Hamid Mir – “The pen is mightier than the sword” was a phrase that we learnt at school. Unfortunately, the dangerous situation in Swat has changed this phrase. Now it should be like “the gun is mightier than the pen”. The truth is bitter and difficult to digest. The assassination of brave journalist Musa Khankhel in the valley of Swat has discouraged many who always believed in the might of the pen.

Not only a few but dozens of journalists have left Swat within hours after the burial of their colleague Musa Khankhel. Many television channels moved their staff with equipment to safe places like Peshawar. Now the world may not watch the live coverage of the peace march initiated by Maulna Sufi Muhammad or the Janza (burial ceremony) of any slain journalist from Swat.

A senior journalist of Swat introduced me to at least two of his local colleagues and claimed “these two soldiers of the pen will also be killed very soon because they are fearless like Musa Khankhel, but maybe you will not be able to telecast live the Janaza (burial ceremony) of these two ”.

PETER STANCZAK snapped by such gunmen

At least three local journalists working with prominent television channels informed me that they were receiving life threats even after the assassination of Musa Khankhel. Some of them were told by the unidentified callers the that technical staff of their channels came from Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar for t live coverage of the situation in Swat; that they will live and should leave the region immediately.

Two technicians of Geo television, with a van full of transmission equipment, were rounded up by Taliban in the Chaharbagh area of Swat the other day. The Taliban declared them spies, but later released them with a promise that they will not come back to their area again.

The Taliban of Swat generally considers electronic media as their enemy
An emergency meeting was called in Swat Press Club to discuss new threats faced by journalists. I tried my level best to convince more than 150 journalists present there that they should not leave Swat. Maybe I was not aware about the problems faced by the local colleagues. They retorted saying that government is not in a position to provide them security.

On the other hand, their higher ups at work always push them to find some exclusive stories and visuals. This urge for exclusives is not in the interest of both the Taliban and security forces. They face problems from both of them. One journalist angrily said that he can only continue his profession by keeping a heavy weapon with him. I discouraged him and said that journalists should not carry weapons and they can take some other security measures, but most of the colleagues present there never agreed with me. A young journalist showed me his pistol hidden under his jacket and said that he doesn’t move without his gun.

One local journalist proposed in the meeting that “we request all our non-local colleagues to leave Swat immediately because there is no government here and we cannot provide them security, they should come back on some other good time”. Within seconds the majority of the local and non-local journalists supported this proposal.

Only one local journalist Shrinzada and a local newspaper editor Ghulam Farooq opposed this move and pleaded with tears in their eyes that they are ready to sacrifice their lives like Musa Khankhel, but they will not stop speaking and writing truth. We had no other choice than to respect the majority. I also accepted the majority decision and agreed to leave Swat, but I must explain that why the presence of independent media is not in the interest of both Taliban and security forces.

The Taliban of Swat generally considers electronic media as their enemy. They think that all the private television networks are in the control of government and that electronic media only project the destruction of schools run by them. They accuse the electronic media of having no courage in showing a school occupied by the Army and used as bunker. They allege that sometimes local journalists provide information about their presence to security forces and, as revenge, they have banned all the television channels on cable in Swat.

On the other side, security forces officials always accuse that media as projecting Taliban as “heroes.” The Government of Pakistan has also discouraged the coverage of “terrorists” by the media, but the same government and security forces have no problem in negotiating and making deals with the “terrorists”. Some top officials in the security establishment always considered brave journalists like Musa Khankhel as a “bad chaps”.

The slain journalist always refused to accept dictation from the security officials. His bad temperament was another problem. Once a security official abused Musa Khankhel and in return he was abused by Musa. It was the start of a big problem. Musa was kidnapped and beaten for two days. He was threatened not to make noise, otherwise his family would be killed. Musa shared this incident with me and with some other colleagues. I wrote about these threats in an article published in the editorial pages of “The News” on January 13 2009.

I wrote in that article: “I also know another journalist of Swat by the name of Musa Khankhel for many years. In the last few months alone, he has survived two assassination attempts. He told me that some elements within the security forces wanted to eliminate him physically due to his reporting.“

A few hours before his murder, Musa Khankhel sent me a message that I had to be careful while moving in the Kabbal area of Swat. I asked him why he was worried even after the peace initiative of Maulna Sufi Muhammad and the 10-day ceasefire declared by the Taliban. Musa Khankhel answered: “You will watch the scenes of destruction in the civilian residential areas of Kabbal. You will show destroyed homes and mosques and people will compare your coverage with the bombing of Israelis in Gaza. You will become a security risk and they will kill you in the name of national interest and the blame will be thrown on the shoulders of the Taliban”. He convinced me that my movement in the most dangerous area of Swat was not in the interest of those who always considered free media as their enemy.

I never underestimated his opinion and immediately I came out of Kabbal. Only two hours after this conversation on telephone, I received the shocking news about the killing of Musa, who was concerned about my security but not about his own. He saved me but I could not save him. Peace in Swat was a dream of Musa Khankhel, but he is no longer alive to fight for peace in Swat. The situation in this valley of horror and terror is very complicated, but I am still hopeful despite the fact that there is lot of distrust between the local Taliban and security forces.

The moving force behind this peace initiative is the common people of Swat. ANP, the ruling party in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) ,was formed by Bacha Khan who belonged to Indian National Congress before the partition of United India. Awami National Party (ANP) is a secular and liberal party and it took big risk by negotiating peace with religious cleric Maulana Sufi Muhammad, who doesn’t support democracy but supports peace in Swat. The ANP leadership is aware that if there would be peace in Swat then the Pakistani government will get a chance to establish its writ.

A provincial minister Bashir Balour was able to visit Swat on February 18th after waiting a long time. Two more ministers of ANP visited Swat the next day on February 19th to offer condolences on the death of Musa Khankhel to local journalists. Visits of provincial ministers to the “no-go area” of Swat proves that ANP will not be the only beneficiary of peace in Swat but the whole state of Pakistan will ultimately benefit, because only peace can help the state to establish its writ. Anti-democratic religious cleric Maulana Sufi Muhammad accepted the importance of political forces by sitting with them for negotiating peace.

This move is the victory of these political forces because finally they will try to force the Taliban to surrender their arms. If the Taliban would agree to surrender, then a provincial government will announce amnesty for them. More than 400 closed schools can only be reopened and more than 200 destroyed schools can only be rebuilt when the state will be able to establish its writ. Thousands of girls can go back to their school education only through the success of the peace initiative. Maulana Sufi Muhammad has promised to the people of Swat that he will make efforts to reopen the girls’ schools. He cannot black out.

The majority of people in Swat say that “Peace and stability of our area is more important than winning the so-called war against terror”. They are angry with the reaction of the West and some liberal Pakistani analysts who think that peace will only benefit the Taliban. These analysts must take a risk themselves and visit Swat in the better interest of the truth.

They will realize that there are only two options for the state of Pakistan to bring stability in Swat. One is peace and the other is war. The Pakistani state cannot win this war because their use of guns and tanks will keep producing more Taliban fighters. If there is be no peace there will be more anarchy. There will be no development. No schools, no newspapers and no television networks. More journalists will be killed. More journalists will leave Swat.

I am leaving Swat today. I am committed to coming back to Swat Valley, but I cannot come back if there is no peace. I can only use my pen and camera for reporting truth if there would be peace. Otherwise I will become another Musa Khankhel and my pen will be silenced. Musa was killed by those who don’t want peace. The ANP Minister of NWFP government, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said that Musa was killed by a “third force”. He never named that third force. May be he will expose that mysterious third force after bringing peace go Swat.

Musa once asked me a question that if the British government could talk to the Irish Republic Army (IRA) and could make peace with them, then why couldn’t the Pakistani government negotiate peace with the Taliban? I know that Mr. Gordon Brown or Mr. Barack Obama would not like this question to be answered. May be they will also say that Musa Khankhel was a “Taliban sympathizer.”

Hamid Mir, the author of this article, is a top Pakistani reporter, head of the Geo TV Bureau in Islamabad. He has won a world-wide acclaim for his interviews with Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, before and following 9/11. His new book about OBL is due to appear in Britain, later this year.

Mark Silverberg – Anti-Semitism never really died after the Holocaust, it just became unfashionable. That is no longer the case. In the wake of the Gaza War and with the global economy in a tailspin, disturbing events have been occurring in Britain – events that do not bode well either for the future of British Jewry or for the future of British democracy.

The war in Gaza combined with the global economic downturn have revealed a dark side to British society as demonstrated by the extent to which the British media, intelligentsia and political class have buckled in the face of the Islamic jihad.

On average, according to the Observer, there are seven anti-Semitic attacks every single day in the UK – attacks that have come in the form of graffiti, vandalism, arson, violent assaults on Jews in the streets, and hate e-mails. Jewish schools have been granted extra protection, and the Community Security Trust, which monitors anti-Semitism in British society, continues to issue dire warnings.

According to British police, Jews are four times more likely to be attacked because of their religion than are Muslims. As a result, every synagogue service and virtually every Jewish communal event now requires guards to be on the lookout for violence from both neo-Nazis and Muslim extremists. Orthodox Jews have become particular targets; some have begun wearing baseball caps instead of skullcaps and concealing their Star of David jewelry for fear of being attacked.

Melanie Phillips, writing in the Wall Street Journal (Europe) expressed her concern in historical terms:

“Years of demonizing Israel and appeasing Islamist extremism within Britain have now coalesced as a result of the media misrepresentation of the Gaza War as an atrocity against civilians, in an unprecedented wave of hatred against Israel, and a sharp rise in attacks on British Jews”

– and the authorities have done little or nothing to quell such incitement. In one case, the police even told pro-Israel demonstrators to put away their Israel flags because they were ‘inflammatory,’ yet they allowed anti-Israel demonstrators to scream support for Hamas, and even to dress up as hook-nosed Jews “drinking” the blood of Palestinian babies. In another, students at Oxford University gleefully proclaimed that in five years, their campus „would be a Jew-free zone,“ and in another, the London-based Royal Court Theatre is staging a viciously anti-Israeli play by Caryl Churchill that Melanie Phillips described in the Spectator as reminiscent of anti-Semitic plays performed in the Middle Ages portraying Jews as demonic Christ-killers.

These events form part of a disturbing trend suggesting that Britain is slowly succumbing to Islamic d’himmitude motivated in large measure by Muslim intimidation – the latest expression of which saw Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders banned from Britain by the British Home Office as “a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat” because his film Fitna graphically and honestly documented the brutality of radical Islamists and twinned their actions to specific verses in the Quran. As Bat Yeor wrote recently in National Review Online:

“His crime is maintaining that Europe’s civilization is rooted in the values of Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, and the Enlightenment — and not in Mecca, Baghdad, Andalusia, and al-Kuds. He fights for Europe’s independence from the Caliphate, and for its endangered freedoms. He had received serious death threats even before Fitna was released.”

In all this, it is becoming clearer with each passing day that Londonistan is no longer a safe place for Jews to practice their religion, nor are many places in Europe which is demographically morphing into Eurabia.

In a recent comment in The Spectator, one reader opined:
„I for one resent the fact that I can no longer congregate outside my synagogue. I resent the fact that my children attend Jewish school protected by security fences, concrete blocks and guard posts. I resent the fact that my eldest daughter …… should feel intimidated on campus and questioned in a hostile, finger pointing manner how she feels as a Jewess on the question of Gaza, and if she supports the Israeli actions.“

And a Birmingham school is investigating reports that twenty children chased a 12-year-old girl (the only Jewish pupil in the school) chanting „Kill all Jews“ and „Death to Jews“.

Listening to the hatred reflected in the cries of “Death to the Jews”, one could almost imagine that it must have been the Jews who were behind the 9/11 attacks, burned down the Danish embassies throughout Europe and the Middle East two years ago over the Mohammed cartoons, planned and executed the suicide bombing attacks on the London tube and Madrid railway stations, decapitated Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg and scores of other infidels, train their children to become “martyrs for Allah”, use the web to incite hatred and jihad, strap twenty pounds of explosives to their bodies and self-detonate in restaurants, subways, pizza parlors, buses, shopping malls, coffee shops, marketplaces, hotels and tourist resorts in France, London, Bali, Yemen, Jordan, Kenya, Algeria, Istanbul, Dar es Salaam, Mumbai and Israel and are waging a vicious religiously-inspired holy war against “non-believers.”

I suspect that if the British students who attended the seventeen sit-ins and demonstrations held at British universities to protest Israeli “massacres” in Gaza had chanted „Death to all Muslims“ (just as they screamed “Death to all Jews” during the Gaza War), the British Left and civil rights organizations would have been all over them demanding staff resignations, boycotts of their schools and colleges, the arrest of the student organizers, and compensation to the British Muslim community. But it appears that only the Jews merit such revulsion.

These actions reflect more than an anti-Israel stance. They represent a sickness gaining prevalence within British society – a sickness reflected by the growing social acceptance of the most ancient of religious hatreds.

Neither the British media (that excels in the art of whitewashing Muslim extremism) nor British society generally seem to care much that radical Islamists like Hamas are involved in at least twenty-five conflicts going on around the globe including, but not limited to Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Congo, Ivory Coast, Cyprus, East Timor, India, Indonesia (2 provinces), Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kurdistan, Macedonia, the Middle East, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Russia-Chechnya, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

Nor are they especially concerned (as Phillips points out) that the government of Sri Lanka is attempting to eradicate terrorism by a military campaign in which, according to the UN, “many civilians are being killed”, thousands made homeless, hundreds of thousands trapped, and to which, as food shortages grow, the government refuses to allow access to journalists. Despite all this, there are no sit-ins on British campuses against the Sri Lankans, no violent protests outside its High Commission, and no calls to boycott Sri Lankan products and academics. Nor do I recall any protests against Hamas for firing thousands of missiles at Israeli cities, towns and villages for years, not to mention terrorizing over 250,000 men, women and children who have spent the better part of the past three years running to bomb shelters several times a day.

Somehow, the deaths of 1,300 Gazans (two-thirds of whom were terrorists hiding behind Palestinian human shields) have evoked more outrage in Britain than the estimated two million dead in Congo, the tens of thousands of Iraqis slaughtered by Sunni and Shia terrorists in Iraq, or the massacres of civilians killed by their own governments in Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Burundi, Chad, Afghanistan, Columbia, Guatemala, Haiti, Guinea, Rwanda and West Bengal.

If anyone should be charged with war crimes in Gaza, it should be Hamas not Israel.

But not according to British public opinion. The bottom line seems to be – if you are willing to excuse terrorist attacks against Jews in southern Israel where a tiny democracy is seeking to protect its people against terrorism, it’s just as easy to turn a blind eye to Jews being attacked elsewhere, even in the streets of London or Birmingham.

In many ways, Jews are the barometers of the societies in which they live – the canary in the mineshaft of democratic societies – which accounts for why the U.S., Canada and Australia remain resilient, vibrant democracies where minorities continue to thrive. But these countries have become more the exception than the rule. The history of the 20th century suggests that as it has gone with the Jews, so it has gone with democracy. By that standard, the events surrounding the Gaza War combined with the global economic downturn foreshadow a difficult period ahead not just for British Jewry, but for British (and by extension European) democracy.

The results of a recent survey show that 31% of Europeans blame Jews for the global economic meltdown (including more than half of Hungarian, Polish and Spanish respondents) and 40% of Europeans consider Jews to have too much power.

There is little doubt that the Gaza campaign merely provided a pretext to unleash deep-seated anti-Semitism in Britain, across Europe and beyond. Under these circumstances, there can be no better justification for the existence of a Jewish State than the persecution of Jews outside of it.

This article was first published by Basics Project

onlineredaktion – Drei Mitarbeiter des IKRK, ein Schweizer, ein Italiener und ein Philippiner, sind heute im Süden der Philippinen entführt worden. Die Armee ist «hinter den Entführern her». «Wir haben sofort Alarm geschlagen und wir sind hinter den Entführern her», sagte Armeesprecher Generalleutnant Nelson Allaga. Die drei wurden nach Angaben des IKRK verschleppt, nachdem sie ein Gefängnis besucht hatten.

Das IKRK hilft dort bei der Einrichtung einer Abwasseranlage. «Die Mitarbeiter waren in einem Auto des philippinischen Roten Kreuzes unterwegs, als sie ein paar hundert Meter vom Gefängnistor entfernt verschleppt wurden», sagte IKRK-Sprecher Roland Bigler. In der Region ist die Terrororganisation Abu Sayyaf aktiv.

Die Extremisten, die mit dem Terrornetzwerk El Kaida in Verbindung stehen sollen, waren auch für die Verschleppung der deutschen Familie Wallert und anderer Touristen im Jahr 2000 nach Jolo verantwortlich. Die Familie kam erst nach Wochen und gegen Zahlung eines Lösegeldes frei.

Jürgen Elsässer – Indien fordert wegen des Mumbai-Terrors von Pakistan die Auslieferung von 20 Verdächtigen. Der US-Geheimdienstkoordinator Michael McConnell sieht die pakistanische Rebellengruppe Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) hinter der Anschlagserie in der indischen Metropole Mumbai. »Die Gruppe, die unserer Ansicht nach (…) verantwortlich ist, verübte 2006 einen ähnlichen Angriff auf einen Zug«, sagte McConnell am Dienstag.

Kurz zuvor hatte das indische Außenministerium Pakistan eine Liste mit Auslieferungsgesuchen von 20 angeblichen LeT-Kadern und Unterstützern übergeben. Unter den Gesuchten ist auch ein gewisser Ibrahim Dawood, den der einzige gefasste Mumbai-Attentäter Ajmal Kasab als Drahtzieher angegeben haben soll. Seine Männer sollen die Überfahrt der Terroristen in einem Boot von Karatschi nach Mumbai organisiert haben.

Der »Don« – so der Gangstername Dawoods – wird von Buchautor Albert King als »gefährlichster Mann der Welt« bezeichnet, der Publizist Ghulam Hasnain sieht in ihm einen »Top-Spion« Pakistans. Bewiesen ist jedenfalls, dass er einer der Top-Kriminellen des Subkontinents ist. In den achtziger Jahren begann er in Mumbai mit Glücks-spiel, Drogen und Prostitution, ließ Rivalen aus dem Weg schießen und kaufte sich in die Bollywood-Filmindustrie ein. Der muslimische, aber mondäne Lebemann radikalisierte sich, als Ende 1992 ein fanatischer Hindu-Mob 2000 Muslime lynchte. Zur Vergeltung organisierte Dawood im März 1993 eine Anschlagserie in Mumbai, der 257 Menschen zum Opfer fielen, 1400 wurden verletzt. In der Folge soll er in Pakistan Unterschlupf gefunden haben.

Während die US-Geheimdienste Dawood mit LeT und Al Qaida in Verbindung bringen, verschweigen sie ihre eigenen Beziehungen zu dem Gangster aus der Zeit des afghanischen Dschihad gegen die Sowjettruppen vor 20 Jahren. »Dawood unterstützte persönlich streng geheime US-Geldtransaktionen an die afghanischen Rebellen über amerikanisch-geführte Kasinos in Kathmandu«, schreibt Yoichi Shimatsu, ehemaliger Redakteur der Tageszeitung »Japan Times«. Der Kaschmir-Experte geht davon aus, dass die Pakistanis den Gesuchten gar nicht ausliefern können, weil er mit US-Hilfe im Juni dieses Jahres nach Quetta im afghanisch-pakistanischen Grenzgebiet gebracht worden sei. »US Diplomaten können Dawoods Rückkehr niemals erlauben. Er weiß einfach zu viel über Amerikas dunklere Geheimnisse in Südasien und am Golf, was die Beziehungen zwischen Indien und den USA erschüttern könnte.«

Pakistan hat bereits angekündigt, keine Pakistanis an Indien auszuliefern, sondern ihnen höchstens im eigenen Land den Prozess zu machen. Dawood allerdings fiele nicht darunter, denn er ist indischer Staatsbürger.

Jürgen Elsässer

“Terrorziel Europa”: Westliche Geheimdienste sind in sämtliche Terroranschläge in Europa der letzten Jahre involviert.

onlineredaktion – „Australian PM Kevin Rudd – “Nuke strike would make 9/11 insignificant” and other weird warnings“

„Over the last 72 hours there has been a strange melange of cryptic messages leaked from world political leaders about what could be in store for America over the next few months.

These predictions of impending doom come from England, France, Australia and the United States.

Biden told the top Democratic donors that a “generated crisis” will develop within six months and Barak Obama will need the help of community leaders to control the population as unpopular decisions are made and Americans resist.

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
—Daniel 7:23

Biden speaking at the fundraiser, “I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate, And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you – not financially to help him – we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”

Biden’s ominous language at the Seattle Sheraton are followed with statements by long time establishment insiders Colin Powell and Madeline Albright both say there is a massive crisis on the horizon and Biden was simply making a “statement in fact.”

“The problems will always be there and there’s going to be a crisis which will come along on the 21st, 22nd of January that we don’t even know about right now.” Powell told Meet the Press.

Lord West, adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on national security says, “There is another great plot building up again and we are monitoring. It dipped slightly and is now rising again within the context of severe. The threat is huge. We have done all the things that we need to do, but the threat is building – the complex plots are building,”

Across the channel from England you have the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warning the press that he believes Israel will strike Iran before they can develope nuclear weapons completley ignoring the fact that the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed ElBradei, said that Iran lacks the key components to produce an atomic weapon.

“The devastation that could be wreaked by one major nuclear weapons incident alone puts 9/11 and almost everything else [in] to the category of the insignificant,” Rudd said.

Read all at: Thejerusalemgiftshop

David Dastych – Warsaw/Islamabad: Pakistani Police continues its search for a Polish engineer, Piotr (Peter) Stanczak, kidnapped on Sunday morning, September 28, in the Attock region northwestern Pakistan. More than a week passed without a significant breakthrough. Last week the Pakistani Ministry of Interior informed the Polish authorities that Mr. Stanczak “is alive” and “in the hands of Pakistani Taliban,” but no specific information followed.

Yaqoob Malik, a Dawn daily reporter wrote on October 4 that the Police had arrested “four local people in Pind Sultani and Domail villages of Jand tehsil for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of Polish engineer Piotr Stanczak.” Two of them were soon released and two more were still interrogated by a five-member Police interrogation team.

The arrests of local villagers were made to find out who effectively helped the still unknown kidnappers. “Irrespective of the claim of Taliban, the investigation team was making hectic efforts to trace the local facilitators as undoubtedly without them, the kidnapers were not able to do such high-profile kidnapping,” wrote Yaqoob Malik.

Throughout the past week, I kept on searching for any clues that could have led to the place where the GEOFIZYKA KRAKOW engineer could be kept or to people who might be involved in his capture and forced detention. I asked for help our author and friend, Mr. Hamid Mir from Islamabad, who spoke to the Minister of the Internal Affairs, Rehman Malik, and wrote back to me about his suppositions. „Yes Taliban did it but there are many groups using the name of Taliban, they have no one command structure like the Taliban of Afghanistan, we are listening to them and trying to intercept some good clue,” Mr. Malik told Hamid Mir.

Earlier last week, Pakistani media reported that a Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan, claimed his group of militants held the Pole and two Chinese engineers (abducted in August) and they demanded their exchange for 136 of Taliban fighters remaining in Pakistani jails. “I know Muslim Khan. His operational area is far away from the place of the event. It is difficult to believe him. He is spokesman of Swat Taliban who already has two Chinese Engineers. Maybe he is trying to become important,” Hamid Mir wrote back to me. He also added “I personally believe that the Polish engineer is not with Swat Taliban, he was kidnapped by some local criminals and they may hand him over to the Taliban because they are no different from criminals.”

We have conveyed our demand to the negotiation team,“ Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan was reported to say. The Taliban spokesman also said that they have shifted the Polish engineer to a safe place. He made a point that Taliban will not free the engineer unless their colleagues arrested in Bajaur, Swat and Darra tribal regions are freed. He also warned that the life of Polish engineer will be in danger if arrested militants were not freed.

But was he telling the truth?

The mysterious Baitullah Mehsud
Last Friday, a leading Polish daily paper „Dziennik“ published a story, based on their phone contact with Mr. Ahmed Rashid, whom they call „the world’s best expert on the Taliban.“ According to Mr. Rashid from Lahore and to some other, unidentified contacts of the Polish daily, Peter Stanczak is in the hands of Tehriq-e-Taliban and its leader Baitullah Mehsud (35), who they call „a Taliban bin Laden“ and report that Mehsud commands „a 20,000 rebel army.“ Mehsud was reported to have taken 300 POWs from the Pakistani Army in October 2007. Mehsud was also accused of staging a bomb and sniper attack that killed Mrs. Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

According to „Dziennik,“ Ahmed Rashid told them that there was a „classic hand-over of conditions for negotiation“ from the side of Mehsud or his people (to whom?) concerning the Polish engineer. The Polish Embassy in Islamabad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw were very skeptical about that information. But on Saturday the Polish Prime Minister, Mr. Donald Tusk, called his Pakistani counterpart, Mr. Yousaf Raza Gilani to talk about the kidnapped Polish engineer and the Pakistani government’s action to free him.

However, Baitullah Mesud remains a mystery figure. Muhammad Najib wrote in Hindustan Times (October 2, 2008) that “Confusion prevails over the fate of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, with his ’spokesman‘ on Thursday refuting media reports that the militant had died of renal failure and saying that he spent a busy Eid.

Several Pakistani TV channels reported on Wednesday that 35-year-old Mehsud, accused of planning the December 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, had died of renal failure. However, a letter received by a Peshawar-based journalist from Mehsud’s ’spokesman‘ on Thursday said the terrorist leader was in good health and had a busy time on Eid, which was celebrated on Wednesday. Despite the denial of Mehsud’s death by the Taliban, several journalists based in the restive North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas believe otherwise. They think the Taliban will announce his death once they find his successor. ”I believe that he would have called journalists to tell them that he is alive… he had been in contact with several journalists. But this mysterious silence make us believe that he may have died or has very serious health problems,“ journalist Ahmed Khan told Indo-Asian News Service.”

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed by Pakistani authorities that Mr. Peter Stanczak “is alive” and “in Taliban hands” somewhere in the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Territory), near the Afghanistan border. If really the Polish engineer is being detained by militants of Tehriq-e-Taliban, his rescue might be very difficult. The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied terrorist groups have established 157 training camps and more than 400 support locations in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal. As American special forces continue their airborne attacks against strongholds of the Taliban and al-Qeda in the tribal territories of Pakistan, and the Pakistani Army is on the offensive with some 120,000 troops engaged in battle and search and destroy operations, the fate of the Polish citizen, the Chinese engineers and other kidnapped people may depend of on a possibility to strike a deal with these militants and, at least in part, accept their negotiating conditions. Otherwise, the captured foreigners will be used as hostages and their life will be in constant danger.

Let’s hope, however, that they might be saved.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.
~Emily Dickinson ~

Polish engineer kidnapped in Pakistan – Who did it and why?

David Dastych is a veteran journalist who served both in the Polish intelligence and the CIA; jailed in Poland by the Communist regime he spent several years in special prison wards; released in early 1990’s he joined international efforts to monitor illegal nuclear trade in Europe and Asia; handicapped for lifetime in a mountain accident in France, in 1994; now he returned to active life and runs his own media agency in Warsaw.

David Dastych – Warsaw, Poland-Early morning on Sunday, September 28, Mr. Piotr (Peter) Stanczak, an engineer from a Polish GEOFIZYKA Krakow Ltd. seismic survey company, drove in his Jeep, along with a Frontier Corps (FC) guard, a driver and an assistant driver.

According to a local police report, about 06:20 a.m. they arrived at the field camp near Pind Sultani village of Tehsil Jand Attock district in the NWFP province of Pakistan, when three to four unknown persons attacked his Jeep No-B-2748(NWFP), killed his Pakistani companions, kidnapped him and escaped in an unknown direction.

The whereabouts of the Polish engineer remain unknown at this time. The Pakistanis shot by gunmen were FC guard Muhammad Saleem, driver Anayatullah and his assistant Riaz. Their bodies were taken to a local hospital in Attock town for post-mortem, and then returned to the company’s camp.

So far, no person or organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yacoob Malik of “Dawn” daily wrote on Monday: “Local people said that the engineer might have been taken to tribal areas near Kohat, about 25km from the camp.” The incident occurred some 85-120 km from Islamabad, in the area of Pakistan inhabited mainly by Pashtu nationals. The area is located close to the boundary of North West Frontier Province, where pro-Taliban militants seized two Chinese telecommunication engineers in late August.

Provincial Police officer, Mr Durrani, said it was strange that a foreign technician was sent to the field camp located in a deserted area early in the morning. The camp was without proper security arrangement. Other police officials told media that foreign companies conducting oil exploration and other activities in the district had been cautioned by the government a number of times to make proper security arrangements, particularly during their staff’s movement (Malik, Dawn). “Attackers seized the Polish employee and shot dead his Pakistani driver and guards when they tried to put up resistance,” a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. Somehow, the news of the attack had been reported to a local police station, probably by a Pakistani guard or driver, before they lost their lives in gunfire.

Peter Stanczak worked for the Poland-based Geofizyka Krakow Ltd, which is exploring natural resources reservoirs in Basal area. Many foreign companies are drilling for oil and gas in Attock, where they have their own security staff in addition to local police and a small contingent of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force.

Foreigners and diplomats in Pakistan are feeling at risk as the insurgents have intensified their attacks on “high-value targets” to avenge military operations in the restive northwestern regions, as well as in other parts of the country (Indo-Asian News Service.)

Prospecting for oil and gas in Pakistan
Geofizyka Krakow (GK) is one of the two largest Polish companies of this type (the other is Geofizyka Torun (GT), in Northern Poland). Since 1956, Geofizyka Krakow has been helping its clients to successfully explore hydrocarbon and geothermal water deposits, as well as monitor natural resources reservoirs throughout the world. The Polish company maps the world’s basins using the latest technology and highest qualified staff. It is GK’s main preoccupation to sustain close partnership with their clients. This is managed effectively through GK foreign branches duly registered in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Pakistan and Libya.

In Pakistan, equipped with a brand new set of vibrators Sercel Nomad 65, Geofizyka Kraków (GK) commenced 3D Soghri seismic survey, a large project that covers more than 600 sq. km and use 2688 of active channels, what makes it probably the largest seismic venture in Pakistan. The operation is running in agricultural terrains that require particular care and effort to minimize possible damage occurrence. The contract is performed for Oil & Gas Development Company Limited – a Pakistani national oil corporation with whom GK strengthened the cooperation through several projects during its almost 10-year activity in the Pakistani oil and gas market.

Since 1998 when the company set its foreign branch in Islamabad, many geophysical surveys have been successfully performed for international and local clients. Up to date GK has been specialized especially in explosive seismic projects performed in difficult terrain conditions of mountainous areas with limited access for heavy track equipment. From the beginning of the year 2008, GK has widened its vibroseis services offer and has become the only contractor performing vibroseis operations exceeding 60, 000 lbs peak force.

A brave man
Polish media are still hiding the identity of the captured engineer. They claim that is for security reasons. But the hiding game has caused strange reactions. Some readers of a major Polish Internet magazine, ONET wrote that (Mr. Piotr Stanczak) might be an agent of the Polish Military Intelligence under engineer’s cover and that he might have been kidnapped by Taliban or al-Qaeda operatives for that reason. What nonsense! As his name has been already revealed by Pakistani and world media, there is no reason to keep it under the carpet.

Mr. Piotr (Peter) Stanczak, from a historical southern Polish city of Krakow (Cracow), is a sporting man in his 40s, with a long professional record working abroad. His sister reported to Polish media that her brother was due to return to Poland at the end of October. “He never said it was dangerous in Pakistan. He said all was OK,” she added, telling of his last cell phone call made on Saturday, two weeks ago. “My brother is a brave, resolute man. But I don’t know how he could react now, how he might feel.”

In a short interview for a Polish private television channel TVN-24, his sister, older than him and also living in Krakow, told a TV reporter that her only brother was a “tough man” but “a much loved brother” and he was helping her and their ill mother. In an other TV program, his neighbor said Mr. Stanczak had built a nice house and planted beautiful trees. She also added he helped her family in some difficulties. “He is calm and rational”, she added, and “he can manage in all situations.”

Monday afternoon, September 29, there was still no breaking news about the kidnapped engineer. The President of Geofizyka Krakow Ltd., Mr. Leopold Sulkowski, told Polish media that they expect some news tomorrow morning. The company HQ is in permanent contact with their subsidiary in Islamabad and with the field camp northwest from the capital. There are still 18 Polish workers there, who remain under the protection of the Pakistani Army. Due to the Sunday incident, the contract might be suspended and they would return to Poland, when the situation is safe enough to fly.

No rescue by force planned
Ever since the Sunday kidnapping the Polish authorities were negotiating Mr. Stanczak’s rescue with the top Pakistani authorities, the military and intelligence. Rumors were circulated about a planned use of a Polish special task force GROM, deployed in Afghanistan, but the Polish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Bogdan Klich, strongly denied them. A crisis control group had been organized in the MFA, and the Polish Ambassador in Pakistan, Mr. Krzysztof Debnicki, recently met with the Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. The Pakistani authorities are giving all possible assistance to the Polish counterparts and they have organized a search and rescue operation themselves.

The situation is developing.

David Dastych is a veteran journalist who served both in the Polish intelligence and the CIA; jailed in Poland by the Communist regime he spent several years in special prison wards; released in early 1990’s he joined international efforts to monitor illegal nuclear trade in Europe and Asia; handicapped for lifetime in a mountain accident in France, in 1994; now he returned to active life and runs his own media agency in Warsaw.

Vorabdruck aus Jürgen Elsässers Buch “Terrorziel Europa” (ab 11. September 2008 im Buchhandel)

Jürgen Elsässer – Al Qaida hat die Atombombe. Anhänger von Osama bin Laden haben sie aus hochangereichertem Uran zusammengebaut, das sie sich aus dem weißrussischen Forschungsreaktor Sosny besorgt hatten. Auch das Anschlagsziel ist schon klar: das NATO-Hauptquartier in Brüssel. Kommt Allahs Höllenfeuer über die belgische Metropole, werden die Folgen schrecklich sein: 40 000 Tote und 300 000 Verwundete. Bei entsprechender Windrichtung zieht die radioaktive Wolke Richtung Duisburg und Hannover. Eine halbe Million Menschen flieht in panischer Angst vor dem tödlichen Fall-out – ein Albtraum. Der schwerste terroristische Anschlag in der Geschichte der Menschheit.

Der Angriff hat schon stattgefunden, und zwar am 3. Mai des Jahres 2004. Gott sei Dank nicht in der Realität, sondern im Rahmen einer Notstandsübung. Zu diesem Zweck waren über 50 hochrangige Politiker und Experten von NATO, EU und aus den USA zusammengekommen, darunter auch der EU-Außenbeauftragte Javier Solana. Ihnen wurden Nachrichtensendungen aus den Tagen der fiktiven Katastrophe präsentiert. Adrette Sprecherinnen des Senders Global Network News und ernst dreinblickende Reporter wechselten sich ab und rapportierten die obigen Opferzahlen, das Elend Strahlen-verseuchter Hilfstrupps, die ohnmächtigen Reaktionen der Politiker, die ökonomischen Folgen.

Wie im echten Leben wird die Ansagerin von sogenannten Breaking News unterbrochen. Eine Einspielung des Senders »Arab World News« folgt. Zu sehen ist ein Bekennervideo von bin Laden. Der ultimative Bösewicht übernimmt die Verantwortung für den Horror: »Letztes Jahr haben wir den Europäern einen Waffenstillstand angeboten … Aber eure Politiker wollten nicht hören … Heute konnten Sie sehen, dass unser Angebot ein Zeichen der Stärke war … Was wir heute getan haben, können wir wieder tun.« Der Saudi spricht Arabisch, was simultan ins Englische übersetzt wird. Der Dolmetscher hat einen undefinierbaren orientalischen Akzent. Offensichtlich kommt er aus derselben Weltgegend wie der Terrorist. Das macht den Clip noch authentischer.

“Terrorziel Europa”: Westliche Geheimdienste sind in sämtliche Terroranschläge in Europa der letzten Jahre involviert.

Aber er ist nicht authentisch. Er ist gefälscht. Al Qaida hat keine Atombombe. Das Bekennervideo ist ein Fake. Der Mann sieht aus wie bin Laden, er spricht wie Bin Laden, er wird übersetzt wie Bin Laden, aber er ist nicht bin Laden. Bild und Ton wurden in einem US-amerikanischen Digitallabor erzeugt. Auftraggeber war der Think Tank, der auch die Terrorübung veranstaltet hat: das Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Bevor wir uns näher mit dieser Firma beschäftigen, verdient Folgendes festgehalten zu werden: Das Bekennervideo von Osama bin Laden für einen atomaren Anschlag in Europa ist schon fertig. Es stammt allerdings nicht von ihm. Bleibt die Frage: Wie verhält es sich eigentlich mit den anderen Aufnahmen des Saudis, die dem Fernsehzuschauer gezeigt wurden?

Paranoia und Hetze
Dieses Buch wird sich von fast allen deutschsprachigen Veröffentlichungen zum Thema Terrorismus unterscheiden. Bei den Kolleginnen und Kollegen der Journalistenzunft dominieren Paranoia und Islamophobie, und zwar unabhängig von der jeweiligen politischen Orientierung. Nehmen wir zwei Beispiele aus der Presselandschaft: die als linksliberal firmierende »Süddeutsche Zeitung« und ihr konservatives Gegenstück, den »Focus«. Für die Münchner Tageszeitung macht Annette Ramelsberger Stimmung: »Fast 400 gewaltbereite radikale Muslime zählt die Polizei bundesweit – es sind die sogenannten Gefährder, denen die Polizei zutraut, dass sie Anschläge planen … Aber es gibt auch noch die anderen, die über 30 000 Muslime, die zwar einem radikalen Islam anhängen, aber als nicht gewaltbereit gelten … Diese Leute müssen nicht selbst zuschlagen, aber sie können anderen die Arbeit erleichtern.« Berndt Georg Thamm, sogenannter Terrorismusexperte des »Focus«, hält das für untertrieben. »Sicherheitspolitiker beunruhigt, dass es möglicherweise 100 000 Muslime sind, die in Deutschland das Ziel der Weltherrschaft des Islam mit politischen Mitteln anstreben. «30 000, 100 000 – wer bietet mehr? Operiert in Deutschland eine Untergrundarmee aus moslemischen Terroristen und ihren Helfershelfern? Ramelsberger warnt vor der »Beschwichtigungsmaschine …, die die drohende Gefahr bedenkenlos kleinhäckselt«. Sie malt ein düsteres Panorama: »Die Zeichen mehren sich, dass islamistische Gruppen, zornige Einzeltäter oder Emissäre des Terrornetzwerkes Al Qaida versuchen, in Deutschland zuzuschlagen. Das kann auf dem Oktoberfest in München sein oder im Hauptbahnhof von Berlin, auf dem Rockkonzert am Nürburgring oder auf einer Ostseefähre in Rügen.«

Zeitungsartikel lesen sich oft so wie die Prosaversion von Geheimdienstberichten. Wer dagegen anschreibt, hat es schwer. Ministerien und Dienste sind nicht besonders kooperativ, wenn ein Journalist ihre Arbeit kritisch unter die Lupe nimmt. Dieses Buch wurde nur möglich, weil es auch Ausnahmen gibt: unzufriedene Mitarbeiter der Behörden, die Informationen liefern.

Besonders profitiert habe ich von meiner Tätigkeit für den BND-Untersuchungsausschuss des Bundestages, der im Mai 2006 seine Arbeit aufnahm und mögliche Gesetzesverstöße im Zusammenhang mit dem Antiterrorkampf zu klären hat. Zwar ist es jedem Mitarbeiter untersagt, aus den sensiblen Dokumenten zu zitieren, die dem Gremium zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Überdies bekam ich vom Verfassungsschutz keine Sicherheitsfreigabe, die mir das Studium besonders brisanter Geheimakten ermöglicht hätte.

Der Staatsschutz darf nämlich genehmigen, von wem er sich kontrollieren lässt. Obwohl ich aufgrund dieses Handicaps nur einige Monate für den Ausschuss tätig sein konnte, erhielt ich Einblicke und Kontakte, die mir eine ganz andere Verknüpfung der vorhandenen Informationen ermöglichten als den meisten Kollegen. Schnell verstand ich den Leitspruch von Sherlock Holmes: »Nichts ist trügerischer als eine offenkundige Tatsache.«

Zum Inhalt des Buches
Die folgenden 300 Seiten kann man als Enzyklopädie aller europäischen Anschläge und Anschlagsversuche lesen, für die islamistische Täter verantwortlich gemacht wurden. Das Frappierende: In fast allen Fällen spielten Agenten oder V-Männer von Geheimdiensten eine tragende Rolle. Mit anderen Worten: Kein einziger dieser Morde oder Mordversuche hätte ohne die Mithilfe der Staatssicherheit unternommen werden können.

Fast jede der erwähnten Terrorattacken lässt sich auf zwei europaweit agierende Strukturen zurückführen. Zum einen auf das Londoner Terrornetz rund um die Finsbury Moschee, das im zweiten Kapitel vorgestellt wird; zum anderen auf eine süddeutsche Zelle, die sich zunächst in Freiburg herausgebildet hat und sich von dort nach Ulm/ Neu-Ulm verlagerte. Darüber informiert das dritte Kapitel. Während es zum ersten Täterkreis in Großbritannien – allerdings nicht in Deutschland – bereits einige Studien gibt, wird der zweite Kontaktring in diesem Buch erstmals in seiner ganzen Tragweite enthüllt.

Im Einzelnen werden behandelt: die Anschläge auf das Nahverkehrsnetz in Paris 1995 und in Nordfrankreich 1996 (Kapitel 4); der vereitelte Bombenterror zu Weihnachten 2000 in Strasbourg (Kapitel 5); die Hamburger Zelle um die angeblichen Flugzeugentführer des 11. September 2001 (Kapitel 6); die Mailänder Zelle (Kapitel 7); die Anschläge in Istanbul im Jahr 2003 (Kapitel 8); die Ulmer Szene und die Entführung von Khaled al Masri 2004 (Kapitel 9); das Madrider Bombeninferno am 11. März 2004 (Kapitel 10); die Anschläge auf drei U-Bahnen und einen Bus am 7. Juli 2005 in London (Kapitel 11); die sogenannten Kofferbomber vom Kölner Hauptbahnhof 2006 (Kapitel 12); mehrere Attentatsversuche in Berlin (Kapitel 13); die 2007 in Wien festgenommenen sogenannten Cyber-Terroristen (Kapitel 14); und das angeblich im September 2007 vereitelte deutsche 9/11 (Kapitel 15).

Westliche Nachrichtendienste, vor allem der britische MI5 bzw. MI6 und die US-amerikanische CIA, blicken auf eine lange Geschichte der Zusammenarbeit mit moslemischen und anderen Extremisten zurück. Kapitel 1 gibt einen Überblick über die Kooperation vom Afghanistankrieg der achtziger Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts bis zu der Epochenwende am 11. September 2001. Kapitel 16 stellt verdeckte Operationen vor, die von der CIA/NATO-Geheimarmee Gladio im Kalten Krieg durchgeführt wurden, und skizziert, wie diese Untergrundarbeit nach 9/11 fortgesetzt wurde – nunmehr nicht mehr gegen den kommunistischen, sondern gegen den islamistischen Feind.

In Kapitel 17 wird beschrieben, wie antidemokratische Fraktionen in den Sicherheitsapparaten durch geduldeten oder inszenierten Terror im Rahmen einer »Strategie der Spannung« die Vorbereitungen auf einen gigantischen Überwachungsstaat vorantreiben. Das abschließende Kapitel 18 diskutiert die Gefahr, dass insbesondere die Hardliner in der CDU/CSU um Bundesinnenminister Wolfgang Schäuble versucht sein könnten, solche Planungen putschartig durchzusetzen.

Keine Entwarnung
Für einen solchen Putsch bräuchte es einen Terroranschlag auf deutschem Boden. Dessen Wahrscheinlichkeit wächst, je tiefer die Bundesrepublik sich in den globalen Krieg der USA hineinziehen lässt. Entweder der islamistische Widerstand wird, in Vergeltung der Beteiligung von Bundeswehrsoldaten an Gräueltaten in Afghanistan oder sonst wo, Ziele auch hierzulande angreifen. Wer der wahnwitzigen Ansicht ist, Deutschland werde auf den Höhen des Hindukusch verteidigt, darf sich nicht wundern, wenn die Rächer der dortigen Opfer in den Tälern der Alpen zurückschlagen.

Oder, was wahrscheinlicher ist: Die US-geführten Geheimdienststrukturen werden eine solche Attacke mit Hilfe moslemischer Dummies selbst durchführen. Das Ziel: die mehrheitlich kriegsunwillige deutsche Bevölkerung von der scheinbaren Notwendigkeit des weltweiten Antiterrorkrieges zu überzeugen. Der transatlantische Schulterschluss ist auch die Intention des Think Tanks, der die eingangs geschilderte Notfallübung in Brüssel veranstaltet und das bin Laden-Bekennervideo produziert hat. Zum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) gehören Vordenker der US-Außenpolitik wie Zbigniew Brzezinski und Henry Kissinger, frühere Minister wie Warren Christopher und Madeleine Albright, ehemalige Sonderbotschafter wie Bob Dole und Stuart Eizenstat.

Im Jahr 2003, etwa ein Jahr vor dem fiktiven Atomterror-Szenario, publizierte der Think Tank ein Memorandum, das die EU zu mehr Solidarität mit den USA auffordert: »Es ist dringlich und notwendig, dass die Europäer mehr tun, um den Amerikanern zu versichern, dass die Vereinigten Staaten in Europa willkommen sind.« Und wenn sie das nicht freiwillig tun, wie es in jenem Jahr der Achsenbildung zwischen Paris, Berlin und Moskau der Fall zu sein schien? Dann muss man sie daran erinnern, dass sie von atomarer Verwüstung bedroht sind, falls sie sich dem Großen Bruder auf seinem Kreuzzug gegen den Islam nicht anschließen.

Um Missverständnisse zu vermeiden: Dieses Buch richtet sich nicht gegen die deutschen Sicherheitsorgane. Ganz im Gegenteil: Die allermeisten Mitarbeiter unserer Polizei und unserer Geheimdienste tun alles in ihrer Macht Stehende, um »Schaden vom deutschen Volk abzuwenden«, wie es in der Eidesformel heißt. Das Wohl dieses Landes und seiner Menschen hängt davon ab, dass sie den anderen, die sich zum Gegenteil verschworen haben, nicht das Feld überlassen.

Jürgen Elsässer: Terrorziel Euro­pa – Das gefährliche Doppelspiel der Geheimdienste. Residenz Verlag, St.Pölten/Wien 2008, 344 Seiten, 21,90 Euro, ISBN 9783701731008. ab 11. September im Buchhandel.

Lesetermine
15. September 2008, Wien: Buchpremiere von „Terrorziel Europa“
Buchhandlung Kuppitsch, Schottengasse 4, 19.30 Uhr

17. September 2008, Berlin: Buchpremiere „Terrorziel Europa“
Pressehaus „Neues Deutschland“, Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 19 Uhr

21. September 2008, Berlin. Buchpremiere für die Neuausgabe von „Wie der Dschihad nach Europa kam“
Zusammen mit Christoph Hörstel („Brandherd Pakistan“). Bei Dr. Seltsam’s Wochenshow, „Oberbaum“, Bevernstraße 5 (direkt am U-Bhf. Schlesisches Tor), 14 Uhr

9. Oktober 2008, Eisenach: Buchlesung „Terrorziel Europa“
Ort wird noch bekannt gegeben

10. Oktober 2008, Konstanz: Buchlesung „Terrorziel Europa“
(voraussichtlich) Hotelgaststätte Barbarossa (Fußgängerzone), 20 Uhr

11. Oktober 2008, Stockach, Buchlesung „Terrorziel Europa“
(voraussichtlich) Hotelgaststätte „Fortuna“ (beim Bahnhof), 20 Uhr

16. Oktober 2008, Wien, Buchlesung „Terrorziel Europa“
(voraus.) OKAZ, Gusshausstrasse 14/3, 1040 Wien, 19 Uhr

onlineredaktion – Saudi Arabia is to build five modern prisons in the kingdom to replace US Guantanamo detention facility, a new report has revealed.

Jordanian daily quoted unnamed sources as saying that US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi officials are cooperating to construct the prisons which are to replace Guantanamo and US secret prisons in Europe.

Riyadh is to spent about two billion Saudi Rials for the project which can accommodate up to 18000 inmates, they added. Bin laden firm and with the help of German engineers will build the prisons in the Saudi cities of Mecca, Haer, Demmam, and Qasim.

The US has been under pressure due to violating individual rights in its detention camps in Europe and Guantanamo Bay. UN human rights investigators have urged the White House to shut down the Guantanamo camp.

Source

World Content News – Die Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International hat in ihrem neuen Bericht: „State of Denial. Europe’s Role in Rendition and Secret Detention“ mehreren europäischen Staaten vorgeworfen, sie hätten sich seit 2001 aktiv an Verschleppungen der CIA in Geheimgefängnisse und Folterstaaten beteiligt und wären dadurch für begangene Menschenrechtsverletzungen mitverantwortlich.

Im neuen 76-seitigen Bericht werden unter anderem sechs Einzelfälle detailliert dokumentiert, die zeigen, in welchem Ausmaß die EU involviert war. Die Mitwirkungen reichten von Überflugs- und Landeerlaubnissen auf europäischen Flughäfen für CIA-Flüge bis hin zur Duldung von geheimen Gefangenenlagern, sogenannten „Black sites“, auf europäischem Boden.

„Die europäischen Regierungen befinden sich in einem Zustand der Verleugnung und ignorierten die Wahrheit zu lange“, so AI. Ihr Engagement bei den Überstellungen und geheimen Haftanstalten verhalte sich in krassem Gegensatz zu ihren Erklärungen, verantwortungsvolle Akteure im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus zu sein.

Ihre Vorwürfe richten sich u.a. speziell an Irland, Großbritannien, Italien, Deutschland, Polen und Rumänien. Eine umfassende Aufklärung stehe nach wie vor aus, da die Staaten entsprechende Ermittlungen nicht durchführen, teilweise nicht einmal unterstützen würden.

Amnesty fordert Europa auf, umgehend künftig wirksame Vorbeugemaßnahmen gegen CIA-Verschleppungen zu treffen. Auszug:

Für besondere Aufmerksamkeit sorgte in der letzten Woche ein Bericht der New York Times, der die Existenz eines Geheimgefängnisses in Polen bestätigte. Erstmals werden in der Mainstream-Presse ein CIA-Agent mit Namensnennung zitiert, der sich 2002 und 2003 einige Wochen im polnischen CIA-Folterkerker aufgehalten haben soll, um dort Khalid Scheich Mohammed Geständnisse zu entlocken und zwar mit

„various harsh techniques, including waterboarding, used about 100 times over a period of two weeks„

Der zitierte Agent, Deuce Martinez, will freilich nicht selbst Hand angelegt haben, betont die Zeitung.

Freilich – wer aufpasste, konnte schon ein Jahr zuvor in einer investigativen Reportage ziemlich viele Einzelheiten über die Existenz der Black Site bei der Raw Story nachlesen. Zudem hat sich die NYT verkniffen den Namen und den Standort des Geheimgefängnisses Stare Kiejkuty in der Nähe von Szymany preiszugeben, nicht weil sie die polnische Regierung völlig desavouieren wollte, neben einer Wiedereröffnung des Flughafens in ziviler Hand ist immer noch die Möglichkeit einer Errichtung eines US-Militärstützpunktes im Gespräch.

Relativ blass bleiben auch die genauen Verbringungsdaten der Gefangenen (Grafik NYT), sogar in Wikipedia lässt sich inzwischen nachschlagen, wann die Folterflugzeuge in Szymany halt machten:

Wohin die Gefangenen nach den ersten Presseenthüllungen dann eiligst weggebracht wurden, darüber gibt es bisher nur Vermutungen: Entweder wurden sie ins libysche Gefängnis in Misurata gesteckt oder nach Sale (bei Rabat) in Marokko geflogen.

Polen hat den Bericht der New York Times inzwischen zurückgewiesen. Im Gegensatz zu früheren energischen Statements liest es sich doch diesmal deutlich verhaltener: Der Präsident besaß keine Informationen, die andeuteten, dass die CIA geheime Gefängnisse unterhielt.

Heute kam auch das erste Zipfelchen der bundesdeutschen Wahrheit raus: Nach Angaben von führenden Verfassungsschützern war den deutschen Geheimdiensten das harte Vorgehen von US-Behörden gegen Terrorverdächtige in Einzelfällen seit langem bekannt. Von der systematischen Verschleppungspraxis durch die CIA wollen sie erst 2005 erfahren haben. Ex-BND-Chef August Hannings primäre Top-Informationsquelle war die gute alte Tageszeitung (wiederum NYT).

Und der frühere Kanzleramtsminister? Die Bundesregierung hat die CIA-Gefangenenflüge über Deutschland nach den Worten von Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) weder geduldet noch unterstützt: „Ich war nicht Inspektor Columbo im Einsatz gegen die Amerikaner„. Natürlich, der Mann hat wohl wichtigeres zu tun. Leider muss man bei Herrn Steinmeier aber auch an die anschließende nicht mehr als laue Zusammenarbeit mit den europäischen Sonderermittlern erinnern. Nicht gerade ein Zückerchen auf dem Butterbrot einer möglichen Kanzlerkandidatur. Immerhin: Steinmeier erwägt unterdessen eine schärfere Überwachung des Flugverkehrs. Viele Planespotter werden ihm sehr gerne bei dieser Hercules-Aufgabe helfen.

Bei soviel Ahnungslosigkeit: Nun – es gilt sowohl die Unschulds- als auch die Dämlichkeitsvermutung. Wenigstens weiß man jetzt, wo die wahren Schläfer sitzen. Dies macht nicht gerade Mut, die noch immer stattfindenden Gefangenentransporte in Europa künftig verhindern zu können.

Quellen:
Report: State of Denial. Europe’s Role in Rendition and Secret Detention (amnesty.no, pdf, 24.06.2008)
Europäische Beteiligung an CIA-Verschleppungen
(glocalist.com, 25.06.2008)
Renditions: New report accuses governments of complicity in ‚torture flights‘
(amnesty.org.uk, 24.06.2008)
Shannon linked again to CIA ‚Rendition‘ Flights
(inishtrahoull.blogspot.com, 24.06.2008)
Polish gov’t denies NY Times report on CIA prisons
(wbj.pl, 25.06.2008)
Inside a 9/11 Mastermind’s Interrogation
(New York Times, 22.06.2008)
Soviet-era compound in northern Poland was site of secret CIA interrogation, detentions (rawstory.com, 07.03.2007)
Ex-BND-Chef Hanning: Erst 2005 von CIA-Gefangenenflügen erfahren
(Reuters, 26.06.2008)
Flüge in die Folter: Was wusste Steinmeier?
(Markenpost, 26.06.2008)

siehe auch:
Torture Plane Crew N54PA „resting at Shannon“?
(WCN, 19.06.2008)
USA versteckt Gefangene auch auf Kriegsschiffen
(WCN, 02.06.2008)
Gefangenentransporte nach Guantanamo wieder aufgenommen
(WCN, 14.03.2008)
464 CIA-Landungen in Deutschland (softlabhennef, 30.07.2006)

Dieser Artikel erschien erstmalig bei World Content News