APS Diplomat News Service articles from July 2007

APS Diplomat News Service archives from July 2007

Libya-US Trade Boom Heralds Strategic Co-operation With Emphasis On Fighting Terror:.
July 2, 2007... *** There Is A Danger That The Lebanese Will Have Two Rival Governments, As In The Case Of The Gaza Strip And The West Bank; The Palestinian Refugee Camps In Lebanon May Become Mini- States Where Fatah & Hamas Could Have A War, If Syria Does...

The Darfur Accord.
July 2, 2007... The UN Security Council (UNSC) and the Sudanese government have hammered out the major details of a US-sponsored proposal to send 23,000 peace-keeping troops to Darfur, clearing the way for a joint force with the African Union (AU), which will...

Tripoli's Policy Change.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Behind much of the policy change in Tripoli and its openings to the West is Col. Qadhafi's second son, Saif ul-Islam (Saif). He has been behind most changes since 2003, starting with Qadhafi's decision in late 2003 to get rid of Libya's weapons...

To Stem Al-Qaeda's Operations.(Brief article)
July 2, 2007... Saif was behind those political overtures from Tripoli which have led to US-Libyan co-operation against al-Qaeda's presence in North Africa. With emphasis on eliminating all elements or grounds on which al-Qaeda depends to have a presence in...

Libyan-US Economic Ties.
July 2, 2007... US firms had an impressive presence in the Tripoli international trade fair in April 2007, when more than 30 countries participated. US firms involved included Pfizer, Briggs & Stratton and Lincoln Electric. People used mobile phones to snap...

Iran & Pakistan Provide Key Bases For Al-Qaeda; Hizb Ut-Tahrir Now Plays Major Role.
July 9, 2007... *** Egypt & Jordan FMs Lead An Arab League Mission To Israel - The 1st Visit To The Jewish State By An Official Team From The 22-Member Body - To Mark A Major Boost To An Olmert Govt. Too Weak To Make Peace With A Region Split By Civil Wars And...

Pakistan Under Taliban/Qaeda Control.
July 9, 2007... President Musharraf was in June warned that al-Qaeda and the Taliban were rapidly spreading beyond Pakistan's lawless tribal areas and that without "swift and decisive action" the growing militancy could engulf the rest of the country, where...

Hizb Ut-Tahrir.(Organization overview)
July 9, 2007... Thousands of HuT members have been arrested in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia in the past two years. Like the Neo-Salafis, HuT calls for a single Caliphate to rule over the Muslim world - by implication...

Pakistan's Radicalisation & NATO Hunt For Taliban/Qaeda Fighters.(North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
July 9, 2007... The leading Neo-Salafi imam who recently held many student hostages at Islamabad's radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque), Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, campaigned to have Shari'a, the religious law of the Qur'an, enforced in Pakistan. He said this...

Al-Qaeda's Spreading Franchise.
July 9, 2007... In late 2004, a 1,600-page treatise outlining a vision of a new al-Qaeda was posted on jihadi websites. Entitled The Call for a Global Islamic Resistance, it was drafted by Abu Mus'ab al-Suri, a Syrian mechanical engineer who had fought...

Lebanon's Neo-Salafis.
July 9, 2007... The face, arms and hands of Abu Omar, a Neo-Salafi "commander" in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, are covered in second-degree burns. "They tried to kill me with a bomb", he explains the militant, who is...

Zawahiri's Message.(Ayman al-Zawahiri)
July 9, 2007... Dr. Zawahiri on July 4 appeared in a new video on a Website used by Islamist militant groups, urging unity in jihad and calling for the overthrow of "corrupt" Muslim governments in the region. The English version of the title posted on the site...

Turkey - Kamalism Struggles As The Islamists Are Poised To Win The Elections.
July 16, 2007... *** As The Battle With Fatah al- Islam In The North Is Getting Close To A Conclusion, Syria-Controlled Palestinian Factions Are Stocking Up On Weapons & Fresh Fighters In Various Parts Of Lebanon To Engage An Over- Stretched Army; Beirut &...

France Blocks Turkey's EU Talks.(European Union)
July 16, 2007... The EU on June 26 extended membership talks with Turkey to two new policy areas, or "chapters", but France blocked plans to open talks on a third area: economic and monetary union. The decision highlighted the growing impact that Nicolas...

The Turkish Military.
July 16, 2007... The following is a piece on the Turkish military establishment published on July 13 by the Financial Times: "A massive granite monument at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula in western Turkey commemorates the 86,692 Ottoman soldiers who died...

Syria's Ba'thists Encourage Converting Sunnis Into Shi'ism - Angering Neighbours.
July 23, 2007... *** Saudis Welcome Bush's July 16 Offer Of Int'l Middle East Peace Conference In The Autumn Of '07 To Focus On A Palestinian State - A Meet To Be Attended By The PA Of Fatah Leader Abbas, Israel And The Arab Allies Of The US Who Have Kept A...

Assad Gives In To Iran Backing For Lebanese Talks In France - But Holds All Regional Cards.
July 23, 2007... Negotiations between Lebanon's squabbling parties at Saint Cloud, France, on July 14-15 failed to break an impasse between the Western-backed government of Fou'ad Siniora and the pro-Syria opposition led by Hizbullah. President Assad,...

Syria's Sunni Opposition On Shi'itisation.
July 23, 2007... The predominantly-Sunni opponents of Assad's regime have been vocal against the Shi'itisation process in Syria since last autumn. In a report from London on Oct. 31, Orient News quoted Ali Sadruddin al-Bayanouni, a London-based lawyer who heads...

Iran Is Reclaiming Bahrain? - Says Lebanon's Shi'ites Must Have A Third Of The Power.
July 30, 2007... *** Tehran Again Is Hinting That A US Attack Will Cause Iran To Hit All American Bases, Including Those In The GCC Region With The Local US Navy Being Sited In Bahrain & Its Air Force Being In Qatar, In Addition To Three Aircraft Carriers And...

The Bahrain Issue & Implications Of Tehran Hints.(Iran claim over Bahrain)
July 30, 2007... Historically, the Iranian monarchy abandoned its territorial claims to Bahrain and in an agreement with Britain recognised the independence of the former Persian colony, which had been a British protectorate since the late 18th century. The...

Iran-GCC Media War.(Gulf Cooperation Council)
July 30, 2007... The Bahrain and Lebanon issues have fuelled a media war between Iran and the GCC. This has coincided with a new low in Iranian-Saudi relations, reflected by Iran's intense reaction to a religious decree by two prominent Wahhabi religious imams...

Fadlallah Rules Out Lebanon Civil War.(Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah )
July 30, 2007... In an interview published on July 26 by as-Safir daily, senior Ja'fari Shi'ite cleric Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah said a civil war in Lebanon was not likely, adding: "Neither the United States nor other international forces want a civil...

Hizbullah's Warning.(Brief article)
July 30, 2007... In an interview aired by al-Jazeera on July 23 to mark Hizbullah's 2006 war with Israel, Hizbullah's Nasrallah said his guerrillas possessed an arsenal of rockets which could reach "any corner" of the Jewish state, including Tel Aviv. He said...