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MID-EAST REALITIES © - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 7/19: With the unprecedented "Red Zone" in Genoa; with key Washington buildings surrounded by concrete and high-tech survelliance; and with Americans warned again by their government to "beware" following on last month's Threatcon Delta alert; the "terrorists" have already accomplished a small part of their goal. A climate of apprehension and fear has been created; not to mention a whole mini-generation of Muslims named Osama.
No matter how hard the Americans try to distance themselves from what is happening in the Middle East, and most of all from what is now on the horizon in that region, they only succeed to an extent. Most of the corporate media goes along with the charade on the whole; and the general public is indeed pretty gullible. Plus of course there's CNN, with Larry King and Wolf Blitzer both honorable members of the Israeli/Jewish lobby pressed into double-service at times of greatest need. But even so, more and more the resources of the U.S. are being devoted to issues of "security" and "terrorism", and more and more people around the world, especially in Europe and Asia, are aware of American hypocrisy and double-dealing. Increasingly the words of American officials ring hollow at best, more often than not these days deceitful and disengenuous.
There are also the telltale signs of growing nervousness that lie behind such developments as George Bush I calling Abdullah of Arabia in Riyadh. For beyond the"little security" issues involving trying to prevent attacks against American persons, ships, and buildings there are the far more important "big security" issues involving keeping the Arab "client regimes" in power and preventing major American financial and strategic interests from being undermined.
No doubt it was the big security concerns that brought about the very unusual situation recently in which daddy George had to show little George how things are done. The small fact that little George is now the titular President of the United States and apparently sat quietly by listening in while Big George had a little talk with Crown Prince Abdullah is rather telling in itself. It was just a few months ago now that the same Abdullah, essentially acting King of Arabia these days, decided it wasn't a good time to go visiting in America; and that no doubt contributed to the anxieties spreading among American foreign policy types in Washington. Meanwhile, there clearly is growing nervousness in the region among the various Arab client regimes as well as within the post-revolutionary government in Iran. What really lies behind Mubarak's substantial military purge is unclear, but it comes at a very sensitive time and one wonders if the main purpose was to prevent any challenge to Mubarak's rule when after all his bluster he actually does nothing serious about the Israelis. As for the Iranians, they know very well the Israelis have their eye on them, indeed belligerent threats have come in public from the Israelis on a regular basis for some time now.
The tinderbox now awaits the match. It was once called the "Oslo Peace Process"; but it has metasticized into a looming "Oslo War". And it appears the Americans are not as confident as usual that they can successfully put out all the impending fires and save all of their own interests -- primarily oil, money, and Israel.
WASHINGTON, July 18 (UPI) -- The State Department has received "strong indications" that terrorists may be planning attacks against U.S. interests in the Arabian peninsula, according to a public announcement released Wednesday.
The announcement urges U.S. citizens to "remain vigilant with regard to their personal security and to exercise caution."
The new information follows a June 22 "worldwide caution" to U.S. citizens relaying information that agents associated with Osama bin Laden, the man the U.S. alleges masterminded the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, may be targeting U.S. interests.
Since May, the State Department issued four separate regional or country-specific warning for American citizens on information regarding potential terrorist attacks. The last two worldwide cautions followed decisions from U.S. courts to indict suspects in the 1996 Khobar Tower bombings in Saudi Arabia and associates of bin Laden for the 1998 embassy bombings.
The latest warning for all seven countries in the Arabian Peninsula follow recent troop movements in Israel toward the Palestinian territories on Tuesday, but the official announcement makes no reference to this event.
A recent warning for Morocco issued on July 9 prompted NASA to remove technicians from a base in the south of the country.
"There has been a drum beat of various reports of threats," one State Department official told United Press International. "I don't want to hype it up, there has been a period over the last couple of months where [these reports] have spiked up."
The State Department in conjunction with U.S. intelligence agencies reviews information constantly on threats to U.S. citizens. In order for such threats to be announced publicly by the State Department, the information must be "specific," "credible," and "non-counterable," a senior State Department official said.
Because of earlier cautions, all 10 U.S. posts on the Arabian Peninsula were at a heightened state of alert. One State Department official said this means the posts are "being warier, more cautious and watching their security posture."
This official said, however, there have been no plans at this point to close specific embassies or consulates in the region. Thursday is the beginning of the weekend in most Arab countries and many posts will be closed already.
In another development in the region Wednesday, a bomb exploded in a housing compound near the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen. There were no casualties.
State Department deputy spokesman Phil Reeker said the State Department had been in touch with the U.S. embassy in Yemen.
"We understand that there were no casualties, and the device does not appear to have been directed at the embassy or at U.S. personnel," he said.
Yemeni authorities have arrested 12 people associated with the bombings, according to reports from the region. Yemen was also the site of the attack on the USS Cole last October that killed 17 sailors.
CAIRO, WorldTribune, 19 July - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has ordered a reshuffle of leading military and security commanders amid rising unrest in the country.
Egyptian sources said the reshuffle came as a surprise and appears to mark a purge of the army and security forces.
The dismissals included the commander of Egypt's air defense forces and the head of Egypt's northern military command. A general and senior member of Egypt's military intelligence was also sacked.
Western diplomatic sources in Cairo said the failure to announce those replacing the departing officers appears to point to the president's urgency in shaking up both the military and political leadership.
The following officers were ordered to resign: Gen. Mohammed Shahat, commander of air defense; Gen. Desouki Banna, head of northern command; Gen., Samir Yusef, a senior officer in military intelligence; Deputy Interior Minister Gen. Ahmed Said Sawan and Deputy Defense Minister Ahmed Abdul Rahman.
Several governates in Egypt have been rocked by unrest over the last week amid government plans to cut civil service jobs and limit university graduates from applying for new posts. The worst of the rioting was reported in the Sharqiya governate north of Cairo.
Mubarak has blamed Israel for the current escalation in the war with the Palestinians. The president said the Arabs cannot deal with the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Mubarak said Sharon knows only the language of killing. He said one member of Israel's Cabinet threatened to attack Egypt.
"One of them threatened to reoccupy Sinai and strike the High Dam," the president said.
The reference was to Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said Israel was prepared to respond to an Egyptian attack by destroying the Aswan Dam.
State-owned Egyptian dailies reported on Wednesday that several of the high-ranking officers and officials were given civilian posts. Abdul Rahman was appointed a governor in the southwestern desert; Banna was named governor of the Aswan region. Shahat, regarded as the number three officer in the Egyptian military, was given a senior post in the southern city of Luxor.
In all, the president named the officers to head eight of Egypt's 26 governates. Mubarak did not relay the names of the replacements for the dismissed officers.
Western diplomatic sources said Mubarak has avoided launching any domestic initiatives during the summer and questioned whether the latest shakeup would lead to a new government in Cairo.
The most far-reaching move by Mubarak, the sources said, was the dismissal of Shahat, the air defense commander. Shahat received a major portion of the military budget and his job focused on preventing an Israeli air attack on Egypt.
"We are talking about some very senior people and some of them were not known as 'yes-men,'" a diplomatic source said. "It could be that they will be replaced by far more pliable officers."
The newspaper did not name their replacements in the armed forces. But Egyptian sources said Mubarak has long wanted a shakeup in the military and security forces.
The sources said Mubarak has increased his supervision over the military and security forces amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. This has included frequent visits to military bases and graduation ceremonies.
On Wednesday, Mubarak attended the graduation ceremony of cadets from the Military Technical Academy. The president was joined by Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi.
On Thursday, the G-8 group of industrialized nations meeting in Rome called on Israel and the Palestinians to allow international observers to help implement a ceasefire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Later, aides to Sharon said the prime minister rejected the G-8 call.
NICOSIA, WorldTribune, 19 July - Iran's military commander is warning of a coup backed by Israel and the United States.
Gen. Rahim Safavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Iranians educated in the West are working to destroy the Islamic regime. The general said the goal of the dissidents is to separate religion from state, Middle East Newsline.
Iran has often warned of foreign plots against the Islamic republic. But Safavi told the Basij state-backed militia that current plans for a coup differ from previous plots because they are meant to destroy the regime from within.
The Washington, D.C.-based Azadeghan Foundation, headed by former Iranian diplomat Dr. Assad Homayoun, recently published an advertisement in U.S. newspapers with the headline: "Iran's People Have Been Struggling for Democratic Change, But Khatami and the Mullahs Represent the Continuity of Clerical Tyranny."
"The Western media has called the group of Iranian officials around President Mohammad Khatami ''reformers,' and those around Supreme Leader Khamenei 'hardliners,' but they all share the common belief that Iran should remain a rigid ideological state built around a 'revolutionary Islam,' Homayound told World Tribune.com. "They are opposed to the West and bent on the destruction of Israel," he said.
Homayoun said most Iranians prefers to keep religion out of politics and favor genuine democratic reform.
Safavi charged that "in this plot, the enemy is trying to topple the system through using the idea of separation of state and religion as a weapon. A group who have studied in foreign countries and are a bit familiar with Western ideas are trying to speak the minds of Westerners. They have forgotten the Koran and are promoting the Western philosophy."
Safavi said the plot to overthrow the Islamic clergy is being conducted by those who are encouraging a resumption of ties between Iran and the United States. He called on the Basij and devout young Muslims to fight this trend.
The call by the Revolutionary Guard chief was the most specific by a member of the ruling circle to oppose the effort by Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to restore diplomatic relations with Israel. Mid-East Realities www.middleeast.org Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/7/293.htm