Arab News Blog

Max Blumenthal shows that the IDF is quietly redacting its own press releases to remove allegations of links between the IHH members of the flotilla and al-Qaeda:

Not content to believe that night vision goggles signal membership in Al Qaeda, Israel-based freelance reporter Lia Tarachansky and I called the IDF press office to ask for more conclusive evidence. Tarachansky reached the IDF’s Israel desk, interviewing a spokesperson in Hebrew; I spoke with the North America desk, using English. We both received the same reply from Army spokespeople: “We don’t have any evidence. The press release was based on information from the [Israeli] National Security Council.” (The Israeli National Security Council is Netanyahu’s kitchen cabinet of advisors).

Today, the Israeli Army’s press office changed the headline of its press release (see below), basically retracting its claim about the flotilla’s Al Qaeda links.

We debunked the basis of previous al-Qaeda links here.

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Jeffrey Goldberg, coming to the rescue of Denis Ross … Very Funny … In the Atlantic/ here

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POLITICO/ here

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Bandar: in the brig?A few months ago I saw an Iranian report that claimed that Prince Bandar — known as “Bandar Bush” for his closeness to the Bush family — was under arrest after having tried to plot a coup. I was skeptical, and emailed a Saudi specialist about it, who dismissed it instantly. Bandar hasn’t been seen much since he left the US after being replaced as ambassador, and is probably unhappy with King Abdullah’s policies and the rise of Prince Nayef as the most likely successor to the throne. This much is known. The idea of a coup sounded pretty far-fetched.

Yesterday Hugh Miles wrote in the LRB blog that Saudi dissidents claim Bandar and four generals may be held in prison:

According to Saudi opposition sources, Bandar is now in Dhaban Prison, in north west Jeddah, a high security jail where terrorist suspects and political opposition figures are held. Bandar is said to be in a special wing where the other prisoners are four senior generals: one from the army, one from the royal guard, one from the national guard and one from internal security. Bandar’s lawyer in the US denies he is in prison and says he has been seen out and about recently, although he wouldn’t divulge when, where or even in which country.

The last official sighting of Bandar in public seems to have been on 10 December 2008, when he met the king in Jeddah. Since then he has missed a string of important events, and no one will say why. In September 2009, when his position as head of the Kingdom’s National Security Council was renewed for another four years, he didn’t appear in public to profess his allegiance to the king, as is customary. No official explanation was forthcoming. The same month, Bandar missed the Dallas Cowboys’ first home game against the New York Giants in their new stadium. Bandar has been a Cowboys fan since he flew as a fighter pilot instructor in Texas in the 1970s. He normally sits next to his friend Jerry Jones, the team’s owner. Then in October Bandar failed to show up as one of the official delegation accompanying King Abdullah on his landmark visit to Damascus, which ended the four-year estrangement between Saudi Arabia and Syria that began with the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri in 2005.

But the most significant event Bandar missed was in December 2009 when his ill father, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, returned to the Kingdom after months convalescing in Morocco. As usual, the event was shown live on TV and Prince Sultan received many members of the Saudi royal family. Some senior figures – such as Princes Talal, Muteb and Abdulrahman – weren’t there for known reasons. But Bandar’s absence hasn’t been accounted for.

The lack of any official explanation of Bandar’s whereabouts is especially puzzling since he is supposed to head an important government agency. When he returned from Washington in 2005 after his 22-year stint as ambassador, his appointment as secretary-general of the newly formed National Security Council was meant to signal a return to the family fold and a higher domestic profile. In the months before his disappearance he travelled frequently to Moscow, both to negotiate arms deals and to try to persuade the Kremlin to halt its military co-operation with Iran. There’s been speculation that his activity in Russia could be connected to his disappearance: some blogs claim that Bandar’s supposed abortive coup was exposed by Russian intelligence.

That would be quite huge. Miles speculates that whatever the truth of the matter, Bandar’s era of influence is over. This also means one of the major advocates of a strong relationship with the US is now absent, at a time when the next king of Saudi Arabia is likely to be Prince Nayef, who is less sanguine about Amreeka. And so, little by little, US dominion over the Middle East is being eroded.

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In the Times of India/ here

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“An IDF-trained dog by the name of Miky has put the Police Department of Helena, Montana on the map in recent days.” And this dog was featured in US newspapers too. I won’t be surprised if this dog gets an appointment in Obama’s National Security Council.

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In the CABLE, here

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From Flickr user Miles_78.

Al Sharq al-Awsat brings some clarification about the recent nomination of Seif al-Islam Qadhafi to a post that would bring him, legally at least, much control over Libya’s institutions – Saif al-Islam to Decide on Nomination Soon:

“Saif-al-Islam withdrew suddenly from the political and public life in Libya last year in what appeared to be a setback for his plan to bring about radical changes in the Libyan state at the political and economic levels. Col. Al-Qadhafi proposed to the institutions in Libya in an official speech last week, which the official media did not report, to enable his son to occupy an official post so that he can continue and implement his reform program and the social leaderships immediately nominated his son as their chairman.

Seif’s appointment, should he accept it (I can’t imagine he won’t), contrasts with the public visibility of his brother Muatassim over the last year. Ever since it was leaked that Muatassim has been getting help from American lobbying firms in not only reaching the ears of prominent Western politicians and academics, but also in setting up the National Security Council that he allegedly runs. The leaks revealed Muatassim was hardly impressive, requiring much coaching, although his money and lobbyists did buy him a photo-op with Hillary Clinton. Should we read into this that Seif, who had earlier overreached, is back as designated successor after his eclipse over the past year? Was it his brother’s disgrace alone that did the trick, or did Seif have something to do with the liberation of Abdel Basset al-Meghrahi which so overjoyed his father? If any readers have a theory about this, do let us know.

Do read the rest of the article, which speculates that Seif’s return aux affaires may give a boost to the ongoing reconciliation with Libya’s Salafists.

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In DECLASSIFIED, here

“…….Suspected Iranian purchasing agents have been using front companies registered on the politically divided Mediterranean island to buy precision Western technology that can be used in designing and building atom bombs, according to reports seen by European intelligence and law-enforcement agencies.

The front companies, some based in Northern Cyprus, a Turkish-run enclave notorious for lax financial regulation, have been ordering equipment and computer software whose capabilities are so unusual and sophisticated that atomic weapons development is among their few known applications. The “dual-use” technology, manufactured by tiny specialized engineering companies in countries such as Germany and Switzerland, does have some potential civilian applications, which is why intelligence officials say that evidence of Iranian efforts to purchase such items doesn’t constitute 100 percent proof that Tehran is currently trying to build a bomb….

US counterproliferation officials said that any proposed revisions in the 2007 US NIE on Iran’s nukes would be subjected to rigorous review and testing inside the intelligence community before any report is issued. If a revised or updated NIE is released it is quite possible that no unclassified version will ever be released. AWall Street Journal report about possible revisions in the 2007 NIE said that the National Security Council and Vice President Joe Biden’s office had expressed interest in an updated NIE, but that it could take “months” to produce. Counter-proliferation officials told NEWSWEEK that at a minimum such a report probably would not be ready for at least two months.”

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This will reinforce the conspiracy theories about the Lebanese civil war in 1975:
“Kissinger: “If we have a civil war in Lebanon resulting from Palestinian action, and Lebanon asks for intervention, what would be our view?”
Helms: “The imagination boggles. It was bad enough in 1958, but now, with the fedayeen as a complicating factor!”
Kissinger: “If we don’t do it, would we have the Israelis do it – or anyone do it? Let’s review the existing papers on Lebanon.”
Harold Saunders, of the National Security Council: “You recall we had an Israeli option.
Kissinger: “Would nothing be better than the Israelis? Let’s review these papers again.”"

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