Jeffrey K. Mann: on why the Muslim world hates us Conn Hallinan: on Cyprus as political collateral damage Anouar Boukhars: the dominant divide is not between the West and the Muslim world; it is between extremists and moderates

New York University

U.S. State Department's
Report on Patterns of Global Terrorism for 2002

The US State Department's Report on Patterns of Global Terrorism for 2001

AL HAKIM STIRS MASSIVE CROWDS OF SHIITE FOLLOWERS AND CALLS FOR U.S. WITHDRAWAL
The ayatollah has spent the last decade in Teheran. He claims that he is not after an Iranian style theocracy and will accept a secular government. What ever his political ambitions, his following in Iraq is impressive and it will compete with the U.S. to define the new Iraq, and it may trigger a civil war beween rival Shiite sects.
(Susan Sachs,The New York Times, May 13, 2003)
Al Hakim's bio on the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq's website

Shias extend control in Iraq's villages
Shiite militias are assuming control of many Iraqi towns and villages simply because the U.S. lacks sufficient manpowr to fill the political vacuum created by the Baathist collapse.the danger is a rise in radicalism that may be beyond U.S.power to control.(Juan Cole in the Institute for War & peace Reporting, May 6, 2003)

HITLER WAS NOT A NEOCON
New York Observer columnist Ron Rosenbaum, who has built a career on writing about Hitler's descent into ultimate evil, is incensed at an upcoming CBS documentary hinting that Hitler's inflaming of national paranoia in order to seize power may have distant parallels in the current administration. Ed Gernon, executive producer of "Hitler: the Rise of Evil" was fired from the docudrama after he explained the allegory to a reporter from TV Guide. In the drama, Hitler explains to the Weimar Republic's president Hindenburg, that he is suspending the Weimar Republic's constitution in order to protect the country from the terrorists who set fire to Berlin's ponderous Reichstag parliament building. Rosenbaum insists that any comparisonto what is happening now is not only silly, but ignores important historical differences.
(Ron Rosenbaum in the New York Observer, May 12, 2003)

IN LESS OF A HURRY TO FIND SADDAM'S LEGENDARY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
The 1300-man Iraq Security Group will have ultimate responsibility for tracking down any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons that might exist in iraq. Despite the urgency that led to the war in hopes of stopping the weapons, the White House now seems in far less of a hurry to find them. The administration's sudden loss of focus and a month's indecision are being blamed for the looting of Iraq's chief nuclear site, and the dispersal of radioactive material that now seems beyond retrieval. The Nation's David Corn explores the Pentagon's sudden loss of interest.
(David Corn, The Nation, May 12, 2003)
The Washington Post's Barton Gellman reported on the month-long indecision that impeded the search for the weapons
(Barton Gellman, WashingtonPost, May 4, 2003)

EXITING FROM SAUDI ARABIA, THE U.S. IS SHIFTING RESOURCES TO THE EMIRATES AND DEFINING A NEW GULF POLICY
Political realities in both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia demand radical changes in the relationship. While the U.S. rebases its military hardware to the smaller Gulf states, it needs to concentrate its efforts in Saudi Arabia on issues where the U.S. definitely needs Saudi help. Stability in the oil markets, and a counter argument to Osama bin Laden's interpretation of Islam are two good places to start. ( F. Gregory Gause III in the Brooking's Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy Research, May 2003)

RUSSIA READY TO CONFRONT U.S. ON IRAQ SANCTIONS
The London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies notes that in contrast to France, Russia seems ready to face political isolation rather than surrender on lifting U.N. sanctions against Iraq. Getting paid past debts owed by Iraq may explain Russia's attitude. (IISS, May 2003)

THE RUSSIANS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES UPSET
The Middle East Economic Survey reports that the Arab world is furious at U.S. attempts to gain control over Iraq's oil. The Arans are nervous that the u.S. scheme could only be ended with a vote from the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. has a veto over anything that the Security Council does.
(Middle East economist Digest, may 13, 2003)

CAN IRAQ'S MARSH ARABS BE SAVED?
Wilfred Thesiger immortalized the mystical marshes of Southern Iraq. Saddam tried to drain the marshes in order to route out the population which had lived there for centuries. A panel discussion at the Brookings Institution explores the possibilities of reestablishing one of the most exotic societies in the Arab world.
(Brookings Institution, May 7, 2003)

IS THE U.S. OVEREXTENDING ITSELF
The U.S. has won in Iraq, but the victory may have the perverse effect of reducing U.S. overall security. The question is whether U.S. forces are now overextended. As Walden Bello points out in Foreign Policy in Focus, overextension refers to a mismatch between goals and means. The desire to achieve dominance inevitably generates opposition while spreading resources dangerously thin. Security is diminished if the opposition grows at a faster rate than military and diplomatic power.
(Walden Bello in foreign Policy in Focus, May 12, 2003)

MAD OVER LEO STRAUSS
Strauss' thoughts may be the rage in Washington and the backbone of neoconservatism these days, but Spengler, commenting in Asia Times notes that Straussians are dangerous not because of their passion for Machiavelli, but rather because of their naievete. (Spengler, Asia Times, May 12, 2003)
Tom Paine.com recaps the Strauss phenomenon

JAKARTA STILL WANTS TO USE FORCE TO WIPE OUT THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT IN ACEH, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT IT WON'T WORK
Indonesian generals are hunkering after a military solution to the refusal of Aceh rebels to accept Javanese rule. Jakarta's plan is an offensive like dozens that have failed in the past, only bigger. Given the geography of the area, and the primitive state of Indonesia's military, the rebels will easily slip off into the mountainous jungles. The casualties caught in the crossfire will be Aceh's hapless civilians. The slaughter is likely to make Jakarta's rule even shakier than it has been up to now. The International Crisis Group analyzes recent developments.
(ICG, may 12, 2003)

AFGHAN TALIBAN SCARE TACTICS
Far from dead, scattered units of the Taliban are now terrorizing any Afghan bold enough to join the west's efforts to set up a viable government. After Janad Gul and Alif Jan--two soldiers of the Afghan Border police--were captured by Taliban fighters they were subjected to mutilation and torture before they died. Their noses and ears had been hacked off, their bones had been crushed, and their throats had been slit in a ceremonial fashion. The bodies were then turned over to their fellow soldiers to make sure that the message was communicated.
(Scott Baldauf, The Christian Science Monitor, May 13, 2003)

ISRAELI SETTLERS FEAR THAT THIS TIME THE ROADMAP FOR PEACE MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK
What has many settlers worried is the fact that Ariel Sharon, who seemed to be their best ally, now appears to be in agreement with Washington. Settlers in Judea, Samara and Gaza are preparing for what they fear may be their final struggle. (Daniel ben simon, in Ha'aretz, May 13, 2003)

A MESSAGE FOR COLIN POWELL?
THREE SUICIDE BOMBS HIT SAUDI ARABIA JUST A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE SECRETARY'S ARRIVAL
Police had already seized hundreds of pounds of explosives when they intercepted a terrorist plot on May 6. American citizens were on warning to avoid any unnecessary travel to Saudi Arabia and intelligence reports noted that in addition to a threat from Al Qaeda a week ago, there were other indications that preparations for a terrorist attack were in the final stages. The suicide bombers used machine guns to shoot their way past heavily armed guards at the entrances to the compounds. Colin Powell decided not to delay his trip. The BBC provides analysis of the rteasons behind the attacks as well as eye witness accounts.
(The BBC, May 12, 2003)
Report in Arab News

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