Rendition to Jordan

The Washington Post about Jordan’s role as a CIA holding prison and proxy interrogator. Nothing you havent previously heard. Some excerpts:
The building is the headquarters of the General Intelligence Department, Jordan’s powerful spy and security agency. Since 2000, at the CIA’s behest, at least 12 non-Jordanian terrorism suspects have been detained and interrogated here, according [...]

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Rumsfeld memos show ignorance

Washington post article on Rumsfeld’s memos as Secretary of Defense. Nothing shocking, really. But i thought this pathetic:
He also lamented that oil wealth has at times detached Muslims “from the reality of the work, effort and investment that leads to wealth for the rest of the world. Too often Muslims are against physical labor, so [...]

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“Al Qaeda’s Fall Reading Picks”

John Judis looks at two books mentioned by bin Laden in a recent tape: Michael Scheuer’s Imperial Hubris and Emmanuel Todd’s After the Empire.

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Sinai NDP up in flames

Yes, it seems that Sinai Bedouins set an NDP headquarters on fire when they stormed government offices. From what i can gather (it’s amazing how much variation there is between wires) it started out as a regular conflict (according to ap, bedouins and a shopowner), and escalated into tribal issue. When a bunch of people [...]

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“Taking the War on Terror to Africa”

Apparently the US government seeks to establish a strategic command for Africa (AFRICOM) that would be the aid, policy, military and counterterrorism nerve-center for Africa. The idea is that this will help raise the profile of Africa and improve efforts through coordination and increased attention. Ultimately, more US government drivel:
The Pentagon says AFRICOM will bring [...]

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Pakistan: Islam’s Fault

UPDATE: oops! forgot the link.
I just read a pretty interesting article in the National Geographic that takes a look at Islam in Pakistan and its relationship to both fundamentalist Islam and violent Islamists, entitled “Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan”. I have always, since my insect-observing science-obsessed nerdy childhood had a certain affection for NG [...]

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The Terrorism Index

FP just released the latest version of its Terrorism index. They surveyed 100 “experts” from various branches of govt, white house staff, intelligence, defense and scholars. Their results are pretty bleak from an American perspective. Not much that’s surprising really.

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“Losing My Jihadism”

Someone pointed me to this article in the washington post by a writer (and apparently former imam) who tried salafism and decided the violence wasnt for him. He advocates Islam’s need for a reformation. Needless to say, he’s rather unliked.

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Time: Eavesdrop Bill Empowers Spy Czar

More on the eavesdropping legislation.
However, the law’s wording — underscored by conversations with administration officials — shows the rules governing when and how Americans’ calls and e-mails will be monitored have changed significantly.
Communications that can get caught up in intelligence collection require a spectrum of approvals, depending on the circumstances. Generally, such calls, e-mails, text [...]

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Executive Orders

I pointed to the recent legislation on warrantless wiretapping. Here’s more on the executive order issued by bush in 2001. Apparently the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” (ie warrantless wiretapping of communication overseas) to which Bush admitted in Dec 2005 wasnt the only thing authorized by the order. And it’s all dressed up in good ol’ american [...]

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Congress backs wiretapping

.. of communications between foreigners routed through equipment in the US [bbc]. Poor America continues to concede rights and compromise its principles.

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US and EU to share private flier info

Apparently the US and EU have just signed a treaty, replacing temporary provisions, to force airlines to send a host of personal information about all passengers traveling to the States within 15 minutes of take-off. Apparently, “most of the treaty relies on the US to follow the rules and notify Europe later.” And, according to [...]

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Inherited Jihadism

Just caught this article by ICG SE Asia director titled “Inherited Jihadism: Like Father Like Son”. She’s essentially saying that, in Indonesia at least (and i would say it’s more or less applicable across the board) there has already been at least one generation of islamists by inheritance and that mechanisms to draw them away [...]

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Silverstein on Islamists

Just caught an article in the March Harper’s by Ken Silverstein. It’s one of the most measured looks at “Islamist” movements/parties in the region and the West’s (particularly, the US) approach to dealing (or, rather, decidedly not) with them.
Naturally, he touches on the oxymoronic so-called “Bush Doctrine”:
Notwithstanding President Bush’s new “forward strategy of freedom,” the [...]

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Drinking the Sea at Nahr el-Bared

I havent actually read the book, Drinking the Sea at Gaza (note to self). But i distinctly recall someone bringing up stories from the book about the first Intifada. Apparently, ‘activists’ would run into civilians’ homes with the IDF in hot pursuit. The strategy was meant to aggravate the Palestinians with the inevitable and indiscriminate [...]

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