British Blame Iran for UK Iraq Attacks

October 5, 2005 --

Iran 'Behind Attacks on British'
Britain has accused Iran of responsibility for explosions which have killed eight British soldiers in Iraq this year. (BBC)

Iraq U-turn on Charter Vote Rules
Iraq's parliament reverses its decision to change the rules of a referendum next week on the new constitution. (BBC)

U.N. Is Critical of Rule Change for Iraq Ballot
United Nations spokesman said Tuesday that newly adopted rules for the coming Iraqi constitutional referendum appeared to violate accepted international standards, and United Nations officials pressed Kurdish and Shiite legislators to reconsider the rule change. (NY Times)

Deaths Rise in US Iraqi Offensive
A major US offensive against suspected al-Qaeda fighters in western Iraq has entered its fifth day. (BBC)

In Baghdad, Violence Robs Ramadan of Its Happiness
Pressing his foot to the gas pedal as he closed on the white Mercedes-Benz in front of him, the bomber sped toward his target: a senior Iraqi official. (Washington Post)

Call-In Show Is Must-Hear Radio for Inmates Cut Off From Family
Prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq drop everything to listen for messages from friends and relatives. To many, the program is a lifeline. (LA Times)

Bosnian Serb Panel Links 17,000 to Roles in Srebrenica Massacre
A Bosnian Serb commission said Tuesday that it had identified more than 17,000 people who had taken part directly and indirectly in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, the worst slaughter of civilians in Europe since World War II. (NY Times)

Bali Hunt Linked to Philippines
Intelligence officials investigating last weekend's Bali suicide bombings believe the bombers may have been "cleanskins" schooled at the Abu Sayyaf Group training grounds on the Philippines island of Mindanao. (The Australian)

U.S. Source: Unofficial Talks with Damascus
Syrian decision makers who met with an unofficial U.S. delegation in Damascus offered full Syrian cooperation in ensuring the stability in Iraq in return for guarantees that Iraq would keep its Arab identity and a guarantee that there will be no threats against the stability of Syria, according to a U.S. source who spoke to Asharq al Awsat. The source, who is close to decision makers in Washington, said Syria was willing to open an embassy in Baghdad immediately to prove its good intentions. The offer came in response to a suggestion by moderates at the Republican Party to make Syria a strategic ally, says the source. The sources described the Syrian offer as being "generous and detailed" and hard to reject and said the Syrian officials who participated in the talks were close to President Hafez al Asad. (Asharq al Awsat)

Infiltrating al Qaeda Cells Difficult
Turkish intelligence agents are infiltrating mosques, monitoring underground Web sites and investigating Islamic front charities but are having little success penetrating al-Qaeda's tight-knit cells, agents and anti-terror police say. (AP)

Lebanon's Hariri Says Plot on His Life Uncovered
Saad al-Hariri, son and political heir of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, said in an interview published on Tuesday that he had left the country after a plot to kill him was uncovered. (Reuters)

UK in Deportation Talks with Libya After Arrests
A man believed to be from Libya was among a group of five foreign nationals arrested yesterday and facing deportation accused of threatening national security. (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,15935,1584387,00.html)

Briton Held in Pakistan Denies London Bomb Link
A British Muslim arrested in Pakistan denied on Wednesday having any involvement in suicide bombings on London's transport network on July 7 in which more than 50 people were killed. (Reuters)

French Government Funds Internet Database on Terror Attacks
An Internet database detailing 40 years of terrorist attacks against French interests was opened with funding from the French government. (AFP)

6 Sentenced in '03 Effort to Kill Musharraf
A military court convicted six air force personnel in an assassination attempt against Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, sentencing four to death and two to life in prison, an air force spokesman said today. (AP)

Texas Prosecutor Cites New Input on DeLay
The Texas prosecutor overseeing an investigation of former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) fired back yesterday at criticism by DeLay's lawyers that he brought a new indictment against the powerful legislator on Monday to fix a legal flaw in the first indictment of DeLay last week. (Washington Post)

In Indonesia, Democracy Isn't Enough
Popular attitudes matter in the fight against terror. (NY Times)

Invisible in Paradise
Third world tourism has a harsh political and economic undercurrent - as the Bali bombers knew. (The Guardian)

Endgame in Syria: This Time, No Deal
In 1984, when President Ronald Reagan withdrew U.S. forces from Beirut after a suicide attack killed 244 marines, the conservative Republican and sometime presidential candidate Pat Buchanan said, "It is dangerous to be America's enemy, but fatal to be America's friend." (International Herald Tribune)

Former Taliban Fighters Brave a New Battlefield
One ex-guerrilla leads a race for parliament, where he hopes to win with words, not rockets. (LA Times)

Back to the Drawing Board in Afghanistan
With the Taliban-al-Qaeda nexus consolidating and turning Afghanistan back into a sanctuary from which to direct global operations, and the loyalty of Afghan security forces in question, the US and its ally in the "war on terror", Pakistan, are seriously rethinking their strategy in the country. (Asia Times)

Directing Popular Diplomacy Towards America
When the "Tsunami" disaster stroke, we were surprised by Abdul Aziz Al Fawzan on the Majd channel that "it" (i.e. the Tsunami) was the result of God's anger towards the poor of the Maldives and other countries full of weak Muslims. (Al Hayat)