unkil & Aunty or PRC but the higher interest rates on any future TSP bonds issue and there's no short term remedy for tht . IIRC , Short cut under Mushy raised quite an amount issuing such euro bonds , tht will not be an option available anymore in present & future international market conditions ( doodh ke jale chaaj bhi phoonk phoonk kar piyenge ) . In short , current crisis will make sure only viable investments are made by FIIs be it in companies or in countries and in such a scenario TSP is and will remain a clear looser , US simply is not interested in making another S.Korea/Japana in TSP irrespective of wht GOTUS says and somewhere Zardari knows this ( this guy clearly is more clever given the way he outsmarted Ganja & Mushy ) tht's why two major comments he had made wrt India show a different tune . In end all this bakshish TSP will receive will keep it in ICU only , making sure tht Jihadis gain the ground in remaining populated areas.

[ramana]

The Saudi King considers themselves as de facto Calpih. They are a little wary of openly proclaiming that. When the Ottoman Caliphate collapsed, there was a suitor for the Caliph's position by the Hashemite King (grandfather of the present King of Jordan). He was ruling the Hejaz area of KSA (that includes Makkah, Jeddah & Medinah). The Saud King Abdul Aziz drove him out occupied these areas as the Hashemite King was propped up by the British against whom there was revulsion in the Muslim community around the world at that time for their role in dismantling the Ottoman Caliphate. Abdul Aziz thus acquired several positions like the Head of Arab Tribals, Commander, King, Custodian of the Two Holy Places etc. Since that time, by virtue of their possessing Makkah-al-Mukarramah and Medinah-al-Munawwara, the Saudi Kings have considered themselves as rightful Caliph.

From what I read, it was the India Office of Great Britain that supported Ibn Saud against those who supported Abdullah the Sherif of Mecca for overlordship of the Arabian peninsula. The reason could be Abdullah being of the Prophet's family could acquire marquee status and be thus uncontrollable.
One needs to read Wilfrid Scawen Blunt's "Future of Islam" to see how long the Brits were working on liberating Arab Islam from Ottoman Turkey.

According to Dore Gold's "hatred's Kingdom", it was a delegation of Indina Muslims that met Ibn Suad soon after he took over the peninsula and persuaded him of his reponsibilities to the faith as the "custodian of the two holy places". Prior to that he just wanted to be ruler only.It was IM who reminided him that islam was once again under Arab primacy after so many centuries of Persian and Turkic primacy.

The idea of a modern title as King was chosen again with IM help to provide a modern thrust or facade for political Islam. it was supposed to make a new begining for political islam in the modern world.

For all practical purposes the King is a modern Caliph but cannot claim the title as he doesnt have the other marks of the Caliph- Khoresh tribe, Sword of Muhammaed(Zulfiqar which is in Topkapi museum etc). But one of these days a new king might be born to an (Indian Muslim) Qureshi woman and if the time is right they can claim the title and get teh sword back from an Islamised Turkey.

However demographics are not working for them.

[svinayak]

For all practical purposes the King is a modern Caliph but cannot claim the title as he doesnt have the other marks of the Caliph- Khoresh tribe, Sword of Muhammaed(Zulfiqar which is in Topkapi museum etc). But one of these days a new king might be born to an (Indian Muslim) Qureshi woman and if the time is right they can claim the title and get teh sword back from an Islamised Turkey.

However demographics are not working for them.

You are giving too much ideas.
Among Indian - subcontinent muslims only the Ashrafs have claim over the ruling muslim groups and can enforce Sharia.
Even this Ashraf blood is getting diluted. Therefore the UP muslims are trying to create a larger moghu heritage bloodlines - aka - Musharraf through his wife/begum.

The problem they have have is that India does not have any holy site or visiting muslim holy place which is universal. Ajmer is still a subcontinental affair and BD muslim pir congregation is still considered haraam.

[Prem]

.

The problem they have have is that India does not have any holy site or visiting muslim holy place which is universal. Ajmer is still a subcontinental affair and BD muslim pir congregation is still considered haraam.

Exactly my point that Islam is entirely an Arabian affair , be it spiritual, political, social or cultural and dont have any Indian roots. If this is true then Muslims have no legitimate claim on Indian affairs. Their outlook has been and will always be outward working for the glory of something Non Indian even at the cost of India . India cannot march forward with confidence if She always has to look over her shoulder by not finding the the answer to these questions in almost every Indian's mind.

[Avinash R]

Palestinian Fatah group mulls talks with Hamas

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction is considering a request to meet with Hamas officials for the first time in months, Fatah officials said on Saturday.

Senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad said Abbas told Fatah members in Amman he had received a report from Egypt on Egyptian-sponsored efforts to heal a rift between Fatah and Hamas since the Islamists seized Gaza last year.

The report about recent talks between Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Hamas leaders in Cairo "included a proposal by Hamas to hold a meeting with Fatah in Egypt," al-Ahmad told Reuters by telephone from Amman.

"Fatah will study this proposal and will consult with all other factions to determine our response," he said.

Arab diplomats said Hamas had asked to meet with Fatah on Oct. 25, ahead of a meeting next month to discuss Egypt's proposals for resolving the Fatah-Hamas dispute, a schism that has undermined Abbas in U.S.-sponsored peace talks with Israel.

With Egypt's encouragement "it is likely Fatah would agree to meet on October 25," another senior Fatah official said.

Egypt has drawn up its plan for Palestinian reconciliation in consultation with 12 factions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Hamas.

Palestinian officials said the plan calls to replace the Hamas government in Gaza with a non-factional transitional government followed by parliamentary and presidential elections, and for Arab forces to help restructure Gaza's security forces.

Fatah and Hamas have not yet agreed on the terms.

Hamas's top negotiator, Moussa Abu Marzouq, said the Islamists had agreed with Egypt's "vision" for a joint Gaza government, but called for other factions to join rather than for it to be non-partisan.

A senior PLO official said in response: "Hamas is stalling and trying to change the Egyptian plan."

Abbas called for national dialogue in June after previously saying there could be no negotiation until Hamas pulled out of Gaza.

[Philip]

The tragedy of mistrust between Jews and Muslims in Israel/Palestine.Sadly,it also reminds me of similar incidents in India in the past.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 61410.html
The Arab driver, Yom Kippur and how a city was inflamed

Israeli city convulsed by violence as Jews protest about 'sacrilegious' act

By Donald Macintyre in Acre
Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Israelis chant anti-Arab slogans during a protest in Acre after days of rioting threatened to blow apart community relations in the ethnically mixed Mediterranean port city

It began with an Israeli Arab motorist driving into a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood during the solemn Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. It developed into the most serious clashes between Israeli Arabs and Jews for eight years.

Israeli-Arab parliamentarians warned yesterday that the arrest of the motorist, Tawfik Jamal, could undermine efforts to draw a line under four days of rioting that have threatened to break the delicate balance of community relations in this ancient and ethnically mixed port city.

The riots started a week ago, after Mr Jamal drove into the predominantly Jewish eastern district of the city of Acre on the one day of the year when Israeli Jews refrain – by custom and not by law – from using their cars. Mr Jamal was pursued and surrounded by a stone-throwing crowd of angry residents and his son was slightly injured.

As rumours spread that Mr Jamal had been killed, Jewish residents say that hundreds of Arabs – many masked – then marched on the area, breaking the windows of Jewish shops, attacking parked cars, and throwing stones at their homes. In the subsequent three nights of violence, in which 64 people were arrested, Jewish rioters attacked and burned the homes of several Arab residents, who had fled. On Sunday, Major General Shimon Koren, northern commander of the police, said that Jewish instigators appeared to be the "dominant elements" behind the continued rioting.

A massive police presence helped to prevent further outbreaks on Sunday and Monday. Police have responded with restraint in Acre after being criticised in the Or Commission inquiry into rioting elsewhere in 2000, during which they killed 13 Arab demonstrators. Yossi Beilin, of the left-wing Meretz Party, said "nothing has been done" to implement Or recommendations on the social and economic discrimination, which some community leaders claim have again been exposed by the latest clashes.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Ahmed, 54, who has long lived in good relations with his Jewish neighbours in a part of the eastern neighbourhood well away from the original trouble, described how his wife, Berta, had left the house on Friday with her two children after hearing that Arab homes were being attacked. Mr Ahmed, a construction worker who has a broken leg, refused to leave with her. He said he was watching television at about 11.45pm when a Molotov cocktail was hurled at his window. "I went to put the fire out and I shouted down to them: 'What has happened? I have lived here for 25 years and I have never done anything to you.'"

Mr Ahmed, whose family say they had remained quietly at home during Yom Kippur out of respect for their Jewish neighbours, called the police less than an hour later after realising that an angry crowd had gathered outside his house. The police arrived 45 minutes later and frogmarched him out of the house, for his own safety. The mob then looted and set fire to his house.

Reflecting the mixed emotions prevalent in Acre this week, Mrs Ahmed, by now in a hostel outside the city, said she had heard about the fire – which was eventually put out by firefighters – when a Jewish neighbour "rang me on my mobile to tell me because she was concerned about me when she saw what was happening She thought I was still in the house." Asked if she wanted to go back to live in the same mainly Jewish district, she said: "Yes. Loudly yes. I am not blaming everyone for what one person has done."

Mr Ahmed's daughter, Kahraman, said Jewish friends had attended her wedding but acknowledged that the city has not been free of friction in recent years. "You could feel they were afraid of us because we were Arabs," she said.

Ofer Roth, 44, a Jewish caterer, said there had been minor incidents among otherwise "pretty good" relations "There were tensions but we could deal with it."

Jewish residents insisted that Mr Jamal had been driving fast through the area on Wednesday night with windows open and music playing – which Mr Jamal denies. Referring to the subsequent Arab march on the district, Shimon Lasmi, 48, said: "You build your life, you build your house and then one special day of the year someone comes and breaks what you have built. How do you expect people to react?"

But Arab Knesset members claimed yesterday that Mr Jamal's arrest six days after the incident on charges including "offence against religion" was a baseless attempt to appease Jewish extremists. One, Abas Zkoor, who this week promoted a conciliatory statement condemning Mr Jamal's foray, said: "Throughout these days we have been halting the Arab side, talking and making peace," he said. "But now I fear the arrest is beyond our powers."

The mayor, Shimon Lankri, who is standing for re-election next month, has already cancelled this year's annual theatre festival,which would have brought thousands of visitors to Acre's Old city, mainly benefiting Arab businesses. Mr Roth said: "After the riots in 2000, the Arab leaders told the extremists 'don't do anything like this again because it hurts us'. I believe that's what will happen now."

Acre Israel's new flashpoint

* Located in what is now northern Israel's Western Galilee area, Acre is one of the Middle East's oldest inhabited cities, dating from the 1500s BC. Originally a key port which still boasts rich Roman, Crusader, Mameluke and Ottoman remains, the Old City is a Unesco world heritage site.

* In more recent times, the citadel housed a famous prison used to hold Jewish

underground detainees during the British Mandate

* Acre (Hebrew name Akko) was captured by Israeli forces in May 1948 after most inhabitants had fled. The remaining Arab population was warned it would be destroyed "to last man" if it did not surrender.

* About a third of the city's 45,000 population are Arab. But only about an estimated 15 per cent belong to families who lived therebefore 1948.

* Most Arabs live in and around the Old City.

[sum]

Sadly,it also reminds me of similar incidents in India in the past.

OT but In the past?

These things are increasing day by day in India!!!!

[Arun_S]

Ship hijack: Govt allows Indian Navy to patrol Somali waters

15 Oct 2008, 1538 hrs IST,Times Now
Print Email Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
The Indian government has finally allowed the Indian Navy to patrol Somali waters to ensure that the safety of Indian sailors is not compromised.


In a statement issued on Tuesday, the government said, "Neighbouring powers and international agencies are working with India to free the sailors."

On Tuesday, Somali pirates set an ultimatum of 48 hours for paying ransom for the release of the 18 Indian sailors onboard the hijacked MT Stolt Valor.

The angry families have been demanding proactive action from the government and want the Navy to patrol the Somalian gulf in order to escort the ship back and avoid clashes with the pirates, as it could prove counter productive.

Seema Goyal, wife of captain of the ship Prabhat Goyal said she do not know which door to knock and collect the money.

"Assurances don't work. This is the time when I want help from any quarter and solve the matter," she added.

She also urged the Indian government to take more initiatives. "I have never asked the government to pay ransom. I want the government to take initiatives and pressurise the Japanese government to get our people back home soon," she said.

The seafarers on board MT Stlot Valor have been held hostage by the pirates who hijacked the cargo ship since September 15.

The ship is owned by a Japanese company and managed by Fleet Marine Ltd in Mumbai. The hijackers had earlier demanded a ransom of USD six million for the release of the crew and have now come down to USD two million.

The Somalian pirates have seized more than two dozen ships this year off the Horn of Africa.

Fresh hope for MT Stolt Valor crew

Even as the Indian government is mulling over options, Russia has already gone for the kill. Russia has dispatched its deadly Intrepid class frigates to the Somalian waters in a bid to free sailors taken hostage by Somalian pirates.

The intrepid class frigates are state of the art battleships carrying an impressive arsenal, which includes a battery of surface to air missiles, torpedoes and anti aircraft guns. The ship a part of Russia's Baltic fleet has been sent to intercept MV Faina hijacked by Somali pirates off the Somalian coast.

The ship entered the Meditteranean on October 4 and is likely to swoop down on the pirates very soon.

[Arun_S]

Muslims urinate on Torah scrolls

Jewish worshippers returning to Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs after Muslims were given exclusive access to the holy site at the weekend reported that the cabinet containing their Torah scrolls had been urinated on.

One Jewish resident of Hebron told Israel National News that he and several other men had to move the cabinet to another part of the room because of the strong smell of urine in the area where it is usually positioned.

Additionally, green Hamas flags were found placed in the windows that mark the burial sites of Abraham, Isaac, Sara, Rebecca and Leah.

The Cave of the Patriarchs is split into Jewish and Muslim sections, as both groups revere Abraham.

Several times a year, the holy site is given over to one or the other group exclusively to mark special holy days. Muslims were given exclusive access to the Cave of the Patriarchs on Friday to mark their holy month of Ramadan.

Another Jewish resident of Hebron said that some damage to Jewish religious articles or the Jewish side of the site is found every time the Muslims take over.

The ambiance in "Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs" strongly reminded me of some temples in south India .

[Arya Sumantra]

In fact, a well controlled turmoil in Afghanistan is to the Saudi advantage as a country like India will not be able to exploit the CAR oil & gas.

Sirs, one silly poochh, Can a cargo Airbus A380 be converted into an airborne oil-tanker and used to bring CAR oil to India? Such a modification if possible would also be a great help for quicker oil transport during war-times.

[Lalmohan]

In fact, a well controlled turmoil in Afghanistan is to the Saudi advantage as a country like India will not be able to exploit the CAR oil & gas.

Sirs, one silly poochh, Can a cargo Airbus A380 be converted into an airborne oil-tanker and used to bring CAR oil to India? Such a modification if possible would also be a great help for quicker oil transport during war-times.

sure, but the economics will not make much sense

[vsudhir]

Sirs, one silly poochh, Can a cargo Airbus A380 be converted into an airborne oil-tanker and used to bring CAR oil to India? Such a modification if possible would also be a great help for quicker oil transport during war-times.

sure, but the economics will not make much sense

Not if the cargo is CAR Uranium and not oil....

[RajeshA]

Over which airspace would the Kazakh Uranium be transported to India?

[Avinash R]

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Figure Was a Swedish Citizen