The editor of the TIDES Middle East Report has emailed me the translation of a statement issued by the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia [MIRA]. The statement accuses the Saudi Interior Ministry of fabricating the events in Mecca. MIRA, in the statement, declares that Mecca was not targeted and that the Interior Ministry fabricated its report.
Statement by the Movement for Islamic Reform: "Interior Ministry's Statement Cheap Lie, Disdain of Nation, Wicked Means To Re-Establish Disintegrating Legitimacy"
The Movement for Islamic Reform [MIRA] has followed up the statement issued by the Interior Ministry regarding the Mecca incidents and thought it should draw attention to the following points:
First: The hunted group planned to carry out an operation against a senior prince in Jeddah. It did not have any intention to carry out an operation in Mecca. The state, however, was aware that attempts against high-ranking princes might receive some sympathy from the public in view of the current exasperation with the ruling family and therefore decided to fabricate the story it published.
Second: The confusion, chaos, and numerous parties that dealt with the event without prior coordination, in addition to the fact that the incident took place at midnight, resulted in the killing or wounding of a large number of security men and citizens by the security men themselves although the wanted men were able to disappear by entering from one door of a building and exiting from another door.
Third: None of the wanted men was arrested during the confrontation and everyone was able to disappear although some of them might have been detained afterward. Due to the chaos and darkness those arrested during the confrontation were citizens whom the security men thought were wanted men. Some of the residents who witnessed the mayhem were unaware of what was going on and held their guns for self-defense because they thought they came across a bunch of criminals.
Fourth: The pictures which the statement published might be of former detainees or some citizens who were arrested during the incident. Anyway the country that respects its own people and system of governance does not publish the photos or names of suspects who are arrested on the spot unless an accusation is officially made. It would just publish the number of detainees and where they came from.
Fifth: MIRA has learned that the Interior Ministry's allegations of recovering booby-trapped copies of the Koran and tea containers were deliberate fabrications and cheap lies made up by the ministry to justify this suppressive campaign and twist the facts regarding the attempt on the life of one of the princes. MIRA hopes the public would be aware enough not to believe these cheap lies. At any rate the principles of the jihadist trend are well known and everybody can find out that the Interior Ministry's claims contradict with the jihadist tenets.
Sixth: MIRA draws the attention of security men that the Interior Ministry has unfairly involved them in this spiteful confrontation. Furthermore, the lack of coordination caused this massacre among security men to exercise pressure on them to act. The security men therefore should hold the ministry responsible for the incident. They should not be devoid of feelings or enable the state to take advantage of them to deal a strike to all its opponents.
Seventh: MIRA advises the security men and people linked to the jihadist trend to avoid aggravating the situation into an all-out war between them and to abstain from becoming enemies to each other. The iniquitous regime wants the security men to become an enemy to the whole society and seeks to foment the security men's grudge against the entire people.
Eighth: MIRA draws the attention of the public to be prepared to hear many fabricated stories by the Interior Ministry. It advises them to disbelieve these stories and to be wary of those who fabricate them. MIRA has learned the regime is desperate to inflame and invest this confrontation to justify its oppression.
MIRA's chief, Saad al-Fagih, was attacked in London on Sunday. According to al-Fagih, they were gangsters hired by "one of the senior princes" to kidnap him. On Monday the Saudi Embassy in London said: "We categorically reject all and any allegations that the government of the kingdom had anything to do with an attack on him."
In my opinion, al-Qa'ida was not targeting Mecca for attack but was operating out of the city, as well as recruiting from there. Medina too, as evidenced by the arrests of al-Qa'ida elements there on May 27th and 28th.
The al-Qa'ida logic would go something like this: "Our presence in the two holy cities represents the rescue of Mecca and Medina from the apostasy of their so called custodians (al-Saud) and, by al-Saud association with the US, the infidels. Thus cleansed of apostate and infidel stain, they are returned, purified, to the Ummah."
If Al-Saud is not suppressing evidence which would prove Mecca was targeted, then they are shrewdly contriving an al-Qa'ida plot targeting Islam's holiest city in order to foster disgust among Saudis for Osama bin Laden, al-Qa'ida, and militant Wahhabism.
Al-Saud, in my estimation at least, is learning to play bin Laden's p.r. game and, by doing so, attempting to turn the tables on him.
As reported over the weekend, a great number of those arrested since the May 12th Riyadh attacks have been young Saudi men, boys really.
Al-Saud's goal in its p.r. war with bin Laden and al-Qa'ida is to turn the young men of Saudi Arabia away from extremism by portraying the militant al Qa'ida ideology as heretical and corrupt.
Hamas' Rantisi: "US Is First Enemy of Palestinian People" Despite reports today that "Hamas and other militant groups are on the verge of agreeing to halt attacks on Israelis," which the Israelis may not accept because they consider it a "tactical cease-fire meant to give the militias time to regroup for more violence," Hamas "political" leader Abd-al-Aziz al-Rantisi has opened his mouth and revealed, yet again, that he is a complete idiot.
Rantisi's rhetoric, however, is not being leveled at Israel. He has set his sights on the US of A.
The good doctor's apoplexy is the result of AG Ashcroft's desire to extradite Palestinian Hassan Salameh to the United States from Israel for the 1996 bus bombing in Jerusalem which killed three Americans. If convicted in the US, Salameh could face the death penalty. The US considers the murder of any U.S. citizen, while outside the United States, a capital crime.
Mid East Web News has the fbis translation of the Palestinian Info Center's report:
Dr. Abd-al-Aziz al-Rantisi, member of the political leadership of HAMAS Movement, has said that the US request to the Zionist entity to extradite mujahid Hasan Salamah -- engineer of the operations that were carried out to avenge the death of engineer Yahya Ayyash -- asserts that the United States is the first enemy of the Palestinian people and their ambitions.
Al-Rantisi added: "This US request indicates that it [the United States] has started war on the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS." [passage omitted on statements by US Republican Senator Arlen Specter to CNN]
On whether the Zionist entity will respond to the US request, Al-Rantisi said: "The Zionist entity and the United States are a common enemy. There is no difference between them in terms of enmity to the Palestinian people."
Memo to Rantisi: Better keep your mouth shut and ratchet down your rhetoric sport. Your words are close to an informal declaration of war on the US.
Memo to Pali Info Center: Doesn't matter whether you refer to them as engineers or any other PC (Palestinian Correct) term, we both know what they really are: muderers and terrorists. Posted
6:52 PM
by Robert
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The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan published a communiqué today allegedly authored by Al-Qa'ida's chief of training Abu Muhammad Al-Ablaj, which refers to an impending attack by the organization.
The communiqué stated that Al-Qa'ida's chief of training Abu Muhammad Al-Ablaj said Osama bin Laden is about to direct a "fatal blow" to the "head of the international media serpent that serves the American whims and interests." He added that the upcoming phases against the U.S. will "cut off the wings of the American eagle, slice its arteries, and finally butcher it the Islamic way."
Al-Ablaj also claimed that Al-Qa'ida has an independent brigade in Iraq.
Al-Watan reported that the communiqué will also appear in the London-based Saudi weekly Al-Majalla.
If we take a look at a snip from the May 28th communique from al-Ablaj, the latest threat may be placed within its proper context.
"Al-Qa'ida elements are fighting side by side with the Iraqis" but [al-Ablaj] claimed that the "Western media is blacking out coverage of the operations carried out by the Iraqi resistance."
So, Osama is pissed because his outfit isn't getting enough "face time" when it comes to Iraq? Well, that's not quite right. How about "voice time"? No? Okay, "media coverage." Whatever, you get the idea. Posted
12:49 AM
by Robert
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The Prince confirmed yesterday what everyone knows; those arrested and killed by Saudi security forces in the Mecca gun-battle this past weekend are affiliated with al-Qa'ida. But Nayef added that the Saudi government is going to interrogate every Saudi that has returned from Afghanistan since the war there.
Although the Saudi and international press reported that the arrests broke up an al-Qa'ida plot targeting Mecca for attacks, I have serious doubts that al-Qa'ida would be stupid enough to target such a significant Islamic symbol. Usama bin Ladin may be crazy but he is not stupid. More likely is that bin Ladin's boys are operating out of Mecca and Medina, where they do have support from radicals, in order to send a strong message to the Muslim world: "Our presence in the two holy cities represents the rescue of Mecca and Medina from the apostacy of their so called custodians, House Saud. Thus purified of infidel stain, they are returned, cleansed, to the Ummah." House Saud is claiming there was a plot to attack Mecca in order to enrage Muslims who will, in turn, be disgusted by and turn on bin Ladin and al-Qa'ida.
Prince Nayef, also yesterday, met with the parents of several Saudi men detained at Guantanamo. In his remarks he urged Saudi parents to keep a closer watch on their children and report suspect behaviour.
"We must take care of ourselves, our sons and our families so we do not let anyone manipulate them. If we...let our sons minds be filled with what is wrong, it means we have neglected them. None of you should hesitate to speak to us, or come to us...if a son or a brother is missing. Whoever drove them to these convictions is more dangerous than them and the greater criminal"
"Whoever" would be militant preachers and al-Qa'ida recruiters.
Turning our attention to Saudi reform, on Wednesday a four day meeting, called by Crown Prince Abdullah, of Saudi clerics and intellectuals wrapped in Riyadh. The meeting is unprecedented. For the first time in Saudi Arabia's seventy-one year history, reform is being openly discussed in the Kingdom and never before have the Wahhabi Sunnis met with Shiite and Ismaili representatives.
The Convention for National Dialogue urged widening of political participation, more judicial independence and fair distribution of wealth, among many other recommendations.
They discussed religious extremism, diversity of opinion, rights and duties of women and their role in society, freedom of expression and contemporary fatwas, or religious edicts, and the impact of these issues on national unity.
The meeting also took up issues like the importance of common interests with other countries, dealing with non-Muslims from an Islamic perspective and rules governing jihad, or holy war.
Prince Abdullah said in a message to the meeting that safeguarding the country and citizens against "harmful ideas" was no longer possible through banning or blocking in the face of today's technological advances.
"I believe you all agree with me that the most efficient means to achieve this is through ... quiet dialogue that respects the other opinion and allows for free exchange of views," Prince Abdullah said.
While these are positive signs, I'm afraid they are of no aid to Sarah Saga. Sarah, the American woman who fled to the American embassy in Jedda to escape her abusive husband and father, both Saudis, will be leaving Saudi Arabia without her children.
Update: Sarah's mother, Debra Dornier, just appeared on Hannity and Colmes and said that Sarah will not be leaving Saudi Arabia without her children. She remains at the Jedda consulate with her children. Posted
8:56 PM
by Robert
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The arrested suspects were: Ahmed Abdul Rahman Haroun, Khaled Ali Muhammad Ali, Bashir Muhammad Haroun, all from Chad; Ahmed Khaled Al-Hosan, Musaed Ahmed Al-Kharaisy, Amin Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, Essam Khalaf Al-Ghamdi, Rasheed Abdullah Al-Khathlan, Majed Ibrahim Al-Moghaineem, Aamir Abdul Hameed Al-Saedi, from Saudi Arabia; and Muhammad Fatahi Al-Sayyed, from Egypt. The ministry said the nationality of one person, who identified himself as Ibrahim, was yet to be determined.
The father of Ali ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Faqaasi Al-Ghamdi, one of the 19 suspects wanted by security officers in connection with the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh, has urged his son to surrender to police for his own benefit and in the interest of his family. “Security agencies have promised that if he gives in and convicted of the alleged crimes, his punishment would be reduced to half,” Abdul Rahman ibn Saeed Al-Ghamdi told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News.
Punisment reduced to half, eh? That had better mean a slow, painful death instead of the usual Saudi beheading.
Additionally, this quote from Ali's father pretty much spells things out to his son.
He said the family was in bad shape after security officers listed Al-Ghamdi among the wanted terrorists. “The condition of his mother is extremely bad,” he added.
Which means Saudi security have thrown them all in jail or put them under house arrest until Ali surrenders (yet again) Posted
12:52 AM
by Robert
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Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia TV1 in Arabic, official television station of the Saudi Government, at 0930 GMT carries a 22-minute live sermon from the Holy Mosque in Mecca:
Shaykh Salih Al Talib delivers the sermon - "O God, strengthen Islam and Muslims, humiliate infidelity and infidels, destroy Islam's enemies, and grant safety to this country and to the other Islamic countries. O God, support your religion, your Prophet's traditions, and your faithful servants. O God, support those supporting Islam and disappoint tyrants, unbelievers, the corrupt, and hypocrites. O God, support mujahidin fighting for your sake everywhere. O God, support Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere. O God, destroy the Jews, for they are within your power. O God, destroy them and their supporters. O God, protect us from their evils."
Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabic TV2 in Arabic, official television station of the Saudi Government, at 0936 GMT carries a 22-minute live sermon from the Holy Mosque in Medina:
Shaykh Ali al-Hudhayfi delivers the sermon - "O God, strengthen Islam and Muslims. O God, destroy infidelity,
infidels, and unbelievers. O God, protect and strengthen Islam and Muslims everywhere. O God, support your religion and your Prophet's traditions. O God, disappoint Muslims' enemies."
Prince Nayef said neighboring Yemen has not provided information regarding press reports that it has arrested suspected bombings mastermind Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi.
"We have not received anything until now from Yemen, but we hope [it is] true, God willing," he said.
Yemeni security officials said Saturday a Saudi was arrested Wednesday without identification papers.
The Yemeni officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was clear the Saudi was not al-Ghamdi. Saudi authorities provided Yemeni officials with pictures of those wanted in connection with the Riyadh bombings.
Now this, that Yemen has not provided information, I don't buy. Yemen and Saudi Arabia recently signed an agreement to work closely together in preventing the smuggling of weapons into Saudi Arabia from Yemen after it was learned that the explosives used in the Riyadh attacks were smuggled into Saudi Arabia from Yemen.
The Yemeni security official leaking that the Saudi held is not al-Ghamdi could either be telling the truth or releasing misinformation to conceal the fact that al-Ghamdi has been captured.
Which means, "the Kingdom will not accept any pressure to delay the implementation of Shariah law" or kill the bad guys quickly, along with any valuable information they may possess.
So, we can now update our Prince Nayef slash Ali al-Ghamdi timeline to include the Yemen deveopment.
May 15th - The Arab News runs a piece penned by its bureau chief Raid Saud Qusti. In his article Mr. Qusti features comments that Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif gave to Asharq al-Awsat. The comment that we are most concerned with here deals with the reputed mastermind of the Riyadh bombings, one Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi, alias Abu Bakr al-Azdi. Prince Naif states that al-Ghamdi has surrendered to Saudi security.
May 27th and 28th - A series of sweeps in the city of Medina net a number of suspects in the Riyadh plot. Al-Watan, tipped by a Saudi security source, and other Saudi papers report that Ali al-Ghamdi is among those captured. Prince Naif declines to confirm the reports.
June 1st - The state operated Saudi Press Agency releases a list of the individuals captured in the Medina sweeps. Ali al-Ghamdi does not make the list. In fact, he is referred to as one of those still wanted. His wife, however, makes the list.
June 4th - Sa'id al Harthi, an advisor to Prince Nayef, tells Knight Ridder, in a telephone interview, that the reports in the Saudi press that al-Ghamdi had been taken into custody during the Medina sweeps were not true. Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Gahmdi, alias Abu Bakr al-Azdi, is still at large and Prince Naif should have a public relations nightmare on his hands but, for some reason, doesn't.
June 14th - Prince Nayef says Yemen has not provided information regarding press reports that it has arrested suspected bombings mastermind Ali al-Ghamdi. But Yemeni security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say the Saudi arrested on June 12th, without identification papers, is clearly not al-Ghamdi. This is based on pictures of those still wanted in connection with the Riyadh attacks that the Saudis had given the Yemenis.
The clerics are telling the prisoners that they have strayed from their religion and that they must atone by confessing to everything they know about plans for future terrorist attacks, according to a Western diplomat and a Saudi official.
"These respected religious figures are saying to the young men in custody that they have misinterpreted Islam and gone astray. Now, they have a chance to set things right," said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It's a creative interrogation technique that taps into the suspects' religious fervor."
Unfortunately though, the clerics won't get an oppurtunity to lecture Ali al-Ghamdi on the nature of Islam. Contrary to what Newsday's Mr. Bazzi reports, al-Ghamdi is still very much at large. Posted
10:28 PM
by Robert
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...aimed at improving the country’s image by explaining that Saudi Arabia, like the United States, is a victim of extremists and a reliable ally in President Bush’s war on terrorism.
“Most Americans’ perception of Saudi Arabia is what they get from the pundits,” embassy spokesman Nail Al-Jubeir, told journalists. “They only hear bad news.”
“Recently, the Saudis have had their identity stolen, and their faith hijacked by religious extremists. As a result, the voice of Saudi moderates has not been heard. By itself, a TV ad campaign will not be enough, but it is a crucial component of Saudi efforts to be better understood in the US among the American public,” said Kareem Idriss, a Saudi intern at the Middle East Institute, who next month starts work as a research associate at the New York-based Council of Foreign Relations.
While I am certainly no pundit, I do pay attention to the Arab press that is available in English, such as Arab News, and fbis translations of the Arabic language press.
If the Saudis are concerned with their image of being soft on terror, namely the Shaykh's murderous gang al-Qa'ida, then Prince Naif should not make statements to the press that he later contradicts.
Specifically, I am referring to the comments Prince Naif made to Asharq al-Awsat in mid-May that confirmed the surrender of one Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi. Even Arab News ran those same comments on May 15th in a story by Riyadh bureau chief Raid Qusti entitled "We Won’t Tolerate Instigators: Naif"
Then last week the Interior Minister trotted out his advisor Sa'id al Harthi to tell the world that the reports Ali al-Ghamdi had been captured in the Medina sweeps, as reported first by al-Watan, were not true. Kind of funny, wouldn't you say, since the reputed Riyadh bomb-plot mastermind was, according, to Prince Naif, already in custody.
In my opinion, the Prince should have a public relations crisis on his hands over this matter. But I guess he won't, since we all know what happens to Saudi journos who are, in one recent case for example, critical of the Royal family not cracking down on extremist clerics.
Last week, Prince Naif met with several editors of Saudi newspapers and urged them to avoid publishing news that he said was “damaging and misleading”.
No, Prince Naif. What is "damaging" and "misleading" are your contradictory remarks to the Saudi press for which you can't be held accountable because House Saud owns most of and controls all of the Saudi press. Posted
12:49 AM
by Robert
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On May 15th a piece entitled "We Won’t Tolerate Instigators: Naif" with your byline appeared in the Arab News.
Included in your article was this sentence: "Prince Naif confirmed that one of the 19 terrorist suspects, Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, had surrendered to security authorities."
On June 5th Sa'id al Harthi, an advisor to Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, told Knight Ridder in a telephone interview that reports in the Saudi press [the] last week [in May] that al-Ghamdi was in custody were not true.
Mr. Harthi was referring to reports, which first appeared in al-Watan I believe, in which Saudi sources claimed that Abdul Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi had been captured in the Medina sweeps.
If Prince Naif is on record, in your article, as having confirmed al-Ghamdi's surrender, how is it possible for him to have been, even allegedly, captured for a second time in the Medina sweeps? Did he escape only to be captured again?
Secondly, Mr. Harthi's statement, which represents Prince Naif's position after all, that al-Ghamdi was not in custody is opposed to the Prince's words in your May 15th article where he says that al-Ghamdi had surrendered.
Prince Naif has contradicted himself. How are we to explain this?
Any response from you addressing these points would be most welcomed.
Regards,
Robert Stevens
NY, NY
To his credit Mr. Qusti replied promptly to my email.
How do i explain that Prince Naif contradicted himself? I can't. Maybe you're better off asking him that question.
Nice, huh? There are two possibilities for the tone of Mr. Qusti's response. It could be taken as short and to the point, or as vague and rude. I will, however, extend to Mr. Qusti the benefit of the doubt as it is often difficult to discern a writer's tone in email correspondence.
While he did not offer an explanation for the contradictory statements made by Prince Naif regarding Ali al-Ghamdi, I think we can assume that he stands by his report.
Next up, Awsat's al-Rashed.
Dear Mr Al-Rashed,
I tried to deliver this to your personal mail box at Awsat but it was returned either because your box is full or the email exceeds the acceptable length.
I am writing you in hopes that you can clear up some confusion on my part concerning the status of Ali Abd Al-Rahman Al-Ghamdi.
The reason I am writing you concerning this matter is that Asharq Al-Awsat was cited in Raid Qusti's Arab News piece of May 15th entitled "We Won’t Tolerate Instigators: Naif"
In his piece Mr. Qusti writes that Interior Minister Prince Naif told Asharq Al-Awsat "Prince Naif confirmed that one of the 19 terrorist suspects, Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, had surrendered to security authorities."
Taken alone, this is very good news indeed.
However, On May 29th Al-Watan, and subsequently the international press, reported that Ali Al-Ghamdi had been captured in the Medina sweeps. Prince Naif would not confirm these reports.
What is strange here is not Prince Naif's refusal to confirm Al-ghamdi's capture. What is strange is this; If Al-Ghamdi was already in custody on the 15th, why is Al-Watan, tipped by Saudi sources, reporting Al-Ghamdi had been captured on the 27th or 28th in the Medina sweeps?
You may ask how does this concern Asharq Al-Awsat? Fair enough.
On June 4th Sa'id al Harthi, an advisor to Prince Naif, told Knight Ridder in a telephone interview that reports in the Saudi press [the] last week [in May] that al-Ghamdi was in custody were not true.
This is a stunning reversal of Prince Naif's comments to Asharq Al-Awsat in mid-May.
Thus, the importance of Mr. Qusti's piece in the Arab News and, more importantly, the Asharq Al-Awsat piece which Mr. Qusti cited.
If I may say so, and with all due respect Mr. Al-Rashed, I'm afraid it now falls to Asharq Al Awsat, and to you as editor-in-chief, to either stand by Awsat's May 15th report or offer a retraction, that is if you haven't already offered one.
Perhaps Mr Qusti misquoted Asharq Al-Awsat? That is a possibility.
If not and Asharq Al-Awsat stands by its story, Prince Naif owes us all an explanation for his contadictory claims. Note that when Mr al Harthi states that press reports of Al-Ghamdi's capture are untrue he is speaking as a representative for Prince Naif, which is just as good as Prince Naif making the comments himself.
So, I will put the question to you officially Mr. Al-Rashed: does Asharq Al-Awsat stand by its report in which statements given to Awsat by Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif indicate the surrender of Ali Abd Al-Ghamdi to Saudi authorities in mid-May?
Further, if you would like to offer any personal opinion regarding Al-Ghamdi's whereabouts I would welcome that also.
In closing, let me add that since I do not speak Arabic, and therefore cannot read Awsat's website, I always look forward to reading your essays at Arabview.com. Also, the TIDES Middle East Report sometimes publishes English translations of articles that appear in Awsat.
What are the chances of Awsat coming out with an English Language version of their website?
Thank you, Mr Al-Rashed, for your time and attention to the matter concerning Prince Naif's comments to Awsat and hope that you will be able to clarify this matter to some degree.
Regards,
Robert Stevens
NY, NY
I emailed Mr. al-Rashed yesterday and await his response. Posted
10:46 AM
by Robert
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However, noticably absent from the names of the eleven captured, was Abdul Rahman al-Ghamdi (Ghamidi), who is believed to have been instrumental in planning the Riyadh attacks.
On the 29th, the day after the Medina sweeps, Prince Nayef confirmed that the three jihadist ulemas (clerics) had been apprehended. Al Watan, a Saudi paper tipped by a Saudi security source, asked the Prince if al-Ghamdi had been caught in the roundup also.
Huh? If the Prince had announced al-Ghamdi's surrender a week and a half earlier, why was he being asked if al-Ghamdi had been captured. Keep in mind that all the press in Saudi Arabia is controlled by House Saud and any tips from well placed sources are state approved.
So. Al-Ghamdi is captured twice but, alas, isn't in custody? In fact, if you go look at the press release announcing the capture of the eleven, you will see al-Ghamdi referred to as "one of those wanted."
Make sure you look for Abdul Rahman though, because there are three other al-Ghamdis on that list. But, that's a tale for another day.
Update, June 5 - It's official. Abdul Rahman al-Ghamdi is still at large. Sa'id al Harthi, an adviser to Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, told Knight Ridder in a telephone interview that reports in the Saudi press last week that al-Ghamdi was in custody were not true.
Related: Dan Darling has done some sleuthing and discovered that the al-Ghamdis, yes there are more of them, have a talent for terror in general and a taste for killing Americans in particular. Check out his guest blog from yesterday at Winds of Change. Special Analysis - The Al-Ghamdi Family Posted
9:10 PM
by Robert
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In the weeks leading up to the Riyadh attacks, al Majallah was contacted by not only al Ablaj but also by the newly-appointed al Qaida spokesman, Thabet bin Qais, who said in an e-mail to the magazine that Al-Qaeda had "carried out changes in its leadership and sidelined the September 11, 2001 team."
On Thursday last, the electronic medium reported that al Qaeda had threatened to poison the US water supply. Those reports were based on an email received on May16 by al Majallah from al Ablaj, the "coordinator of the Mujahedin training center" for al Qaeda. Also noted in those reports was that al Ablaj's message established an alliance between al Qaeda jihadis and Saddam Husssein loyalists dedicated to driving American forces from Iraq.
Well, I have stumbled across a translation of the al Ablaj message at Middle East Web News. Al Majallah explains the circumstances of al Ablaj's latest communique...
Contacts and enquiries from various Arab and international media organs have not stopped since Al-Majallah's publication of the message that its correspondent Mahmud Khalil had received about the new strategy adopted by al-Qa'ida organization for the coming state. The message included threats to the Gulf countries, countries allied to the United States, and the United States itself.
Following the closure of the US and British Embassies and their consulates in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran and the subsequent statements voicing fears of major operations, following the bombings in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Casablanca in Morocco, and following the statements of the Saudi Ambassador in the United States that expressed fears and anticipations of imminent bigger operations in Saudi Arabia and the United States, Al-Majallah's correspondent sent several questions to the person calling himself the
official in charge of training in al-Qa'ida, asking him whether the organization was really responsible for the above and other operations.
Al-Ablaj's answers took three days and arrived at the last minutes before the edition was closed to further material. We report them as received...regardless of the contents and what they imply.
The message from al Ablaj concerning "the new strategy adopted by al-Qa'ida" also claimed responsibility for the Riyadh blasts. It was received at al Majallah on Tuesday, May 13, the day after the attacks. In the email al Ablaj said:
"The execution of this plan was not hampered by the recent announcement by the Saudi authorities of the seizure of large quantities of arms and explosives in the kingdom and the hunt for 19 people. Among the priorities of Al Qaida's new strategy, besides strikes at the heart of the United States, are operations in the Gulf countries and countries allied to America, particularly Egypt and Jordan. These operations will target air bases, warships, military camps every (sic) on the Arabian peninsula and in the Gulf."
The Latest Communique
In his latest missive al Abblaj continues to threaten al Qaeda strikes inside America:
Al-Ablaj did not rule out the possibility of "al-Qa'ida using Sarin gas and poisoning drinking water in US and
Western cities." He said that they, al-Qa'ida, "are going to present the Americans with their capabilities."
Is the method of suicide bombers with explosive belts around their waists likely to be moved to US and Western cities and will these cities be attacked with Sarin gas and other means, Al-Ablaj said: "Our operations differ from one country to another according to the capabilities and available resources. We always seek the joints, gaps, and loopholes, especially the deeper ones. And there are many of these to the intelligent and smart person. This facilitates and accelerates our successive and constant blows. Our targets are always strategic."
"As to the use of Sarin gas and nuclear [weapons], we will talk about them then and the infidels will know what harms them. They spared no effort in their war on us in Afghanistan and left no weapon but used it. They should not therefore rule out the possibility that we will present them with our capabilities."
On whether there are anticipated operations against the Americans, he said: "The good thing about this meeting [interview] is that it will be followed by a gift; as Abu-Abdallah [Bin Ladin] said: We will make them shed tears of blood."
Dan Darling has excellent analysis of portions of the message at his blog Regnum Crucis (his permalink to the post is screwy, so scroll down to the entry "A transcript of al-Ablaj's latest rant in al-Majallah")
Dan points out that many in the electronic medium got it wrong when they concluded that al Ablaj's message threatened to poison US drinking water with sarin. What is actually threatened is the use of sarin and the poisoning of drinking water.
Al Qaeda and Saddam
In the new message al Ablaj states, "Al-Qa'ida elements are fighting side by side with the Iraqis." While this does not explicitly spell out al Qaeda cooperation with Saddam loyalists, I think that we can make that assumption when one compares the conclusion of this report from ICT...(Dan found this one)
Following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, we have witnessed the establishment of various resistance organizations that view the occupation of Iraq as a humiliation of, and threat to, the Arab and Islamic world. These organizations are mainly comprised of nationalist and Islamic elements, loyalists of the previous regime and volunteers from various countries, including Taliban and al-Qaida members. Against a backdrop of internal disagreements among resistance organizations, particularly in regards to Iraq’s character and future, we have seen the establishment of the Supreme Headquarters of the Mujahidin in Iraq, a radical Islamic umbrella organization associated with al-Qaida and the Taliban. In our assessment, this body maintains a connection with Saddam Hussein and/or his circle of loyalists, who may be assisting the organization’s activity in Iraq.
Al Ablaj states that al Qaeda does not regard the withdrawal of US military forces from Saudi Arabia as a lessening of American domination in the region:
On the reason for the Riyadh operation after the announcement of the start of the US forces' withdrawal, he
said: "The US forces did not leave Saudi Arabia in response to our demands. What happened was a US military strategy to deceive the Muslims and to wash their hands of the victim (Iraq)." He considered the US forces' departure from Saudi territories as nothing
more than an operation of organization and coordination for these forces in the Gulf.
The daily Okaz, quoting informed sources, said that the alleged mastermind was Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi. The paper reported that al-Ghamdi was arrested in Medina on Tuesday when police stopped a jeep with five men inside. However, Al-Watan daily reported that al-Ghamdi was arrested along with two other men in an Internet cafe in Medina. The paper quoted witnesses at the Internet cafe as saying that al-Ghamdi and two other men observed the noon prayers with workers at the cafe, and were arrested as they left the building. Al-Watan said that as many as five others were apprehended at a house used by the men.
Al-Ghamdi is known to be one of al-Qaida's top men in Saudi Arabia. He was among a group of 19 men wanted in connection with a weapons cache found on 6 May, only a few kilometers from the one of the compounds targeted in the May 12 attacks.
Al-Ghamdi, was reportedly among a group of al-Qaida members who fled from Afghanistan to Iran after the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. There he was active in planning attacks under the direction of al-Qaida's new operations chief, Seif al-Adel, an Egyptian who was involved in the bombings of the American embassies in East Africa in 1998.
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported that the Iranians deported al-Ghamdi to Saudi Arabia. However, according to U.S. officials quoted by the paper, the Saudi government apparently released him once he was on Saudi territory.
According to U.S. intelligence sources, there is strong evidence that the Riyadh attacks were planned and directed by al-Qaida leaders residing in Iran. U.S. officials have said they believe the attacks were ordered by Seif al-Adel, who was in Iran when he ordered the attacks, though they suspect he has since fled the country.
Fled the country? Not so quick. Yesterday I posted an Age report that al-Abdel had been seized in Iran. The Iranians are said to be eager to barter him for senior members of Mujahedin E Khalq. The MEK, if you will recall, is an Iranian opposition group which had operated out of Iraq with Saddam's blessings. Their purpose was to topple the Iranian mullahcracy. The US, before the President labeled Iran part of the axis of evil, had placed the MEK on its list of terrorist organizations, most likely as a concession to the "moderate" Khatami in order to facilitate back-channel diplomacy.
After the recent Iraq War, the US negotiated a ceasefire with the MEK and supposedly disarmed them. There are reports out of Iraq of the strange sight of US troops guarding the weaponless MEK from Iranian insurgent groups, crossing over from Iran with the sole intent of destroying the MEK.
However, the US may have been profiting from MEK intelligence as early as last year. It was the MEK that discovered the Iranian nuclear sites at Natanz and Arak, in addition to the two announced yesterday by the MEK's political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
In fact, The Age is reporting tonight that Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer briefed Secretary Powell yesterday on his negotiations with the Iranian leadership, including proposals that Iran would arrest and deport more al-Qaeda terrorists if "reciprocal" action was taken against the MEK.
Secretary Powell rejected compromise with the Iranian regime and told Foreign Minister Downer that "the heat is on Iran to crack down on al-Qaeda and deliver key suspects in the Riyadh bombings."
[FM Downer] refused to say if the alleged mastermind of the Riyadh bombings and al-Qaeda's chief of security, Saif al-Adel, was in the custody of Iranian security forces. However senior Government officials confirmed a report of his capture in The Age yesterday.
There was solid intelligence from US agencies that Iran had been holding al-Adel since May 3, the officials said. Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna said the handover of al-Adel to the US would be a blow to al-Qaeda.
US officials confirmed they had demanded al-Adel be handed over by Tehran. "There's . . . a concern about whether or not top-level al-Qaeda that are in Iran are being arrested," Mr Fleischer said. Australian officials believe Iran wants to exchange al-Adel and other al-Qaeda operatives for members of the MEK, which operates out of northern Iraq. Tehran told Australian officials they wanted Australia to be a conduit for negotiations with the US.
"It would be a matter of enormous concern to the Americans, but also to us, if the Iranians did not take decisive action against an al-Qaeda presence in Iran," Mr Downer said. A spokesman for Mr Downer said any trade-off over actions against al-Qaeda and the MEK was "an issue for Iran and the US".
Plane Crash Yields Clues
On February 19th an Iranian military plane carrying 200 members of the country's Revolutionary Guard's Imam Ali battalion crashed in the southeastern province of Kerman. The crash, which also claimed the lives of several high ranking Guard officers, was attributed to severe weather. The Guards had visited the impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan area, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, for an "important mission" but the nature of the mission was not specified. Loyal to the Iranian mullahcracy, the Guards were formed in the early days of the Islamic revolution by Ayatollah Khomeini to counter the regular army.
According to a report in Thursday's Guardian, the crash has yielded a "trail of clues" that may be, in part, responsible for the United States adopting a tough line with Tehran in the past week.
The tough line on Iran contemplated by the Bush administration is partly driven by intelligence reports that al-Qaida leaders are being sheltered by the Iranian revolutionary guards at one of the former shah's hunting lodges, it emerged yesterday.
The terrorist leaders suspected of taking refuge in Iran include Saif al-Adel, an Eygptian believed to have risen to number three in the organisation, and Abu Mohammed al-Masri, a suspected organiser of the 1998 embassy bombings in east Africa. They may also include Saad bin Laden, one of Osama bin Laden's sons.
The trail of clues that led to a grand hunting lodge - now a military base - in the eastern highlands near the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, surfaced after an air crash in February outside the city of Kerman killed 200 soldiers from the revolutionary guards.
According to a Washington source, the crash produced intelligence that the revolutionary guards were "hosting" the al-Qaida leaders. One theory is that the soldiers were returning from a tour of duty as guards at the lodge.
The Guardian, echoing my theory that the Muhajedin E Khalq may be an agent of regime change in Iran, has this:
The deputy US secretaries of state and defence, Richard Armitage and Paul Wolfowitz, and the deputy head of the national security council, Stephen Hadley, are due to meet today to discuss a draft "national security decision" directive, which would reset US policy on Iran. The meeting is intended to frame the debate for a later meeting of "principals", the Bush administration's top national security officials, who will decide which course of action to pursue.
The Pentagon is pushing for an aggressive policy aimed at "regime change" in Tehran, through an increase in assistance to opposition groups. Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defence for policy, is promoting the idea of reconstituting elements of the Iraq-based Mojahedin Khalq (MEK) - possibly under a new name - to destabilise the Iranian government.
The MEK has been designated by the US state department as a terrorist group. The suggestion of its possible use has caused an uproar in the state department and in Britain, where the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, insists that his policy of engagement with Iran's reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, has paid dividends.
Mujahideen-e-Khalq, US Intelligence Asset? The Age, an Australian daily, is reporting on their website that senior Iranian intelligence sources have told correspondent Mark Forbes, who is in Tehran, that Saif al-Adel, the number three al Qaeda boss and alleged mastermind of the Riyadh attack, has been seized by Iranian authorities.
US intelligence believes al-Adel maintained contact with an al-Qaeda operative in Saudi Arabia, Abu Bakr al-Azdi (real name - Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi), who directed the bombings on the ground. Intelligence sources said al-Adel, who used to be Osama bin Laden's personal bodyguard, approved the bombing plans before his capture by Iranian security forces at the start of the month, nine days before the attack. Al-Adel was promoted to number three after the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Pakistan in March.
The price for al-Adel, according to the report, would be for Washington to hand over senior members of the MEK, aka the People's Mujahadeen, to Tehran.
Iran appears to be hoping to exchange al-Adel with Washington, in return for the handover of senior leaders in the MEK. Al-Adel would probably be initially deported to Egypt, his place of birth. It is believed that Iran, in talks with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer this week, proposed a deal to take significant action on al-Qaeda if the US cracked down on the militant MEK. Formerly funded by Iraq's Saddam Hussein, the MEK are based in northern Iraq but were not heavily attacked during the US-led invasion.
Iran is concerned that the US military has talked of signing a ceasefire with the MEK, which is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. However, US sources said the group was being disbanded.
Iran wants the MEK leadership deported to Tehran for trial for assassinations and bombings. The US is believed to be prepared to remove the leadership from the region, but is reluctant to give them to the Iranians.
Reluctant indeed. The MEK has proven to be a valuable intelligence asset to the United States. Last year, the MEK discovered two nuclear sites, one in Natanz the other in Arak. The discovery was announced by the MEK's political arm, the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
The facilities [are] two small laboratories that operate as satellite plants to a larger nuclear facility in Natanz, in central Iran. "The Iranian regime is working on other outlets to circumvent international supervision and international monitoring," a council official, Ali Safavi, said. He said one site had already installed several centrifuges for processing uranium, and he called on international inspectors to scrutinize the facilities.
Just last week, Arafat transferred regional governors from the interior ministry to his office- thus removing many of the functions of the ministry, which Abbas holds.
More significant, Arafat retains control of five of the eight Palestinian security services, giving him a veto over any security crackdown Abbas might order under the U.S.-backed ``road map'' to Mideast peace that Israel approved over the weekend.
Palestinian Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan cannot make appointments in the Palestinian security services that are subordinate to Palestinian Interior Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who is also prime minister.
The central committee is one of the most important political bodies in the Fatah and is generally considered to be controlled by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, who is in a power struggle with Abbas over the leadership of the PA.
Central committee members argued that while Dahlan - whom Arafat opposed as a minister - was given the security post, he was not specifically given the authority to hire and fire.
The central committee members argued that Dahlan can only make recommendations for hiring and firing, and it is up to Abbas to execute the recommendations if he accepts them.
Debka reports that "Yasser Arafat is now seriously gunning for the new Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas. He will do anything to abort the summit expected to take place in early June with President George W. Bush and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon:"
Arafat cannot abide the notion of any top-level conference going forward without him. The plot he is thought to be preparing would inculpate Israel for any harm befalling Abu Mazen or his associates. He would thus show the Palestinians and the Muslim world that his arm is still long and that if anyone is bent on sabotaging the prospects of peace it is Israel.
Hoping to blunt the threat, our sources reveal the Americans are trying to go through Europeans with access to Arafat. US secretary of state Colin Powell asked French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin to take with him on his visit to Arafat in Ramallah Monday, May 26, a last warning from Washington: Stop trying to disempower or eliminate Abu Mazen. If you continue to obstruct Washington’s plans for the region you risk a direct American reprisal.
Villepin will find Arafat busy with a complicated scheme that may start with an attack on someone close to Abbas or a Washington-backed appointee as a warning to the Palestinian prime minister to remove himself while he still has time. Aware of the threat, Palestinian interior minister Mohamed Dahlan is ducking his duties in terror prevention saying he needs much more time to get a handle on the job. Abu Mazen, for his part, looks more frightened of high-powered summitry than eager to be part of it. He may even come up with delaying tactics, such as demands for more Israeli gestures to prove it is in earnest about peacemaking.
One of the leading Muslim scholars has issued a fatwa permitting women to carry out suicide attacks. "This obligation reaches the extent that a woman should go out for jihad even without the permission of her husband, and the son without the consent of his parents," he added.
According to his fatwa, the organizers of the suicide attacks "could benefit from some believing [in] women, as they may do what is impossible for men to do." He said Muslim women are allowed to violate Islamic teachings by traveling unaccompanied by a close male relative and without having to cover their heads for the sake of carrying out an attack.
"Concerning the issue of the hijab [veil], a woman can put on a hat or anything else to cover her hair," Qaradawi ruled. "When necessary, she may even take off her hijab in order to carry out the operation, for she is going to die in the cause of Allah and not to show off her beauty or uncover her hair."
"I don't see any problem in her taking off the hijab in this case. I think the committed Muslim women in Palestine have the right to participate and have their own role in jihad and to attain martyrdom."
Sharon did not deliver an enthusiastic speech at the cabinet meeting, nor did he sail off onto great visions of the future. He spoke of the national interest in renewing negotiations, the end of controlling Jenin and Nablus, the achieving of peace and security, the revival of the economy. He admitted he is not enthusiastic about the road map, but rejecting it would be worse.
Among the wavering ministers - Benjamin Netanyahu, Limor Livnat, Tzahi Hanegbi and Danny Naveh - Sharon said they must choose between a current confrontation against the United States and the chance that a debate with Washington would be postponed or ultimately vanish.
Sharon has good reason to be satisfied. In addition to his impressive political achievement, he also notched up a diplomatic one. White House officials were delighted, the Palestinian Authority and French foreign ministers publicly praised Sharon's government, and tomorrow headlines around the world will trumpet Israel's acceptance of the road map.
His treatment of the road map again illustrated the prime minister's decision-making process. Sharon promised several months ago, before the elections, that he would accept the "Bush plan" leading to a Palestinian state, and would get government approval. He stood by his word. But the approval was delayed to the last minute, and required telephone persuasion from President George Bush and an urgent mission to Washington by Dov Weisglass.
Again, Sharon did not take a diplomatic initiative, preferring to wait and react to American demands. It's possible to view this as an expression of political sophistication - the leader of the right prefers to be coerced, and as a result, to thwart the escape route of Likud ministers caught in a dilemma of being faithful to their ideology as opposed to recognizing the importance of good relations with the United States.
Ha'aretz's Gideon Alon notes that two statements were explicitly included in the resolution: The 14 reservations Israel has submitted to the road map will be the government's red line with respect to the plan's implementation and that the United States has promised to "fully and seriously address" these reservations "during the implementation phase."
The issue of "right of return" proved to be the most divisive point however.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom objected to the draft article formulated by Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, which stated that "the Palestinian state" would be responsible for absorbing all Palestinian refugees.
Shalom said he was "unwilling for the resolution to express acquiescence to a Palestinian state" - a somewhat surprising objection, given that the road map explicitly provides for such a state. Nevertheless, a compromise wording was eventually found, which stated that "the resolution of the issue of the refugees will not include their entry into or settlement within the state of Israel."
Even with all these changes, several Likud ministers either abstained or voted against. The most outspoken was Minister without Portfolio Uzi Landau, who declared that "the road map is the most dangerous diplomatic document of the last 50 years for Israel's diplomatic standing and security."
Israel Insider has the official statement from the Prime Minister's Bureau, released by Israel's Government Press Office.
Meanwhile, the Arab News reports Yasser Arafat told the Arabic daily al-Sharq al-Awsat (London) that...
...it is “inadmissible” to kill Israeli women or children even in retaliation for the deaths of Palestinian civilians.In what he described as a message to “young people ready to blow themselves up,” Arafat was quoted as repeating his long-held stand that “we oppose violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.” He then specified what he meant by civilians. “The struggle against occupation is legitimate and I mean ‘soldiers of the occupation.’ It is inadmissible to kill a child or a woman in a restaurant or a cafe,” he said.
When Arafat says "the struggle against the occupation is legitimate" he is not referring to the West Bank and Gaza. He means the entirety of Israel. In this respect he is no different from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade; they do not recognize Israel's legally sanctioned statehood.
Sharon's double bind: On the one hand, Mazen says he will not declare an unequivocal end to terrorism and undertake visible efforts to arrest, disrupt, and restrain individuals and groups conducting and planning violent attacks on Israelis unless Israel concurrently fulfills its part of the roadmap's first phase which is the immediate dismantling of settlement outposts erected since March 2001 and the freezing of all settlement activity. On the other hand, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have explicitly stressed that they will not disarm and will not cease their attacks on Israel.
Mazen's double bind: On the one hand, if he is seen as being too friendly to the Israelis and Americans he turns Palestinians against him and risks assassination. On the other hand, if he bends to Arafats will or is perceived as being too soft on the terror groups, he will be shunned by the Israelis and Americans who leveraged him into his position as PM to begin with. Posted
11:26 PM
by Robert
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