So what exactly did go on at those "Terror Summits" in 2002/3/4??

[Casey]

I believe they shouldn't have been called Terror Summits at all.

As I have stated before, yesterday's terrorists are today's politicians/military, tomorrows politicians/military will be today's terrorists.

I don't know if we have any of the 2002 material, but,


Hamas, Hizbullah in terror summit as U.S. turns up the heat

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

The leaders of Hamas and Hizbullah are drafting strategy amid U.S. pressure to expel groups on the State Department terrorist list harbored by Syria.

Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah met a Hamas delegation over the weekend that included political chief Mussa Abu Marzouq. Mohammed Nazal, a member of the Hamas's politburo, and Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, were also part of the delegation that met Nasrallah.

A statement by Hizbullah said the two groups discussed "developments in the region since the invasion of Iraq and its occupation." The statement did not elaborate, but Western diplomatic sources said the two groups sought to coordinate their positions before they met Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to Lebanon.

Khatami arrived in Beirut on Monday and met Lebanese leaders. He was scheduled to meet Hizbullah leaders as well as address a rally organized by the group.

"There is significant concern by Hizbullah that Syria will be pressured by the United States to withdraw support," a diplomatic source said. "Nasrallah is concerned that Iran might also be forced to end support for Hizbullah."

Hamas and Hizbullah said in a statement that they would not suspend their activities amid U.S. pressure on Syria. Syria harbors both groups and has facilitated the transfer of Iranian weaponry to Hizbullah in Lebanon.

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=273927&highlight=Terror+Summit#post273927

February 2004


"The Arab news portal Albawaba.com reported today that Muslim terrorist groups - including Hamas, Hizbullah, Al-Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Ansar Al-Islam and others - decided on a renewed offensive of attacks on Israelis and Israeli interests abroad.

......forty people, including representatives of the Arab terror groups, Syrian, Lebanese and Iranian intelligence officials, met in northern Lebanon in early February. The decision for the new offensive, according to the newspaper, came as a result of growing criticism among Arabs of their "silence" over Israeli activities.

The only objection to the plans, according to the diplomat, came from Syrian and Lebanese officials – who expressed the request that their borders not be used for the attacks"

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=58142

Another report stated:

"The report said that the summit, which took place at the start of February, was also attended by senior members of the Syrian, Lebanese and Iranian intelligence services."

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/396163.html

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=838404&highlight=Terror+Summit#post838404


Al Qaeda & Hezbollah Will Attend Terrorist Conference In Iran
Gary Fitleberg, 02/23/04

The Islamic regime of Iran will host a conference of international terrorists next week that will see attendees coming from across the globe, including representatives of the groups linked to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah and terrorism expert Amir Taheri reported in The New York Post.

Wrote Taheri: "Most of the groups attending the event, labeled 'Ten Days of Dawn,' are branded by the United States and some European Union members as terrorist outfits. These include 17 branches of the Hezbollah

The Islamic Republic's hospitality cuts across even religious divides. Militant Sunni organizations, including two linked to Al Qaeda - Ansar al-Islam (Companions of Islam) and Hizb Islami (The Islamic Party) - will enjoy Iranian hospitality."

The State Department considers the Iranian regime to be the world's leading state sponsor of terror and has also condemned its efforts to build nuclear weapons. The U.S. Congress is considering legislation against Iran much like it did with Syria and the "Syria Accountabilty Act" which will make Iran legally accountable for its actions and with possible repurcussions in the form of sanctions.

(http://www.itshappening.com/showthread.php?t=28043&page=2&pp=15&highlight=terror+summit)
http://www.afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?t=28043&page=2&pp=15&highlight=terror+summit
back in a bit.

[Casey]

In other back tracking in the past few days.....

Lots of joint statements.

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=460202&highlight=Joint+statement#post460202 (http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=460202&highlight=Joint+statement#post460202)

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=464802&highlight=Joint+statement#post464802 (http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=464802&highlight=Joint+statement#post464802)

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=807996&highlight=Joint+statement#post807996 (http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=807996&highlight=Joint+statement#post807996)

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=245858&highlight=Joint+statement#post245858 (http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=245858&highlight=Joint+statement#post245858)

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=840189&highlight=Joint+statement#post840189 (http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=840189&highlight=Joint+statement#post840189)

We did have information about the weapons capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad as they developed new missles.
I can't find them at the moment and yes, I believe Israel is more at risk than we have seen thus far.

[Casey]

First Al Qaeda-Fatah Operation Misses Target: German Diplomat

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

December 21, 2002, 10:33 PM (GMT+02:00)

Mounir Maqdah, Lebanon-based al Qaeda bagman for Jenin Fatah

German diplomat and member of European Union Commission Christian Waldrahs was saved by his bulletproof jeep from an assassin’s bullets, fired as he came out of Jenin Fatah commander Mussa Kadura’s home on Saturday, December 21.

DEBKAfile’s military and counter-terror sources report that Waldrahs has the unhappy distinction of being the first target of an al Qaeda assassination plot executed by a Fatah-al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades operative against a Western diplomat on Palestinian territory.

The masked gunman waited for his prey outside Kadura’s home. He starting shooting his Kalashnikov assault rifle at close range – but not fast enough. The German diplomat was able to drive off at top speed, heading for the nearest Israeli military roadblock to ask for help.

As one high-placed Israeli security source put it: “We now have living, incontrovertible proof of operational collaboration between al Qaeda and Fatah-al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades”. To cover up the giveaway episode, Fatah spokesmen in Jenin hurriedly claimed Saturday night that their operative had admittedly opened fire, but had mistaken the diplomat for an Israeli undercover agent. This is an unlikely tale, say our sources; Waldhrahs resides in Jenin and is a well-known figure in the Palestinian town.

DEBKAfile’s sources tell a different story.

At a time when Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon confirmed that a few al Qaeda operatives had reached Palestinian areas – most entering the Gaza Strip, al Qaeda and its Lebanese hosts, the Shiite Hizballah, were in the process of building up a presence and intensifying their activities in the Palestinian West Bank.

Furthermore, starting in November, al Qaeda units in the south Lebanese Palestinian refugee camp of Ein Hilwa, began funneling funds to the Jenin branch of the al Aqsa Brigades. It was carried over by Mounir Maqdah, commander of an Ein Hilwa Palestinian militia.

Since then, al Qaeda has been badgering Fatah “Martyrs” to start giving value for the money sent them, i,e, to stage terrorist attacks not only against Israelis but also against the Westerners active in Palestinian areas, many of them on humanitarian missions.

For Waldrahs, who is on a mission for the European Union, this turn of events was as disturbing as it was for Israel. He is in Jenin to manage Europe’s contribution for the reconstruction of the parts of Jenin destroyed in the IDF’s large-scale counter-terror operation last April. He suddenly discovered that the Palestinians he was aiding, while receiving funds from Europe, were also taking money, as well as operational directives, from the notorious Islamic fundamentalist terror organization.

Determined to check out his discovery, the German diplomat called Saturday afternoon on the Jenin Fatah secretary. No one outside Kadura’s immediate circle knew he was coming or the object of his visit. Only the tightest coordination between that circle and al Qaeda would have made it possible for the assassination plot to have been set up at such speed.

DEBKAfile was the only publication to report the participation of al Qaeda and Hizballah fighters in the major battle that took place in Jenin last April. Since then, we have consistently maintained that Osama bin Laden’s organization is present in territory controlled by Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority. Official sources have slowly confirmed this. Now, those same DEBKAfile sources find the al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in league with al Qaeda. The two have joined forces to drive Israelis out of Palestinian areas but, most of all, to strike at Westerners and Western interests.

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=226 (http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=226)

[Casey]

Arafat's suicide squads dispatched to Baghdad

March 30, 2003

One of the top commanders of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, the largest faction of the PLO, says hundreds of Palestinians living in Lebanon have been sent to Iraq to carry out suicide attacks against American and British soldiers, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post.

Col. Munir Maqdah told the Nazareth-based as Sennarah weekly that Fatah has decided to "strike at American interests all over the world." He added:
"Resisting the American aggression on Iraq supports the Palestinian people and the intifada. What is happening in Iraq is the battle of the Palestinian people first and the Arab and Muslim nation second."

Maqdah said his men were already in Baghdad, prepared to launch suicide attacks, and that another group of Fatah suicide bombers is due there shortly. Palestinian sources said the Fatah volunteers entered Iraq through Syria.

Fatah, which is the first Palestinian group to recruit women for suicide missions, has several thousand militiamen in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, and is headed by Arafat, who also holds the title of chairman of the Palestinian Authority. Most of the Fatah gunmen continue to receive their salaries from the PLO.

Fatah is responsible for a number of suicide attacks against Israel over the past 30 months. Palestinians say some of the attacks were carried out on the personal instructions of Maqdah, according to the Post.

Last week, Israeli security forces announced the capture of a Fatah teenager sent with a suitcase filled with explosives to blow up a home for 180 orphans and homeless children in Jerusalem.

Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have repeatedly urged Iraqis to endorse the suicide attacks as an effective weapon against the Americans and British troops.

On Friday, tens of thousands of Palestinians, chanting, "Oh beloved Saddam, bomb Tel Aviv" and "Death to America," rallied in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in their biggest show of support ever for Iraq. They burned effigies of President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

During 'Gulf War I,' Arafat - virtually alone among even Arab leaders - threw his lot in publicly with Saddam Hussein.
"We will enter Jerusalem victoriously and raise our flag on its walls. ... We will fight you [the Israelis] with stones, rifles, and 'El-Abed' [the Iraqi missile)]," Arafat said at the start of that war, according to a March 29, 1990, Associated Press report.

A few days later, on April 2, Saddam responded publicly to Arafat's expression of loyalty, saying, "In the name of Allah, we shall cause fire to devour half of Israel," according to the Iraqi News Agency.
The next day, Arafat replied, "We say to the brother and leader Saddam Hussein - go forward with Allah's blessing."

Though Iraqi Scud missiles assaulted Israel during that brief war, the Jewish state did not respond militarily, at the urging of the U.S. However, Sharon has made plain that such restraint on Israel's part would not be forthcoming in the event of an Iraqi attack on Israel in the current conflict.

In recent weeks, the Bush administration has explained repeatedly that, after deposing Saddam and ending his support for terrorism, the U.S. president's No. 1 priority in the region will be to facilitate the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Repeated polls show a large majority of Palestinians today favor terrorism as a means of attaining political goals.

http://www.likud.nl/extr266.html

[Casey]

So tell me these guys don't all know each other and work together.

This is just a snippet, the rest can be read at the link.

Beyond Hizballah, Hamas and PIJ, Syria supports the most radical elements in Lebanon's lawless Palestinian refugee camps and encourages their engagement in anti-Israeli terrorism.

For example, both the Return Brigades (Kata'ed al Awda), an amalgam of secular and Islamist Palestinian groups dominated by Fatah radicals from Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm, and al-Nathir (the Harbinger) another radical Fatah offshoot, have been linked to renegade Fatah Colonel Munir al Maqdah (Abu Hassan), who is closely linked to Syria and Iran.

42 The Return Brigades has taken credit for several shootings such the February 19, 2002, ambush that killed six IDF soldiers and the February 27, 2002, murder of an Israeli in the Atarot industrial zone of Jerusalem.

43 In August 2002, the Return Brigades reportedly tried to assassinate the head of PA General Intelligence in a roadside shooting attack between Nablus and Jenin near Tubas.

44 Al Maqdah, whose headquarters is in the Ayn al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon, was sentenced to death in absentia by a Jordanian court in 2001, and is also wanted by Lebanese authorities.

45 PA officials believe Al Maqdah was behind a Return Brigades leaflet distributed in Nablus and Jenin in August 2002 announcing that several Israeli leaders were on its "hit list."

46 According to a mainstream Fatah official, al Maqdah "has very good ties with Syria and Iran. These countries pay him millions of dollars. He is using the money to undermine the local Fatah leadership and establish his own bases of power here."

47 According to press reports, Iran has traditionally funded Palestinian dissident groups in the Lebanese refugee camps, including al Maqdah, through the Institute of the Palestinian Martyrs.

48 This is confirmed by Israeli authorities, who discovered al Maqdah's link to terrorist elements in the West Bank when they arrested Nasser Aweis and Jamal Ahwal.

Al Maqdah apparently sent Aweis between $40,000 and $50,000 for weapons, expenses and bomb-making materials, and Aweis reported back to al Maqdah by telephone on the success of his attacks.

49 Ahwal reportedly received an average of $5,000 a week from al Maqdah for similar purposes.

50 Al Maqdah also funded Ahmed Abu Hamidan (abu Fahdi), a Colonel in the PA's National Security Organization who manufactured explosives and supplied, funded and directed terrorists to carry out attacks.



http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cacheBO6k7sVEToJ:www.washingtoninstitute. org/pdf.php%3Ftemplate%3DC07%26CID%3D14+maqdah+Iraq+WM D&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10 (http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:DBO6k7sVEToJ:www.washingtoninstitut e.org/pdf.php%3Ftemplate%3DC07%26CID%3D14+maqdah+Iraq+WM D&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10)

[Casey]

Somewhere on the old board we have messages that would suggest this is correct.

Post-Invasion Intel Showed WMD Went To Syria

Among the captured documents of the Iraqi Intelligence Services is a memo written in Arabic that describes pre-war intel from an Iraqi source working in Syria. Dated July 13, the memo itself was written after the invasion, but it describes the movement of trucks from Iraq into Syria just before the American invasions. Document ISGQ-2005-00022470 (http://70.168.46.200/Released/07-24-06/ISGQ-2005-00022470.pdf) has notations reading "DOD" that indicate the Pentagon has already reviewed the data:

ISGQ-2005-00022470 PAGE (1) MR. HOGGER (KURDISH NAME) REGARDS, KINDLY REVIEW THOSE PAGES AND PLEASE FORWARD THEM TO MRS.MONA FOR FURTHER REVIEW AFTER TRANSLATION THANK YOU SIGNED ABO ABDULLAH JULY 13TH


=======

PAGE (2)

ESQUIRE, THE DIRECTOR OF COORDINATION AND FOLLOW UP OFFICE

Reda (name) CA11

July.13th

Subject: we have information about the location of Mass Destruction Weapons


snip

http://wincoast.com/forum/showpost.php?p=754872&postcount=1

[Casey]

June 25, 2006
Palistinians Claim WMD Capability

The Fatah terrorist faction has claimed the capability of chemical and biological weapons and has threatened Israel with a WMD attack, according to the Jerusalem Post. Leaflets distributed in the Gaza Strip state that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has spent the last three years developing the capabilty, the start of which seems oddly coincidental to the fall of Saddam Hussein (via Reliapundit):

The Aksa Martyrs' Brigades group announced on Sunday that it its members have succeeded in manufacturing chemical and biological weapons to be used against Israel.

In a leaflet distributed in the Gaza Strip, the group, which belongs to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, said the weapons were the result of an effort that has lasted for three years.

The statment was a response to an Israeli Security Cabinet decision to give the IDF the green light to prepare all the forces necessary for a military operation against Gaza terror cells. As of 9:00 p.m. large amounts of Golani and Givati Brigade infantry troops were amassing on the Israeli side of the Gaza security fence.

According to the statement, the first of its kind, the group managed to manufacture and develop at least 20 different types of biological and chemical weapons.

The group said its members would not hesitate to add the new weapons to long-range rockets that are being fired at Israeli communities almost every day. It also threatened to use the weapons against IDF soldiers if Israel carried out its threats to invade the Gaza Strip.


If they're bluffing, they're making a very big mistake. And if they're not bluffing, then they have just signed the death warrants of both Hamas and Fatah and quite possibly the Palestinian Authority.

If these terrorists have acquired chemical and biological weapons, the IDF will rightly assume that they know have a choice only between which genocide will succeed. Given their history and strong sense of survival, they will certainly make the right choice -- and that will mean the end of the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The only reason the Israelis don't push them into the Jordan and Egypt is because of their identification with Western values that rejects ethnic cleansing as any solution.

Once the first chemical or biological weapon gets launched against Israel, that decision will have been taken out of their hands. The Israelis will almost certainly launch a massive strike against the Palestinians in both directions -- and while Hamas and Fatah do moderately well at targeting unarmed civilians, the IDF will slice through them like butter. And if the Palestinians expect the West to stop them, they will have miscalculated badly.

The question will be where they acquired these weapons. They do not have the research facilities to have developed WMD on their own. If they actually do possess them, it seems a probablility that someone supplied Fatah with WMD.

Who has WMD? What country stocked them, until three years ago? And where does Hamas and Islamic Jihad, at least, have themselves established? Syria -- who has long rumored to have received the Iraqi stockpiles in 2002 and 2003, just ahead of the American invasion.

The Palestinians have just tipped us off to where the WMD went, and now we know where at least some it may have ended up. The Israelis may not be alone in marching through Gaza and the West Bank.

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/007309.php (http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/007309.php)

[Petronas]

The latest Israeli commando incursion into Baalbek is right into the Bekaa Valley Hezbollah stronghold area where, according to some, Saddam's WMDs were hidden. I'm not suggesting Israel is there to look for WMDs, but the IDF is getting into some very sensitive real estate.

[The 801]

Fantastic thread Casey. These meetings have been going on for decades, as best I can tell. I have been researching them because of the attendance of "he who cannot be named", who I believe started or at least hosted these summits.

I also believe that many of these summits, or mini summits, have occured in places such as Sudan.

What do they talk about? Coordinating activities. Hate. Thier new teenage wives. I believe that Zawahri attended a few of these in the mid - late nineties.

[uchiuke123]

http://debka.com/article.php?aid=591

From the article at above link,

"In general, the attempt to depict Syria as another of Ariel Sharon’s victims fails to take account of the “victim’s” proactive role in the Iraq war in support of Saddam Hussein. It ranges from the asylum granted Iraqi political and military elite to the smuggling of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction out of the country several weeks before the war in March and after it began. In between, Bashar Assad has deployed thousands of Syrian combatants in Iraq as well as Hizballah, Palestinians and any other Arabs willing to fight American troops in Iraq......"


http://debka.com/article.php?aid=465

"Round about noon on Sunday, April 13, US commanders realized that, while they were preoccupied with the civic needs of Baghdad, they were missing the biggest spectacle of the war – the 2003 Exodus from Iraq. Members of Saddam’s regime in their thousands were pouring out of Baghdad and Saddam’s last strongholds of Tikrit, Samarra and al Ramadi and heading for the Syrian frontier and Damascus......."

http://debka.com/article.php?aid=464

"Aerial photos over al Qaim in northwestern Iraq have revealed a cluster of long, hangar-like structures with large steel doors some 12-14 meters high and 15-20 meters wide, the size of sheds housing heavy fire trucks. In frequent passes overhead, spy satellites and reconnaissance aircraft have picked up surface indications of the hidden presence of nuclear, chemical or biological materials. They have not ruled out al Hussein surface to surface missiles being held ready there to deliver unconventional warheads. Some of the Scuds fired against Israel in 1991 were launched here. Signs of chemical emissions have been detected in the deep canyons riddling the Al Qaim region, most of them concealed from overhead view by overhanging cliffs. More impenetrable hiding places are to be found along the Euphrates river banks, which are densely overgrown thanks to the rapids splashing down from the mountains.

"Coalition forces have refrained from going straight in to Al Qaim to establish once and for all what weapons are hidden there for several reasons. Its installations are the most heavily guarded in Iraq – more even than Saddam Hussein’s own bunker fortresses in Tikrit. The brigade of especially trained, crack Special Republican Guards loyalists guarding al Qaim have proved impervious to tempting coalition offers to surrender, preferring to defend the site with their lives. The coalition command has tried limited air and ground assault, including even what is termed “unconventional warfare direct-action missions”, but until this weekend made little progress........"

http://debka.com/article.php?aid=364

"US Warns Syria Off its Ties with Terror Groups

DEBKAfle’s Military Sources

May 7, 2002, 3:54 PM (GMT+02:00)

Monday, May 6, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the Pentagon. On the same day, John Bolton, US undersecretary of state, disarmament expert and the closest official in that department to the White House, accused Libya,Syria and Cuba of pursuing weapons of mass destruction. The terms of this warning strongly resembled the language Washington uses in reference to Saddam Hussein. Bolton warned all three of American action to ensure they do not supply terrorists with such arms.

Regarding to Damascus, he said: “We are concerned about Syrian advances in its indigenous CW (chemical weapons) infrastructure (and believe Syria is) pursuing development of biological weapons and is able to produce at least small amounts of biological warfare agents.”

Shortly after the US issued its warning, the Hizballah fired 27 anti-air missiles from its bases in Lebanon over Western Galilee in northern Israel. Debris scattered over Shlomi and other villages in the area.

Israeli military spokesmen made haste to state that no Israeli air force planes were flying over the Israel-Lebanese frontier at the time of the Hizballah attack.

DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that Bolton’s warning to Damascus did not come out of the blue. It was prompted by US concern over the latest Syrian military movements in Lebanon and at home and its reciprocal ties with the Lebanese Hizballah terror group.

According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the Syrian army has suddenly taken up defensive positions in four main areas: the Beqaa valley, Baalbek, the Beirut-Damascus highway and the Israeli-Syrian border in the northern Golan Heights, near Mount Hermon and Shebaa Farms.

Our military sources report a full combat alert last week for Syria’s 1st armored corps in the Damascus area and the 2nd corps in western Syria and Lebanon.

The 10th mechanized division and elements of the 51st armored division, stationed until last winter in Beirut, have relocated from western and central Lebanon to the BeqaaValley on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Some have taken up defensive positions along the Beirut-Damascus highway.

The 1st corps commands the defenses of Damascus and the Syrian-Israeli border on the Golan Heights.

The 2nd corps secures Syria’s eastern frontier and the Syrian expeditionary force in Lebanon

The 27th and 82nd armored brigades of the 3rd division, and the 87th armored brigade of the 11th division are on the ground in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, a Hizballah political and logistic stronghold.

Syria’s elite 14th division, comprised of special forces, has moved east, fetching up at the meeting-point of the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders in the northern Golan Heights, north of Shebaa Farms.

Damascus ordered these military steps after asking Iran to send new shipments of Fajar-5 surface-to-surface missiles to Hizballah units in southern Lebanon. The missiles have a range of more than 50 km (30 miles) and can hit the Israeli port city of Haifa.

The Americans are concerned lest the Syrians equip those missiles with chemical warheads – hence Bolton’s sharp warning to Damascus and its timing to coincide with the Israeli prime minister’s talks with defense secretary Rumsfeld in Washington.

DEBKAfile’s sources add the intelligence reaching Washington last month, according to which Iran began shipping the new missiles only after asking Syria first if the Hizballah positions would be allowed to fire them. Syria assured the Iranians they would; indeed they could shoot the missiles throughout the month of May.

Receipt of that intelligence data sent US secretary of state Colin Powell rushing over to Damascus in the middle of his Israel-Palestinian crisis mission. He sternly cautioned Bashar Assad that Israel would hit vital Syrian military assets if the Fajar missiles took to the air. Assad did not react.

But the Hizballah response Monday, May 6, to Bolton’s warning was a reminder to the US, Israel and Syria too that, armed with the new Iranian Fajar missiles, the Hizballah is a force to be reckoned with."

uchiuke123

[Casey]

I think this was expected.

Thank you to NYer.



Iran Frees bin Laden Son
08/02/2006
Iran has freed a son of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from house arrest, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Die Welt said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard released Saad bin Laden on July 28 with the aim of sending him to the Syria-Lebanon border. It linked the reported move to the outbreak of war between Israel and Lebanese-based Hizbollah.

"From the Lebanese border, he has the task of building Islamist terror cells and preparing them to fight together with Hizbollah," Die Welt said, quoting intelligence information.

"Apparently Tehran is counting on recruiting Lebanese refugees in Syria for the fight against Israel, using bin Laden's help," it added in a preview of a report to appear in its Thursday edition.

Western intelligence sources have long suspected that Iran is holding a number of al Qaeda figures, possibly including Saad bin Laden and Saif al-Adel, the network's security chief.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2265650

[Casey]

Fantastic thread Casey. These meetings have been going on for decades, as best I can tell. I have been researching them because of the attendance of "he who cannot be named", who I believe started or at least hosted these summits.

I also believe that many of these summits, or mini summits, have occured in places such as Sudan.

What do they talk about? Coordinating activities. Hate. Thier new teenage wives. I believe that Zawahri attended a few of these in the mid - late nineties.

Thanks The 801.

I deliberately left some of the big names out even though I believe they are hinted at thus far. I expect within the next week or 2 through a couple of months there will be more valid material to drop in this thread.

[Casey]

West investigating reports : Saad Bin Ladn manages the Al-Qaeda from Iran

&

Iran denies American allegations around the presence of one of sons Ben Laden on its lands

10-15-2003

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=545851&highlight=Saad+Laden#post545851

[Casey]

Although Saad bin Laden is not the top leader of the terrorist group, his presence in the decision-making process demonstrates his father's trust in him and an apparent desire to pass the mantle of leadership to a family member, according to numerous terrorism analysts inside and outside of government.

Like other al-Qaida leaders in Iran, the younger bin Laden, who is believed to be 24 years old, is protected by an elite, radical Iranian security force loyal to the nation's clerics and beyond the control of the central government, according to U.S. and European intelligence officials.

The secretive unit, known as the Jerusalem Force, has restricted the al-Qaida group's movements to its bases, mostly along the border with Afghanistan.

Also under the Jerusalem Force's protection is Saif al-Adel, al-Qaida's chief of military operations; Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, the organization's chief financial officer, and perhaps two dozen other top al-Qaida leaders, the officials said.

Al-Adel and Abdullah are considered the top operational deputies to Osama bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman Zawahiri, who communicate with underlings almost exclusively through couriers.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1014binladenson14.html
Washington Post
Oct. 14, 2003 12:00 AM

[Casey]

Laden hands over mantle of terror to son: Report
PTI[ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2003 08:06:03 PM ]

LONDON: Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has appointed his eldest son 26-year-old Saad Bin Laden as his successor and ordered him to attack British and US targets, a report quoting his latest audio tape said on Sunday.

The tape purportedly from the al-Qaeda leader on Saturday promised more suicide attacks inside and outside United States and other countries that supported the Iraq war and demanded the Americans to quit Iraq.

The news that Osama bin Laden had named son Saad as his successor forced British Intelligence Agency Mi5 Chief Eliza Manningham-Buller to warn that al-Qaeda was now stronger than ever, 'The Sunday Express' reported.

Bin Laden's decision to hand over the operations of al-Qaeda is seen as an indication that he is ill, the paper said.

Saad has been linked to last week's killing of Americans in Gaza. For the past one year, he has been based in Iran.

Laden, in his latest audio tape said, "We, God willing, will continue to fight you (US) and will continue martyrdom operations inside and outside the United States until you abandon your oppression and foolish acts."

http://www.intellnet.org/news/2003/10/19/20793-1.html

[Casey]

More about Saad bin Laden

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=557419

Prior to moving into Iraq, Mughniyah had been closeted with his various allies in Tehran, where he met with other members of the terror galaxy, including al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri and Saad bin Laden (and most likely with his dad, Osama), and also Abu Musaf Zarkawi, the Jordanian named by Secretary of State Colin Powell as an example of the coordination between Saddam's regime and al Qaeda. Zarkawi has also moved into Iraq in recent days, as has the legendary Anis Naccache, who organized the assassination of former Iranian President Shahpour Bakhtiar in the 1980s, and was graciously released from prison by the affable government of France.
02-04-2004
http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=799787&highlight=Saad+Laden#post799787

[Casey]

08-27-2003

Today’s Asharq Al-Awsat contained a story detailing how Ayman Al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, and Imad Mughniyah, a top Hezballah leader, secretly left Iran only a few days ago, due to increased pressure from the Iranian government. Below is a summary of the article.

According to Asharq Al-aswat, Imad Mughniyah, a Hezballah leader and one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, left Iran two days ago, after a 14-month stay. A reliable source in the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence revealed to Asharq Al-aswat that it is no longer safe for Mughniyah and his people to stay in the country, due to the new policy of the Ministry of Defense, to arrest and deport al-Qaeda elements.

The Ministry of Defense, headed by Ali Yunasi, is submissive to the Khatemi’s government, while the Revolutionary Guard Intelligence is believed by the Iranian government to harbor terrorist elements in their facilities.

Asharq Al-aswat learned that Saif al-Adel and Saad bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s son, did not leave the country yet, although there is a possibility that they will do so with the help of non-submissive security and military elements, as happened with Ayman al-Zawahari and other al-Qaeda leaders. The article describes a mysterious incident that had occurred two weeks ago in the Maher Abad airport. Apparently, three men, who were escorted by Revolutionary Guard Intelligence officers and declined to show any identification documents, were put on a flight to Turkey, on the V.I.P list. Although airport security attempted to thwart this move, Intelligence officers managed to put them on the plane in the last minute. This incident reveals the Revolutionary Guard’s plan to transfer al-Qaeda leaders outside of Iran, and, according to sources close to the Revolutionary Guard, is connected to Mughniyah’s decision to leave Iran, as it has become too difficult for the Revolutionary Guard to secure his safety.


http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=454764&highlight=Saad+Laden#post454764

[Ono]

heh...

[Casey]

Compliments of Ono.

http://www.venusproject.com/ecs/Al_Qaida_Ruling_Mullahs.html

Ruling Mullahs, Al-Qaeda And Hezbollah
I received this document from an undercover reporter a few months ago. I translated it and am submitting the original and the translation of the duly signed and sealed top-secret document of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Department of Information and Leadership in Farsi (Persian), shown here for verification reasons.

I hope the European and American people wake up and realize that as long as the Iran’s ruling mullahs are in charge, we, the people of Planet Earth are all in danger of terrorism.

We, the people of Planet Earth must ask, why the 911 Commission in their infinite lack of wisdom did not disclose the Iran’s ruling mullahs close ties with Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah?

Top Secret Memo From the Office of Ali Akbar Nateqeh-Nouri, the director of Supreme Leader's Intelligence Service Operational Unit 43 (English translation below the document)

Re: Instructions to increase the level of support and cooperation between Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah.

Note: The signatory of this document is none other than the notorious Mullah, Nateqeh-Nouri who was Khatami's - - ostensible - - opponent in the 1997 elections.

http://www.venusproject.com/ecs/images/SupremTopSecretMemo.jpg

Supreme Leader Intelligence Head Quarters - Extremely Confidential

To: Head of the Operative Unit 43

Re: Direct Orders from the Supreme Leader

Hojat ol Islam Mr. Pour-Ghanad:

With regards & prayers,

The success and achievements of your dedicated and brave team is our wish. Your report on different strategies in support of future Al-Qaida plans has been reviewed from a variety of different perspectives. In clarifying any
doubts, his Excellency Supreme Leader has insisted on reminding us all that, combating with the International Imperialism, at the head of which, America & Israel are the main two enemies of Islamic order, is the main goal of our Islamic Directive. Disruption and destruction of their economic and political systems, discrediting, and endangering all of their other structural organizations and balance of security of these two united enemies of Islamic regime are crucial and an obligatory task to be achieved. His Excellency has asked for more attentiveness on these activities, with emphasis on your outmost awareness and alertness. With due consideration of the downfalls and consequences of this cooperation, persist in organized groups, and in closer collaboration with other intelligence and security operatives and outside supporters, to limit our enemies increasing array of activities. Reflecting all your achievements under the direct supervision of the head of the department of Hefazat, - -

(Special Intelligence Operatives within organizations) - - detection of any failure will be naturally the task of this dedicated office. Also it has been assigned for our future conferences to further rectify and discuss the elimination of major obstacles, additional implementation of improvements with regards to achieving a higher level of cooperation between Al-Qaida fighters and Hezbollah fighters towards a specific ideal goal. At the end, his Excellency Supreme Leader with satisfaction and complete support for the achievement of your future plans and
understanding the importance of your duties, his Excellency Supreme Leader has also insisted - - you must make sure, that no trace of any support for Al-Qaida, which could have negative and irreversible consequences should ever exist and be limited to the current relationship with Moghnie and Al Zarghavi. - -

God be with you,

Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri

Head of Supreme Leader Intelligence Office

Extremely Confidential

[The 801]

Moghnie

Alternate spelling of Mugniyeh

[Casey]

And here it is......


Iranian prez makes nuclear threats on Arab TV

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[/URL]
[URL="http://www.memritv.org/"]WWW.MEMRITV.ORG (http://www.memritv.org/)
Special Dispatch - Iran/Lebanon
August 3, 2006
No. 1229

Iranian President Ahmadinejad Addresses Rally & Warns the U.S. & England: The Fire of the Wrath of the Peoples is About to Erupt & Overflow & the People Will Soon Rage; Today the Iranian People is the Owner of Nuclear Technology


To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD122906

The following are excerpts from a rally with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which aired on the Iranian News Channel (IRINN) on August 1, 2006.


TO VIEW THIS CLIP:
http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1216

You can read or view it at the links......

snippet...

"Today, the Iranian people is the owner of nuclear technology. Those who want to talk with our people should know what people they are talking to. If some believe they can keep talking to the Iranian people in the language of threats and aggressiveness, they should know that they are making a bitter mistake. If they have not realized this by now, they soon will, but then it will be too late. Then they will realize that they are facing a vigilant, proud people."

[Casey]

Would it be safe to say NOW that al Qaeda has nukes?

[The 801]

It is now time to start vomiting.

It appears that our speculation and fear has become very real.

Casey you are amazing. I regret to say, good work.

[Casey]

I see the denial regarding Saad bin Laden being removed from Iran and on his way to Lebanon is already out.

I posted the link to both of these articles because this is what we can expect with regard to Saad/Iran and his where abouts.

Back in 2003 every time it was stated that Saad bin Laden and other al Qaeda members were in Iran, the statement would then be denied.




West investigating reports : Saad Bin Ladn manages the Al-Qaeda from Iran

&

Iran denies American allegations around the presence of one of sons Ben Laden on its lands

10-15-2003

http://afghanistanwar.com/showthread.php?p=545851&highlight=Saad+Laden#post545851

[freeman]

This one should be in "babble" thats where we post fiction and humor.

Funny thread....i cant stop laughin....damn

[uchiuke123]

http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2006/august/08_14_1.html

IRAN SENDS BIN LADEN'S SON TO LEBANON


ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Iran was said to have sent the son of Al Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden to Lebanon.

Islamic sources said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has released Bin Laden's son, Saad. The sources said IRGC released the 27-year-old Saad and sent him to organize cells in Lebanon.

"We have been hearing reports that Saad is no longer under house arrest and is now in Syria waiting to enter Lebanon," a source said.

The UAE-based Elaph news agency reported that Iran sent Saad to the Syrian-Lebanese border to build cells for Hizbullah in Palestinian refugee camps. Elaph, regarded as an authoritative source, said the move marked renewed cooperation between Al Qaida and Iran.

uchiuke123

[Casey]

Five Iranian agents held in Baghdad: BBC
Web posted at: 1/6/2007 1:49:46

Source ::: REUTERS LONDON • A British official has said five Iranians arrested in Baghdad last month in a raid by US forces were senior intelligence officers thought to be on a covert mission to influence the Iraqi government, the BBC reported.
Several Iranians – including two diplomats who were later released – were arrested by US troops in the raid, which the BBC said occurred on December 21 in the compound of SCIRI head Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, one of Iraq’s most powerful Shi’ite leaders.
“There were five senior officers in various Iranian intelligence organisations,” the BBC’s Newsnight television programme, broadcast late on Thursday, quoted the unnamed official as telling it.

“It was a very significant meeting. These people have been collared, relatively speaking, up to no good.”

Three intelligence officers had since been set free but the US military continued to hold two others, the BBC said.

Britain’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the report.
“We’ve always made clear it is vital that all Iraq’s neighbours support Iraq as it develops its own security and democracy,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.
“Anything that undermines the Iraqi government is unhelpful and any Iranian links to armed groups in Iraq are unacceptable.”

British officials were quoted as telling the BBC that the raid produced some important intelligence in spite of failing to provide a “smoking gun” linking the Iranians to supplies of arms to Shi’ite militants who attack British troops in southern Iraq.

The US State Department has said “a small number” of diplomats were among those detained in raids last month against Iranians suspected of planning attacks on Iraqi security forces, but they were turned over to Iraqi authorities and released.
Iran’s foreign ministry has said the diplomats had been invited by the Iraqi government.
The BBC said the arrested men were in Iraq to hold high-level meetings with Iraqi Shi’ite factions.

“There was discussion of whether the Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki government would succeed, who should be in which ministerial jobs,” one British government source told Newsnight. “It was a very significant meeting. The fact of who some of the Iranians were is very significant.”
link (http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=January2007&file=World_News2007010614946.xml)
--------------------------------------------

Interesting, I was reading yesterday that there are Iranian mortars raining down in areas of Iraq........

[Casey]

Osama’s Bodyguard: Iran-al Qaeda Cooperation Based on "Joint Interests"

MEMRI has posted a translation of an interview with Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, Nasser Al-Bahri. He confirms what we already knew; theological differences do not preclude cooperation between the Sunni al Qaeda and Shiite Iran. Al-Bahri explains (emphasis added):


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/caseybritton/UBL_BG.jpg
Nasser Al-Bahri, as seen on Al-Arabiya TV on May 4, 2007.

Interviewer: Do you think there is any coordination between the [Al-Qaeda] organization and Iran?

Nasser Al-Bahri: There is coordination on the basis of joint interests.

Interviewer: In what way?

Nasser Al-Bahri: For example, there is a common enemy--the U.S.--and the Iranians, for your information, know that the [American] strike in inevitable. Therefore, they have to take advantage of all those available on the scene, including the Al-Qaeda organization.

Interviewer: So the way you see it, the Al-Qaeda organization can cooperate with the Iranians against America?

Nasser Al-Bahri: It can cooperate with the Iranians but it won't operate under the Iranians. But there is no problem with regard to cooperation.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/06/osamas_bodyguard_iranal_qaeda_1.asp

[Casey]

I just thought I would put this here for now.

Report: Iran, al-Qaeda holding clandestine talks

American news agency reports: US intelligence sources believe al-Qaeda, Iran recently conducting covert negotiations over 2 of Bin Laden's sons, currently under 'loose house arrest' in Iran

Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 05.30.08, 00:32 / Israel News

WASHINGTON – In recent months there have been secret contacts between the Iranian government and the leadership of al-Qaeda, top officials in the White House, the Pentagon and the intelligence community said Thursday.

US officials familiar with highly sensitive intelligence on this issue told the ABC News Agency that the contacts are on the status of high-level al-Qaeda operatives, and include two of Osama Bin Laden's sons, who have been under house arrest in Iran since 2003. The officials don't believe Iran will allow these operatives to go free, but said they don't know Iran's motivation for initiating the talks.

"Iran likely sees these individuals as major bargaining chips," one official said. "How and when they're going to use those chips or whether they are going to keep them in the bank is part of an ongoing strategic discussion they are having internally."

Shortly after the US invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, al-Qaeda's central leadership broke into two groups. US intelligence believes that one group, headed by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, fled to the east to find safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The second group went west to Iran, and intelligence analysts postulate that this group includes al-Qaeda's management council, or "shura," which numbers about two dozen militants, including Adel, al-Qaeda spokesman Suliman abu Ghaith and some of Bin Laden's relatives, including two of his sons, Saad and Hamza.

These militants are considered to be among the most dangerous terrorists in the world. Adel is on the FBI list of Most Wanted Terrorists and is a suspect in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The State Department has put a $5 million bounty on his head.

Iranian authorities detained these militants in 2003, and they have been under what one US official called "loose house arrest" in Iran ever since. The US government quietly sent messages to Iran through the Swiss government, requesting that the al-Qaeda figures be turned over to their native countries for interrogation and trial. Iran has refused.

"Al-Qaeda would like to get those folks a deal and they've been trying to work a deal," a senior defense official told ABC News.

US intelligence analysts have several theories as to why al-Qaeda and Tehran have recently renewed contact. According to one theory, Iran initiated the talks as a threat to the United States; so that if the US takes hostile action against Iran, these captives could be released, and set free to plot attacks against the West.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3549719,00.html

[freeman]

yeah...well heres how stupid you are. Amazingly you're still too stupid to admit you're that stupid,, how fuckin stupid

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blument...wmd/index.html

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/29/mccain-mcclellan/

http://www.antiwar.com/orig/leopold6.html

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0601-02.htm

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/aipacledeen.html

http://home.earthlink.net/~platter/a...9-warrick.html

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1845

[Alli]

Why not post those links in another 56 threads?

[Casey]

Why not post those links in another 56 threads?

Did someone say something? :)

[NYer]

Did someone say something?


http://groovyvic.mu.nu/archives/images/curly.jpg

Mr. Howard weighs in. (http://new.wavlist.com/tv/010/think.wav)

[Casey]

A few updates...

[Casey]

US Treasury targets bin Laden son, Al Qaeda with Iran ties
Fri Jan 16, 3:27 PM

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Treasury Department on Friday targeted one of Osama bin Laden's sons and three other alleged Al Qaeda operatives with Iranian ties under an executive order that freezes their assets under US jurisdiction and outlaws their supporters.

Osama bin Laden's son Sa'ad, along with Mustafa Hamid, Muhammad Rab'a al-Sayid al-Bahtiyti and Ali Saleh Husain, are alleged to have worked for Al Qaeda in Iran, and some have ties to the Iranian government, said the department in a statement.

The designations, which prohibits transactions between the group and US citizens, were put in place to give Iran "public accounting of how it is meeting its international obligations to constrain Al Qaeda," according to Stuart Levey, the US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The four men were all detained by Iranian authorities in 2003, said US officials, although Sa'ad bin Laden may not have been in Iranian custody since September 2008.

All are accused of ties with Iran before their arrest.

Sa'ad bin Laden "made key decisions for Al-Qaeda and was part of a small group of Al-Qaeda members that was involved in managing the terrorist organization from Iran," the department alleges.

Another of the accused, Mustafa Hamid, is accused of being a "senior Al-Qaeda associate who served as a primary interlocutor between Al-Qaeda and the government of Iran." The others are alleged to have conducted activities for Al-Qaeda while in Iran.

Executive Order 13224, designed to both target the operatives and those who support them, can have a "far reaching impact," said Levey.

"Even though individual terrorist attacks are relatively inexpensive to carry out, it costs a great deal of money for Al-Qaeda to operate globally," he said.

"Designations have a far reaching impact, deterring would-be donors from providing financial support to terrorism and leaving Al-Qaeda leadership struggling to identify much-needed funding resources."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090116/usa/us_attacks_qaeda_iran_lead

[Casey]

Iran's Hand in al Qaeda: A Threat to the U.S.?

By Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News Terrorism Analyst
Febraury 19, 2009

CBNNews.com - President Obama has made it clear that al Qaeda is a top target in the war on terror.

At the same time, he plans to begin talks with Iran--a move some question because of the country's support for terrorism throughout the Middle East.

Iran's terror ties also go far beyond that region, and it's beginning to raise eyebrows.

President Obama says a major of topic of any discussions between the two sides will be Iran's support of terrorism. That could mean closer scrutiny of the country's relationship with al Qaeda.

"The one area that has not received significant attention, ironically, is that Iran does have some type of relationship with some members of al Qaeda," said Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute.

A Message from the U.S.

The relationship gained new attention last month when the Treasury Department issued terrorist designations for three senior al Qaeda members who have spent time in Iran.

One of them was Saad bin Laden, Osama's son. U.S. officials say he has left Iran and is now likely in Pakistan.

The Treasury Department says these designations are part of the U.S. effort to "financially isolate al-Qaeda." But there may have been a larger plan at work.

The U.S. Treasury Department is trying to send a message to Iran.

"Here you have three major al Qaeda operatives sitting in their country, transferring funds, being active in al Qaeda activities," terrorism researcher Joshua Goodman explained.

Living Freely in Iran

Many al Qaeda members headed from Afghanistan to Iran after the fall of the Taliban and several remain there to this day.

U.S. officials say senior al Qaeda leaders in Iran helped plan a 2003 terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia that killed 36 people.

Saudi authorities allege that the leader of al Qaeda in the Persian Gulf lives in Iran and moves about freely.

"Some people say they're living quite comfortably. Some people say they're under house arrest," Levitt claimed. He is the author of the book "Hamas."

"Iran has allowed al Qaeda operatives to travel in and out of the country without having the proper travel documents, without getting their passports stamped," he added. "Even though Iran has very strict border controls."

A Hand in 9/11?

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, several of the Sept. 11 hijackers passed through Iran in the months leading up to the attacks.

Goodman says al Qaeda terrorists continue to use Iran as a transit point.

"We have evidence that Iraqi members of... al Qaeda in Iraq, following their defeat in Anbar, have now been transferring themselves back to Pakistan and Afghanistan through Iran," he said.

Supporting the Talian

The historic animosity between Sunni and Shiite Muslims hasn't affected Iran's overall strategy. The Ianians, who are Shia Muslims, have worked closely with Sunni terror groups like al Qaeda for years.

"Iran works not only with the Shia Hezbollah to target Israel and undermine peace efforts, but has been working for many, many years with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and more recently and more intimately over the past few years with Hamas--both of which are Sunni," Goodman explained.

And now, Iran is known to support the Taliban.

The relationship between Iran and al Qaeda dates back to the 1990s, when Iran helped provide terror training.

Analysts say the nature of the relationship today is unclear and al-Qaeda leaders have actually criticized Iran at times.

But for now, it looks like any differences between the two camps will be put aside for the good of the greater jihad against America and Israel.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/544588.aspx?option=print

[Casey]

19:01 GMT, Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Clerics urge new jihad over Gaza

At a weekend meeting in Istanbul, 200 religious scholars and clerics met senior Hamas officials to plot a new jihad centred on Gaza.

The BBC's Bill Law was the only Western journalist at the meeting.

In a hall crowded with conservative Sunni Muslim sheikhs and scholars, in a hotel close to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport speaker after speaker called for jihad against Israel in support of Hamas.

The choice of Turkey was significant. Arab hardliners were keen to put aside historic differences with the Turks.

As one organiser put it: "During the past 100 years relations have been strained but Palestine has brought us together."

Many delegates spoke appreciatively of the protest by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who stormed out of a Davos debate on Gaza two weeks ago.

"Gaza gives us power, it solves our differences... Palestine is a legitimate theatre of operations for jihad"

The conference, dubbed the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign, also gave impetus to Sunni clerics concerned about the growing power of Hezbollah, the Shia movement backed by Iran, which rose to international prominence in its own war with Israel in 2006.

"Gaza is a gift," the Saudi religious scholar Mohsen al-Awajy told me. He and other delegates repeatedly referred to the Gaza war as "a victory".

"Gaza," he continued, "gives us power, it solves our differences. We are all now in a unified front against Zionism."

In closed meetings after sessions delegates focussed on the creation of a "third Jihadist front" - the first two being Afghanistan and Iraq. The intensity of the Israeli attack had "awakened all Muslims," Mr Awajy claimed.

"Palestine is a legitimate theatre of operations for jihad (holy war)," he added.

Road to liberation

Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas leader based in Damascus, challenged Arab governments to "open their borders and allow the fighters to come."

Delegates from all over the Middle East, and from Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan and Indonesia applauded as he stabbed the air with a raised finger and declared: "There will be no agreement with Israel... only weapons will bring respect."

Mr Nazzal told his audience: "Don't worry about casualties."

The 23 days of bombardment of Gaza, in which some 1,300 people, many of them civilians and nearly 300 of them children, are believed to have died, was "just the beginning" of the struggle, Mr Nazzal said.

To laughter in the audience, another speaker noted that twice as many babies were born as children were killed during the war.

Every death, I was told, was a martyrdom on the road to liberation.

For the hardline sheikhs, it was an opportunity to underline what they see as the growing gulf between Arab regimes who are hesitant to back Hamas and the people of the region who, they say, embrace Hamas as heroes fighting against overwhelming odds.

More importantly, this conference represented something of a coup for Hamas. They were promised weapons, money and fighters.

The question remains whether such rhetoric can or will be translated into action. Israel keeps a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas exercises de facto control, and Israel's other borders are also heavily guarded.

But at the very least this statement of intent from Sunni hardliners poses new challenges, not just to the Israelis and to Western efforts to broker a peace deal but to Arab regimes as well.

Bill Law is a reporter for BBC Radio 4's flagship foreign affairs documentary series, Crossing Continents.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/7895485.stm