The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

August 23, 2004 -- Hours after being freed by kidnappers who threatened to kill him, U.S. journalist Micah Garen said he hoped to stay in Iraq to continue working on a documentary project he'd started about the looting of archaeological sites, news wires report.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces Monday drew near Najaf's revered Shiite shrine news wires report, engaging in fierce battles with followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as the military stepped up pressure on the insurgents to hand over the holy site to religious authorities.

And, the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee said Sunday that he would propose legislation to break up the Central Intelligence Agency and divide its responsibilities among three new spy agencies.

IRAQ NEWS

Freed U.S. Reporter Hopes to Stay in Iraq

Hours after being freed by kidnappers who threatened to kill him, U.S. journalist Micah Garen said he hoped to stay in Iraq to continue working on a documentary project he'd started about the looting of archaeological sites. (AP)

Najaf Faces Fresh U.S. Attack

Large plumes of thick, black smoke have been seen rising close to a holy Shia shrine in the city of Najaf where militia fighters are holed up. (BBC)

U.S. Soldier Wants Abuse Trial Moved from Baghdad

A U.S. soldier at the center of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal asked at a hearing on Monday that his pending court martial be moved away from Baghdad, saying he had no chance of a fair trial there. (Reuters)

No End To the Violence In Najaf

The U.S. military clashed with forces of rebel cleric Muqtada Sadr as negotiations to end the standoff at one of Shiite Islam's most revered shrines remained stalled Sunday. (LA Times)

Pakistan, Malaysia Blast U.S. On Najaf

Protesters in Pakistan have demonstrated against the bombardment in Najaf, saying the US and its allies seek control of Iraqi resources, while Malaysia has called for attacks on the city to stop. (Al Jazeera)

Besieged Al-Sadr Keeps Grip On Shrine

Iraqi government claims that police had arrested hundreds of the radical cleric's fighters and taken over his headquarters in Najaf could have come from Saddam's Comical Ali. (Observer)

Iraqi Arms Scientists Killed Before They Talk

Anti-coalition forces have killed a prominent Iraqi chemical-weapons scientist whom U.S. investigators were questioning at Abu Ghraib prison, in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of Saddam Hussein's arsenal. (Washington Times)

THE WAR ON TERROR

Afghanistan

Trial of Accused American Vigilantes Resumes

A group of Americans on trial for allegedly detaining and torturing Afghans in a secret prison showed videotapes Monday designed to show they were acting with the knowledge and approval of some Afghan and foreign authorities and that the Afghans they detained at their Kabul base were terrorists. (Washington Post)

Saudi Arabia

Bahraini Arrested For Terrorism Suspicions

Saudi authorities arrested a Bahraini for suspicions he's involved in terrorist activities, informed sources told Asharq Al Awsat. Mohammed Khan, who was arrested in Saudi Arabia Saturday, is the brother of Mohiddin Khan who was arrested in Bahrain a few months ago for similar reasons. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Border Security Boosted

Saudi Arabia has adopted strict security measures to protect its borders in view of the volatile situation in the region, Okaz daily quoted a security official as saying. (Arab News)

United States

A G.O.P. Senator Proposes a Plan to Split Up C.I.A.

The Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee said Sunday that he would propose legislation to break up the Central Intelligence Agency and divide its responsibilities among three new spy agencies. (NY Times)

Akhtar May Face More Charges

Kamran Akhtar's Charlotte attorney said he wouldn't be surprised if additional charges are filed against his client after the federal grand jury convenes today. (Charlotte Observer)

9/11 Panel Details Gaps In Visa Process

A new report from the now-defunct Sept. 11 commission details the lax controls on immigration and customs that the hijackers exploited to carry out their plot. (AP)

Pakistan

Weapons Cache Found

Pakistani security sources told Al Hayat newspaper that Pakistani authorities, who foiled terror attacks by arresting a number of terror suspects, also found the largest weapons cache so far, including machine guns and hand grenades. (Al Hayat)

Unearthing of Qaeda Plot A 'Big Success'

The un-earthing of an Al Qaeda-linked plot to kill high profile civil and military officials is a big achievement for the country's intelligence agencies, officials said yesterday. (Gulf Times —Qatar)

Yemen

Trial of 15 Al Qaeda Suspects Ends

A Yemeni court specialized in terror cases ended the court sessions for 15 al Qaeda suspects. The sentences will be issued next Saturday. Sources who spoke to Al Hayat newspaper expected the death sentence will be given to four suspects believed involved in terrorist activities and planning. (Al Hayat)

Liberia

Taylor Facilitated Al Qaeda Operatives in Sierra Leone, Says Report

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor sold conflict diamonds to known al Qaeda operatives that may have been used to finance the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, according to a confidential report from the U.N.-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone. (AFP)

Switzerland

Two Yemenis Arrested in Switzerland Linked to Al Qaeda

Two Yemeni nationals arrested this year in Switzerland are linked to key al Qaeda figures with ties to the October 2000 bombing of a U.S. destroyer off Yemen and to a suicide strike in Riyadh last year, the Swiss public prosecutor said. (AFP)

Egypt

Egyptian Prisoner Asks to Go to Guantanamo

An Egyptian fundamentalist who also holds the Pakistani nationality and is being detained at a prison in Egypt asked in a letter to be sent to Guantanamo Bay where he says he will receive better treatment. Pakistan handed over Mohammed Abdel Rehim Al Sharkawy, also known as Abu Abdul Rahman the Electronic, to Egypt in 1995. In the letter, he claims he's being held without being accused and is being unfairly treated. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Guantanamo

Military's War-Crimes Hearings Set To Begin

For more than a year, Australian David Hicks has lived in solitary confinement at Camp Echo in a cell the size of a back-yard storage shed. Guards come by every 15 minutes to check on him. (Chicago Tribune)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

An Inspiring Sign of Progress Amid the Wider Gloom

Amid the many depressing events that define the Middle East these days —wars, occupations, massacres, refugee flows, beheadings, kidnappings, and more —it is worth noting the struggle of ordinary people, political activists and some sensible sectors of governing elites to create societies based on law, equity and accountability. (Daily Star —Lebanon)

Two Power Brokers Collide In Iraq

In Iraq, of late, it has been a tale of two cities, and of two men of vaulting ambition, each seeking a path to power in the Iraq that will emerge, some day, from the turmoil that has followed the downfall of Saddam Hussein. (NY Times)

Eroding Legitimacy is U.N.'s Greatest Challenge

Even before that awful bomb ripped through our Baghdad headquarters on August 19, 2003, taking the lives of 22 of my colleagues, the U.N. mission in Iraq had already become marginal to the epic crisis being played out there. Iraq had become the centre of both the U.S. war on terror and the war between the extremities of two civilizations. (Gulf Times —Qatar)

War And Media: Differences In Perception

If the Arab media want to play their rightful role in the region, they will have to put their house in order first, says Muhammad Fahd Al-Harithy, continuing his analysis of the coverage of the Iraq war by the world media. (Arab News)

The Profiling Puzzle

Ever since the Sept. 11 attack on America by radical Islamic terrorists, the use of ethnic and religious profiling in assessing security risks has been a subject of controversy. In this debate, the mass internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II has been often cited as a cautionary tale. (Boston Globe)

Hopes Fade For End To Najaf Shrine Siege

If Iyad Allawi, the Iraqi interim prime minister, was still hoping on Sunday for a compromise to end the bloody confrontation in Najaf, there was little sign that fighters loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the rebel Shia cleric, had heard about it. Instead they were preparing for battle. (Financial Times)

Time To Face the Real Issues

We desperately need a more comprehensive, bipartisan, and sustainable strategy to win this war on terrorism. (U.S. World & News Report)

Terrorism Inc.

What do Al Qaeda and General Motors have in common? (LA Times)

Trials Set To Begin For Four at Guantanamo

Four suspected al Qaeda terrorists will face military trials this week at the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in historic legal proceedings that have not been conducted by the U.S. government since World War II and are unlike anything most Americans face in the criminal justice system. (Washington Post)

Guantanamo —Disorder of the Day

As the United States begins the Guantanamo Bay trials, the principal issue for many in the world will not be the guilt of those accused but whether the United States affords them due process and a fair trial. (Chicago Tribune)

The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DTR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.