MIDEAST CRISIS: 40 Dead in Beirut and Hezbollah's History with Tehran
August 7, 2006 -- MIDEAST CRISIS: IRAN/HEZBOLLAH
Tehran and Hezbollah's Secret History
During the student uprising in July 1999 and the violent confrontations that followed between Arab residents of the Iranian city of Ahvaz and the security services, many student leaders and Arab officials in the city spoke about the presence of hundreds of Arab troops within the ranks of the Iranian security forces and the Revolutionary Guards units quelled the protests. (Asharq al Awsat)
Iran Supplying Weapons to Hizballah as Humanitarian Aid
In a briefing before the Cabinet yesterday, head of the Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Division, Major General Amos Yadlin, said that Iran is supplying Hizballah with weapons under the guise of innocent humanitarian aid convoys. (Israel Today)
MIDEAST CRISIS: NEWS UPDATES
40 Killed in Strike on Lebanese Village
An Israeli attack on a Lebanese border village killed more than 40 people Monday, Lebanon's prime minister said, despite cease-fire efforts. (AP)
Soldier Killed in South Lebanon; Commandos Launch Raid Near Tyre
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed and four others were wounded in fierce fighting with Hezbollah fighters Monday morning in the south Lebanese village of Bint Jbail. (Haaretz)
Debate in the Arab Countries-Is Hizbullah a 'Resistance' Organization or Not? Cracks in the United Arab Position on Hizbullah's Right to 'Resistance' Against Israel
The war between Israel and Hizbullah has revealed profound disagreement in the Arab world concerning the legitimacy of Hizbullah's activities against Israel. Two major camps have emerged. The first camp, led by Saudi Arabia, opposed Hizbullah's activities and called them "uncalculated adventures," not "resistance," and said that in order for a group to be considered a resistance organization it must meet certain criteria that Hizbullah does not meet. The second camp, headed by Syria, has supported Hizbullah and has considered it a true resistance organization that is conducting "glorious national resistance" that brings honor to the Arabs. They contend that resistance is always legitimate, and that its legitimacy is not dependent on any particular conditions. (MEMRI)
Israel to Hit Wider Range of Lebanon Targets-Report
The Israeli army plans to attack strategic infrastructure targets and symbols of the Lebanese government after Hizbollah rockets killed 15 people in northern Israel, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported Monday. (Reuters)
Israel Cuts Main Aid Artery into South Lebanon
An Israeli air strike destroyed the last crossing over Lebanon's Litani river on Monday, cutting off the main artery for aid to the southern port of Tyre and hard-hit areas nearby, humanitarian groups said. (Reuters)
IRAQ NEWS
U.S., Iraqi Forces Raid Shiite Militia
Iraqi and U.S. forces raided a Shiite militia stronghold of Baghdad Monday, triggering a gunbattle that left three people dead. (Guardian)
9 Iraqi Soldiers Killed in Truck Bombing
A suicide truck bomber struck the provincial headquarters of an Iraqi police commando force north of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least nine troops and wounding 10 civilians, police said. (AP)
US Reinforces Troops in Baghdad
US forces have taken up positions in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in the first visible sign that a new security plan is being implemented. (BBC)
CIVILIAN DEATHS IN IRAQ
Investigator: Drinking Preceded Killings
U.S. soldiers accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl drank alcohol and hit golf balls before the attack, an investigator said Monday at a U.S. military hearing to determine whether they should stand trial. (AP)
AL QAEDA
Egyptian Group Denies It's in Al-Qaeda
An Egyptian militant group denied on Sunday that it had joined al-Qaida, saying the majority of its members were sticking by a truce with the government declared almost a decade ago. (AP)
JORDAN
Two Lawmakers Jailed for Praising Zarqawi
Jordan's military court yesterday sentenced two Islamist lawmakers to prison terms of up to two years for instigating sectarian strife by praising an Al-Qaeda leader at his wake. (AP)
NORTH KOREA
On Display: N.Korea Claims Capture of U.S. Vessel
North Korea claimed it has captured an unmanned U.S. submersible and put it on display in Pyongyang, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan said Monday. (AP)
AFGHANISTAN
Canadian Base Blasted by another Two Rocket Attacks
The grimmest week Canada has endured in southern Afghanistan its first in command of the NATO-led mission here ended with two separate rocket attacks at Kandahar Air Field late Sunday. (CanWest News Service)
British Soldier, 17 Taliban Killed in Afghan Fighting; GI Wounded
A British soldier was fatally shot Sunday as NATO-led troops went after Taliban insurgents in a southern mountain range, and a U.S. soldier suffered minor injuries in the truck bombing of a military convoy in a neighboring province, officials said. (AP)
IRAN NUCLEAR
Iran Threatens to use 'Oil Weapon' in Nuclear Standoff
Iran says international community could face new oil crisis if UN security council imposes sanctions. (The Guardian)
RUSSIA/U.S.
Russia Condemns U.S. Arms Sanctions
Russia's state arms exporter has described US sanctions against it as an "unfriendly act" aimed at undermining the Russian defence industry. (BBC)
U.K.
Hackers Crack New Biometric Passports
Flaw in passports used by Britain casts doubt over ID cards plan. (The Guardian)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
The Fate of Hezbollah between Syrian Interests and Iranian Bargaining
By Raghida Dergham
The Security Council will not agree to cease all hostilities for a period of time during which negotiations would be conducted to reach a framework for a political solution that would lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (Al Hayat)
A String of Intelligence Failures
Leaders of the free world, read your newspapers. (International Herald Tribune)
Deep Threats on the High Seas
By Sylvia Earle
Deep-sea bottom trawling causes irreparable harm to habitats and ocean species. The U.S. should ban it. (Washington Post)
Weapons of War: Open Season on Journalists in The Middle East
By Lawrence Pintak
Israel's recent destruction of television transmission towers in Lebanon, which killed one employee of the LBC channel, and a subsequent attack on a convoy in the south of the country in which media people were circulating, were emblematic of a grim fact: the media have become targets - and weapons - of war. (Daily Star)
Not Good Enough
Yesterday a single Hizbullah rocket killed 12 Israelis, most of them reserve soldiers with families they had left behind when they went off to fight the war. (Jerusalem Post)
The Loser in Lebanon: The Atlantic Alliance
By Mark Perry and Alastair Crooke
The United States and France have produced a United Nations resolution of sorts aimed at ending the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, but the negotiations between US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton and France's Jean-Marc de La Sabliere nearly ended in disaster. (Asia Times)
Delhi Stakes All on Nuclear Deal with U.S.
The Indian government will stand or fall on the Indo-US nuclear deal. Congress party president Sonia Gandhi has made it clear that the party backs Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and will be willing to put the government at risk if coalition partners, along with the official opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), move a "resolution" against the pact in parliament. (Asia Times)
The Fate of Hezbollah between Syrian Interests and Iranian Bargaining
The Security Council will not agree to cease all hostilities for a period of time during which negotiations would be conducted to reach a framework for a political solution that would lead to a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (Al Hayat)
A Day in Guantanamo
In the last four years, no place has symbolized the brutality and moral ambiguity of the war on terror more than the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Camp X-Ray, to which inmates were sent to in 2002, and its successor Camp Delta have become a symbol of despair and evidence of President George W. Bush's disregard for international law. (Asharq al Awsat)
The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.