The War on Terror Is the Leading Cause of Terrorism

alternet

Innocent people across the world are now paying the price of the "Iraq effect," with the loss of hundreds of lives directly linked to the invasion and occupation by American and British forces.

An authoritative U.S. study of terrorist attacks after the invasion in 2003 contradicts the repeated denials of George Bush and Tony Blair that the war is not to blame for an upsurge in fundamentalist violence worldwide. The research is said to be the first to attempt to measure the "Iraq effect" on global terrorism.

It found that the number killed in jihadist attacks around the world has risen dramatically since the Iraq war began in March 2003. The study compared the period between 11 September 2001 and the invasion of Iraq with the period since the invasion. The count -- excluding the Arab-Israel conflict -- shows the number of deaths due to terrorism rose from 729 to 5,420. As well as strikes in Europe, attacks have also increased in Chechnya and Kashmir since the invasion. The research was carried out by the Centre on Law and Security at the NYU Foundation for Mother Jones magazine.

Iraq was the catalyst for a ferocious fundamentalist backlash, according to the study, which says that the number of those killed by Islamists within Iraq rose from seven to 3,122. Afghanistan, invaded by US and British forces in direct response to the September 11 attacks, saw a rise from very few before 2003 to 802 since then. In the Chechen conflict, the toll rose from 234 to 497. In the Kashmir region, as well as India and Pakistan, the total rose from 182 to 489, and in Europe from none to 297.

Two years after declaring "mission accomplished" in Iraq President Bush insisted: "If we were not fighting and destroying the enemy in Iraq, they would not be idle. They would be plotting and killing Americans across the world and within our borders. By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are defeating a direct threat to the American people."

Mr Blair has also maintained that the Iraq war has not been responsible for Muslim fundamentalist attacks such as the 7/7 London bombings which killed 52 people. "Iraq, the region and the wider world is a safer place without Saddam [Hussein]," Mr Blair declared in July 2004.

Announcing the deployment of 1,400 extra troops to Afghanistan earlier this week -- raising the British force level in the country above that in Iraq -- the Prime Minister steadfastly denied accusations by MPs that there was any link between the Iraq war an unravelling of security elsewhere.

Last month John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence in Washington, said he was "not certain" that the Iraq war had been a recruiting factor for al-Qa'ida and insisted: "I wouldn't say that there has been a widespread growth in Islamic extremism beyond Iraq, I really wouldn't."

Yet the report points out that the US administration's own National Intelligence Estimate on "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States" -- partially declassified last October -- stated that " the Iraq war has become the 'cause célèbre' for jihadists ... and is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives."

The new study, by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, argues that, on the contrary, "the Iraq conflict has greatly increased the spread of al-Qa'ida ideological virus, as shown by a rising number of terrorist attacks in the past three years from London to Kabul, and from Madrid to the Red Sea.

"Our study shows that the Iraq war has generated a stunning increase in the yearly rate of fatal jihadist attacks, amounting to literally hundreds of additional terrorist attacks and civilian lives lost. Even when terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is excluded, fatal attacks in the rest of the world have increased by more than one third."

In trying to gauge the "Iraq effect," the authors had focused on the rate of terrorist attacks in two periods -- from September 2001 to 30 March 2003 (the day of the Iraq invasion) and 21 March 2003 to 30 September 2006. The research has been based on the MIPT-RAND Terrorism database.

The report's assertion that the Iraq invasion has had a far greater impact in radicalising Muslims is widely backed security personnel in the UK. Senior anti-terrorist officials told The Independent that the attack on Iraq, and the now-discredited claims by the U.S. and British governments about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, had led to far more young Muslims engaging in extremist activity than the invasion of Afghanistan two years previously.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of the Secret Service (MI5) said recently: "In Iraq attacks are regularly videoed and the footage is downloaded into the internet.

"Chillingly, we see the results here. Young teenagers are being groomed to be suicide bombers. The threat is serious, is growing and will, I believe, be with us for a generation."

In Afghanistan the most active of the Taliban commanders, Mullah Dadullah, acknowledged how the Iraq war has influenced the struggle in Afghanistan.

"We give and take with the mujahedin in Afghanistan," he said. The most striking example of this has been the dramatic rise in suicide bombings in Afghanistan, a phenomenon not seen through the 10 years of war with the Russians in the 1980s.

The effect of Iraq on various jihadist conflicts has been influenced according to a number of factors, said the report. Countries with troops in Iraq, geographical proximity to the country, the empathy felt for the Iraqis and the exchange of information between Islamist groups. "This may explain why jihadist groups in Europe, Arab countries, and Afghanistan were more affected by the Iraq war than other regions," it said.

Russia, like the US, has used the language of the "war on terror" in its actions in Chechnya, and al-Qa'ida and their associates have entrenched themselves in the border areas of Pakistan from where they have mounted attacks in Kashmir, Pakistan and India.

Statistics for the Arab-Israel conflict also show an increase, but the methodology is disputed in the case of Palestinian attacks in the occupied territories and settler attacks on Palestinians.

* The U.S. is joining the Iraqi government in a diplomatic initiative inviting Iran and Syria to a "neighbours meeting" on stabilising Iraq, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday. The move reflects a change of approach by the Bush administration, which previously had resisted calls to include Iran and Syria in such talks.

China expands sub fleet

washington times

China's military is engaged in a major buildup of submarines that includes five new strategic nuclear-missile boats and several advanced nuclear-powered attack submarines, according to the Office of Naval Intelligence.

The new nuclear-powered missile submarines (SSBNs), identified as Type 094s, will be outfitted with new 5,000-mile range JL-2 missiles that "will provide China with a modern and robust sea-based nuclear deterrent force," the ONI stated in report made up of written answers to questions on the Chinese submarine buildup.

The ONI report was first disclosed to Sea Power magazine, and a copy was obtained by The Washington Times. It was the first time the Pentagon has identified the number of new Chinese strategic submarines under construction.

The five new missile submarines will "provide more redundancy and capacity for a near-continuous at-sea SSBN presence," the ONI said, which noted that sea trials for some of the submarines are under way and the first deployments could begin as early as next year.

The buildup is raising new concerns among senior Pentagon planners already worried by Beijing's broader strategic nuclear-forces buildup, which also includes several new long-range land-based nuclear missiles and a land-attack cruise missile similar to the Tomahawk.

"This is a troubling development," Richard Fisher, a specialist on the Chinese military with the private International Assessment and Strategy Center, said of the submarine buildup.

The five missile submarines, each equipped with 12 JL-2 missiles, shows that China is working to achieve a force of 120 long-range nuclear missiles over the next decade, about half of them to be carried on the submarines, Mr. Fisher said. The other half would be the 60 land-based DF-31 missiles that current deployment rates will give China by then, he said.

The 120 missiles also could have multiple-warheads, since China is known to have acquired all the needed technology from the U.S. during the 1990s.

Retired Vice Adm. Michael McConnell, commenting at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, said China's nuclear missiles pose a threat.

"It's a matter of they're building their military, in my view, to reach some state of parity with the United States," said Mr. McConnell, the new director of national intelligence. "So they're a threat today, they would become an increasing threat over time."

Little is known about China's nuclear forces and efforts by Pentagon officials to engage Chinese military leaders about their strategic weapons and forces has not been successful. China's government has insisted its current modernization is part of a peaceful development, but the contrasting strategic nuclear-forces buildup is worrying, defense officials said.

Chinese Gen. Zhu Chenghu told reporters in 2005 that China would attack U.S. cities with nuclear weapons in response to any conventionally armed U.S. missile strikes against China during a conflict over Taiwan. Years earlier, Gen. Xiong Guangkai threatened to use nuclear weapons against Los Angeles if the U.S. helped Taiwan defend against a Chinese invasion of the island.

The missile-submarine buildup would provide Beijing with a major upgrade on current capabilities. In 1983, China built one Xia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, reportedly with 12 1,000-mile range JL-1 missiles. But that solitary submarine has only twice test-fired its missiles and never ventured beyond China's regional waters.

"Although the range of the JL-1 limits the Xia's utility as a deterrent platform, targets throughout the region, including U.S. military facilities, could be targeted with the JL-1 from launch points inside traditional Chinese navy operating areas," the ONI said.

On China's new attack submarine, the ONI stated that China already has launched and is performing sea trials on an unspecified number of Type 093 nuclear-powered attack submarines. Published reports in China have said two Type 093 attack submarines are deployed and use "foreign technologies" and advanced anti-ship missiles and torpedoes.

The new advances are part of China's efforts to bolster its anti-ship weapons to permit strikes at greater ranges from the Chinese coast than its current diesel-powered submarine force offers, the ONI said. China currently is upgrading its current force of about 55 attack submarines -- most of them easy-to-track diesel boats -- with more-advanced and harder-to-track vessels, including Russian-made Kilos, and its own Song- and Yuan-class submarines.

"Each of these submarine classes, which are quiet platforms with anti-ship cruise missiles, is an integral part of China's regional anti-access strategy," ONI said. "The quieting incorporated into these submarines is required for successful operations in the open ocean operating areas which could facilitate the [Chinese navy's] wartime mission of keeping enemy combatants outside of strike range of the theater of operation."

A Song-class submarine surfaced undetected within five miles, well within firing range, of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in October.

The ONI stated that China's maritime strategy is focused on blocking U.S. or Japanese intervention in a future conflict over Taiwan. To that end, Beijing has begun equipping its medium- and short-range ballistic missiles based on shore, hundreds of which are deployed across the Taiwan Strait from the island that the communist regime views as a renegade province, with maneuvering warheads.

These radar-guided or heat-seeking weapons "provide the accuracy necessary to attack a ship at sea," ONI said.

But China's rise in international trade and commerce, plus its growing dependence on imported foreign oil, also has expanded Beijing's maritime strategy from a mostly submarine force to one of building surface ships to "defend sea lines of communication" (SLOCs), because protecting sea-lanes with submarines is difficult.

ONI also said that in addition to new destroyers, "by 2020, China is likely to operate an aircraft carrier, the initial unit of which may be the refurbished ex-Varyag, acquired from Ukraine in 2000, to further support SLOC protection."

General Is Fired Over Conditions at Walter Reed

nytimes
WASHINGTON, March 1 — The two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center was relieved of command on Thursday, following disclosures that wounded soldiers being treated as outpatients there were living in dilapidated quarters and enduring long waits for treatment.

The officer, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, a physician and a graduate of West Point, was fired because Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey “had lost trust and confidence” in his ability to make improvements in outpatient care at Walter Reed, the Army said in a brief statement.

The revelations about conditions at the hospital, one of the Army’s best-known and busiest centers for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, have embarrassed the Army and prompted two investigations, several Congressional inquiries and a rush to clean up the accommodations for outpatients, where residents lived with moldy walls, stained carpets and other problems.

A series of disclosures published prominently in The Washington Post about the living conditions, the red tape ensnarling treatment and other serious problems have challenged the notion promoted for years by the Army, especially since the war in Iraq, that wounded soldiers receive unparalleled care at Walter Reed.

Army officials have defended the treatment provided to most patients at Walter Reed, especially the most serious cases, those admitted to inpatient wards on the hospital’s campus a few miles from the center of Washington.

But they have acknowledged that the large number of wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, currently around 650 patients, has taxed doctors, nurses and other care providers and forced them to rely more heavily on overflow facilities to house outpatients who must remain near the hospital for treatment.

Officials refused to provide the specific reasons for General Weightman’s firing.

The Army has admitted in recent weeks that the system it uses to decide whether wounded soldiers who have been moved to outpatient status will be able to return to active duty often takes too long and has promised to change the system. At Walter Reed the process has taken an average of over 200 days, a source of frustration to soldiers and families who are awaiting decisions about what benefits they will receive if they retire.

Treatment of wounded soldiers has also been spotlighted recently in a documentary recounting the treatment received by the ABC News anchorman Bob Woodruff, who was wounded in Iraq last year. Mr. Woodruff contrasted his care with that of soldiers, finding that Veterans Administration regional medical centers provide retired soldiers with good care but that local V.A. hospitals are less skilled at dealing with complex problems like traumatic brain injuries.

Mr. Harvey told reporters Thursday that the Army was also examining conditions at other medical facilities, both in the United States and abroad. “We’ll fix as we find things wrong,” he said.

Paralleling the Army effort, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates appointed a panel last week to examine conditions at Walter Reed and other Defense Department hospitals it chooses, including the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Mr. Gates endorsed the decision to relieve General Weightman in a statement Thursday.

“The care and welfare of our wounded men and women in uniform demand the highest standard of excellence and commitment that we can muster as a government,” he said. “When this standard is not met, I will insist on swift and direct corrective action and, where appropriate, accountability up the chain of command.”

Mr. Gates had signaled earlier, after a visit to Walter Reed, that senior officials would probably be relieved of command.

A Pentagon official said that, in addition to General Weightman, a captain, two noncommissioned officers, and an enlisted soldier involved in outpatient treatment were being reassigned. He said he could not provide further information because of Defense Department confidentiality rules.

General Weightman assumed command of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center on August 25, 2006. He oversees medical facilities in seven other states in addition to Walter Reed and is one of the most senior officers to be relieved in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He could not be reached for comment.

The Army said that command of Walter Reed would be taken over temporarily by Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army’s top medical officer.

A 1973 graduate of the United States Military Academy, General Kiley received a medical degree in 1982 from the University of Vermont and has held a series of medical commands in the past two decades, including “land component command surgeon” during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In comments to reporters on Feb. 16, just before the first of a series of articles was published by The Post, General Weightman conceded that there were problems with outpatient care at Walter Reed, but said that improvements were being made.

“The family members get a little frustrated because, I mean, we are really disrupting their lives,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.

In the last year, General Weightman said, Walter Reed had increased to 17 from 4 the number of caseworkers charged with helping outpatients with the paperwork and other requirements of the patient disability evaluation system, which determines whether soldiers can remain in the military or retire with full benefits.

He said that the process often took months or years at Walter Reed because the hospital handled some of the most complex medical cases, involving head trauma and other conditions that made gauging recovery difficult.

Outpatients at Walter Reed have received initial treatment but require further care or rehabilitation before retiring from the armed forces or returning to active duty.

Addressing reports that recovering soldiers were asked to attend daily inspection, even when under medication, Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman, said that there would be periodic inspections in the outpatient facilities. Mr. Boyce added that soldiers who are able were asked to attend a daily morning meeting where treatment options and other information were discussed but that the sessions were not inspections.

Mr. Boyce said the worst conditions in the outpatient residences had been corrected but added the Army was planning to make more repairs, like replacing a faulty heating and air-conditioning system that was the cause of the mold on the walls.

Jesuits "certain" about superior's exit in '08

theindiancatholic
ROME (Zenit.org): A spokesman for the Society of Jesus said it is "morally certain" that the upcoming general congregation will formally approve Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach's request to step down as superior general.

Father Kolvenbach received Benedict XVI's approval for his proposed resignation next year, though the Jesuit Constitution stipulates that the superior-general position is for life.

The Dutch-born Father Kolvenbach cited his age -- he will turn 80 in 2008 -- and his 25-year tenure as the superior of the Jesuits as reasons for his resignation.

In the wake of recent media reports, Father José de Vera, director of the Jesuits' information office, clarified the situation.

"A few months ago Father Kolvenbach obtained the Pope's permission to present his resignation," Father de Vera explained in a statement sent to ZENIT. "He will do so in the next general congregation which he has convoked for January 2008."

"Theoretically the congregation could reject the proposal of resignation presented by Father Kolvenbach," the Jesuit spokesman said. "Resignation from the office of superior general has no effect if it is not agreed to by the Society in general congregation.

"[P]ractically speaking, this will not happen because the superior-general has followed to the letter the process established for the case of resignation."

The Society of Jesus had recently asked the Pope if the organization's rule that superiors-general have a life term in their office should continue in force.

According to Father de Vera, the Holy Father chose to maintain the stipulation. This does not discard the possibility, the Jesuit added, that, "in special cases and after previous consultation with the Pope," the superior general "can present his resignation to the general congregation."

U.S. won’t extradite CIA agents to Italy - International Terrorism - MSNBC.com

U.S. won’t extradite CIA agents to Italy - International Terrorism - MSNBC.com

U.S. won’t extradite CIA agents to Italy
Remarks come ahead of first criminal trial over U.S. ‘renditions’ program
Reuters
Updated: 10:09 p.m. ET Feb 28, 2007
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The United States will reject any request by Italy to extradite CIA agents for the first criminal trial over controversial U.S. "renditions" of terror suspects, a U.S. government lawyer said on Wednesday.

A Milan judge earlier this month ordered 26 Americans, most of them thought to be CIA agents, to stand trial with Italian spies for kidnapping a Muslim cleric and flying him to Egypt, where he says he was tortured.

"We've not got an extradition request from Italy.... If we got an extradition request from Italy, we would not extradite U.S. officials to Italy," U.S. State Department legal adviser John Bellinger told a news briefing.

Bellinger, in Brussels for meetings with European legal advisers, did not comment on details of the case but said the United States would never hand over a suspect to another country without assurances about their treatment.

He acknowledged widespread concern in Europe about the tactics of the Bush administration in what it calls the "war on terror" but said the risk of legal action against U.S. officials in Europe was harming intelligence cooperation.

"The continuing threat of criminal charges not only harms cooperation on our end but does also cast a pall over cooperation on the European side as well," he said.

"We get assurances from countries that individuals will be properly treated and if we can't get these assurances then we will not turn people over to those countries," he added.

Bellinger's remarks were no surprise and meant the indictees would probably stand trial in absentia on June 8.

Among those indicted for the 2003 abduction are Jeff Castelli, former CIA chief in Rome, former CIA Milan station chief Robert Lady and a former head of Italy's SISMI military intelligence agency, Nicolo Pollari.

Terror suspect allegedly taken, beaten
Prosecutors say a CIA-led team, with SISMI's help, grabbed terrorism suspect Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, off a Milan street in February 2003, bundled him into a van and drove him to a military base in northern Italy.

Prosecutors allege the CIA flew him from there via Germany to Egypt, where he says he was tortured with electric shocks, beatings, rape threats and genital abuse.


Persistent criticism by European rights groups and lawmakers of U.S. anti-terror tactics and the alleged acquiescence of European governments has long troubled officials on both sides of the Atlantic.

A court in Munich issued arrest warrants last month for 13 suspected CIA agents accused of kidnapping a German of Lebanese descent and flying him to a jail in Afghanistan, where he too says he was tortured.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a senior aide to former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, has also faced a barrage of criticism over charges that he blocked the release of a German-born Turkish man held in Guantanamo Bay prison.

A European Parliament report published this month said that renditions were illegal and had taken place with the collusion of a number of European governments and their secret services.

Bellinger rejected the report as an "unbalanced, inaccurate and unfair" interpretation of acceptable and important intelligence cooperation.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17390413/

Pakistan denies U.S. claim on bin Laden - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com

Pakistan denies U.S. claim on bin Laden - South and Central Asia - MSNBC.com

Pakistan denies U.S. claim on bin Laden
U.S. has not backed up claim with evidence, interior minister says
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:30 a.m. ET Feb 28, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan on Wednesday rejected a claim by the U.S. intelligence chief that Osama bin Laden and his deputy were hiding in northwestern Pakistan, and that al-Qaida was setting up camps near the Afghan border.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told The Associated Press there were no al-Qaida training camps in his country and U.S. officials had not provided any intelligence suggesting there were.

"We will act on any such intelligence, but so far they have not" provided any, he said.

Sherpao's comments came a day after Mike McConnell, the new U.S. intelligence chief, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that al-Qaida was trying to set up operations in largely ungoverned parts of Pakistan's northwest, along Afghanistan's eastern border.

"It's something we're very worried about and very concerned about," McConnell said. U.S. intelligence officials believe that bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, were trying to establish an al-Qaida base in the region, he said. McConnell noted the camps are in an area that has never been governed by any state or outside power.

On a visit to Pakistan on Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney met with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to seek his aid in foiling an anticipated spring offensive by the Taliban and al-Qaida against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Cheney was accompanied by Deputy CIA Director Stephen Kappes, suggesting that the U.S. officials were prepared to buttress their allegations about al-Qaida operations with intelligence data.


U.S. officials are concerned about a peace deal Pakistan signed with tribal leaders of the North Waziristan region in September. In that agreement, the tribes promised to respect the authority of the Pakistani government and curtail cross-border attacks by militants.

In return, Musharraf returned some of the tribes' weapons, released some prisoners and withdrew from posts inside North Waziristan.

At Tuesday's hearing, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said the tribes have not abided by most terms of the agreement. McConnell added U.S. intelligence believes al-Qaida's training and related capabilities increased as a result of the deal.

Musharraf's office confirmed that during the meeting, Cheney expressed concern that al-Qaida was "regrouping" in the tribal areas and that the vice president "called for concerted efforts in countering the threat."

Musharraf, his office said, told Cheney that Pakistan was already doing all it could to fight the militants.

Sherpao insisted Pakistan was "fighting the scourge of terrorism in the best interest of Pakistan."

Musharraf is a key ally of the United States in its fight against Islamic militants.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17380397/

Taliban official says bin Laden is alive - Focus on Afghanistan - MSNBC.com

Taliban official says bin Laden is alive - Focus on Afghanistan - MSNBC.com

Taliban official says bin Laden is alive

‘He’s not yet martyred,’ says senior commander; NATO expect offensive

The Associated Press
Updated: 11:51 a.m. ET March 1, 2007
LONDON - A senior Taliban commander says Osama bin Laden is alive and in contact with leaders of Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents, according to an interview aired on British television.

Mullah Dadullah said he had not met bin Laden since the fall of the Taliban regime after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, but said “we know he’s still alive.”

“He’s not yet martyred. Such information would be easy to get — his comrades stand shoulder to shoulder with us. They keep us informed,” Dadullah said in an interview broadcast Wednesday by Channel 4 News.

The authenticity of the information could not be confirmed. Channel 4 did not say how it had obtained the footage, and it was not known when or where Dadullah made the comments, which were translated into English.

Dadullah, commander of Taliban operations in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan and a trusted associate of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, said bin Laden met outsiders rarely. Dadullah did not comment on bin Laden’s whereabouts.

“Only his comrades see him; we exchange messages with each other to share plans,” Dadullah said. “We also go to the battlefield together. We actually meet very rarely, just for important consultations. It’s hard for anyone to meet bin Laden himself now, but we know he’s still alive.”

Dadullah said the Taliban had “hundreds more” suicide bombers ready to attack NATO forces in Afghanistan.

NATO commanders have said they believe the Taliban plans a spring offensive against alliance troops in the country.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10624157/from/RS.1/

Silicon 'found in contaminated fuel tanks'

telegraph
The petrol contamination scare which has caused hundreds of cars in the South East to break down may be caused by silicon, it emerged today.

It is understood that the element - which should not be in petrol - has been detected in the fuel tanks of some of the affected vehicles. This may explain why they have been juddering and misfiring.

Testing agencies have not yet revealed in how many cars silicon has been found, or in what amounts. It is just one possible explanation for the contamination, the AA told Telegraph.co.uk.

Silicon has many industrial uses. In its basic form it is used in semi-conductors, and its compounds including silica are used to form glasses, cements, ceramics and lubricants.

Given the spread of petrol stations affected by the contaminated fuel, silicon would have to have entered the petrol at some point in the supply chain.

Motorists were today told to consider replacing the petrol in their tanks, even if they are unaffected by the contaminated fuel scare.

Ray Holloway, the director of the Peter Retailers’ Association, said drivers should think about getting fresh fuel even if their vehicle is not suffering any problems.

Trading standards officials are investigating complaints from hundreds of drivers who claim they have been sold contaminated fuel.

Many complain that their cars have juddered, misfired and suffered loss of power in the last week. Most complaints come from the south east of England.

Petrol retailers say they are baffled by the complaints. Levels of ethanol, the chemical added to petrol to make it less environmentally harmful, have been normal.

"Motorists who have not been affected could save themselves a bill by changing the petrol in their tanks. That would be my recommendation," Mr Holloway said.

The spotlight is on oxygen sensors in car exhausts that have failed in some vehicles, probably as a result of faulty petrol. As a result, engine management systems cut power to prevent further damage to the engine, allowing drivers to only "limp home".

Manufacturers are working flat out to provide replacement parts after garages ran out of stock as they struggle to cope with demand.

Many of the drivers who have complained said they bought petrol from Tesco and Morrisons. Both supermarkets said they had tested their stocks of unleaded fuel and not found any contamination or abnormalities.

Independent oil company Greenergy - which is part owned by Tesco - has tested fuel supplied to the supermarkets to see if it was faulty. A spokesman said "extensive" tests showed that it met industry standards.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders advised motorists to keep all their fuel receipts. If their vehicle is affected, they should contact their car dealer for advice.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said motorists affected by contaminated petrol may be able to claim for accidental damage if they have comprehensive cover. A spokesman urged all motorists to keep any evidence that they have purchased the allegedly contaminated petrol, such as receipts or other paperwork.

He said: "At the moment, it is still not clear where liability for this problem lies.

"Nevertheless, the insurance industry can provide this important reassurance to customers in the meantime that, provided they have comprehensive insurance, they need not lose out."

Adam Cracknell, of the RAC, warned drivers not to attempt siphoning petrol from their tanks. He said many modern engines hold the fuel under pressure and removing it should only be done by a mechanic.

"If you have a bucket full of contaminated fuel and it causes a fire then you may be in breach of your insurance and lose your house as well as your car," he said.

Tesco said the problems all appear to be linked to forecourts in the south east of the country served by a refinery in Essex. Asda, which does not get petrol from Greenergy, said it has received about 80 complaints from customers. A spokeswoman said checks have shown no problems with fuel on sale.

War-Weary Dems Face Heat From Left and Right

(CNSNews.com) - Don't go wobbly on us, liberal activists are telling "nervous" Democrats in Congress, as those Democrats mull the best way to stop what many of them describe as President Bush's war.

"Congress has the power to stop the war, but some representatives are afraid to use it," MoveOn.org said in a message to its supporters. "As the [Democratic] caucus meets and debates, we need to remind them that stopping the escalation and ending the war is what they were elected to do."

The only sure way for Congress to stop the war is to cut off funding for it, an idea that many lawmakers don't like because it would put them in the position of failing to support the troops.

Liberal activists say "politics" is clouding the issue for some Democrats who want to cast the war as "Bush's problem."

MoveOn.org called it a "failure of leadership" for Democrats to refuse to take steps that would block the troop surge and begin to end the war. "The truth is, Democrats will be responsible for the war only if they do nothing to stop it," the group said.

MoveOn.org is trying to mobilize public support for measures aimed at stopping the "escalation" in Iraq. "Some Democrats are pushing to water down those measures -- essentially letting the president off the hook," the group said.

"Voters elected Democrats in November to end the war. Right now, it's clear that they're not doing enough. There are no compromises on stopping the escalation."

'Slow bleed'

House Democrats are said to be divided on the best way to force a change in President Bush's war strategy.

As Cybercast News Service reported earlier, anti-war Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) wants to "limit the options of the president" by requiring troops to spend a year at home before returning to battle. He also wants to set training and equipment requirements for troops and prevent combat tours from being extended.

"Now, if they can't extend people, if they can't send people back that don't have equipment and so forth, they can't continue the surge," Murtha was quoted as saying in mid-February.

Several weeks ago, House Democrats did pass a nonbinding resolution opposing the troop buildup. But since then, they've been unable to agree on binding measures.

On Wednesday, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said House Democrats should stop "undermining our troops" and stop trying to "micro-manage" the global war on terror.

"Congress has a responsibility to provide America's troops with the resources and flexibility necessary to complete their mission. Our focus must be on supporting our troops in harm's way -- without strings attached -- not on using a military spending bill as an excuse to fund pork-barrel projects and other unrelated projects."

Boehner said Republicans will fight efforts by Democrats to attach conditions to the military spending bill that would make it more difficult for U.S. troops to successfully complete their mission and return home safely.

"In the seven weeks following the announcement of a new strategy for victory in Iraq, Democrats have failed to articulate a coherent vision for either victory or withdrawal; they've offered only a 'slow bleed' strategy that would slowly choke off the funding and reinforcements our troops need to successfully complete their mission," Boehner said.

"Placing arbitrary and punitive political hurdles before any commander-in-chief during a time of war -- especially under the guise of supporting our troops -- is wrong, and it is reckless," Boehner added.

McCain To Letterman: "I Will Be A Candidate For President"

all headline news
New York, NY (AHN) - Arizona Sen. John McCain announced Wednesday that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2008.

Given that McCain's candidacy has been an open secret for months; yesterday's announcement was a formality, the kind of anti-climax typical of the early stage of a long campaign. So, as if to give his candidacy some born-again urgency, McCain made his declaration in the comparatively edgy environment of late night television.

"I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States," said McCain during an appearance on CBS's "Late Show With David Letterman".

McCain went on to say that he would formally announce his candidacy in April, and, in a small, but telling bit of candor, admitted that his on-air declaration was merely a part of an ongoing process of in which he would gradually unveil his campaign - effectively stretching out the announcement to maximize media coverage.

"You know you drag this out as long as you can.," said McCain. "You don't just have one rendition - you've got to do it over and over."

It's a technique that has become popular with presidential candidates trying to get as much free exposure as possible before the primary season goes into full swing and the costs of ad purchases start to mount.

McCain's appearance with Letterman - a late night icon who gleefully skewers the Bush administration and once dismissed comments by Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly as "crap" - also provided McCain the chance to continue his revival as the GOP's angriest man.

That outsider role served the former Navy pilot and Vietnam War prisoner well during his vibrant but futile attempt to gain the Republican nomination in 2000. McCain was finally vanquished by George W. Bush. And even though he has emerged as one of the Senate's most consistent supporters of the Iraq war, McCain, on the stump, has already begun reasserting himself as the go-to-guy for party dissidents and for Democrats who might be enticed by the candidate's reputation for straight talk.

Campaigning in South Carolina last week, McCain called former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, "one of the worst secretaries of defense in history," and he has railed against the management of the war if not the conflict itself.

McCain has also irked the GOP's social conservative base by refusing to back a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage saying the issue is a matter for the states.

In most polls, McCain trails former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani among Republican voters. However Giuliani, a moderate, is also facing an uphill run against the party's religious right wing.

What Giuliani doesn't have, are the questions about age that may dog McCain. On "Letterman" the talk show host noted that the Arizona senator just turned 70. If elected, McCain would be the second oldest person ever to take the oath, after Ronald Reagan who was 73 at the time of his inauguration.

McCain laughed off Letterman's age talk, and said he was undaunted by the polls.

"We keep doing the best we can," McCain said. "We're very happy with the way things are going."

Iran blames U.S., Israel for world’s problems - Focus on Iran - MSNBC.com

Iran blames U.S., Israel for world’s problems - MSNBC.com

Iran blames U.S., Israel for world’s problems

Ahmadinejad makes remarks during show of support for Sudan government

The Associated Press
Updated: 6:41 a.m. ET March 1, 2007

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Iran’s president blamed the United States and Israel for the world’s problems Thursday in a lecture to Sudanese officials and intellectuals during his visit to Sudan.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments came as Iran and Sudan face mounting international criticism — Iran over its nuclear activities and Sudan over the conflict in Darfur.

Earlier, Iranian and Saudi media reported that the hardline president was planning a trip to Saudi Arabia in coming days. The rival countries have been holding talks for weeks in an effort to defuse conflicts in the region, including the sectarian strife in Lebanon and Iraq.

In his lecture Thursday titled “Iran and the World,” the hardline president reiterated arguments that he has made repeatedly throughout the standoff with the United States and its Western allies over Iran’s nuclear activities.

“There is no place in the world that suffers from divisions and wars unless America or the Zionists’ fingerprints are seen there,” Ahmadinejad told his audience in Farsi translated into Arabic.

‘We have to pay attention to the devils’
He urged Muslims to rally behind Iran and accused detractors of Iran’s nuclear program of trying to prevent a developing country from making scientific advances.

“Our strength and the cornerstone of the victory is in our (Muslims’) unity ... we have to pay attention to the devils who want to cause divisions among us,” the Iranian president said.

“They want to keep science in their hands only ... they don’t want the rest of the world to progress,” he said referring Iran’s nuclear program.

Show of solidarity
Ahmadinejad arrived in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, Wednesday in a show of solidarity with Sudan.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declared support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions while Ahmadinejad said Iran viewed Sudan’s progress as important as its own.

Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany have begun discussing a new round of sanctions on Iran for failing to halt uranium enrichment by late February.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor accused a junior member of al-Bashir’s Cabinet and another suspect of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

The Sudanese government has rejected the allegations and said it would not hand the men over for trial.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17396804/
© 2007 MSNBC.com

Market Is Stable After Tuesday’s Steep Decline

NEW YORK TIMES
After suffering its steepest drop in nearly four years, the stock market showed some tentative signs of recovery today, rising slightly in early trading.

Investors watched stocks on computer and TV screens at Tianyuan Securities Co.
Markets in Tokyo and elsewhere across Asia declined again on Wednesday.

At the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange at 9:30, share prices advanced enough to push both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard and Poor’s 500-stock index above Tuesday’s closing levels. The gains were small, however, and sometimes fleeting as both indexes fluctuated in and out of positive territory.

The broad global sell-off of stocks on Tuesday wiped out the gains the Dow and the S.& P. made for the year. At the end of the trading day, both indexes had values about equal to where they stood at the end of November. The Dow lost 416 points, or about 3.3 percent. The broader S.& P. lost about 3.5 percent of its value.

The Nasdaq composite index, heavy with technology stocks, fell 3.9 percent on Tuesday and continued to slump in early trading today.

Across the world, stock markets continued to feel the fallout from Tuesday’s global dive. Stock markets fell sharply across most of Asia again and continued to decline in Europe.

But share prices rebounded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, the mainland Chinese stock markets that had been the first to tumble in Tuesday’s global sell-off, when they each fell nearly 9 percent.

Both mainland Chinese markets rose nearly 4 percent today after state-controlled media reported that the government might allow greater foreign investment in Chinese stocks and would not impose capital gains taxes on stocks soon.

Stock markets elsewhere fared much worse today.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 4.1 percent in early trading, before recovering a bit to end the day down 2.9 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 2.5 percent. It, too, showed a slight recovery from heavier losses in morning trading.

Practically every other stock index in Asia outside of mainland China also fell.

Major European markets opened with swift, steep falls, but soon began to retrace some of losses, and by early afternoon had pared their losses to around 1 percent. Investors in Asia and Europe appeared to pay less attention to the Chinese markets than to the drop on Tuesday in American stock indices, and to a Commerce Department report on Tuesday that manufacturing in the United States is ailing more than had previously been realized.

Given the rebound today in mainland Chinese stocks, “this morning’s price reaction in Europe shows it is not just China,” Nigel Richardson, the Hong Kong-based chief investment officer in Asia for AXA Investment Managers, said.

The managing director general of the Asian Development Bank, Rajat M. Nag, said in an interview in Hong Kong this morning that the economic fundamentals of most Asian economies were strong. But the region remains dependent on exports, especially to the United States, Mr. Nag said. China is among the most dependent of all, he said, with international trade in goods equal to 65 percent of its economic output last year.

“We are still fairly bullish on the Chinese economy’s growth potential,” Mr. Nag said, but he added that its dependence on exports “is a vulnerability.”

China’s current difficulties are partly a case of the Beijing government getting what it wished for, only to regret it.

The Chinese government has limited the appreciation of the country’s currency, the yuan, by buying dollars on a massive scale. As a result, it has accumulated more than $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves.

To pay for the dollars, the Chinese central bank has issued hundreds of billions of yuan.

The central bank has been able to absorb some of these extra yuan by selling more government bonds to Chinese banks and the public. But part of the extra cash issued to pay for currency market intervention has made its way into the financial system.

This has contributed to steep rises in stock prices — the Shanghai stock market rose 130 percent last year — and in real estate prices. The slump in share prices on Tuesday has raised questions about the long-term sustainability of high prices for Chinese assets.

But it remains unclear how much the rest of the world should care about mainland Chinese stock market prices.

Government regulations have kept foreign investment in these markets to insignificant levels by international standards. In addition, most Chinese still put their money in bank accounts or in real estate instead of buying stocks, and Tuesday’s plunge, while dramatic, merely returned the Shanghai stock market to where it began the month.

The consensus of economists today was that the volatility in mainland stocks would have little if any effect on the enduring strength of economic growth in China.

The stocks of Asian companies that export to the United States, such as the Sony Corporation, suffered particularly heavy losses today following the report on Tuesday from the Commerce Department that orders for cars, washing machines and other durable goods dropped 8 percent in January.

“There is a worry that U.S. consumption could slow substantially, and that is a much bigger factor than China’s stock market,” the chief Asia economist in the Hong Kong offices of Credit Suisse, Tao Dong, said.

Analysts said the biggest factors were concerns about a possible downturn by the American economy and whether that would lead to cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. That could in turn undermine the value of Japan’s currency, the yen. They said the effect of the Shanghai drop was felt indirectly via its impact on New York.

Many investors in Tokyo took a wait-and-see attitude on Wednesday, staying on the sidelines and watching for signs of whether the sell-off would continue in New York.

“What comes next here really depends on New York, not Shanghai,” said Eiji Kinouchi, chief technical analyst at the research arm of Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. “If Shanghai had been the real cause of the sell-off, it would have happened yesterday, not today.”

Tokyo and Hong Kong markets had barely seemed to blink on Tuesday as Shanghai fell. The Nikkei 225 index slipped a mere 0.5 percent that day and the Hang Seng fell 1.8 percent.

Analysts pointed out that Tokyo and even Hong Kong have rarely taken their cues from Shanghai, a small and highly volatile market that often seems to sit on the fringes of global capital flows because of the government regulations that have limited foreign investments to less than 1 percent of the market capitalization.

One factor behind the rebound today in mainland markets was a report in the Shanghai media that the government might increase the cap on foreign investment to 10 percent of the market. That report, together with signs the government would not move quickly to impose capital gains taxes, helped offset continuing nervousness about the Chinese central bank’s ongoing campaign to put the brakes on the economy by pushing banks to slow their rapid growth in lending.

Elsewhere in Asia today, the Indian market fell 4 percent, Singapore dropped 3.7 percent, South Korea was down 2.8 percent, Australia dipped 2.7 percent and Thailand crept down by 1 percent. Most markets pared their losses in the afternoon following steeper declines in the morning.

The worst performer for the day in Asia was the Philippines, the market with the earliest closing time. It fell nearly 8 percent without benefiting from the afternoon rebounds elsewhere. Foreign investors were the main sellers in the Philippines and many other markets.

Luz Lorenzo, an economist in Manila at ATR Kim Eng Securities, said that were it not for purchases by domestic institutions in the Philippines on Wednesday “it could have been worse.”

The broad extent of the decline in Asia underlined the region’s deepening connection to global financial markets and growing reliance on exports to the industrialized world.

“Every morning, most traders will get a fix on how the Asian markets are trading and how did the Nasdaq close — I think people have gotten more globalized,” Sandeep Nanda, head of research at Sharekhan, a large retail brokerage firm in India, said.

Some customers at brokerages in Asia admitted to being mystified by the sharp movements in share prices. “I am buying in the hope that the share price will rise — I really feel like a gambler sometimes,” said Moon Chung-lien, a 65-year-old retiree who wore a puzzled expression and knitted brow as he busily punched stock codes into a computer at the Hong Kong offices of the Shanghai Commercial Bank early this afternoon.

Tim Condon, the head of financial markets research at ING Financial Markets in Singapore, said that the most significant feature of the worldwide drop in stock markets was that it was the first such global shock to financial markets that has emerged from China.

“It’s a recognition of the fact that China is a big part of the rally in risky assets,“ Mr. Condon said.

The sharp drop in durable goods orders in the United States prompted concerns that Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, may be forced to cut interest rates to reinvigorate economic growth. Lower interest rates would be likely to drive down the dollar versus the yen, hurting the profits of exporters, such as Toyota and Sony, by eroding the yen value of overseas profits.

The prospect of lower American interest rates brought a sharp rise by the yen overnight in New York, where it climbed from about 120 yen per dollar to around 117.93 yen. In Tokyo trading, the yen yielded some of those gains, slipping to 118.32 yen.

The possibility of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve also kindled concerns that American interest rates might eventually fall far enough to significantly close the gap with Japan’s rock-bottom rates. That gap is wide now. Japanese overnight lending rates are 0.5 percent compared to 5.25 percent in the United States.

But if the gap shrinks, it could slow or halt the so-called yen carry trade, in which investors borrow hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Japanese money to invest in stock markets across Asia and around the world in search of higher returns.

If this flow of money stops, or reverses, it could prompt larger sell-offs on Wall Street and drive the yen even higher, hurting Japanese exporters even more, analysts said.

“Bernanke holds the trigger,” said Kiichi Fujita, a strategist in Tokyo for Nomura Securities. “If he cuts interest rates in America, the worry is that the yen carry trade will unwind.”

Part of the financing for the abundant cash flowing through global markets has also come from what many economists say is a surplus of savings by China, including China’s more than $1 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. China is now a leading source of global capital, with the money funneled back into global financial markets through Chinese investments in Treasury bonds and other securities. “So when people get anxious that China may turn that tap off, we get market reactions like yesterday,” Mr. Condon said.

In Thailand and many other southeast Asian countries, a major concern is the prospect of further weakness in the dollar, combined with weak demand from the United States. Thai exports of cars, rice, sugar, and electronics have already become more expensive on the world market after a 17 percent rise by the baht against the dollar in 2006.

There is less concern in Thailand about the stock market. The Thai market has been dragged down by the country’s long-running political crisis. It fell about 5 percent in 2006, even as Shanghai’s market rose 130 percent last year.

Supavud Saicheua, the managing director of Phatra Securities, which conducts research for Merrill Lynch in Thailand, said that the Thai market was unlikely to fall much further. But he cautioned that it was hard to predict how long international stock markets would continue to be worried by broader concerns.

“The problem,” Mr. Supavud said, “is that we don’t know how big of a worry this is going to be.”

US funds terror groups to sow chaos in Iran

london telegraph
America is secretly funding militant ethnic separatist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on the Islamic regime to give up its nuclear programme.

In a move that reflects Washington's growing concern with the failure of diplomatic initiatives, CIA officials are understood to be helping opposition militias among the numerous ethnic minority groups clustered in Iran's border regions.

The operations are controversial because they involve dealing with movements that resort to terrorist methods in pursuit of their grievances against the Iranian regime.

In the past year there has been a wave of unrest in ethnic minority border areas of Iran, with bombing and assassination campaigns against soldiers and government officials.

Such incidents have been carried out by the Kurds in the west, the Azeris in the north-west, the Ahwazi Arabs in the south-west, and the Baluchis in the south-east. Non-Persians make up nearly 40 per cent of Iran's 69 million population, with around 16 million Azeris, seven million Kurds, five million Ahwazis and one million Baluchis. Most Baluchis live over the border in Pakistan.

advertisementFunding for their separatist causes comes directly from the CIA's classified budget but is now "no great secret", according to one former high-ranking CIA official in Washington who spoke anonymously to The Sunday Telegraph.

His claims were backed by Fred Burton, a former US state department counter-terrorism agent, who said: "The latest attacks inside Iran fall in line with US efforts to supply and train Iran's ethnic minorities to destabilise the Iranian regime."

Although Washington officially denies involvement in such activity, Teheran has long claimed to detect the hand of both America and Britain in attacks by guerrilla groups on its internal security forces. Last Monday, Iran publicly hanged a man, Nasrollah Shanbe Zehi, for his involvement in a bomb attack that killed 11 Revolutionary Guards in the city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchistan. An unnamed local official told the semi-official Fars news agency that weapons used in the attack were British and US-made.

Yesterday, Iranian forces also claimed to have killed 17 rebels described as "mercenary elements" in clashes near the Turkish border, which is a stronghold of the Pejak, a Kurdish militant party linked to Turkey's outlawed PKK Kurdistan Workers' Party.

John Pike, the head of the influential Global Security think tank in Washington, said: "The activities of the ethnic groups have hotted up over the last two years and it would be a scandal if that was not at least in part the result of CIA activity."

Such a policy is fraught with risk, however. Many of the groups share little common cause with Washington other than their opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose regime they accuse of stepping up repression of minority rights and culture.

The Baluchistan-based Brigade of God group, which last year kidnapped and killed eight Iranian soldiers, is a volatile Sunni organisation that many fear could easily turn against Washington after taking its money.

A row has also broken out in Washington over whether to "unleash" the military wing of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), an Iraq-based Iranian opposition group with a long and bloody history of armed opposition to the Iranian regime.

The group is currently listed by the US state department as terrorist organisation, but Mr Pike said: "A faction in the Defence Department wants to unleash them. They could never overthrow the current Iranian regime but they might cause a lot of damage."

At present, none of the opposition groups are much more than irritants to Teheran, but US analysts believe that they could become emboldened if the regime was attacked by America or Israel. Such a prospect began to look more likely last week, as the UN Security Council deadline passed for Iran to stop its uranium enrichment programme, and a second American aircraft carrier joined the build up of US naval power off Iran's southern coastal waters.

The US has also moved six heavy bombers from a British base on the Pacific island of Diego Garcia to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which could allow them to carry out strikes on Iran without seeking permission from Downing Street.

While Tony Blair reiterated last week that Britain still wanted a diplomatic solution to the crisis, US Vice-President Dick Cheney yesterday insisted that military force was a real possibility.

"It would be a serious mistake if a nation like Iran were to become a nuclear power," Mr Cheney warned during a visit to Australia. "All options are still on the table."

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will meet in London tomorrow to discuss further punitive measures against Iran. Sanctions barring the transfer of nuclear technology and know-how were imposed in December. Additional penalties might include a travel ban on senior Iranian officials and restrictions on non-nuclear business.

Additional reporting by Gethin Chamberlain.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq

US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq
The US military in Iraq says it has uncovered a large cache of weapons, many of them made in Iran.
The collection of shells, rockets and materials to make armour-piercing bombs was found in the village of Jadidah, 25km (15 miles) north of Baghdad.

A US spokesman said there was no way to "tie the weapons to any government".

This month the US presented evidence it said proved the "highest levels" of Iran's government were supplying arms used by Shia militants in Iraq.

However, the most senior US military officer, Gen Peter Pace, later appeared to contradict the claim, saying there was no proof the Iranian government had directly armed Shia groups.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini called the US allegations baseless propaganda.

Tank-piercing

The US military said the latest cache of 120mm mortar rounds, 122mm rockets and bags of C4 plastic explosives were of Iranian origin.

Maj Jeremy Siegrist said the cache was found near a village stronghold of the Shia Mehdi Army of leading cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

But Maj Siegrist said: "I don't think there's any way this can be tied to a government."

Earlier this month US defence officials in Baghdad told reporters that the Iranians were supplying sophisticated bombs capable of penetrating the armour of a US-made Abrams tank.

Gen Pace, while saying the arms were Iranian in origin, said he could not say whether Tehran was complicit.

The White House stood by the original claim, saying the weapons were being moved into Iraq by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, or al-Quds force.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6398089.stm

Published: 2007/02/26 15:42:08 GMT

© BBC MMVII

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq

US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq
The US military in Iraq says it has uncovered a large cache of weapons, many of them made in Iran.
The collection of shells, rockets and materials to make armour-piercing bombs was found in the village of Jadidah, 25km (15 miles) north of Baghdad.

A US spokesman said there was no way to "tie the weapons to any government".

This month the US presented evidence it said proved the "highest levels" of Iran's government were supplying arms used by Shia militants in Iraq.

However, the most senior US military officer, Gen Peter Pace, later appeared to contradict the claim, saying there was no proof the Iranian government had directly armed Shia groups.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini called the US allegations baseless propaganda.

Tank-piercing

The US military said the latest cache of 120mm mortar rounds, 122mm rockets and bags of C4 plastic explosives were of Iranian origin.

Maj Jeremy Siegrist said the cache was found near a village stronghold of the Shia Mehdi Army of leading cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

But Maj Siegrist said: "I don't think there's any way this can be tied to a government."

Earlier this month US defence officials in Baghdad told reporters that the Iranians were supplying sophisticated bombs capable of penetrating the armour of a US-made Abrams tank.

Gen Pace, while saying the arms were Iranian in origin, said he could not say whether Tehran was complicit.

The White House stood by the original claim, saying the weapons were being moved into Iraq by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, or al-Quds force.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6398089.stm

Published: 2007/02/26 15:42:08 GMT

© BBC MMVII

BBC NEWS | Technology | World's tiniest RFID tag unveiled

BBC NEWS | Technology | World's tiniest RFID tag unveiled

World's tiniest RFID tag unveiled
The world's smallest radio frequency identification tags have been unveiled by Japanese electronics firm Hitachi.
The minute devices measure just 0.05mm by 0.05mm (0.002x0.002in) and to the naked eye look like spots of powder.

They are thin enough to be embedded in a sheet of paper, Hitachi spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi says.

RFID tags store data about the objects they are attached to, and companies are vying to create increasingly tiny versions.

Recently, Hitachi unveiled another RFID tag, the Mu-chip, which measures 0.4mm by 0.4mm (0.02x0.02in).

But the latest chips, which are yet to be named, can hold the same amount of data as the Mu even though they are much smaller.

They have one major issue, however - they need an external antenna to work, and the smallest antenna developed so far is about 80 times bigger than the tags.

Hitachi says it wants to study the tags' possible uses, but it does not yet have any plans to put its latest creation into commercial production.

Spy-tags

Unlike its predecessor, the barcode, an RFID tag's data can be extracted from afar - sometimes from hundreds of metres away - by radio-reading devices, and the technology is already widely used.

Stores use it to track stock in warehouses and shops. Some countries are using the tags to hold passport data or for payments in transport systems, and they are even being used for animal identification.

However, some have raised concerns that the technology poses a threat to privacy, and that it could be used in covert monitoring schemes.

And the fact that they are becoming ever more invisible could fuel this apprehension.

However, said Mr Takeuchi: "We are not imagining such uses."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/6389581.stm

Published: 2007/02/23 13:23:38 GMT

© BBC MMVII

New Airport X-Rays Scan Bodies, Not Just Bags - New York Times

New Airport X-Rays Scan Bodies, Not Just Bags - New York Times

February 24, 2007

New Airport X-Rays Scan Bodies, Not Just Bags

By PAUL GIBLIN and ERIC LIPTON

PHOENIX, Feb. 23 — X-ray vision has come to the airport checkpoint here, courtesy of federal aviation security officials who have installed a new device that peeks underneath passengers’ clothing to search for guns, bombs or liquid explosives.

The new body scanning machine, which went into use on Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and will be tested later at airports in Los Angeles and New York, will screen only volunteers, at least initially. Transportation Security Administration officials want to make sure the machine is reliable and fast enough to replace the traditional pat-down — and that it does not provoke too many protests.

Security officials examining the head-to-toe images work in a closed booth, hidden from public view, agency officials said. Special “privacy” software intentionally blurs the image, creating an outline of a body that is clear enough to see a collarbone, bellybutton or weapon, but flattens details of revealing contours.

Kenneth Johnson, 64, of Mesa, was the first passenger screened on Friday in Phoenix. He said he had titanium implants in both shoulders and one knee that set off alarms at checkpoint metal detectors.

“I’ve been all over the world; I’ve been strip-searched,” Mr. Johnson, who was traveling to Florida, told an Associated Press reporter. “This was very easy.”

Others found the scans objectionable.

“I think that is a violation of people’s personal rights,” said Kara Neal, 36, a mental health counselor on her way to Philadelphia. She was not asked to undergo the screening, but said she would have refused. “I would rather take a pat-down than go through this,” she said.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have raised similar objections, calling the X-ray scan a “virtual strip-search,” and have urged Congress to prohibit its use for routine screening.

The vending-machine-size device, which costs about $110,000, will be used only when passengers are pulled aside for a more thorough check, known as secondary screening, after passing through a metal detector. Other scanning machines will be installed this year at Los Angeles International Airport and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

While security agency officials say the machines, known as SmartCheck, pose no health hazards, some experts disagree. The machine, manufactured by American Science and Engineering Inc. of Billerica, Mass., generates about as much radiation as a passenger would get flying for about two minutes at about 30,000 feet, or in technical terms, fewer than 10 microRem per scan, according to security agency and company officials. The machine is already being used in some prisons, by United States customs and at Heathrow Airport in London.

Dr. Albert J. Fornace Jr., an expert in molecular oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center, said such a low dose was inconsequential, even for pregnant women.

“Obviously, no radiation is even better than even a very low level,” Dr. Fornace said. “But this is trivial.”

But David J. Brenner, a professor of radiation oncology at Columbia University, said that even though the risk for any individual was extremely low, he would still avoid it.

“The question is, Do you want to add to your already existing risk?” Professor Brenner said, recommending that pregnant women and young children, in particular, avoid the device. “There are other technologies around that can probably do the job just as well without the extra radiation.”

The machine beams a low-energy X-ray at the passenger, which after it bounces off the surface of the skin is processed by computer software that highlights metals or elements like nitrogen that are found in explosives or weapons.

The X-ray is not strong enough to penetrate much beyond the skin, so it cannot find weapons that may be hidden in body cavities.

“A lot of people aren’t really comfortable with a pat-down,” said Ellen Howe, a security agency spokeswoman, “so they may find this to be an alternative they may appreciate.” She added that the X-ray images would be destroyed immediately.

Aviation security officials are rushing to bring new screening devices to airports because of the London-based plot last summer to use liquid explosives to blow up airliners headed to the United States.

The devices now used at the nation’s airports, the X-ray machine for carry-on bags and the metal detector for passengers, rely on 1950s-era technology that cannot reliably detect liquid or plastic explosives.

Earlier efforts by the federal security agency to introduce more advanced checkpoint technologies have stumbled, including the so-called puffer machines, which blow air on passengers to search for minute traces of explosives.

After installing 94 of the machines at 37 airports, officials suspended the program last year, saying the devices broke down too often. More puffer machines may be bought if the problems can be resolved.

Officials intend to try other alternatives, like a so-called millimeter wave machine that uses harmless radio waves, instead of X-rays, to do a full body scan.

Ms. Howe said that until the tests on the SmartCheck were complete, it was unclear how widely used the machines would be. “We are committed to testing it,” she said. “But we are not committed to deploying it widely until we learn more.”

Micro RFID chips raise privacy concerns

dailyaztec

Science fiction movies and books often portray the future as a world in which every individual has been tattooed with a barcode and can be easily traced by anyone at any time. However bleak this image is, recent advancements in radio frequency identification have shown us pieces of this bleak world and a possible utopia.

RFID is a technology that uses small microchips to transmit stored data through the use of radio frequencies.

A common RFID application is the FasTrak electronic toll-payment system used by Caltrans on highways around California. The FasTrak badge is a type of RFID transponder that uses radio signals to send credit card information to the radio terminal at a toll station.

While this sort of technology has been in use in California since the early 1990s, the most recent application of this technology has shown promise for the future, as well as some questionable features. Some retailers use RFID to track the whereabouts of products in stores and to have the ability to see if a certain product has been stocked improperly.

Many people fear that as RFID technology gets cheaper and easier to use it will be misused at the public's expense. Groups of privacy advocates fear a sort of Orwellian future with every individual being implanted with an RFID chip to eliminate the need for money and forms of identification, thus making us lose our individuality because they would branded like cattle.

Such startling uses have been put into practice already. Several nightclubs in Europe have implanted RFID chips in their VIP members to make it easier for them to gain access to exclusive places. While this application is quite odd, the fear of the government using RFID to track Americans is a greater fear. The government could possibly know the whereabouts of all its citizens at any given time if a nationwide application to RFID was used.

On Valentine's Day, Japanese chip maker Hitachi unveiled a new advancement in RFID technology to further any speculation of the possible misuses. Hitachi showed the world the creation of RFID powder. Hitachi developed what it calls mu-chips or .05 mm by .05 mm RFID chips, which are smaller than a grain of rice.

There were immediate speculations of the possibility that a person could be given an RFID chip and not know. It could be inconspicuously slipped into food, clothing or one's body given its ultra-small size. It even has the possibility of being embedded within a piece of paper and effortlessly track the whereabouts of any person.

Debra Bowen, who is running for Secretary of State, said in a 2003 hearing, "How would you like it if, for instance, one day you realized your underwear was reporting on your whereabouts?" There is an inherent fear that America's consumer society would be amplified even more so with corporations reporting our whereabouts in order to increase the effectiveness of advertising that would entice people to purchase more. Should Best Buy employees really know that you went to Circuit City after you discovered its prices are higher?

However, the technology's possible practical applications could rival any misuse. The U.S. government is already placing RFID chips in passports for electronic identification of citizens and to deter forgeries. If the mu-chips were to be embedded in paper and money, counterfeit documents and money could be a thing of the past. If stolen, a mu-chip unknown to the thief could be used in tracking the document in question once it passes through RFID readers in an unauthorized area. The proof of a legal document could be proven with RFID technology and $100 bills would no longer require the meticulous inspection upon its use.

Consumer buying trends, product tracking and data collection could be better than ever with the application of the technology to a greater degree.

Privacy in the United States and identification systems must balance each other out in the future with the increasing questioning and development of the RFID technology. Whether the technology can be misused will be debated for a long time; however, forms of RFID will be continuous because it's like any other technological advancement that will help people in the future.

What else can Israel ask of President Bush?

Rice
haaretz
A hackneyed joke about former secretary of state Colin Powell's mission to Ramallah and Jerusalem in 2002, which began with an attempt to achieve a cease-fire and ended in a loud squabble with Yasser Arafat, was revived this week in a corridor conversation between a visiting Israeli and a Washingtonian friend. "Powell's mission was somewhat successful. He came back alive," quoted the visitor. The context: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the Middle East this week. She too came back alive, "If you can call that alive," commented the Israeli visitor.

Rice went to the Middle East with no expectations and returned with no achievements. The Mecca agreement has a golden share in this unsurprising failure. But a place of honor is also reserved for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In recent months Olmert has been criticized from every direction and in every possible area. But one thing cannot be taken from him: There is no one more adept at power games and sparring with political rivals than he is. This week he demonstrated this again, in the moves that preceded the tripartite summit in Jerusalem. Rice did not manage to do much to stop him.

Olmert knows that there are those in President George W. Bush's camp who are also baffled by Rice's diplomatic activism. Statements that she made in interviews last week reminded some of them of former president Bill Clinton's delusional months leading up to Camp David. On Friday, when Rice was en route to the region, Olmert and Bush spoke on the phone. It is not clear who called whom, and what exactly was said, but Olmert announced after the conversation that Bush is in line with him about insisting on "the Quartet's conditions" for the Palestinian government: recognize Israel, renounce terror and honor previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements. Rice's aides quickly took note of the message. Their Israeli interlocutors had gotten the impression that they sounded more committed and determined than before to enforce the Quartet's conditions and to boycott the Palestinian unity government.

Bush

In recent weeks there has been lively discussion in Jerusalem surrounding the question of where these special relations are headed, and whether it is a good idea to ask Bush for a farewell gift. Some believe that since Bush is the best thing to ever happen to Israel, it is important to exploit the remainder of his term to upgrade relations.

But what should be upgraded, and how, is up for debate. Yoram Ben-Zeev, the deputy director for North America at the Foreign Ministry, has led a series of discussions on the creation of a new umbrella agreement that would combine all the memoranda of understanding between the United States and Israel, give them new validity and highlight the special nature of the relations.

Former Foreign Ministry director general Ron Prosor offered a different approach. Instead of formulating a large agreement, it would be better if Bush gave a quiet order to the bureaucracy in Washington to support Israel on a number of sensitive issues. Prosor's approach is that at a time when U.S. opposition to military involvement in the Middle East is surging, Israel can show some consideration. Instead of asking for defense treaties, it should simply say: "Give us the tools and we'll do the work."

There are three Israeli upgrade requests in the pipeline, one of which concerns civilian cooperation in the nuclear file - now limited because of Israel's refusal to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The exemption India received from these restrictions has encouraged the Israel Atomic Energy Commission to try to obtain similar easements, even if they are limited. Other requests concerned access to advanced military technology for quality intelligence - a hint at a possible conflict with Iran.

Senior officials in the defense establishment believe that Israel should strive for the achievement of an increase in American military aid. The current agreement that defines American aid to Israel will expire next year, and with it the civilian economic aid will end as well. Israel wants another $50 million annually in the coming decade to be added to the sum it receives for military aid - which currently stands at $2.4 billion a year. The government has accepted this position and has decided that the increase in aid should be the main focus, that it would be better to put the other upgrade requests on a back burner for now.

Iran complains of nuclear bullying

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Critics of Iran's nuclear program are "bullying" Iran, its current president and a former president declared Friday, as they put up a united front a day after the United Nations' nuclear watchdog issued a report that opens the way for additional sanctions against Iran.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani lashed out in separate speeches Friday at Western countries and the U.N. Security Council, though without naming them directly.

Their comments appeared as senior diplomats from the five permanent Security Council members and Germany prepared to meet on Monday in London to start work on a new resolution to try to pressure Iran to suspend its nuclear program.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who announced the London meeting in Washington, said Iran was "effectively thumbing its nose at the international community."

The speeches by Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani appeared to show that the Iranian ruling establishment is closing ranks in the face of new measures against Iran.

Divisions emerged over Ahmadinejad's handling of the nuclear standoff following the council's adoption of limited economic sanctions against Iran in December.

Some Iranians believe Ahmadinejad has been too antagonistic of the U.S. and its allies. Rafsanjani in recent weeks has emerged as a high-level advocate of a more conciliatory stance toward the West in the nuclear dispute.

Ahmadinejad told thousands of people gathered in a northern Iranian town, "The Iranian nation has resisted all bullies and corrupt powers and it will fully defend its rights," state television quoted him as saying.

The hardline president appeared to dismiss the International Atomic Energy Agency report, which said Tehran had expanded its program of uranium enrichment and continued to build a heavy water reactor and related facilities. (Read the full report)

"If a few states do not believe that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, this is of no importance whatsoever," state television quoted the president as telling a rally in Fuman.

"This is the spirit of arrogance and culture of aggressive powers," the official Islamic Republic News Agency also quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during the same speech.

"If you pull back, they will push ahead but if you stand against them, because of this resistance, they will back off."

Meanwhile, the former President Rafsanjani told worshippers gathered for Friday prayers in Tehran that Western countries would fail to achieve anything by "bullying" Iran.

Rafsanjani, a high-ranking cleric, holds seats on two of Iran's most important government bodies.

"Following yesterday's report, they again began a harsh steps and threats while thinking about another resolution," Rafsanjani said in the speech broadcast live by state radio, adding "they will get nowhere this way."

The IAEA's report follows the expiration Wednesday of a 60-day grace period for Iran to halt uranium enrichment.

In a warning to the U.S. and its Western allies who want Iran to roll back its nuclear program, Rafsanjani said, "If you continue this bullying way, you will definitely make many troubles for yourselves, the world and the region."

But he also reiterated Iran's offer for talks. "We -- all of us, our officials, our leader -- are ready to provide you full assurances."
Three demands

The Security Council issued three demands to Iran when it adopted its resolution December 23 -- freeze uranium enrichment, stop building heavy water facilities and fully cooperate with the IAEA.

The U.S. and its Western allies have insisted Iran must suspend enrichment before it will enter any negotiations over its nuclear program -- a condition Tehran has rejected as it pushes ahead with developing its enrichment facilities.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful, but the U.S. and other Western countries accuse it of using it as a cover to develop weapons.

Among the permanent council members meeting in London on Monday, Britain and France are likely to join the U.S. in a call for harsher sanctions than Russia and China, which both have strong commercial ties to Tehran, will accept.

Diplomats said Thursday that new measures under consideration include a mandatory travel ban against individuals on the U.N. list, new individuals and companies subject to sanctions, additional prohibited items, economic measures such as a ban on export guarantees to Iran, and an expansion of the nuclear embargo to an arms embargo.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Burns said a new resolution was needed to "see Iran repudiated again" but said it was too soon to say what provisions the resolution might contain.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he had "no substantive comment" on the IAEA report. "We should not lose sight of the goal -- and the goal is not to have a resolution or to impose sanctions," Churkin said. "The goal is to accomplish a political outcome."
Council unity

Several council diplomats have stressed the importance of maintaining council unity on a new resolution -- even if means sacrificing tougher sanctions.

Stressing the importance of unity, U.S. deputy ambassador Jackie Sanders said Thursday "we do need to ratchet up the pressure and Iran needs to see an international community that stays coordinated and showing common purpose to have them stop what they're doing in developing nuclear weapons."

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy echoed the importance, saying, "unity and firmness are ... the only effective instruments we have to get Iran to turn toward the international community, and away from isolation."

"We support a second resolution, to be passed unanimously by the Security Council, to continue sanctions," he said.

Two diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations haven't even started, spoke of an "incremental" strengthening of sanctions in a new resolution to ensure that unity is preserved.

The permanent council members believe the initial sanctions have had some positive effects. Iran now says it wants negotiations, though it still refuses to suspend enrichment.

Whether new sanctions can bring Tehran to comply with the council's demands remains to be seen.

"It's Iran's refusal to talk which right now has gotten Iran in a lot of hot water," said Burns. "Iran is increasingly isolated, and we hope Iran is going to choose negotiations."