Thursday, June 25, 2009

DTN News: EADS Submits C-295 Offer to Brazilian Air Force / Brazilian Air Force Receives Offer For Aircraft Acquisition

DTN News: EADS Submits C-295 Offer to Brazilian Air Force / Brazilian Air Force Receives Offer For Aircraft Acquisition
*Sources: DTN News / Defense Media
(NSI News Source Info) SAO PAULO - June 25, 2009: The Sub-directorate for Development and Programs (SDDP) of the Brazilian air force’s Department of Science and Aerospace Technology (CTA) this week received the initial offer from the Spanish company EADS CASA for the acquisition of four new C-105 Amazonas transport aircraft (CASA C-295) and four SC-105s, the search and rescue variant.
The EADS CASA C-295 is the latest development of the Military Transport Aircraft Division’s tactical transport aircraft family. Versatile, robust and with the lowest life cycle cost of any aircraft in its category, the C-295 is capable of carrying out a wide range of missions with maximum efficacy: tactical and logistical transport, launch of paratroops and loads or medical evacuation. The C-295 can operate as a single type fleet or as a complement to heavier airlifters. It has been designed to operate from short runways in austere environments; its light footprint allows the use of soft-surfaced fields. Bulky cargo can be easily loaded or unloaded through the rear ramp door, which can be opened in flight for airdrop operations. The C-295 can take on many of the missions carried out by heavier transport aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules, but with much lower costs (below one third per flight hour). Since its launching in 2001, 50 C-295 have been sold to six different Air Forces: Spain, Poland, Jordan, Algeria, Brazil and Portugal. Currently 25 aircraft are already in operation in the most hostile environments, achieving high reliability levels and low maintenance costs.
These aircraft are intended for transport units stationed in the country’s northern and centre-west regions, as well as for the Pelican Squadron (Esquadrão Pelicano, 2º/10º GAV), based in Campo Grande (MS) and specialized in search and rescue missions.
The company’s initial offer is in response to the Request For Proposals issued to the company on April 15. The next phase of the acquisition process will be the evaluation of the offer, which will take place in July.
A team of civilian and military specialists from various departments of the air force, coordinated by the CL-X Project management team, will evaluate the technical, operational, logistic, industrial, contractual aspects of the projrect, including offsets.

DTN News: Taliban Could Move From Afghanistan: NATO Chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

DTN News: Taliban Could Move From Afghanistan: NATO Chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
*Sources: DTN News / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) ASTANA, Kazakhstan - June 25, 2009: NATO forces in Afghanistan cannot prevent insurgents from moving to Central Asia as their fight against the Taliban intensifies, outgoing NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Wednesday. In reaction to the anarchy and warlordism prevalent in the country, and the lack of Pashtun representation in the Kabul government, a movement arose called the Taliban. Many Taliban had been educated in madrasas in Pakistan and were largely from rural Pashtun backgrounds. This group was made up of mostly Pashtuns that dedicated itself to removing the warlords, providing law and order, and imposing the strict Islamic Sharia law on the country. In 1994 it developed enough strength to capture the city of Kandahar from a local warlord and proceeded to expand its control throughout Afghanistan, occupying Herat in September 1995, then Kabul in September 1996, and declaring the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (although there was no Emir). By this time Afghanistan was in its 17th year of war. It had the highest infant, child and maternal mortality rates in Asia. An estimated 10 million landmines covered its terrain. Two-million refugees were in camps. Pakistan recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan in 1997. By the end of 2000, the Taliban occupied about 95% of the country, limiting the opposition to a small corner in the northeast Badakhshan Province. Efforts by the UN, prominent Afghans living outside the country, and other interested countries to bring about a peaceful solution to the continuing conflict came to nothing, largely because of intransigence on the part of the Taliban. The Taliban sought to impose an extreme interpretation of Islam—based in part upon rural Pashtun tradition—upon the entire country and committed human rights violations, particularly directed against women and girls, in the process. Women were restricted from working outside the home or pursuing an education, were not to leave their homes without an accompanying male relative, and required to wear a traditional burqa. The Taliban repressed minority populations, particularly the Shia, as a retaliation in which approximately 2,500 Taliban soldiers were massacred by Abdul Malik and his Shia followers; attacked the Iranian embassy, killing eight diplomats and a television reporter, claiming them as spies. In 2001, as part of a drive against relics of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, the Taliban destroyed two large statues of Buddha outside of the city of Bamiyan and announced destruction of all pre-Islamic statues in Afghanistan, including the remaining holdings of the Kabul Museum. In addition to the continuing civil strife, the country suffered from widespread poverty, drought, a devastated infrastructure, and ubiquitous use of landmines. These conditions led to about a million Afghans facing starvation. In 1998, a series of earthquakes killed thousands of Afghans in the northeast Badakhshan Province. Some Afghan leaders have accused Pakistan of failing to do enough to stop infiltration, or even of continuing to support its former protege, the Taliban in September 2006. "I am very happy today that...the president of Pakistan assured me that he will try to get rid of this disease from the region," Hamid Karzai told a joint news conference at his palace. In an interview with AFP on the eve of a regional security conference, Scheffer said it was unclear if a spate of recent militant attacks in Central Asia were linked to escalated military operations in Afghanistan or Pakistan. "It might well be that as we take on the Taliban in more places they'll go other places," the secretary general said. "If people want to cross borders, NATO cannot prevent that. If militants and extremists want to cross borders into Central Asia to do their horrific work there, NATO cannot possibly stop that." Experts have long been concerned that the violence that has convulsed Afghanistan and Pakistan could spread into the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, with their volatile ethnic and religious divisions. Indeed, the weeks since intense fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taliban militants began have seen attacks here that local governments have blamed on Islamist fighters. On Tuesday, five members of a radical Islamist group and one special-forces officer were killed when a "counter-terrorist operation" in Kyrgyzstan turned into a running gunbattle with militants, officials said. The suspected insurgents were said to have been members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a group with links to Al-Qaeda. The operation came just weeks after officials in neighbouring Uzbekistan said a suicide bomber had detonated himself in the Uzbek city of Andijan, killing a police officer. Scheffer said that NATO, which does not have a mandate to conduct operations in Central Asia, had no information linking the attacks here to coalition operations in Afghanistan. On Afghanistan, Scheffer said a military review currently being undertaken by US General Stanley McChrystal, who took command of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan a week ago, would not result in drastic policy changes. "We have now, as you know, the 60 day review which is going to be made by General McChrystal, the new commander," he said. "I do not think by the way that you'll see a fundamental change in strategy. What you see... is more attention to avoid civilian casualties." Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long complained about civilian casualties resulting primarily from strikes by unmanned Predator drones which operate both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He added that "the NATO military mission is fundamentally sound, but it is always good to look critically at yourself." Additionally, Scheffer said it was too soon to tell whether a resent upsurge in violence in Afghanistan was linked with recent Pakistani military operations in that country's lawless tribal areas. Afghan insurgents have stepped up their use of bombs in recent weeks with deadly roadside blasts and suicide attacks reported nearly every day. "If it's enough that's difficult to say for me but I do see that the Pakistani government... is taking the extremists seriously, are doing a lot in fighting them and I think that's a welcome development," he said. "If this will be the end of the problems, I don't know. It's too early to say. But it is crystal clear that we should see the problems in stabilizing Afghanistan in a regional context where Pakistan plays an important role."

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY June 25, 2009 ~ Part #2 - US Senate Approves Bill To Triple About $1.5 Billion Aid To Pakistan

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY June 25, 2009 ~ Part #2 - US Senate Approves Bill To Triple About $1.5 Billion Aid To Pakistan
*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 25, 2009: The Senate on Wednesday approved tripling US aid to Pakistan to about $1.5 billion a year for each of the next five years, part of an American plan to fight extremism with economic development. The Senate approved tripling US aid to Pakistan to about $1.5 billion a year for each of the next five years. The $1.5 billion in annual funding includes money for Pakistani schools, the judicial system, parliament and law enforcement agencies. ‘This legislation marks an important step toward sustained economic and political cooperation with Pakistan,’ said Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill, which includes $400 million in annual military aid for 2010-2013, passed as Pakistan's military was preparing an all-out assault on Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. The Pakistan aid measure passed by a simple voice vote in the Senate and will have to be reconciled with a version approved by the House of Representatives on June 11.—Reuters The bills set up so-called Reconstruction Opportunity Zones in border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, from which textiles and other items can be exported duty-free to the United States. The zones represent an effort by the US government to combat al-Qaeda and Taliban recruitment of insurgents by creating jobs for unemployed youth in underdeveloped parts of the two countries. Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan told a House committee on Wednesday that the reconstruction zones that will benefit from the textile import scheme were in places where large numbers of Pakistanis had taken refuge from recent fighting. Creating jobs in the Federally Administered tribal Areas of Pakistan (Fata) served US security interests, he said. ‘Americans have died because people out of work in the Fata, the western tribal areas, joined the Taliban and jobs could reduce that,’ said Holbrooke.

DTN News: Israel 'Close To Deal On F-35'

DTN News: Israel 'Close To Deal On F-35' *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TEL AVIV, Israel - June 25, 2009: After protracted disagreements, the Israeli Defense Ministry was reported Wednesday to be close to sewing up a deal to buy up to 25 U.S. F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin, which Israeli leaders believe is essential to counter Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. Israel has made an all-out effort to acquire the F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, because its range, striking power and radar-evading stealth characteristics make it essential to counter the S-300PMU air-defense missile systems Jerusalem fears Russia will sell to Iran to protect its nuclear facilities and other strategic targets. According to the Jerusalem Post, the two sides reached an agreement on several Israeli demands to integrate Israeli technology into the aircraft. That followed a series of visits to Washington by the commander of Israel's air force, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, and the air force's equipment and procurement director, Brig. Gen. Kobi Bortman. The final breakthrough came at the Paris Air Show last week when Israel's defense minister, former chief of staff Gen. Ehud Barak, Israel's most decorated soldier, met with top Lockheed Martin officials. According to Israeli reports, the Americans agreed to allow the Israelis to incorporate their own electronic warfare and communications systems into the fifth-generation fighter, and to allow the Israeli air force to maintain the aircraft independently of the United States. The Post reported that one of the Americans' "main concerns regarding the installation of Israeli systems was that it would require configurations to the jet's internal computer system and expose top-secret technology to Israel." The Israelis apparently agreed to bypass the computer mainframe when installing the systems. Israel has made an all-out effort to acquire the F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, because its range, striking power and radar-evading stealth characteristics make it essential to counter the S-300PMU air-defense missile systems Jerusalem fears Russia will sell to Iran to protect its nuclear facilities and other strategic targets. The mobile S-300 is one of the highly advanced air-defense systems in the world. Known in the West as the SA-20, it is capable of shooting down aircraft or cruise missiles from altitudes as low as 30 feet to as high as 90,000 feet. Gen. Richard Hawley, former commander of the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, asserted recently, "For non-stealth aircraft, the SA-20 represents a virtual no-fly zone." Moscow, pressed by Israel and the United States not to provide Iran -- or its Arab ally Syria -- with the S-300, has repeatedly denied that it intends to do so. But according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank, the Russians could still sell Tehran the S-300V, a less capable system known as the SA-12 in the West. There has been repeated speculation that Israel may launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear installations to block its efforts to enrich uranium to weapons grade. U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has demanded the Israelis stay their hand to give his diplomatic outreach to Iran time to pursue an agreement with the Islamic republic that it will not build nuclear weapons. From that perspective, U.S. agreement to allow Israel to fit its own equipment into the F-35 -- the crux of the standoff over the aircraft -- could be seen as an effort to placate the Israelis at this critical period. "Israel currently believes that its F-15I and F-16I aircraft maintain a viable strike option against Iranian nuclear targets," according to a Washington Institute analysis published in March. "As long as this remains the case, Israel may remain receptive to requests to give diplomacy more time. Increasingly clear, however, is that Israel regards the S-300 (in any configuration) as closing an important window of opportunity; Iran's acquisition of the S-300 would render Israel's current strike options dramatically more difficult, and could force Israel to considerably move forward any strike timetable." Israel originally had its sights on the U.S. F-22 stealth fighter since development of that jet began in the early 1990s. But the Americans decided to block any foreign sales of the F-22, known as the Raptor and which is now in service with the U.S. Air Force. Israel switched its sights to the F-35A, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin and eight foreign partners -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway. Israel wants an initial purchase of 25 aircraft, enough for one squadron with delivery starting in 2010, and an option for 50 more.

DTN News: Iran TODAY June 25, 2009 ~ Part #2- Iranian MPs 'Snub' President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Poll Party

DTN News: Iran TODAY June 25, 2009 ~ Part #2- Iranian MPs 'Snub' President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Poll Party
*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - June 25, 2009: More than 180 Iranian MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election win, local press reports say. All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night, but only 105 turned up, the reports say. A BBC correspondent says the move is a sign of the deep split at the top of Iran after disputed presidential polls. Meanwhile, Mr Ahmadinejad has told the US not to interfere in Iranian politics, the Fars news agency reports. "I hope you [US President Barack Obama] will avoid interfering in Iran's affairs and express regret in a way that the Iranian people are informed of it," he was quoted as saying. President Obama on Tuesday said he strongly condemned the "unjust" violence used on protesters. There are signs the government is beginning to regain control. Wednesday appears to have had the least protests of any day since the result was announced. But any idea that the opposition is about to go gently is probably an illusion. This is an argument within Iran about the future of the country. The two sides have deeply differing views on how Iran should be run, and its place in the world. And neither is about to give ground. Separately, key protest leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said on his website that he was facing "recent pressures" to withdraw his election challenge. "Access to people is completely restricted", the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying. Earlier, his website said 70 university professors were arrested immediately after meeting Mr Mousavi on Wednesday, and it was not clear where they had been taken. Hundreds of opposition protesters and activists are believed to have been taken into custody and at least 17 people have died in the unrest that followed the 12 June election. Severe reporting restrictions imposed on foreign media in Iran mean the BBC cannot verify the reports. The Washington Times on Thursday said one of its freelance reporters, Jason Fowden, who has British and Greek nationality, was arrested at the airport as he tried to leave the country at the end of last week. British officials said they were working with the Greek foreign ministry on the case. Heavy security About 50 MPs in the Iranian parliament are reformist and would not have been expected to attend Mr Ahmadinejad's party. One of those who reportedly did not attend is Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, a high-profile figure who shares some of Mr Ahmadinejad's hardline views but has been critical of some aspects of the government's handling of the protests. The high number of other MPs who stayed away is another indication that the disputed election has split the nation, says the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Tehran. An earlier BBC report wrongly said that 105 MPs did not turn up. It should have said that only 105 attended. IRAN UNREST 12 June Presidential election saw incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected with 63% of vote Main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi called for result to be annulled on grounds of electoral fraud Street protests saw at least 17 people killed and foreign media restricted The opposition has vowed to continue with its legal challenges over the election result, which saw Mr Ahamadinejad declared an easy winner. Mr Mousavi, his nearest rival, alleges the election was rigged and wants a re-run. But time and options are running out for the opposition, says our correspondent. The Guardian Council, which supervises elections, is expected to follow the line laid down by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and say the result will stand, our correspondent adds. Ayatollah Khamenei said again on Wednesday he would "not yield" over the election result. Hours later, riot police were reported to have clashed again with demonstrators who defied government decrees to stop the street protests. Witnesses said they saw police beat protesters with batons, fire tear gas and shoot into the air to disperse the crowds in central Tehran. But Wednesday's protest was smaller than on previous days amid an increasingly heavy security presence on the streets. Reformist election candidate Mehdi Karoubi on Thursday called off a planned ceremony to mourn those killed in the protests, saying he had been unable to get permission for it. Diplomatic row Iran has accused foreign governments of inflaming the protests. President Ahmadinejad said US President Obama "made a mistake" with his comments about the crackdown in Iran. "Our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously [former US President George W] Bush used to say," he was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying. On Wednesday, Washington said it had rescinded invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend US 4 July celebrations held by embassies around the world. A White House spokesman said Iranians had not replied anyway, but it was described by the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington as the first concrete step taken by the Obama administration in protest at the crackdown in Iran. Also on Wednesday, Tehran said it was considering downgrading ties with Britain, after expelling two diplomats the previous day for "activities incompatible with their status". The UK later announced that two Iranian diplomats were being sent home in retaliation.

DTN News: The Versatile T-37 Jet Trainer Flying High, Performed As A Fighter, Interceptor And Fighter-Bomber

DTN News: The Versatile T-37 Jet Trainer Flying High, Performed As A Fighter, Interceptor And Fighter-Bomber
*Sources: DTN News / Defense Media
(NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK - June 25, 2009: On June 17th, the last of nearly 79,000 American military student pilots flew a T-37B jet trainer. After half a century, the T-37B has retired. One of the most successful aircraft designs of the post-World War II era, the Cessna T-37 is a two engine primary jet trainer with a top speed of about 680 kilometers an hour.
A jet trainer / light attack aircraft may not be the same sort of status symbol as first-line fighter jet, but the need to perform adequate flight training and the low cost, ease of maintenance, and combat effectiveness of light attack aircraft has ensured that the trainer-attack type is in common use over the world. One of the most prominent of the trainer-attack types is the Cessna "T-37/A-37", known in various forms as the "Tweety Bird", "Tweet", "Dragonfly", or "Super Tweet". This small, neat aircraft flew for decades as a primary trainer for the US Air Force, and served with distinction in the attack role during the Vietnam War. The T-37/A-37 has also provided excellent service in the air forces of other nations.
Designed in 1953, the three ton T-37, affectionately nicknamed the "Tweet," entered service with the Air Force in 1957. Through the 1960s, 1,268 T-37s were produced in several models, including a ground attack version, the A-37, which has a much higher speed (830 kilometers an hour) and somewhat different overall characteristics. Most T/A-37s were still flying at the end of the Cold War. But since then, they have been retired at a rapid rate. The versatile T-37 proved an attractive investment for nations wishing to stretch their defense dollars, and was procured for use by the U.S. and 14 other countries. The oldest T-37s have logged over 20,000 hours of flight time, with the average well over 12,000 hours. By 1996, all USAF T-37Bs completed a SLEP refit, extending their total useful life to over 30,000 hours. Regarded as a "user friendly" aircraft, by now many T-37Bs are basically worn out. The T-6A was selected as its replacement because this aircraft, based on the very popular Pilatus PC-9, already had an excellent reputation as a trainer aircraft. A single engine prop driven aircraft, the T-6A, reduces fuel costs by over 60 percent. The three ton T-6As cost about $8 million each. But many nations still prefer the tweet, and the United States is constantly asked to provide some of its retired (to the bone yard) T-37s. Last year, for example, the U.S. donated twenty pre-owned T-37 jet trainers to Pakistan. The T-37s were being taken from the U.S. storage facility (the "bone yard"), refurbished and shipped to Pakistan (which paid for the shipping). So while the Tweet no longer flies in American colors, it will be found around the world for another decade or so.

DTN News: Kyrgyzstan Should Play 'Active Role' In Afghanistan ~ France

DTN News: Kyrgyzstan Should Play 'Active Role' In Afghanistan ~ France *Sources: DTN News / Defense Media (NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 25, 2009: France on Monday joined the growing chorus of voices urging Kyrgyzstan to cooperate with NATO forces in nearby Afghanistan, as the deadline for the closure of a key US airbase on its territory looms. U.S. Air Force KC 135 tanker planes seen parked next to Kyrgyz Tu-134 passenger planes at the airfield of Ganci U.S. air base in Manas international airport 30 km (19 miles) from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. France's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Pierre Lellouch appealed to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whose government is just weeks away from evicting the US airbase at Manas, to help stabilise its war-torn neighbour. "France hopes that Kyrgyzstan, in concert with the forces of the international community, continues to play an active role in the process of establishing peace in Afghanistan," he said in a statement released by Bakiyev's office. Kyrgyzstan has ordered US forces to quit the US airbase at Manas -- which is used to support operations in Afghanistan -- by August 18 in a decision widely seen as made under pressure from Moscow. But a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent weeks -- including a direct appeal from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to keep the base open -- has caused intense speculation over the fate of the base. Kyrgyzstan appeared to soften its position on Friday, when it became the last of the five Central Asian states to offer to open its territory for the transit of non-lethal cargo to Afghanistan. Manas is used to ferry tens of thousands of troops in and out of Afghanistan each year. The loss of the base would deal a major blow to coalition military efforts at a time when US President Barack Obama is seeking to boost the campaign against the Taliban.

DTN News: UN Peacekeeping Forces Military Exercises Code-Named Garuda Shield 2009 In Cipatat, West Java, Indonesia

DTN News: UN Peacekeeping Forces Military Exercises Code-Named Garuda Shield 2009 In Cipatat, West Java, Indonesia
*Sources: DTN News / Defense Media
(NSI News Source Info) CIPATAT, Indonesia - June 25, 2009: Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of US Pacific Command Maj. Gen. Vern T. Miyagi, center, inspects a special purpose weapon called CornerShot as Indonesian Armed Forces Chief Gen. Joko Santoso, left, looks on during the opening ceremony of a joint multinational military exercise between members of UN peacekeeping forces code-named Garuda Shield 2009 in Cipatat, West Java, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 16, 2009.
Major General Vern Miyagi from the US Pacific Command while other military officers looks on during the opening of the 'Garuda Shield 09' in Bandung, west Java on June 16, 2009. The two-week UN peace support operation exercise hosted by Indonesia brings in trooops from nine countries, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Tonga and USA.
The exercise that involved 20 countries is aimed at strengthening cooperation between their armed forces, especially in UN peacekeeping missions.

DTN News: Algeria ~ Taking The Pulse Of AQIM

DTN News: Algeria ~ Taking The Pulse Of AQIM *Source: By Scott Stewart and Fred Burton STRATFOR (NSI News Source Info) June 25, 2009: Late in the evening of June 17, 2009, militants affiliated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) detonated two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against a convoy near Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria, which is located in a mountainous area east of Algiers that has traditionally been an Islamist militant stronghold. The convoy consisted of Algerian paramilitary police vehicles escorting a group of Chinese workers to a site where they were building a new highway to connect Bordj Bou Arreridj with Algiers. After disabling the convoy using IEDs, the militants then raked the trapped vehicles with small-arms fire. When the ambush was over, 18 policemen and one Chinese worker had been killed. Another six gendarmes and two Chinese workers were wounded in the attack. It was the deadliest attack of any type in Algeria since an Aug. 19, 2008, suicide vehicle-borne IED (VBIED) attack against a line of job applicants outside a police academy in Les Issers that killed 48 and injured another 45. AQIM regularly launches armed ambushes and roadside IED attacks in Algeria, and ambushes were frequently used by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) before it announced in September 2006 that it had become part of al Qaeda’s regional franchise — AQIM. Indeed, we have seen four other ambush and IED attacks since May 20, 2009, but the death tolls in such attacks have usually been smaller than the June 17 attack. In light of this anomalous attack, we thought it would be an opportune time to take the pulse of AQIM and try to get a sense of where the group stands today and where it might be going over the next few months. History and Trends The GSPC began as a splinter of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in 1998 as the civil war in Algeria was winding down. At that time, Hassan Hattab led a group of other disaffected GIA members who disagreed with GIA’s targeting of unarmed civilians. Hattab and his followers wanted to distance themselves from the large-scale massacres that had taken place while continuing their struggle against the Algerian government. They formed the GSPC to give themselves a fresh name and a new start. Hattab eventually ran into disputes within the GSPC as the group was increasingly drawn to the transnational jihadist campaign espoused by al Qaeda. He “resigned” (though he was effectively deposed) as the group’s leader in 2001 and was succeeded by Nabil Sahraoui, who declared the GSPC’s allegiance to al Qaeda. Security forces killed Sahraoui in 2004. In a message issued on Sept. 11, 2006, al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al Qaeda in a union he hoped would be “a thorn in the neck of the American and French Crusaders and their allies, and an arrow in the heart of the traitors and apostates.” On Sept. 13, GSPC acknowledged the merger on its Web site with a message from its emir, Abu Musab Abd al-Wadoud, who wrote, “We have full confidence in the faith, the doctrine, the method and the modes of action of [al Qaeda’s] members, as well as their leaders and religious guides.” The newly-established al Qaeda franchise in Algeria was not idle for long. On Oct. 19, 2006, it conducted two IED attacks, one against a police station in El Harrach, an eastern suburb of Algiers, the second against a fuel storage site belonging to the French company Razel in Lakhdaria. On Oct. 29, 2006, the group conducted near-simultaneous VBIED attacks against two Algerian police stations in Reghaia and Dergana. While simultaneous VBIED attacks were something seen in al Qaeda operations, these attacks involved vehicles parked near their targets rather than suicide vehicles and, as such, resembled past GSPC attacks, as did the selection of police stations as targets. Because of these features, the attacks were seen as examples of a hybrid, or transitional, kind of attack. Other transitional attacks continued into early 2007, such as the twin attacks on March 5, 2007, which targeted foreign oil workers and Algerian security forces, indicating AQIM was incorporating the security-force targets of the GSPC with the foreign-influence targets of al Qaeda. The focus on foreign interests and the energy sector was seen in several other attacks and attempted attacks against foreign oil workers and pipelines in late 2006 and early 2007. In spite of this focus, to date, AQIM has not been able to launch any truly disruptive attacks against the Algerian energy sector. On April 11, 2007, AQIM passed another threshold when the group employed two suicide VBIEDS in attacks against separate targets in Algiers. One device was directed at the prime minister’s office in the city center and the second targeted a police station near the international airport in the eastern part of the city. At least 33 people reportedly were killed in the blasts and more than 150 wounded. These attacks marked the first suicide attacks in Algeria connected with GSPC or AQIM and signified a change in tactics. However, the group’s increased operational tempo and less discriminate target selection came with consequences. In mid-2007 the Algerian government launched a massive operation against AQIM that resulted in large losses of men and materiel for the group. AQIM’s shift in targeting strategy also caused disagreements within the insurgency’s leadership. The schism arose between members who favored the tradition GSPC target set and opposed killing civilians, and those members who were more heavily influenced by al Qaeda and wanted to hit foreign and symbolic targets with little regard for civilian casualties. In spite of the government crackdown, and in the face of growing internal dissent, AQIM accelerated its suicide bombing campaign, and there were several other suicide attacks during the last three months of 2007. These attacks included the Sept. 6 bombing of a crowd waiting to greet Algerian President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika in Batna that killed 22 people and injured more than 100; a Sept. 8 suicide VBIED attack against a naval barracks in Dellys that killed 30; and twin suicide VBIED attacks on Dec. 11 that targeted the constitutional court and the headquarters of the U.N. refugee agency in Algiers that killed 47 people, including 17 U.N. employees. AQIM conducted six suicide bombing attacks against military and police targets between January 2008 and the Aug. 19, 2008, VBIED attack against the police academy in Les Issers. During this time, military and law enforcement pressure by the Algerian government continued, as did the public criticism of AQIM for killing innocents. The criticism reached a crescendo after the Les Issers attack, which killed largely poor people looking for employment with the police. AQIM has only conducted one suicide attack since August 2008, and the bulk of its operations have been in sparsely populated areas instead of cities. It is unclear at this point whether these observable shifts are in response to the criticism of AQIM’s tactics or if they are a result of the government’s efforts to dismantle the group. Large VBIEDs are resource intensive. In fact, the explosives required to construct one large VBIED could be used to manufacture many smaller IEDs or suicide vests. Since the Les Issers attack, AQIM has conducted several IED attacks but these have all involved smaller IEDs, and the number of bystander deaths has dropped as the attacks have appeared to have been more carefully aimed at government or foreign targets. Of course, suicide bombers are also a resource that can only be used once, and it takes time and effort to recruit new bombers. We will be watching carefully to see if the current trend away from the employment of large VBIEDs in urban areas is a temporary lull caused by government pressure and a lack of resources, or if it is an intentional shift designed to assuage public anger. It is very difficult for an insurgent organization to thrive in an environment where the local population turns against it, and perhaps the AQIM leadership has learned a lesson from the high cost the GIA paid after it began killing civilians and lost public support. In addition to the military and law enforcement pressure, the Algerian government has been very busy in its efforts to apply ideological pressure to AQIM. One way this pressure has been applied is in the form of former militant leaders associated with the group criticizing its change in targeting and tactics. For example, after the Les Issers bombing in August 2008, GSPC founder Hassan Hattab called on the militants to lay down their arms and surrender. There is also talk that the government may soon expand an amnesty offer to include members of the organization who have been excluded from the current amnesty offer because they were deemed to have too much blood on their hands. Like previous amnesty offers, this expansion could serve to further weaken the organization as members choose to turn themselves in. Regional Franchise? By design, AQIM incorporated the GSPC with elements of Morocco’s Islamic Combatant Group, Libya’s Islamic Fighting Group, several Tunisian groups, most notably the Tunisian Combatant Group, and jihadists in Mali, Niger and Mauritania. However, in practice, the vast majority of the group’s infrastructure came from the GSPC, and attacks since the founding of AQIM in 2006 have reflected this. Indeed, in spite of the many high-profile Libyan and Moroccan militants who serve as part of the al Qaeda core leadership, Libya and Morocco have been extremely calm since the emergence of AQIM, and the group has remained an Algeria-based phenomenon. In Mauritania, attacks linked to AQIM began as early as December 2007, but AQIM militants there have not displayed the capability to carry out sophisticated attacks. Most attacks in Mauritania involve amateurish small-arms assaults such as the attack on French tourists on Dec. 23, 2007, or the Feb. 1, 2008, shooting at the Israeli embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania’s capital. As we were writing this, we learned of the June 23 shooting of an American teacher in Nouakchott. The man was reportedly gunned down outside the school where he taught, and Mauritanian officials are blaming the attack on AQIM rather than criminals. The attacks in Mauritania have shown rudimentary tactics with poor planning, and the militants associated with AQIM in Mauritania simply have not displayed the ability to mount a large-scale, coordinated attack. The group’s activities in Mali and Niger are also mainly constrained to low-level attacks against government or military outposts and foreign mining sites and personnel in the northern stretches of those countries. AQIM also conducts training and engages in smuggling and kidnappings for ransom in this deserted region. This means that, in the end, in spite of all the hype associated with the AQIM name, the group is essentially a rebranded GSPC and not some sort of revolutionary new organization. It has adapted its target set to include foreign interests, and it did add suicide bombing to its repertoire, but aside from that there has been very little movement toward AQIM’s becoming a truly regional threat. That said, AQIM has received a lot of attention from the al Qaeda core leadership, which has sought to support it however it can and spur it on beyond Algeria. On June 23, 2009, al Qaeda media wing As Sahab released a 35-minute video statement from Abu Yahya al-Libi entitled “Algeria Between the Sacrifice of Fathers and Faithfulness of Sons.” As his name implies, al-Libi is himself from Libya, and one of the things he does in the video is urge militants in Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco to mobilize and join under the “banner, command and emirate” of AQIM. The video appears to be an attempt by the al Qaeda leadership to counter ideological attacks by the Algerian government as well as AQIM’s regional stagnation. Coming Home to Roost? In addition to fighting against the regime in Algeria, Algerian militants have also been very conspicuous on jihadist battlefields such as Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. Some studies have even concluded that Algerians were the single largest group of foreign jihadists who fought in Iraq during the height of the insurgency. One of the things we have been anticipating for several years now is a boomerang effect as foreign jihadists leave places such as Iraq and Pakistan and return home. While many foreign jihadists have been killed in such places, those who survive after fighting sophisticated foes like the American military are not only hardened but also possess insurgent tradecraft skills that make them far more lethal when they leave those battlefields than when they entered them. Indeed, we have seen a migration of IED technology and tactics from Iraq to other theaters, such as Afghanistan. With developments in Iraq over the last few years that have made Iraq increasingly inhospitable to foreign jihadists, and with Pakistan now quickly becoming less friendly, many of the Algerian militants in those places may be seeking to return home. And this brings us back to the anomalous vehicular ambush on June 17. That operation, while a common type of attack in Algeria, was uncharacteristically deadly. It is plainly possible that the high death toll was merely a fluke. Perhaps the AQIM militants got lucky or the Algerian gendarmes targeted in the attack made a fatal mistake. However, the increased death toll could also have been a result of superior IED design, or superior planning by the operational leader of the ambush. Such a shift could indicate that an experienced operational commander or bombmaker has come to AQIM from someplace like Iraq or Pakistan. It will be very important to watch the next few AQIM attacks to see if the June 17 attack was indeed just an anomaly or if it was the beginning of a new and deadly trend. 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DTN News: Pakistan TODAY June 25, 2009 - U.S. Missile Killed Key Trainer Of Taliban Suicide Bombers

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY June 25, 2009 - U.S. Missile Killed Key Trainer Of Taliban Suicide Bombers *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TANK/MIRAMSHAH, Pakistan - June 25, 2009: Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, had a narrow escape on Tuesday when he left only moments before an attack by US drones on the funeral of a militant commander in South Waziristan. Men hold weapons while attending the funeral of commander Qari Zainuddin in Dera Ismail Khan, located in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province June 24, 2009. A gunman working as a guard shot dead Zainuddin, who was a rival of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud on Tuesday, dealing a potential blow to a government plan to defeat al Qaeda ally Mehsud. The gunman escaped. The strike, however, claimed a significant scalp in the shape of Qari Hussain, a lieutenant of Baitullah who was popularly known as Ustad-i-Fidayeen, or teacher of suicide bombers. Circles in TTP had widely tipped him as Baitullah’s successor. According to residents of Bekh Mary Langara, the scene of the attack, 80 people, 30 militants among them, lost their lives. Doctors at the government hospital in Miramshah, North Waziristan, said 27 injured people, including children, were brought for treatment. Taliban denied reports that militant commander Maulvi Sangeen Zadran, who attended the funeral along with three other leaders, had been killed in the attack. ‘Reports about Sangeen Zadran’s death are baseless and his video statement will be released within two days,’ Taliban leader Noorullah told Dawn in Miramshah. He, however, confirmed that some militant commanders had died, including Maulvi Bilal, Khushdel and Shabir Khan. The attack took place when a large number of people had assembled for the burial of an Afghan militant commander, Khoze Wali, who had been killed in a similar missile strike. Some officials believe that commander Sangeen had come from Afghanistan’s Paktia province to attend the funeral of one of his key colleagues and the drones might have picked up his movement. However, some locals said several Taliban commanders, including Baitullah and Sangeen, attended the funeral, but left moments before the strike. Pakistani army troops patrol through a market in the troubled town of Upper Dir on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Clashes continued Wednesday as Pakistani security forces battle militants for control of Taliban strongholds Buner and Swat Valley. ‘About 5,000 people attended the funeral and the main commanders, including Baitullah, had left before the missiles were fired,’ said an injured man at the Miramshah hospital. Taliban commander Wali Rehman said the dead had been buried in a mass grave. He said the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. Meanwhile, two Khasadars were injured in an explosion near a checkpoint in Miramshah on Wednesday.

DTN News: Yemen TODAY June 25, 2009 - Yemeni Tribal Source Says Six Foreign Hostages Alive

DTN News: Yemen TODAY June 25, 2009 - Yemeni Tribal Source Says Six Foreign Hostages Alive
*Sources: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) SANAA, Yemen - June 25, 2009: Six foreign hostages kidnapped this month in a restive area of northern Yemen are alive and being held by Shiite rebels, a tribal source said on Monday, after three other hostages were found dead last week. Qassim Talib , governor of the southern Yemeni province of Dhalea, is escorted by bodyguards before a pro-government demonstration in Dhalea June 24, 2009. The demonstration was held to denounce calls by southern groups for the south of Yemen to secede from the north. "The six hostages were found alive and handed over to (rebel) commander Abdullah al-Rizani," the tribal source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "They are currently in the Ruzmat area" of Saada province, the centre of the Shiite rebellion in the mountains near the Saudi border, he added. The source said that the rebels had identified the kidnappers as being two of their own fighters -- Mohsen al-Tam and Fawaz Morqi. A senior Yemeni security official said he too had information that the hostages were alive and in the hands of the rebels. "The rebels are refusing to hand over either the hostages or their kidnappers," the official told AFP. The hostages -- five Germans and one Briton -- were part of a group of nine foreigners whose abduction the Yemeni authorities announced on June 14. The bodies of the three women hostages -- two Germans and a South Korean -- were found on June 15. Yemeni Interior Minister Motahar al-Masri had said on Saturday that the other hostages might still be alive. "The information we have is that no bodies of any one of the six hostages were found and there is a possibility that they are still alive," he said. The German government had no immediate comment on the latest reports. The Yemeni authorities have repeatedly blamed the abduction and murders on the rebels from Yemen's Zaidi Shiite minority who have been fighting for restoration of the Zaidi imamate which was overthrown in a republican coup in 1962. The rebels again denied any involvement in the kidnappings or the murders on Monday. "This information is baseless... perhaps even intelligence leaks whose objective is to hinder the investigation," rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam told the Doha-based Al-Jazeera television channel. "We do not have any information and the authorities are responsible for what is happening and what has befallen the hostages". A police patrol vehicle is seen on a street in the southwestern Yemeni city of Dhalea June 24, 2009, ahead of a pro-government demonstration that was held to denounce calls by southern groups for the south of Yemen to secede from the north. The nine foreigners worked for Worldwide Services, which has been operating a hospital in Saada for the past 35 years, according to Yemeni officials. The Brake bible school in Lemgo, Germany said the two slain Germans were third-year students who had been doing work experience at the hospital in Saada since the start of June. Local sources said the group was a Baptist organisation that also has a medical team in the hospital at Jebla, south of Sanaa, where an Islamist militant killed three American doctors in December 2002. Foreigners are often kidnapped in Yemen by tribesmen to be used as bargaining chips in disputes with the government. More than 200 foreigners have been abducted over the past 15 years. But this is the first time in nearly a decade that a hostage has died. In June 2000, a Norwegian diplomat was killed in an gunfight between police and his abductors. In December 1998, three Britons and an Australian seized by Islamist militants were killed when security forces stormed the kidnappers' hideout. In March of this year, four South Korean visitors to Yemen were killed in a suicide bombing at a historic tourist site that was claimed by Al-Qaeda. Seoul urged its citizens to leave the country after that attack.

DTN News: Israel TODAY June 25, 2009 - US ~ Israel Talks In Paris Aborted

DTN News: Israel TODAY June 25, 2009 - US ~ Israel Talks In Paris Aborted
*Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 25, 2009: A meeting between Israel's prime minister and a senior US envoy has been cancelled amid growing differences over settlement building in the West Bank. Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot said the US put off the meeting in response to Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to heed US demands to halt settlement activity. French President Nicolas Sarkozy shakes hand with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu prior a bilateral meeting on June 24, 2009, at the Elysee palace in Paris. Netanyahu tries to seek backing from President Nicolas Sarkozy for his hawkish line on Iran. Making his first visit to Europe since taking office in April, Netanyahu flew into Paris from Rome and was set to hold one-on-one talks with Sarkozy, before giving an evening speech to members of the French Jewish community. But Mr Netanyahu's aides say it was the prime minister who cancelled Thursday's meeting with George Mitchell in Paris. They said "more professional work" was needed, without adding further details. Instead, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak is now scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday to meet Mr Mitchell. Mr Netanyahu has arrived in Paris from Rome, on his first trip to Europe since he took office. He is promoting his hawkish line on Iran, seeking harsher sanctions over its nuclear programme. US State Department officials confirmed that the bilateral talks in Paris had been postponed, but they did not explain why it was necessary for their envoy to see Mr Barak on Monday instead. 'Unnatural growth' US President Barack Obama has called for a freeze on construction of settlements, which are widely viewed as illegal under international law. Mr Netanyahu has said he will not build additional enclaves in occupied Palestinian territory - but he wants to continue building within existing settlements to foster what Israel views as their "natural growth". Mr Netanyahu is on his first visit to Europe since taking office as Israeli PM. However, Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said on Wednesday that the rise in settler numbers is considerably greater than the birth-rate. They cite figures from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics which show that 36% of all new settlers in 2007 had moved from Israel or abroad. About 300,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and and another 180,000 in East Jerusalem. These were among the Arab territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war. The number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank was 116,300 in 1993 - when Israel and the Palestinians signed the landmark Oslo accords in which both sides undertook not to take any action that would undermine negotiations towards a permanent resolution. The Palestinian Authority wants to establish a future Palestinian state in the whole of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip - currently ruled by the rival militant Hamas movement. Mr Netanyahu finally bowed to US pressure to endorse the principle of Palestinian statehood in a speech 10 days ago, but he put a raft of conditions on its creation which Palestinian leaders called unacceptable.

DTN News: Iran TODAY June 25, 2009 - Iran Police Use Tear Gas, Clubs To Crush Protest

DTN News: Iran TODAY June 25, 2009 - Iran Police Use Tear Gas, Clubs To Crush Protest *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - June 25, 2009: Riot police blocked protesters from gathering in Tehran on Wednesday, witnesses said, as Iran's supreme leader warned he will not back down in the face of unrest following the disputed presidential vote. "In the recent incidents concerning the election, I have been insisting on the implementation of the law and I will be (insisting). Neither the system, nor the people will back down under force," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressing Iranian MPs beneath a portrait of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeni during a meeting in Tehran on June 24, 2009. Khamenei warned that the regime would not back down in the face of opposition protests over the disputed presidential vote, amid soaring tensions between Tehran and the West. It was the latest indication that the clerical regime will not brook dissent over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite a wave of public demonstrations and complaints that the June 12 election was rigged. And in a sign security forces are wasting no time to put down protests, a large presence of riot police and Islamist Basij militiamen stopped a crowd of several hundred people trying to assemble outside the Iranian parliament building, according to a witness. Another witness near parliament reported seeing police charge at passers by, who dispersed into nearby streets. Later in the evening a big squad of riot police remained deployed in the area, a source said. In the latest diplomatic backlash over what Iran has branded Western meddling, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran may downgrade ties with Britain. His comments came after the two governments expelled diplomats in a tit-for-tat move, with Tehran increasingly pointing the finger at London over the street violence that erupted in the aftermath of the election. Tehran has accused Britain -- described by Khameini as the "most evil" of Iran's enemies -- of plotting against the election and seeking to stabilise the country. It has expelled the BBC correspondent in Tehran and arrested a British-Greek journalist working for a US newspaper, one of at least two foreign reporters detained by the authorities. Iran's interior minister also took aim at the United States, saying rioters were being funded by the CIA and the exiled opposition group the People's Mujahedeen. Iran has refused to overturn the results of the poll but Khamenei -- who has ruled over the Islamic republic for 20 years -- has extended by five days a Wednesday deadline to examine vote complaints. The authorities have also intensified a crackdown on opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, with the arrest of 25 staff at his newspaper and vitriolic attacks from the hardline press. Another defeated candidate, former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezai, has withdrawn his protest about election irregularities, in a blow to the opposition.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waits to meet with Speaker of the upper house of the Belarussian parliament Barys Batura (not seen) in Tehran on June 24, 2009. Iran faced mounting international pressure after US President Barack Obama raised "significant questions" about the legitimacy of the presidential election and expressed outrage over the crackdown on opposition protesters. "(Iran's) political, social and security situation has entered a sensitive and decisive phase, which is more important than the election," Rezai said in a letter to the Guardians Council, the top election body. Mousavi, who was premier in the post-revolution era, has urged supporters to keep demonstrating but to use "self-restraint" to avoid further bloodshed while another defeated candidate Mehdi Karroubi has called for a mourning ceremony on Thursday for slain protesters. The Revolutionary Guards, the elite force set up to protect the Islamic republic, has warned of a "decisive and revolutionary" riposte to any further protests. The last opposition rally on Monday was crushed by hundreds of riot police armed with steel clubs and firing tear gas. The foreign media is banned from reporting from the streets under tight restrictions imposed since the unrest was unleashed, but images of police brutality have spread worldwide via amateur video over the Internet. At least 17 people have been killed and many more wounded in the worst unrest since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago which has jolted the pillars of the clerical regime. US President Barack Obama, who has called for dialogue with Iran after three decades of severed ties, said on Tuesday there were "significant questions about the legitimacy" of the poll but insisted Washington was not interfering. "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days." Many hundreds of protesters, prominent reformists and journalists have been rounded up by the authorities, including some people close to top regime officials such as former president Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. An Iranian Air Force F-5E fighter plane takes off during manoeuvres in southern Iran June 24, 2009. The Guardians Council, a 12-member unelected body of Islamic clerics and jurists, insisted on Tuesday the election results would stand. "We witnessed no major fraud or breach," spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said. "Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place." However, Mousavi's campaign office released a report listing "electoral fraud and irregularities" in the poll that gave him just 34 percent of the vote to 63 percent for Ahmadinejad. It denounced what it said was "large-scale" official support for Ahmadinejad and spoke of ballot papers being printed on polling day without serial numbers, doubts about whether ballot boxes were empty when they arrived at polling stations and candidates' representatives being banned from vote centres. Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the European parliament said he hopes to lead a delegation of European deputies to Iran to study an election which appears to be "a massive fraud". "I will recommend to the European parliament political groups to send a delegation of the European parliament as quickly as possible to Tehran," Poettering said after meeting Iranian Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi.