12. oktober 2005

Syria's interior minister 'commits suicide' Big, big turmoil in Syria. Syria's interior minister, who ran Lebanon for many years and was one of several top officials caught up in the U.N. probe of the slaying of that nation's former prime minister, died Wednesday. The country's official news agency said he committed suicide in his office. The death of Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan - just days before the final U.N. investigation report is due - was a new and startling sign of turmoil in Syria, whose authoritarian regime is girding for the chance that the U.N. report might implicate high-ranking officials in the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. He was killed by a bomb in February as his convoy drove through Beirut. This is another sign of Syria feeling the heat for real. It's hard to predict such things, but it would not surprise me the least if Bashar Assad has fallen within six months. See also: Syria's Assad haunted by Hariri 11:25:38 PM    comment []  trackback []

Letter from a terrorist to a terrorist John at Powerline has an excellent analysis of the intercepted letter from al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden's partner, to Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. While the letter reveals al-Qaeda's grand strategic goals, Zawahiri is obviously worried that the extreme brutality of Zarqawi's jihad in Iraq is causing a backlash among sympathisers, and also risks drawing hostile action from Iran. Among the things which the feelings of the Muslim populace who love and support you will never find palatable -also- are the scenes of slaughtering the hostages. You shouldn't be deceived by the praise of some of the zealous young men and their description of you as the shaykh of the slaughterers, etc. They do not express the general view of the admirer and the supporter of the resistance in Iraq, and of you in particular by the favor and blessing of God. Zawahiri is acutely aware of the public relations aspect of jihad. I don't find it surprising that the Times chose not to emphasize this quote: However, despite all of this, I say to you: that we are in a battle, and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media .... And we can kill the captives by bullet. That would achieve that which is sought after without exposing ourselves to the questions and answering to doubts. We don't need this. Also, the letter is outlining the Afghan-Pakistani al-Qaeda's troubles, though not in explicit terms. I'd say that Zawahiri begging al-Zarqawi, who is in the middle of a costly war, for a contribution of $100,000 (I assume the amount is in US dollars), speaks volumes. And then there is the question of Iran. And do the brothers forget that we have more than one hundred prisoners - many of whom are from the leadership who are wanted in their countries - in the custody of the Iranians? And even if we attack the Shia out of necessity, then why do you announce this matter and make it public, which compels the Iranians to take counter measures? The relationship between Iran and al-Qaeda is one of "the enemy of my enemy" but sooner or later the Iranian leadership may start worrying who is their worst enemy. PS: It is interesting that western media tries to spin the letter into a bad Vietnam omen, considering that on balance, it is such a strong sign of al-Qaeda desperation it could just as well be faked. Update: Very insightful analysis of the Zawahiri letter by Bill Roggio. 11:19:12 PM    comment []  trackback []

But why is he married to her? Man prefers prison to wife: Algerian Ahmed Salhi, 24, was sentenced to a nine month curfew at home with his Italian wife in Ferrara, northern Italy. But he went back to court after a week and begged the judge to jail him because he could not bear her nagging. Salhi was sentenced to nine months house arrest after breaching immigration regulations. Whether the judge could sympathise I don't know, but he granted the request. Salhi was permitted to enjoy the rest of his sentence in prison. 7:04:15 PM    comment []  trackback []

- Archimedes' 'death ray' may have worked The ancient story about Archimedes setting a fleet on fire with mirrors have mostly been dismissed as a myth, but MIT students have performed a feasibility study (an experiment!) showing it could be possible. Ancient Greek and Roman historians recorded that during the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC, Archimedes (a notably smart person) constructed a burning glass to set the Roman warships, anchored within bow and arrow range, afire. The story has been much debated and oft dismissed as myth. TV's MythBusters were not able to replicate the feat and “busted” the myth. But the MIT students actually managed to turn a wooden boat on fire with 127 mirrors 100 feet away. I still think the story is not based on a true event, but it's still interesting that it can be done. Now, if they had done it on a distance of a 1000 feet... Hat tip Terry. 7:18:50 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2005 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.11.2005; 20:34:01.