Minaret of Freedom Weblog

As charges are dropped against alleged “20^th hijacker” Mohammed al-Qahtani due to flawed evidence based on torture…

• Charges Against 9/11 Suspect Dropped (Washington Post)

…commentators say the cases of al-Qahtani and suicide bomber Abdullah al-Ajmi show Gitmo’s torture regime is immoral, ineffective and counterproductive:

• “20th Hijacker” Blows Up Torture Argument (Philadelphia Daily News)
• The Survivors’ Stories Leave No Doubt: Guantánamo Makes Us All Less Safe (The Guardian)

US officials spin Iranian involvement in Iraqi peace deal as an attempt to stop arming militias, despite a lack of evidence showing Tehran’s complicity:

• Iran Shifts Attention To Brokering Peace In Iraq (Christian Science Monitor)

Pakistan forces withdraw from area where nationalist militants fight for political autonomy and control over their own economic resources…

• Troops ‘Pull Out of Balochistan’ (BBC News)

…meanwhile Asif Zardari gets cleared of another corruption case the day after his suspicious footdragging over judge restoration leads to a split in Pakistan’s coalition government:

• Bhutto’s Husband Cleared of Smuggling Artifacts (Associated Press/Wiredispatch)

Police crackdown on terrorist organization reveals thwarts a plot by “deep state” extremists “of creating an atmosphere of chaos and laying the groundwork for a coup by Turkey’s army”:

• Militants Imperil Stability in Turkey (The National)

Nawaz Sharif’s supporters withdraw from the fledging coalition government due to persistent disagreements over restoring deposed judges:

• Pakistan Coalition Partner Quits Cabinet Over Judges (Reuters/Wiredispatch)

Analysts say arrests like Hasan Turabi’s, following the recent attack on Khartoum are likely to be the norm until at least next year’s elections:

• Islamist Leader Arrested In Attack (Washington Post)

Egypt’s noose around cyber dissent tightens as it blocks access to opposition movement Kifaya’s website:

• Egypt Squeezes Access to Dissident Website (AFP/Lebanon Daily Star)

Moderate Mauritanian Islamists form a small part of the democratically elected government for the first time:

• Islamists in Mauritanian Cabinet (BBC News)

What’s Islamic about “Islamic terrorism?” House Republicans fail in attempt to suppress U.S. National Counter-Terrorism Center’s guidelines against abusing religious terminology in labeling  terrorists:

• Bush Terror-War Verbiage Rankles Hill GOP (UPI/Washington Times)

Fashion students use their creative skills to make abayas stylish while still modest:

• Fashion Students at Va. University Design Abayas (Associated Press/New York Times)

More indefinite detentions and domestic spying continue to erode liberties and national security:

• Ex-Gitmo Suicide Bomber Fuels Pentagon Propaganda (Antiwar.com)
• Domestic Spying Far Outpaces Terrorism Prosecutions (Los Angeles Times)

Pakistan experts say US should focus less on military solutions and shed ties to Musharraf to adapt to new changes in Islamabad’s policies:

• As Pakistan Changes, Should U.S. Policy? (Christian Science Monitor)

While a tense calm presides over Beirut, the deaths from fighting in other parts of Lebanon continue to mount:

• Mountain Clashes Bring Lebanon Death Toll To 81 (Reuters/Washington Post)

Analysts speculate the assault on Khartoum by Darfurian militants is about challenging government authority and Chad’s payback for an earlier assault on its capital by Sudanese-supported militias:

• After a Quixotic Attack in Sudan, a Question Lingers: Why? (New York Times)

Indonesia’s President unveils a new plan to spur economic growth through encouragement of private sector investment:

• SBY to Issue New Economic Package (The Jakarta Post)

Iran seeks to snub effects of Western sanctions through a quixotic approach of inefficiently developing its own oil fields without financial investment or technological ability:

• Iran Looks to Tap Key Oil Field with Homegrown Crews (Associated Press/Wiredispatch)

Gitmo’s parallel legal system comes under attack again after a military judge disqualifies a top Pentagon lawyer from further participation in the process due to pushing prosecutors “to use evidence under coercive interrogations”:

• Judge’s Guantánamo Ruling Bodes Ill for System (New York Times)

Whistleblowers reveal a memo showing Scott Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel, inverting the agency’s mission by retaliating against people for political purposes:

• Memo Shows Frustration With Special Counsel (Washington Post)

Tensions in Lebanon remain high as fighting continues in other parts of the country despite Hezbollah withdrawal from West Beirut:

• Clashes in Northern and Eastern Lebanon, Outside Beirut (Associated Press/Washington Post)

• Lebanon Troops Patrol Beirut After Hezbollah Pullout (Reuters/Washington Post)

Sudan ends its relations with Chad after accusing it of training militants involved in a failed attack on Khartoum:

• Sudan Cuts Chad Ties After Attack (Associated Press/New York Times)

Pakistan’s “little Switzerland” sees a reprieve from violence as local Taliban militants sign a truce and agree to enter into peace talks…

• Pakistani Militants Agree Truce (BBC News)

…meanwhile talks among coalition parties on judge restoration remain deadlocked:

• Talks On Judges Go Up In Smoke (The News)

Lebanon once more teeters on the brink of a civil war as Hezbollah takes over pro-government sections of West Beirut:

• Hezbollah Seizes Beirut Districts (AFP/Lebanon Daily Star)

More Islamophobia at play in the US presidential elections:

• Pastor Who McCain Praised said America’s Historic Mission was to ‘Destroy’ Islam (Raw Story)

• Where did the Web Rumors About Obama Come From? (McClatchy)

Despite the initial waves made from the NY Times story about deliberate Iraq war disinformation, media outlets largely ignore it:

• ‘Deafening’ Silence On Analyst Story (Politico)

Pakistan voices strong opposition to Gen. Jay Hood, former head of Guantanamo Bay prison, being top US military envoy to Islamabad…

• Pakistan Opposes US Military Aide (BBC News)

…meanwhile, contradictory deals among various factions, with Asif Zardari at the center, led to general agreement of judge restoration, but not on their powers:

• What to do With Pakistan’s Judges (BBC News)

Saudi female b-ball players hit the court despite the cultural restrictions thrown at them:

• Underground Sport: Saudi Women Shed Veils To Play Basketball (Associated Press/Washington Post)

Maryland court rules that Islamic procedures for divorce are not legally valid in the US because they lack “due process”:

• Islamic Divorce Ruled Not Valid in Maryland (Washington Post)

Former defense lawyer for ex-Gitmo prisoner alleges that the lack of a fair legal hearing and exposure to torture led to Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi to terrorism:

• Ex-Guantanamo Detainee Joined Iraq Suicide Attack (Washington Post)

“Landmark ruling” in Malaysia upholds ethnic Chinese woman’s Qur’anic and Prophetic rights to leave Islam:

• Malaysian Woman Can Leave Islam (BBC News)

Using Bill Cosby as their template, American Muslim filmmakers use the Internet’s power to depict themselves as ordinary while humorously identifying with other Muslims:

• Young Video Makers Try to Alter Islam’s Face (New York Times)

In a rare legal success, civil liberties groups successfully fight off another FBI abuse of national security letters:

• FBI Backs Off From Secret Order for Data After Lawsuit (Washington Post)

PM Gordon Brown uses electoral fear-mongering and politicization of a top Scotland Yard counterterrorism official to push for more Big Brother powers:

• Police ‘Being Used to Push 42-Day Detention’ (Telegraph)

Columnist Dan Froomkin opines that the latest buzz about Bush torture officials being subpoenaed to testify before Congress will not lead to greater accountability:

• Torture Showdown Coming? (Washington Post)

Delays over restoration of deposed judges and parliamentary elections strain the new Pakistani government’s popular credibility:

• Coalition Falters Amid Taunts of Descent Into ‘Collision Government’ (The National)

Farspress send me some questions occasioned by the sixtieth anniversary of the state of Israel. Here are my answers.

Q. Given the damage the image of the West has suffered in the Muslim world by its support of Israel, what are the West’s achievements ?

A. While few Muslims would agree that the achievements are worth the costs, the main successes achieved by recent Western intervention into Middle East affairs are the end of Serbian atrocities against the Muslims and Croats, the restoration of relations with Libya and the removal of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban from power. However, the first two could have been achieved without support for Israel and the relations were bad with Libya mainly because of America’s support for Israel. The removal of Saddam was primarily motivated by concerns about his threat to Israel’s security by Richard Perle and his comrades and America’s attack on the Taliban after years of ignoring their excesses was triggered by the 9-11 attacks for which Usama bin Ladin had posited American support of Israel as one of the three main justifications.

Q. What are the costs and benefits due to the support of Israel?

A. Beyond at least three billion dollars per year in direct aid (which does not include indirect and covert aid), the costs of American support for Israel has been high oil prices, a weak currency, bad relations with the Arab and Muslim world, the escalation of food costs (partly due to the diversion of agricultural resources in to biofuels), the erosion of civil liberties for the American people, and the loss of an enormous number of American, Arab, Israeli, and other lives. The only profit has been political support for the politicians who have put Israeli interests above those of the United States and the windfall profit the high oil prices have provided to the oil industry.

Q. What do you think of claims that Israel is the main cause of instability and insecurity in the region?

A. There are many causes of instability and insecurity in the region, and observers differ on their relative importance. However, Israel plays a contributing factor in a number of them. For example, the oppressive regimes in the Middle East often use Israel as a bogeyman to resist democratic, liberal, or Islamic reform. In the end I think one can say that Israel is the single greatest source of instability in the region.

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
Minaret of Freedom Institute
www.minaret.org

The 60^th anniversary of Israel has Palestinians like Akram al-Shamali bitter over he and his parents being forced out of their home by the violent birth of the Zionist state:

• Turning 60, Israelis Feel Pride, Palestinians Pain (Reuters/Wiredispatch)

Gitmo defense lawyers make the “most specific [assertions] to date” about the government eavesdropping on their conversations with detainees:

• Lawyers for Guantánamo Inmates Accuse U.S. of Eavesdropping (New York Times)

Hardliners slam leading reformist figure Mohamed Khatami for giving a speech on Ayatollah Khomeini that may implicate possible Iranian military involvement in Iraq:

• Iran Hardliners Condemn Khatami (BBC News)

Lebanon’s presidential crisis turns more ugly as a politicized workers strike morphs into a violent clash between pro and anti-government supporters:

• Clashes As Strike Grips Lebanon (BBC News)

Members of a heterodox Turkish Muslim sect fight to free themselves from state-controlled and state-imposed courses on religion in public schools:

• Turkish Alevis Fight Back Against Religion Lessons (Reuters/Washington Post)

Failure of London’s Big Brother surveillance to combat ordinary crime sheds doubt on its supposed value as role model for terrorism prevention in New York and Washington DC :

• CCTV Boom Has Failed To Slash Crime, Say Police (The Guardian)

After a scathing GAO review, the US finally conducts minimal oversight of its massive military assistance to Pakistan, rejecting small portions of its total annual billion-dollar aid package:

• Pentagon Rejects Some Pakistan Aid Requests (Los Angeles Times)

Politically tainted Gitmo military commissions are unlikely to begin their so-called trials until after Bush leaves office:

• Justice System For Detainees Is Moving At a Crawl (Washington Post)

Turkey uses its “historical Ottoman ties” to the Middle East to facilitate peace talks between Israel and Syria:

• Turkey Aims for Clout as Regional Mediator (Christian Science Monitor)

Indonesian survey of over 900 civil society activists finds the government has become more respectful of transparency and the rule of law, but freedoms of speech and religion declined…

• Freedoms Down, Government Efficiency up in Reform Era: Survey (The Jakarta Post)

…despite activists’ efforts to overturn a State board’s recommendation to declare a heterodox sect illegal:

• Government Told to Disband Board Over Ahmadiyah Ban (The Jakarta Post)

IDF soldiers in Gaza, occupying and looting the home of innocent civilians, violate Palestinians’ property rights…

• Gaza Residents Say IDF Soldiers Looted Their Homes (Yedioth Ahronoth)

…while extremist Jewish politicians attack Arab parliamentarians within Israel’s so-called liberal democracy as “terrorists” and a “fifth column”:

• ‘Arab MKs Represent Terror Groups’ (Jerusalem Post)

After peace talks with regional Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud break down, militants resume their attacks military and police personnel:

• Attacks Test Pakistan Ceasefire (BBC News)

Analysts say Kuwait’s mixture of non-party democracy and persistent monarchical power have led to political and economic stagnation:

• Critics Blame Kuwait’s ‘Half Democracy’ for Political Deadlocks (AFP/Daily Star Lebanon)

ABA gives award for Abdurrahman al-Lahem for his legal defense of human rights in Saudi Arabia:

• American Bar Association Honors Saudi Dissident (AFP/Daily Star Lebanon)

Baghdad’s contradictory messages on Iranian influence in Iraq are shaped by the costs and benefits of attempting to simultaneously maintaining good relations with Tehran and Washington:

• Iraq Sends Mixed Message On Iran, Weapons (Los Angeles Times)

Rumors swirl in Turkish media of possible plans by AKP members to form a new party in case the “judicial coup” succeeds:

• Turkish PM’s Office Denies Reports On Party Plans (Reuters/Washington Post)

Global food crisis rocks war-torn Somalia, leading to unrest in the capital:

• Tens of Thousands Riot in Somalia Over Rising Food Prices (Associated Press/Washington Post)

Indonesian Muslim scholars assert that media outlets need to focus less on radicals and more on mainstream religious figures promoting compatibility between Islam and democracy…

• Media Should Promote Islam and Democracy: Discussion (Jakarta Post)

…however that does not remove the obligation of governments and civil society to protect people’s human rights, including religious freedom:

• Religious Strife Erodes RI Image, Say Experts (Jakarta Post)