Has Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan gone completely insane?

(Originally written for the Asia Times)

All signs are showing that the otherwise secretive Saudi regime is angry.  Very, very angry.  Not only did the KSA refuse to take a seat at the UNSC, but now the Saudi spy chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, appears to be threatening the USA with a "major shift" in "relations with the United States in protest at its perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran".  The WSJ provides some further details:

In the run-up to the expected U.S. strikes, Saudi leaders asked for detailed U.S. plans for posting Navy ships to guard the Saudi oil center, the Eastern Province, during any strike on Syria, an official familiar with that discussion said. The Saudis were surprised when the Americans told them U.S. ships wouldn't be able to fully protect the oil region, the official said.

Disappointed, the Saudis told the U.S. that they were open to alternatives to their long-standing defense partnership, emphasizing that they would look for good weapons at good prices, whatever the source, the official said.

In the second episode, one Western diplomat described Saudi Arabia as eager to be a military partner in what was to have been the U.S.-led military strikes on Syria. As part of that, the Saudis asked to be given the list of military targets for the proposed strikes. The Saudis indicated they never got the information, the diplomat said.

Bandar (aka Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud)  spent most of his career in Washington DC where he was the Saudi ambassador from 1983 to 2005 where he was considered exceptionally close to the Bush family.  Not only that, he could observe, as no one else could, how the US went to war against Iraq not once, but twice, in 1991-1992 and, again, in 2003-2005.  So he, of all people, should now that a) the USA does not have the physical capability to "fully protect" the entire oil region of the KSA and b) that the US would only share a critical proposed strike list with close Anglo allies (the UK and, maybe, some other Anglo country).  Not even the Israelis or the French would be given that kind of access.

So what in the world is Bandar upset about?!

Sure, there are other good reasons for him to be angry: the entire Saudi strategic plan to defeat the Shia in the Middle-East has fallen apart.

The Saudis wanted to trigger an insurrection in Syria, then execute a "false flag" chemical attack, then have the USA take out the Syrian regime and replace it with a Saudi puppet regime of Wahabi liver-eaters.  That would isolate both Hezbollah and Iran.  The Saudis would let the Israelis deal with Hezbollah while they would then push the USA into a confrontation with Iran.

As strategic plans go, this was a pretty good one too but it was based on a fundamental misunderstanding the of Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah determination to defeat it.  We know that Russia sent a very powerful naval task force to the Syrian coast, we have pretty good information showing that Iran covertly sent both equipment and combatants to Syria and Hezbollah publicly admitted that it sent several thousands of its combatants into Syria.  These combatants are really those who turned the tide of the war on the ground (especially around al-Qusayr).  What we don't know (but what must have happened for sure) is what Russia, Iran and Hezbollah told the USA through their back-channel communications.  I personally have a very strong feeling that some very serious threats were made by one or several of these parties and that these threats were taken very seriously by the White House.  Yes, of course, we then had Kerry's "rhetorical point" about Syria giving up chemical weapons, but there are plenty of indicators that the US had already decided to "fold" 2-3 days before this actually occurred.  Whatever may be the case, it is clear that the US took the only possible sane decision and decided that it did not want to start a major war in the Middle-East.

Did the Saudis really think that the USA would take on Syria, Hezbollah, Iran and Russia on their behalf?

Now let's look at the Saudi reaction.  First, they refused to take their seat at the UNSC.  So what?!  With the predictable exception of Kuwait and Bahrain, who is going to be heartbroken at not having the Saudis sit at the UNSC?!  Kosovo?

And now comes this threat of a "major shift" in the US-Saudi alliance.

What in the world is Bandar talking about again?!

First, does Bandar really believe that the USA vitally needs the KSA?  Does he not realize that the USA be self-sufficient in energy pretty soon?  Or does he not realize that the days when ARAMCO was the key to the strength of the dollar are long gone and that now the strength of the dollar depends mostly on US military and financial power?  And even if the KSA was vital to the strength of the dollar, does Bandar really think that he can threaten US vital strategic interests with impunity?

Second, if Bandar wants to shift away from the alliance with the USA, where does he think he could shift to?!  Most definitely not China which has a very serious "Islamic problem" on its hands in its western provinces, not the EU which is faithfully committed to its colonial status in the US Empire, and nobody in Africa - even less so after the recent carnage in Kenya.  Nobody in Latin America for sure, if only because of its long history of anti-US struggle and its large Arab population which know what kind of sick ideology Wahabism is.  In Asia, maybe the desperate rulers of the DPRK or Burma would want to explore options, but that's about it.  So unless Bandar thinks he can punish the US by shifting its alliance to some "heavyweights" like Kuwait or Bahrain, one can only be left wondering of what Bandar has in mind.

Think about it: first he threatens Putin with terror attacks during the Sochi Olympics and now he threatens the USA with "dumping" it?!  This would be comical if the House of Saud was not sitting on a huge amount of money which they have - and will - use to spread terror and Wahabi extremism all over the planet.

Which brings me to my last question: does Bandar really not understand how fragile his regime is?  

Does he seriously believe that he can threaten both the US and Russia and get away with it?

Maybe the poor man believes that the Bush clan will do something about it, but if so, then that hope misplaced.  Sure, the Bush family and the House of Saud are old accomplices in all sorts of ugly deals, but not only are the Bush people currently not in power, but they will always love their money more than they will love their friends.  And the truth is, neither the Bush family nor even the USA need the Saudis all that much.

The reverse, however, is not true.  The Wahabi house of Saudi is sitting on top of a treasure trove of Shia oil (the oil rich regions of the KSA are also the ones where a repressed Shia minority lives).  Both Bahraini and the Saudi regimes have held on to power only thanks to a ruthless and systematic repression against its population, especially the Shia.  For the Wahabis, to stay in power means killing Shia, lots of Shia.  And to do that, one needs a "protector" at the UNSC.  In the case of the KSA, this protector has always been the USA.  But just imagine what could happen if the USA withdrew its protection of the KSA at the UNSC.  Imagine what kind of signal that would send to the repressed Shia in these two countries?  Without even going into a R2P situation, it is pretty obvious that the Saudi regime only serves "at the pleasure of the US President" and that it could be summarily dismissed.

But Bandar seems to be completely oblivious to that.

My personal feeling is that Bandar must have gone clinically insane.  Either that or it is the entire House of Saud has gone mad, maybe as a consequence of its degenerate lifestyle.  Who knows?

If Bandar is "retired: - administratively or physically -  sooner rather than later, then its option one.  If not, then its option two.  But either way, the writing is on the wall for the House of Saud.

The Saker

Saudi beheadings bring execution tally to 60 this year

Al-Akhbar reports:

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded by the sword two nationals convicted of murdering a Syrian and of armed robbery, the interior ministry said.

Ibrahim al-Qanbar and Ahmed al-Musalam were found guilty of attacking a labor camp and opening fire on residents, killing Mohammed al-Shuja and wounding another person, the ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

Qanbar was also charged with several acts of armed robbery, it said.

The beheadings in the Qatif district, in Eastern Province, brings to 60 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP count.

In 2012, the US-backed Gulf country executed 76 people, according to a tally based on official figures. Human Rights Watch has put the number at 69.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery, drug trafficking, sorcery and witchcraft are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's medieval justice system.

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich on Iran's political course after elections

 
Comment: As always, Soraya brings up an important point - the consistently nefarious role of Saudi Arabia which, on one hand, acts like the US and Israeli "poodle" when it closes its airspace to a President whose trips it does not approve of, but which on the other hand strives to impersonate some kind of regional power.  Therein lies the key contradiction: you cannot be somebody's vassal state *and* a pretend credible regional power, hence the truly nasty, toxic and consistently evil stance the KSA takes on everything, from its medieval internal policies to its systematic involvement into any conflict in the region.

Frankly, if it wasn't for a multi-billion "respectability" PR campaign and for all the money the Saudis gladly hand out to westerner, the KSA would share the podium with the DPRK and Israel as one of the most corrupt, disgusting, immoral and outright crazy regime on the planet.

The Saker

Chechen deja vu...

Oh God, it appears that everyday some appalling video comes out of Syria. Though these are mostly from the anti-government side, supporters of government have also produced their own share of horrors.  I know about a video of prisoners stabbed to death, and of another of prisoners being cut into pieces by a chainsaw while forced to scream "Assad is my god!".

But there is an important difference between the two sides.

While both sides have committed atrocities, at least the pro-government forces did not proclaim that they were acting lawfully or in the name of God.  They committed their atrocities away from the gaze of the crowds.  Not so the Wahabi crazies.  Just like in Chechnia, these guys actually organize public events with the sole purpose of showing such atrocities.  Just like in Chechina, they real aloud some kind of pseudo-religious sentence and then they proceeds to execute the "guilty" parties.

I think that this is an obvious and very important difference: while there are bloodthirsty maniacs on both sides (as I wrote previously), such maniacs are always present in any group of people), on the government side they act in their own, self appointed, capacity, they are not the official norm, and they don't pretend to be upholding any law.  Not so with the Wahabis: they very openly claim to be acting legally and morally, they are actually very proud of their actions, and the clearly present their atrocities no as a shameful deed, but as the norm, as the law of the land should they ever get to power.  See for yourself:



When  I see these SOBs I feel a deep sense of rage and I always have fantasies about Russian Airborne Forces simply wiping them all off the surface of the planet.  I know it is not going to happen, and I know it should not even happen.  Only the Syrians can save Syria.  And yet, if Russia is the only great power who really understand the nature of these Wahabis crazies and has the means to crush them, I have to say that part of me regrets that Russian Airborne Forces are not be send in to finally eliminate these murderous psychopaths (and I know that they would gladly oblige, given the chance, as Russian paratroopers will never forget what they saw Chechnia).

The best cure for Wahabism

At the very least, I hope that these images will be shown on Russian TV and on the RuNet (Russian speaking Internet).  The type of "deja vu" such scenes will have in most Russians will put a great deal of pressure on the Kremlin to hold strong to its current support for Assad and, possible, even strengthen Russia's help to Damascus.

The Saker

Assad and the Syrian Army are fighting for all of us

So it turns out that the Boston bombers are two Chechen brothers who are "refugees" even though neither is from Chechnia proper (they are from Kyrgyzstan). But nevermind that, here is the interesting part: check out the Russian "Facebook equivalent"  (called "V Kontakte") page of the younger of the two brothers, Dzhohar (named after Dudaev I suppose...):

How do you like that combination: "World view: Islam; Personal priority: Career and money".

Which clearly tells us that this young man's "Islam" is a micron thin.  He calls himself Muslim, but that is only a label.  His *real* ethos is one of a typical post-modern teen, centered on worldly goods.

I bet you his older brother is the real crazy one, this was just a typical follower.

Yesterday I watched an interesting report by the "Vice" reporters entitled "Killer Kids" which shows how the Taliban use 6-12 year old kids to carry bombs to specific locations and how then they remotely blow them up.

Again and again and again and again, I can only repeat what has become my deeply held and sincere belief: there is no possible dialog or co-existence with these crazed thugs, nor does it make sense to shed crocodile tears on the "innocent civilians" supporting or even harboring them.  The *only* way to deal with these guys is to offer them the "Putin choice": "either stop and renounce your ways, or be prepared to be exterminated".

Please notice that I said "renounce your ways".  I have no problem at all with somebody wanting independence for his/her region, nor do I have a problem with any religious belief system (except Wahabism and Rabbinical Judaism).  But the kind of crazed thuggery and blind terror these Wahabi/Taliban/al-Qaeda/etc. types engage in cannot be dealt with in any other way.  

And yet even this bombing will do nothing to change the way the USA deals with this issue: they will make outraged speeches about these bad bad bad terrorists in Boston, and then give standing ovations to the very exact same terrorists when they blow up (not pressure cookers, but entire cars!) in downtown Damascus.

So you will forgive me if when I see the bombings in Boston, I think of the many bombings in Syria, and I sincerely wish the Syrian Army all the success possible in ridding the planet from all those who commit such acts.

In Russia many analysts have said: "Assad is fighting for us, because every Jihadi he kills in Syria is one less Jihadi we will have to kill in Russia".

I wish the folks in Boston (and the rest of the USA) also understood that simple truth.

The Saker

Unbelievable - the Saudis are at it again!

Just a few hours after writing about how the Saudis are seriously considering crucifying a Shia cleric, I come across this news item: now the Saudis are apparently considering deliberately paralyzing a man.  Check out this BBC article: Amnesty 'outrage' at Saudi paralysis sentence.  Here is an excerpt:

The reported sentencing of paralysis for a Saudi man as punishment for paralysing another man has been described as "outrageous" by a leading human rights group.  Saudi reports say the 24-year-old man could be paralysed from the waist down if he cannot pay his victim one million riyals (£250,000) in compensation.  Amnesty International says the sentence is a form of torture.  The man has been in prison for 10 years since he stabbed a friend in the back.  Saudi newspapers say Ali al-Khawahir was 14 when he paralysed his friend in the attack in the Eastern Province town of al-Ahsa.  The law of qisas, or retribution, in Saudi Arabia means his victim can demand that he suffers exactly the same punishment as he caused.

 Good God, what is wrong with these people?  Have they lost any kind of common sense?  Do they not have a sense of shame of belonging to society which can actually adopt a law which allows for the deliberate paralyzing of a healthy person?!

This just comforts me in my belief that there is no form of compromise possible between the Wahabism and the rest of mankind.  Putin was right when he told them "change your ways or prepare be exterminated".

What also baffles me is the deafening silence of the Muslim world out there. Why? Because in the case of Sheik Nimr al-Nimr "The prosecutor invoked haraba, a form of Islamic punishment enforced by the Saudi government, involving crucifixion and dismemberment" while in this latter case, "The law of qisas, or retribution, in Saudi Arabia means his victim can demand that he suffers exactly the same punishment as he caused".  Now, I am clearly no Islamic legal scholar, but even I am aware of the fact that the vast majority of Muslim countries do not practice crucifixion, dismemberment, stoning or deliberate paralyzing.  And yet, Islamic law is invoked in these cases and that, I believe, does require some kind of a reaction from those Muslims who do not consider as legitimate the Wahabi interpretation of Islamic law.  What are the most respected Muslim scholars saying about this?  What does the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have to say about that?

Why are Iran and Syria alone in openly denouncing these murderous psychopaths?!

The Saker

The USA - in bed with the worst of the worst

Please take a look at this article from the al-Akhbar English language website. I think that it is extremely interesting as it shows the true face of the Saudi Kingdom, not one of modernism and progress, but one of crass pre-medieval barbarity.  Let me point of a few things here:

Wahabi crucifixion in Yemen

a) Crucifixion as a method of executing is legal in Saudi Arabia.  Yup, that's right.  What the pagan Romans did 2000 year ago, the Saudi Wahabi still do today, and its all legal.

b) The Saudis practice dismemberment. Now that practice has far more recent precedents, in particular in the European Middle-Ages.

c) The person they want to crucify is a Shia cleric. Yes, you read that right - a Shia cleric. The charges against him?  “inciting sectarian strife,” “aiding terrorists,” and “insulting Gulf leaders and scholars.”  Translated into plain English these would read: support for the cause of the oppressed Shia minority in the KSA, having contacts with Iran, criticizing Wahabism.  In other words, he is clearly a "prisoner of conscience", a political prisoner, somebody charged with political crimes and not actual criminal violations.

Do you remember Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani?  She is an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for the murder of her husband by a court in Tabriz.  Her case the entire planet erupted in protests, and even many friends of Iran used all their connections to have this sentence overturned which, eventually, it was.  Her final status is still unsure.

Now, as an Orthodox Christian I oppose the death penalty on principle.  Furthermore, the idea that the all-loving and infinitely merciful God would want anybody to be executed by stoning, crucifixion or dismemberment strikes me as absolutely preposterous and outright blasphemous.  I therefore am absolutely appalled that a court in Iran would be capable of handing down such a barbaric sentence.  However, having said that, I do not some striking differences between the two cases.

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr

Ashtiani was accused of murder. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has not committed any violent crime.  Then, Ashtiani's case triggered a huge worldwide wave of outrage.  Has anybody even heard about the case of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr?  Not the Western "human rights" organizations for sure.  They are probably too busy presenting the "Pussy Riot" group as a noble defender of free speech...

I have written many times here that the Zionist entity called "Israel" is an abomination, a stain on the honor of the entire planet, a disgrace for all of mankind: it is the last openly racist state on the planet and it's ideology actually makes the claim that Jewish racism is God-given.  Yes, I still believe that Israel is truly the worst abomination on the planet.  But I would rank Saudi Arabia as a clear second worst regime.  Both Israel and the KSA are anachronisms is the sense that their true ideology is medieval in its barbarity and fundamentally aggressive and violent by nature.

And yet, these are the closest allies of the USA in the region.  The USA, Israel and the KSA - talk about an axis of evil!  Talk about "rogue nations"!

And yet, who stands up to these two murderous and crazed regimes?  Really only Iran.  Everybody else either lacks to guts to say anything, or they actively collaborate with these states and their respective lobbies in the USA.

And in the meantime, while the USA is subsidising these to satanic regimes with billions of dollars, the Zionists and the Wahabis are destablizing countries worldwide.  As for Iran, the only country to truly stand up and resist these two abominations, it is the victim of international sanctions under the totally fallacious pretext that one day Iran "might" develop a nuclear weapon while being under the stricest of monitoring by the IAEA.

It is undeniable that the USA is "in bed" with the worst of the worst, regimes which are so evil and corrupt as to justify their worst abominations by claiming that this is the Will of God.

I can only hope that the BRICS countries will now reach out to Iran and help it economically and politically.

The Saker

The scum of the earth

RT reports: Saudi preacher gets fine and short jail term for raping and killing daughter



Image from facebook.com @We-are-supporting-Manal-Alsharif claims to show Fayhan Ghamdi

Public anger has gripped Saudi Arabia after a prominent preacher who raped and beat to death his 5-year-old daughter was sentenced to a few months in jail and a $50,000 fine – known as 'blood money' – to compensate the victim's relatives.

­According to Islamic law, the 'blood money' can be paid in lieu of the death penalty. The preacher's fine was reportedly half the usual amount because the victim was a girl.

Saudi preacher Fayhan Ghamdi, a frequent guest on Muslim TV networks, confessed to using cables and a cane to inflict the injuries, AFP reported, quoting activists from the group ‘Women to Drive.’

Ghamdi reportedly doubted that his daughter, Lama Ghamdi, was a virgin, and forced her to undergo a medical inspection.

In December 2011, Lama was admitted to hospital with multiple injuries, including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm, and extensive bruising and burns, according to the activist group. Hospital worker Randa Kaleeb said that the girl's back was broken, and that she had been raped "everywhere."


Lama al-Ghamdi (Screenshot from youtube.com)

­The hospital told the victim's mother that her child's “rectum had been torn open and the abuser had attempted to burn it closed,” AFP reported on Saturday.

In October 2012, the girl died from her injuries. The following November, the father was arrested. The judge ruled that the "blood money and the time the defendant had served in prison since Lama's death suffices as punishment," activists reported.

The incident sparked public anger in Saudi Arabia, prompting an online Twitter campaign calling for more severe punishment for violence against women and children. The 'Women to Drive' campaign, launched by women's rights activist Manal Sharif, has demanded the creation of legislation that would criminalize violence against women and children.

The petition is circulating on Twitter under the hashtag 'Ana Lama' – "I am Lama" in Arabic.

The issue has gained widespread traction in Saudi Arabia, and authorities promised to set up a 24-hour hotline that will take calls regarding child abuse.
-------
Other stories from the wonderful KSA:

• 90-year-old Saudi man buys underage girl for marriage
• Saudi Arabia orders walls in shops to divide male, female coworkers
• Saudi Arabia beheads young migrant maid for killing infant
• Sharia police state? Saudi husbands can track wives’ travels electronically

Bosnia v5, Chechnia v4, Kosovo v3, Libya v2, Syria v1

This could have been footage made in Bosnia, Chechnia, Kosovo or Libya, but it happens to have been made in Syria.  Same faces, same crazed expression, same murderous determination - this is the face of US-sponsored Wahabi Islam and this is what the so-called "friends of Syria" are trying to put into power in Damascus.

Frankly, and in a very naive way, when I listen to these lunatics I have visions of Russian Il-76MDs bringing a few divisions of Paratroopers to free Syria from these murderous thugs.  Of course, this is not going to happen and, frankly, I don't even really think that it should happen since Russia has, of course, no business at all policing the planet.  And yet, I feel heartbroken for the Syrian people whose future under the rule of this unholy NATO-Wahabi alliance looks outright terrible.

Judge for yourself by listening to the candid ravings of these madmen:

Syrian rebels set to execute Ukrainian journalist

RT reports:



NGOs are urging Syrian rebels to release a Ukrainian journalist, Anhar Kochneva, who is set to be executed Thursday. Meanwhile the group behind the kidnapping warned it would now target all Russians, Ukrainians and Iranians on Syrian soil.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), ARTICLE 19, the International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders issued a joint statement expressing deep concern about Kochneva’s life and urging the leadership of the Free Syrian Army and of the Syrian Opposition Coalition to ensure that the journalist is safe and set free.

The groups also called on the French, British and US governments, as well as the European Union to work with the Syrian opposition to facilitate her release.

Kochneva, who has reported critically about the Syrian rebels for Russian and Ukrainian news outlets, was captured in the beginning of October near the restive city of Homs. The kidnappers, allegedly members of the Free Syrian Army, threatened to kill her on December 13 if a US$ 50 million ransom is not paid.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities urged Damascus to work more actively to help free the journalist. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Aleksandr Dikusarov said that Kiev expects “concrete results” in attempts to release her.

In response to the Ukrainian demands, Kochneva’s kidnappers posted a video in which they threatened to target the embassies of Ukraine, Russia, as well as all Russians, Ukrainians and Iranians in Syria.

“We urge not to let a single Russian, Ukrainian or Iranian alive out of Syria,” the rebels said in the video, aired by Ukrainian news channel Ukraina.

The rebels label Kochneva a spy, claiming that she was carrying arms and worked as an interpreter for the Russian officers.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not issue comment on the latest video, saying its authenticity cannot be verified, according to Ukraina news channel.

A month after the kidnapping, a video message from Kochneva was published online in which she appealed to the Embassies of Ukraine and Russia, as well as the Syrian government, to meet the demands of the kidnappers.

On the 28 November, in the second video, Kochneva read a text in Arabic admitting to having participated in the fighting, working as a military interpreter with Syrian and Russian officers.

CPJ, ARTICLE 19, the International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders doubt the objectiveness of these videos. “We are deeply concerned that in both video appeals the journalist seems to be speaking under pressure,” they said in their statement released on Wednesday.

Photo from Anhar Kochneva’s Facebook account

Photo from Anhar Kochneva’s Facebook account

Orthodox priest kidnapped in Damascus found dead

Agenzia Fides reports:

The body of the Greek-Orthodox priest Fr. Fadi Jamil Haddad, pastor of the church of St. Elias in Qatana, was found today in the Jaramana neighborhood (north of Damascus) not far from the place where he was kidnapped, on October 19, by unidentified armed group (see Fides 24/10/2012). This was confirmed to Fides by Fr. Haddad’s Greek-Orthodox confrere, who asked for anonymity. " His body was horribly tortured and his eyes gouged out," he told Fides. "It is a purely terrorist act. Fr. Haddad is a martyr of our church. "

With regards to the responsibilities of the terrible act there is an ongoing rebound of responsibilities between the opposition forces and government authorities, that accuse the armed gangs of armed rebellion in the army. According to Fides sources, the kidnappers had asked the priest’s family and his church a ransom of 50 million Syrian pounds (over 550 thousand euro). It was, however, impossible to find the money and meet this exorbitant demand. A source of Fides condemns "the terrible practice, present for months in this dirty war, of kidnapping and then killing innocent civilians."
 
Among the various Christian communities in Syria, the Greek-Orthodox is the largest (with about 500 thousand faithful) and is concentrated mainly in the western part of the country and in Damascus. 

This act just goes to show that the Wahabis hate Orthodox Christians just has much as they hate any other religion.  Not big news, really, not after Bosnia and Chechnia, but I hope that this information makes it into the Russian media as an extra incentive to do whatever it takes to prevent the Wahabis from ever taking power in Syria.

The Saker

Pakistan sectarian bus attack in Kohistan kills 18

The BBC reports:

Gunmen have killed at least 18 Shia Muslim bus passengers in a sectarian attack in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan, officials say.

The attackers are reported to have checked the identity cards of all the passengers before removing the Shias and shooting them.

About 27 other passengers on the bus were spared. (...) Last month more than 30 Shias were killed in an attack on a mosque in north-west Pakistan.

Yet another typical example of the rabid hatred the Wahabi/Salafi/Takfi/al-Qaeda/etc. -types (call them what you wish) have for the Shia.  It is in this context that the slow encirclement of Iran via Syria and the bloody crackdown in Bahrain is now taking place.

Saudi woman to be lashed for defying driving ban

The BBC reports that a court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for breaking the country's ban on female drivers. Well, I have always said that Saudi Arabia is the worst hell hole on the planet and that Saudi Wahabism is quasi-demonic religious sect every bit as bad the Ziocon propaganda depicts it to be.  But the brazen arrogance of actually officially enforcing such laws still amazes me.

To think that the USA, which fancies itself some kind of "world defender of human rights", is allied with these Saudi crazies is just the pinnacle of ridicule...

How al-Qaeda got to rule in Tripoli

By Pepe Escobar for the Asia Times online

His name is Abdelhakim Belhaj. Some in the Middle East might have, but few in the West and across the world would have heard of him.

Time to catch up. Because the story of how an al-Qaeda asset turned out to be the top Libyan military commander in still war-torn Tripoli is bound to shatter - once again - that wilderness of mirrors that is the "war on terror", as well as deeply compromising the carefully constructed propaganda of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) "humanitarian" intervention in Libya.

Muammar Gaddafi's fortress of Bab-al-Aziziyah was essentially invaded and conquered last week by Belhaj's men - who were at the forefront of a militia of Berbers from the mountains southwest of Tripoli. The militia is the so-called Tripoli Brigade, trained in secret for two months by US Special Forces. This turned out to be the rebels' most effective militia in six months of tribal/civil war.

Already last Tuesday, Belhaj was gloating on how the battle was won, with Gaddafi forces escaping "like rats" (note that's the same metaphor used by Gaddafi himself to designate the rebels).

Abdelhakim Belhaj, aka Abu Abdallah al-Sadek, is a Libyan jihadi. Born in May 1966, he honed his skills with the mujahideen in the 1980s anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan.

He's the founder of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and its de facto emir - with Khaled Chrif and Sami Saadi as his deputies. After the Taliban took power in Kabul in 1996, the LIFG kept two training camps in Afghanistan; one of them, 30 kilometers north of Kabul - run by Abu Yahya - was strictly for al-Qaeda-linked jihadis.

After 9/11, Belhaj moved to Pakistan and also to Iraq, where he befriended none other than ultra-nasty Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - all this before al-Qaeda in Iraq pledged its allegiance to Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and turbo-charged its gruesome practices.

In Iraq, Libyans happened to be the largest foreign Sunni jihadi contingent, only losing to the Saudis. Moreover, Libyan jihadis have always been superstars in the top echelons of "historic" al-Qaeda - from Abu Faraj al-Libi (military commander until his arrest in 2005, now lingering as one of 16 high-value detainees in the US detention center at Guantanamo) to Abu al-Laith al-Libi (another military commander, killed in Pakistan in early 2008).

Time for an extraordinary rendition

The LIFG had been on the US Central Intelligence Agency's radars since 9/11. In 2003, Belhaj was finally arrested in Malaysia - and then transferred, extraordinary rendition-style, to a secret Bangkok prison, and duly tortured.

In 2004, the Americans decided to send him as a gift to Libyan intelligence - until he was freed by the Gaddafi regime in March 2010, along with other 211 "terrorists", in a public relations coup advertised with great fanfare.

The orchestrator was no less than Saif Islam al-Gaddafi - the modernizing/London School of Economics face of the regime. LIFG's leaders - Belhaj and his deputies Chrif and Saadi - issued a 417-page confession dubbed "corrective studies" in which they declared the jihad against Gaddafi over (and illegal), before they were finally set free.

A fascinating account of the whole process can be seen in a report called "Combating Terrorism in Libya through Dialogue and Reintegration". [1] Note that the authors, Singapore-based terrorism "experts" who were wined and dined by the regime, express the "deepest appreciation to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation for making this visit possible".

Crucially, still in 2007, then al-Qaeda's number two, Zawahiri, officially announced the merger between the LIFG and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM). So, for all practical purposes, since then, LIFG/AQIM have been one and the same - and Belhaj was/is its emir.

In 2007, LIFG was calling for a jihad against Gaddafi but also against the US and assorted Western "infidels".

Fast forward to last February when, a free man, Belhaj decided to go back into jihad mode and align his forces with the engineered uprising in Cyrenaica.

Every intelligence agency in the US, Europe and the Arab world knows where he's coming from. He's already made sure in Libya that himself and his militia will only settle for sharia law.

There's nothing "pro-democracy" about it - by any stretch of the imagination. And yet such an asset could not be dropped from NATO's war just because he was not very fond of "infidels".

The late July killing of rebel military commander General Abdel Fattah Younis - by the rebels themselves - seems to point to Belhaj or at least people very close to him.

It's essential to know that Younis - before he defected from the regime - had been in charge of Libya's special forces fiercely fighting the LIFG in Cyrenaica from 1990 to 1995.

The Transitional National Council (TNC), according to one of its members, Ali Tarhouni, has been spinning Younis was killed by a shady brigade known as Obaida ibn Jarrah (one of the Prophet Mohammed's companions). Yet the brigade now seems to have dissolved into thin air.

Shut up or I'll cut your head off

Hardly by accident, all the top military rebel commanders are LIFG, from Belhaj in Tripoli to one Ismael as-Salabi in Benghazi and one Abdelhakim al-Assadi in Derna, not to mention a key asset, Ali Salabi, sitting at the core of the TNC. It was Salabi who negotiated with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi the "end" of LIFG's jihad, thus assuring the bright future of these born-again "freedom fighters".

It doesn't require a crystal ball to picture the consequences of LIFG/AQIM - having conquered military power and being among the war "winners" - not remotely interested in relinquishing control just to please NATO's whims.

Meanwhile, amid the fog of war, it's unclear whether Gaddafi is planning to trap the Tripoli brigade in urban warfare; or to force the bulk of rebel militias to enter the huge Warfallah tribal areas.

Gaddafi's wife belongs to the Warfallah, Libya's largest tribe, with up to 1 million people and 54 sub-tribes. The inside word in Brussels is that NATO expects Gaddafi to fight for months if not years; thus the Texas George W Bush-style bounty on his head and the desperate return to NATO's plan A, which was always to take him out.

Libya may now be facing the specter of a twin-headed guerrilla Hydra; Gaddafi forces against a weak TNC central government and NATO boots on the ground; and the LIFG/AQIM nebula in a jihad against NATO (if they are sidelined from power).

Gaddafi may be a dictatorial relic of the past, but you don't monopolize power for four decades for nothing, and without your intelligence services learning a thing or two.

From the beginning, Gaddafi said this was a foreign-backed/al-Qaeda operation; he was right (although he forgot to say this was above all neo-Napoleonic French President Nicolas Sarkozy's war, but that's another story).

He also said this was a prelude for a foreign occupation whose target was to privatize and take over Libya's natural resources. He may - again – turn out to be right.

The Singapore "experts" who praised the Gaddafi regime's decision to free the LIFG's jihadis qualified it as "a necessary strategy to mitigate the threat posed to Libya".

Now, LIFG/AQIM is finally poised to exercise its options as an "indigenous political force".

Ten years after 9/11, it's hard not to imagine a certain decomposed skull in the bottom of the Arabian Sea boldly grinning to kingdom come.

Note

1. Click here

Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009).

He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com.

An interesting theory about that took place in Bab al-Azizia

Fabri Malek, spokesperson of the Libyan Democratic Party, went on the Iranian Press TV channel and presented an interesting theory about what actually happened in Bab al-Azizia:

Malek: It is all over for Gaddafi, there is no doubt about that. What happened is a result of a deal [that] Gaddafi cut with the fundamentalists, with the Islamists, about three weeks ago and Seif al-Islam was telling us about it that he was conducting negotiations with the Islamists within the revolutionaries while the Islamists denied it.

The deal was that Gaddafi would be given safety in the tribe of Warfalla and his family would be under the protection of the tribe of Warfalla and Gaddafi would hand over power to the Islamists.

So now what we are seeing is that the Islamists in Libya are in control, almost in full control of the country, east and west and I am afraid that Libya is going fundamentalist.

Press TV: If we assume that deal has indeed taken place, then where does that leave the NATO forces in Libya?


Malek: The deal was that Gaddafi will have safety, he will not be killed and he will not be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) . Of course, we all know that he and other members of his family are wanted by the International Criminal Court, so he reached this deal with the fundamentalist, he wants to escape justice, he wants to remain alive with the Warfalla tribe who have supported him for the last forty two years and stood by him throughout the revolution while the Islamists will have a free hand in Libya.


We say in the Democratic Party that we need the help of the United Nations, we appeal to Mr. Obama, Mr. Cameron, Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Berlusconi, and Mr. to intervene immediately.


Press TV: So you are saying that the NATO forces were not aware or aren't aware of this deal and are not aware now of the whereabouts of Gaddafi and that this is a deal just between Muammar Gaddafi's side and, as you say, the Islamists' side?


Malek: Of course they[NATO] are aware of where he is, they know about the deal. What is happening now is we need an intervention by the United Nations, we need a political mandate for establishing democracy in Libya; we Libyans cannot do it on our own.


The fundamentalists have no concept of democracy; we have seen them in Somalia, we have seen then in Sudan, we have seen them in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, they just cannot run a country; we need the United Nations' help, we need a mandate from the United Nations, we want to establish democracy in Libya.

If that is true, that is a copycat repetition of what happened in Bosnia and Kosovo.  Yet again, CIA/MI6/Mossad & Co. are working hand-in-hand with al-Qaeda types.  The Wahabis truly are the stormtroopers of the USraelian Empire...

Full interview (video & transcript) here: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/195579.html

Is Saudi Arabia next? If so, that could very dangerous

RT TV has just announced that the Shia of Saudi Arabia have declared that this Friday will be a "day of rage".

Considering that the US Empire will use absolutely all of its capabilities and resources to maintain its control on Saudi Arabia it is frighting to think of what could happen if Saudi Arabia blows up.  Saudi Arabia is neither Egypt, nor Libya. the differences are substantial.

First, I suspect that the grip of the House of Saudi on the country they rule is far stronger that Mubarak's.  Furthermore, I cannot image that the Saudis would have courage, intelligence, staying power and sophistication which the Egyptians have shown.

Second, the Saudi system of cronyism, patronage, tribalism and family connections is far more effective than the one implemented by Gaddafi (judging by how fast Libyan fat cats have turned their coats and supported the rebellion in an amazing 180deg turn).

Ikhwan leader

Lastly, the KSA has a praetorian guard in the form of the "National Guard" which is not at all what the name might suggest.  It is, in reality, a successor force to the infamous Inkhwan, a uniquely Wahabi kind of terror squad: very primitive, totally ruthless and utterly brainwashed.  The NG (currently 125'000 soldiers plus another 25'000 tribal thugs) is just the same Inkhwan, but with a modern polish on it, though it is still always commanded by a high ranking member of the royal family.  This force is mobile and extremely well armed (courtesy of Uncle Sam).  Interestingly, this force has no main battle tanks which, if needed, proves again that the only 'enemy' it is trained to fight (by Uncle Sam, of course) is the civilian population of the KSA.

Now consider this: if the Saudi regime throws the National Guard against the Shia of the Eastern Province then we can expect a bloodbath several orders of magnitude bigger then the relatively tame combats (so far) in Libya.  Needless to say, nobody in the Hague will investigate anything, no UNSC sanctions will be adopted, no monies abroad seized, etc.  So what will happen then?

Will it be possible for Iran to stand by while Shias are murdered by the 21-century version of the Inkhwan?  I really don't know.

Iran could very easily defeat the KSA, of course, in particular in the Shia areas of the country.  Both the Saudi military and the NG are lousy military forces, in particular compared to the Iranian military or the Pasdaran.  In case of military conflict the outcome would be preordained.  The problem is that the Saudi Shia have the bad luck of living right on top of the KSA's biggest oil reserves and there is absolutely no way, no way in hell, that the US Empire will ever allow Iran to control this territory.

In other words, the internal crisis in the KSA might well result in a US attack on Iran.

Nobody will be happier than I if one day the House of Saud falls and Shia of the KSA recover their freedom from the Wahabi crazies, but I have to point out that unlike the events in Tunisia, Egypt or Libya, a crisis in the KSA would entail a far more dangerous situation which could very rapidly become internationalized.

The Saker

PS: don't take this to the bank, but as far as I know, the favorite fetish of crazed Wahabis (Chechnia, Bosnia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algeria, etc.) for cutting the throats of their prisoners comes from a desire to be Ikhwan-like as the latter are the ones who started this fashion.  I am not sure about that though, nor do I know where the Ikhwan got that idea.

Does anybody know if there any Koranic or "Sunnic" (is that English?) basis for throat-cutting?

The Lahore attack: a textbook example of destabilization

The BBC reports:

Gunmen have attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team on its way to play in the Pakistani city of Lahore. At least six policemen escorting the team bus were killed, along with a driver. Seven cricketers and an assistant coach were injured. Pakistani officials said about 12 gunmen were involved and grenades and rocket launchers have been recovered. Officials said the incident bore similarities to deadly attacks in Mumbai in India last November.

(...)

Pakistan invited Sri Lanka to tour only after India's cricket team pulled out of a scheduled cricket tour on security grounds, following the Mumbai attacks.

(...)

But a Pakistani minister, Sardar Nabil Ahmed Gabol, reportedly told private Geo TV that evidence suggested the attackers came across the border from India. He said the assault came in reaction to the Mumbai attacks, and was a "declaration of open war on Pakistan by India".
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Commentary: The Lahore attack is a textbook example of the real danger Sunni Islamic extremists pose to the world. Following the Mumbai attacks, India and Pakistan were on the brink of war but India refrained from retaliating. This time, a top Pakistani official blames India for, quote, "an open declaration of war on Pakistan" even though all the evidence points to the fact that the Sri Lankan team was chosen by the terrorists as a substitute for the Indian team which, wisely, chose not to travel to Pakistan.

True, the Wahabis/Salafis/Deobandi/etc do not present a classical military threat to most of the world - in that sense they are only a local threat - but is their now clearly established potential to trigger a major war between two nuclear powers not a major "threat to international peace and security" (to use the official expression?)

Iran to probe into Parachinar 'genocide'

Press TV reports: A report to the Iranian parliament has cited grave human rights abuses against Shias in the northwestern Pakistani city of Parachinar.

Lack of government control over the highly sensitive border areas of Kurram Agency, the capital of which is Parachinar, has lead to an increased Taliban presence in the area.

Local Pakistani media reported last week that Taliban-linked militants in Parachinar, Hangu district and much of the Kurram tribal agency have during the last six months been engaged in sectarian violence and have killed 25 to 30 people on a daily basis.

Military forces based in the areas usually avoid the violence which has caused uproar in the territory bordering the Tora Bora region in Afghanistan, the media report said.

The National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) has received a report on the situation in Parachinar.

"The report provides evidence of a humanitarian disaster in that region, which unfortunately due to the crisis in Iraq and Gaza has not garnered media coverage," Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh told Tabnak on Saturday.

Falahat-Pisheh affirmed that the parliament would investigate the "genocide" through relevant international agencies.

"We are pressuring international human rights organizations to dispatch fact-finding missions to the area," he added.

Taliban militants have launched deadly attacks against the enclave of Shiites settled in Parachinar and have blocked road routes to the city since April 2007 when sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis broke out after provocative remarks by a Wahhabi against historical Shiite figures.

The Taliban sided with the Sunni majority in the country, imposing an ongoing 20-month blockade which has caused serious food shortages.

The Pakistani government has on various occasions dispatched relief convoys loaded with food and medicines to the area, but most supplies are confiscated by the militants and the drivers are killed or kidnapped.

In a recent incident, the militants beheaded a police officer on Thursday and kidnapped four Shia Muslims on their way to Parachinar.

"Taliban militants beheaded a policeman and kidnapped four Shias in Tal, a town 45 km northeast of Miranshah," a security official told the European strategic intelligence and security center last week.

The grave situation has also prompted the leading Shiite figure of Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to issue a ruling -- known as a fatwa -- encouraging all Shiites in Pakistan to do what they can to help their "brethren" in Parachinar.

"Pakistan says it cannot control the situation in the area, but this is a lie, they have got troops inside Parachinar but the population are better off without them," Hussein Ali Shahriyari, another Iranian lawmaker, said.

Press reveals gruesome details about the Mumbai attacks

Rediff India Abroad reports:

Doctors shocked at hostages's torture

by Krishnakumar P and Vicky Nanjappa in Mumbai

They said that just one look at the bodies of the dead hostages as well as terrorists showed it was a battle of attrition that was fought over three days at the Oberoi and the Taj hotels in Mumbai.

Doctors working in a hospital where all the bodies, including that of the terrorists, were taken said they had not seen anything like this in their lives.

"Bombay has a long history of terror. I have seen bodies of riot victims, gang war and previous terror attacks like bomb blasts. But this was entirely different. It was shocking and disturbing," a doctor said.

Asked what was different about the victims of the incident, another doctor said: "It was very strange. I have seen so many dead bodies in my life, and was yet traumatised. A bomb blast victim's body might have been torn apart and could be a very disturbing sight. But the bodies of the victims in this attack bore such signs about the kind of violence of urban warfare that I am still unable to put my thoughts to words," he said.

Asked specifically if he was talking of torture marks, he said: "It was apparent that most of the dead were tortured. What shocked me were the telltale signs showing clearly how the hostages were executed in cold blood," one doctor said.

The other doctor, who had also conducted the post-mortem of the victims, said: "Of all the bodies, the Israeli victims bore the maximum torture marks. It was clear that they were killed on the 26th itself. It was obvious that they were tied up and tortured before they were killed. It was so bad that I do not want to go over the details even in my head again," he said.

Corroborating the doctors' claims about torture was the information that the Intelligence Bureau had about the terror plan. "During his interrogation, Ajmal Kamal said they were specifically asked to target the foreigners, especially the Israelis," an IB source said.

It is also said that the Israeli hostages were killed on the first day as keeping them hostage for too long would have focused too much international attention. "They also might have feared the chances of Israeli security agencies taking over the operations at the Nariman House," he reasoned.

On the other hand, there is enough to suggest that the terrorists also did not meet a clean, death.

The doctors who conducted the post mortem said the bodies of the terrorists were beyond recognition. "Their faces were beyond recognition."

There was no way of identifying them," he said. Asked how, if this is the case, they knew the bodies were indeed those of the terrorists, he said: "The security forces that brought the bodies told us that those were the bodies of the terrorists," he said, adding there was no other way they could have identified the bodies.

An intelligence agency source added: "One of the terrorists was shot through either eye."

A senior National Security Guard officer, who had earlier explained the operation in detail to rediff.com, said the commandos went all out after they ascertained that there were no more hostages left. When asked if the commandos attempted to capture them alive at that stage, he replied: "Unko bachana kaun chahega (Who will want to save them)?"

The Mirror reports:

The only terrorist to be captured alive in the Mumbai massacre has revealed how he was ordered to: “Kill until your last breath.”

Azam Amir Kasav – dubbed the Smiling Assassin after his grinning face was flashed around the world as he gunned down commuters at Mumbai’s CST railway station – said he and his fellow terrorists were told by their commanders to carry on firing until they themselves were dead.

Nine of the 10 men who set sail from Pakistan on Wednesday did just that – but Kasav survived with bullet wounds.

Yesterday it emerged he cracked in hospital when he saw the mutilated body of another terrorist being wheeled towards the morgue and begged: “I do not want to die. Put me on saline.”

Under interrogation Kasav, who speaks fluent English, made a series of dramatic confessions to Indian police.

He revealed terrorist planners had visited Mumbai a month ago to take photos and film the spots they wanted to hit, including the Taj Mahal Palace hotel where it is now suspected two “sleeper” terrorists were working as a chef and waiter.

He also revealed that his Pakistani gang had slit the throat of a coastguard before sailing into Mumbai to launch their killing spree.

Once holed up inside the Taj they texted their fanatic pals to brag they were eating curry while slaughtering guests.

News of the confession came as the first pictures emerged from inside the luxurious hotel where the bloody three-day siege ended yesterday.

Indian police will use the evidence of 21-year-old Kasav, from Gipal Pura in Pakistan, to help track the brains behind the plot which is now feared to have claimed more than 300 people.

Kasav was captured alive after fleeing Mumbai’s railway station in a stolen Skoda on Thursday evening. As he sped off he was involved in a gun battle with a police officer. Kasav took two bullets, the officer was killed.

The young killer had pretended he was also dead, but as his body was taken to hospital police saw him move and anti-terror officers pounced.

Kasav eventually told detectives that he was among a group of 10 who left Karachi in Pakistan on one boat for the 500-mile journey to Mumbai.

Six miles from Mumbai they overpowered a fishing vessel called Kuber, hoping to use the local boat to pass through a checkpoint. But the plan failed when a coastguard cutter approached them.

When the cutter was alongside they struck and one of the coastguard had his throat slit while the other was made to navigate the men onwards to Mumbai.

Four miles out, they dumped the vessel before switching to dinghies to enter India. Each man had an AK47 machine gun, 50-bullet magazines and eight hand grenades.

Kasav told police their aim had been to create another 9/11: “The Taj was to be reduced to rubble – and we had the ammunition to do it,” he said.

Last night more details began to emerge of the horror inside the Taj and the Oberoi Trident hotels during the siege.

Terrorists had ordered the chefs to cook them chicken and lamb curry, which they feasted on while picking out hostages to kill. Groups of terrified guests were tied and bound with bed sheets, marched into rooms and ordered to urinate on one another.

Before people were shot they had their wallets emptied and were stripped of all their jewellery.

According to survivor reports, the gang had whooped with joy as news broke that intelligence chief Hemant Karkare and other policemen had been killed outside.

A police source told the Sunday Mirror: “The ballroom was the control room used by the attackers. They packed it with satellite phones, mobile phones, computers and TVs. We are going through all the information now to see what we can find.”

The Indian Army finally brought the siege at the Taj to an end yesterday when hundreds of soldiers stormed the building just after 7am, killing the remaining three terrorists.

Now the grim task of calculating the final death toll in the city will begin. The current estimate is 195 but many officials expect it to reach over 300.

Lines of ambulances queued outside the Taj ready to move the 100 or more dead bodies which are still inside.

A fireman battling the blaze inside the 530-room Taj said: “There are bodies everywhere, I have never seen anything so bad. We have to work around all the bodies to put the fires out.”

Thousands of Indians arrived at the gates of the hotel and spontaneous applause broke out when exhausted-looking soldiers walked out of the building at the end of the siege. Some people wandered around quietly clutching images of friends feared dead in the attack. But others cheered as they celebrated an end to the terror.

The British Embassy in Mumbai said about 40 Britons caught in the attacks flew home yesterday.

Millionaire British businessman Andreas Liveras, 72, was shot dead during the atrocities and another 16 Britons were injured.

Seven are still in hospital, at least two with serious injuries. At least 22 foreigners are known to have died, including victims from Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia, Italy, Singapore, Thailand and France.

A spokesman for the British Embassy said: “We believe all the British victims have now been accounted for.”

He said the embassy did not believe any of the terrorists are from the UK, ending speculation of a British link to the attacks.
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Comment: the corporate media likes to sensationalize, in particular any "patriotic" media, that is a given, but these reports are important not only because they could be true, but also because even if they are exaggerated or fabricated (and I am *not* saying that they are!), this is what the Indian public is reading and one can easily imagine the outrage felt by every reader.

While I have no way of knowing how accurate these reports are, I will say this: everything described here is full consistent with kind of vicious atrocities Wahabis elsewhere have committed many times (including in Chechnya, Afghanistan or Bosnia). Slitting throats and torturing before executing is something we should expect from Wahabi crazies, be it in India or elsewhere.