United Press International - Security & Terrorism - UPI Intelligence Watch

United Press International - Security & Terrorism - UPI Intelligence Watch

UPI Intelligence Watch

By JOHN C.K. DALY
UPI International Correspondent

WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- A new al-Qaida video from Iraq has surfaced, shot in the town of Ramadi.

The hour-long video is presented by a man wearing a balaclava who identifies himself as Abu Suleiman al-Ruwi, in the media division of Ansar al-Sunna, or "Army of the Protectors of the Sunna."

Ansar al-Sunna is an Iraqi Sunni extremist group reportedly linked to al-Qaida and Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In the past, Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks and kidnappings in Iraq.

Adnkronos International news agency obtained the high-resolution video. Besides the now familiar images of bombings, wounded Americans and sacrificed sheep, the most striking images to emerge from the footage are scenes shot in an elementary school, where masked Ansar al-Sunna members interact with elementary school pupils. The students are encouraged to sing resistance songs and questioned on their attitudes towards the United States.

The eager students are given pens, rulers and erasers. The video is a propaganda effort by Ansar al-Sunna to illustrate their control in the strife torn al-Anbar province.

The video opens with the beginning of the U.S.-led campaign against Saddam Hussein in March 2003, then it covers the emergence of the Muslim resistance, with images of attacks on U.S. military outposts.

The video is not limited to Iraq; footage of global anti-war demonstrations and Hurricane Katrina are also included.

The Ramadi images show masked Ansar-al-Sunna militants butchering sheep and giving the meat to street children as a charitable gesture to Ramadi's poor.

Previous al-Qaida videos rarely included children, and no previous video displayed them so prominently.

-0-

Retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, whow as the director of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency under former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has claimed in a television interview that Pakistan could slide into civil war if the government does not take immediate and firm steps to quell rising unrest in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Gul made his observations during an interview with Afghanistan's Tolo TV.

Gul commented that President Pervez Musharraf's decision to participate in the U.S.-led war on terror by attacking the Taliban and al-Qaida guerrillas in the tribal zones of Pakistan was fomenting unrest.

Gul also speculated about a growing divide within the country's military officer corps, with senior officers tending to be more pro-Western, while junior officers were more sympathetic with Muslim values. Another divisive issue touched upon by Gul was rampant corruption.

Gul noted that none of these issues by itself would push the country into anarchy, But their near-simultaneous appearance in Pakistani politics was alarming, and could further weaken society if they were not resolutely addressed, he said.

Gul shared his belief that Musharraf was fully aware that his campaign against al-Qaida and the Taliban in the tribal areas could intensify political unrest, which he might use to his political advantage by bringing the general elections scheduled for 2007 forward.

Gul told his interviewer, "There is the possibility of new elections in 2006 in Pakistan. Musharraf knows that there is the likelihood of civil war in Pakistan over the issue of war against al-Qaida and Taliban in tribal areas."

Gul said that the Hamid Karzai regime in Afghanistan was nothing but a puppet government installed by the Bush administration, noting, "The real dialogue is actually between Musharraf and Bush."

-0-

Both Bulgaria and Romania have been assiduously courting the Pentagon since joining NATO two years ago.

Both avidly want full integration into the Western security architecture as a prelude to bolster their efforts to join the European Union.

The two nations have also agreed to host U.S. bases on their territory.

Romania's Parliament has begun to question how far U.S. sovereignty over the facilities will extend, and now some Bulgarian legislators are beginning to raise similar questions with Bulgaria's military.

FOCUS News Agency reported that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivaylo Kalfin said following a general meeting of the Committees on Defense and Foreign Policy that a final Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, between the two militaries delineating such issues had yet to be finalized.

According to Defense Minister Vesselin Bliznakov, Bulgaria is likely to sign the SOFA agreement establishing U.S. military bases at Bezmer and Novo Selo in April, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be in Bulgaria for a summit of NATO foreign ministers.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Gen. Lance Smith is currently in Bulgaria on a two-day visit to Bulgaria for discussions with Chief of the Bulgarian Army General Staff Gen. Nikola Kolev.

The pair will discuss relations between the Bulgarian army and NATO's Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk.

Smith is also scheduled to meet with the president of Bulgaria and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Georgi Parvanov, Bliznakov and Parliamentary Defense Committee members.

-0-

On March 10, South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told legislators at a breakfast meeting at the National Assembly in the capital Seoul that the Bush administration was attempting to "prevent" North Korea from counterfeiting U.S. currency in the future instead of trying to "punish" North Korea for its illegal financial transactions.

Lee said, "I personally think that Washington's policies are focused on prevention and interception rather than punishment."

The U.S. Treasury estimates that Pyongyang makes as much as $250 million annually from counterfeiting $100 notes, which have been labeled "supernotes" for their high quality.

The Korea Times reported that Lee told the legislators that the South Korean government has "serious" concerns about North Korea's counterfeit currency being laundered through a bank in Macao. In September, the U.S. Treasury blacklisted Macao's Banco Delta ASIA SARL as a "primary money-laundering concern."

Lee commented, "We delivered our stance to North Korea, underlining that Pyongyang should come up with appropriate measures. Seoul wants this issue to be resolved through ways that are based on international norms and common sense."

-0-

Singaporean Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean says that his country has to maintain a huge defense budget in order to strengthen national security.

Radio Australia quoted Teo as emphasizing that the Singaporean Armed Forces must be prepared in the event of war.

For the last few years, Singapore has budgeted approximately 6 percent of its annual gross domestic product on defense.

In 2005, Singapore's defense budget was $5.8 billion, averaging $1,368 per capita and representing 5.3 percent of its gross domestic product. The 2005 figure represented a 7.4 percent increase over the 2004 defense budget and accounted for 31.2 per cent of Singapore's overall 2005 budget.

Singapore has had a longstanding relationship with the U.S. Navy, whose vessels have been docking there since the 1960s for maintenance, repairs, supplies and shore leave.

In 1990, an agreement was signed permitting U.S. use of facilities in Singapore.

In 1992, the U.S. 7th Fleet's Navy Logistics Command Western Pacific moved there, while in March 2001 a deep-draft pier at Changi Naval Base, constructed entirely at Singapore's expense, was completed for the use of U.S. carriers.

--