Asia Times

"Gennady Yefstafiyev, a former general in Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, wrote: 'The US's long term goals in Iran are obvious: to engineer the downfall of the current regime; to establish control over Iran's oil and gas; and to use its territory as the shortest route for the transportation of hydrocarbons under US control from the regions of Central Asia and the Caspian Sea bypassing Russia and China. This is not to mention Iran's intrinsic military and strategic significance.'" [more]

"A new book by an author going by the name Anonymous (a senior US intelligence official), contains an outright and strong condemnation of America's counter-terrorism policy [...] The book, due out in the first week of July, titled Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, dismisses two of the most frequent boasts of the Bush administration: that bin Laden and al-Qaeda are 'on the run' and that the Iraq invasion has made America safer." [more]

"After many American threats to arrest Muqtada in the past, the American occupying forces accused al-Hawza of fomenting violence against them and closed its offices for 60 days, padlocking and chaining the doors, handing the editor a letter signed by US civilian administrator L Paul Bremer, explaining that the newspaper had violated a ban on fomenting violence." [more]

"So the future of US-India ties will depend largely on the election results. RSS-supported economists believe that the world has entered the era of economic warfare with the developed nations and that by kowtowing to the US, India is merely prolonging its status as a developing country. This is also the view of India's president, missile scientist Dr Abdul Kalam, whom the RSS sponsored for the post of the president, even though he is a Muslim. The ideas expressed in his books - about economic warfare - are very popular in the country." [more]

"Corporate critics say they are comfortable with these ideals, which are already pursued by many companies on an individual basis. What they reject is the notion that there should be any international compulsion. While the charter would not have the force of a formal UN treaty, it has taken the rare step of including an enforcement lever that might force negligent firms to pay compensation to their alleged victims - if they are convicted in local courts." [more]

"An official US statement declaring Ansar a terrorist group claimed that Zarqawi was a 'senior al-Qaeda operative', but later he was only 'suspected' of being some kind of affiliate. Until two weeks ago, he was considered the leader of Ansar al-Islam. Now he is thought to head a Jordanian extremist group called al-Tawhid, and only linked to al-Qaeda and other groups." [more]

"With all the attention paid to neo-conservatives in the international media nowadays, one would think that there would be a standard definition of the term. Yet, despite their now being credited with a virtual takeover of US foreign policy under President George W Bush, a common understanding of the term remains elusive." [more]

"The administration of President Bush has intensified efforts to seek troops from India, Pakistan and Turkey in order to bolster a multinational force that now includes troops mostly from former Soviet republics and Latin American nations." [more]

"The Bush administration has come to realize that it is impossible to keep Pakistan as a friend and simultaneously keep the Northern Alliance–backed government in power in Kabul ... either one has Pakistan as a friend with an Islamabad-backed Pashtun group in power in Kabul, or one gets Pakistan as an enemy. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind how the Bush administration would act when confronted with such a choice." [more]

"As the Americans retreat into siege mode, they are cutting themselves entirely off from a populace that was not hostile when they arrived as glorious invaders. The US arguably lost this war in the first days after the 'fall' of Baghdad on April 9. Those days of widespread looting in April are deeply ingrained in Iraqi minds. There would be a lot more respect for a victor able to preserve the riches of a conquered country. And now the talk in the Iraqi street is still of those days in June when there was no electricty but oil exports had resumed." [more]

"The hard truth is that US intelligence simply does not really know what is going on in the Taliban and al-Qaeda camps. This is evidenced by the countless raids that have been launched in recent times, none of which have resulted in the capture of anyone in Afghanistan." [more]

"And contrary to the view projected in most of the Western media, that the attacks are proof that al-Qaeda has become stronger than ever since September 11, the reality is that bin Laden's jihad against the US has to a large extent been hijacked by local Muslim groups, who are now the ones perpetuating the waves of terror." [more]

"A senior police officer in Bangalore told Asia Times Online that what has emerged in the media of Bangalore's links with the terrorist/criminal underworld is 'just the tip of the iceberg'." [more]

"Since March, 12,000 US troops have been added to Kuwait (8,000) and Qatar (4,000) and 5,000 Brits to Oman, bringing the April/May total to 62,000. In late June, the Turkish foreign ministry reported heavy air traffic of US military transport planes aimed at increasing the number of US troops in southern Turkey from 7,000 to 25,000 by the end of July. Also in June, a contingent of 1,700 British Royal Marines were re-deployed from Afghanistan to Kuwait and a 250-man, highly-specialized German NBC (nuclear-biological-chemical) warfare battalion equipped with "Fuchs" (fox) armored vehicles has been in Kuwait since early this year." [more]

Some time over the next six to nine months, the US will move militarily on Iraq, unless perchance Saddam makes an earlier exit. Europeans will howl in protest about US imperial unilateralism. They may want to consider that clear expressions of support for the Iranian opposition now could create changes there and in the larger region that might hold the best chance for making military intervention in an isolated Iraq unnecessary. [more]

"The mainstream national press is becoming increasingly anti-US, as are the sermons delivered during Friday prayers by clerics in the holy city of Mecca. Already, calls to boycott US goods are being heeded, with the McDonald's and Burger King franchises being high-profile casualties." [more]

"Washington's policy shapers, the US Congress and the Broadcasting Board of Governors unanimously agreed that the US needed to wage a specific and untraditional media effort to reach the 'Arab population' — not merely the political leadership." [more]

"If Zobaida has indeed been arrested, it would certainly mean a setback for the operations in which he was immediately involved, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. But the al-Qaeda is a coordinated body of many militant outfits scattered all over the world. Their presence in the shape of the Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah reflects the fact that although the 'routes are different, the destination is one' and they can execute their plans against US interests independently." [more]

"The United States and its opponents are preparing for a new phase of combat in Afghanistan, with information suggesting that after March a renewed anti-US struggle is likely to begin in the country. The movement will not be led by Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, but will be a combination of various Afghan factions inside and outside of Afghanistan, and even including some elements of the Northern Alliance. And informed sources have revealed to Asia Times Online that this new movement wants to solicit the either direct or indirect support of Iran, which has serious reservations over the US presence in the region." [more]