APS Diplomat News Service articles from April 2007

APS Diplomat News Service archives from April 2007

Arab Quartet Is Born, As USA Shift From Democratisating To Consolidating ME Allies.(Middle East)
April 2, 2007... *** King Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz Takes The Bush Administration By Surprise By Telling The Riyadh Arab Summit Meeting The US-Led Occupation Of Iraq Is Illegal; Iraq's Kurdish President Jalal Talabani Tells The Arab Rulers The Same Thing ...

Egypt's 'Neo-Dictatorship'.(referendum, constitutional amendments)
April 2, 2007... The Egyptian Justice Ministry on March 27 announced that 75.9% of voters had approved controversial amendments to the constitution in a March 26 referendum. The opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), had called for a boycott of the...

The Riyadh Arab Summit.(Arab League)
April 2, 2007... As prominent Egyptian analyst Wahid Abdul-Maguid put it on March 29, the Arab League's Riyadh meeting was "another summit of lost opportunities". He warned that its failure to tackle Arab problems was bound to make them more dangerous and said...

Riyadh Warns Against US Hitting Iran.(Arab League)
April 2, 2007... Addressing a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa after the conclusion of the 19th Arab Summit on March 29, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal warned of the consequences a strike against Iran regarding...

Why Did Abdullah Hit Bush?(Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, George W. Bush)
April 2, 2007... The Bush White House, shocked by King Abdullah's description of the US presence in Iraq as "illegal" occupation, on March 29 demanded a Saudi explanation. King Abdullah also said on March 28 that, unless Arab states settled their differences,...

Hamas On Israel.
April 2, 2007... AFP on March 29 quoted PA Prime Minister Isma'il Haniya of Hamas as saying he did not believe Israel will accept the revived Arab peace plan. He said: "I don't expect at all that Israel will accept the peace plan. They have not said that the...

World Gas Exporters Weigh Closer Grouping; Big Explosions From The Middle East.(Gas Exporting Countries Forum)
April 16, 2007... *** More Ayatullahs In The Muslim World Warn That A US Attack On Iran Would Get The Shi'ites To Rise Against The Americans 'Everywhere' - Including In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain - Etc; But All Remember Khamenei Saying The Theocracy...

The Baghdad Blast.(suicide bombings)
April 16, 2007... The building which houses Iraq's parliament is more accessible to the public and not as secure as the PM's offices or the homes of various political leaders. But the April 12 attack is probably the most serious breach of security to date in the...

Baradei Calms Nuke Fears.(International Atomic Energy Agency's Muhammad ElBaradei)
April 16, 2007... The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Muhammad ElBaradei, on April 12 played down fears of Iran developing a nuclear bomb, saying it "did not have the necessary elements" to do so. He said Iran was now...

Syrian Businessman Addresses Israeli Parliament Committee On Peace Deal; What Assad Wants.(Hafez al-Assad)
April 16, 2007... A Syrian-American businessman on April 12 made an unprecedented appearance before Israel's parliamentary Foreign Relations and Defence Committee to convey a message to Israel's generally sceptical leadership that Damascus was serious about...

Assad For Lebanon Civil War?
April 16, 2007... On the other hand, pro-government politicians in Beirut suspect that Assad is not counting much on the success of Suleiman's mission and that he is worried that the US and France are determined to have a Hariri tribunal established under...

Al-Qaeda's Spreading Terror Threatens Europe, While The US Is Losing Respect.
April 23, 2007... *** Meeting In Cairo On April 18, 13 Arab Foreign Ministers Agreed For Their Egypt And Jordan Counterparts To Hold Talks With Israel On The Arab Peace Plan - To Start Negotiations Between The Jewish State And Each Of Syria, Lebanon & The...

US Captures Taliban-Bound Iran Weapons.
April 23, 2007... Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, on April 17 said: "We have intercepted weapons in Afghanistan headed for the [Neo-Salafi] Taliban that were made in Iran. It's not as clear in Afghanistan which Iranian entity is...

Democracy & Hypocrisy.(Christian-Muslim relations)
April 23, 2007... Neo-Salafis do not recognise any government on earth which does not adhere to its ideology. In an article published in the Middle East Quarterly in early April, David Bukay, an Israeli lecturer in the School of Political Science at the...

Syrian Elections.
April 23, 2007... At any rate, even Syria's state-owned daily Tishreen has recently pointed to a distinct lack of "enthusiasm" for parliamentary elections scheduled for April 22-23, saying: "Nothing on the ground indicates the Syrian people are showing...

The Salafis Vs Neo-Salafis & Shi'ites In Yemen.
April 23, 2007... Gulf News on April 20 quoted Yemen's Endowments and Religious Guidance Minister Judge Hamoud al-Hetar as saying the government was working on a two-year plan to avoid any future war with extremist groups, like that with the Zaidi Shi'ite...

Schools Of Violence.
April 23, 2007... Hetar said: "If any of these schools started to call for violence, it must be stopped, even if the violence did not start. If their curriculum calls for using weapons and to fight the state or fight others, it is dangerous". He said his...

Al-Qaeda In Somalia.
April 23, 2007... Three days of fighting on April 18-20 between Qaeda-affiliated Neo-Salafi insurgents and Ethiopian troops in Somalia backing the pro-West government killed at least 113 civilians and wounded 229 others. This was revealed on April 20 Sudan Ali...

Mediocrity & Criminality.(politics in Arab region)(Brief article)
April 23, 2007... The end of the Cold War slowed down the process of allowing regimes to turn their countries into failed states around the world - except for the Arab region, for some bizarre, cruel reason - notwithstanding the Neo-Salafi element. A new factor...

Iran Now Is Pressed To Change Behaviour As USA Wants An Honourable Exit From Iraq.
April 30, 2007... *** Even Muqtada Al-Sadr Is Relying On A US Stay In Iraq To Keep Growing In Strength Against His Armed Rivals And His Alliance With The Sunni AMS 'Is Only A Mirage', Says One Of His Shi'ite Critics Who Insists That The AMS Is Made Up Of...

New EU Sanctions.(European Union)
April 30, 2007... The EU on April 24 set out a new set of sanctions on Iran, focusing on 15 individuals and eight companies that could also be subjected to UNSC measures in coming weeks. The move, which immediately freezes their assets in Europe, came as the EU...

Bush On Early Iraq Pull-Out & The Neo-Salafi Challenge.(George W. Bush)
April 30, 2007... President Bush on April 24, and again on April 27, warned a sudden withdrawal of US troops from Iraq would be an "unforgivable mistake" that could spread chaos across the Middle East. He renewed his promise to veto the House bill (see above)...

The US Diplomatic Role.(Condoleezza Rice's agenda)
April 30, 2007... Secretary Rice is moving on two diplomatic tracks. The first leads to a regional solution for Iraq. She will take a crucial step on May 3-4 when she meets foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbours at Sharm el-Shaikh. This follows a preliminary...

UK To Issue West's 1st Islamic Bonds.
April 30, 2007... The British government on April 23 announced it was set to become the first Western state to issue Islamic bonds, seeking to meet what it believes is a significant demand for this financial product both inside and outside the UK. In what...

Al-Qaeda Seeks To Expand.
April 30, 2007... Al-Qaeda is reaching out from its base in Pakistan to turn militant Islamist groups in the Middle East and Africa into franchises charged with intensifying attacks on Western targets. The development could see radical groups use al-Qaeda...