2004-08-03
2004-08-02
Iran Regime Change Petition
has over 500 signatures. Is yours one of them? Click here:
True Security Begins with Regime Change in Iran
True Security Begins with Regime Change in Iran
2004-08-01
Let's blogroll!
Suffragette nation! Great news on Afghanistan from Greatest Jeneration: a recent news item reports that 90% of Afghans are registered to vote - and that "women and ethnic minorities are strongly represented". Did you get that? I'll say it again: ninety percent of Afghans are registered to vote. Thanks, Greatest Jen, for the good news.
What's wrong with this picture? Baldilocks offers a few pointers for John Kerry. Quiz question: When's the best time to come between a GI and his/her food? (If you answered "never", you're one up on Kerry.)
Yes, there is such a thing as a post-9/11 world. Jane is living in it. So is Michele.
How low can Subway go? Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler ponders the implications of the grinder giant's campaign on the "Fat American" stereotype.
What's wrong with this picture? Baldilocks offers a few pointers for John Kerry. Quiz question: When's the best time to come between a GI and his/her food? (If you answered "never", you're one up on Kerry.)
Yes, there is such a thing as a post-9/11 world. Jane is living in it. So is Michele.
How low can Subway go? Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler ponders the implications of the grinder giant's campaign on the "Fat American" stereotype.
Morning report: August 1, 2004
Al Qaeda threatening financial organizations? Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge cited specific threats against several East Coast financial centers at a news conference Sunday and indicated he would raise the threat alert level to Orange for designated areas of Washington, DC, New York, and New Jersey. Ridge said possible targets included the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., the Prudential Building in Newark, N.J. and the Citicorp buildings and New York Stock Exchange in New York City. (Fox News)
Terrorists attack Christian churches in Iraq. In an ominous turn of events, terrorists have attacked Iraqi Christian churches in Baghdad and Mosul. According to the latest bulletin from Debka, at least 15 lives were lost in the attacks on Armenian, Catholic, and Chaldean churches. Debka further explains that this al-Qaeda operation is distinct from the goals announced by Ba'athist elements, who specifically stated that their campaign is "national, not religious" in nature. It also accompanies an al-Qaeda threat against the Vatican unless Italy withdraws its troops. (Comment: This seems like a particularly shrewd move if it is aimed at pitting the secular Italian government against the Holy See. The implications for both Europe and Christianity could be enormous. -aa )
Terrorists attack Christian churches in Iraq. In an ominous turn of events, terrorists have attacked Iraqi Christian churches in Baghdad and Mosul. According to the latest bulletin from Debka, at least 15 lives were lost in the attacks on Armenian, Catholic, and Chaldean churches. Debka further explains that this al-Qaeda operation is distinct from the goals announced by Ba'athist elements, who specifically stated that their campaign is "national, not religious" in nature. It also accompanies an al-Qaeda threat against the Vatican unless Italy withdraws its troops. (Comment: This seems like a particularly shrewd move if it is aimed at pitting the secular Italian government against the Holy See. The implications for both Europe and Christianity could be enormous. -aa )
2004-07-30
Zeyad Is Back!
Iraqi blog fans, rejoice! Zeyad of the Healing Iraq blog has returned, and he's brought his friends. Go check out the latest posts ... there's info on the newest, youngest crop of Iraqi bloggers yet.
2004-07-29
Just a few quick thoughts ...
... before I go back to schlepping.
I believe President Bush spoke wisely when he said of the War on Terror, "This is not a war against a religion." In a December 3, 2003 post, Ali at Iraq the Model wrote: 'I think that the governments can not create criminals or saints, but a wise one makes it easier for the good ones to use their free will as it makes it harder for the bad ones to use theirs. And the opposite applies for the bad government; it just acts as a catalyst to the potentialities within each human soul.' I believe this applies to religions as well. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are what their adherents make of them. A religious teaching provides the framework to strengthen and ennoble the human soul, but it is up to people to use their free will to build on that framework in a positive way. There is, in Irshad Manji's words, a "trouble with Islam"; and as a Muslim acquaintance of mine recently said, "No religion today is more sick than Islam." But it doesn't have to be that way. This is why you'll never find sarcastic comments about "the religion of peace" or "72 virgins" on this site.
I really do believe in all that good liberal stuff about "understanding other people/cultures/religions". At the same time, everything in the world doesn't reduce to this. You need to "understand" bin Laden, Arafat, and Saddam only well enough to know that they are trying to destroy you. It's important to know how to "win friends and influence people", but there are some folks in the world who are immune to the Dale Carnegie treatment. They will continue killing innocent people, and they will not stop no matter how nicely you ask.
Understanding other people means relating to others as people, not as "strange objects on a laboratory slide". And it applies equally to everyone, regardless of religion, politics, ethnicity, or social class. It's a strange kind of "liberalism" that can be more "open-minded" about fascist terrorists than about conservative Americans. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'll post again when I get the chance. Meanwhile, as always, thanks for reading my blog - drop me a comment sometime.
I believe President Bush spoke wisely when he said of the War on Terror, "This is not a war against a religion." In a December 3, 2003 post, Ali at Iraq the Model wrote: 'I think that the governments can not create criminals or saints, but a wise one makes it easier for the good ones to use their free will as it makes it harder for the bad ones to use theirs. And the opposite applies for the bad government; it just acts as a catalyst to the potentialities within each human soul.' I believe this applies to religions as well. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are what their adherents make of them. A religious teaching provides the framework to strengthen and ennoble the human soul, but it is up to people to use their free will to build on that framework in a positive way. There is, in Irshad Manji's words, a "trouble with Islam"; and as a Muslim acquaintance of mine recently said, "No religion today is more sick than Islam." But it doesn't have to be that way. This is why you'll never find sarcastic comments about "the religion of peace" or "72 virgins" on this site.
I really do believe in all that good liberal stuff about "understanding other people/cultures/religions". At the same time, everything in the world doesn't reduce to this. You need to "understand" bin Laden, Arafat, and Saddam only well enough to know that they are trying to destroy you. It's important to know how to "win friends and influence people", but there are some folks in the world who are immune to the Dale Carnegie treatment. They will continue killing innocent people, and they will not stop no matter how nicely you ask.
Understanding other people means relating to others as people, not as "strange objects on a laboratory slide". And it applies equally to everyone, regardless of religion, politics, ethnicity, or social class. It's a strange kind of "liberalism" that can be more "open-minded" about fascist terrorists than about conservative Americans. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'll post again when I get the chance. Meanwhile, as always, thanks for reading my blog - drop me a comment sometime.
2004-07-27
Fikr
Yesterday evening I visited with my Islamic teacher, Imam Toure, a sixth-generation Sufi Imam from Senegal. We spoke about Iraq for a while, as well as many other things, and he explained the concept of fikr.
Fikr, he said, is the innate drive for self-expression and justice. If you have two young children, and you give a toy to one of them, the other will ask "Why didn't you give me a toy?" Why? Because of fikr. Fikr is the reason human beings rebel against oppression and degradation. In my work as a chaplain - the Imam said - I often work with prostitutes. There is not one among them who does not experience shame and rage at the violations she is forced to endure. In the traditional culture of Senegal, he went on, there is only one crime punishable by death: it is not murder, but rape, because the woman is seen as a co-creator with G-d and a violation of her is a violation of the Divine process itself. Rape was virtually unknown in Senegal until modern times.
Islamic law (he continued) teaches that humankind has a positive duty to fight injustice and oppression. If a person sees evil being committed, they have an obligation to resist with their own hands if possible; if it is not possible, they must speak out against it; and if even this is not possible (as when a man's life and family are threatened), then at a minimum they have a duty to hate the oppression in their heart.
He cited the Israel Sura of the Koran, which states "We [G-d] have honored the sons of Adam ... and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of Our Creation" (Koran 17:70). As the commentary by 'Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali explains, "The distinction and honour conferred by Allah on man are recounted in order to enforce the corresponding duties and responsibilities of man."
It is neither a sin nor a merit to be born rich or poor, powerful or oppressed; our merit consists solely in how we choose to make use of the resources and power available to us. As Americans, we should not feel guilty for being a part of the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world; indeed, that is a gift that G-d can take away if we misuse it. Rather, we must remember our calling as human beings, to act in accord with our highest nature.
Fikr, he said, is the innate drive for self-expression and justice. If you have two young children, and you give a toy to one of them, the other will ask "Why didn't you give me a toy?" Why? Because of fikr. Fikr is the reason human beings rebel against oppression and degradation. In my work as a chaplain - the Imam said - I often work with prostitutes. There is not one among them who does not experience shame and rage at the violations she is forced to endure. In the traditional culture of Senegal, he went on, there is only one crime punishable by death: it is not murder, but rape, because the woman is seen as a co-creator with G-d and a violation of her is a violation of the Divine process itself. Rape was virtually unknown in Senegal until modern times.
Islamic law (he continued) teaches that humankind has a positive duty to fight injustice and oppression. If a person sees evil being committed, they have an obligation to resist with their own hands if possible; if it is not possible, they must speak out against it; and if even this is not possible (as when a man's life and family are threatened), then at a minimum they have a duty to hate the oppression in their heart.
He cited the Israel Sura of the Koran, which states "We [G-d] have honored the sons of Adam ... and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of Our Creation" (Koran 17:70). As the commentary by 'Abdullah Yusuf 'Ali explains, "The distinction and honour conferred by Allah on man are recounted in order to enforce the corresponding duties and responsibilities of man."
It is neither a sin nor a merit to be born rich or poor, powerful or oppressed; our merit consists solely in how we choose to make use of the resources and power available to us. As Americans, we should not feel guilty for being a part of the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world; indeed, that is a gift that G-d can take away if we misuse it. Rather, we must remember our calling as human beings, to act in accord with our highest nature.
2004-07-25
Let's blogroll!
Big Pharaoh: America is winning in Iraq. Thanks, GM, for that pick-me-up! Big Pharaoh says the US and its Iraqi allies are winning because the Iraqis feel invested in their own future. 'Before June 28th, many Iraqis felt that their country was owned by the US who literally took it from its previous owner Saddam Hussein. Today it seems that more and more Iraqis are beginning to feel that there is a political process currently underway which will put the average citizen behind the steering wheel.' Citing a recent post at ITM, he notes the growing number of Iraqis willing to pass information to the IP.
CaribPundit: thoughts on personal responsibility. Helen at Caribpundit speaks out on individual achievement, and why it's not a good idea to wait for the Feds to tell you how to get out of Brooklyn in a hurry. Voters seem afflicted by a mysterious deafness when asked about Whoopi Goldberg's vulgar remarks on the President, while Sean "P. Diddy" Combs takes a non-partisan approach to getting out the black vote.
LaShawn: new digs, and more on Berger. If you haven't yet, update your browser with LaShawn Barber's new homepage. As for us luddites still limping along with Blogger, we can only watch in admiration. She'd like to find a new home for Sandy Berger as well, but we all know that ain't gonna happen.
Smells like the BBC. The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler digs up some muck from al-Jazeera-on-the-Thames. For another reflection on the smell of war, see the quote at my recent post on The Iraqi Holocaust.
PS It would be unfair to the BBC to omit mention of this item, which I posted here.
CaribPundit: thoughts on personal responsibility. Helen at Caribpundit speaks out on individual achievement, and why it's not a good idea to wait for the Feds to tell you how to get out of Brooklyn in a hurry. Voters seem afflicted by a mysterious deafness when asked about Whoopi Goldberg's vulgar remarks on the President, while Sean "P. Diddy" Combs takes a non-partisan approach to getting out the black vote.
LaShawn: new digs, and more on Berger. If you haven't yet, update your browser with LaShawn Barber's new homepage. As for us luddites still limping along with Blogger, we can only watch in admiration. She'd like to find a new home for Sandy Berger as well, but we all know that ain't gonna happen.
Smells like the BBC. The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler digs up some muck from al-Jazeera-on-the-Thames. For another reflection on the smell of war, see the quote at my recent post on The Iraqi Holocaust.
PS It would be unfair to the BBC to omit mention of this item, which I posted here.
Morning Report: July 25, 2004
Allied forces kill 13 insurgents in Iraq, take no casualties. Iraqi and American forces killed thirteeen insurgents in Buhriz, a former Ba'athist stronghold north of Baghdad, taking no casualties, in fighting on Sunday. However, an emergency worker at Baqouba General Hospital stated that an IP officer and a civilian had been killed. Iraqi and US forces destroyed an apparent staging ground for insurgent attacks in the operation. (Fox News)
IDF intel: Syria testing chemical missiles. According to recent reports on Debka, 'IDF intelligence chief Col. Zeevi warns Israeli cabinet Syria is testing chemical warheads for dozens of Hizballah 115-215 km range surface missiles.' The report also notes Arafat's optimism regarding a Kerry victory in November. (Debka)
Philippines, Indonesia: Allies or burden? The Belmont Club reflects on the South Pacific front, citing the difficulties of dealing with impotent states such as Indonesia and RP. In the wake of an Indonesian ruling that weakens the case against the Bali bombers (whose victims were largely Australian), 'the European branch of Al Qaeda threatened to turn Australia into a "pool of blood"'. This is not going down well in Canberra, where even leftist MPs are calling for decisive action against al-Qaeda. Comparing today's Philippines with Taliban-era Afghanistan, Wretchard questions the wisdom of 'working with the Indonesian and the Philippine governments which seem unwilling or unable to face the forces that are slowly tearing them apart'; but he also rejects the notion of waiting for 'the final collapse or breakup of these two countries before acting'. Rather, he recommends bypassing the official channels to forge alliances with useful elements within the power structures. The example for this has already been provided by Islamist rebels in the Philippines, who have co-opted elements of the Indonesian army as "facilitators" for their campaign against Manila.
IDF intel: Syria testing chemical missiles. According to recent reports on Debka, 'IDF intelligence chief Col. Zeevi warns Israeli cabinet Syria is testing chemical warheads for dozens of Hizballah 115-215 km range surface missiles.' The report also notes Arafat's optimism regarding a Kerry victory in November. (Debka)
Philippines, Indonesia: Allies or burden? The Belmont Club reflects on the South Pacific front, citing the difficulties of dealing with impotent states such as Indonesia and RP. In the wake of an Indonesian ruling that weakens the case against the Bali bombers (whose victims were largely Australian), 'the European branch of Al Qaeda threatened to turn Australia into a "pool of blood"'. This is not going down well in Canberra, where even leftist MPs are calling for decisive action against al-Qaeda. Comparing today's Philippines with Taliban-era Afghanistan, Wretchard questions the wisdom of 'working with the Indonesian and the Philippine governments which seem unwilling or unable to face the forces that are slowly tearing them apart'; but he also rejects the notion of waiting for 'the final collapse or breakup of these two countries before acting'. Rather, he recommends bypassing the official channels to forge alliances with useful elements within the power structures. The example for this has already been provided by Islamist rebels in the Philippines, who have co-opted elements of the Indonesian army as "facilitators" for their campaign against Manila.
2004-07-23
Iraq Update: Barbershop Talk
Mohammed of ITM went to get his hair cut in the Ba'athist stronghold of Adhamiya (the neighborhood in northern Baghdad that juts out into the Tigris on the east bank). He reports that it is one of the few areas in Iraq where " no one dares to say that what happened was right" for fear of retribution from the Ba'athist gangs.
In Baghdad, as elsewhere, barbershops are a place to talk politics. Mohammed overheard the client ahead of him say to the barber that the list of "agents and spies" (meaning anti-Ba'athist informers) on 20th Street had grown to 250. Choosing his words carefully, Mohammed remarked that the "honest people" (Ba'athists) must be dwindling in numbers and losing support.
Mohammed goes on to say:
"I smiled inside as I remembered the days of Saddam when we couldn’t dare to speak fearing Saddam’s agents who seemed to be everywhere. I was living a somewhat reversed picture from the past and it was a bit amusing. I went adding, " I don’t think it’ll take a long time before things get better" This phrase could be interpreted in 2 different ways but still no one dared to approve of what I said. People here are still afraid of a very small criminal group that is capable of everything and believe they’re the only ones who are right and who have honor while all the rest are cowards spies who should be killed without hesitation.
This was the way Saddam and his assistants used to think. They thought that if they had to sacrifice 24 million Iraqis for the rest to live "honorably" then that was what they would do with clear conscience."
Read the whole post here:Land of Spies
This is good news indeed. As always, don't hold your breath for BBC and CNN to report it. They're still weeping over the downfall of their genocidal hero, Saddam Hussein.
In Baghdad, as elsewhere, barbershops are a place to talk politics. Mohammed overheard the client ahead of him say to the barber that the list of "agents and spies" (meaning anti-Ba'athist informers) on 20th Street had grown to 250. Choosing his words carefully, Mohammed remarked that the "honest people" (Ba'athists) must be dwindling in numbers and losing support.
Mohammed goes on to say:
"I smiled inside as I remembered the days of Saddam when we couldn’t dare to speak fearing Saddam’s agents who seemed to be everywhere. I was living a somewhat reversed picture from the past and it was a bit amusing. I went adding, " I don’t think it’ll take a long time before things get better" This phrase could be interpreted in 2 different ways but still no one dared to approve of what I said. People here are still afraid of a very small criminal group that is capable of everything and believe they’re the only ones who are right and who have honor while all the rest are cowards spies who should be killed without hesitation.
This was the way Saddam and his assistants used to think. They thought that if they had to sacrifice 24 million Iraqis for the rest to live "honorably" then that was what they would do with clear conscience."
Read the whole post here:Land of Spies
This is good news indeed. As always, don't hold your breath for BBC and CNN to report it. They're still weeping over the downfall of their genocidal hero, Saddam Hussein.
Morning Report: July 23, 2004
Congress on Sudan: It is genocide. AFP article in the Sudan Tribune, without further comment: "The US Congress unanimously passed a resolution declaring the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan, a genocide, and calling on the White House to intervene multilaterally or even unilaterally to stop the violence. By a vote of 422 to zero, the House of Representatives and "the Senate concurring" passed the resolution introduced a month ago by New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne stressing that in Darfur 30,000 people have been "brutally murdered", 130,000 have fled to neighboring Chad and more than one million have been internally displaced by the violence. Quoting the United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator who said that the violence in the poverty-stricken region "appears to be particularly directed at a specific group based on their ethnic identity and appears to be systemized," the resolution "declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide." It urges the US administration of President George W. Bush to "call the atrocities ... by its rightful name: 'genocide,' and calls on it to lead an international effort to prevent it. The resolution, adopted late on Thursday, further calls on the Bush administration "to seriously consider multilateral or even unilateral intervention to prevent genocide should the United Nations Security Council fail to act." It also demands "targeted sanctions, including visa bans and the freezing of assets of the National Congress and affiliated business and individuals directly responsible for the atrocities in Darfur," and urges USAID to help the refugees resettle and rebuild their communities." (Sudan Tribune / Agence France-Presse, via Google)
Israel dispatches Islamic Jihad head man. According to the latest Debka bulletin, "Israeli helicopter-borne rocket hits car in Zeitun district of Gaza City killing two Islamic Jihad terrorists, according to witnesses. One identified as Hatem Rachim who paraded head of Israeli soldier after IDF APC blown up three months ago." (Debka)
Wretchard on the ransom tax. Latest post at the Belmont Club discusses hostage negotiators' " habit of skimming stuff off the top when handling ransom money." Wretchard observes that of about one million offered by the Philippines government for the release of hostage Angelo de la Cruz, the hostage takers only saw about a quarter-million. (Belmont Club)
Danger present for Democrats, Republicans alike. Cliff May reports that Senators Joseph Lieberman (D - Connecticut) and Jon Kyl (R - Arizona) have moved to revive the bipartisan Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), originally a Cold War -era organization dedicated to educating Americans about the danger of Soviet Communism. According to Cliff May on CPD, the organization, founded in 1950, enjoyed a revival in the 1970s under Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a staunch anti-Communist. Today, "in its third incarnation, with Senators Lieberman and Kyl as honorary chairmen, the CPD is to focus on terrorism and the movements that are using terrorism to damage and, ultimately they pray, destroy America." (Foundation for the Defense of Democracies)
Goli Ameri out-raises opponent Wu. The Republican challenger for Oregon's first congressional district, Goli Ameri, has outpaced the Democratic incumbent David Wu in fund-raising by more than $100,000, raising nearly $500,000 in the second quarter. Ms. Ameri, the first Iranian-American woman ever to run for US Congress, is running on a strong pro-business and pro-freedom platform. The Tehran-born business leader is the founder of eTinium, a consulting firm for high-tech corporations such as Lucent and Nortel. Oregon's First District includes parts of downtown Portland and extends through the Oregon coast, also including tech-oriented cities like Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Tigard. (Goli Ameri 2004)
Israel dispatches Islamic Jihad head man. According to the latest Debka bulletin, "Israeli helicopter-borne rocket hits car in Zeitun district of Gaza City killing two Islamic Jihad terrorists, according to witnesses. One identified as Hatem Rachim who paraded head of Israeli soldier after IDF APC blown up three months ago." (Debka)
Wretchard on the ransom tax. Latest post at the Belmont Club discusses hostage negotiators' " habit of skimming stuff off the top when handling ransom money." Wretchard observes that of about one million offered by the Philippines government for the release of hostage Angelo de la Cruz, the hostage takers only saw about a quarter-million. (Belmont Club)
Danger present for Democrats, Republicans alike. Cliff May reports that Senators Joseph Lieberman (D - Connecticut) and Jon Kyl (R - Arizona) have moved to revive the bipartisan Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), originally a Cold War -era organization dedicated to educating Americans about the danger of Soviet Communism. According to Cliff May on CPD, the organization, founded in 1950, enjoyed a revival in the 1970s under Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a staunch anti-Communist. Today, "in its third incarnation, with Senators Lieberman and Kyl as honorary chairmen, the CPD is to focus on terrorism and the movements that are using terrorism to damage and, ultimately they pray, destroy America." (Foundation for the Defense of Democracies)
Goli Ameri out-raises opponent Wu. The Republican challenger for Oregon's first congressional district, Goli Ameri, has outpaced the Democratic incumbent David Wu in fund-raising by more than $100,000, raising nearly $500,000 in the second quarter. Ms. Ameri, the first Iranian-American woman ever to run for US Congress, is running on a strong pro-business and pro-freedom platform. The Tehran-born business leader is the founder of eTinium, a consulting firm for high-tech corporations such as Lucent and Nortel. Oregon's First District includes parts of downtown Portland and extends through the Oregon coast, also including tech-oriented cities like Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Tigard. (Goli Ameri 2004)
2004-07-21
Morning Report: July 21, 2004
One giant leap. Yesterday marks T + 35 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing. How long till we go back?
Berger quits Kerry campaign. Samuel Berger, the former National Security Adviser who was caught stuffing classified documents into his pants, has quit his role as informal adviser to John Kerry's presidential campaign. Berger's resignation comes amid reports that Berger is the subject of a criminal investigation in connection with the incident. (Fox)
Al-Qaeda's silent partners? According to this Debka report on Saudi/IRI/Syrian al-Qaeda connections, the triangular "axis" of regimes helping al-Qaeda is still active "when it suits the parties". The article states that the three regimes may now be working to repatriate all of the key players in the 9/11 attacks, including Muhammed Khaled al-Harby (Suleiman al-Makki) - Zuwahiri's son-in-law - and Ibrahim al-Sadiq al-Kaidi. Questioning the 9/11 commission's conclusion that "America had more reason to go to war against Iran than Iraq", Debka argues that it's a case of apples and oranges: al-Qaeda had actually struck separate deals with Ba'athist Iraq and SA/IRI/Syria. In any event, the article concludes: "The thousands of Saudi terrorists who wended their way to and from Afghanistan through Iran are now fighting American troops in Iraq."
Berger quits Kerry campaign. Samuel Berger, the former National Security Adviser who was caught stuffing classified documents into his pants, has quit his role as informal adviser to John Kerry's presidential campaign. Berger's resignation comes amid reports that Berger is the subject of a criminal investigation in connection with the incident. (Fox)
Al-Qaeda's silent partners? According to this Debka report on Saudi/IRI/Syrian al-Qaeda connections, the triangular "axis" of regimes helping al-Qaeda is still active "when it suits the parties". The article states that the three regimes may now be working to repatriate all of the key players in the 9/11 attacks, including Muhammed Khaled al-Harby (Suleiman al-Makki) - Zuwahiri's son-in-law - and Ibrahim al-Sadiq al-Kaidi. Questioning the 9/11 commission's conclusion that "America had more reason to go to war against Iran than Iraq", Debka argues that it's a case of apples and oranges: al-Qaeda had actually struck separate deals with Ba'athist Iraq and SA/IRI/Syria. In any event, the article concludes: "The thousands of Saudi terrorists who wended their way to and from Afghanistan through Iran are now fighting American troops in Iraq."
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