Frank Freeman's Diary, October 2003

I didn't find a full copy hosted by The Independent itself, but there are (of course) various copies on the Web.

The Internet Service Providers' Association wants to censor the web with respect to "rumours", more particularly rumours concerning law cases not yet decided, in particular the case where a 17-year-old girl accused seven British premier league soccer players of gang rape.

'US intelligence chiefs believe they have identified a former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden as al-Qaeda's new chief of terrorist operations in the Gulf.

'Abu Hazim al-Sha'ir, a 29-year-old from Yemen now believed to be in Saudi Arabia [here's the target! , is among a new crop of al-Qaeda operatives in the region, they claimed.

'A leaked report admitted that "capable replacements" were replacing terrorist leaders captured since September 11 [2001].'

'The man given the task of finding Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction is due to deliver his initial findings to US Congressmen.

'[CIA man] David Kay is expected to tell a private hearing that Iraq's threat to launch chemical or biological attacks may have been a bluff to deter an invasion. [!!!]

'Mr Kay is head of the Iraq Survey Group which is scouring the country for the weapons, which were the basis for war.'

The crazy levels of garbage they're now descending to. Saddam's regime vigorously denied it had such weapons. The "bluff" was on the part of the American and British terrorist regimes, to try to build support for their invasion of Iraq.

'The US-led Iraq Survey Group has said it has found no evidence so far that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction prior to Saddam Hussein's overthrow.

'But the group's interim report, after three months of work, claimed to have uncovered evidence of illegal weapons research and development in Iraq.

'It spoke of clandestine laboratories, [alleged testing of germs on prisoners,] [a vial of] botulinum toxin at a scientist's home and plans for 1,000km-range missiles.

'... David Kay of the Iraq Survey Group said he had evidence of WMD-related programmes and indications Saddam was committed to acquiring nuclear arms. ...'

'US prosecutors [for the government] have been barred from seeking the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the US over the September 11 attacks.

'District judge Leonie Brinkema ruled prosecutors may not present at trial any evidence that he was involved in, or had knowledge of the attacks. [Presumably, because this would entitle him to question Qaeda men. Or is it because the US conspirators feel their own lives on the line?]

'But she dismissed a call to drop all charges against Moussaoui [perhaps they can get him on a traffic violation], a 35-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent.

'He denies being involved in the attacks but admits to being an al-Qaeda member.'

'North Korea says its has reprocessed 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods — enough to make six nuclear bombs.

'Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su-hon said the communist state was in possession of a nuclear deterrent and was continuing to strengthen it.

'He told reporters in New York that Pyongyang had no choice because the US had threatened it with nuclear weapons.

'Mr Choe said the North had no intention of transferring nuclear technology to other countries.'

If true, this is the first admission of an atomic "deterrent" (that I know of) by North Korea itself, as opposed to what other people — notably the US State Department — say it said.

'An interim report on Iraq's alleged weapons programme proves Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world and boosted the case for war, President Bush says. ...'

What this "proves" is that we have entered the post-rational age (not mention the age of might-is-right).

'The US has failed to produce any evidence to prove Iraq posed a threat great enough to justify war, former chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix [told the BBC]. ...'

'... Maxim Restaurant, co-owned by Arabs and Jews in [the ethnically tolerant city of ] Haifa.

The bombing 'has raised fears that Israel will carry out its threat to "remove" ... Arafat.

'After two suicide attacks killed 15 people last month, Israel's security cabinet decided to "remove" Arafat either by expulsion, or assassination ...'

Perhaps it's this personal threat that has "woken Arafat up" to what's going on.

'The PM [Tony Blair] privately conceded before war began that Iraq had no WMD that could be used within 45 minutes, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has claimed.

'Mr Cook said it was clear when he spoke to Mr Blair just two weeks before war began that he did not believe Saddam's arms [sic] posed a "real [and present] danger" to the UK. [Cook says that Blair really believed they were at the time of the first dossier in Sept. 2002. But after they attended a meeting of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) in Feb./March, it was evident they didn't; when Cook raised this matter with Blair, Blair said nothing.]

'[Cook] also gained the impression that Mr Blair was determined to go to war regardless of the UN arms search.'

... the above is based on '[e]xcerpts of Mr Cook's diaries, in the Sunday Times ...'

'Israeli warplanes have attacked an Islamic Jihad training base [otherwise described as a refugee camp] in Syria in retaliation for the latest suicide bombing by Palestinian militants. ...

The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting over the Israeli raid into Syria — the first for 30 years.

The BBC documentary programme on Panorama tonight, "Inside Guantanamo", dealt with the "terrorist" detainees in Guantanamo, Cuba, and Bagram, Afghanistan.

I suspect that Guantanamo is a distraction operation, with ordinary people picked up more-or-less at random, to draw attention away from Qaeda bigwigs interned elsewhere (who might otherwise be able to give away their CIA connections).

But Guantanamo is nevertheless an infant manifestation of the post-constitutional state of affairs emerging in the external American proto-empire, in particular of an upcoming Gulag Amerika.

'President Bush has declined to condemn Israel's air strike on Syria, saying Israel "has a right to defend herself".

'But he warned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to try to avoid escalating in the Middle East.

'He decried the "needless murder" of 19 people in a suicide attack in Haifa which Israel said prompted the strike ...'

The US junta's practice of showing their Israeli sidekicks a covert green light (while practising public dissimulations like the "road map to peace") should by now be evident to all.

... and further evidence that Israel is stirring up the Middle-East pot (the better, of course, to cook it):-

'An Israeli soldier has been killed by gunfire coming from the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, military officials have said.

'Israeli army sources said the soldier was killed in an attack on a border patrol by Lebanese Hizbollah [Hezbollah] guerrillas.

'Hizbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has denied its forces were involved in any shooting incident.

'Lebanese security sources said Israeli forces shelled an area of southern Lebanon close to the border earlier.'

Was the alleged shooting of the Israeli soldier a reaction to Israel's attack on Syria — the first in 30 years — or an Israeli invention to create an excuse for stepping up attacks?

The British Government has given the go-ahead for the merger of the two largest "Independent Television" (ITV) companies, Carlton and Granada. These companies control between them 11 of the 15 regional ITV franchises. (Though "ITV" is called "a company", it is by law divided into franchises.)

'[S]ome analysts, believe the [prospective] giant media company will become a more attractive target for overseas firms.

'Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, said on Tuesday [7 Oct, in fact it must have been before] he had not been told by President George W. Bush or the National Security Council that the White House was to restructure the handling of postwar Iraq before the media were briefed on the plan by NSC officials.

'Mr Bush has ordered the creation of an "Iraq Stabilization Group," which will be run by Condoleezza Rice who is head of the NSC, which co-ordinates foreign policy in the White House. ...'

... and soon the flow of Iraqi oil too, presumably. Condy Rice is a "former" ChevronTexaco director (while Cheney is the "ex" leader of Halliburton, the oil services company).

'USA[:] Terrorists could buy components to make chemical and biological weapons because of lax monitoring of [the sale of] surplus Pentagon equipment, a [Congressional] probe has found.'

USA[:] Security at nuclear weapons labs is so lax that they repeatedly fail drills in which mock terrorists capture radioactive materials, it is claimed [by Rich Lavernier,in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine].

'USA[:] An oil firm has settled a lawsuit by former UK employee Alan Ferguson who claimed he was sacked after refusing to bribe a Nigerian official.'

This wouldn't be ChevronTexaco, would it? Condy Rice's company has already been criticised for backing a repressive "oil police force" in Nigeria.

'Officials from 11 countries [all N American and European, including France and Germany] are meeting in London to combat the [!] trafficking of weapons of mass destruction. [Is it already a booming trade like drugs?!]

'The aim of the talks is to gain wider support for the Proliferation Security Initiative, launched last May by US President George Bush. [So here's the worthy founder of the initiative.]

'The PSI includes an agreement on the boarding of ships, forcing aircraft to land and the searching of cargoes. [Perhaps here we're getting down to the nitty-gritty of it. ... Police state goes international?'

'RUSSIA[:] Former Soviet president Mikhael Gorbachev said he believed US President George Bush had a "hidden agenda" in invading Iraq.'

But then, Gorbachev is doubtless well qualified to talk of hidden agendas. Though not necessarily successful ones. Glasnost and perestroika produced quite different results to the Ipatovsky method ...

'USA[:] Nato defence ministers are testing their response to sudden threats from [—!] terrorism during an unprecedented crisis management exercise in Colorado.'

Colorado seems to be a favourite place for such exercises. Remember the "chemical attack exercise" in Denver last year? At the same time as that other "security exercise" in Salt Lake City, for the Winter Olympics.

At the time, I thought this was a dress rehearsal for a prospective Washington coup ...

But with Republicans gaining control of both Houses of Congress (as well as conservative-Republicans running the White House) the oil cabal has the best practical deal. For the time being, anyway ...

'The International Relations Committee accused Damascus of supporting terrorism and trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.

'Syria, which denies the charges, has little trade with the United States, [But it's a blow in the propaganda war.] but the new sanctions could ban US investment there and restrict imports.

'the White House has dropped its objections to the bill, [what a surprise!] which is likely to become law.'

'The former head of Israel's secret service has told the BBC that he has deep concerns about Iran's nuclear programme.

'Ex-Mossad boss Efaim Halevy is set to address a security seminar in London, a one-day event which will bring together terrorism and security experts.

'As well as concerns over Iran, he also condemned Syria's conduct during the war on Iraq, adding that going to war with Saddam Hussein was right to do.

'He said he had no doubt Iraq intended to develop weapons of mass destruction. [More backward progress!]

'A suicide car bombing at a Baghdad police station has killed at least nine people, including police and civilians, a US military spokesman has said. ...'

About fifty policemen were gathered in the station forecourt, to receive their pay. An angry victim blamed the bombing on the Americans.

'President Bush has defended US policy in Iraq, telling Americans US security cannot be achieved by "timid measures".

'Iraq is the "central front" in the war on terror, he told troops and reservists in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

'Saddam Hussein was "a madman" and Iraq had been a "breeding ground for terror, tyranny and aggression", he added. [ Pinocchio never fails to describe him and his in ostensibly describing the imaginary opposition.]

'Mr Bush's comments come as the US Congress began to debate his request for an extra £55[bn] [$87bn] in emergency funding to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.'

'A group of former US judges, [politicians,] diplomats and military officers has urged the Supreme Court [are they kidding?] to review the cases of prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay.

'The group has questioned the legality of holding over 600 inmates, including nine Britons, without charge, and has asked for a judicial review. [It was precisely to escape US jurisdiction that they were placed in Guantanamo.]

'Many of the detainees, accused of belonging to al-Qaeda or the Taleban, have been held for nearly two years.

'Retired admiral Donald Guter said the US was creating a dangerous precedent. [This, too, is surely the idea.]

'INDEPENDENT[:] Gunmen shot dead a Spanish intelligence agent in Iraq as he fled from his home in Baghdad in bare feet and underpants.'

'Six Palestinians have been killed and 50 injured after Israel sent dozens of tanks [as well as helicopters] into the Rafah refugee camp along Gaza's border with Egypt.'

The Israelis say they are looking for cross-border arms-smuggling tunnels and anti-aircraft missiles. They say the operation should last several days.

'Syria has the right to defend itself if Israel violates its territories, Syria's new foreign ministry spokesman [in fact, spokeswoman] said.

'Bushra Kanafani also said relations between Syria and the US were worsening due to America's claim that an Israeli attack near Damascus was self-defence.

'She declined to elaborate on what forms of defence Syria would use. On Sunday [5 Oct.], Israel bombed an area they said was a camp for Islamic Jihad militants.'

'SUNDAY TIMES[:] Leaked [British] Cabinet papers reveal a plot by Jack Straw and Gordan Brown to scupper Tony Blair's plans to introduce compulsory identity cards.'

'[British] Foreign Secretary Jack Straw attacked plans for compulsory identity cards as "flawed", leaked papers have shown.

'Tony Blair backed Home Secretary David Blunkett's bid at the Labour [Party] conference, but Mr Straw has set out his objections in a six-page letter, reports said.

'"The potential for debacle ... is great[!]", Mr Straw warns. The issue is thought to have split the Cabinet with opponents grouped round Chancellor Gordan Brown.'

Presumably Straw and Brown instigated the leak themselves as part of a powerplay against Blair. They are part of his gang of war criminals and no more worthy to run the country than him (or the Conservative "opposition" for that matter).

Straw clearly had doubts and fluctuated in his position after 9/11, but came down on the side of corrupt power.

'At least six people have been killed in an explosion at a hotel in central Baghdad, police and US military said.

'The explosion hit the Baghdad Hotel, used by coalition officials and Iraqi Governing Council members; the CIA has denied reports it used it as a base.

'An Iraqi police official said a suspected car bomber seen by witnesses driving at the hotel was among the dead.

'An Iraqi councillor staying at the hotel said seven people died, despite earlier reports of a higher death toll.'

'... Six people were killed and dozens wounded when a speeding suicide driver detonated his car bomb on a busy commercial avenue in Baghdad.

'An Iraqi security guard and the bomber were among those people killed in the explosion, 70 yards from the Baghdad Hotel [my emphasis] which was packed with Americans. [The bomber penetrated the first line of defence, and apparently set off the bomb after guards opened fire on him. TV news]

'A member of Iraq's 25-seat interim Governing Council, Mouwafak al-Rabii, suffered a slight hand injury.'

'New Palestinian PM Ahmed Qureia has said he intends to quit his post after days of quarreling with Yasser Arafat.

'However, his delayed threat left open the possibility a deal could be worked out to keep him in office and keep alive hopes of a US-backed peace plan. [Which is rather like holding on to hopes of "peace in our time" during the Blitz.]

'Tensions between Mr Arafat and his PM were sparked by demands from Israel and the United States that the President hand over authority for armed forces.'

The Israeli and US juntas must be drinking toasts to their success at divide-and-chaos for the Palestinians.

'Police have warned that synagogues and Jewish community centres in Britain are facing an imminent terrorist threat, it has been reported in the United States.

'US officials are considering issuing a travel warning to Jews travelling to Britain, Newsweek magazine has claimed.

'Scotland Yard said there was currently no intelligence that led it to believe there were specific threats to Britain, but the terrorist threat remains high.'

The US junta's agiterror machine is once more moving into its wintertime high gear. To culminate once again, presumably, around the following February — which could provide appetiser for another oil conquest.

'... Detectives quizzed a car full of Iranian "tourists" taking video film of Jewish buildings in London, the article in ... Newsweek warned.

'There is little intelligence to suggest a similar level of threat against Jews in America, the report said.'

'The homes of up to 1,500 Palestinians were destroyed in two days of Israeli raids on the Rafah refugee camp, United Nations officials in Gaza estimate.

'A senior UN official said the camp looked as if an earthquake had struck, with up to 120 homes demolished. [There was widespread damage to roads, water pipes and power lines.]

'The Israelis said the only buildings destroyed were those being used as firing positions or for smuggling arms. ...' [They said only 10 or 15 houses had been demolished.]

I've finally read the first two chapters of Eric Hufschmid's Time For Painful Questions, which deals with 9/11:-

These are, so far as I know, the only chapters he's made available FREE ONLINE. His website is www.erichufschmid.net/

The Financial Times has called the sale of Iraq (up to 100% in all sectors except "natural resources", i.e. oil) a "second looting, according to Lib Dem politician Baroness Williams.

'Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has angrily denounced an alternative draft peace deal for the Middle East.

'The unofficial plan, known as the Geneva Accord, was finalised in Jordan over the weekend by Israeli opposition politicians and Palestinian delegates.

'But Mr Sharon has accused left-wing Israelis of trying to bring down the coalition government.

'"There is a roadmap, and it is not helpful to make people think there might be something else", he said.'

'INDEPENDENT[:] Israeli opposition politicians, intellectuals and Palestinian former ministers have united to propose a peace plan.'

Letters written home by US soldiers, telling of improving conditions in Iraq, were duplicates, written by their commander.

'Israel's recent airstrike on an alleged terrorism training camp in Syria was long overdue, a Pentagon adviser says.

'Richard Perle, a close adviser to President Bush, also refused to rule out US military action against Syria.

'He was speaking at a Jerusalem conference of conservatives from the US and Israel. ...'

'IRAQ[:] International news media unions accused US authorities of handling cases where journalists were killed with "secrecy, deceit and arrogance".'

'Israel made an unprecedented [sic] order to expel 15 Palestinian detainees from the West Bank and move them to Gaza.

'It is only the third time that the Israeli military [!] has issued such expulsion orders, which the government says work as a deterrent against suicide attacks.

'Human rights lawyers say the practice violates international law. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said the decision was "a very dangerous step".'

The Post comments on how US electoral districts have been redrawn — gerrymandered — to ensure minimal competition for those standing for the House of Representatives. This process has reached a greater degree in Texas, engineered by the Republicans ...

'The highest court in the US [that impartial Republican institution!] is to decide whether or not a law to keep children away from internet pornography is against the Constitution.

'The Child Online Protection Act makes providing credit card details compulsory before viewing adult content. [Depends what is meant by adult content ...]

'But civil liberty groups say this goes against the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

'Now the Justice Department are asking the courts if the law puts too many restrictions on what adults can view.'

Is the Act to be used, in tandem with the Microsoft initiative, to identify those using chatrooms and discussion boards?

Three US security guards were killed in the Gaza Strip, by a roadside bomb. They were travelling in a convoy transporting US diplomatic staff. Colin Powell said the diplomats were travelling to interview people who were interested in the US Fulbright Scholarship.

The main Palestinian militant groups denied responsibility. 'Islamic Jihad said it viewed as "inappropriate" attacks on anyone other than the "occupying forces".'

In New York, ten passengers were killed when a Staten Island ferry crashed into the harbour.

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed an amended US resolution on Iraq.

'The fight against Islamic terrorists in the UK will be a "long haul" which will last for many years, MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller has said.

'The director-general of the security service told an audience of police officers that terrorists linked to al-Qaeda are still operating in the UK.

'Al-Qaeda is a "particularly resilient terrorist group", she said. [It must now be serious rival to the Judeo-Bolshevik world conspiracy. Or the Trotsky-Zinovievite ditto. Or the bogeyman.]

'But security services have made it much harder for terrorists to carry out attacks, she added.'

Did she actually say Islamic terrorists, not militant Islamic or Islamist terrorists? I haven't got a direct quote.

Three men, 'members of the Popular Resistance Committee', have been arrested in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, in connection with the killing of three US security guards near the camp yesterday. One arrestee was identified as Ahmed Saker, 25.

'National elections are planned for Saudi Arabia in three years' time, a [Saudi] human rights campaigner[, Mohammed Said Tayab,] has [told the BBC]. ...

'The US Senate has approved President Bush's request for £55bn [$87bn] to fund military operations [mainly] and reconstruction efforts [last and very much least] in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...'

'EXPRESS[:] MI5 has stepped up security at Britain's major supermarkets amid fears they will be targeted by terrorists.'

The Express, along with The Sun, are rags owned by the pornographer Desmond, who is also a noted financial contributor to the Labour Party. Another of his services is to use his mouthpieces to spew out propaganda in support of the same cause espoused by the "security" and "intelligence" services, and the Labour and Conservative Parties. The world-ravening imperialism of the US petroleum junta and its necessary police-state concomitant.

and today we have a truly edifying addition to this collection of trash. What next, public lavatory-bowls erupting anthrax? Or Aids? Oh yes, the trick was pioneered last February, when the World Health Organization (presumably acting by US-junta inspiration) announced a threat of terrorist contamination of food supplies. Now this is the way to motivate the public behind the anti-crusade.

... In fact, the story was widely reported by the press. It and the previous day's story about the "endemic Qaeda threat in the UK" were both from a lecture by MI5 chief Manningham-Buller. The James Smart Memorial Lecture, entitled "Global Terrorism: Are We Meeting the Challenge?" [— admirably!] was delivered at the headquarters of the City of London Police.

David Barrett, PA, "MI5 Chief Warns of Long Fight to Beat Al Qaida", The Scotsman online, 16 Oct. 03

"UK supermarkets warned of terrorists", The Scotsman, 17 Oct. 03

Jason Bennetto, "MI5 chief warns that terrorists may target food supplies", The Independent, 17 Oct. 03

Her quoted phrases were "Islamist terrorism" and "the Islamist threat", so she remained within the boundaries of political correctness.

"In only her second public [sic] speech since her appointment a year ago, Ms Manningham-Buller said her 2,000-strong organisation had uncovered evidence of a series of sophisticated networks of terrorists and their supporters operating in Britain and Europe." She also reinforced remarks of last June about the threat of nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological attacks. (The Independent article)

Manningham-Buller and her MI6 counterparts liaise closely with the CIA. MI5/6 follow the political initiatives of their Leader in Langley.

Also in the same lecture, Manningham-Buller commented about the tanks-and-troops hysteria scare at London's Heathrow Airport last February. "Comments to the effect that the troops at Heathrow were a cynical, [British] Government manoeuvre to prepare the UK for war in Iraq were quite wrong", she said.
("Terror threat at airport was real, says MI5 leader", This is Local London, 17 Oct. 03

She may well be right. Boy-Scout Tony Blair is probably a sincere puppet of the British "security" and "intelligence" services, themselves the sidekicks of the CIA and the rest of the real US leadership in its policy for a world empire (and police-state).

The international spider's web led by the CIA is a producer of both "physical" and "verbal" subversion, to a quality and degree which make it a worthy 21st-century successor to Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda and its Stalinist agitprop equivalents.

Another "bin Laden" audiotape has been broadcast by al-Jazeera. 'Any Muslim or Iraqi working with US forces is an infidel, [it] claimed.

'The tape ... also threatened attacks on Britain and other states [Spain ...] supporting America in its invasion of Iraq.

'It called on young Muslims everywhere, especially in countries bordering Iraq [i.e. the US oil junta's next targets of conquest] and in Yemen, to join the holy war. ...'

President Bush, now in the Far East, has duly commented that the tape illustrates the continuing dangers, and justifies the War Of Terror ...

If all else fails, Bush and Bin Laden could end up doing a double act on Broadway. By that time, both will probably be figments in CIAberspace ...

'A new audio tape purportedly from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is probably authentic, officials at the US Central Intelligence Agency have said. ...

"President Bush has said the tape should persuade the world to support the US-led "war on terror".'

Tony Blair says he is still for identity cards "in principle". What principle would that be? That of setting up an experimental police state for his US manipulators to study? The Principle of Darkness, you might say.

The fatal Staten Island ferry crash has been followed by two derailments on the London Underground (no fatalities). As with the power blackouts, when America catches a cold, London sneezes ...

'The US-led war on terror and nuclear proliferation are set to dominate the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum summit now under way in Thailand.

'And he hinted at a possible compromise with North Korea to persuade it to abandon its nuclear programme, but has ruled out a non-aggression treaty.

A BBC correspondent says some members want Apec to stick to its stated mission of promoting free trade [itself a US agenda].'

'Ten Palestinians have been killed and about 100 wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

'Seven died as at least two missiles were fired on a car in a refugee camp. The strikes were the bloodiest since an April raid on a Hamas base killed nine.

'This followed the deaths of two Hamas militants and a bystander in separate strikes in Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad vowed to avenge the killings.'

'... targets included what Israel said was a weapons-making factory for Hamas [in Gaza City].

'The five raids in just over 12 hours started hours after three Israeli troops had died in a West Bank ambush.'

'A human rights group has accused the US army of failing to carry out proper investigations when civilians are killed by its soldiers in Baghdad.

'New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had confirmed 20 people had died in questionable circumstances since major combat was declared over in May.

'The Pentagon said troops went to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties, even at the risk of their own lives.'

'A new videotape obtained by NBC News and broadcast for the first time Monday [20 Oct.] includes previously unseen footage of Osama bin Laden and a chilling message delivered in English by terrorists who died in bombing in May. ...'

The bombing referred to was the one at a foreign-worker compound in Riyadh, where 35 Saudis, Americans and others died.

The Osama footage could have been made two years ago, for all I could see. (I wasn't able to hear the sound on the video.)

'... The man who provided the videotape to NBC News, Ben Venzke, chief executive of Intelcenter, a private company that tracks terrorist groups, said it was clearly authentic.

'"The video came from a known al-Qaida release point, where we have verified other releases from al-Qaida before," he said. "And its production value and quality, the messages, are consistent with others." ...'

But he didn't appear to say what or where this "known al-Qaida release point" was.

The MSNBC article also refers to a related audiotape. It's not clear if this was the same as the "Osama" tape recently aired by al-Jazeera (see yesterday's diary entry above), but it too has been "authenticated" by the CIA. It is reportedly a recording of the Riyadh bombers as they enter the Riyadh compound. 'The tape ends before the bomb goes off.'

'Terror suspects and a cache of arms and munitions have been captured in Saudi Arabia, a Saudi interior ministry spokesman has revealed. ...'

'Iran has agreed to suspend reprocessing and enriching uranium allow new UN inspections of its nuclear sites, Iranian diplomats have said.

'The move follows talks with [British] Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and his French and German counterparts in Tehran.

'A senior Iranian official said Tehran would probably sign a protocol allowing the tougher inspections by November 20.

'The International Atomic Energy Agency has given Iran until October 31 to prove it is not developing nuclear arms.'

'... The UN General Assembly vote was 144 in favour, with four against, including the US and Israel, and 12 abstentions.

'The resolution [also] demands that existing sections of the barrier be removed, saying they break international law.

'Agreement on the final text was reached after more than six hours of talks between the EU and Arab governments.'

'The Pentagon has ordered an inquiry after a US general appeared to insult the Islamic faith and suggest the war on terror was a religious conflict.

'General William Boykin, who leads US intelligence gathering [my emphasis], has apologised for comments made over the past year.

'In one case, he told a church group [that] radical Islamic terrorists hated the US because it was a Christian nation. [This is a controversial remark?? Is the BBC transcriber fully reporting what he said?]

'In discussing a Muslim warlord in Somalia, he said he knew his God, was bigger, as the warlord's was an "idol".' [A valid private view, if the general is a committed Christian.]'

But what does this say for the objectivity of US intelligence gathering? Which in itself, I naively state, should be objective.

Reminds me of that worthy old Soviet journal, Arguments and Facts. Clearly, facts must be subordinate to arguments. If any fact contradicts an argument, put it up against a wall and shoot it.

'... Moderate Muslim clerics took issue with Army Gen. William Boykin, an evangelical Christian who serves as deputy undersecretary of defense, during talks [with Bush] on the Indonesian island of Bali.

'"I said, 'He didn't reflect my opinion. Look, it just doesn't reflect what the government thinks.' And I think they were pleased to hear that," Bush told reporters afterward.

'The comments were Bush's first in public on the controversy surrounding Boykin, who portrayed the U.S. war on terrorism as a clash with "Satan," saying Islamic radicals sought to destroy America "because we're a Christian nation." ...'

General Ricardo Sanchez, in charge of US armed forces in Iraq, told British Channel 4 News anchorman Jon Snow that his forces had been picking up foreign fighters in the country. Their lands of origin were Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Sudan, Sanchez said.

What, no Iranians?! It must have slipped the general's mind during the interview ...

Al Qaeda Chief Tied to Murder
U.S. Says 9/11 Planner Killed Wall Street Journal's Pearl
Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 03, p.A12

'U.S. investigators have concluded that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was slain by Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the senior al Qaeda leader believed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, sources familiar with the case said yesterday.

'But two U.S. officials said yesterday that new information obtained in recent months has confirmed that Mohammed slit the reporter's throat with a knife in January 2002. Mohammed was captured in March at a safe house in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and has since been held and interrogated by U.S. forces at an undisclosed location. ...'

Would he by any chance be related to Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was said to have wired $100,000 to Mohammed Atta just before the 9/11 attacks, and was tried and convicted in Pakistan last year for Pearl's murder? ...

... A couple of days ago, BBC News 24's "Hard Talk" interviewed the French-Jewish writer Bernard-Henri Levy, who earlier this year published a book theorising that Wall Street reporter Daniel Pearl was murdered because he was onto continuing connections between al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI).

I found a web page containing extracts of various English-language reviews of the book, Qui a tue Daniel Pearl? (Who Killed Daniel Pearl?). According to these, the book claims Omar Saeed Sheikh was a double agent working for the ISI and al-Qaeda. It also apparently claims Pakistan is sharing nuclear-weapons technology with Iran and al-Qaeda (and has connections with North Korea).

Levy's book goes on to say that one of Osama bin Laden's masters — or gurus — was Mubarak Gilani (Gillani), "the chief of a Muslim sect which has one foot in Pakistan and one foot in America". It remains to be seen whether this is CIA-inspired disinformation, or on the contrary a trail leading toward the CIA ...

'ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. (UPI) — Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have concluded a secret agreement on nuclear cooperation, an unimpeachable [!] source said Monday.

'"It will be vehemently denied by both countries," added this ranking Pakistani source known to this correspondent for more than a decade as a knowledgeable insider, "but future events will confirm that Pakistan has agreed to provide KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) with the wherewithal for a nuclear deterrent. ["KSA" for Saudi Arabia sounds a typically-American abbreviation.] ...

'The CIA [uh-huh, now we're naming names] believes that Pakistan already exported nuclear know-how to North Korea in exchange for missile technology. ...'

But Saudi is a more up-front target for the CIA than N Korea; or rather for the Big, Big Oilers behind the CIA initiative.

'Billions of pounds earmarked for Iraq have vanished after being handed to the country's US-controlled governing body, according to a UK aid agency.

'Only 20% of the £3.1bn development funds passed to the Coalition Provisional Authority had been accounted for, Christian Aid said.

'It challenged Tony Blair to account for the cash, ahead of the UN-backed Iraq donors' conference in Madrid.'

I was half-listening to the TV news as I wrote this item down. They may have said that the CPA said it would publish full accounts.

'A UN report has severely criticised the "dysfuntional" security system which led to many deaths in the August bombing of its Iraq headquarters.

'An independent panel [and who were they?] said the world body inappropriately shunned protection by US-led coalition forces.

'The report raised questions about the UN's ability to ensure the safety of employees and said the body must address the issue of accountability.'

'A leaked internal memo from US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has revealed his doubts over whether America is winning the war on terror. ...'

MP George Galloway has been expelled from the Labour Party. During the invasion of Iraq he called Bush and Blair "wolves", and called on soldiers to disobey "illegal" orders.

'VENEZUELA[:] Political allies of President Hugo Chavez showed a video they say is evidence the CIA worked with dissidents in a bid to overthrow the government.'

'IRAN[:] Tehran handed the UN documents on its past nuclear energy activities, but the dossier apparently did not include the origin of weapons-grade plutonium.'

The US's deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, is on his way to Iraq to assess the current security situation in the country.

'The Foreign Office has strengthened its warning against travel in Saudi Arabia, saying "terrorists may be in the final phase of planning attacks. ...

'On Thursday [23 Oct], Australia warned a terror attack was expected in Saudi Arabia.'

'Israel's Defence Ministry has proposed a plan to extend a security barrier into the eastern part of the West Bank, a senior security source told Reuters.

'An eastern extension, if added to the sections already built, would totally encircle Palestinians in the West Bank. [My emphasis.]

'Israel has said the fence is needed to protect Jewish settlements from Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen.

'Palestinians say the fence — expected to be 180 miles long by the end of the year — is a bid to seize land.'

This proposal, if enacted, will turn Palestine into a gigantic concentration camp.

Next they'll be tattooing numbers on their forearms. (In what may be a foreshadow, they were doing it with biro to Palestinian detainees last year.)

It shows how one class of Jew has reacted to the Nazi persecution by becoming like Nazis itself. We see how one form of totalitarianism can give rise to another — by a law of action and reaction.

A US colonel was killed and others injured when ten rockets were fired at the Baghdad Hotel. They struck the fifth and eighth stories. The hotel, which is within the fortified Coalition compound, was evacuated.

US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who was staying on the 12th floor, was unharmed. He emerged to comment to the media about the attack.

Previously, a US Black Hawk helicopter in the Tikrit area crash-landed after being hit by a grenade, the US confirmed. Wolfowitz had left the area just hours before. His movements are "top secret".

'Up to 20,000 people have been taking part in a demonstration in Washington in protest at the US occupation of Iraq, police have said. ...'

'Some 41% of voters believe Tony Blair deliberately distorted information about Saddam's Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, a [YouGov] poll has suggested. ...

'The Israeli army has moved into the Gaza Strip and destroyed buildings near the Netzarim Jewish settlement.

'Three Israeli soldiers were killed at the site on Friday [24 Oct.], after Palestinian gunmen entered the settlement in an attack claimed by ... Hamas.

'The Israelis believe the buildings were being used by militants to observe the Israeli forces.

'Some 2,000 Palestinians were temporarily evacuated from the area while the buildings were destroyed.'

... Three empty apartment blocks were demolished. One hundred and fifty families were due to move into them. (BBC TV news)

A US Congressional visit to N Korea has been called off after White House opposition.

Two bombs have exploded in Baghdad, outside the Red Cross headquarters and a police station, killing 10 and eight people respectively.

Who would do this, except some people who wanted to discredit the opposition? Who would benefit from this, except those seeking to manufacture the excuse to invade Iraq's neighbours?

Later, two more bombs exploded outside Baghadad police stations. The total death toll is up to 40 people.

British Home Secretary David Blunkett, apparently having given up on the original scheme to make us pay £40 for the privilege of giving up our birthrights, is now going along with a new version, to pay people £50 to accept non-compulsory identity cards. They would, however be needed to get social security payments.

'Four explosions in Baghdad which killed over 30 people were set off by suicide bombers who appeared to be foreigners, a US Brigadier general has said.

'It was the first time the US had been able to attribute attacks to foreign fighters, Brig Gen Mark Hertling said. [But in recent days both sides of the junta-"Osama" double-act have been angling towards it as hard as they can.]

'Police had arrested a man, thought to be Syrian, before he could carry out a fifth suicide attack, he added. [The man was apparently carrying a Syrian passport, and said he was Syrian after security guards shot him. Jolly thoughtful of him.]

'Speaking after the attacks, President Bush said the US would "stay the course" to establish a peaceful Iraq. [God help Iraq!]'

'The International Committee of the Red Cross is considering whether to pull out of Iraq after the unprecented bombing of its Iraq headquarters. ...'

One motive in getting rid of all independent outside observers, is so that the work of reconstructioncan be carried on unobserved and unimpeded. That is, for the redirection of oil supplies, and the crushing of all the rest of Iraqi society.

I seem to remember a somewhat similar statement by the UN, which turned out to be a face-saver for withdrawal.

'Prominent senators of both parties, learning that the chairman of hte commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has not received full access to pertinent government documents, called on the White House yesterday to be more forthcoming.

'"After claiming they wanted to find the truth about September 11th, the Bush administration has resorted to secrecy, stonewalling and foot dragging," said Sen. HJoseph I. Lieberman (D[emocrat]-Conn[ecticut]). "They have resisted this inquiry at every turn." ...'

A suicide bomber outside a police station in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, has killed six people.

Bush has followed the "foreigners" blame-game for the terrorist attacks in Iraq, after Brig-Gen Hertling, Sir Jeremy Greenstock and a member of the Iraqi Provisional Council. Bush 'said he expected Syria and Iran to use border controls to stop terrorists.'

'Two men tracking terrorists in Afghanistan on behalf of the CIA have been killed in an ambush.

'"William Carlson, 43, and Christopher Glenn Mueller, 32, had been killed near Shkir, a village in the east, on Saturday [25 Oct.], the US agency said.

'It said the Americans, who had been working under contract, were veterans of military special operations forces. [My emphasis.]

'The region is in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, where Osama Bin Laden is thought to be hiding. [Not up the back-passages of Langley?]

Labévière, in his Dollars for Terror, deals with the "privatisation of US foreign policy". The CIA and Pentagon have learned to keep their noses "clean" by contracting out foreign special operations to "private companies" — which are more-or-less fronts for these government organizations. The companies' personnel are frequently their "former" employees. By this means they escape the oversight (appropriate word) of Congress. No wonder they call the CIA "The Company"! See "Al-Qaeda: A CIA protégé".

And what are the CIA up to in the Afghan-Pak border area, chasing their phantom enemy? ...

'The commission investigating the government's failures before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is in danger of becoming a study in recalcitrance by the Bush administration. The independent commission's mandate is to supply a definitive account of the government's handling of the terrorist plot that killed almost 3,000 people. But the White House continues to fence with requests for classified documents crucial to the inquiry.

'The commission chairman, former Gov[ernor] Thomas Kean of New Jersey, a Republican, is threatening to subpoena the administration for documents that officials should forthrightly turn over. Among the key questions is the nature of an intelligence report to President Bush a month before the attacks — only sketchily confirmed thus far by the White House — that Al Qaeda might try to hijack passenger planes.

'The commission is up to the task of scrutinizing failures of intelligence and other government agencies, and classified secrets can be adequately safeguarded. Congress should prepare to extend the commission's 18-month timetable beyond next May, the deadline.

'How can an unstinting investigation of the truth of Sept. 11 not be of paramount concern to any official sworn to protect the public? The approaching presidential election makes the administration's evasions even more suspect. Failure to document and face the truth will only feed conspiracy theories and undermine the nation's chances of weathering future events.'

Already some paranoid conspiracy weirdos are saying the Nazis, not the commies, burnt down the Reichstag.

Self-deception, that's the name of the game. By all means let's have the truth — as long as it isn't too uncomfortable.

On what may well be a related note, the death toll for the WTC has been further shrunk, by several dozen, to 2,700 something. On the grounds that it couldn't be proved that some of the fatalities existed in the first place, amongst other things. US statisticians long have been trying to make the event go away, as far as possible, by these means.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee has given the CIA two days to hand over intelligence/documents relating to "Iraqi WMD" (in particular the — faked — "Niger uranium deal"), which the Committee says the CIA exaggerated. They named CIA chief George Tenet in particular.

Ten men detained in Britain under the emergency terrorism law have lost their appeal against their detention without charge or trial. The judge at the hearing also ruled that evidence obtained by "duress" (aka torture) in other countries could be admissible. This followed testimony from an anonymous MI6 employee.

The detainees are North Africans, some apparently from Algeria and connection with the GIA.

'President Bush has succeeded in persuading Congress not to make half of his planned £12bn [$19bn] reconstruction package for Iraq into a loan. ...'

Noble of him, I'm sure, but it is small compared with the total of £55bn ($87bn) allocated to "security", aka the US military, in Iraq.

'The Independent reports a plan to swap guard dogs in Jewish West Bank settlements for guard pigs, which have a superior sense of smell.'

'A senior aide to Saddam Hussein is thought to be helping co-ordinate attacks on US forces in Iraq, a senior American defence official has said.

'Two captured members of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group claimed Izzat Ibrahim al Douri was helping run their attacks, the unnamed official said.

'Izzat Ibrahim, Number Six on the US list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis was the father-in-law of Saddam's son Uday.'

'American commanders are considering moving intelligence officers from the search for mass destruction weapons to investigating attacks on US troops.

'Officials say the Pentagon, CIA and other bodies have been unable to agree on reassigning some of the 1,400 people working on the arms search.

'A US spokesman said on Wednesday [29 Oct.] that some personnel have been transferred to work on the insurgency in Iraq.

In Britain, customs officers now have the power to confiscate money anywhere in the UK, and don't have to show that is linked to drugs.

A US Congressional building has been evacuated after a gunman was said to have run into it. The Cannon House building houses 80 to 100 Congressmen (i.e., members of the House of Representatives).

British Channel 4 News said the building was in a state of "lockdown", and (?) that thus some Congressmen were trapped inside.

'It is still unclear whether the recent wave of attacks on Iraq has been co-ordinated and whether it will continue, the US Defence Secretary has said.

'Donald Rumsfeld said American forces were carefully examining the level of co-ordination in the attacks.

'He said training of Iraqi troops was being accelerated to combat the threat. ...'

'... The International Maritime Bureau recorded 340 incidents in the first nine months of the year — the highest since statistics began in 1991.

'Twenty sailors were killed in the attacks, compared with six in 270 attacks in 2002's first nine months.

'The bureau identified Indonesian waters as being the most dangerous — with a quarter of all attacks happening there.'

'Iran's declaration about its nuclear programme appeared comprehensive, the head of the UN's nuclear agency says. ...'

WHO'S BEHIND IRAQ ATTACKS UP FOR DEBATE
Robert H. Reid, Associated Press, Newsday, 31 Oct. 03

'BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. and Iraqi officials are pointing at shadowy "foreign fighters" for the upsurge in violence in Iraq, but commanders on the ground say they are uncertain what role, if any, such figures play. Senior officers have carefully avoided tying recent attacks to al-Qaida.

'The difference in interpretation suggests uncertainty in senior ranks of the American establishment about the nature of the threat. Commanders don't know if they are fighting a nationally-coordinated insurgency or regional foes united only by their desire to drive the Americans from Iraqi soil.

'Gathering intelligence has proven difficult in a complex society of religious, ethnic and tribal rivalries, where government records were burned or stolen [he's not talking about Washington, but Iraq—] in the looting following that followed the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in April.

'There have been few claims of responsibility for any attacks except for a couple of grainy videotapes. The best clues have come from interrogating suspects — difficult to authenticate — or from forensic evidence, such as that which pointed to the use of powerful plastic explosives in vehicle-bombings this week in Baghdad. .,.

'"We believe there is in fact a foreign fighter element," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces [in Iraq], told reporters Oct. 2. "There is a terrorist element focused on the coalition and international community in general and the Iraqi people to try to disrupt the progress being made."

'However, Sanchez told reporters on Oct. 22 — three days before the missile attack on the Al-Rasheed Hotel — that "we don't have any confirmed al-Qaida operatives in custody at this point." 'The New York Times, citing unidentified senior officials also reported on its Web site Thursday [30 Oct.] night that U.S. officials believe Saddam himself may be playing a significant role in coordinating and directing attacks by his loyalists.

'Some commanders have openly expressed skepticism about any influx of foreign fighters.

'Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the commander of the 1st Armored Division that controls Baghdad, told reporters Sunday [26 Oct.] that "we have not seen any infusion of foreign fighters."

'We haven't seen them yet," Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division based in Tikrit, said of foreign fighters. "We continue to look for that every day." [That won't be enough to save your career, cock.] ...'

'Growing net, computer and phone use is driving a huge rise in the amount of information people generate and use. ...

'Study authors Prof Peter Lyman and colleagues found that in 2002 alone about five exabytes [1Eb = 10¹⁸ bytes] was generated by the world's print, film, magnetic and optical storage systems. ...

'In 2002 the study estimates that 18 exabytes of new information flowed through these channels. The vast majority of this, 98%, was in the form of person-to-person phone calls. ...'

'an e-mail written by a purported al-Qaeda leader has warned the network is preparing to attack US targets during the Islamic fast of Ramadan.

'The operative, who called himself Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj, sent the e-mail to London-based Al-Majalla magazine.

'The message said al-Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden "has issued new orders about waging war against Arab countries in which the US has a military presence".'

'A teenager who sent packages apparently containing a deadly poison to Prince William and Cherie Blair [Tony's wife] has been sentenced to three years' detention.

'Paul Smith, 17, admitted sending dozens of letters claiming to contain ricin or anthrax spores between August 2001 and February last year, as a hoax. ...'

Smith, of Dumbarton, Scotland, was said to have been recruited on the internet by an anti-English Scots terrorist organization — which can't be named "for legal reasons". He claimed to have received his instructions from an older man.

Perhaps the CIA and/or MI5/6 were in a humorous mood when they dreamed this one up. ...

'Israel's army chief has said the policy towards Palestinians is increasing the security threat, The Guardian reports.