Dan's Winds of War: 2004-04-19

Welcome! Our goal is to give you power-packed briefings of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leave you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Today we also have a separate in-depth Iraq Report. and both reports are brought to you by Dan Darling of Regnum Crucis.

TOP TOPICS

• Abu Walid al-Ghamdi, the leader of the International Islamic Peacekeeping Brigade in Chechnya and kin to 3 of the 9/11 hijackers, is dead in a major operation by Russian forces. Al-Ghamdi has been responsible for numerous high-profile attacks in both the Caucasus and throughout Russia.

• Hamas leader Rantissi is dead, killed in an Israeli missile strike. The Oompa-Loompas have some advice to offer.

• As is already widely known by now, Osama bin Laden or someone who sounds like him has offered a truce to European nations in return for staying out of the war on terrorism. He appears to have found quite a receptive audience for such an offer among many Euroean commenters on the BBC website. You can read my own analysis of the tape's message as well as that of the Washington Post.

• The Arab newspaper al-Hayat is reporting that a planned attack in Jordan involved the use of chemical weapons. You can read my round-up as well as the ICT coverage of the thwarted attack.

Other Topics Today Include: Iran Reports; al-Qaeda wins round 1 in Waziristan; Pakistani tribals unite for terrorist hunt; LeT is the new al-Qaeda trainer post-Afghanistan; Taliban kill 10 in hit-and-run attack; Hekmatyar lieutenant captured; Zarqawi lieutenant ordered 3/11; David Hicks requested to serve as suicide bomber; Australian medical student arrested as LeT member; Saudi grand mufti issues fatwa on Fallujah; new al-Qaeda recruits in Saudi Arabia; JI hideouts identified in North Cotabato; Tunisia thwarts bomb plots; and the Star Trek communicator becomes a reality.

IRAN REPORTS

• Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is criticizing the US for closing down Sadr's newspaper. Irony comes in many shapes and sizes.

• I've written before about the Iranian role in formenting unrest in Iraq. So just what do they want? Amir Taheri takes a look at some of the answers.

THE WIDER WAR

• It looks like al-Qaeda's won round 1 in Waziristan.

• The Utmakhel, Yargukhel, and Kakakhel clans have agreed to a joint operation against al-Qaeda operating in Pakistan. The tribes, however, want an extension on the government's deadline.

• In the wake of the destruction of the al-Qaeda infrastructure in Afghanistan, the Lashkar-e-Taiba has taken on the role of the group's de facto training providers at their camps in Pakistan.

• Taliban fighters have killed 10 in a hit-and-run attack in Zabul province.

• A key lieutenant of Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is being held in Kabul by members of the ISAF.

• Spain is hunting for Amer Aziz, a Zarqawi lieutenant who appears to have ordered the 3/11 attacks.

• Australian terrorist suspect David Hicks was requested to serve as a suicide bomber for al-Qaeda.

• A 21 year-old Australian medical student is being charged with membership in the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba organization.

• Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti has issued a fatwa urging Muslims to exercise all means to stop coalition action in Fallujah.

• CSM is reporting that despite recent claims to the contrary, al-Qaeda still has fresh recruits in Saudi Arabia.

• The Filippino government has identified 2 JI hideouts in the North Cotabato mountains.

• Tunisia has arrest 7 in connection with a series of bomb plots.

• We try to end on a lighter note if possible. It seems the famous Star Trek communicator has now become a reality.