Former CIA spy advocates overthrow of Iranian regime

Reza Kahlili, living in the shadows with a fake name and disguise, worked from inside the Revolutionary Guard. He warns of terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. and a plot to destroy Israel.

Former CIA spy Reza Kahlili lived a double life until the mid-1990s, passing along Iran’s secrets to the CIA and recruiting Revolutionary Guards for the agency. In a sense, he resumed his double identity after publishing his 2010 memoir. (Reza Kahlili / July 7, 2012)

By David Zucchino

July 6, 2012, 6:33 p.m.

Los Angeles Times
ARLINGTON, Va. — His disguise consists of a blue surgeon’s mask, sunglasses and a baseball cap that reads “Free Iran.” A small modulator distorts his voice. He uses a pseudonym, Reza Kahlili.
He lives in fear, he says, because his years as a paid spy for the CIA inside Iran have made him an assassination target of Iran’s government. He worries about his wife and children, who live with him in California.
At the same time, implausibly, he has become one of the most influential and outspoken voices in the U.S. advocating the overthrow of the Iranian government.
For the last two years, Kahlili has gone semipublic with a memoir, a blog, op-ed pieces and invitation-only speeches at think tanks. He warns that Iran operates terrorist sleeper cells inside the United States and is determined to build nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. The U.S. should respond, he argues, by supporting the opposition inside Iran.
He travels furtively between appearances, working as a Pentagon consultant and as a member of a domestic security task force.

Gangsters, Islamic Terrorists, Deathmatch

English: The Muslim population of the world map by percentage of each country, according to the Pew Forum 2009 report on world Muslim populations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

June 17, 2012: The continuing violence in the Moslem south has led to 5,000 dead and 8,000 wounded in the last eight years. But it has also led to over 200,000 people leaving the area. Most of those fleeing have been Moslem. About 30 percent of the Buddhists in the south (who were 20 percent of the population in 2004) have fled and ten percent of the Moslems. Criminal gangs, whose main business is smuggling drugs and other contraband from Malaysia, have long dominated the area. The gangs agreed to support the Islamic terrorists, since both groups had something to gain by trying to weaken law and order in the area. While the gangs made it more difficult to improve the economy, they were more tolerable than the Islamic terrorists. All this has become too much for most Moslems. The Islamic terrorists wanted to expel all non-Moslems, shut down secular schools, and didn’t care if they made it difficult to improve the economy. This was too much for most of the Moslems the Islamic terrorists were supposed to be representing. Those that don’t flee are increasingly joining pro-government armed defense groups. The gangs and Islamic terror groups refuse to negotiate or quit, so it’s a fight to the death. The gangs will probably turn on their Islamic radical allies eventually, as the criminal organizations are not run by religious fanatics but business-minded entrepreneurs who are not keen on getting wiped out. Then again, the gangsters believe that the Islamic radicals will have to be killed, otherwise the southern gangsters will have some pretty deadly and determined enemies in their own backyard.

Canadian journalists on al-Qaeda mailing list: U.S. counterterrorism centre report

Sheila Dabu Nonato

Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

A journalist in Washington, D.C. views al-Qaeda documents found at Osama bin Laden’s compound in the raid that killed the terrorist a year ago. According to the declassified documents, two Canadian journalists were to receive “special media material” on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Two Canadians were among a select group of international journalists singled out by al-Qaeda to receive “special media material” on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, according to declassified documents captured during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden last year.

Eric Margolis and Gwynne Dyer were to have been provided with a password and site address to download information provided by the terrorist group “at the right time,” according to the documents, released Thursday in a report by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at the West Point military academy.

Messrs. Margolis and Dyer were among a dozen journalists named in one of the letters, including renowned British war correspondent Robert Fisk and American Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. It also named journalists from Norway, Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan.

Postmedia News

Journalists Gwynne Dyer, left, and Eric Margolis were to receive “special media material” from al-Qaeda on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, according to declassified documents.

Mr. Margolis said the documents need to be approached with caution “because there have been a lot of bogus reports, documents and videos that have come out of that area.”

UK – Croydon man charged following counter terrorism arrest

9:46am Saturday 5th May 2012 in Local news By Hannah Williamson

Mr Pitt from Thornton Heath will appear in court this morning

A Croydon man arrested on suspicion of funding terrorism has been charged with conspiracy.

Adrian Wall of Pitt Road, Thornton Heath, was one of seven people arrested by detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command on May 1.

The 49-year-old was detained after officers visited four addresses in London, Coventry and Cardiff.

How to Pirate Proof Your Tanker –Slideshow

A shocking rise in pirate attacks over the last decade has left many in the shipping industry scrambling for protection, leading to a new market for security forces trained to fight off the swashbuckling foes. Photographer Amnon Gutman witnessed this scramble for security first-hand as he sailed one of the most dangerous waterways in the world with a crew, their cargo — and a private security detail trained in pirate-deflecting techniques. The fear of attack, especially near Somalia, is a well-founded one. As Gutman notes, of the 439 attacks reported to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in 2011, 275 attacks took place off Somalia’s east coast and in the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa. However, while Somali pirates continue to account for the majority of attacks — approximately 54 percent – and while the overall number of Somali incidents increased from 219 in 2010 to 237 in 2011, the number of successful hijackings decreased from 49 to 28. The 802 crew members taken hostage in 2011 also marks a decrease from the four-year high of 1,181 in 2010.

This may be because of more aggressive policing — the European Union recently authorized its most expansive mission against pirates in Africa — but many ships aren’t taking any chances. On this journey through the Indian Ocean on a shipping vessel  that wishes to remain anonymous, SeaGull security walked through the methods still being developed to combat modern piracy.

Above, crew members secure barbed wires on the side of the tanker to prevent potential pirates from climbing aboard two days before going into the high-risk zone.

Amnon Gutman

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Somalia: Weekly Piracy Report

Published On: Saturday, February, 18 2012 – 00:50:58 Pirates holding the American journalist Michael Scott Moore in Ceel-Huur are still fearful of an American rescue attempt in the vein of that conducted to free two Danish Demining Group (DDG) hostages last month. The pirates have brought more pirates in to guard their hostage, however Somalia Report is yet to establish the exact number.

As the monsoon season has come to an end, the rate of pirate attacks has increased markedly. This week, there were eight attacks, of which one resulted in the successful hijack of a fishing vessel. Last night,Somalia Reportreceived information that pirates had hijacked an oil tanker, MV Leila, however we are as of yet to receive confirmation of the incident.Somalia Reportwill follow developments closely and update when possible.

As theWajillowinds die down, pirates are descending upon Harardhere, Dhinooda and Eldhanane in preparation for launching a new wave of attacks. Dozens of investors, too, are positioning themselves to invest in the coming operations.

Local officials in Puntland toldSomalia Reportlast week that they are preparing for a pirate onslaught.

“We all know what happens. Local fishermen as well as pirates wait for the winds to subside in order to head offshore. There will be a resurgence in activity after the end of the month,” Ahmed Gurey, chairman of Bargaal toldSomalia Report.

While many more pirates may be heading out to sea, their success rate is declining as a result ofthe increased use of armed guards deployed on commercial vessels.An incident this week, in which Italian naval personnel on a commercial vessel shot and killed two Indian fishermen has provoked concern, however, about the rules for the use of force in the maritime domain.

Developments On Land

Arrests

On February 15, forces loyal to Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa (ASWJ) arrested six pirates, accusing them of fuelling insecurity in Dhusomareb, the capital of Galgadud.

This is but the latest incident in a series of arrests over the past couple of weeks; ASWJ arrested a group in Guriel in early February, however the eight pirates (Flastin Ali, Ahmed Mire, Dahir Salad, Abdi Gelle, Nuune Abdulahi Ali, Ahmed Abdi, Ali Abdi and Ba’adle Shiekh Hussein) were subsequently offered amnesty on account of local clan-based resistance to the arrests.

Flastin, one of the arrested pirates toldSomalia Report,“We believe local elders arranged for our release, and we thank the administration for their decision. We did not come here to carry out kidnappings, but to visit our families here.”

The Deputy District Commissioner in Dhusomareb, Sheikh Abdullahi Abdinur Barre said, “They are a threat to us, they are importing immorality into our city and we have to stop them. We will continue to make such arrests.”

On Monday, Puntland officials reported that police had arrested 11 pirates in Gabac village, near Eyl, during counter-piracy operations in Nugaal. Police seized and burned one speedboat, and arrested the pirates after they tried to flee. The pirates were transferred to Garowe jail, where they are now awaiting trial. The pirates are part of the pirate group working under Garaad Mohammed, a well known pirate leader responsible for securing the $3.5 million ransom for the release the Algerian-flagged MV Blida.

Prosecutions

Quest Pirates Sentenced

Two pirates, Mohamud Hirsi Issa Ali and Jilian Abdi Ali, involved in the S/V Quest hijacking and shootoutwere sentenced to life in prison for a second time on Tuesday. US District Judge Mark Davis, who sentenced them the first time, recused himself, following revelations that the US Navy had transferred the yacht to a marina part-owned by his brother. A second judge was assigned to the case and came to the same verdict.

Nine more pirates have pleaded guilty in the case, with three facing murder charges.

Counter-Piracy

Somaliland Commandos Graduate

Somaliland can now count on a contingent of specially trained commandos to help in the fight against piracy. The team underwent a six month training course in Dararweine district, which focused on sea, air and land-based warfare techniques. Major Ahmed Tanzania, the armed forces training commander, said the team would be deployed to aid in the fight against piracy, counter-terrorism and secessionists.

Somaliland Busy Two Speedboats To Fight Pirates

Somaliland has purchased two speedboats, which have been transferred to the Minister for Fishing, Abdulahi Jama Geeljire. The boats will be used for counter-piracy operations, and to combat illegal fishing in Somaliland’s waters. The Minister stated that the boats had not been donated, but were purchased on the part of the government in a bid to improve their counter-piracy capacity. He added that Somaliland is looking to buy more boats over the course of the year.

Ransom Negotiations

MV Albedo

The Albedois still being held in the Harardhere area, after the latest negotiations failed to materialise in a ransom. After a period of silence following reports that pirates were looting goods on the vessel, ransom negotiations have resumed.

Understanding the dynamics of a ‘crime of honour’

 

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dakshana bascaramurty AND colin freeze

From Monday’s Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 3:00AM EST

Last updated Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 7:25AM EST

The murders of four women at the hands of their closest relatives may serve as a wakeup call for wider Canadian society to the social ills that those closer to traditionalist communities have long grappled with.

The convictions of Mohammad Shafia, his wife, Tooba Yahya, and his eldest son, Hamed, on Sunday followed a long trial in which evidence showed that teachers, police and social services saw repeated warning signs that the teenaged daughters of the family were at risk of life-threatening violence.