Wednesday, September 28, 2011

US presses wary ally Egypt on Israel, democracy



AP)  WASHINGTON — In this chaotic post-revolution period, the United States on Wednesday sought to press its wary allies in Egypt's army leadership to bolster ties with Israel and stick to scheduled elections later this year, even though a new set of leaders much less friendly to the U.S. and the Jewish state may be the winners.

Ahead of a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Muhammed Amr, the State Department said it was encouraged by the way Egypt's military council has defused tensions with its neighbor after protesters recently stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo. But State officials expressed continued concerns over the interim government's commitment to ending the emergency laws that were a mainstay of abuse during Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

"It is obviously a very important time in Egypt," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "We have a broad and deep relationship working to support the democratic transition in Egypt that is under way."

The American demands on Egypt represent in some ways the twin set of hopes and fears for all the movements for greater democracy in the Arab world. The Obama administration has championed them but hopes to corral their energy so that political transitions from Tunisia to Yemen don't slide back into renewed military domination or unleash a powerful new wave of intolerant populism — as occurred after Iran's Islamic revolution 32 years ago.

With Egypt, the United States is facing a precarious balancing act. It is trying to lay the foundation for renewed relations with a future government that will be more democratic if less amenable to U.S. interests. And it is attempting to convince Egypt's leaders to salvage ties with Israel and maintain counterterrorism and diplomatic efforts that may be deemed vital for American national security, but not necessarily supported by the Egyptian people.

The fraying of relations with Israel has especially concerned the United States, which has been lobbying much of the world in recent weeks against a Palestinian bid for recognition as a state and U.N. membership. Egypt, which under Mubarak often played a key mediation role between the two sides, has come out determinedly for the Palestinian bid over fierce Israeli opposition.

And with elections around the corner, Washington's challenge is only likely to get more difficult. At stake is American influence in a crucial geopolitical space linking North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. Also in question is how the U.S. projects power in a part of the world where al-Qaida and other Islamist extremists still pose a threat to the United States, and where the six-decade Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to hamper American relations with Arab countries

Among American officials, the early hopes of a triumph for democracy and rule of law after Mubarak's February ouster, alongside a continuum of U.S.-Egyptian cooperation, have slipped somewhat amid increasingly worrying signs: the apparent chaos in the Israeli embassy storming, the arrests of demonstrators and bloggers, the extension of the Mubarak-era emergency law empowering authorities to detain people without charge and stamp out strikes and demonstrations.

The vote for Egypt's legislative People's Assembly starts Nov. 28 and the less powerful Shura Council on Jan. 29, with both parliamentary houses to begin their session in March. And well-organized Islamist parties could make significant gains, with the hardline Muslim Brotherhood likely to parlay any new power into a far tougher line on cooperation with the United States and Israel.

While any new government would likely honor the 1979 accords with Israel, the result may be one closer to cold peace than regional partnership. Neither the remnants of the old regime nor youth-driven secular groups are keen to assume the banner of Mubarak's unpopular legacy or ignore the voices on the streets which mobilized so forcefully against Mubarak.

Similarly, the U.S. can't push too hard right now against the fragile military council guiding the transition. For all its failings, the administration sees it as the best hope for a stable transition. A collapse in the reform process or a retrenchment away from free and fair elections, and toward a military junta, would provide a devastating example for a Middle East that is still largely in revolt.

With Syrian demonstrators desperately pressing for the end of Bashar Assad's regime, Yemen on the brink of an all-out civil war and Libya's opposition authorities seeking to destroy Moammar Gadhafi's remaining resistance, the U.S. is keen to hold up a successful democratic transition that provides an example to the region and safeguards American interests. Having both won't be easy.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/28/ap/cabstatepent/main20112857.shtml


Saturday, September 24, 2011

Wikileaks Bulgaria: ARMS DEALER WARNS THAT EGYPT IS HUNTING FOR MANPADS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001686

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR PM, EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016
TAGS: ETTC PARM PTER EG BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: ARMS DEALER WARNS THAT EGYPT IS HUNTING
FOR MANPADS

REF: A. SOFIA 1119
¶B. SOFIA 1204
¶C. STATE 146913

Classified By: CDA Alex Karagiannis, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

¶1. (S) SUMMARY: In a December 18 meeting with an Embassy Political Officer, a well-connected Bulgarian arms broker told us that he had recently rebuffed an Egyptian MoD order for Bulgarian MANPADS, which he viewed as a proliferation risk. He warned that the Egyptians seemed to view the order
as very time-sensitive and that they were likely to seek MANPADS elsewhere in the Balkans after being turned down in Bulgaria. Post has reason to suspect the source's motive for sharing this information with us; we have no way of verifying its veracity. END SUMMARY.

¶2. (S) On December 18, Nikolai Gigov called a lunch meeting with Poloff at the offices of his company -- the arms trading firm Delta Group (commonly known as "Delta G"). The purpose was to inform us that he had recently received a large order from the Egyptian Ministry of Defense. He had accepted part of the order -- for T-72 tank rounds and parts; however, he claimed to have declined the Ministry's order for 150 Strela
MANPADS systems. Gigov appeared unaware of the U.S.-Bulgarian MANPADS agreement, which is classified in both countries at the Secret level. He claimed to have rebuffed the Egyptians of his own initiative, because of his doubts about the type of missiles ordered and the urgency with which
the MoD seemed to require them.

¶3. (S) Gigov reported being confused as to why Egypt would place an order for outdated Strela missiles (he did not specify the specific model). "If you're a state," he asked rhetorically, "why not buy something better -- an Igla or Mistral system, or a Stinger?" Military planes have effective countermeasures for MANPADS such as the Strela, Gigov said -- "The only thing they're good for is shooting down a civilian aircraft." Gigov speculated openly that the weapons may have been intended to be diverted elsewhere.
When asked specifically if the order had come from Arab International Optronics, an Egyptian MoD-owned firm that has bought MANPADS parts from Bulgaria in the past (reftels), Gigov hedged, before restating that the order came "from the MoD."

¶4. (S) Gigov said that such deals typically were slow-moving affairs, but he emphasized the sense of urgency that he perceived from the Egyptian side on this particular deal. The Egyptians did not specifically describe the deal as time-sensitive, he said; however, the frequent phone calls and follow-up messages he had received from their side indicated to him that this was the case. After declining the MANPADS portion of the order, he reported being contacted by the Egyptian defense attache with a request for an explanation.

Background:

¶5. (S/NF) Nikolai Gigov is an extremely well-connected businessman, whose legitimate business interests besides Delta G include insurance and private security ventures as well as ownership of Sofia's Lokomotiv soccer club. He is widely alleged to have brokered arms deals with the former Yugoslavia in violation of UN embargoes, and may have an ongoing role in illegal traffic in methamphetamines. He has family ties to Serbia, and displays a vocal antipathy toward Muslims. Through a combination of personal ties and liberal
political donations, Gigov counts many of Bulgaria's most powerful figures as "close personal friends," including President Parvanov, Interior Minister Petkov, and Sofia Mayor Borisov. He recently put these ties to use as the local agent for EADS, helping the European consortium win the MoD's competition to supply the Bulgarian military with Eurocopter helicopters. He has also worked with General Dynamics to supply Bulgarian-origin weapons and munitions to the Afghan National Army, and has indicated to us that he is interested in representing either Boeing or Lockheed in the MoD's anticipated tender for fighter aircraft.

Comment:

¶6. (S) We believe that Gigov was attempting to curry favor with us by calling this meeting, but have no way of verifying the facts of his story. He badly wants a relationship with the U.S. Embassy -- possibly for commercial reasons and possibly in an attempt to clean up his reputation. It is possible that he is merely shopping rumors in an attempt to convince us of his bona fides; however it is impossible to dismiss his allegations. As reftels indicate, Egypt has been a traditional customer for Bulgarian MANPADS, and the detail with which Gigov recounts the purported order would make for a very ambitious fabrication.
SOFIA 00001686 002 OF 002
¶7. (U) XXXXXXXXXXXX

KARAGIANNIS

http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/12/06SOFIA1686.html

Friday, September 16, 2011

Wikileaks Ethiopia Files: Ethiopia Bombs Itself, Blames Eritrea

by Thomas C. Mountain

September 16, 2011

Recently released Wikileaks Ethiopia files expose how Ethiopian security forces planted 3 bombs that went off in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on September 16, 2006 and then blamed Eritrea and the Oromo resistance for the blasts in a case that raises serious questions about the claims made about the bombing attempt against the African Union summit earlier this year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In a report  from 2006 marked “Secret ; Subject: Ethiopia: Recent Bombings Blamed on Oromos Possibly the Work of GOE [Government of Ethiopia]” “Classified By: Charge [d’Affairs] Vicki Huddleston”, “An embassy source, as well as clandestine reporting, suggests that the bombing may have in fact been the work of the GoE security forces.” (Cable reference id: #06ADDISABABA2708.)
At the time, the western media reported the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) claims that the bombs were “part of a coordinated terror attack by the OLF [Oromo Liberation Front, the oldest national  liberation movement in Ethiopia] and  Sha’abiya (Eritrea) aimed at disrupting democratic development”.
The Wikileaks report goes on, “a typically reliable information source” who “contacted Post to report that” the bodies of three men found at the bomb sites “had been picked up by police a week prior, kept in detention and tortured. He said police then left the men in a house and detonated explosives nearby, killing 3 of them.”
This exposes the history of how the Ethiopian regime has planted bombs and then blamed Eritrea and the Ethiopian resistance. The lies that make up the official version of this alleged terrorist attack raises serious questions about the credibility of the recently released report by the UN via its US State Department affiliate, the Monitoring Group for Eritrea and Somalia, which blames the Eritreans and the OLF for the January bombing attempt at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Identical lies about a nearly identical “terrorist attack”, all accepted as fact by the western media. This should also deliver another body blow to the Obama White House and its claims that Eritrea supports terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
So once again the bellowing against Eritrea by the USA and it lackeys at the UN going back to 2006 is exposed as complete bunkum and an identical frame up of Eritrean and the Oromo resistance in Ethiopia that has been regurgitated by the UN and its truth challenged Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia must be subject to a more critical scrutiny. Based on this expose’ it can only be hoped that the UN inSecurity Council, which has yet to decide whether to pass severe sanctions against Eritrea, will refrain from doing so.

http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/09/16/wikileaks-ethiopia-files-ethiopia-bombs-itself-blames-eritrea/ 

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

ElBaradei Critiques the U.S., Yet Nurtures Ties

CAIRO—Hitting the streets of Cairo with bullhorn in hand, the former head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency has been demanding the immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, denouncing the diplomacy of the Obama administration and defending the Muslim Brotherhood, a controversial Islamic group.
But despite Mohamed ElBaradei's seemingly anti-West rhetoric, the views he has expressed in the past are much more nuanced.
Former U.N. colleagues say the Nobel laureate gets along well with President Barack Obama and had numerous conversations with him in 2009 over pressuring Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities. Mr. ElBaradei's personal Facebook page features a photograph of him shaking hands with Mr. Obama and smiling. Another shows him with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Getty Images

Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, center, prepared to address crowds in Cairo on Jan. 30.
And while as head of the IAEA Mr. ElBaradei was privately irked over Israeli policy—especially after its 2007 bombing of an alleged Syrian nuclear site—ex-colleagues say he shared warm relations with some Israeli leaders, including former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. More significantly, as a young diplomat with Egypt's Foreign Ministry, Mr. ElBaradei was part of the team that negotiated the peace settlement between Israel and Egypt at Camp David in 1978.
As a career diplomat, he's lived in a world vastly apart from the one that has produced the disenchanted youth fighting on Cairo's seething streets.
Mr. ElBaradei, 68 years old, was born in Cairo, the son of the late Mostafa ElBaradei, a lawyer who served as president of the Egyptian Bar Association.
After earning a bachelor's degree in law at the University of Cairo in 1962, Mr. ElBaradei joined Egypt's diplomatic service, and worked in U.N. missions in Geneva and New York. He earned a master's and doctorate in law at New York University in the early 1970s. Andreas Lowenfeld, an emeritus professor at NYU, recalls Mr. ElBaradei as "a strong student and a serious person."
As a law student, Mr. ElBaradei hung out in Greenwich Village amid growing protests over the Vietnam War. "That really in my view, and I think he would agree, shaped his view about the value of an open society," says Laban Coblentz, Mr. ElBaradei's longtime speechwriter.
He later joined the U.N. overseeing an international law program before working for the IAEA. He also taught law as an adjunct professor at NYU.
Mr. Coblentz says Mr. ElBaradei fondly recalls his years living in New York, including attending the opera and New York Knicks games. He also developed a fondness for cheeseburgers.
In 1997, Mr. ElBaradei became the head of the IAEA—but initially without the support of his own country. Mr. Mubarak's government favored Mohamed Ibrahim Shaker, a career diplomat and former Egyptian ambassador to the IAEA. But after Mr. Shaker and other candidates failed to win enough votes, the U.S. successfully lobbied for Mr. ElBaradei as a compromise candidate, according to people familiar with the matter.
Even as he disavowed interest in becoming Egypt's next president, Mr. ElBaradei said in an interview Wednesday that the country's foreign policy was "a failure" and that it "needs to be completely realigned."
As for his role going forward, he said, "all I want to do is share and deliver this country to catch up with the rest of the world."

Write to Steve Stecklow at steve.stecklow@wsj.com and David Crawford at david.crawford@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703960804576120643763303876.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Monday, September 12, 2011

Wikileaks- Doha Cables: AlJazeera cooperation with CIA ويكيليكس: تعاون قناة الجزيرة والسي أي ايه

مدير «الجزيرة» في عيـن... «ويكيليكس»

Look up the Wikileaks cables including the key word "Khanfar"

Look up a selection of cables: 

1- Al Jazeera boss offers help for AMCIT kidnap

2- Al Jazeera tells ambassador its restructuring

3- 17/9 meeting with Al Jazeera Managing Director

4- Meeting with Al Jazeera Media training center

5- Beginning of the end, Khanfar at the helm of..


الأرض تهتزّ تحت قدمي الرجل القوي في المحطّة القطريّة، بعد المعلومات التي كشفتها «ويكيليكس». من هو هذا الإعلامي الذي حقّق صعوداً سريعاً، وكسب حماية أمير قطر، وكثيراً من الأعداء؟
الياس مهدي
شظايا ويكيليكس تصيب وضاح خنفر! الرجل الذي برهن عن قدرة خارقة على تحدّي خصومه، ومواجهة الضغوط السياسية، يواجه اليوم تهمة موثّقة يصعب تكذيبها أو الشك في مصدرها. إنّها وثائق «ويكيليكس»، التي كشفت أخيراً عن وجود تعاون وثيق بين المدير العام لقناة «الجزيرة» ووكالة الاستخبارات العسكرية الأميركية DIA، وعن تلقي الإعلامي الفلسطيني تقارير شهرية من الوكالة عن أداء «الجزيرة» في تغطية الأحداث المرتبطة بأميركا ومصالحها (راجع المقال أدناه).
إذاً وصلت وثائق «ويكيليكس» شخصياً إلى الرجل القوي في «الجزيرة»، وها هو يقف في مواجهة «فضيحة» قد لا يتمكّن من حلّها بدبلوماسيته المعهودة. وإن كان الإعلامي المعروف قد امتنع حتى الساعة عن الردّ على ما نشره موقع جوليان أسانج، فإنّ كثيرين يتوقّعون صدور بيان أو تعليق أو تسريب لخنفر قريباً، رغم أن الرجل نادراً ما يعلّق على كل ما يطاوله من أخبار أو اتهامات، لكن هذه المرة، جاءت وثائق «ويكيليكس» لتبرز ربما جانباً من سرّ صعود خنفر وتدرّجه السريع في «الجزيرة».
يعود تاريخ الوثائق المنشورة إلى 20 تشرين الأول (أكتوبر) 2005. وتكشفت عن تعاون وتنسيق دوريين بين وكالة الاستخبارات العسكرية والمدير العام لـ«الجزيرة» من خلال مسؤولة الشؤون العامة الأميركية. وخلال اللقاءات بين الطرفَين، تعهّد خنفر تعديل الأخبار التي تزعج الحكومة الأميركية أو حذفها تماماً.
وبينما اعتصمت قناة «الرأي والرأي الآخر» بالصمت، من دون خروج أي ناطق رسمي باسمها يوضح حقيقة المسألة، ينتظر الجميع ما سيقوله خنفر في أقرب فرصة للدفاع عن نفسه، مستائلين إن كان سيخرج هذه المرة أيضاً منتصراً من معركته الجديدة. معركة ستكون لا شكّ الأصعب في مسيرة هذا الإعلامي الفلسطيني المحسوب على الخط «الإسلامي». كيف لا، وهو يواجه تهمة موثّقة، سرّبها موقع «ويكيليكس»، الذي دافع خنفر نفسه عنه وعن صدقيته في السابق، بل كان من السبّاقين إلى نشر تسريباته على الشاشة القطرية.
وضاح خنفر المولود عام 1968 في قرية الرامة (جنوب غرب جنين في فلسطين)، تمتلئ سيرته بالتحديات والمواقف التي جعلته رجلاً طموحاً، فنجح في الوصول إلى أعلى منصب في هرم أكبر فضائية عربية عام 2003، أي بعد ست سنوات فقط على التحاقه بها مراسلاً صحافياً عام 1997.
بداية غامضة
لا بد من العودة إلى بدايات وضاح خنفر في «الجزيرة» لفهم حقيقة المأزق الذي يمرّ به حالياً الإعلامي المثير للجدل. تخرّج خنفر من كلية الهندسة في «الجامعة الأردنية» عام 1990، والتحق بعدها بقسم الفلسفة في كلية الآداب، ثمّ أكمل دراسته في العلاقات الدولية في جنوب أفريقيا. التحق بالفضائية القطرية صحافيّاً في قسم الرياضة، ليجد نفسه لاحقاً في قسم المراسلين في القناة الإخبارية، حيث عمل مراسلاً من جنوب أفريقيا لتغطية الأحداث في القارة السمراء. ثم وصل إلى الهند لتغطية تداعيات الحرب على أفغانستان بعد أحداث 11 أيلول (سبتمبر) 2001. لاحقاً، التحق بزميله تيسير علوني في أفغانستان بعد سقوط «حركة طالبان» وقصف مكتب «الجزيرة» في كابول، حيث عمل مراسلاً للقناة طيلة خمسة أشهر.
ومن أفغانستان إلى العراق، قام خنفر بتغطية أخبار العمليات العسكرية للاحتلال الأميركي في مختلف محافظات بلاد الرافدين، قبل أن يتسلم إدارة مكتب «الجزيرة» في بغداد. وكانت هذه المرحلة تحديداً هي نقطة التحول في مسيرته الإعلامية، فانتقل بعدها من مراسل ميداني إلى إدارة شؤون القناة الإخبارية في الدوحة عام 2003. وفي شباط (فبراير) من عام 2006، عُيِّن مديراً عاماً لـ«شبكة الجزيرة»، التي تضم مختلف القنوات والمؤسسات التابعة لـ«الجزيرة»، بما فيها القناتان الإخباريتان العربية والإنكليزية، و«الجزيرة الوثائقية» والقنوات الرياضية. أما السرّ الحقيقي لهذه النقلة السريعة من العمل الميداني إلى مكاتب الإدارة، فيبقى لغزاً لا يعرف تفاصيله سوى خنفر نفسه، والجهات القطرية التي قرّرت نقله إلى مكاتب الدوحة... وإن كان بعضهم يؤكّد أن أمير دولة قطر حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني اختاره شخصياً خلفاً للقطري جاسم العلي.
وقد مثّل تعيين خنفر مفاجأة مدوية في كواليس القناة الإخبارية، لم يتوقّعها عدد كبير من زملائه، الذين لم يرَوا فيه الرجل المناسب، بسبب تجربته الفتية التي لم تتعدّ ستّة أعوام، ووجود أسماء كبيرة من مؤسسي القناة كانت تستحق هذا المنصب. أما الأهم، فهو أن هذا القرار أثار حفيظة بعض القطريين، ممن لم يهضموا فكرة تعيين مدير فلسطيني للقناة، بدلاً من إعلامي قطري.

خلال تظاهرة منددة بخنفر في الضفة الغربية مطلع العام الحالي
خنفر، الذي يقول بعضهم إنه يتقاضى راتباً خيالياً، حصد الكثير من الألقاب، أبرزها تصنيفه في المرتبة الثامنة بين أكثر الشخصيات العربية تأثيراً في العالم العربي عام 2008، وفق مجلة «أرابيان بيزنس»، والمرتبة الأولى بين الإعلاميين العرب. وفي 2010، حل في المرتبة السادسة ضمن أقوى عشر شخصيات عربية، وفق تصنيف مجلة «فوربس». لعلّ كل ما سبق دفع كتّاباً وصحافيين قطريين إلى شنّ حملة انتقادات ضدّ خنفر في الصحف المحلية، متّهمين إياه بإقصاء الكوادر القطرية. في المقابل، يروي بعض الإعلاميين في «الجزيرة» أن الإعلامي الفلسطيني حاول كسب ثقة زملائه في بداياته. ويُنسب إليه بعضهم الفضل في ترقية عدد من الصحافيين الذين كانوا يشعرون بالتهميش، قائلين إنّه دافع عنهم لرفع رواتبهم، وعمّم الاستفادة من العلاوات الخاصة، بعدما كانت حكراً على بعض المذيعين النجوم.
وضّاح خنفر الذي ينسُب إليه بعضهم أيضاً أنه جاء حاملاً أفكاراً تغييرية في السياسة التحريرية للقناة، ودافع عن حقوق المراسلين الميدانيين، واجه في المقابل موجة انتقادات «صامتة» من داخل المحطة، وخصوصاً من جانب المذيعين الذين اتهموه بمحاولة «تقزيمهم». وهو ما كرّره أيضاً عدد من الصحافيين البارزين الذين يُعَدّون من مؤسسي القناة، ولم يهضِموا تهميشهم. أما هو، فتابع عمله من دون الالتفات إلى منتقديه، محيطاً نفسه بمجموعة من الكوادر المعروفة بميولها الإسلامية، من بينهم بشير نافع وأيمن جاب الله، كما أسند عدداً من المناصب المهمة إلى فلسطينيين وموظفين موالين لتوجّهاته الإيديولوجية.
وقد يكون أبرز ما سمعناه من انتقادات للرجل، صدر عن إعلاميين استقالوا من المحطة احتجاجاً على سياسته. هكذا قال الإعلامي المصري حافظ الميرازي: «خنفر شخص مهذب، لكنّه يفتقر إلى الخبرة الصحافية المطلوبة لإدارة محطة مماثلة، فلا يكفي مثلاً أن تكون مراسلاً نشيطاً لتصبح مديراً لقناة بحجم «الجزيرة»». أما لينا زهر الدين، فقالت: «ما تغير في الجزيرة بعد وصول وضاح خنفر إلى إدارتها هو طريقة تعاطيه المتعالية مع الموظفين، وإغلاق أبوابه أمامهم، حتى وصل به الأمر إلى إلغاء الاجتماعات الخاصة بالمذيعين، واجهة القناة، كما أنه صرف العديد من أفراد الطاقم القديم، واستبدله بمستشارين ومساعدين لا عدّ لهم ولا حصر. كان يتدخل في كل كبيرة وصغيرة تخص المذيعات، إلى درجة أنه وصفهن بتماثيل الشمع، وأصدر تعميماً منعهن فيه من انتعال الكعب العالي».
«الجزيرة» ومسلسل الاتهامات
أثناء إدارته للمحطة القطرية، واجه خنفر ضغوطاً أميركية وغربية وحتى عربية، سببها انفراد «الجزيرة» في بث أشرطة فيديو للقيادي السابق لتنظيم «القاعدة» أسامة بن لادن. وكان هو يدافع عن سياسة القناة بحجة عرض «الرأي والرأي الآخر». ما يطرح تساؤلات اليوم، بعد انكشاف تواطئه مع الاستخبارات الأميركيّة: هل الترويج لبن لادن كان بمباركة من العم سام؟ وكان أول تحدّ حقيقي واجهه خنفر، يوم أُثيرت اتهامات في وسائل إعلام غربية، زعمت بأن إدارة قناة «الجزيرة» تورطت في تسليم الإدارة الأميركية صوراً تلفزيونية صوّرها فريق المحطة الذي رافق الملا داد الله، واستخدمتها القوات الأميركية في تحديد مكان إقامة القائد الطالباني في ولاية هلمند، مما أدى إلى اغتياله عام 2007.
وكانت الانتقادات بشأن الخط التحريري لـ«الجزيرة» تتصاعد من الداخل أيضاً، فبات الرجل يواجه خصوماً من داخل مجلس إدارة القناة، أبرزهم عبد العزيز آل محمود، الذي أقاله خنفر من رئاسة تحرير «الجزيرة نت». وسبب العداء بين الرجلين هو خلاف بشأن السياسية التحريرية، إذ لم يكن آل محمود يستسيغ سيطرة الإسلاميين، والتوجه الإخواني، على سياسة القناة، ولا سيما في طريقة التعاطي مع الخلاف الفلسطيني الداخلي قبل الانقسام.
المنعطف الكبير
في 2007، أي في السنة نفسها التي خرجت فيها فضيحة داد الله، أصدر ولي العهد القطري تميم بن حمد مرسوماً، أبعد بموجبه وضاح خنفر من عضوية مجلس إدار القناة. وعدّ بعضهم ذلك بمثابة بداية النهاية لخنفر. لكن الرجل ظل مديراً عاماً للشبكة، رغم عزله من عضوية مجلس الإدارة، بينما عُيِّن «خصمه» آل محمود في عضوية المجلس. وازداد خصوم خنفر في هذه المرحلة وسط تنبّؤات قوية بتنحيته وترشيح الإعلامية الجزائرية، وإحدى مؤسسات القناة، خديجة بن قنة لخلافته، نظراً إلى قربها من الشيخة موزة بنت ناصر، زوجة أمير دولة قطر. وأثار هذا الأمر حساسية بينها وبين خنفر، بلغت حد القطيعة، رغم نفي بن قنة علناً ترشّحها للمنصب.
وخلافاً للتوقعات، عرف خنفر مرة أخرى كيف ينتصر في معركة جديدة، واحتفظ بمنصبه، وأحاط نفسه بعدد من المستشارين، ما أثار حفيظة زملائه، الذين رأوا أنه بسط هيمنة «الإخوان» على القناة، وفرض حاجزاً بينه وبين زملائه في المحطة، ما أدى إلى تعرّض بعضهم لعقوبات وإقصاء مهني. هكذا كان وضاح خنفر يدير بهدوء وثقة جبهات الصراع هذه، مستنداً إلى دعم قوي من القيادة القطرية، عرف جيداً كيف يحتفظ به، إذ حصد نجاحات كبيرة من خلال توسيع عمل الشبكة وفتح مكاتب دولية، إلى جانب التغطيات الناجحة، وخصوصاً خلال العدوان على غزة عامي 2008 و2009.
وبين الحين والآخر، كانت تبرز اتهامات جديدة لقناة «الجزيرة» بعقد صفقات سرية مع الإدارة الأميركية، والتغاضي عن جرائمها في العراق، لكن خنفر أظهر دبلوماسية رفيعة في رد تلك الاتهامات، مستغلاً حادثة نشر وثائق تفضح الرئيس الأميركي الأسبق جورج بوش، والوزير الأول البريطاني السابق طوني بلير، باستهداف قناة «الجزيرة» أثناء غزو العراق. ومن العدوان على غزة، مروراً بالانقسام الفلسطيني الداخلي، وصولاً إلى الثورات العربية، لم تتوقف الانتقادات التي طاولت «الجزيرة» من قبل بعض الأنظمة العربية، ومن قبل محلّلين اتهموا القناة بـ «عدم الحياد، والتعامل بمنطق مزدوج، والكيل بمكيالين في تغطية الثورات». هكذا اتّهمت المحطة بدعم الثورتين التونسية والمصرية، والتغاضي عن ثورة الشارع البحريني، والمضي في دعم الانتفاضة السوريّة إلى مرحلة التزوير والتحريض...
«الرأي الآخر» والـ CIA
أما الاتهام المباشر الأول الذي تلقّاه وضاح خنفر بالتعامل مع الاستخبارات الأميركية، فوجّهه إليه القيادي في «منظمة التحرير الفسطينية» صائب عريقات، قائلاً إن خنفر «يتعاون مع مندوبين للاستخبارات الأميركية تحت غطاء صحافي»! وجاء هذا الاتهام بعد نشر «الجزيرة» وثائق تفضح التواطؤ بين السلطة الفلسطينية والاحتلال الإسرائيلي.
وبموازاة ذلك، تواصلت معارك وضاح مع زملائه في القناة، وبقدر ما كان يحصد دعماً رسمياً، كان يخسر زملاء «وحلفاء» سابقين استقالوا من القناة، متهمين إياه بالانحراف عن خطها التحريري. وأبرز المستقيلين في الفترة الأخيرة حافظ الميرازي، ويسري فودة، وصولاً إلى غسان بن جدو، وعدد من المذيعات مثل لونة الشبل، ولينا زهر الدين.... بينما لم يفهم كثيرون إلى اليوم سر إقصاء سامي حداد وتوقيف برنامجه.
وفي مواجهة تلك الاتهامات، كان المدير العام لـ «شبكة الجزيرة» ينكر ويرفض حصره في غطاء سياسي معيّن، أو تهمة إقصائه لزملائه، قائلاً إنه كان يتعامل مع صحافيين من أكثر من خمسين جنسية، معتمداً على كفاءة كل منهم، إلى جانب عودة صحافيين سبق أن استقالوا من القناة مثل إبراهيم هلال، وأحمد الشيخ، وجمال ريان وآخرين.
وضاح خنفر، الرجل الهادئ، ذو اللحية الخفيفة، أظهر طيلة السنوات الماضية حنكة دبلوماسية في التعاطي مع الأزمات السابقة. في المقابل، فإن المسؤول «الملتزم دينياً» لم يجد يوماً حرجاً في التعامل مع الأميركيين والإسرائيليين ومحاورتهم في واشنطن والدوحة ودول عدة، بل إنّ الجميع يذكر مصافحته لوزيرة الخارجية الأميركية هيلاري كلينتون، التي اعترفت بقوة وتأثير القناة في عهده، كما ترددت أنباء لم نتمكّن من تأكيدها، عن استقباله رئيسة «حزب كاديما» الإسرائيلي تسيبي ليفني في مكتبه في الدوحة.
إذاً «المراسل الحربي» الذي أثبت أنه يجيد التعاطي مع التناقضات، يقف اليوم في مواجهة تهمة موثقة، قد تكون الأكثر إحراجاً في مسيرته المهنية، فهل سيفلت مجدداً؟ أم أن موقع «ويكيليكس» الذي أحرج سياسيين بارزين وعدداً كبيراً من الحكومات والأنظمة، سيضع حداً لطموحات رجل حقق الكثير من الإنجازات و... الأعداء؟

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/20894 

October 1973: A crazy manoeuvre by an Egyptian airfighter مطاردة بين طيار اسرائيلي وطيار مصري

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Romanian Dictator Nicolae and Elena ceausescu executed 1989

Benito Mussolini (29 July 1883 -- 28 April 1945) Executed




Ahmed Mekky - Facebooky | احمد مكي - فيس بوكي

60 minutes: WikiLeaks' Julian Assange




Cambridge Muslim College

pretty wierd, never thought of the existence of such an entity, but anyway, quite interesting.

Modern crusade against Muslims

Modern crusade against Muslims
Tue Sep 6, 2011 4:30PM GMT


By Kourosh Ziabari

Despite constituting a significant minority in the western countries, Muslims around the world are subject to disproportionate, unjustifiable bias. Such attitudes distance them from their most fundamental social rights by portraying them as extremists and fanatics. The group is represented as able to endanger the interests of Europe and America.


As reported by the German Central Institute Islam Archive, there are 53 million Muslims living in Europe (excluding Turkey) who represent some 7.2% of the continent's population. According to a Pew Research Center 2011 demographic study, globally Islam has 1.6 billion adherents, making up 23% of the world's population.

Muslims exist with other groups in peace and tranquility. Nobody can claim that Muslims have been dangerous or harmful to the security of the western countries, because there's no evidence to confirm this claim. Even those who allege that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by Muslims receive a response from American media figures such as Jeff Rense, Christopher Bollyn and Kevin Barrett who maintain that 9/11 was an inside job, carried out with the complicity of the CIA and Mossad.

The mass media of European countries regularly and recklessly insult Islamic religious symbols, especially the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The most prominent example of these insults was the publication of 12 blasphemous editorial cartoons by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September, 2005 which prompted international anger. Many understood that such actions result in continued antagonism and bitterness, serving only to add fuel to the fire of anti-Islamic sentiments.

The term Islamophobia, which is described as an irrational fear of Islam and Muslims and prejudice against and hatred of them, came into common use following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. In actuality, the term was spread by the US government which launched two military expeditions in the Middle East for the alleged purpose of combating what they termed "Islamic fundamentalism" and terrorism.

As a result of media propaganda, Muslims in some countries are demonized and ostracized, unable to attend or perform prayers in public, assume government positions, pursue their social rights on equal terms with other citizens or adhere to their preferred dress codes.

It was recently revealed that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has been engaged in widespread religious and ethnic profiling and the monitoring of Muslim communities and houses of worship in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. A coalition of social activists in the US is calling on the Senate, the Department of Justice and the US Marshals Service to take action in response to the illegal police monitoring of the Muslims in greater New York.

The revelations are contained in documents obtained by the Associated Press (AP) showing that undercover NYPD officers in a "Demographics Unit" targeted the Muslim communities with the assistance of individuals linked to the CIA. NYPD officials are denying the Demographics Unit ever existed, despite the publication of an NYPD presentation that described the mission and makeup of the unit.

Independent sources, including Islamophobia Watch have reported that the monitoring of mosques and the daily affairs of Muslims in the United States has intensified since the 9/11 attacks; the CIA has been carrying out underground intelligence operations to scrutinize the daily life of Muslims within the country.

According to Islamophobia Watch, the CIA has dispatched undercover officers to public places such as bookstores, shops and cafes to keep an eye on the daily affairs of Muslims. It has also used informants known as "mosque crawlers" to monitor sermons delivered by Muslim Imams and take action when necessary.

While in western detention, Muslims are treated inequitably and unfairly. Several reports have been published which detail how Muslim prisoners of the United States and Europe have been subject to torture, mistreatment and abuse. Babar Ahmad, a citizen of south west London, is one of several Muslim detainees who are being held in European and American jails without being charged in a court hearing.

Ahmad was arrested on August 5, 2004 on charges of providing materials to a website which supports Chechen and Taliban insurgents. Since then, he has spent seven years in prison without trial.

Since his detainment, Ahmad has been subjected to torture and humiliation by the UK police. Scotland Yard officers have beaten him, stomped on his bare feet with boots, sexually abused him, mocked his Islamic faith by placing him into a Muslim prayer position and taunting, "Where is your God now?!" and applied life-threatening neck holds to him.

Muslims in the West are deterred from wearing clothing expressive of their faith, another representation of Islamophobic and xenophobic sentiments. A law in Belgium can fine and imprison for up to seven days a woman wearing burqa or niqab, a fabric covering for the lower face. In France, since April anyone wearing niqab or burqa in public is subject to fines of 150 euros and "citizenship training." Moreover, an Italian parliamentary committee has drafted a law which bans women from wearing items that cover their faces in public.

Overall, what is clear is that Muslims in the West are treated as second-rate citizens; their social rights and freedom seem to be confiscated. Western mainstream media regularly associates terrorism with Islam and attributes terrorist activities to Muslims. The European governments overtly express their disdain for Islam and the Muslims, allowing the enactment of laws which limit and restrain social liberties of Muslims.

Islamophobia is a modern crusade against Muslims by societies which boast of being liberal and democratic, but in practice are xenophobic and intolerant. How can a truer image of Islam and Muslims be demonstrated to the West?

KZ/JG/PKH
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197759.html

Friday, September 2, 2011

Moussa Koussa’s secret letters betray Britain’s Libyan connection

Moussa Koussa’s secret letters betray Britain’s Libyan connection
September 3, 2011
Posted in News, Week Commencing August 29 2011 | 00:56

Moussa Koussa, the former Foreign Minister

Messages found in his office show how MI6 gave details of dissident exiles to Gaddafi – and how the CIA used regime for rendition
By Portia Walker and Kim Sengupta in Tripoli

Secret files have been unearthed by The Independent in Tripoli that reveal the astonishingly close links that existed between British and American governments and Muammar Gaddafi.
The documents chart how prisoners were offered to the Libyans for brutal interrogation by the Tripoli regime under the highly controversial "rendition" programme, and also how details of exiled opponents of the Libyan dictator in the UK were passed on to the regime by MI6.
The papers show that British officials actually helped write a draft speech for Colonel Gaddafi while he was trying to rehabilitate his regime from the pariah status to which it had sunk following its support for terrorist movements. Further documents disclose how, at the same time, the US and UK acted on behalf of Libya in conducting negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
With the efforts they had expended in cultivating their contacts with the regime, the British were unwilling, at times, to share their "Libya connection" with the closet ally, the US. In a letter to his Libyan intelligence counterpart, an MI6 officer described how he refused to pass on the identity of an agent to Washington.
The documents, many of them incendiary in their implications, were found at the private offices of Moussa Koussa, Col Gaddafi's right hand man, and regime security chief, who defected to Britain in the days following the February revolution. 

The papers give details about Tony Blair's visit to the Libyan dictator in Tripoli - with the vignette that it was the British prime minister's office that requested that the meeting take place in a tent. A letter from an MI6 official to Mr Koussa stated "No 10 are keen that the Prime Minister meet the Leader in the tent. I don't know why the English are fascinated by tents. The plain fact is that the journalists would love it."
The material raises questions about the relationship between Moussa Koussa and the British government and the turn of events following his defection. Mr Koussa's surprising arrival in Britain led to calls for him to be questioned by the police about his alleged involvement in murders abroad by the Libyan regime, including that of policewoman Yvonne Fletcher and opponents of Gaddafi. He was also said to be involved in the sending of arms to the IRA. At the time David Cameron's government assured the public that Mr Koussa may, indeed, face possible charges. Instead, he was allowed to leave the country and is now believed to be staying in a Gulf state.

The revelations by The Independent will lead to questions about whether Mr Koussa, who has long been accused of human rights abuses, was allowed to escape because he held a 'smoking gun'. The official is known to have copied and taken away dozens of files with him when he left Libya.
The papers illustrate the intimate relations Mr Koussa and some of his colleagues seemingly enjoyed with British intelligence. Letters and faxes flowed to him headed 'Greetings from MI6' 'Greetings from SIS', handwritten Christmas greetings, on one occasion, from ' Your friend', followed by the name of a senior British intelligence official, and regrets over missed lunches. There were also regular exchanges of gifts: on one occasion a Libyan agent arrived in London laden with figs and oranges.
The documents repeatedly touched on the blossoming relationship between Western intelligence agencies and Libya. But there was a human cost. The Tripoli regime was a highly useful partner in the 'rendition' process under which prisoners were sent by the US for 'enhanced interrogation', a euphemism, say human rights groups, for torture.

One US administration document, marked secret, says "Our service is in a position to deliver Shaykh Musa to your physical custody similar to what we have done with other senior LIFG (Libyan Islamic Fighting Group) members in the past. We respectfully request an expression of interest from your service regarding taking custody of Musa".

The British too were dealing with the Libyans about opposition activists, passing on information to the regime. This was taking place despite the fact that Colonel Gaddafi's agents had assassinated opponents in the campaign to eliminate so-called "stray dogs" abroad, including the streets of London. The murders had, at the time, led to protests and condemnation by the UK government.

One letter dated 16th April 2004 from UK intelligence to an official at the International Affairs Department of Libyan security, says: "We wish to inform you that Ismail KAMOKA @ SUHAIB [possibly referring to an alias being used] was released from detention on 18th March 2004. A panel of British judges ruled that KAMOKA was not a threat to national security in the UK and subsequently released him. We are content for you to inform [a Libyan intelligence official] of KAMOKA's release."
Ironically, the Libyan rebels who have come in to power after overthrowing Colonel Gaddafi with the help of the UK and NATO have just appointed Abdullah Hakim Belhaj (please check spelling), a former member of the LIFG, as their commander in Tripoli.

Other material highlights the two-way nature of the information exchange. One document headed "For the attention of the Libyan Intelligence Service. Greetings from MI6 asks for information about a suspect with the initials ABS [full name withheld from publication for security reasons] travelling on Libyan passport number 164432.

"This remains a sensitive operation and we do not want anything done that might draw S's attention to our interest in him. We would be grateful for any information you might have regarding S."
One of the most remarkable finds in the cache of documents is a statement by Colonel Gaddafi during his rapprochment with the West during which he gave up his nuclear programme and promised to destroy his stock of chemical and biological weapons.

The Libyan leader said "we will take these steps in a manner that is transparent and verifiable. Libya affirms and will abide by commitments... when the world is celebrating the birth of Jesus, and as a token of contribution to a world full of peace, security, stability and compassion the greater Jamhiriya renews its honest call for a WMD free zone in the Middle East and Africa."
The statement was, in fact, put together with the help of British officials. A covering letter, addressed to Khalid Najjar, of the Department of International Relations and Safety in Tripoli, said "for the sake of clarity, please find attached a tidied up version of the language we agreed on Tuesday. I wanted to ensure that you had the same script."

When Libya's high command expressed worries about how abandoning their WMD arsenal would leave them vulnerable, the UK proposed helping to bolster conventional defences using Field Marshall Lord Inge, a former head of the UK military as a consultant. In a letter from London dated 24th December 2003, a British official wrote: "I propose that Field Marshal Lord Inge, whom you will remember well from September, should visit two or three senior officers to start these talks." 

"No. 10 are keen that the Prime Minister meet the leader in his tent"
*A sizeable amount of correspondence in the cache was devoted to the visit of Tony Blair to meet Muammar Gaddafi in March 2004 at a time when Britain was playing a key role in bringing Libya in from the cold.
The documents show how involved MI6 was with organizing the trip and the role of conduit played by Moussa Koussa. Unsurprisingly for the Blair administration, presentation was seen as of paramount importance.
An MI6 officer wrote to Mr Koussa, saying: "No.10 are keen that the Prime Minister meet the leader in his tent. I don't know why the English are fascinated by tents. The plain fact is the journalists would love it. My own view is that it would give a good impression of the Leader's preference for simplicity which I know is important to him. You may have seen very different press conference in Riyadh. Anyway, if this is possible, No.10 would be very grateful."
Colonel Gaddafi, apparently, had wanted to meet the British Prime Minister at Sirte, his birth place. At present the town is under siege from opposition fighters. The MI6 officer states: "No.10 are expecting that the visit will take place in Tripoli and not Sirte. Apparently it is important that the journalists have access to hotels and so on where there may be facilities for them to file their stories to their newspapers."
However, the spies were there to make sure that their and the national interests was being protected. The officer continued, "No.10 have asked me to accompany the Prime Minister so I am very much looking forward to seeing you next Thursday. No.10 have asked me whether I could put an officer into Tripoli a few days before the visit... I think this would give them comfort and everything would work out well."
Colonel Gaddafi had earned his approval from the West partly because of his stand against Islamist terrorism, the shadow of which, after the Madrid bombings, hung over the visit. The letter, dated 18 March 2004, said "No.10 have asked me to put to you their request that there be no publicity for the visit now or over the next few days - that is well in advance of the visit since Madrid, everyone is extra security conscious.


Source The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/moussa-koussas-secret-letters-betray-britains-libyan-connection-2348394.html