India, US, Israel must ally against terror

An American anti-terrorist and human rights expert on South Asia believes the intelligence failures in Mumbai were systemic and in some ways aped the failures of the United States before September 11, 2001.

Richard L Benkin, founder of Interfaith Strength, said in an interview with this correspondent that one gigantic problem in India is the lack of coordination among intelligence agencies that might have “different pieces to a deadly puzzle.”

“Although Israeli intelligence has been aiding India on a number of fronts, there was little or no multi-national coordination, and that is a particularly deadly mistake with regard to Islamist terror because Islamist terror is an international phenomenon and discreet national efforts will never defeat the enemy at its source,” Benkin said.

“The third systemic failure is the refusal of the Indian government to recognise that Islamist terror is an existential threat whose perpetrators will be satisfied with nothing less than the death of India as we know it,” he said.

By his admission Benkin has traveled to South Asia several times to free political prisoners, visit refugee camps, identify the alliance among South Asian Islamists and Communists, oppose Islamist radicals, and protest the ethnic cleansing of Bangladeshi Hindus.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Benkin said there have been over 11,000 incidents of terror worldwide. He noted that even before the Mumbai terror attacks , terrorists had murdered over 1,100 Indian citizens this year alone. “What sort of rationalisations could convince anyone that these attacks are discreet and limited? We in the United States made the same mistake when we failed to see the same threat after the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York,” he said.

“But I do not believe that these delusions are coming from the intelligence establishment itself. Clearly, these agencies are not independent operators and are held subordinate to the political structures and elected leaders in the nation,” he said.

“We have the same problem in the United States. To be sure, India and the United States are democracies and have certain standards of acceptable and moral behaviour but it is a particularly imbecility of our time that holds those structures incompetent if they do not demonstrate their power over the intelligence professionals in some public manner,” he said.

In response to a question whether or not anger generated by the attacks in Mumbai would be translated into a sustained government resolve to overcome terror, Benkin said the first and most important factor is recognising the fact that no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or the next day, or even if the US apprehends Osama bin Laden, the terrorist threat will be diminished perhaps for a time but in no way eliminated.

He said there is a need to recognise that the threat is a transnational one, needing a transnational response.

Benkin favours an alliance against extremism among India, Israel and the United States. “All three countries have been targeted for elimination by the Islamists — and if that is not sufficient motivation for strong action, it is rather impossible to imagine what is. Each of these three nations has withstood unrelenting terror attacks and still thrives,” he said. “Their power in an alliance would be unstoppable — so long as all three discard self-destructive notions like political correctness. Once those conceptual changes have been made, effective action is a matter of filling in the blanks.”

 

Obama wins

Obama addresses jubilant crowds in Chicago

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has been elected the first black president of the United States.

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight… change has come to America,” the president-elect told a jubilant crowd at a victory rally in Chicago.

His rival John McCain accepted defeat, saying “I deeply admire and commend” Mr Obama. He called on his supporters to lend the next president their goodwill.

The BBC’s Justin Webb said the result would have a profound impact on the US.

“On every level America will be changed by this result… [it] will never be the same,” he said.

McCain: ‘We must work together’

Mr Obama appeared with his family, and his running mate Joe Biden, before a crowd of tens of thousands in Grant Park, Chicago.

Many people in the vast crowd, which stretched back far into the Chicago night, wept as Mr Obama spoke.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” he said.

He said he had received an “extraordinarily gracious” call from Mr McCain.

He praised the former Vietnam prisoner of war as a “brave and selfless leader”.
OBAMA GAINS
Ohio
New Mexico
Iowa
Virginia
Florida
Colorado
Nevada

“He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine,” the victor said.

He had warm words for his family, announcing to his daughters: “Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.”

But he added: “Even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. But America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”

Hours after Mr Obama’s victory was announced, crowds were still celebrating in Chicago and on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC.

From red to blue

Mr Obama captured the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, before breaking through the winning threshold of 270 electoral college votes at 0400 GMT, when projections showed he had also taken California and a slew of other states.

I find myself strangely emotional about this. I want to go wake up my neighbours and hug them
Amy Scullane, Boston

Then came the news that he had also seized Florida, Virginia and Colorado – all of which voted Republican in 2004 – turning swathes of the map from red to blue.

Several other key swing states are hanging in the balance.

In Indiana and North Carolina, with most of the vote counted, there was less than 0.5% between the two candidates.

However, the popular vote remains close. At 0600 GMT it stood at 51.3% for the Democratic Senator from Illinois, against 47.4% for Arizona Senator Mr McCain.

The main developments include:
Mr Obama is projected to have seized Ohio, New Mexico, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, Colorado and Nevada – all Republican wins in 2004.
He is also projected to have won: Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Delaware, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon.
Mr McCain is projected to have won: Alaska, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota.
Turnout was reported to be extremely high – in some places “unprecedented”.
The Democrats made gains in the Senate race, seizing seats from the Republicans in Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Colorado. They also increased their majority of the House of Representatives.
Exit polls suggest the economy was the major deciding factor for six out of 10 voters.
Nine out of 10 said the candidates’ race was not important to their vote, the Associated Press reported. Almost as many said age did not matter.

Several states reported very high turnout. It was predicted 130 million Americans, or more, would vote – more than for any election since 1960.

Many people said they felt they had voted in a historic election – and for many African-Americans the moment was especially poignant.

Congratulations… You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life

President George W Bush

John Lewis, an activist in the civil rights era who was left beaten on an Alabama bridge 40 years ago, told Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church: “This is a great night. It is an unbelievable night. It is a night of thanksgiving.”

Besides winning the presidency, the Democrats tightened their grip on Congress.

The entire US House of Representatives and a third of US Senate seats were up for grabs.

Democrats won several Senate seats from the Republicans, but seemed unlikely to gain the nine extra they wanted to reach the 60-seat “super-majority” that could prevent Republicans blocking legislation.

ओबामा की ऐतिहासिक जीत

अमरीका के राष्ट्रपति चुनावों में इतिहास रचते हुए डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी के उम्मीदवार बराक ओबामा अमरीका के पहले अश्वेत राष्ट्रपति बनने जा रहे हैं. रिपब्लिकन उम्मीदवार जॉन मक्कैन ने हार मान ली है.

अमरीकी राष्ट्रपति चुनने के लिए 538 इलेक्टॉरल कॉलेज मतों में से 270 की आवश्यकता होती है. चुनावों के ताज़ा रुझानों के मुताबिक ओबामा को इससे ज़्यादा मत मिलेंगे. इस बारे में आधिकारिक घोषणा में कुछ समय लगेगा.

मैक्केन के हार स्वीकार कर लेने के बाद, अपने भावुक समर्थकों को संबोधित करते हुए ओबामा ने कहा, “अमरीकी लोगों ने घोषणा की है कि बदलाव का समय आ गया है. अमरीका एक शताब्दी में सबसे गंभीर समस्याओं से जूझ रहा है मैं सभी अमरीकियों को साथ लेकर चलना चाहता हूँ – उनकों भी जिन्होंने मेरे लिए वोट नहीं डाला….ये नेतृत्व का एक नया सवेरा है. जो लोग दुनिया को ध्वस्त करना चाहते हैं, उन्हें मैं कहना चाहता हूँ कि हम तुम्हें हराएँगे. जो लोग सुरक्षा और शांति चाहते हैं, हम उनकी मदद करेंगे…”
अमरीकी लोगों ने घोषणा की है कि बदलाव का समय आ गया है. अमरीका एक शताब्दी में सबसे गंभीर समस्याओं से जूझ रहा है. मैं सभी अमरीकियों को साथ लेकर चलना चाहता हूँ – उनकों भी जिन्होंने मेरे लिए वोट नहीं डाला….ये नेतृत्व का एक नया सवेरा है. जो लोग दुनिया को ध्वस्त करना चाहते हैं, उन्हें मैं कहना चाहता हूँ कि हम तुम्हें हराएँगे. जो लोग सुरक्षा और शांति चाहते हैं, हम उनकी मदद करेंगे…”

डेमोक्रेट बराक ओबामा

रिपब्लिकन पार्टी के उम्मीदवार जॉन मैक्केन ने रुझानों के आधार पर ही अपनी हार स्वीकार कर ली थी और इसे ‘अमरीका के इतिहास में अश्वेत अमरीकियों के लिए इसे एक महत्वपूर्ण क्षण’ बताया था.

उनका कहना था, “मैं सीनेटर ओबामा का प्रशंसक हूँ. मैं आप से अपील करता हूँ कि अगले चार साल आप उन्हें सहयोग दें. लाखों अफ़्रीकी अमरीकियों के लिए एक नया दौर शुरु हुआ है. अमरीका दुनिया का सबसे महान देश है. ओबामा ने ये साबित कर दिया है कि अमरीका सभी लोगों को अपने सपने साकार करने का बराबर का अवसर प्रदान करता है.”

कई राज्यों में पछाड़ा

ओबामा ने ओहायो, न्यू मेक्सिको और पेन्नसिलवेनिया जैसे महत्वपूर्ण राज्यों में अपने रिपब्लिपन जॉन मैक्केन को करारा झटका देते हुए पछाड़ दिया. दक्षिणी राज्यों में मैक्केन को कुछ सफलता मिली लेकिन ये पर्याप्त नहीं था.

अमरीका में चुनाव: बीबीसी हिंदी विशेष

महत्वपूर्ण है कि केलिफ़ोर्निया में अभी मतदान ख़त्म ही हुआ था कि मैक्केन ने अपनी हार स्वीकार कर ली.
मैं सीनेटर ओबामा का प्रशंसक हूँ. मैं आप से अपील करता हूँ कि अगले चार साल आप उन्हें सहयोग दें. लाखों अफ़्रीकी अमरीकियों के लिए एक नया दौर शुरु हुआ है. अमरीका दुनिया का सबसे महान देश है. ओबामा ने ये साबित कर दिया है कि अमरीका सभी लोगों को अपने सपने साकार करने का बराबर का अवसर प्रदान करता है

रिपब्लिकन जॉन मैक्केन

इससे पहले अनेक प्रांतों में मतदान केंद्रों पर लंबी कतारें देखी गईं. अनुमान लगाया जा रहा है कि 1960 के बाद रिकॉर्ड वोटिंग हुई.

अमरीका में मुख्य पार्टियों का इतिहास

राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए इस बार चुनाव अभियान लगभग दो साल तक चला और इस प्रचार को अमरीका के इतिहास में अब तक का सबसे महँगा चुनाव प्रचार कहा जा रहा है, जिसमें लगभग लगभग 2.4 अरब डॉलर ख़र्च हुए है.

मैक्केन दक्षिणी में सफल

बीबीसी संवाददाता निक ब्रयांट के अनुसार पेन्नसिलवेनिया और न्यू हेंपशायर को रिपब्लिकन मैक्केन ने निशाना बनाया था लेकिन ये प्रांत डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी के पाले में गए.

लेकिन मैक्केन को सबसे करारा झटका ओहायो में लगा क्योंकि पिछले कई दशकों में कोई भी रिपब्लिकन उम्मीदवार बिना ओहायो जीते व्हाइट हाउस में नहीं पहुँच पाया है. लेकिन यहाँ भी रुझान ओबामा के पक्ष में रहा.

वर्ष 2004 के अमरीकी चुनाव

वर्ष 2000 में ख़ासे विवाद का केंद्र रहे फ़्लोरिडा में भी ओबामा ही आगे रहे.

ओहायो, पेन्नसिलवेनिया और कई अन्य राज्यों में मैकेन ने ख़ासी महनत की लेकिन कामयाबी नहीं मिली

उधर रिपब्लिकन जॉन मैक्केन ने दक्षिणी राज्यों में ख़ासी सफलता पाई और जॉर्जिया जैसे प्रांत में भी आगे निकल गए लेकिन वे लगातार पिछड़ते ही चले गए.

उम्मीद के अनुसार केंटकी में जॉन मैक्केन आगे रहे, वहीं वरमोंट में बराक ओबामा ने बढ़त हासिल की है.

कई जगह उथल-पुथल

चुनाव में लगभग तीन करोड़ वोटरों ने ‘अर्ली वोटिंग’ के तहत अपना वोट दर्ज कराया था जो कि एक रिकॉर्ड है.

जहाँ ओबामा ने अपने गृह प्रांत इलिनॉय ने परिवार सहित वोट डाला वहीं मैक्केन ने एरिज़ोना में वोट डाला.

न्यू हैम्पशायर में सबसे पहले मंगलवार को वोट डाला गया जहाँ बराक ओबामा ने अपने प्रतिद्वंदी को पछाड़ दिया. वर्ष 1968 के बाद यह पहला मौका है जब रुझानों के मुताबिक यह शहर डेमोक्रेट के पाले में गया.

 

Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States

The CNN announced that Democrat Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. According to CNN, Obama has a lead of 297-139 over Republican John McCain with 102 more votes still to be counted. Obama’s associate Democrat Joe Biden has been elected Vice President of the United States.

Obama became the first African-American President of the United States. The latest results came from Virginia, Florida, Colorado and California, which gave a thumbs up to Barack Obama. He also won in Ohio and New Mexico. Republican John McCain called up Barack Obama to concede defeat. Latest reports suggest that Obama now leads 338-155 over McCain.

As the results of US Presidential elections results began rolling out, Democrat Barack Obama maintained a comprehensive lead over Republican John McCain. Out of 538 electorate, Obama has won 220 while McCain has won 135 so far. Results from 35 out of 50 states are available at the moment. Obama has won 20 states, while McCain has won 15 states. Counting is on progress in 16 remaining states.

According to the current trend, Barack Obama is projected to win 300 – 325 electorate votes out of 538. He needs the magic number 270 to become the first non-white President of the United States, which seems a strong possibility now.

Barack Obama has won in Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Vermont, Massachussets, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Illiois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia and District of Columbia. John McCain has won 15 states – Utah, Kansas,Arkansas, Texas, Mississipi, Kentucky, Oklahama, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wyoming, North Dakota and West Virginia.

The American History suggests that nobody was elected President without winning Ohio and Barack Obama has set the record straight by claiming victory there. Ohio and New Mexico turned Democrats for the first time. According to current projections, Obama controls 51% of votes, while McCain controls 48% of votes. Around 33,277,281 voters have supported Obama, while 31,574,716 voters have supported McCain as of now. There is little doubt that America is bracing for a change and Barack Obama will become the new President.

 

Arrest warrant against Indian techie for killing family

NEW YORK: Authorities have issued a three-count arrest warrant against an

unemployed Indian-American computer programmer who allegedly killed
his wife and
two children brutally in their home in Novi in Detroit in the US.

A three-count arrest warrant for first-degree murder was issued on Monday for Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu (42) in the October 27 murder of his wife and two children.

The bodies of Rao’s wife 37-year-old Jayalakshmi and children 14-year-old Tejasvi and 12-year-old Siva Kumar were found in a pool of blood with massive head and neck injuries on the first floor of the family’s two-story apartment.

The three had defensive wounds on their arms and hands as if they attempted to fend off blows, police had said.

Rao’s whereabouts remain unknown, but investigators have confirmed he left the United States shortly after the incident.

Novi police are working with several national and international law enforcement agencies to find him, The Detroit News reported.

Conviction in the case carries an automatic penalty of life in prison without parole.

Earlier, Novi Police Chief David Molloy had said that an “international manhunt has been launched to nab him”.

The incident came barely three weeks after another unemployed NRI Karthik Rajaram (45) allegedly killed his wife, three sons and mother-in-law before fatally shooting himself after suffering huge losses in the stock market collapse in Los Angeles.

 

Pakistan recovers ‘US spy drone’

Pakistan recovers ‘US spy drone’

Surveillance drones have been widely used by Nato in Afghanistan

The Pakistani army is investigating the wreckage of a suspected US spy plane found near the Afghan border, but has rejected claims it was shot down. A military spokesman told the BBC that the drone was recovered on Tuesday in the South Waziristan tribal area and the wreckage was being examined. The spokesman said the crash appeared to have been due to a malfunction. The US military has confirmed a drone crashed but said it occurred in eastern Afghanistan due to engine failure. US Army Captain Christian Patterson told the Reuters news agency that the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was being operated by US armed forces when it crashed. “It was recovered immediately after it went down,” he said. “It wasn’t close to the border.” Meanwhile, fighting between Pakistani troops and Taleban militants is continuing in the tribal region of Bajaur. In Quetta, capital of south-western Balochistan province, a young girl was killed in a suicide bombing. About a dozen military personnel were also injured in the assault on an army vehicle. ‘Detailed investigation’ The drone found on the Pakistani side of the border was discovered in the Zohba mountain range in Waziristan, a Taleban and al-Qaeda stronghold. Locals living in a village at the foot of the range say they were looking for wood on the mountainside when they came across the plane. “It was rather small for a plane,” one villager told the BBC, adding: “It couldn’t be more than 10 feet long.”

Locals say five men carried the drone down off the mountainside and informed the army. Soldiers then took the aircraft away, as well as other debris from the site where it had crashed. “A surveillance UAV, while flying over the Pak-Afghan border yesterday [Tuesday] night, crash-landed on this side of the border… apparently due to malfunctioning,” a Pakistani military spokesman said. “The wreckage of the UAV has been recovered from the site by the security forces personnel and the matter is under detailed investigation,” the spokesman said in a statement. The statement did not say who the drone belonged to, but security officials said they were in no doubt it was an American aircraft. The BBC’s Dilawar Khan says this is the second such crash in the region in recent years. Two years ago, a similar drone crashed near the town of Miranshah in North Waziristan. The latest crash comes amid recent reports that Pakistani troops have opened fire to prevent the US forces from operating inside Pakistan. Different account “No firing was heard in the area so there is no question of it being shot down,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP. Tensions in the border region are rising

But some residents gave a different account. “The tribesmen fired at the drone and it fell out of the sky,” one unnamed resident told AFP. US President George Bush said on Tuesday that he wanted to help Pakistan protect itself. He was speaking moments before his first meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Mr Bush did not refer directly to the controversial US strikes in Pakistan that have caused bilateral tensions. There is growing anger in Pakistan at the US forces in Afghanistan violating Pakistani sovereignty.

 

Master mind: Delhi Blast

Praveen Swami profiled Abdul Subhan Qureshi, the Indian Mujahideen’s bomb-maker, in The Hindu newspaper. Reproduced without permission of The Hindu (I am Really sorry). Less than forty eight hours before over thirty bombs tore Ahmedabad apart in July, Abdul Subhan Usman Qureshi caught an overnight train to Mumbai — and disappeared. Police forces across India, backed by the Intelligence Bureau, have made the hunt for the short, thin built man who the Ahmedabad bombers knew by the code-name ‘Kasim’, their top priority. Based on the interrogation of Shahbaz Husain, a Lucknow businessman alleged to have led the cell responsible for a string of urban bombings carried out by a Students Islamic Movement of India front organisation calling itself the Indian Mujahideen, investigators are now certain that Qureshi trained the bomb-makers who fabricated the bombs used in the terror offensive. Qureshi, police believe, was also the ‘al-Arbi’ who signed e-mail manifestos issued by the Indian Mujahideen after each bombing — a finding supported by forensic detectives, who have determined that the rounded-‘A’ which ‘al-Arabi’ used to sign the documents matches the rendering of the same character in his personal correspondence. Against the grain The story of SIMI’s top bomb-maker sits ill with the narrative often used to explain why Islamist terrorism has grown in India. Qureshi studied at a secular school, not a seminary. He, unlike many inner-city Muslims, enjoyed access to both education and economic opportunity. Most important, Qureshi’s political radicalisation seems not to have been connected to the win poles that marked the growth the jihad in India, the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the 2002 communal pogrom in Gujarat. Like many first-generation working-class migrants to Mumbai, Qureshi’s parents — who hailed from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh — took education seriously. Qureshi graduated from the Antonio DeSouza High School, a church-run institution which caters to children from all major religious communities in 1988, securing a more-than-reasonable secondary school certificate average of 76.6 per cent. Interestingly, Qureshi’s parents offered all their children access to educational opportunity — not just, as is common among religious conservatives, the boys. Qureshi’s sisters, Asma and Safia, have Masters of Arts degrees; none of his three brothers, who also well-educated, appear to have been drawn to SIMI or other Islamist groups. In the autumn of 1992 — months before Mumbai was hit by a murderous Shiv Sena-led communal pogrom which followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid — Qureshi began studies at the Bharatiya Vidyapeeth in Navi Mumbai. Neither the communal pogrom, nor the serial bombings which followed them, appear to have directly touched Qureshi’s life. In 1995, he obtained a diploma in industrial electronics, and landed a part-time job at String Computers in Mazgaon (northcentral Mumbai). Later, in 1996, he went on to earn a specialised software maintenance qualification from the CMS Institute in Marol (northwest Mumbai). Armed with these qualifications, Qureshi had little difficulty finding work. He joined Radical Solutions, an independent computer firm operating out of the upmarket Fort area in south Mumbai in November, 1996, on a starting salary of Rs 2,450 per month. By the accounts of his co-workers, Qureshi was an exceptional worker — an assessment that is borne out by his resume. Just three years into his professional life, Qureshi succeeded in quadrupling his pay. He handled several major independent projects, including an intranet implementation for Bharat Petro-Chemicals carried out by Wipro in 1999, and then landed a job with computer major Datamatics. But then, Qureshi suddenly decided to leave in his job. In his March 26, 2001, letter, he offered the firm only ‘wish to inform you,’ the letter read, ‘that I have decided to devote one complete year to pursue religious and spiritual matters.’ Qureshi’s friends and family claim to have no knowledge of what led him to make the decision. His family claims not to have met since SIMI was proscribed later that year. This seems improbable: Qureshi’s youngest child, with his wife Aafia, is, after all, just two-and-a-half years old. A career in terror Mumbai police investigators have begun to reconstruct Qureshi’s career in terror. No one is certain just how he was recruited, but by 1998, Qureshi appears to have been a committed SIMI activist. He was charged, that year, with defacing public property, by pasting SIMI posters. Later, he went on to edit one of SIMI’s house-magazines, Islamic Voice, from New Delhi. Police sources told The Hindu that Qureshi participated in SIMI conference in October, 1999. Sheikh Yasin, the head of the Palestinian Hamas and the Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islamic chief Qazi Husain Ahmad, were among those who delivered speeches, through telephone links. Seven-year-old Gulrez Siddiqui was reported to have been trotted out in front of the estimated 20,000-strong crowd to read out this couplet: ‘Islam ka ghazi, butshikan, Mera sher, Osama bin Laden (Warrior for Islam, destroyer of idols/My lion, Osama bin Laden).’ SIMI’s growing links with the global jihadist movement became increasingly clear in the months and years that followed. In January, 2000, for example, police in West Bengal arrested Chinese national Abdul Rahman just after he crossed the Bahirhat border with Bangaldesh. Investigators learned that Rahman, who had escaped from a prison in China’s Xinjiang region where he had been serving time for the murder of a police officer, had been brought to India to train Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. His handlers Aziz-ul-Haq and Nazrul Islam were both SIMI members. Later, in May, 2001, eight SIMI members involved in an abortive plot to bomb the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s headquarters in Nagpur were found to have trained with the Hizb ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir. By the time of SIMI’s 1999 Aurangabad convention, which Qureshi is believed to have helped organise, many of the speeches delivered by delegates were frankly inflammatory. “Islam is our nation, not India,” thundered Mohammad Amir Shakeel Ahmad, one of over a dozen SIMI-linked Lashkar operatives arrested in 2005 for smuggling in military-grade explosives and assault rifles for a planned series of attacks in Gujarat. Among those listening to the speech was Mohammad Azam Ghauri, one of the co-founders of the Lashkar’s India operations. Ghauri, some SIMI members present in Aurangabad say, was offered SIMI’s leadership, but refused. Qureshi was, investigators say, one of the principal organisers of SIMI’s last public conference in 2001. SIMI leaders told the estimated 25,000 followers who attended the conference that the time had come for Indian Muslims to launch an armed jihad which would have the establishment of a caliphate at its final aim. In the wake of the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in September 2001, SIMI activists organised demonstrations attacking the United States of America for being an ‘enemy of Islam.’ SIMI literature hailed Osama as a ‘true mujahid (Islamic warrior‘ and celebrated the demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban. Muslims were exhorted to ‘trample the infidels.’ Finding Qureshi — as well as figures like Qayamuddin Kapadia, the missing Vadodara based computer-graphics artist who police believe led the SIMI cell which targeted Surat(Kapadia has since been arrested) — could prove key to preventing the next big terror bombings. But the threat will not end with his arrest. Investigations of other SIMI-linked terror cells have thrown up evidence which suggests Qureshi trained several hundred recent recruits to the Islamist group’s terror cells, at camps held across India from 2007 onwards. India, it seems probable, will be compelled to live with this threat for many years to come.

 

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

Advertisement US flag is unfurled on the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York US President George W Bush has led commemorations of the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which left nearly 3,000 people dead. Moments of silence were held at the times four hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. In Washington, Mr Bush dedicated a new memorial at the Department of Defense to 184 people killed there. “The worst day in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts,” he said. “Since 9/11 our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he added. “Thanks to the brave men and women and all those who work to keep us safe there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.” Names of those who died in the attacks were read out in New York Enlarge Image

The attacks, which triggered the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Bush administration’s “war on terror”, are regarded as the defining moment of the president’s time in office. In downtown Manhattan, thousands of people gathered as relatives of victims from more than 90 countries read out a roll call of the 2,751 people killed in New York. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the memorial event, describing 9/11 as a “day that began like any other and ended as none ever has”. Silences were observed at the moments each of the Twin Towers was struck and fell. Rivals’ unity Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democratic and Republican nominees in November’s presidential election, are due to attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York to lay wreathes in honour of the victims. 9/11: THE NEW FRONTIER In pictures: Remembering 9/11 Mapping the militant nexus New patterns of militancy Voices from unstable borders More coverage throughout the day on BBC World News and BBC World Service BBC World Service coverage

In a joint statement, the two men vowed to come together “as Americans” and suspend their political campaigns for 24 hours. Mr McCain earlier attended a ceremony at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where he paid tribute to the bravery of the United Flight 93 passengers who took on the hijackers. He said: “The only means we possess to thank them is to try to be as good an American as they were. We might fall well short of their standard, but there is honour in the effort.” The presidential rivals’ joint appearance is to be followed by another in the evening at a Columbia University forum to discuss their views on public service. 11 September 2001 is a day many around the world will never forget Press mulls 9/11 legacy 9/11: The four hijacks In graphics: How towers fell

For Mr Bush, however, it is the last time he marks the anniversary as president. “The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said on the eve of the anniversary. Seven years after the attacks which shocked the world, Ground Zero is a construction site. After years of delays and disagreements over how to commemorate the dead, work has finally begun on a memorial and a new skyscraper – the Freedom Tower – which is due to be completed by 2012. On the eve of the anniversary, a top US military commander warned new tactics were needed to win the conflict in Afghanistan, which the US and its allies invaded three months after 9/11. They aimed to topple the Taleban and hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks. Admiral Mike Mullen believes insurgents are launching attacks from neighbouring Pakistan, and US-led forces must target their “safe havens” in that country.

 

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary

Advertisement US flag is unfurled on the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York US President George W Bush has led commemorations of the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which left nearly 3,000 people dead. Moments of silence were held at the times four hijacked passenger planes hit the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. In Washington, Mr Bush dedicated a new memorial at the Department of Defense to 184 people killed there. “The worst day in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts,” he said. “Since 9/11 our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he added. “Thanks to the brave men and women and all those who work to keep us safe there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.” Names of those who died in the attacks were read out in New York Enlarge Image

The attacks, which triggered the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Bush administration’s “war on terror”, are regarded as the defining moment of the president’s time in office. In downtown Manhattan, thousands of people gathered as relatives of victims from more than 90 countries read out a roll call of the 2,751 people killed in New York. City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the memorial event, describing 9/11 as a “day that began like any other and ended as none ever has”. Silences were observed at the moments each of the Twin Towers was struck and fell. Rivals’ unity Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democratic and Republican nominees in November’s presidential election, are due to attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York to lay wreathes in honour of the victims. 9/11: THE NEW FRONTIER In pictures: Remembering 9/11 Mapping the militant nexus New patterns of militancy Voices from unstable borders More coverage throughout the day on BBC World News and BBC World Service BBC World Service coverage

In a joint statement, the two men vowed to come together “as Americans” and suspend their political campaigns for 24 hours. Mr McCain earlier attended a ceremony at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where he paid tribute to the bravery of the United Flight 93 passengers who took on the hijackers. He said: “The only means we possess to thank them is to try to be as good an American as they were. We might fall well short of their standard, but there is honour in the effort.” The presidential rivals’ joint appearance is to be followed by another in the evening at a Columbia University forum to discuss their views on public service. 11 September 2001 is a day many around the world will never forget Press mulls 9/11 legacy 9/11: The four hijacks In graphics: How towers fell

For Mr Bush, however, it is the last time he marks the anniversary as president. “The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said on the eve of the anniversary. Seven years after the attacks which shocked the world, Ground Zero is a construction site. After years of delays and disagreements over how to commemorate the dead, work has finally begun on a memorial and a new skyscraper – the Freedom Tower – which is due to be completed by 2012. On the eve of the anniversary, a top US military commander warned new tactics were needed to win the conflict in Afghanistan, which the US and its allies invaded three months after 9/11. They aimed to topple the Taleban and hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who the US believes masterminded the attacks. Admiral Mike Mullen believes insurgents are launching attacks from neighbouring Pakistan, and US-led forces must target their “safe havens” in that country.

 

Russia’s conflict with Georgia

US wary of punishing Russia for conflict with Georgia New York, Sep 4 (ANI): The Bush administration does not plan to draw up a “mindless list” of penalties that could alienate Russia because of its recent conflict with Georgia. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried said Washington is keen to know how much Russia would like to isolate itself from the world. We don’t want to have a bad relationship with Russia. We’ve never wanted that,” the New York Times quoted Fried, as saying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked her advisers to “think this (stand-off with Russia) through in a serious way,” as the Bush Administration is nearing its end. With the European Union failing to reach an agreement Monday on imposing sanctions for Moscow’s invasion of Georgia, Fried has been consulting with EU officials on “next steps,” to be taken, if any, against Moscow. Meanwhile, Vice-President Dick Cheney is on a visit to Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan to assess the fall out of the conflict. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered a review of military cooperation agreements with Russia as part of a wider evaluation of relations in response to the continued presence of Russian troops in parts of Georgia. The review, a Pentagon spokesman said, encompasses the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a program to combat the proliferation of nuclear, biological, chemical and other weapons of mass destruction. However, the most prominent program administered by the agency – known as Nunn-Lugar – will not be affected, said Mark Hayes, a spokesman for Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Georgia sent troops into the enclave of South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an attempt to regain control of the republic, which had declared independence from Georgia on several occasions. Russia retaliated by sending troops into South Ossetia; another disputed enclave, Abkhazia; and Georgia. Despite agreeing to a cease-fire brokered by France last month, Russian troops remain in parts of Georgia. Before the Russian incursion, Gates said, the United States thought it could have a “long-term strategic dialogue” with Russia. But the invasion has called into question the entire premise of U.S.-Russia talks, he said, adding that ties could be negatively affected for years. Other activities subject to review include: Partnership for Peace exercises, several bilateral military exercises, several naval exercises and tabletop exercises, in which participants study strategy around a table or in a classroom. The Bush administration also is putting off implementation of an Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation, or the so-called “123 Agreement,” which was approved in May. A senior U.S. official said there should have been “a clear high-level warning to the Russians,” but the Bush administration did not issue one because it “didn’t think they would invade Georgia proper.” Mr. Fried echoed other U.S. and European calls on Moscow to fully respect a cease-fire and to pull all its troops out of Georgia, and said the West is struggling to figure out how to “make clear that [the Russians’] acts against Georgia and threats against other neighbors are unacceptable” without antagonizing the Russian people. (ANI)

 

How Musharraf missed the Nobel Peace Prize

How Musharraf missed the Nobel Peace Prize

Pervez Musharraf is still living in a fool’s paradise. He resigned as Pakistan’s president not out of any guilt but he resigned under political pressure. Just a few minutes before his speech on Monday he told one of his close friends that the coalition partners will start fighting with each other very soon, there will be more political instability in his absence, people will come out on the roads in the next six months and they will demand, ‘come back Musharraf’. That is the reason Musharraf is not going out of Pakistan. He will stay in Pakistan under heavy security and he will wait for the people to call him back. He is badly mistaken. The people of Pakistan had already rejected him and his policies on February 18. They were sick of him and that was why even US President George W Bush abandoned him in his last days. but Musharraf still thinks that Pakistan cannot survive without him. He claimed in his Monday’s speech that Pakistan was about to be declared a terrorist state in 1999 but he rescued Pakistan and gave it a new identity. He never mentioned Kargil which gave a bad name to Pakistan, he never mentioned anything about the judicial crisis he created in 2007 and he never mentioned anything about the assassination of Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto . Her death started Musharraf’s downfall. His government lost its writ for at least one week after Benazir’s assassination. There was violence everywhere and the government evaporated. That was the time when the Army decided to stay away from Musharraf to save its credibility, and that was how Musharraf lost his power. Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was also a big blow to the peace process in South Asia. Don’t humiliate Musharraf, US tells Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed on an “out of the box “solution to the Kashmir dispute after many rounds of direct and indirect talks. They decided in 2006 to resolve the Kashmir dispute latest by the end of 2007. US President George W Bush was also on board with them. Both the leaders were hoping for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 but now they have missed the chance. Musharraf is no more in a position to sell an “out of the box” solution to the Kashmir dispute. Manmohan Singh will also face difficulties from the Indian parliament for the approval of an “out of the box” solution to Kashmir after the recent violence in Jammu and Kashmir . Musharraf and Manmohan Singh first met during the UN Summit in New York when the Indian prime minister called on the Pakistani president at his hotel in New York on September 24, 2004. It was an extremely pleasant encounter. Musharraf met Manmohan Singh again on April 18, 2005, during a one-day cricket match between India and Pakistan in Delhi . India lost the match but Musharraf and Manmohan Singh decided that they will find a Kashmir solution in which no side will be a loser but all will be winners. After a few months they had another dinner on September 14, 2005, in New York, during the UN General Assembly. Musharraf proposed demilitarisation of Jammu and Kashmir, self-governance and joint management mechanism of the troubled valley. Initially Manmohan Singh raised many objections but later on both of them decided to continue their efforts for reaching on an “out of the box” solution without compromising the stated positions of their governments. Indian National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Pakistani National Security adviser Tariq Aziz continued their quite diplomacy in Dubai to discuss some more details. The Indian side convinced the People’s Democratic Party’s pro-Delhi leader Mehbooba Mufti and the Pakistani side took into confidence separatist Kashmiri leaders Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik for resolving the Kashmir dispute in the year 2007. The details of the great Kashmir solution were finalised in June 2006. Musharraf wanted Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan in July 2006 but the Indian prime minister was looking for a politically suitable opportunity to break the ice. Musharraf sent a message to Benazir Bhutto that the Kashmir problem will be resolved soon and she will have to support an “out of the box” solution. Unfortunately 2006 was wasted and 2007 began. That was the year Musharraf started committing suicidal blunders. He sacked and arrested a sitting Chief Justice of Pakistan. Lawyers and civil society came out on the streets against him. He lost a legal battle in the Supreme Court of Pakistan on July 20, 2007, and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was reinstated. Musharraf never digested this legal defeat. He struck a deal with exiled opposition leader Benazir Bhutto with the help of the USA and the UK. Musharraf agreed to take off his Army uniform and hold elections. Benazir Bhutto agreed to support the war against terrorism in return for free and fair elections. Benazir returned to Pakistan in October but there was a lot of trust deficit between her and Musharraf. She was not ready to take a clear position against the Chief Jutice. An agitated Musharraf imposed emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007, mainly against the Supreme Court and “rebel media”. Benazir Bhutto declared this emergency as martial law and announced that she was stopping her dialogue with Musharraf. Elections were announced on January 8, 2008, but Benazir Bhutto suspected rigging and started making noises against it. She had a long meeting with the director general of ISI, Lt Gen Nadeem Taj, on the night of December 26, 2008. Taj warned her about some security threats and suggested she abandon her election campaign. Benazir Bhutto refused. The next day she was assassinated in Rawalpindi. This assassination actually marked the political death of Musharraf. He lost his popularity in Pakistan completely. He delayed elections for one month but his rigging plans failed because the Army decided to stay away from politics. Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kyani even ordered the ISI not to support any political party in the election. The neutral role of the Army was a big blow to Musharraf. His supporters lost with big margins. The February 18 election was a clear vote of no-confidence by Pakistani voters against Musharraf, but he never accepted his defeat. He was not happy with the Army Chief. He was in a position to sack the Army Chief as the supreme commander of the armed forces but he was aware that the Army could defy his orders, like he defied the orders of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 as Army chief. He decided to wait for an appropriate time to hit both the Army chief and the new coalition government. Musharraf was sure that only he could resolve the Kashmir dispute, he was sure that only he has the guts to pave the way for the recognition of Israel by Pakistan. He was also sure that the Pakistan Army needs him despite the fact that he was no more in uniform. He thought that only he could negotiate more and more military aid from the US. He was sure that he will catch Osama bin Laden soon and the West will force the new coalition government to accept him as President for the next five years. Musharraf delayed the government-making process in Pakistan for more than one month. He tried to make deals with PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif through top US diplomats but he failed. Musharraf is still popular in Western capitals but he is the most unpopular human being in Pakistan. The new coalition sent him messages to resign but Musharraf threatened to use his constitutional powers. His rough attitude created problems, and finally the coalition leaders decided to impeach him. All his old buddies have ditched him. The US and the UK were not in a position to help him. They requested the new coalition to provide a safe passage to Musharraf instead of impeaching him. He has lost everything. All his friends want him to say goodbye. Musharraf ruled Pakistan for more than eight years but he never ruled the hearts and minds of his people like a true leader because he never came to power through the ballot but through the bullet. He was definitely in a position to become a real peace-maker with the help of Manmohan Singh and Benazir Bhutto in 2007 but he missed this golden chance. He missed 2007 because he created a political turmoil in Pakistan by attacking the judiciary. He also missed a chance to win the Nobel Peace Prize along with Manmohan Singh due to his self-righteousness. He has missed everything now. He will soon realise that there is no use in staying on in Pakistan and ultimately he will leave the country because it’s difficult for him to face the common people. He will also miss Pakistan very soon but the people of Pakistan will not miss him. Musharraf was definitely the last military dictator of Pakistan; many people will remember him not only as a dictator but also as a traitor who broke the constitution of Pakistan not once but twice.