West Asia News and Discussions

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 22 Feb 2010 15:00

^ Precisely...there is so much praise for Dubai police's prompt and professional handling of the investigation. GOI I am sure has asked them millions of times about gangsters, terrorists, mafia and drug barons openly operating out of Dubai or using it as a investing/transit point. Our Bollywood whores regularly go there to 'service' their mafia clients / bosses. Have they used even 1% of their so called professional technics to investigate and prosecute these animals?

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 22 Feb 2010 15:43

Israel should be applauded for making the terrorist expire before date. They may have goofed up here and there , but they achieved their target. As for as all this hot gas blowing by Dubai, it means nothing. Dubai should stop giving shelter to terrorists and criminals , and assassins will stop paying their visit to Dubai. It's as simple as that.

Would love thr GoI to learn something from Israel but it will remain a pipedream.The Israeli govt is fighting for its rightful existence and identity and GoI is working for fattening Swiss banks.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Feb 2010 16:53

The story bof how the journo who got the Mordechai Vanuunu scoop on Israeli secret nukes and underground facilities was interrogated.

How I escaped Mossad's clutches
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/feature ... tches.html

Israel’s secret intelligence service is ruthless but reckless because it doesn’t care about international opinion, says Peter Hounam, who was imprisoned by them.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 23 Feb 2010 01:07

Turkey Detains Top Military Brass In Conspiracy Probe

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police detained former heads of the air force and navy on Monday among 40 people held in an investigation into an alleged plot to undermine the Islamist-rooted government and trigger a military coup.

News channel CNN-Turk put the number at 49, including 17 retired generals, four serving admirals, 27 officers and one enlisted man.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 23 Feb 2010 04:01

They (whoever did it) should have used Paki passports.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 23 Feb 2010 05:48

HRH Crown Prince Receives bin Alawi

date: 22 02, 2010

Manama, Feb. 22. (BNA) – His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander today indicated that the brotherly Bahraini Omani relations are strategic and essential as directed by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman.
It is necessary to put forth new mechanisms to crystallize more joint cooperation and build up new economic bridges, HRH Prince Salman said as received today at Al Riffa Palace the Omani Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs Yussef bin Alawi. During the meeting, HRH Crown Prince hailed the Joint Bahraini-Omani Committee and its key role in enhancing the two brotherly countries' relations. The two sides also reviewed the security conditions in the Gulf region, especially in Yemen. In this context, HRH Crown Prince lauded the courage and wisdom of the Yemeni leadership led by President Ali Abdulla Saleh, wishing that peace and prosperity would prevail in Yemen. HRH Crown Prince also called for renewing and consolidating GCC relations with India. Head of the Crown Prince's Court Shaikh Khalifa bin Duaij Al Khalifa and the Omani Ambassador to Bahrain were present. WHQ

Hmmm....Is something in the offing here? Why would Bahrain and Oman be discussing relations with India? Or is this linked with GCC proposal on FTA? Problem is the CP doesnt have much power.

India, Saudi Arabia to ink extradition treaty during Manmohan visit

PTI
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Issues of security and combating extremism in the region are likely to dominate parleys between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders of Saudi Arabia, who are also expected to sign an extradition treaty during the former’s three-day visit to this country later this week.

Mr. Singh will lead a high-level delegation of senior ministers, officials and businessmen to Saudi Arabia on February 27, and will hold talks with King Abdullah on a number of bilateral and regional matters of mutual concern.

Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmiz Ahmad told the media that the talks will also focus on Palestine, besides the situation in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

“Security cooperation will constitute the basis of our dialogue. Both countries are extremely concerned about the rise of extremism and violence, directly threatening our security,” he said.

Mr. Ahmed said both India and Saudi Arabia are aware of the connectivity of extremist forces that have sanctuary and safe haven in the AfPak border area and are seeking to penetrate other countries of the region, the envoy said.

“India is concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia is concerned about the situation in Yemen,” he said.

The two countries will sign an extradition treaty, a number of MoUs and agreements on transfer of sentenced persons, scientific and technological cooperation, peaceful use of outer space and cooperation in the IT sector, he said.

Mr. Ahmed said the two countries hoped to put in place an “institutionalised dialogue” to promote mutual interest in foreign affairs, intelligence, defence, energy and other areas of immediate and direct interest to the two nations.

Some other bilateral agreements are under negotiation and will be signed at a later date, he said.

During his visit Singh will address the Shoura Council or the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia on March 1, a rare honour for a visiting foreign dignitary.

“Dr Singh will highlight the important and constructive role played by Majlis Al-Shoura in the political and economic development of Saudi Arabia,” he added.

In his address Mr. Singh will also share his perspectives on India-Saudi ties, and the political and economic challenges facing the regional and international communities, he said.

Mr. Singh’s visit comes four years after the visit of King Abdullah to India in January 2006.

“It was a landmark visit because it put in place the vision of a joint partnership between India and Saudi Arabia based on substantial political and cultural exchanges,” the ambassador said.

Mr. Singh will also address the Indian community before leaving Saudi Arabia on March 1.

Heads of private and PSU refiners, including Mukesh Ambani of RIL and Essar’s Shashi Ruia, and IT poster boys Azim Premji and S. Ramadorai figure in the business delegation accompanying Mr. Singh on his maiden visit to Saudi Arabia.

PM to offer crude storage facilities to Saudi Arabia
By Siddhartha P Saikia Feb 22 2010 , New Delhi

The proposal will figure prominently between India and Arab nations during the three-day visit of prime minister Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia beginning Saturday. Petroleum minister Murli Deora and honchos of the country’s upstream and oil marketing companies will be part of the prime minister’s delegation. India will offer land in Rajasthan for the gulf nations to set up their storage stations, said a petroleum ministry official.

The volume and products to be stored can be at their discretion. Engineers India Limited (EIL) will help with required consultancy needs, he added. The countries can use India as a transit point to supply oil to south Asian nations. These projects will help India to build strong bilateral relationship with the countries along with securing an emergency backup of crude and petroleum products. The facilities in Rajasthan will be connected through Kandla port.

EU anti-terror chiefs: Mabhouh furor may jeopardize our operations

While set to condemn the death of Hamas commander', smuggler and kidnapper Mahmoud al Mabhouh in Dubai on Jan. 19 , the European Union's foreign ministers confined themselves Monday, Feb. 22 to blasting the suspects' use of forged British, Irish, French and German passports. They also avoided mentioning Israel despite pressure form Irish foreign minister Michael Martin. This restraint was prompted by a warning from important anti-terror intelligence service heads, including the British MI6 and the German BND, that continuing to fan the international furor over the Mabhouh killing could expose unpublished liquidations of key terrorists - not necessarily by the Mossad. This exposure would seriously jeopardize the work of Western undercover agencies combating terror.

At the same time, certain European elements and Iran are urging Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to go all the way and bring Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Mossad director Meir Dagan to trial before the international court at The Hague. They would be accused of ordering the Mabhouh liquidation, thereby committing an act of terror, namely a war crime, on foreign soil.
debkafile's intelligence sources report that Tehran is behind the emirates' change of tone after their officials previously avoided directly implicating Israel. Monday too, they "discovered" another six or seven suspects in addition to the eleven previously cited.
According to our sources, Iran is intent on keeping the Mabhouh affair alive by pumping out a stream of sensational "discoveries" and innuendo in order to tar Israel as a practitioner of terrorism. Teheran's Iranian campaign of vilification will climax Wednesday, Feb. 24, when defense minister Gen. Ahmadi Vahidi visits Qatar to rebuke its rulers on their handling of the assassination as overly tame.
The Iranian minister will ask how the emirates can expect security when they give Israeli agents free rein and permit the Americans to post interceptor missiles on their soil. Putting their trust in foreigners will not make them safe, Vahidi will argue, and advise the emirs instead to take up Iran's offer of mutual defense pacts based entirely on regional forces.
Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman responded to the EU decision after meeting British foreign secretary David Miliband and the Irish foreign minister: "There is no proof Israel is involved in this affair, and if somebody had presented any proof, aside from press stories, we would have reacted. But since there are no concrete elements, there is no need to react."

debkafile's sources note that careful inspection of the CCTV clip the Dubai police released to GNTV Monday tracks a group of unidentified characters moving around in a suspicious manner, interacting, checking in and out of airport and hotels, switching disguises, shadowing Mabhouh and taking a room on the same floor as his at the Al-Bustan Rotana luxury hotel.
Nothing on the tape links the suspects to any country or organization; neither does it show any group member moving from surveillance to killing mode.

The full tape is carried separately on this page.

arun · Post by **arun** » 23 Feb 2010 08:37

Beheading people is not isolated to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan but also is being mimicked in other parts of the Muslim world.

Following the beheading of Sikh’s in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Kidnapped Pakistani Sikh beheaded in Khyber region), this story of beheadings in Iraq:

Iraq gunmen 'behead Shia family' in Baghdad

Gunmen in Iraq have shot dead a family of eight and beheaded some of the bodies, officials say, amid a wave of pre-election violence.

The gunmen killed the family, who were reportedly Shia Muslims living in a majority Sunni area just outside the capital, Baghdad, early on Monday. …………….

BBC

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 23 Feb 2010 09:22

Funny.

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/201 ... ay_persian

As if there weren't enough controversies over Middle Eastern geogrphy, Iran has lashed out recently on the name of the waterway to its south, most commonly called the Persian Gulf.

Tehran's ire first arose when a Greek steward, working for an Iranian domestic airline, scuffled with passengers over the usage of Arabian Gulf on the plane's in-flight monitors. He reportedly threatened to arrest passengers who had protested the alternate name, and the altercation escalated into a heated verbal exchange. The attendant was later fired for his "inappropriate and irresponsible behavior."

(Interestingly, in the Tehran Times write-up of the affair, the Arabian Gulf is four times referred to as the "forged term")

Furthermore, Iran has now warned that if airlines use the alternative term, they will be banned from using Iranian airspace:

The airlines of the southern Persian Gulf countries flying to Iran are warned to use the term Persian Gulf on their electronic display boards.

Otherwise they will be banned from Iranian airspace for a month the first time and upon repetition their aircraft will be grounded in Iran and flight permits to Iran will be revoked.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 23 Feb 2010 19:58

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8530354.stm

Look like anyone that landed or took off from Dubai those two days is a suspect...15 Europeans, plus two Palestinians to assassinate one guy?

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 23 Feb 2010 22:07

LOL

probably what happens when you just use software to determine links

Every unfortunate dude who must have spoken or interacted with someone around Mabhouh is being picked up

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 23 Feb 2010 22:45

17 Years for Supporting Terrorism

In an important step on the path toward combating terrorism, a Saudi court sentenced a Saudi national convicted of inciting terrorism to seven years in prison, and sentenced another to 10 years in prison for financing acts of terrorism. Finally, the picture has become clear to everyone after years of controversy over responsibility for crimes committed under religious and political labels. The punishment for such crimes has now become heavy, and individuals are now incarcerated if they deliver speeches or write articles inciting terrorism, or alleged jihad, or donate funds to terror organizations. In the past, punishment was limited to actual perpetrators and terrorists who committed crimes. Most of the militants of Al-Qaeda were in fact victims of inciters and financiers while these and the rest of individuals in the chain of terror crimes were far from being held to account.

This one is for Stan who requested monitoring terror financing. Long but interesting article from Forbes

Dawood, LeT, South American rebels, Drugs, Crime etc etc. Looks like KSA closed some LeT finance networks.

Is al Qaeda Bankrupt?
Nathan Vardi, 02.11.10, 04:00 PM EST
Forbes Magazine dated March 01, 2010

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 24 Feb 2010 01:18

shyamd wrote:
Dawood, LeT, South American rebels, Drugs, Crime etc etc. Looks like KSA closed some LeT finance networks.

Is al Qaeda Bankrupt?
Nathan Vardi, 02.11.10, 04:00 PM EST
Forbes Magazine dated March 01, 2010

Al Qaeda's association with big-time criminal groups is undeniable. Dawood Ibrahim is one of the world's most infamous gangsters, operating a 5,000-member criminal syndicate that engages in everything from narcotics to contract killing, working mostly in Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates. Ibrahim shares smuggling routes with al Qaeda, says the U.S. government, and has collaborated with both al Qaeda and its South Asian affiliate, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which pulled off the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, possibly with Ibrahim's help.

The $3.4 billion Afghan heroin trade is a critical source for the well-financed Taliban, which has also developed a rich donor network. The Taliban encourages and taxes poppy farmers and collects transit and protection fees related to the drug trade. How does al Qaeda benefit? At the very least the drug trade helps the Taliban create safe havens for al Qaeda fighters.

The fact that FBI, CIA knew this scum "Dawood" is literally financing AQ and lives right in Karachi with big denials from Paki Terrorist nation makes me wonder if their war in Afghanistan is real. If they want to really win there, use Mossad to neutralize scums like this.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 24 Feb 2010 07:16

Can you believe this? Hamas senior leader's son converted to Christianity and was a leading Shin Beth agent!

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1151941.html

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 24 Feb 2010 07:23

shyamd wrote: This one is for Stan who requested monitoring terror financing. Long but interesting article from Forbes

Thanks.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 24 Feb 2010 07:47

Dubai hit

http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 64,00.html

some more details from the German angle

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 24 Feb 2010 08:18

As the Israeli FM pointed out, there is no proof - just some folks talking on phone etc. Wearing wig is wrong? Thousands of bald guys wear them. You cant wear them for ID proof as PP photo will be original, that's why he did not wear it at immigration. But when you go out to meet friends or business associates, you wear them...

Wonder if these terrorist/dawood supporting gang of police in Dubai can prove anything against them in any civilised court..they dont even know what killed the Hamas terrorist...

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 24 Feb 2010 17:06

Israeli coup!

Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decadeJames Hider in Jerusalem

Mosab Hassan Yousef, a 32-year-old convert to Christianity, now lives in California

The son of one of Hamas’s founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged today.

Codenamed the Green Prince by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, supplied key intelligence on an almost daily basis from 1996 onwards and tracked down suicide bombers and their handlers from his father’s organization, the daily Haaretz said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 039011.ece

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 24 Feb 2010 20:24

Folks, this weeks IOL issue:

It was KSA that convinced ISI boys to arrest Mullah Biradar. IOL states that TSP needs a good relationship with Talebs if it wants to wield influence in Afghanistan. ISI told western intel, that it wants a part in negotiations. It was the efforts of Prince Muqrin (KSA GID chief) who has been shuttling between Riyadh and Islamabad. ISI were forced to listen to him because of the amount of funds they are receiving from KSA.

Looks like ISI asked KSA to ensure India to ease tensions with TSP and allow TSP to focus on launching military ops against taleban. Hence the visit to India by Saud al Faisal (foreign min KSA).

ISI (Pasha) does not want to work with ANY western intel service especially the CIA.

Further IOL states:
The ISI is carrying out Baradar’s interrogation alone, without the participation of its Western counterparts, to whom it is passing on the information it gathers. American requests for US interrogators to participate in the questioning of Baradar, and for the Taliban leader to be transferred in Afghanistan to the U.S.-run Bagram prison, near Kabul, have so far fallen on deaf ears.

------------------
From my sources:
It was Mukherjee's visit in 2006 that paved the way for RAFO - IAF cooperation. Expect Indian equipment to make its way to the Royal Navy of Oman and to the RAFO

. Oman wants help with logistics which hasnt really kicked off. Oman is currently in some sort of secret negotiations with TSP - not sure yet on what exactly.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 24 Feb 2010 21:34

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=169561

What did I tell ya? ANOTHER FIFTEEN INVOLVED....according to the super efficient Dubai police...at this rate half of the non-Arab world will be involved

arun · Post by **arun** » 24 Feb 2010 23:13

Philip wrote:Israeli coup!

Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decadeJames Hider in Jerusalem {Snipped}
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 039011.ece

That certainly was quite a coup for the Israelis to get the son of one of the founders of Hamas to spy for them.

The story was originally broken by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and follows:

When Palestinians keep Israelis safe

arun · Post by **arun** » 24 Feb 2010 23:15

^^^ Hamas is dismissing the story that one of their founders son spied for Israel as "Zionist Propaganda":

Hamas: Story about leader's son on Shin Bet payroll is Zionist propaganda

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 25 Feb 2010 08:58

LOL

maybe the operation was intentionally messy after al - it seems to have flooded the Dubai Police with a ton of suspects

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 25 Feb 2010 12:32

12 fake UK passports now linked to Dubai murder

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 039272.ece

Australia became the latest country yesterday to summon the Israeli Ambasssador and demand an explanation. “We will not be silent on this matter. It is a matter of deep concern. It really goes to the integrity and fabric of the use of state documents, which passports are, for other purposes,” Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, said.

It now appears that the Israelis were using Dubai as a "safe house" for a variety of their agents and ops.One must remember that Israel has many irons in the regional "fire",Iran,etc. and that all these illegal aliens,using fake passports were involved in several operations that also included this "hit".In fact it is Dubai,which earned for itself the title of haven for Muslim extremists and criminal types,that is fundamentally to blame by its lax security for allowing all manner of scoundrels to .use and abuse its territory.

sunnyP · Post by **sunnyP** » 25 Feb 2010 16:21

What does Qatar get out of this?

M F Husain granted Qatar citizenship

Chennai: Qatar has reportedly conferred its nationality on India’s celebrated artist M F Husain.

The Hindu on Wednesday reported that the artist has taken up the Qatar offer, in which case he has to give up his Indian passport.

The newspaper quoted the artist as saying, "I'm honoured by Qatar nationality but deeply saddened by my forced exile. I, the Indian-born painter, will have to give up the citizenship of my land of birth if I accept nationality."

http://sify.com/news/m-f-husain-granted ... aeffb.html

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 25 Feb 2010 17:23

Whatever the truth behind the Dubai "hit" and the Hamas founder's son being an Israeli double agent,one cannot but admire the tenacity and zeal with which the Israelis go to to first advise,then warn,then punish those individuals,entities and nations that act criminally against it.If one examines the history of Israeli covert ops that is in the public domain,some of it by former Mossad members,the Israelis have rarely "hit" someone who did not deserve it.Excessive "Collateral damage" in anti-terror ops has been the main criticism against the Israelis over the years,but their covert ops have been very specific and planned meticulously.As long as there are entities and nations that deny the Holocaust and want to "throw the Israelis into the sea",the Mossad and the other arms of the Israeli intel services will be there to protect the state.

Had India taken a leaf out of the Israeli example,he acute terror problems that we are facing woul not be so severe as they are now.We are perceived by Pakistan in particular as a soft state of mainly "Hindoo vegetarians" who can esily be brought to its knees by a few Pakistani mujahids,aided by that old fable that one Pakistani is the equivalent of 10 Indians!

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 25 Feb 2010 20:47

Philip wrote:Whatever the truth behind the Dubai "hit" and the Hamas founder's son being an Israeli double agent,one cannot but admire the tenacity and zeal with which the Israelis go to to first advise,then warn,then punish those individuals,entities and nations that act criminally against it.If one examines the history of Israeli covert ops that is in the public domain,some of it by former Mossad members,the Israelis have rarely "hit" someone who did not deserve it.Excessive "Collateral damage" in anti-terror ops has been the main criticism against the Israelis over the years,but their covert ops have been very specific and planned meticulously.As long as there are entities and nations that deny the Holocaust and want to "throw the Israelis into the sea",the Mossad and the other arms of the Israeli intel services will be there to protect the state.

Had India taken a leaf out of the Israeli example,he acute terror problems that we are facing woul not be so severe as they are now.We are perceived by Pakistan in particular as a soft state of mainly "Hindoo vegetarians" who can esily be brought to its knees by a few Pakistani mujahids,aided by that old fable that one Pakistani is the equivalent of 10 Indians!

Philip, Mossad has had a LOT of collateral damage in their covert ops as well, most of them never made it to the papers. Prostitutes in Paris, the way they force innocent civilians to collaborate with them is a commonly told story in Palestine.

--------------------
NIA pins hopes on pact with Saudi Arabia

KOCHI: The investigation into terror-related cases in Kerala will get a shot in the arm once Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seals the extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia and initiates a discussion on handing over those accused in terror cases to India.

Sources in the Union Ministry said that the Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia later this month would be of prime importance as it would enable the government to get the custody of several wanted persons who were believed to be holed up in various parts of Saudi Arabia.

“The extradition treaty will benefit the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has taken over the investigation of terror-related cases in Kerala,” sources said.

“The Prime Minister will take up matters related to handing over of those accused in terror cases to India during his visit to Saudi Arabia,” said Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.

According to senior police officials, the probe into several cases had revealed that the accused used to escape to Middle East countries and once they land there, it became difficult for the investigating team to nab them.

Investigation has already revealed that several accused in Kalamassery bus burning case, Ernakulam Collectorate blast case, and those involved in Panayikulam and Wagamon SIMI training camps, had fled to Middle East and had gone underground in several countries, including Saudi Arabia.

“After tracing the whereabouts of the accused in the Middle East, we used to approach the sponsor. We apprise the sponsor of the facts and ask him to cancel the visa of the accused. We keep trail of the movements of the accused and once he or she lands in India, we take them into custody from the airport,” police officials said explaining the arduous procedure being followed to nab those persons who had escaped to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 26 Feb 2010 06:22

Interesting article
…Till Kingdom come?

V Sudarshan
First Published : 26 Feb 2010 12:36:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 26 Feb 2010 12:46:57 AM IST

Tomorrow will bring another Rip Van Winkle moment in India’s foreign policy: That’s when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hops onto a plane and flies to Saudi Arabia. Not many Indian prime ministers do that. The last time it happened was when Indira Gandhi met King Khalid when she flew into Jeddah on April 17, 1982, almost 28 years ago. The meeting, according to note-takers, was scheduled for 45 minutes. It went on for 90 minutes, unusual in itself. In fact the King (jestfully?) remarked to Mrs Gandhi: “You are giving ideas to our women.” (In Saudi Arabia women are not allowed, among umpteen other things, even to drive cars.) Mrs Gandhi, according to diplomats present in the room responded (tartly?): “How long do you think you can restrain your women?” For the record, 28 years and counting.

It is not yet known (or rather, revealed) how His Royal Highness responded to that bit of effrontery but it is recorded that some months after that, the King died (due to unrelated causes, it may be hastily clarified). A year later, so goes the diplomatic lore, Mrs Gandhi is said to have met his successor King Fahd in Cancun, Mexico. Here too the file notings come to our help. They reveal that it was a fundamentally useful meeting with the scope of taking the relationship, between the major countries of South Asia and West Asia, forward. Some months thereafter Mrs Gandhi was rudely removed from Earth and the marginal intentions gathered dust and silverfish in the mouldering files and became faint memories in the minds of retired diplomats.

India’s Saudi relationship became an off and on thing. Diplomats privately joke that it has been more off than on, really. In fact, mostly off. It was switched on again during one of those episodic fits of pragmatism that afflicts the ministry of external affairs when it unfurls a far-seeing blueprint for robust engagement with countries that are considered important but not that important. Revisionist babus in the ministry, always on the lookout for telltale signs and other oracular evidences took due note that Riyadh did not call off a naval visit to Jubail in kneejerk response to Pokhran; after Chagai, Riyadh with nuance and balance called upon both India and Pakistan to resolve their differences. Promptly thereafter Jaswant Singh became the first foreign minister to visit that desert kingdom. That was in January 2001. But it was a visit not without the usual hiccups that characterise our ties with Saudi Arabia. It was scheduled for October the previous year but was cancelled at the last minute after the Saudis cited the (ever-present?) Palestinian-Israeli crisis. After Jaswant’s brief visit the relationship went back to the mainly off mode.

Commitments were made for political and economic engagement but 9/11 intervened and was followed, in no particular order, by pre-occupation with royal illness, Al Khobar bombings, Osama bin Laden, explanations to the West. When King Abdullah came in January 2006 with planeloads of (off-the-record spin doctors carefully said “potential business investors”) entourage, there emerged a Delhi Declaration, enshrining more pious intentions, the kind bureaucrats are great at coming up with but political masters poor at pushing forward to fruition.

Ultimately, our Saudi policy has been seasonal at best: those in the loop keep their fingers fervently crossed during the Haj season hoping (and maybe even praying) that everything goes smoothly without incident; and India has posted dissipated old men, niche politicos without future but great governor material and with heft at 10 Janpath as envoys, a reflection of exactly how important New Delhi considered Riyadh in the scheme of things.

Diplomats attribute this state of affairs to neglect. Mutual neglect, they hasten to add, of course, emphasising the peculiar bilateral aspect of this culpability. After further thought they prefix the phrase ‘mutual neglect’ with the word ‘benign’. It was a relationship heavily coloured by Saudi Arabia’s indiscriminate funding, both real and perceived, of extremist causes around the globe. In Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir. Intelligence officials used to say off-the-record that all you had to do was scratch hard enough the skin of the fundamentalist and sure enough Saudi Oil money would spurt out in never-ceasing fountains. The then chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah in October 1999 informed the state assembly that it was Saudi Arabia which was financing most of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami schools in the Valley. It is, of course, besides the point that it has been recorded elsewhere and (not) jokingly, that those were the only ones that functioned in the Valley.

The headquarters of that curious organisation, which India has been assiduously kept out of, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is in Saudi Arabia; for long the lingering Saudi presence in the OIC’s contact group on Kashmir blocked our foreign policy mandarins’ strategic vision. The Cold War and Pakistan did the rest of the damage. It was only after the then Crown Prince Abdullah who was in October 1997 accorded a rousing reception at Lahore’s Shalimar Gardens, declared there, at the very spot where Muammar Gaddaffi had enthralled his Pakistani hosts, that Saudi Arabia looked forward to a peaceful and negotiated settlement of Kashmir that the Indian foreign policy establishment began to look with Saudi Arabia with more balanced eyes. The Saudi change was, however, not without its caveat: negotiated settlement in accordance with the UN resolutions, a caveat that never failed to surface whenever the UN General Assembly met or the OIC convened, diplomats point out in that resigned way which indicates to them that all this is posturing, not real.

It is not easy to overlook that despite the fact that Saudi Arabia has long ago replaced Iraq as our largest oil supplier, dependably meeting in fact a quarter of our requirement, nothing much really happens between the visits. Our blue collar exports go up; white collars remain more or less where they are. Political aspects of the relationship still flounder. Indian investments are more in the Kingdom than Saudi investments in India. True, there is a silver lining in the fact that more than 550 Indian entities are there in the small and medium sector but will Manmohan Singh’s visit finally lead to more Saudi investments in India? Is there enough meeting ground when the two principals discuss regional issues? Does a vague path to Islamabad and Kabul lie through Riyadh? What kind of a dialogue of civilisations will our prime minister engage in? Or will this Rip van Winkle go back to his slumber? We’ll know soon enough. (I’m sure).

sudarshan@expressbuzz.com

About the author:

V Sudarshan is the Executive Editor of The New Indian Express

-----------
I find it hilarious the Paki propaganda outlets are saying that Jundalllah is an Indo-Israeli-US cooperation.!!

arun · Post by **arun** » 26 Feb 2010 22:44

I am concerned that entering into an extradition agreement with Saudi Arabia could be a very bad idea.

Saudi Arabia has some pretty warped Islamic Shariah law inspired notions on what constitutes a crime and some even more warped Islamic Shariah law inspired notions on what constitutes appropriate punishment for crimes.

It would not do for example to extradite an Indian to Saudi Arabia for running a Christian mass, an act which is a crime under Saudi law though not in the large swaths of the civilized world nor for that matter would it do to extradite an Indian adulterer who under Saudi law could be stoned to death.

I hope that sufficient exits for India will be built into the extradition treaty to reject extradition in cases where Saudi law is criminally puritanical, criminally bigoted or calls for punishment that is cruel:

India and Saudi Arabia to ink extradition treaty

arun · Post by **arun** » 26 Feb 2010 23:07

Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi declares Jihad against Switzerland. The Jihad call was reportedly inspired by the Swiss ban on the construction of new Mosque minarets.

Oskar Freysinger’s comment nicely sums up the Jihad call :

"You never know with crazies," nationalist lawmaker Oskar Freysinger told The Associated Press. "I can imagine that this won't be taken very seriously. But nevertheless, it's the head of a state making a declaration of war against Switzerland."

Read it all from the Washington Post:

Swiss face 'holy war' with Gadhafi's Libya

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 26 Feb 2010 23:28

arun wrote:It would not do for example to extradite an Indian to Saudi Arabia for running a Christian mass, an act which is a crime under Saudi law though not in the large swaths of the civilized world nor for that matter would it do to extradite an Indian adulterer who under Saudi law could be stoned to death.

Extradite an Indian from India? Aren't extradition laws primarily to get your own citizens who have committed crimes but are hiding outside?

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 27 Feb 2010 06:25

No sir, it is not nationality, it is Location of crime.

In Saudi case it is about extraditing Indians...there are hardly any Saudis hiding in India, certainly not for crimes committed in Saudi. If any they are mostly for crimes committed in India perhaps for pedophilia or child marriages.

What Saudi has been pressing for a long time is for extraditing 'criminals' (who may have eaten during Ramzan or prayed to their own gods or acted against their abusive/rapist employers) who commit 'crimes' in Saudi and run away to India without facing their humane and civilised prosecution. So far India has been resisting for reasons given by arun above...

For instance, recently a poor Muslim guy working there ran away hiding in plane toilet - he was provided seat by AI girls when discovered because he was ill treated and abused, and not paid wages among other things, which is common in Saudi and such countries. Indian authorities let him go after hearing his story as he has suffered enough punishment in life.

By this treaty he will have to go back to be tortured to death.

What India should have told these animals clearly is that you can keep the odd smuggler or mafia goon that takes shelter in Saudi and we will NOT send poor workers whose only crime is going to your country under false impression that they are going to be working amongst civilised human beings.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 27 Feb 2010 08:38

Yawn... Israel and the UAE links emerge again. Just goes to say that the GCC secretly love Israel. There will be relations with Israel regardless.

Israeli: Mossad hit didn't upset intel ties

Says Western allies still cooperating

By Eli Lake

Duane Clarridge, a retired clandestine service officer and founder of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, said all signs suggested that Israel was behind the killing of the Hamas operative, but that is unlikely to affect allies' intelligence cooperation with Israel.

"I don't think anyone is going to come out and say, 'That was wonderful,'" Mr. Clarridge said. "But on the other hand, this will not have an effect on Mossad's relationship with other intelligence services over the long run. That is why intelligence-to-intelligence relationships exist, so they can carry on in moments like this."

Frances Townsend, a homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, said the Obama administration should work discreetly to resolve the issue with the United Arab Emirates.

"I think it's important to the extent that Mossad is believed to be behind the Mabhouh assassination, it is important for the United States to lead the international community to a quiet resolution of this issue," she said.

"The United States can go to the [emirates] and the British behind the scenes and exert their power and influence. That is what they ought to do."

Mr. Ross, who is also the author of "The Volunteer," a memoir of his time in the Mossad, said, "The liaison and special political operations division of Mossad has a relationship with senior figures in the emirates' government," and the secret relationship was likely strained by the assassination.

"Dubai authorities for some reason have a bee in their bonnet, and this tension will not go away. This was the underestimation of the Mossad."

Dubai, one of the wealthiest cities in the world, allows Iran's Revolutionary Guard corps, as well as European and Saudi interests, to bank there. It is also one of the top targets for intelligence services throughout the world.

Mr. Ross said that, in the end, he did not expect much blowback for Israel's counterterrorism relationships from the al-Mabhouh killing.

Even when there was pressure from political leaders to downgrade the intelligence relationship with Mossad, it was temporary and largely symbolic, he said.

"For example," Mr. Ross said, "when Mossad nearly killed [Hamas leader] Khaled Mashaal in Jordan in 1997, Canada downgraded its relationship with Mossad for a very brief period. And in this period, we were still meeting, but we did not initiate new joint projects."

As always, anyone and everyone from corrupt businessmen, drug dealers or criminals of various sort are welcome. This has how the port city has survived and will continue to survive. Do what you want in the Freezone, just don't do anything to harm the locals and don't bring bad press.

arun · Post by **arun** » 27 Feb 2010 09:03

A claimed CIA translation of an article that appeared in a “Saudi-owned, independent Internet daily with pan-Arab, liberal line”. Provenance not known.

Raises the question if there is a role played by Qatari media giant Al Jazirah in killing and arrests given that some of those interviewed by them go on to meet that fate:

Report on Al-Jazirah TV's Suspected Role in Killing, Arrest of Activists]

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 27 Feb 2010 18:27

India, Saudi to share information on terrorist movement, arms, drugs

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 27 Feb 2010 21:46

sunnyP wrote:What does Qatar get out of this?

M F Husain granted Qatar citizenship

Chennai: Qatar has reportedly conferred its nationality on India’s celebrated artist M F Husain.

The Hindu on Wednesday reported that the artist has taken up the Qatar offer, in which case he has to give up his Indian passport.

The newspaper quoted the artist as saying, "I'm honoured by Qatar nationality but deeply saddened by my forced exile. I, the Indian-born painter, will have to give up the citizenship of my land of birth if I accept nationality."
http://sify.com/news/m-f-husain-granted ... aeffb.html

Now, how can we entice some other kind countries to take away / give citizen ships to some of our other worthies, beesta setalvad, burqha dutt, suzanna roy, shahbana, javed et al??

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 28 Feb 2010 05:12

PM visits Saudi with Pak in mind

The extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia, reported first by HT, to be signed on Sunday, forms an important part of the security cooperation. Officials said it will come as a great deterrent against those wanted in India, including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, reported to have been using Saudi as a safe haven.

The Prime Minister visits the Gulf nation 28 years after Indira Gandhi visited the country in 1982, in what Indian officials see as a crucial time in the security matrix of the world. Government sources said both nations need to come closer to fight terror, including sharing real time intelligence

.

On Thursday, as the Prime Minister's cavalcade zipped across from the airport to the city, the entire stretch had Indian and Saudi flags flying.

And in what is going to be yet another significant gesture, the Prime Minister will be officially welcomed by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz at a function on Sunday.

According to official sources, no foreign dignitary has ever been accorded such a welcome.

The Prime Minister and his delegation will also be staying in a palace that has never been opened before and certainly not to any visiting foreign dignitary - the King Saud Guest Palace.

Af-Pak concerns fuel India-Saudi ties on PM's visit

And significantly, senior diplomat Latha Reddy, in charge of Saudi Arabia as well as the rest of the Arab world in the Foreign Office, will not wear the ‘abaya’, the all-black, floor-length caftan or the ‘hijab,’ a black veil that covers the head, when she accompanies the PM on his visit that lasts till March 1.

The Saudi concession to the Indian woman diplomat is, admittedly, largely symbolic in nature, but it is a sign of the changing times, both in Riyadh and in Delhi. On the eve of the PM’s trip, government sources said India had agreed to offer 10 per cent equity to Saudi Aramco, the Saudi petroleum company which holds the world’s largest oil reserves, in a refinery being built in Paradip in Orissa.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 28 Feb 2010 07:10

It seems the Saudis are rolling out the red carpet, with entire cabinet and many royals at the airport to receive him....goody goody warm and fuzzy editorial in the Arab Times (is this the largest English daily in Saudi?)

Something is cooking...are these guys s..t scared that the monsters they activated to save their own skin is finally turning against them?

http://arabnews.com/opinion/editorial/article23502.ece

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 28 Feb 2010 07:12

And just in case we forget, this is Saudi Arabia....maid abuse can happen anywhere incl. India or Singapore or Hong Kong but difference is, the police, instead of supporting the victim, ask hospital to SEND HER BACK TO HER SPONSORS FOR FURTHER ABUSE!

She took me in front of her sons and removed all my clothes to check my body in order to find out whether I had kept that gold under the clothing

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article23575.ece

And the victim is an Indonesian Muslim lady...

Real good ties with Saudi has to await two developments, if and when it happens - end of oil era and end of Indian labor flooding the Gulf taking abuse just because there is money there....but then these animals wont matter at that point...

arun · Post by **arun** » 28 Feb 2010 15:26

Interview of our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh by Faheem Al-Hamid of Saudi Gazette. Covers among others India’s relations with Saudia Arabia, GCC and the Arab world:

Saudi Gazette

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 28 Feb 2010 15:59

Expect massive takleef oozing out of multiple orifices and the minds of Pakisatan....

I'm not talking about the interview contents itself, but rather the whole visit, the presentation, the respect accorded to MMS, the "special" gestures, so on and so on... Recall that Pak leaders usually are there in "exile" or as desperate supplicants...