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...

Why is Saudi Arabia going on a weapons shopping spree in Russia?

Russian media outlets are reporting that Saudi Arabia is negotiating a 2 billion dollars weapons deal with Russia which would include the sale of 150 helicopters (30 Mi-35 and 120 Mi-17), over 150 T-90C tanks, about 250 BMP-3 (infantry combat vehicle) armored vehicles and several dozens of anti-aircraft systems and complexes including the brand new S-400 Triumf missile system. In the meantime, Russia is also clearly delaying the sale of its S-300 missile system to Iran prompting some angry remarks from Iranian Chief of Staff of Iran's Joint Armed Forces Hassan Firouzabad. Is this all a coincidence?

One needs to remember here that Saudi Arabia has often served as the USraelian Empire's banker, providing money in support of US strategic objectives (the best examples of this are the war in Afghanistan and the US support for the Nicaraguan "Contras"). Why would Saudi Arabia, which has always relied almost exclusively on US made weapons systems, suddenly turn to Russia? Most definitely not because Russian weapons systems are better - which they undoubtedly are, by the way - as weapons purchases are almost never decided on the basis of technical capabilities. Three factors decide in such deals: the kickbacks given to the officials involved in the deal, the political pressures and allegiances of the countries involved and the offset agreements provided as an incentive by the parties (including, of course, even more kickbacks).

In this case, the US is as least as corrupt as Russia and can easily match any kickbacks, the political allegiances of the Saudis are clearly with the USA, and there is no way that Russia could offer better offset terms than the USA. Hence - the Saudi shopping spree, if confirmed and finalized, is definitely a reward for Russia's reneging on the S-300 deal with Iran.

The Iranian military Chief of Staff Hassan Firouzabad is, of course, quite correct when he asks the key question: "Don't Russian strategists realize Iran's geopolitical importance to their security?". While I am quite confident that Russian strategists understand this perfectly well, I am also inclined to believe that these strategists do not have the final say in Russian policy making. Call it the almighty Dollar, or Ruble, or Riyal - the bottom line is that the Russian government appears to favor short-term economic interests over long-term national security objectives. If that is true, that is very bad news indeed.

The Saker

Riyadh 'offers airspace' for Israel attack on Iran

Press TV reports:

Israeli fighter jets have been allowed to use Saudi airspace to launch go-it-alone air strikes on Iranian nuclear installations, says a recent report.

The issue ahs been discussed in a closed-door meeting in London, where British Intelligence Chief Sir John Scarlett his Israeli counterpart, Meir Dagan, and Saudi official have been present Daily Express.

According to the report Scarlett has been told that Saudi airspace would be at Israel's disposal should Tel Aviv decide to move forward with his military plans against Iran.

The British daily added the likelihood of an Israeli attack against Iran has increased significantly after the country announced plans to launch its second enrichment facility in the central city of Qom.

In line with its policy of nuclear transparency, Iran announced the construction of a second enrichment plant in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog on September 21. The new plant is due to produce enriched uranium up to 5 percent.

The letter was sent 12 months before the agency's regulations oblige its members states to inform of new developments.

With eyes firmly fixed on Iran's nuclear progressions, the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to bomb the country's enrichment facilities out of existence.

Tel Aviv accuses Tehran of nuclear weapons development - a charge rejected by both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, which has so far made "21 unannounced inspections" of the country's nuclear facilities.

The UN nuclear watchdog in its previous reports has confirmed that Iran only enriches uranium-235 to a level of "less than 5 percent."

Uranium, which fuels a nuclear power plant, can be used for military purposes only if enriched to high levels of above 90 percent.

Details of the controversial Israeli plans to attack Iran emerged after John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, recently told a group of intelligence analysts that “Riyadh certainly approves” of Israel's use of Saudi airspace in the event of war with Iran.

Bolton, had previously said he had discussed the possibility with Saudi officials in closed-door meetings. “None of them would say anything about it publicly but they would certainly acquiesce in an overflight if the Israelis didn't trumpet it as a big success.”

The recent revelations follow a flurry of media reports in July, which suggested the Saudi government had approved the use of its airspace for an attack.

While Saudi officials deny having diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, an Israeli defense source has confirmed that the Mossad spy agency maintained “working relations” with the kingdom.

According to a study published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a military exchange between Iran and Israel could result in the death of as many as 6 million people.

Saudi clerics attack Shi'ites, Hezbollah

RIYADH, June 1 (Reuters) - Clerics in Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia attacked minority Shi'ites in a statement on Sunday saying Lebanon's Hezbollah was posturing against Israel to hide an anti-Sunni agenda.

The Saudi government and religious establishment has watched with alarm as the Lebanese Shi'ite group's popularity rose in the Arab world since forcing Israel to withdraw in south Lebanon in 2000 and surviving an Israeli military onslaught in 2006.

Although most Arabs are Sunni Muslims, Hezbollah is generally popular in the region. Saudi Arabia sees the group, which is funded by Shi'ite Iran, as an extension of Iranian power.

"Many Muslims have been fooled by the Shi'ites' claims to be championing Islam and challenging the Jews and Americans and Hezbollah's claims in Lebanon," the statement distributed on Islamic websites said.

"Those who believe their claims have not realized the reality of the infidel bases of their faith ... It was the rejectionist Shi'ites who began the practice of visiting graves and building shrines," it said, citing a major concern of Saudi Arabia's particular brand of Islam, often termed Wahhabism.

"They (Shi'ites) humiliate Sunnis whenever they have the chance, in Iran and Iraq. They are destabilizing Muslim countries as happened during pilgrimage and in Yemen."

Some members of a Shi'ite sect in north Yemen, to the south of Saudi Arabia, are locked in rebellion there. Iranian pilgrims making political statements have often clashed with Saudi authorities during the haj pilgrimage.

Hezbollah and its allies won a bigger seat in government after street fighting broke out between government and opposition militias last month, further alarming Riyadh.

The statement was signed by 22 clerics including the leading independent religious scholars Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak and Abdullah bin Jabreen.

The Grand Mufti, who represents the government's position, was not a signatory but he was quoted in the media during last month's fighting in Lebanon saying groups who raise the banner of Islam were exposing the country to the danger of Israeli reprisals, but he did not specify Hezbollah by name
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Commentary: "infidel bases of their faith". There we go, here is the pure Wahabi view of Shia Islam.

The biggest threat to international security and peace: the "Gang of Four" - let's keep an eye on them!

There is the facade: organization like NATO, or the British Commonwealth, or the Arab League. And then there are the real alliances, the ones that matter when things get tough, when important decisions need to be made. Some of them are centered around a common project, such as the ECHELON countries, while others have almost no visible existence. As usual, these are less conspiracies than collusions. These alliances are informal, they can fluctuate and they can often involve countries which, at least in public, are often opposed to each other.

For years I have had my own list of truly dangerous countries, countries whose governments represent the biggest threat to international security and peace, and I have always tried to keep track of their behind-the-scenes actions. Here is my personal list of 'rogue states', in 'order of toxicity', if you wish:

1) Israel
2) Turkey
3) Pakistan
4) Saudi Arabia

I call them "the gang of four" (a tongue-in-cheek reference to another "gang of four" in China)

The US itself, which is mostly the unwitting (if powerful) puppet in the hands of these countries is really in a category of its own and should be included in this list more as the "conference room" and as a "relay" of the other four than as an actor in its own right (at least as long as the Neocons, having being successful in hijacking American sovereignty, remain in complete command of the USA).

Two countries of the Gang of Four, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, are undergoing an internal political crisis triggered by the deep disconnect there is between the ruling elites (prostitutes of the Empire) and not only their public opinion but even a good chunk of the elites themselves. This is not unlike what is now also taking place in Egypt.

Israel and Turkey are thus the most formidable ones among the others and they are the leaders of the gang; if there is a true 'axis of evil' is certainly the one linking Jerusalem to Ankara.

There are, of course, major differences between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. For one thing, only the Musharraf regime is truly on the verge of a total collapse and Pakistan itself, as a country, is in danger to fall apart into separate entities (one could even make the case that this has already happened). I observe no such thing in Saudi Arabia.

There have been some interesting moves by some Gang members recently.

Last week, it was Turks meeting with the Israelis, primarily to bolster intelligence cooperation. This week, Haaretz broke the story of a secret Barak-Musharraf meeting in Paris. Looks like three out of four Gang members are getting busy. All we need now is a meeting between any one of these three and the Saudis or their numerous trusted middlemen from the business world.

What could these consultations be all about? The Empire is certainly falling apart in many places: Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, South America, Lebanon, Russia, China - all slowly but inexorably slipping away from the imperial control. A huge, financial and economic crisis is looming and there is no foreseeable sign of a recovery, at least not for the USA. As the USA is becoming more and more disoriented from the multiple crises resulting from 8 years of Neocon rule, I expect the Gang of Four to become more and more active.

While it will be hard for us to know what they are up to, we will probably notice and increase of 'chatter' among the Gang members, in particular if Musharraf or Mubarak are violently thrown out of power at which point panic will set in and the remaining gang members will scramble for safety by cracking down on their internal and external enemies.

I ask all of you, my friends and readers, to please keep me informed (by email) if you come across any information about any activity, no matter how apparently small or routine, involving two or more of these Gang members.

Hariri unveils bid on his life, meets Aoun in Paris

Mohamad Shmaysani

The head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP General Michel Aoun will meet in Paris with the head of the Future Movement bloc MP Saad Hariri, the elnashra news site said Tuesday. The site quoted a senior French diplomatic source as saying that preparations for this meeting had been ongoing in secret. The source added that when the security threat to both leaders reached a high level, it was decided to hold the meeting in Paris.

Hariri – Saniora Assassination Plot

Hariri is in Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak over the Lebanese political crisis. He said he had evidence of assassination plots against himself and head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora. Hariri made the claim in response to a question about alleged assassination plots by Syrian head of intelligence Assef Shawqat.

"We have intelligence about this and we are following it up," he told reporters. "The intelligence is correct and our security services are working on it. There is cooperation between Lebanese security services and Arab security services to avoid such assassinations," he said, without specifying which countries were helping in the investigations. Asked about Hariri's comments, an official at the Beirut office of the unconstitutional government said: "It is true and we have been informed about it." Hariri said his talks with Mubarak in Cairo focused on the vote and "the interference of certain states to prevent the holding of these elections." He added that Mubarak had promised to help prevent "any interference in the Lebanese presidential election or anything that might prejudice the stability of Lebanon."

Sfeir Criticizes Washington

The February 14 political bloc however continues to campaign for a presidential vote with the half-plus-one MPs formula; the core of the political crisis with the opposition, which wants elections to take place with the two-third quorum in harmony with the constitution.

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir had said he adhered to the two-third quorum formula. He criticized Washington's indefinite position over the presidential vote. "Sometimes they tell us they are with the two-third formula and at other times they tell us they support the half-plus-one formula and that they back Saniora's government to rule in case of political void," Sfeir was quoted by Assafir daily.

Khoja Meets Saniora, Berri

Meanwhile, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja held a surprise meeting with House Speaker Nabih Berri after meeting with Saniora at the Grand Serail. In a joint press conference with Saniora, Khoja stressed Lebanon will have a new president and expressed confidence in the political players in Lebanon.

The Central News Agency quoted a source in the Saudi embassy as saying that the Saudi role did not retract. The source added that the instructions of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz on how to deal with the Lebanese file are fixed. He also said that Saudi Arabia maintains its position that a Lebanese president should be made in Lebanon in harmony with the constitution without foreign pressure.

Saudi Arabia's true role in the insurgency in Iraq

Saudi Arabia's Myth of Moderation

By Barbara Koeppel

Almost daily, the Bush administration ratchets up the war-like rhetoric about Iran’s alleged role in destabilizing Iraq. Eerily, like the pre-Iraq War drumbeat, the U.S. press repeats the accusations with little skepticism and Congress marches in lockstep, as a new Middle East villain is marked for punishment.

On Aug. 15, front-page stories in the New York Times, the Washington Post and other leading newspapers described how the Bush administration planned to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a “global terrorist” organization for supporting anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli forces in the Middle East.

The administration asserts that with the "terrorist" tag, the elite 125,000-man Guard is no longer a legitimate part of Iran’s military, but a rogue unit ripe for attacking. The move pushes the United States dangerously close to a direct confrontation with Iran, even as the death toll and spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to spiral out of control.

Yet, the U.S. finger-pointing at Iran’s support for Iraqi Shiite militias, including alleged deliveries of armor-piercing explosive devices, obscures the fact that U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia, is implicated by far more persuasive evidence in helping Iraqi Sunni militias with money, weapons and suicide bombers to kill both U.S. troops and Iraqi targets, including civilians.

On the Saudi role, however, the Bush administration and the U.S. press corps are remarkably silent.

By shifting the blame for Iraq’s chaos onto Iran, administration officials also divert attention from their own guilt in wrecking a once-functioning modern country through an unprovoked invasion and an inept occupation. As far as most of the U.S. press corps is concerned, Washington’s goal in Iraq is stability and democracy.

When Saudi Arabia is mentioned, the oil-rich nation usually is depicted as another force for moderation and reform, like in late July when administration officials leaked U.S. plans to sell $20 billion in sophisticated weaponry to Saudi Arabia, purportedly to counter Iranian aggression.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained this was to “give the forces of moderation and reform a chance.”

But unless Rice has been asleep for decades, she has to know the Saudis are neither moderate nor reform-minded. Indeed, Saudi Arabia’s combination of religious extremism and political repression made the country a perfect breeding ground for the likes of Osama bin Laden, most of the 9/11 hijackers – and many of the suicide bombers crossing the border into Iraq.

Ali Alyami, director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, said the basis for the U.S.-Saudi alliance begins and ends with oil.
The deal is simple: the Saudi royal family guarantees a steady supply of oil to the United States and the United States protects the security of the Saudi royal family.

Complicated Relationship

But the U.S. invasion of Iraq complicated the relationship. By installing pro-Iranian Shiites in charge of Iraq, the invasion caused the Saudis to rally to their fellow Sunnis in Iraq, who had slid from a position as the ruling elite under Saddam Hussein to a marginalized and embattled minority.

Further, the Saudis were alarmed by the prospect of a powerful Shiite crescent running from Tehran through Baghdad and Damascus to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The combined oil fields of Iraq and Iran also represented a challenge to the Saudis’ traditional dominance of OPEC and the world’s oil supply.

To counter these strategic and economic threats, Alyami said, the Saudi leaders had to play their hand discreetly. “The royal family are clever like desert foxes, and will do whatever they have to do, to meet their ends,” he told me in an interview.

The Bush administration also had its own geopolitical interest in ignoring the Saudi role in Iraq’s turmoil, since that would disrupt the desired narrative – that Iran, Syria and al-Qaeda were primarily responsible for the violence in Iraq.

The Bush administration has restricted its criticism of Saudi Arabia to the complaint that the Saudis could do more to help with Iraq’s reconciliation.

As for Saudi pledges to stop terrorism, Alayami said they are worthless: “They try, but only on their own turf. They have no interest in stopping it outside their borders.”

Alyami said the royal family’s only true concern is survival, which means maintaining its political control at home, its influence in the Persian Gulf, and its religious-ideological role as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims. Saudi Arabia is home to Islam’s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina.

For these reasons, Alyami said the royal family needs a government in Iraq with a dominant Sunni presence. But since Sunnis make up only about 20 percent of Iraq's population, the United States has had to press Iraq’s Shiite leaders to give the Sunnis more representation than their numbers justify.

But that still is not enough for the Saudis, nor for Iraq‘s Sunni leadership, Alyami said.

Thus, despite their vehement denials, the Saudis send men and money to sustain the Sunni insurgency, which is the primary means to pressure Baghdad’s new power structure to grant the Sunnis greater shares of oil revenue and political influence.

According to media accounts, the Saudi cash delivery system to Iraq is primitive but effective. In December 2006, the Associated Press quoted truck drivers as saying they carried boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, headed for insurgents or the Sunni leadership. The ATM-on-wheels also relied on bus drivers and returning pilgrims from Mecca.

The AP article cited high-ranking Iraqi officials who said “Saudi money comes from private donations, called zaqat, collected for Islamic causes and charities.“ Some is given to clerics “who channel it to anti-coalition forces.“

One Iraqi official said “$25 million in Saudi money went to a top Sunni cleric in Iraq and was used to buy sophisticated weapons, including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles,” the AP reported.

Saudi Role Confirmed

The Iraq Study Group, headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton, concurred, stating that Saudis “are funding Sunni Arab insurgents.”

Besides cash, Saudi manpower has been vital to the insurgents. Since the 2003 invasion, various press accounts have reported that the majority of non-Iraqi Arabs fighting alongside Iraqi insurgents or acting as suicide bombers are Saudis.

To rally recruits to the insurgents’ jihad (or holy war), Saudi clerics, all of whom are on the government payroll, have issued fatwas (religious directives) in Saudi mosques and through the media from 2003 to the present.

The clerics exhort the faithful to go to Iraq to fight infidels, a word that refers to Western military forces, Shiites and anyone who doesn‘t believe in the Salafi (or Wahabi) extreme branch of Islam. The most famous fatwa was signed by 26 senior Saudi clerics in November 2004.

Most Saudi clerics support jihad openly. “If suicide bombers target Saudi Arabia, the clerics call them terrorists,” said Ali Al-Ahmad, director of the Washington-based Institute for Gulf Affairs. “If they target infidels in Iraq, the clerics say it’s the right thing to do.“

Rather than punish the 26 clerics, the government rewarded them, Ahmad said, promoting several and giving one cleric four weekly television shows on four different Saudi stations.

Alyami contends the government could silence the clerics if it wanted to. “Saudi Arabia is a country where the government controls every facet of life,” including religion, education, the justice system, military, police, economy and media, he said.

For those who criticize the government, retribution is swift, from losing jobs to bans against public speaking to arrest, torture and execution.

Just this year, for example, Amno Al-Faisal, a member of the royal family and columnist in the Saudi newspaper, Al-Watan, criticized the justice system. He was immediately banned from writing anything further.

Poet Ali Al-Domaini and two professors, Dr. Matrouk Al-Faleh and Dr. Abdullah Al-Al-Hamed, were imprisoned in 2004 for calling for elections and political reform. They were jailed for 18 months and when released, banned from travel, government work, political activities, writing, giving lectures and talking to the media.

So, critics say, it’s hard to believe that the Saudi government couldn’t muzzle radical clerics if it had the desire.

Direct Evidence

While the Bush administration has had trouble making a convincing case about Iran’s covert role in the Iraqi insurgency, Saudi dissidents point to direct evidence implicating powerful Saudis.

For instance, Ahmad cited a secret tape recording of Sheik Saleh-al-Luhaidan, chief of the Saudi judiciary, recruiting young people to join the Iraqi insurgents. On it, Luhaidan approves the transfer of men and money from Saudi Arabia to jihad leaders in Iraq, stating “he who wages jihad needs no permission … if his intention is to raise up the word of God. Then he is free to go.”

In 2005, Ahmad obtained a copy of the tape and gave it to NBC, which reported that it had confirmed the tape’s authenticity. Luhaidan remains chief of the Saudi Supreme Court.

As for stopping Islamic extremists at the border, Ahmad said, “Usually, Saudi border guards cooperate and look the other way.”

Though some jihadists are caught trying to enter Iraq and their arrests are publicized, the vast majority makes it across.

“The royal family doesn’t care how long the war in Iraq lasts or how many people are killed; it only care about its interests,“ Alyami said.

The number of Saudis who have been killed in Iraq varies depending on the source. Ahmad, who collects the names from terrorist groups’ communiqués and Internet sites, estimates the number could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000, though other estimates are lower.

An Israeli group, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA), reported in 2005 that during six months in 2004-2005, Jihadi-Salafi Web sites listed 154 Arabs as killed in Iraq. Of these, 94 (or 61 percent) were Saudis.

Of the 154 Arab deaths, 33 were suicide bombers, with 23 (or 70 percent) coming from Saudi Arabia, GLORIA reported.

Despite the evidence linking Saudi Arabia to the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, the Bush administration consistently downplays or ignores these reports. Conversely, it plays up every scrap of evidence implicating Iran, a longtime target that President George W. Bush famously counted in the “axis of evil” with Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea.

If the full story of Saudi interference in Iraq were ever told, however, the Bush administration would have a much harder time selling the American people on the $20 billion arms sale.

The Saudi connection to the Iraqi violence also would trash the administration’s favored narrative that blames outside forces – al-Qaeda, Iran and Syria – for most of the trouble.

To prevent any straying from the official story line, the U.S. government – and much of the U.S. news media – have put on blinders that focus American attention on the enemies Bush wants punished, not his friends.

Barbara Koeppel is a Washington-based investigative reporter.

Saudi prince sponsors terrorist group

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan supports the terrorist group Mujahedin Khalq Organization after he backs al-Qaeda and Fath al-Islam.

In an MKO congress held recently in MKO's Ashraf military camp in Iraq, Prince Bandar donated $750,000 to the exiled terrorist group in the presence of the former Iraqi Baath leaders, intelligence officers, several members of al-Qaeda and armed group Ansar al-Sunna, Baztab Internet site reported.

The Iraqi daily 'Al-Bayyinah al-Jadidah' wrote the Saudi prince has mentioned several conditions for helping the congress of terrorists, including the weakening of the present Iraqi government and the participation of Sunnis and Shiites who supported the former Ba'athist regime in the congress.

Prince Bandar, who has served 20 years in the US, has close ties with US President George W. Bush.

The Saudi prince has also played a pivotal role in bringing the Saudi and Zionist regimes closer.

Prince Bandar's support from MKO in Iraq, al-Qaeda both in Iraq and Afghanistan and Fath al-Islam in Lebanon is a clear instance of interference in Iraq's internal affairs.

Can you guess where the Fatah al-Islam roots are?

The Arab extension of Fatah al-Islam

When the battle between the Lebanese army and the Fatah al-Islam militant group broke out on the 20th of May, pro-February 14 (supporters of Siniora and his Imperial bosses - VS) media outlets sought to exploit the incident and link the militant group to Syria, overlooking the diversity in the nationalities of its members.

Sultan Abul Aynain, the secretary of PLO factions said in an interview with the Sharq al-Awsat daily that the number of Saudis killed with Fatah al-Islam had reached 23, adding that they were all buried in mass graves inside the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, north of Lebanon. Abul Aynain also said that 20 other Saudis were still fighting against the Lebanese army in the camp. The PLO official's information crossed with what the Saudi daily Al-Hayat published about Saudi members of Fatah al-Islam, even if their numbers did not match the number given by Abul Aynain. Furthermore, burial ceremonies, during the last week of June, for dozens of people in the camp were delayed upon requests by Saudi Arabia and Tunis to retrieve their dead nationals. In a televised interview, the Minister of Defense in the unconstitutional government Elias el-Murr confirmed that Fatah al-Islam organization is linked to Al-Qaeda. El-Murr had earlier said that Fatah al-Islam was responsible for the Ain Alak bombing in Mount Lebanon, which killed 3 people and injured many others. He added that the group that carried out the attack comprised four Syrians and three Saudis, including Abdullah Bishi, the man whose repatriation was requested by Saudi Arabia.

The Lebanese government agreed to repatriate Bishi, however the approval of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud is still needed. Saudi Interior Minister Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz also called on the Lebanese government to repatriate Saudis still in Lebanese custody, among them is Fahed Meghames, the head of the Barr Elias cell, where three booby trapped cars and arms caches were found.
Moreover, three Saudis were among five gunmen killed in clashes with the Lebanese army in the town of Kalamoun, north of Lebanon last week. The two others were a Lebanese and an Iraqi.

Before the battle of Nahr el-Bared broke out, Syrian authorities killed on the 10th of last May four Fatah al-Islam gunmen on their way to Iraq, indicating that Lebanon was being used as a springboard for militants to the outside on the one hand and a resting place for the returning militants. Prior to this, the US Council of National Intelligence warned in February 2006 against the return of those militants saying they would become the new Arab Afghans in Lebanon. Accordingly, Fatah al-Islam is an organization that comprises members from various Arab nationalities, not to mention Bengali and Chechen members.

However the February 14 ruling bloc still insists on linking this organization to Syrian intelligence services, without proof or convincing facts. According to the Lebanon News Agency, eight Saudi cadres in Fatah al-Islam have been taken out of Lebanon; one of them is a financier who has close ties with Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, the head of the Saudi National Security Council.

Saudi king snubs Abbas

Saudi king snubs Abbas

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has snubbed the Palestinian president, skipping a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas on a visit to Jordan.

An Abbas official said "the meeting was postponed due to lack of time as both leaders had busy schedules", but Al Jazeera's David Chater, reporting from Jordan, said it was a deliberate and undiplomatic snub.

Abbas was kept waiting at a palace room for a telephone call that never came.

Instead, the Saudi monarch, who brokered a power-sharing deal between Abbas's Fatah faction and rivals Hamas in February, urged both sides to talk to each other, saying the infighting was benefiting only the Israelis.

It would be a bitter pill for Abbas to swallow, just days after he dissolved the unity government set up under the Saudi deal and accused Hamas of attempting to assassinate him.

He had said then that he would not enter into talks with the group after it seized Gaza and humiliated Abbas by occupying his presidential compound there.

The official from Abbas's office said Abbas would meet Abdullah in Saudi Arabia "in the few coming weeks" but gave no details.

The leaders had been expected to discuss Hamas's takeover of Gaza.

The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt all fear that armed groups in their countries will be emboldened by Hamas's move and while they have publicly shown the Palestinian president support, they have also leaned on him to engage Hamas once more.

The Saudi monarch and his Jordanian counterpart, King Abdullah II, said on Wednesday that Hamas's Gaza takeover – which in effect split the Palestinians into two entities – could have "dangerous repercussions".

The Americans and Saudis are Behind Attacks in Lebanon

Reading the tea leaves: The tune being played by Westerners and their allies in the region under the guise of preserving international justice is enflaming internal dissention in the land of the Cedar [Lebanon].

Beirut: Since last Thursday, the day that the United States, France and Great Britain filed a motion at the U.N. to ensure the setting up of an international court to judge the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , everyone knew that repercussions would not be long to follow in the land of the Cedar.

This is true first of all because this is a particularly sensitive question in Lebanon. It is one of the bones of contention among a number of groups. The majority are gathered under the banner of “March 14th Movement” - also known as the Movement of the Future - centered around the Hariri family - which holds the post of prime minister in the person of Fouad Siniora .

Allied with them are those that support the Lebanese Forces of Samir Geagea , who was recently released from prison after being implicated in a number of massacres, and who is a partisan of the Gemayel family [The Gemayal family has spawned three previous Lebanese Prime ministers, who were regarded as pro-Western ].

[Editor's Note: The March 14th movement came into being exactly one month after the February 14th, 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, when massive demonstrations were held across the country calling for democracy, punishment for the assassins, and an end to Syrian influence ].

The opposition, primarily the Hezbullah Party, the Amal Party and the patriotic faction of General Aoun , rallied its forces under the banner of the “Movement of March 8th” [the date of a protest in favor of Hezbullah and Syrian influence in Lebanon, which occurred the week before the March 14th protests].

These two entities [the Hezbullah and Amal Parties] - momentarily allied due to electoral agreements and even as allies within the government - have split due to conflicting interests: class, religious and geopolitical …

Today the international court, as it has been proposed, has raised the specter of a return of Lebanon's old demons. This is because events that took place over twenty years ago could be rehashed, and if the will for national reconciliation hasn't completely ended, it is in any case politically limited.

THE DEATH OF RAFIK HARIRI

In what one must necessarily label "monkey-business," the Western countries - particularly France and the United States - are playing from a particular song-sheet, which was written after the death of Rafik Hariri. This song sheet is the cantata of U.N. resolution 1559 , played in two parts: The withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon (they arrived in 1986 with the consent of Western nations); and then the disarmament of armed factions - including Hezbullah and other Palestinian groups.

These steps are aimed at isolating anything on the regional landscape that could be construed as an alliance with Syria and Iran, which have been accused of being the source of all evil (hence the axis of evil so dear to George W. Bush). Hezbullah is therefore targeted, both politically and in religious terms.

The Saudi Arabians - Sunnis whose financial interests in Lebanon are obvious - have all but been designated to play the role of policeman, indeed, even as the dispenser of justice. This situation - which the Saudis dearly hope is being accepted as a new way of doing things - is more true in Lebanon than it is in Iraq, where the clash between the region's Shiites and Sunnis is creating a new and dangerous dynamic for the people of the Middle East, and primarily for the Palestinians.

It is in the context of this confrontation and overall tension that the war in Lebanon began in the summer of 2006. The Israeli plans were ready. But their unexpected defeat altered the consequences. The Shiite movement of Hassan Nasrallah came out of the confrontation strengthened, and even in Sunni regions of the Middle East, the Hezbullah leader's performance was appreciated. This aggravated Washington - which sees the specter of Teheran everywhere, but it was also a problem for Riyadh, which intends to defend its interests.

It is with this backdrop, worsened by the gridlock of Lebanese institutions - the resignation of Shiite ministers, which left the government without constitutional legitimacy, and with a Parliament that doesn't convene any longer, which means that the question of Presidential succession cannot be viably resolved for now - that a storm is approaching Lebanon from every direction.

Consequently, it's easy to manipulate and - relying upon international media - encourage people to adopt the dominant thesis, and especially, to help create or activate small religious groups.


YEMENITES FROM BANGLADESH …

In Europe, we have certainly discovered the existence of Fatah Al-Islam. Within a space of two days, this Islamic group killed close to thirty Lebanese soldiers and, being in a Palestinian refugee camp, it has sown disorder and doubt.

There are practically no Palestinians members of Fatah Al-Islam, as has been shown by the identities of those who were cut down by Lebanese forces over the last two days. They are Yemeni, Bangladeshi and others.

All Palestinians organizations have denounced the deception practiced by this group. Yesterday, certain Lebanese newspapers recalled that last February, four members of this group had been detained and confessed to having instigated an attack near Beirut, in a Christian area. But at the time, the authorities did nothing to eradicate the group. In the same way, when one knows how difficult it is to enter a Palestinian refugee camp - whose access points are controlled by the army - one wonders how such a thing could have happened and whose interests it served.


TENSION CONTINUES TO GROW



Part of the answer has been provided by American journalist Seymour Hersh, known for his revelations about all that is hidden in the international card game. He has an extensive network that provides him with information, and he is regularly informed of secrets by former agents from international secret agencies.

In an article published by The New Yorker in March 2007, Hersh shows that a strategy of confrontation in Lebanon, between Sunni Islamists and Hezbollah, is taking shape under the aegis of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney .

An ex-spy for the British secret service, the famous MI6 is quoted. Alistair Crooke, that is his name, created a think tank in Beirut called “Conflicts Forum,” explains why the Lebanese government favors the entry of such combatants onto its territory.

“It could be very dangerous” he says. He quotes one of these extremist Sunni groups: the Fatah al-Islam, which settled in the camp at Nahr al-Bared. There were 200 of them. “I was told that within twenty-four hours they were being offered weapons and money by people presenting themselves as representatives of the Lebanese government’s interests - presumably to take on Hezbullah.”

According to the French ambassador to the U.N., resolution 1559 regarding the international court could be voted on the end of the month. Meanwhile, the tensions in Lebanon grow by the day, the preparations for war against Iran are gathering apace and the Gaza Strip is nothing but blood and fire

source: http://english.wa3ad.org/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=1458