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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (30166)	5/20/2002 1:58:50 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 281500

FBI Chief Says Suicide Bombers Likely Will Hit U.S. By PETE YOST .c The Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, VA. (May 20) - Walk-in suicide bombers like those who have attacked public places in Israel will hit the United States eventually, FBI Director Robert Mueller said Monday. ''I think we will see that in the future, I think it's inevitable,'' Mueller said in response to a question during a speech to the National Association of District Attorneys meeting in suburban Alexandria, Va. Mueller said the degree of fanaticism an informant must exhibit to get into the inner circle of a terrorist group makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to penetrate such organizations and prevent such attacks. ''I wish I could be more optimistic,'' he said. Mueller's prediction follows Vice President Dick Cheney's warning Sunday that because no specific information is available, the United States is finding it difficult to respond to the latest intelligence hints that al-Qaida may be planning another attack. Mueller said law enforcement has been somewhat successful in combating acts of terrorism in Northern Ireland by developing sources who could provide information about terrorist plans and by using electronic surveillance. But he said the difficulty of getting informants inside terrorist groups targeting the United States makes it much harder to obtain advance information. Cheney said Sunday he sees ''a real possibility'' that walk-in suicide bombers may hit the United States if those who have attacked Israel succeed in changing the situation in the Middle East. ''Terrorism is an evil, pernicious thing, and it is one of the biggest challenges we've ever faced as a nation,'' Cheney said. At the prosecutors meeting, Mueller said the FBI now believes that ''an al-Qaida bomb maker'' constructed the shoe bomb that Richard Reid had when he was apprehended aboard a flight from Paris to the United States in December. Mueller made the comment in describing how the FBI is increasing its recruitment of scientific experts to help in terrorism investigations and is ''centralizing analytical capability'' to coordinate evidence gathering. Mueller also said the arrest of Abu Zubaydah, a top al-Qaida operative, during raids in Pakistan in March was the result of a joint FBI-CIA operation. He cited the raids as an example of how the traditional wall between the FBI and the CIA is coming down as the two agencies battle terrorism. AP-NY-05-20-02 1256EDT

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (30166)	5/20/2002 2:03:41 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 281500

Whether or not we go to Iraq, unfortunately Mr. Derbyshire does hit some "bullseyes" this morning... But if our leaders believe that "the desire to avoid further slaughter" trumps the desire to take down our enemy; if they believe that Crown Prince Abdullah or Hosni Mubarak will lift one jeweled pinkie to assist our war aims; if they believe that we need the permission of crooks and despots before we act in our own interests; if they believe that Europe is militarily significant; if they believe that the U.N. Security Council is worth anything more than a thimbleful of rat's piss; if they believe that our fighting men and women cannot carry out their duties without a year and a half of preparation; if they believe all these things, then it would be best if we did not start a war at all. They do: We won't.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (30166)	5/20/2002 2:08:23 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 281500

Syria is urging Hamas to step up the attacks, while Saudi Arabia is pressuring them to halt the attacks -- just temporarily, of course: Sources say Syria pushing Hamas to renew attacks By Ze'ev Schiff Syria is pressing Hamas and Islamic Jihad to renew their suicide operations against Israel, contrary to Saudi Arabian demands on Yasser Arafat and Palestinian organizations to desist from such attacks. Security sources say Saudi pressure on Hamas to halt suicide bombings had led to bitter internal debate in its leadership. While continuing to deny Saudi pressure in public, it is known there are some in the local Hamas leadership who say it would be best to comply with the Saudi request, which would be temporary and tactical. Among those favoring a halt to suicide attacks are the head of the military wing, Salah Shehade, from Gaza, whom Israel holds responsible for the terror attack earlier this month in Rishon Letzion, where 15 people were killed. The Saudi pressure comes from an understanding between Washington and Riyadh reached during Crown Prince Abdullah's recent visit to President George Bush. Previously it was known the Saudis were helping Hamas with funds and helping to support families of suicide bombers, as emerged from many documents confiscated by the IDF in Operation Defensive Shield. Syria, on the other hand, is playing an entirely different game. Despite Syrian President Bashar Assad's participation in the summit meeting at Sharm el Sheikh, it is known he has urged Hamas to step up its operations and Islamic Jihad has already agreed to do so. Syria has promised Hamas financial aid if it renews suicide bombings. On the one hand, Damascus fears direct military confrontation with Israel and has responded to demands by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to restrain Hezbollah. On the other hand, Damascus maintains its aggressive posture against Israel. Syria is assumed to be coordinating its efforts with Tehran. Internationally, this has created the unusual situation of a state sitting on the UN Security Council making clearly aggressive moves. American intelligence is aware of all this, but Bush has meanwhile refrained from including Syria in his "axis of evil." news.haaretz.co.il

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (30166)	5/20/2002 7:30:35 PM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

John Derbyshire Definitely a columnist I shall avoid wasting time on. And, given that the National Review published him, yet another reason to skip lightly over its issues at Barnes and Nobles. The following paragraph is reason enough to skip. Which brings us to the Colin Powell problem. Bringing Powell into the cabinet will, I believe, come to be seen as a classic error by George W. Bush — given a whole chapter to itself in future textbooks on how to form a cabinet, or how to get a new administration off the ground. Powell has a huge constituency, far larger and more committed than the President's own. To be sure, a lot of people don't like him. Blacks don't like him because he's not "authentic" enough (which is to say, he shows no sign of hating white people). White liberals don't like him because he escaped from their plantation somehow. White conservatives don't like him because he's squishy on a lot of issues they care about: affirmative action, abortion, the Second Amendment, and so on. Who knows now whether this Bush administration will be the better or worse for including Powell. But none of us need this kind of red meat language to help us make up our minds.