While attending the conference, I have to admit that I was somewhat unnerved by just how many people I recognized from TV appearances were there. I think that my (as well as Robi's) biggest single reaction was something akin to, "Oh my God, that's Christopher Hitchens!" when he walked passed us. Other notables I recognized were David Corn of The Nation (whom I'll come back to later on) and Matthew Yglesias of the American Prospect as well as the Washington correspondents for al-Sharq al-Awsat and al-Hayat. If there were many major Western media correspondents there, I must confess not having seen them, though I did notice Hussein Ibish in the audience - it's hard not to miss him, the man looks like the Kingpin from Marvel comics.

One of probably the best aspects of the conference was that the discussion dealt primarily with the issue of Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda rather than the justice or lack thereof with regard to the war in Iraq. As a result, with only a handful of notable exceptions during the Q&A period, most of the conversation was entirely civil and stuck within agreed-upon facts rather than on the usual back-and-forth of whether or not Bush lied/misled the American public that all too frequently exists within these types of debates.

Out of the panel, Bergen appeared to be the most skeptical of the four as to the nature of the connection, followed by Yaphe. Woolsey was definitely on the ball, not only from a rhetorical standpoint but also because much of his analysis was struck me as being very accurate, perhaps they can tap him to return to his previous position as DCI? He also really struck home with regard to his answers concerning the often-repeated meme about "connecting the dots" and explained that while one only needs to know how to count and use a pencil in order to see the whole picture in a children's book that intelligence is a little more complicated than that.

As far as the book itself goes, all of the panelists praised Hayes for his work on the issue of Iraqi connections to al-Qaeda. The Feith memo was discussed in detail and Hayes noted that several of the journalists who had attempted to "debunk" it (a thinly-veiled reference to Newsweek's Isikoff and Hosenball in my opinion) would do well to become familiar with the actual memo before they or their anonymous sources dismissed it as wholely inaccurate.

The issue of Iraqi/al-Qaeda animosity was also discussed in detail. Bergen noted that when he interviewed bin Laden in Afghanistan during the late 1990s that the terrorist leader had shrugged and told him that Saddam Hussein was a bad Muslim who had invaded Kuwait out of greed. While I would hold that both positions are entirely accurate, it struck me as odd that Bergen would cite them as some kind of "proof" of al-Qaeda incompatability with respect to Iraq - no offense, but if bin Laden was in cahoots with Saddam Hussein, do they really believe that he would say as much to a journalist? Woolsey probably had the most sensible answer to the question, which is, as in the case of al-Qaeda ties to Iran or the Saudi royals, that the terror network is perhaps best described as being somewhat analogous to the mafia, wherein various factions may hate one another or even assassinate one another, but they can still collaborate in areas of mutual interest. Similar collaboration evidently occurred during the Cold War between any number of organizations regardless of ideological animosities. There was also some discussion of whether Zarqawi received leg or nasal surgery while in Baghdad, to which I think Christopher Hitchens put it best that regardless of whether he was hurting in the knees or hurting in the nose when he came to Baghdad, the issue is still that he was in Baghdad rather than what kind of surgery was performed on the man.

I also found it interesting to note that all of the panel participants agreed that the FBI anthrax investigation was nothing short of a disgrace. While none of them singled out Iraq as the culprit, they all concurred that the FBI's "lone nut" thesis has several holes big enough for Godzilla to walk through.

All in all, the conference was more or less a rehash of things that I had heard before (indeed, many of which I've said before) with some new information, particularly in the case of Shakir, whom Hayes identifies as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Saddam Fedayeen. As Bergen in particular noted, this all but cries out for more investigation. Woolsey also noted that now-former CIA director Tenet has not distanced himself from remarks before Congress that Iraq provided training, money, and safe haven to al-Qaeda and that Ahmed Chalabi and the INC was hardly the only source of US information on Iraqi collaboration with al-Qaeda.

Hayes also spends a great deal of time in the book discussing media perception of the Iraqi connection with al-Qaeda. Whereas the media was only to eager to uncritically report information on the collaboration between Iraq and al-Qaeda back from 1998 to 2000, this changed dramatically during the run-up to the war in Iraq. I don't want to get into the whole issue of media bias in this particular analysis, but it is very much worth noting that US charges of collaboration between Iraq and al-Qaeda neither begin nor end with the administration of George Bush.

The Q&A was more or less a rehash of many of the same conversations that we've had here at Winds of Change, though Christopher Hitchens's wit was certainly a welcome addition to the mix. I have to say, though, that near as I can tell, David Corn's entire purpose in coming to the conference was to make a cheap shot at Hayes and Ledeen over the issue of Chalabi. Not only did that strike me as unprofessional, but in all honesty it really had very little to do with the subject at hand. Yglesias, incidently, did a much better job with his question of why the administration hasn't launched a search operation on par with the Iraqi Survey Group given how much effort they invested in their pre-war allegations concerning Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda. Ibish accused Hayes of peddling a conspiracy theory that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks, even though he conceded that he had yet to actually read the book.

Ultimately, that seems to be the basic thing that everyone got out of the conference: read the book, look at the evidence, and then come to your own conclusions. While I very much doubt that Hayes's book will change very few minds concerning the nature of Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda, at the very least I hope that it might convince one that those of us who do believe in the existence of such ties are hardly lingering in delusion the way that the Los Angeles Times editor suggested sometime ago.

And in case anybody asks, no, I have no idea as to why Tenet resigned yesterday, though there are some suspicions floating around. James Pavitt is also set to go according to CNN. I've learned more about Beltway politics over the last several weeks than I had in over 2 years of college courses and following news reports. And just in case anybody cares, I've also been told that the recent New York Times report on people over at the Pentagon receiving polygraph information is inaccurate.

BIOTECH & MEDICAL

• The United Kingdom seeks to advance quickly in the realm of embryonic stem cell research. The UK government is pouring millions of British pounds into labs across the country and the first ever embryonic stem cell bank is now open for business.

• Meanwhile, MIT Technology Review reports that the United States' stem cell policy may be reaching a tipping point. A recognition of the worldwide competition, and of unsatiated consumer demand, may be forcing the Bush administration's hands. Finally.

• Congratulations are due to St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, UK for breaking the world record for successful sperm storage. A test-tube baby was recently born to a father who had his sperm frozen over twenty-one years ago! The man was diagnosed with testicular cancer at an early age and opted for the deposit of several sperm samples before receiving treatment. He subsequently survived his battle with cancer and had tried several times to have his new wife impregnated with his frozen offspring. This breakthrough is big, as the number of cancer survivors with full lives ahead of them continues to climb.

• Beware future mothers: Taking aspirin during pregnancy may deprive your sons of their libidos! You can relax a bit for now, though. The current information comes from tests on newborn male rats, and the results were somewhat subtle.

• Leroy Hood is a living legend, no, the living legend in the world of biotechnology. The list of inventions attached to his name is extraordinary and his visions for the future of biotech have been proven correct time and time again. Now, his latest venture is beginning to bear some fruit. The release of Cytoscape 1.1 will certainly be just one of many tools developed by Dr. Hood's team that will fuel progress in the nascent field of systems biology.

• As the average life expectancy for the nation ramps up, so too does the number of cases of Alzheimer's Disease. Consequently, the scientific community has been searching high and low for potential cures for this mentally crippling illness. Perhaps the answer lies within yeast cells. Or maybe what is required is an antibody to destroy tiny proteins known as ADDL's. Time will tell, and we certainly have more of it.

• This one's for paranoid germophobes only. Or maybe it isn't. Mwahahah. (Hat Tip: Matt Drudge)

• Do we really use only 10% of our brains? Scientific American asks the expert.

NANOTECH

• Professor Reynolds says that we may be witnessing a nanotechnology turnaround, but I think his worries were overblown. The nanotech industry has been chugging right along, and there was no way that a few months of bad press could have stopped it in its tracks. Heck, the GM food industry has suffered years of bad press, yet even the highly eco-skeptical European Union finally succumbed to the tide. Public perception aligns eventually (perhaps slowly) with reality, and if nanotech products are indeed safe, then they will have their market. Only governmental legislation could hamper future development, and it appears that Congress has already decided to take an open-minded approach to nanotech.

• On nanotechnology, Nobel theoretical chemist Roald Hoffmann remarks, "I'm glad you guys [that includes women, of course] found a new name for chemistry. Now you have the incentive to learn what you didn't want to learn in college." He also notes what real progress has been made and declares that nanotech is "the way of the future, a way of precise, controlled building, with, incidentally, environmental benignness built in by design".

• Nanosonic sounds pretty cool, but the company's feature product may be even cooler. Metal Rubber 'conducts electricity like metal even when stretched like rubber', and may fit future aircraft with shape-shifting wings. Pretty cool indeed.

• With little fanfare, computer chipmakers have entered into the nano realm.

• The title says it all: Military Nanotechnology Continues Its March Toward Battlefield Use.

SPACE

• Keep your eyes fixed on the sky on June 8th. The path of the planet Venus will cross the sun for the first time in 122 years!

• Dean Esmay let me know that the first ever privately arranged manned space launch will be attempted on June 21st. It'll be a big day indeed.

• Astronomers have recently measured the universe at 156 billion light-years wide (or 1.5 with-twenty-three-zeroes-after-it kilometers). Now that is pretty far, but the matter is just as far from being settled. The universe may or may not be infinite (If the universe is infinite, how can it be expanding?), and it may or may not have boundaries. So, could its size ever be measured? We are forever limited to some degree by the extent of our observatory powers, thus there will always be a new frontier (Of course, some scientists are finding ways to work around this too).

• Researchers at Arizona State University, spanning across multiple disciplines, are learning new things about the birth of the sun and seeing that some things which are known about the solar system in general and the Earth in particular are making more sense.

• Just a few months ago, I laughed at the prospect of a "space elevator" in my lifetime. The whole concept just seemed so outrageous, something from a sci-fi movie. But this amazing initiative continues to gain publicity, and now there's even a blog dedicated to space elevators. Liftport's countdown to liftoff: 5061 days, 10 hours, 23 minutes, 39 seconds.

• That's not all folks. NASA is financing a whole slew of sci-fi technologies these days. Check them all out!

ENVIRONMENT

• Al Gore and his band of not-so-merry environmentalists are in an absolute tizzy over the release of the motion picture, The Day After Tomorrow. These characters hope that the movie will scare some people into taking the issue of global warming more seriously. Don't they understand that scare tactics will get them only so far? It certainly does not make them right.

• No modern scientist has faced as much worldwide vitriol and as many personal attacks as Bjørn "The Skeptical Environmentalist" Lomborg, the man who dared to suggest that global warming should not be the world's #1 environmental priority. He recently gathered a group of economists to evaluate the challenges facing the globe on measures of cost-benefit and importance. The "Copenhagen Consensus" concluded that the HIV/AIDS epidemic ranked #1. In response, a UN official compared Lomborg with none other than that infamous leader of the group which rhymes with "Yahtzee". That's right, Lomborg thinks just like Hitler.

• The world may be concerned about global warming now, but back in the 17th century, global cooling was the talk of the town. Looking to predict the next Maunder minimum (the solar oddity which likely caused the global cooling), scientists are discovering that this oddity is a rarity among nearby stars.

• Professor Philip Stott of EnviroSpin Watch links to a report on a team of Israeli researchers who found that humans harnessed fire 500,000 years earlier than previously thought, and makes a connection with today's climate change debate.

• Is the world running out of oil? Some recent publications have suggested so, but Michael Fumento argues otherwise.
  
  PUBLIC POLICY

• In what may be part of a promising trend, the State of California has formally approved the online sale of Canadian pharmaceuticals on a state-run website. The states of Wisconsin, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Minnesota and Rhode Island have already set up websites of their own. Will more states follow suit? Will the federal government attempt to intervene on behalf of the American healthcare industry? Will these newly opened marketplaces push down the price of prescription drugs in this country? These questions and many more are left to be answered. Stay tuned...

• Americans may be getting pudgier by the minute, but not everyone has given up the fight. A group of nutritionists is pushing for a ban of trans-fatty acids from America's food supply. How dangerous might these trans-fats be? So dangerous that an expert panel declared that there's 'no level of trans-fats in the diet that could be deemed safe'. Hey, I'm all for public policy in pursuit of better health for the nation, but this sniffs a bit like scare tactics to me. Do they mean that it's 'unsafe' or do they mean that it's 'unhealthy'? Isn't there a difference?

• Monsanto has won a court ruling against a Canadian farmer who was accused of patent infringement. The farmer believes that some of Monsanto's genetically modified seeds must have blown onto his property and cross-pollinated with his crops. Despite the ruling, the farmer was relieved from paying any damages. A book has recently been written examining the problems with America's patent system. Perhaps a chapter should have been included to cover Canada's.

• In a stunning turnaround, President Vladimir Putin has promised that Russia would soon ratify the Kyoto Treaty. Hans Labohm considers the president's motivations, and the future implications of this new arrangement.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

• Dinosaurs reigned across the planet for millions of years, yet their decisive end may have come faster than my Memorial Day weekend just flew by. A recent study has concluded that most dinosaurs sizzled to death within hours of a gigantic asteroid collision with the earth.

• Jacob Sullum wonders, "Must we learn to love cicadas?" and I wonder, "Is anybody really learning to love cicadas?"

• Dung beetles and chameleons and maggots. Oh my!

• And finally, Japanese researchers have confirmed that hippo "sweat" protects the beast from the sun's harmful ultra-violet rays. If you catch me down at the Jersey Shore this summer covered in a reddish-orange slimey goo, well, now you'll know why.

Please check back next month for another exciting edition of Winds of Discovery!

Minutes later the boat stops and begins to toss in the waves. the ramp goes down and without hesitation my section leader, Cpl. John Gibson, jumps out well over his waist in water. He only makes a few yards and is killed. We have landed dead on into a pillbox with a machine gun blazing away at us. We didn't hesitate and jumped into the water one after the other – I was last of the first row.  Where was everybody? My section are only half there – some were just floating on their Mae West's.

My bren gun team of Tommy Dalrymple and Kenny Scott are just in front of me when something hit my left magazine pouch and stops me up short for a moment. The round had gone right through two magazines, entered my left side and came out my back. Kenny keeps yelling come on, come on – I'm coming, I'm coming I yell to him. We are now up to our knees in water and you can hear a kind of buzzing sound all around as well as the sound of the machine gun itself.  All of a sudden something slapped the side of my right leg and then a round caught me dead centre up high on my right leg causing a compound fracture.  

By this time I was flat on my face in the water – I've lost my rifle, my helmet is gone and Kenny is still yelling at me to come on. He is also shot in the upper leg but has no broken bones. I yell back, I can't, my leg is broken – get the hell out of here – away he goes and catches up to Tommy. Poor Tom, I've got ten of his bren gun magazines and they're pulling me under. I soon get rid of them and flop over onto my back and start to float to shore where I meet five other riflemen all in very bad shape. The man beside me is dead within minutes. All the while we are looking up at the machine gun firing just over our heads at the rest of our platoon and company and then our platoon Sargent and friend of mine, who had given up a commission to be with us was killed right in front of me.

Finally I decided that this is not a good place to be and managed to slip off my pack and webbing and start to crawl backward on my back at an angle away from the gun towards the wall about 150 ft away. I finally made it and lay my back against it. In front of me I can see bodies washing back and forth in the surf. Soon, one of my friends, Willis Gambrel, a walking wounded, showed up and we each had one of my cigarettes which surprisingly were fairly dry. Then he left to find a first aid centre. A medic came along and put a bandage on my leg. I had forgotten all about the hole in my side. Then two English beach party soldiers came along carrying a 5-gallon pot of tea. "Cup of tea Canada?" yes sir – and they gave me tea in a tin mug. It was hot and mixed 50/50 with rum. It was really good."

There would be hard fighting ahead. In Caen. In France. In the Low Countries of Holland and Belgium. But a foothold had been gained, at last, on the Continent. At last the world could see the beginning of the end.

June 6, 1944. And it was evening, and it was morning. The first day.

I already covered the general story of the attack and subsequent hostage seige earlier this week, but the ever-valuable Alphabet City has now taken it upon himself to go through the bloody particulars.

This was a foul-up of massive porportions and a major victory for al-Qaeda on a number of points. While we still don't have a clear idea of what exactly happened during the al-Khobar attack or even how many of the attackers got away, from the looks of things the network is now aiming to appeal more towards "street sentiment" than any elaborate backdoor dealings with the princes.

According to the Religious Policeman:

I'd like to be able to say that the overwhelming majority of my fellow Saudis totally condemn this terrorism. Sadly, that is just not true. There is a substantial minority, if not verging on a majority, who applaud any action that discomfits a royal family whom they perceive to be "unreliable" in religious terms, and to be too friendly with the US. So they support any action against them, regardless of who dies. And I see this support for the terrorists all around me, both in furtive conversations and more overt celebrations, the smiling jokes among friends, the victory fist punched in the air.

So while it would be nice to see Madrid-style mass demonstrations in the streets of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Makkah, Madinah, condemning this terrorism in all its manifestations, forget it, it's not going to happen. We have other priorities. Hitler was obsessed with the racial purity of Greater Germany. We are obsessed with the religious purity of the Arabian Peninsula.

The view that al-Qaeda has ceased troubling itself in dealing with the Saudi royals and instead begun actively moving against them has at least some evidence to back it up. Certainly the creation of the al-Haramain Brigades might well lead one to this conclusion, but then how is one to read the condemnations of Sheikh Abu Omar al-Seif, a member of the organization's ruling council, who called on al-Qaeda members to carry out attacks against Americans in Iraq rather than against domestic Saudi targets?

These aren't the only ways of looking at the situation either. Debka, for whatever it's worth, claims that the attacks were part of an elaborate succession duel between Crown Prince Abdullah and Interior Minister Prince Nayef. While this is all intriguing and may even be true, in my experience Saudology is even more complicated than Kremlinology. Based on my own crude understanding of Saudi internal dynamics, the way things work inside the Kingdom are best described as being somewhat analogous to 1984 or the often-lethal politics of the French court at Versailles.

To further muddy the waters, Michael Ledeen (full disclosure: my boss here at AEI) weighs in with the following:

"The globalization of terrorism is an undoubted success for bin Laden. It is sufficiently serious and frightening to induce (Saudi) Prince Abdullah — according to credible secret sources — to negotiate with bin Laden a secret agreement to prevent the fall of the monarchy, based on their common hated of America and Israel." According to Allam[Magdi Allam, the assistant editor of the Italian paper Corriere della Sera], that agreement explains Abdullah's statement, following the May 1 terror attack, blaming "Zionism" for terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Other sources tell Allam the same thing I have heard, namely that the Saudi royal family has prepared a detailed plan to run abroad if the situation gets much worse, and that knowledge of the royal family's intentions is a major component in the recent rise in the price of oil. Meanwhile, the Saudis are buying insurance by supporting the terrorists in Iraq.

And, from the looks of things, the royals' insurance policy has served as a force multiplier for the very people now killing American troops in Iraq. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Finally, we have a brief biography of Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, the top al-Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia. While this bio is somewhat different from others I've seen before now, it nevertheless offers one interesting little piece of information that seems to have caught the eyes of Alphabet City as well: in any sane society, al-Muqrin would still be in jail instead of out murdering Americans.

In 1997 Al-Muqrin was fighting against Ethiopa in the Ogaden province when he was captured by Ethiopian authorities and extradited to Saudi Arabia at the Kingdom's request. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. In the summer of 2001, having served half his sentence, the Interior Ministry released Muqrin for having memorized the Koran.

Had he served the full jail term, al-Muqrin would not have been released until 2005.

Saudi Arabia is an extremely difficult area with regard to US policy for a whole host of reasons ranging from religious to economic to political in nature. No one should regard it as otherwise, but when we do regard the Kingdom it is best that we do so while shedding some of our naivete.

Shadow Armies...

The deception planners created imaginary armies, the First United States Army Group (FUSAG), the British 12th Army, and an army located in Scotland. They made them big; multiple Motorized, Infantry, Airborne and Armored Divisions, Armies and Army Corps from Britain, Canada, the US, Poland and Norway. They used double agents to inform the Germans of the activities of these armies, and created paper trails for equipping, deploying, moving and training them. They gave them locations in towns and villages all over East Anglia and the Scottish coast. And they gave FUSAG a commander the Germans had to respect, Patton.

Then the Allies created imaginary attack plans. The British had nine separate major operations categorized as ‘deceptions’ including: Operations Ferdinand, Fortitude (North & South), Graffham, Ironside, Royal Flush, Zeppelin and Vendetta. These were all aimed at different strategic targets: Rome, central Norway, Calais and Boulogne, central Sweden, Bordeaux, southern Sweden, Spain or Turkey, the black sea coast of Romania, Crete, the western coast of Greece and Albania, and Marseille. Colonels John Bevan and John Baumer were sent to Russia to enlist aid to make the ‘attack’ on Norway and in the Black Sea more credible.

All the while, the Allies' knowledge of the German codes offered them a window into the mind of their enemy, and the effectiveness of their shadow campaign.

...And Sleight of Hand

There were small deceptions as well. Operation Titanic launched the night before D-Day morning. Ten members of the Special Air Services simulated a large landing on the beaches south of Boulogne. “So successful were the ten men in simulating a larger landing that a whole German regiment – more than 1,000 men – was deployed throughout the morning of June 6 to oppose them.” In another deception immediately before D-Day, “36 bombers dropped hundreds of dummy parachutists and explosive devices over areas to the east of the actual landing grounds, to simulate the landings there.”

The 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (the “Dam Busters”) were key to yet another deception launched immediately before the Normandy landings. Operation Taxable was designed to divert attention from Normandy by fooling the Germans into believing that a large convoy of slow-moving ships was crossing the Channel towards Pas-de-Calais. It was completely dependent on absolute precision in flight and navigation for its execution. In tandem with a few Royal Navy motor gunboats (Operation Moonshine) that were actually crossing the Channel, the flyers released “window” – metallic strips that would show up on radar and make it look like a large convoy was en route.

The strips had to be released every 4 seconds, if the timing was off the radar signature would no longer resemble ships at sea and the operation would fail. “Window” was released – perfectly - for the entire three-and-a-half hours of the Operation. The gunboats carried equipment that amplified and repeated the German radar signals, allowing one ship to appear as many. It was so effective that the Germans even fired on the non-existent convoy (more about 617 Squadron here).

From Deception to D-Day

The purpose of these ruses was twofold: to trick the Germans into making [1] “faulty strategic dispositions”; and [2] “faulty tactical dispositions”. in other words, to dupe them so thoroughly that their energy would be spent preparing plans and strategies for invasions that would never occur, and to ensure that Germany's deployments of men and material would make it less able to counter the Normandy landings.

They were highly successful. So successful that even after the Normandy landings began, the Germans were still convinced that the main attack would occur elsewhere. For days, they clung to their belief that Normandy was a feint, holding back troops and tanks whose armored thrust against the allied beach-head may have proved decisive.

So, when we remember those who fought on the beaches and fields of Normandy for the liberation of Europe on D-Day, let’s also remember the thousands of people who fought behind the scenes, creating the scenarios that helped insure victory.

N.B. My favorite historian, Sir Martin Gilbert, has just published a book titled D-Day which I highly recommend. I also recommend his 3-volume set: A History of the Twentieth Century [the quotes are from A History of the Twentieth Century, Vol. 2].

Here's the dynamic - or so goes the argument:

• Costlier equipment leads governments and militaires to seek "flexible" equipment, in order to compensate by filling more roles.
• But that increases complexity.
• Which increases cost and procurement time, and forces performance tradeoffs.
• Result: fewer, costlier items that do more things less well.
• Then the "public choice economics" dynamics of "promotion by shepherding large projects" kick in, reinforcing the spiral.
• And so it goes, on and on, up and up.

Some argue that the American F-22 program exemplifies the same problem. Successful, less expensive, single-purpose jets like the A-10, they note, are the exception rather than the rule.

Others take this argument one step further, noting that this "procurement spiral" has reached a point where it threatens the very effectiveness of modern militaries [PDF file, more resources here.]

It's a provocative point of view, and one that cust across the standard left-right divides. If you're interested in defense issues, it's a set of ideas worth reading and considering.

UPDATE: Very good discussions in the Comments section.

SAUDI BOMBINGS SEND RIPPLES THROUGH S. ASIA

• This week ends attack on foreign nationals by terrorists in Khobar Saudi Arabia. While the terrorists claimed they where only looking to attack American and Westerners, a significant number of the people killed or injured in the attacks where from South Asia. Authorities claim that Indians where not targets of the terrorists but this contradicts the terrorists themselves. It is also being alleged that the Saudis cut a deal with the kidnappers letting three of the four terrorists escape despite being fully surrounded. The Belmont Club has some great thoughts on this.

• The US, Britain, and other countries are either actively moving their citizens out of Saudi Arabia which has caused the Saudis, who are dependant on foreigners to do all the work of extracting oil, to frantically try to convince everyone that everything is under control.

• Many Asians are angry and deeply concerned about the security situation in Saudi Arabia yet unlike western countries, the currency provided by out-sourcing and contracts to Saudi Arabia are keeping them from actively pulling their citizens from Saudi Arabia.

INDIA: DEMOCRACY ABHORS INEQUITY

• After India’s mega-elections, Dr Manmohan Singh of India’s Congress Party became India’s new Prime Minister after an eleventh hour ‘renunciation by party leader Sonia Gandhi. Dr Manmohan Singh is the father of India’s economic reform program and is widely respected for his personal integrity and progressive intentions as is P Chidambaram who was appointed Finance Minister.

• The foreign policy team consists of Foreign Minister Natwar Singh and National Security Advisor J N Dixit. The new government has signaled that it will continue to pursue closer relations with the United States and Israel, albeit with less vocal enthusiasm.

• India’s democratically elected Communists have emerged as an important voice in parliament and are already exerting a braking effect on the government. The Communists oppose privatization, labor market reforms and better relations with America and Israel.

• The new government has also indicated its resolve to repeal the prevention of terrorism act (POTA), an anti-terror law introduced by the previous government. This law is similar to the US Patriot Act and similar anti-terror legislation introduced in Britain.

• Jihadi terrorists have already scaled up attacks in Indian Kashmir. Further acts of terrorism will challenge the government’s intention to repeal POTA.

• The new government has signaled that it intends to continue the process of bilateral dialogue with Pakistan, under the auspices of the Simla Agreement of 1972 – which Pakistan signed after its defeat in the third India-Pakistan war. Pakistan welcomed India’s decision to continue peace talks but rejected the Simla Agreement framework. For good measure, Pakistan tested its nuclear capable Ghauri (Hatf V) ballistic missile yet again.

PAKISTAN: CHICKENS COME HOME

• General Musharraf announced that army and air-force personnel brainwashed by al Qaeda were involved in attempts to assassinate him last December.

• The mastermind of the attack, Amjad Hussain Farooqi was a member of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. Farooqi was involved in the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar, where the passengers were set free in return from the release of Masood Azhar and Omar Saeed Sheikh from Indian jails. Farooqi was also an alleged mastermind of the kidnapping and killing of Daniel Pearl in 2002. Farooqi had close links with Pakistani intelligence and his involvement - and that of military personnel - suggests that Musharraf does face a serious threat from within the military establishment.

• Sectarian violence took a serious turn this month when an extremist Sunni policeman blew himself up in a Shia mosque in Karachi killing 18 worshippers.

• Given that sectarian killers almost never get apprehended or punished in Pakistan, the attack caused Shia extremists to respond in kind. Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, a 'Saruman'-like figure in international jihadi circles was killed by unknown gunmen. Shamzai was the head of the Banuri madrassa near Karachi and was an active and strong supporter of al Qaeda and the Taliban.

• The hunt for al Qaeda in Waziristan is now turning into a farce - the Pakistani army and tribal militia continue to set and postpone deadlines for the surrender of foreign militants, but with little success in capturing any al Qaeda figures.

• The Commonwealth agreed to re-admit Pakistan into its fold on condition that Musharraf quit as army chief by end of the year. Both Britain and India backed Pakistan's re-admission into this grouping of countries of the erstwhile British Empire. Musharraf rejected the Commonwealth's conditions stating that 'the Commonwealth must be proud to have a country like Pakistan as a member'. The ASEAN Regional Forum has also decided to admit Pakistan as a member after India dropped its objections.

• General Musharraf wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post outlining his strategy of 'enlightened moderation' which envisions the Muslim world eschewing terrorism in return for justice, as well as reform within the Organisation of Islamic States. As this week's events in his own country show, Musharraf's own regime is far away from enlightenment, moderation and justice.

NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION

• Arguably one of the most unreported stories of the year has been Dr Khan and his responsibility for a nuclear black market which has been connected to nuclear weapons programs in Iran, Syria, Libya, as well as Iraq!

• The ramifications of this story seem to not be apparent to the media although Belmont Club gets it.

• Since February there has been little new information on Dr Khans confession and information implicating various countries such as North Korea, Pakistan, China, as well as many others in the proliferation of Nuclear weapons but a lot has been happening. Buhary Syed Abu Tahirwas recently arrested in connection with helping supply training as well as components to Libya's nuclear weapon program.

• Not too surprisingly, Malaysia wont let US officials question Tahir who is linked to Malaysia's ex prime minister's son.

• This month Libya reported an unexpected shipment of L-2 centrifuges. These items seem to have come by way of Turkey. US officials have stated that Libya has informed the US they had ordered more parts and some are likely to show up.

• John Kerry recently spoke about his major security focus if elected president would be to keep terrorists from gaining nuclear weapons. In his speech he seems to focus on states such as Iran, North Korea, and safe guarding weapon stockpiles such as Russia's and only make one note in passing about Khan nuclear weapons black market which is connected to a majority of the rogue states including Iraq's nuclear weapons plan. While he criticizes the current administrations focus on Iraq he makes no mention that the current administrations pressure on Libya and Pakistan exposed Khan's black market in the first place. There is lots of room to criticize the current administration's efforts on controlling nuclear proliferation, yet he seems to miss the opportunity in not drawing attention to how Dr Khan is being handled.

• As of a week ago Dr AQ Khan who is behind possibly the largest proliferation of nuclear weapons technology as well as having met with and helped Osama Bin Laden is officially free to travel again.

BANGLADESH: ISLAMIC EXTREMISM UNCHECKED

• Bangla Bhai - Pakistan's very own Mulla Omar - and his Taliban like organization have increased their acts of violence. Despite the government's resolve (or lack thereof), Bangla Bhai and his supporters continue to elude arrest.

• Sectarian tensions are worsening in Bangladesh - protests against Ahmadiyyas (an Islamic sect accused of apostasy by fundamentalists) have turned violent.

• Even the new British High Commissioner was hurt when a mosque where he was praying was attacked.

THE INDIAN-ISRAELI-US ALLIANCE

• The new Indian government has been quick to criticize Israel which has led some to predict a shift in relations between the two countries as well as India's relationship with the US.

• India has intonated that there will be little change though.

• India and Israel have in the last few years grown closer and closer and not only because of common defense and security issues. India is an extremely popular country for Israelis as well as a powerful economic and scientific ally.

• India has noted the progress and lessons learned by Israel in the erection of fences between Israel and Palestinian areas. India has started on a second fence besides the one along the Pakistani border and is now erecting one along the Bangladesh border. It is possible though that the new government which has expressed stronger support for the views of Palestinians may review its security fence projects - but not likely.

...We need the West's vastly influential think tanks to advocate a policy of freedom for the people, not détente with a regime whose Majlis (Parliament) inaugurates with chants of "Death to America" and whose Friday "prayers" serve as recruiting speeches for suicide bombers.

We need congressional hearings and testimonies given by young Iranians describing the hopelessness of existence under theocracy; the complete lack of normalcy and dignity; the day-by-day attrition of life. We need a tiny fraction of the West's financial support channeled to the families of Iranian political prisoners and jailed journalists with international monitoring. We need your soft power, and all of it. We need it in a barrage of heavy-media artillery, think-tank platforms, and the solidarity of Western NGOs. We need U.S. and EU campus events with young Iranians "yearning for freedom" standing hand in hand with Western students. We need Western artists lending their music and their voices to the Joyless Generation."

If you're interested, the entire article is available at NRO of all places.

Hungarian Ambassador Simonyi discussed the power of Rock & Roll in an excellent Guest Blog series here at Winds of Change.NET. Does the mullahs' atomic program give this kind of 'soft power' strategy enough time to work? I'm not sure it does - but I know that we should start anyway, and make a serious attempt.

The Europeans are too corrupt to follow, of course, too busy cutting deals with Iran's theocratic jailers and torturers. "Blood for Oil," indeed. That still leaves the USA, however - and this is an option America has not pursued seriously enough.

Stronger, please.