APS Diplomat News Service articles from August 2008

APS Diplomat News Service archives from August 2008

Iran & The Shi'ite World Wonder If Wilayat-Ul-Faqih Will Survive After Khamenei.(Ayatullah 'Ali Khamenei)
August 4, 2008... *** Turkey's Top Court On July 30 Decided Against A Ban Of The Ruling AKP, Ordering That Its Funding By The State Be Halved As Punishment For Its Attempts To Impose Aspects Of Its Islamist Roots, With The Tribunal's Head Saying This Is A...

WuF's Lebanon & Iraq Dimensions.
August 4, 2008... An earlier concept of Ja'fari theocratic rule was tried several centuries ago by Turkomans inspired by a theologian of Jabal 'Amel - a region in today's southern Lebanon - called Shaikh Baha' ul-Din al-'Ameli, who went to Persia and, with his...

The Syrian Angle & Peace Talks With Israel.
August 4, 2008... It is said that the 'Alawite/Ba'thist regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria has grown wary of Iran's attempts to control it - one reason why he has had indirect peace talks with Israel being mediated by Turkey. The 'Alawites are a distant branch...

Olmert Quitting.(Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert)
August 4, 2008... Assad, however, was again jolted on July 30 when Olmert announced he would step down by Sept. 17, succumbing to a string of corruption investigations which had tarnished his tenure. The move ended months of uncertainty, but at the price of...

Russia & Turkey Stand To Gain Much From Riyadh's Wahhabi 'Revisionism' Vs Iran's WuF.
August 11, 2008... *** Experts Say That Musharraf Will Fight Impeachment Bid, But The US Is Counting On Army Chief Kayani To Solve The Crisis & Keep The Nuclear Bombs Under Control *** The S. Ossetia War, From Aug. 8, Is A Sequel To The Balkan Wars - With...

The Focus On Turkey.
August 11, 2008... Along with that warning, the Constitutional Court deprived the AKP of half an annual $40m state funding. But the AKP has easy access to other sources of funding. To Erdogan, the warning meant he and the AKP had to be extra careful in ruling...

The Saudi Offer.
August 11, 2008... The offer Saudi Arabia is making to Turkey and Russia will held boost the standing of Erdogan and new President Medvedev in a big way, which both need. In the case of Erdogan, the Saudi offer will help steer his regional course towards the...

Israel Faces New Challenge From Iran's Lebanon Offshoot Hizbullah.
August 18, 2008... *** Libyan Ruler Qadhafi Aug. 5 Said Iran's Theocracy Was Wasting Time Practicing Haughtiness In Challenging The UNSC, Whereas It Was No Stronger Than Saddam's Iraq And Might Eventually Face Its Fate *** Conflict Between Georgia And...

Lebanon's Cabinet Wins Confidence Vote.
August 18, 2008... Lebanon's "national unity" cabinet on Aug. 12 received an overwhelming vote of approval in parliament for its new policy statement. The majority of ministers in the 30-member cabinet are from the anti-Syria March 14 bloc in parliament, which...

US Sanctions Iranian Groups Over Nuke Work.
August 18, 2008... The US Treasury on Aug. 12 said it imposed sanctions against five more Iranian entities it claimed had provided support or materials to Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. It said the entities, designated as weapons of mass destruction (WMD)...

GCC States Brace Themselves For Qaeda-Iran Alliance As Russia Faces A Cold Peace.(Gulf Cooperation Council)
August 25, 2008... *** Iran's Theocracy Has Been Sending Strange Signals To Its Worried GCC Neighbours: A Deputy Foreign Minister Saying GCC Regimes Are Illegitimate & Will Face Crises Till They Fall; Fresh Admin. Offices Set Up On The Isle Of Abu Musa Claimed By...

Salafi Groups Freeze Hizbullah MoU.(memorandum of understanding)
August 25, 2008... In parallel, Iran's theocracy is encouraging Shi'ite groups to form alliances with Sunni activists, such as the Salafis, in the Arab world. But Salafi groups in northern Lebanon on Aug. 19 announced their decision to "freeze" a memorandum of...

Salafism.
August 25, 2008... The MoU raised questions about the origin, doctrine and spread of the Sunni ideological movement, whose influence is increasingly more tangible on the Lebanese scene. Salafism, which follows a radical school of Sunni thought, was established in...

Strange Signals To The GCC From Tehran - Links To Afghan & Pakistani Neo-Salafis.(Gulf Cooperation Council)
August 25, 2008... Iran recently opened two administrative offices on the isle of Abu Musa, which legally is a UAE territory, further angering GCC states. The move came just weeks after Iran broadcast a film accusing former President of Egypt Anwar al-Sadat of...

NATO On Russia's Moves In Georgia.(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
August 25, 2008... NATO foreign ministers on Aug. 19 strengthened their ties to Georgia and called for Russia to observe a ceasefire and to immediately withdraw its troops from that republic, vowing that until it did the alliance "won't continue with business as...

Tbilisi Admits Misjudging Russia.(Georgia (nation))(Brief article)
August 25, 2008... The FT on Aug. 22 quoted Georgia's Deputy Defence Minister Batu Kutelia as saying Tbilisi had misjudged Russia, did not believe Moscow would respond to its Aug. 7 offensive in South Ossetia and was completely unprepared for the counter-attack....

Assad In Russia Offers Anti-West Missile Shield & Base Facilities.(Hafez al-Assad )
August 25, 2008... Syrian President Assad on Aug. 20 jumped to the opportunity as he visited Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. He offered the Russians any part of Syrian territory for them to establish any system they deemed...

Algeria Bombings Resemble Insurgent Tactics In Iraq.
August 25, 2008... A string of suicide bombings in Algeria on Aug. 19-20 intensified concerns that the country's Neo-Salafi militancy was rising, guided by insurgents who had been trained in Iraq and were now waging their fight in North Africa. On Aug. 19-20, car...

Al-Qaeda Positioned For Attacks From Pakistani-Afghan Border.(Brief article)
August 25, 2008... US intelligence analyst Ted Gistaro was on Aug. 19 quoted as saying al-Qaeda's success in forging close ties to Pakistani militant groups has given it an increasingly secure haven in the mountainous tribal areas on the border between Pakistan...