Terrorism and national security-Jour111

Short, but curious

mac9 — Fri, 18 May 2007 07:37:18 +0000

Washington Post published a story the other day which I found very interesting, although it’s a bit of a stretch, it does deal with issues of national securtiy. The Department of Defense has begun blocking such social networking sites as youtube and myspace, also 11 other websites that were not named in the article, making it so that these sites can not be accessed on military computers. This means soldiers serving in combat areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan will no longer have regular access to family and friends through these websites, which is mostly what they are used for. Although they can still get to the websites through internet cafes on the bases, this will restrict communication. A spokesperson for US strategic command had cited that there is a worry this kind of use could overwhelm the military’s system and cause leaks of sensitive materials, thus causing security issues. Also included in the article is the fact that many soldiers are using the sites, especially youtube to post footage of their experience, although it is forbidden to post unclassified material, apparently much of the footage shows the anger and frustration of troops serving in the Iraq war.

Terrorist networks….

mac9 — Wed, 02 May 2007 07:12:08 +0000

A story about the five men arrested in the UK, in today’s Australian, questions the attention the UK has been paying to terrorism on its own soil, suggesting perhaps they are complacent or in denial when it comes to the threat of terrorism. This got me thinking… How serious is this issue? How should the problem be approached? The approach taken by the US is crticised by many as being too gung-ho, many say that the US intervention has increased the threat. So if the Brits are complacent and the Americans are over the top, than just how is the world supposed to react? It is obvious that a problem exists, terrorism has been around for as long as man himself, however, it has become a more global issue with the growth of the ’international community’ . It does not look like it is going to go away so perhaps we need to start looking at other solutions to control it. Ignoring the problem is not going to make it go away, then again neither attacking an almost invisible enemy head on. As with every problem humans encounter, the first step should be towards understanding, sure, obviously the aim of the game is terror, but there is always something deeper in peoples actions. Humans are intelligent creatures and we only rarely act without motivation.

Iraq update

mac9 — Tue, 01 May 2007 14:23:53 +0000

Reports have emerged that the leader of al-Qa’ida in Iraq, Abu Ayuub al-Masri has been killed in a battle in the town of al-Nibayi just north of Iraq. Al Jazeera reports that a battle within the al-Qa’ida group may be responsible for the death, and that Iraqi forces had nothing to do with the death. Although the authorities do not have a body, they claim the information they have been given very strongly suggests that al-Masri is dead. Al-Masri has been the leader of the Iraq al-Qa’ida since the death of former leader Abu Masab al-Zarqawi in June last year. Reports from the New York Times differ slightly, with everyone being very careful not to jump the gun on the announcement, the NYT has attributed the death to a group of tribesman of the West Anbar Province. The tribesman of Anbar ‘have been fighting al-Qa’ida insurgents for weeks and claim to have killed dozens of them.’

Al Jazeera also reported that six mortar rounds have landed in Baghdad’s ‘Green Zone’, an area that is heavily guarded. One of the mortar coming within 100 metres of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office, no one was injured in the attacks.

Also in the news of Iraq, the Middle East conference which will take place in Egypt later this week. The conference is being held to discuss the security of Iraq and strategies to stabalise the country. The US had already announced Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice would be present , now Iran’s Government has confirmed they will be sending a senior official to take part in the talks, also expected to attend (although not confirmed) are officials from Syria and Egypt and also representatives of the UN security council. Although the conference will focus on a way forward in Iraq with Condoleeza Rice claiming “This is not a meeting about the United States and Iran”, it is hoped that it will open a dialogue beteen the US and Iran after the ongoing problems between the two countries over Iran’s nuclear proliferation.

The Saudi strikes back

mac9 — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:37:50 +0000

Saudi Arabia has announced it has arrested 172 terrorist suspects over the last couple of months, breaking up a network that was planning suicide attacks. The arrest were part of joint US-Saudi operation with British assistance, and had been ongoing for nine months. The planned attacks were to target the oil industry, military installations and involved the use of airplanes. The Saudi Royal family and security forces are also thought to have been targets. Lt Gen Mansour al-Turki of the interior ministry said “They had reached an advance stage of readiness and what remained only was to set the zero hour for their attacks.” According to the interior ministry seven al-Qa’ida cells have been broken up, the majority of the arrested being Saudis however, some were from other parts of the Middle East and Africa. A US intelligence agent official who wished to remain anonymous said of the attack “There is every indication this is a very serious matter and that they were involved in operational training and planning on a wide scale. This is a very serious threat.” he said. The Saudis have expressed fear overthe security of their borders as they believe many of the terrorists are training in neighbouring Iraq.

One day in April

mac9 — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:15:20 +0000

Well, today’s news covers a huge range of the ongoing conflicts that seem to eternally trouble the middle east. The issue of the Adhimiya wall is again in the top stories with Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki giving the US the go ahead to continue construction after a brief stop to the work. The wall is causing much protest in Iraq with Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr speaking out over the issue, in a confusing comment al-Sadr who is head of the anti-Sunni Mahdi Army has said ‘we will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land’. It appears that al-Sadr’s hatred for the US occupation has outweighed his feelings towards the Sunni population. This is interesting, perhaps the US does need to stay in Iraq, if the two extremist sides just need a common enemy to unite them and quell the sectarian violence then maybe something good will come of this whole debacle.

Moving on, the US senate has passed a bill that will give $124 billion to the war effort in Iraq under the proviso that the withdrawal process for troops begins October 1. The commander who is overseeing the Iraqi operations, General David Petraeus has given a briefing on the progress of military operations and strategies, Petraeus has said the situation in Iraq is ‘exceedingly challenging’ and ‘clearly is going to require enormous commitment and commitment over time’. It was not all bad news, with General Petraeus saying that some progress has been made, citing the growing number of the Iraqi population no longer supporting Al qa’ida and the capture of senior members of al-Sadr’s Mahdi army. Also stating the US is gaining evermore intelligence on the sources of training and weapons supplies.

Now to another part of the Middle East, the peace deal between Israel and the political group Hamas has been broken after just five months. On the Israel was celebrating 59th year of independence, what has been called a barrage of rockets have been fired into Israel by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza strip. However, a statement given by the Hamas group has claimed it is Israel that have broken the peace deal after assassinating members of the group and the rockets were simply retaliation. Although ministers on both sides are urging restraint this is an issue that has not long been dormant with a truce only in place since November 2006.

Wall of separation

mac9 — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:55:11 +0000

NYT: Iraq- In a bid to separate warring Sunni and Shia factions US military leaders have decided to undertake the building of a wall in the Northern Baghdad city of Adhamiya. The wall will span approximately 3.5 metres in height and 4 kilometre in length, constuction is expected to be completed within a month after which time control over the area will be handed over to Iraqi Army soldiers, who will maintain security through a series of checkpoints. The US has said the wall is just one in a number of plans to secure various areas of Iraq and quell sectarian violence. However the plan has come under intense criticism by many, with the wall basically enclosing a small Sunni area from a much larger Shia area, some are questioning the motives of the mainly Shia Iraqi Government.

A change of course

mac9 — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 05:22:49 +0000

So far the few posts I have done have looked at bits and pieces involving terrorism and national security. There has been no particular focus but rather anything I come across that I believe falls into the vast categories of terrorism and national security. However I am now going to be concentrating on these topics but with a focus on the middle east only. I will be looking at many different newspaper worldwide, and following how they present news, I will also be doing a little bit of analysis on issues in the Middle East (you will have to forgive if I don’t always grasp the complexities of some of the issues).

COMING SOON

mac9 — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:13:42 +0000

Al-qa’ida vs. The Mehdi Army

Big bada boom

mac9 — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:04:12 +0000

Today’s SMH reported that several large carbombs have been detonated by insurgents in Iraq, killing almost 200, and wounding about the same. The bombings which took place in Baghdad are being called the worst insurgent attacks since the invasion of Iraq, with one bomb alone being responsible for most of the carnage. The bomb which claimed approximately 140 lives and 150, was detonated in the mainly shiite area of Sadriya.

“The street was transformed into a swimming pool of blood.” A local shopkeeper said.

With four bombs exploding in a short space of time, it is believede to have been a coordinated attack and has been attributed to Al-qa’ida.

With the pressure on to hand over security to the Iraqi forces, coalition troops are desperately trying to pull the country out of civil war.

Let’s prosecute!

mac9 — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 06:37:43 +0000

The trial of David Hicks went ahead in the early hours this morning ( Australian time). The SMH reports Hicks has pleaded guilty to charges of associating with Al qa’ida and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, but has entered a plea of not guilty on the charges of engaging in armed conflict with terrorist organisations against US or coalition forces. It is said a deal has been reached between Hicks’ lawyers and the prosecution, leading to speculation that Hicks will be returned to Australia. Hopefully this will bring an end to an episode that has gone for far too long.

A suspect in the 2002 Kenya hotel bombing has been captured and has been transferred to Guantanamo to await charges. The man identified as Abdul Malik, has admitted to taking part in the bombing of Paradise Hotel in Mombassa, and is also accused of an attempt to shoot down an Israeli aircraft. Malik has links with Al qa’ida, and has been in US custody since sometime this year (officials would not comment on exact time of capture), but has only just been transferred to Guantanamo from an unknown US facility.

It seems sometimes in this ongoing war that the process of prosecution is long and slow, however, this is the way our justice system works. Often we forget that we are in fact in the middle of a war, one that perhaps most of us disagree with, never the less, we must respect that due process is being upheld. Yes, it’s true that this is not happening in the most timely fashion, however, I will remind people yet again that we are in an ongoing war, and in times of war the rules change slightly, just as in previous cases of POW prosecutions. The system of trial and prosecution should be favoured over possible alternatives.