----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <undisclosed-recipients:> Sent: Saturday, January 09, 2010 6:34 PM Subject: China naval base proposed for Aden (Yemen); but US gets in first
(1) Underpants bomb "wouldn't have worked". A Mossad tie? (2) "Christmas Bomber is an Israeli Agent" - Eric May (3) Yemen charges $60,000 for safe passage through pirate waters (4) China naval base proposed for Aden (Yemen) (5) US-Israel-India axis: new bases, + control of Aden & Malacca Strait, block China (6) Relief Convoy reaches Gaza; Egyptian tactics backfired (1) Underpants bomb "wouldn't have worked". A Mossad tie? http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/underwear_bomber__206.html Mossad Tied to 'Underwear Bomber' By Victor Thorn "His explosives couldn't have blown up his own seat. Even if full power, it wouldn't have worked." These were the words relayed to me during a Jan. 2 interview with military analyst and counterinsurgency specialist Gordon Duff in regard to the attempt of Christmas Day underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab [sometimes referred to as Abdulmutallab] to ignite 80 grams of the explosive PETN on a flight destined for America. He also explained how the patsy's country of origin, Nigeria, is clandestinely controlled by the Israeli army and Mossad. These entities train the military, sell weapons, run the airports, and wield power over DICON (Defense Industries Corporation). Furthermore, Mutallab's father is a Mossad partner and Israel's No. 1 contact in Nigeria. As the former CEO of his country's most influential bank and the man who ran their national arms industry, Mr. Mutallab also harbors extremely close relationships with the U.S. ambassador and CIA chief in Nigeria. On Nov. 19, 2009, Mutallab supposedly felt so alarmed about his errant son's behavior that he met with the CIA's station chief in Nigeria. Duff describes the father in a Dec. 31 article for Veterans Today as "one of the richest people in the world, head of a major bank, head of the national armaments industry, and close associate of the U.S. ambassador," as well as being a Mossad asset. Yet we're to believe that nobody prevented his Yemeni-influenced "terrorist" son from boarding a plane ultimately bound for Detroit? Another significant detail is being neglected by mainstream media sources. The firm in charge of security at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is the Israeli-owned International Consultants on Targeted Security (ICTS).They're also the same outfit responsible for all three airports used by "Muslim hijackers" on 9-11. ICTS also handled security for London's bus system during their 7-7 "Muslim bombing," while doing the same at Charles de Gaulle Airport when "shoe bomber" Richard Reid boarded a plane in Paris on Dec. 22, 2001. When a Michigan passenger, attorney Kurt Haskell, reported that a "well-dressed" Indian man arranged for Umar Mutallab to perform a "walkaround" without a passport in Amsterdam, ICTS was one of only a few entities that could have permitted this security breach to take place. Despite tighter screening processes since 9-11, Northwest Airlines Flight 253 experienced no delays in takeoff. According to the Mathaba News Agency on Jan. 2, "It is evident that clearing the terrorist with higher-ups took a matter of a minute or so—the 'Indian' obviously had a high-level pass (CIA, Mossad or high-level security clout)." Then, during the flight, onlookers noted that another passenger spent a great deal of time filming 23-year-old Mutallab with his camcorder. Even stranger, once the suspect tried to ignite his "crotch bomb," Mathaba reported, "Throughout the incident, the man continued recording the terrorist, calmly and without interruption." Next, after the plane landed, another Indian man was led away in handcuffs after bomb-sniffing dogs smelled explosives in his luggage. Now, more than a week later, officials have refused to release Schiphol CCTV airport footage from Amsterdam, the air-bound "video passenger" film, or identify the man arrested in Detroit. This Indian link doesn't surprise Duff. "Israel and India are very close business partners, especially via their military contracts. Also, the Indian intelligence agency (Research and Analysis Wing) works hand-in-hand with Israel. Essentially, the two governments are one." But the Mossad's reach extends even further, directly into the country where Mutallab purportedly trained. On Oct. 7, 2008, BBC News reported, "Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said that security forces have arrested a group of alleged Islamist militants linked to Israeli intelligence." The ties go even deeper, straight to Mutallab's home country. In a Sept. 5, 2008 article by Tashikalmah Hallah and Francis Okeke entitled "Nigeria: Lawmakers Divided Over Mossad," Sen. Nuhu Aliyu voiced his support for their pact with Israel. "They (Mossad) are professionals, and they are here to help train our own intelligence agents. I don't see any way by which their presence in the country poses a threat to our national security." One final element of the equation needs to be addressed; specifically, the "terrorist cell" that ostensibly trained Mutallab prior to his Christmas Day terror attempt. However, Duff paints an entirely different picture. "There is no al-Qaeda in Yemen. George Bush released a couple of phony operatives from Guantanamo, and after traveling to the Middle East, they hooked up with the Mossad. The only reason Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez released them is because they're assets." Of course, the American public is being misled again into believing that this "lone nut" terrorist sneaked through the system (no-fly lists, airport scrutiny etc) due to mere incompetence, similar to what occurred on 9-11. Yet Israeli intelligence provided security at the Amsterdam Airport, where Mutallab boarded a plane with no passport; the NSA is equipped to electronically eavesdrop anywhere around the world; the Mossad is tied to Yemen, Nigeria and India; while the suspect's father opened up banking and arms contacts in the Middle East while harboring an extremely close relationship with American and Israeli intelligence. What we're being fed is another propagandized cover story that is intended to keep ratcheting up Orwellian-style trauma and fear, all the while further spreading our global "terror war" to Yemen and the African continent. Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and the author of many books on 9-11 and the New World Order. These include 9-11 Evil: The Israeli Role in 9-11 and Phantom Flight 93. (2) "Christmas Bomber is an Israeli Agent" - Eric May From: Captain May <[email protected]> Date: 09.01.2010 10:37 AM http://lonestaricon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=420:christmas-bomber-is-an-israeli-agent-attention-fbidod-&catid=35:worldwide&Itemid=69 Christmas Bomber Is An Israeli Agent — Attention FBI/DoD Written by Captain Eric H. May, Intelligence Editor Wednesday, January 06 2010 05:39 am TEXAS, 1/3/10 — A wide array of intelligence agencies and professionals believe that a terror attack on the homeland is likely in the wake of the “Christmas Bomber” attempt to blow up Flight 253 in Detroit. Insiders say that Israel was responsible for the failed plot, and had planned to use it in order to provoke the United States into a conflict in Yemen, occupied Palestine and Iran. This would likely draw in Pakistan and India, which both (like Israel) have nuclear arsenals. Thereafter it’s possible that nuclear powers Russia and China could be drawn in along with the U.S. The FBI has been investigating congressional leaders Rep. Jane Harman and House leader Nancy Pelosi in espionage with AIPAC for Israel. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, an Israeli military veteran whose father was part of the Israeli terrorist Irgun organization, is under suspicion as well. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be under investigation, too. A month ago she announced the engagement of her daughter Chelsea to the son of the Jewish Mezvinsky congressional family, including former Congressman Edward M. Mezvinsky, convicted of swindling in 2002. Washington leadership seems to have colluded with Israel to distract national attention during Christmas Week with the passage and signing of the $666 billion military budget and renewal of the Patriot Act. On Christmas Eve they used on the Health Care Act, and Israel simultaneously announced a worldwide recall of its ambassadors — for the first time ever — for war plans in Jerusalem: First-ever Heads of Missions Conference at the MFA Israel Ministry of Foreign Missions, 12/24/2009 <http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2009/Press+releases/First-Heads-of-Mission-Conference-24-Dec-2009.htm> ... Captain Eric H. May, a disabled veteran, is a former U.S. Army military intelligence officer and Desert Storm volunteer. A former NBC editorial writer, his essays have been published worldwide, from the Wall Street Journal to Military Intelligence Magazine. In 1996 he interviewed to become speechwriter for Texas governor George W. Bush. In 2003 he began the Ghost Troop cyber militia with his best friend, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Chase Untermeyer, who served as one of May’s staff officers even after being appointed US Ambassador to Qatar. For a photo of them together, refer to the Captain May Archive: <http://www.spiritone.com/~ghosttroop/Archives.htm> (3) Yemen charges $60,000 for safe passage through pirate waters http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/yemen-navy-charges-60000-for-safe-passage-in-pirate-waters/story-e6frg6so-1225816375162 Yemen navy charges $60,000 for safe passage in pirate waters Michelle Wiese Bockmann, London The Australian January 06, 2010 12:00AM YEMEN'S navy is charging commercial vessels up to $US55,000 ($60,800) each to guarantee transit through the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden under a deal that has reaped about $US30 million over 18 months. The hiring of Yemeni military came as al-Qa'ida flourishes in the Arabian Peninsula nation, and was agreed without the apparent knowledge of Yemeni government officials or international anti-piracy military forces. European governments and the US have vowed to boost counter-terrorism funding, intelligence-sharing and training for Yemen's coastguard and defence forces to fight extremists. But at least one merchant ship a day, including some of the largest ship owners, are discreetly paying Yemen for military protection, said Nick Davis, chief executive of British-based Gulf of Aden Group Transits, which has an exclusive contract with the country's navy. Under the payment-for-protection deal, up to 10 warships are placed at the company's disposal, with armed soldiers deployed to board private ships as escorts, with land-based military "right behind us if we need them", Mr Davis said. "It's the only dedicated, military-supported full escort protection available in the Gulf of Aden at the moment. There's nothing better. We'd all like it to be free but that's not possible," he said. Somali pirates have attacked more than 200 commercial ships and hijacked nearly 50 over the past 12 months, mostly in the Gulf of Aden, through which about 25,000 vessels transit annually. About $US40m has been paid in ransoms. For the $US55,000 fee, the Yemen navy provides a dedicated warship travelling alongside a vessel, 40km off its coastline. Not one paying ship has been hijacked, and four attacks successfully repelled, Mr Davis said. ... (4) China naval base proposed for Aden (Yemen) China mulling naval base in Gulf of Aden: admiral (AFP) – Dec 29, 2009 http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hs9FI-bp-ej_mwo-HTAa4KBny6EA http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/147519/reftab/36/Default.aspx BEIJING — A top Chinese naval official has proposed setting up a permanent base to support ships on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, raising the idea that China could build foreign bases elsewhere. In an interview posted on the defence ministry website, Yin Zhuo -- an admiral and senior researcher at the navy's Equipment Research Centre -- said such a base would bolster China's long-term participation in the operation. "We are not saying we need our navy everywhere in order to fulfil our international commitments," Yin said. "We are saying to fulfil our international commitments, we need to strengthen our supply capacity." Yin's proposal, posted on Tuesday, came after a Chinese cargo ship and its crew of 25 were rescued from Somali pirates on Monday, following the payment of a 3.5-million-dollar ransom to their kidnappers. China has sent four flotillas to the region since the end of last year, with the first escort fleet spending 124 days at sea without docking, Yin said -- a length of time that added to the challenges of the operation. Since then, Chinese vessels have been allowed to dock and resupply at a French naval base. The United States, European Union and Japan all have supply bases in the region, he said. "If China establishes a similar long-term supply base, I believe that the nations in the region and the other countries involved with the (anti-pirate) escorts would understand," he said. "I think a permanent, stable base would be good for our operations." Any decision to establish such a base would have to be decided by the ruling Communist Party and its Central Military Commission, Yin said. Yin added he was aware that Chinese naval ships in the waters near the Gulf have aroused suspicions, but believed other nations understood Beijing's intention was to counter pirates. As the world's largest importer of crude oil, China is reportedly interested in establishing naval bases in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand and the South China Sea to protect its sea transportation lines. Thanks to China's booming economy, its defence budget has maintained double-digit growth over much of the last decade fuelling a robust military modernisation plan. Copyright © 2010 AFP. (5) US-Israel-India axis: new bases, + control of Aden & Malacca Strait, block China Obama's Yemeni odyssey targets China By M K Bhadrakumar Jan 9, 2010 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LA09Ak02.html A year ago, Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh made the startling revelation that his country's security forces apprehended a group of Islamists linked to the Israeli intelligence forces. "A terrorist cell was apprehended and will be referred to the courts for its links with the Israeli intelligence services," he promised. Saleh added, "You will hear about the trial proceedings." Nothing was ever heard and the trail went cold. Welcome to the magical land of Yemen, where in the womb of time the Arabian Nights were played out. Combine Yemen with the mystique of Islam, Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the Israeli intelligence and you get a heady mix. The head of the US Central Command, General David Petraeus, dropped in at the capital, Sana'a, on Saturday and vowed to Saleh increased American aid to fight al-Qaeda. United States President Barack Obama promptly echoed Petraeus' promise, assuring that the US would step up intelligence-sharing and training of Yemeni forces and perhaps carry out joint attacks against militants in the region. Another Afghanistan? Many accounts say that Obama, who is widely regarded as a gifted and intelligent politician, is blundering into a catastrophic mistake by starting another war that could turn out to be as bloody and chaotic and unwinnable as Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, on the face of it, Obama does seem erratic. The parallels with Afghanistan are striking. There has been an attempt to destroy a US plane by a Nigerian student who says he received training in Yemen. And America wants to go to war. Yemen, too, is a land of wonderfully beautiful rugged mountains that could be a guerilla paradise. Yemenis are a hospitable lot, like Afghan tribesmen, but as Irish journalist Patrick Cockurn recollects, while they are generous to passing strangers, they "deem the laws of hospitality to lapse when the stranger leaves their tribal territory, at which time he becomes 'a good back to shoot at'." Surely, there is romance in the air - almost like in the Hindu Kush. Fiercely nationalistic, almost every Yemeni has a gun. Yemen is also, like Afghanistan, a land of conflicting authorities, and with foreign intervention, a little civil war is waiting to flare up. Is Obama so incredibly forgetful of his own December 1 speech outlining his Afghan strategy that he violated his own canons? Certainly not. Obama is a smart man. The intervention in Yemen will go down as one of the smartest moves that he ever made for perpetuating the US's global hegemony. It is America's answer to China's surge. A cursory look at the map of region will show that Yemen is one of the most strategic lands adjoining waters of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. It flanks Saudi Arabia and Oman, which are vital American protectorates. In effect, Uncle Sam is "marking territory" - like a dog on a lamppost. Russia has been toying with the idea of reopening its Soviet-era base in Aden. Well, the US has pipped Moscow in the race. The US has signaled that the odyssey doesn't end with Yemen. It is also moving into Somalia and Kenya. With that, the US establishes its military presence in an entire unbroken stretch of real estate all along the Indian Ocean's western rim. Chinese officials have of late spoken of their need to establish a naval base in the region. The US has now foreclosed China's options. The only country with a coastline that is available for China to set up a naval base in the region will be Iran. All other countries have a Western military presence. The American intervention in Yemen is not going to be on the pattern of Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama will ensure he doesn't receive any body bags of American servicemen serving in Yemen. That is what the American public expects from him. He will only deploy drone aircraft and special forces and "focus on providing intelligence and training to help Yemen counter al-Qaeda militants", according to the US military. Obama's main core objective will be to establish an enduring military presence in Yemen. This serves many purposes. A new great game begins First, the US move has to be viewed against the historic backdrop of the Shi'ite awakening in the region. The Shi'ites (mostly of the Zaidi group) have been traditionally suppressed in Yemen. Shi'ite uprisings have been a recurring theme in Yemen's history. There has been a deliberate attempt to minimize the percentage of Shi'ites in Yemen, but they could be anywhere up to 45%. More importantly, in the northern part of the country, they constitute the majority. What bothers the US and moderate Sunni Arab states - and Israel - is that the Believing Youth Organization led by Hussein Badr al-Houthi, which is entrenched in northern Yemen, is modeled after Hezbollah in Lebanon in all respects - politically, economically, socially and culturally. Yemenis are an intelligent people and are famous in the Arabian Peninsula for their democratic temperament. The Yemeni Shi'ite empowerment on a Hezbollah-model would have far-reaching regional implications. Next-door Oman, which is a key American base, is predominantly Shi'ite. Even more sensitive is the likelihood of the dangerous idea of Shi'ite empowerment spreading to Saudi Arabia's highly restive Shi'ite regions adjoining Yemen, which on top of it all, also happen to be the reservoir of the country's fabulous oil wealth. Saudi Arabia is entering a highly sensitive phase of political transition as a new generation is set to take over the leadership in Riyadh, and the palace intrigues and fault lines within the royal family are likely to get exacerbated. To put it mildly, given the vast scale of institutionalized Shi'ite persecution in Saudi Arabia by the Wahhabi establishment, Shi'ite empowerment is a veritable minefield that Riyadh is petrified about at this juncture. Its threshold of patience is wearing thin, as the recent uncharacteristic resort to military power against the north Yemeni Shi'ite communities bordering Saudi Arabia testifies. The US faces a classic dilemma. It is all right for Obama to highlight the need of reform in Muslim societies - as he did eloquently in his Cairo speech last June. But democratization in the Yemeni context - ironically, in the Arab context - would involve Shi'ite empowerment. After the searing experience in Iraq, Washington is literally perched like a cat on a hot tin roof. It would much rather be aligned with the repressive, autocratic government of Saleh than let the genie of reform out of the bottle in the oil rich-region in which it has profound interests. Obama has an erudite mind and he is not unaware that what Yemen desperately needs is reform, but he simply doesn't want to think about it. The paradox he faces is that with all its imperfections, Iran happens to be the only "democratic" system operating in that entire region. ... Israel moves in But Obama is first and foremost a realist. Emotions and personal beliefs drain away and strategic considerations weigh uppermost when he works in the Oval Office. With the military presence in Yemen, the US has tightened the cordon around Iran. In the event of a military attack on Iran, Yemen could be put to use as a springboard by the Israelis. These are weighty considerations for Obama. The fact is that no one is in control as a Yemeni authority. It is a cakewalk for the formidable Israeli intelligence to carve out a niche in Yemen - just as it did in northern Iraq under somewhat comparable circumstances. Islamism doesn't deter Israel at all. Saleh couldn't have been far off the mark when he alleged last year that Israeli intelligence had been exposed as having kept links with Yemeni Islamists. The point is, Yemeni Islamists are a highly fragmented lot and no one is sure who owes what sort of allegiance to whom. Israeli intelligence operates marvelously in such twilight zones when the horizon is lacerated with the blood of the vanishing sun. Israel will find a toehold in Yemen to be a god-sent gift insofar as it registers its presence in the Arabian Peninsula. This is a dream come true for Israel, whose effectiveness as a regional power has always been seriously handicapped by its lack of access to the Persian Gulf region. The overarching US military presence helps Israel politically to consolidate its Yemeni chapter. Without doubt, Petraeus is moving on Yemen in tandem with Israel (and Britain). But the "pro-West" Arab states with their rentier mentality have no choice except to remain as mute spectators on the sidelines. Some among them may actually acquiesce with the Israeli security presence in the region as a safer bet than the spread of the dangerous ideas of Shi'ite empowerment emanating out of Iran, Iraq and Hezbollah. Also, at some stage, Israeli intelligence will begin to infiltrate the extremist Sunni outfits in Yemen, which are commonly known as affiliates of al-Qaeda. That is, if it hasn't done that already. Any such link makes Israel an invaluable ally for the US in its fight against al-Qaeda. In sum, infinite possibilities exist in the paradigm that is taking shape in the Muslim world abutting into the strategic Persian Gulf. It's all about China Most important, however, for US global strategies will be the massive gain of control of the port of Aden in Yemen. Britain can vouchsafe that Aden is the gateway to Asia. Control of Aden and the Malacca Strait will put the US in an unassailable position in the "great game" of the Indian Ocean. The sea lanes of the Indian Ocean are literally the jugular veins of China's economy. By controlling them, Washington sends a strong message to Beijing that any notions by the latter that the US is a declining power in Asia would be nothing more than an extravagant indulgence in fantasy. In the Indian Ocean region, China is increasingly coming under pressure. India is a natural ally of the US in the Indian Ocean region. Both disfavor any significant Chinese naval presence. India is mediating a rapprochement between Washington and Colombo that would help roll back Chinese influence in Sri Lanka. The US has taken a u-turn in its Myanmar policy and is engaging the regime there with the primary intent of eroding China's influence with the military rulers. The Chinese strategy aimed at strengthening influence in Sri Lanka and Myanmar so as to open a new transportation route towards the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Africa, where it has begun contesting traditional Western economic dominance. China is keen to whittle down its dependence on the Malacca Strait for its commerce with Europe and West Asia. The US, on the contrary, is determined that China remains vulnerable to the choke point between Indonesia and Malaysia. An engrossing struggle is breaking out. The US is unhappy with China's efforts to reach the warm waters of the Persian Gulf through the Central Asian region and Pakistan. Slowly but steadily, Washington is tightening the noose around the neck of the Pakistani elites - civilian and military - and forcing them to make a strategic choice between the US and China. This will put those elites in an unenviable dilemma. Like their Indian counterparts, they are inherently "pro-Western" (even when they are "anti-American") and if the Chinese connection is important for Islamabad, that is primarily because it balances perceived Indian hegemony. The existential questions with which the Pakistani elites are grappling are apparent. They are seeking answers from Obama. Can Obama maintain a balanced relationship vis-a-vis Pakistan and India? Or, will Obama lapse back to the George W Bush era strategy of building up India as the pre-eminent power in the Indian Ocean under whose shadow Pakistan will have to learn to live? US-India-Israel axis On the other hand, the Indian elites are in no compromising mood. Delhi was on a roll during the Bush days. Now, after the initial misgivings about Obama's political philosophy, Delhi is concluding that he is all but a clone of his illustrious predecessor as regards the broad contours of the US's global strategy - of which containment of China is a core template. The comfort level is palpably rising in Delhi with regard to the Obama presidency. Delhi takes the surge of the Israeli lobby in Washington as the litmus test for the Obama presidency. The surge suits Delhi, since the Jewish lobby was always a helpful ally in cultivating influence in the US Congress, media and the rabble-rousing think-tankers as well as successive administrations. And all this is happening at a time when the India-Israel security relationship is gaining greater momentum. United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates is due to visit Delhi in the coming days. The Obama administration is reportedly adopting an increasingly accommodative attitude toward India's longstanding quest for "dual-use" technology from the US. If so, a massive avenue of military cooperation is about to open between the two countries, which will make India a serious challenger to China's growing military prowess. It is a win-win situation as the great Indian arms bazaar offers highly lucrative business for American companies. Clearly, a cozy three-way US-Israel-India alliance provides the underpinning for all the maneuvering that is going on. It will have significance for the security of the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. Last year, India formalized a naval presence in Oman. All-in-all, terrorism experts are counting the trees and missing the wood when they analyze the US foray into Yemen in the limited terms of hunting down al-Qaeda. The hard reality is that Obama, whose main plank used to be "change", has careened away and increasingly defaults to the global strategies of the Bush era. The freshness of the Obama magic is dissipating. Traces of the "revisionism" in his foreign policy orientation are beginning to surface. We can see them already with regard to Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Israel-Palestine problem, Central Asia and towards China and Russia. Arguably, this sort of "return of the native" by Obama was inevitable. For one thing, he is but a creature of his circumstances. As someone put it brilliantly, Obama's presidency is like driving a train rather than a car: a train cannot be "steered", the driver can at best set its speed, but ultimately, it must run on its tracks. Besides, history has no instances of a declining world power meekly accepting its destiny and walking into the sunset. The US cannot give up on its global dominance without putting up a real fight. And the reality of all such momentous struggles is that they cannot be fought piece-meal. You cannot fight China without occupying Yemen. Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey. (6) Relief Convoy reaches Gaza; Egyptian tactics backfired A victory for Viva Palestina Eric Ruder reports on Viva Palestina's success in bringing humanitarian supplies to Gaza, despite a harrowing assault by Egyptian police. January 8, 2010 http://socialistworker.org/2010/01/08/victory-viva-palestina EXACTLY ONE month after departing from London on December 6, the Viva Palestina convoy to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza finally reached its destination, crossing in from Egypt with 518 people, 156 vehicles and all the relief supplies it brought. The day before, with the convoy gathered in El Arish, Egypt, negotiations with Egyptian authorities broke down, and some 100 men in civilian clothes wielding police batons--backed up by hundreds more riot police--were set loose on the convoy, which had been forced to barricade itself in the port area as a defensive measure. There was a three-hour standoff, followed by a 15-minute bout of brutality unleashed by the Egyptian police. Even the presence of 10 Turkish members of parliament and British member of parliament George Galloway wasn't enough to avert the Egyptian assault. As Viva Palestina organizer Kevin Ovenden reported via telephone from Gaza: We had 55 injured, mostly by rocks and broken bricks that the plainclothes men threw and tear gas fired at us by the riot police. Four suffered fractures, and 10 were hospitalized with fairly serious head wounds, one particularly serious. All 10 required sutures. They also arrested six people and held them overnight. The plainclothes threw sand at people with cameras to sow confusion, and then the police opened up with tear gas and some sort of acidic liquid from what looked like a fire engine. It was entirely premeditated. They had made themselves an arsenal of rocks and bricks, and then opened up on us. But as we retreated, we grabbed one of the riot police and took him with us. That gave us some leverage. The attack wasn't sufficient to break the resolve of the convoy, and the repression only sparked more media coverage. Meanwhile, the Turkish government began applying some diplomatic pressure, and thousands of Palestinians began protesting on the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, demanding that the convoy be allowed in. Finally, the growing public spotlight on Egypt's collaboration with Israel's inhumane siege of Gaza persuaded Egyptian officials that they should allow the convoy's passage. When negotiations resumed, Viva organizers demanded the release of the six arrestees, and safe passage of all 518 people and all the humanitarian aid they had brought. The Egyptians barred 43 vehicles from entering Gaza, but Viva organizers arranged to have them shipped to Turkey, where they will be distributed to 43 cities and made the focus of fundraising efforts for Palestine, then ultimately delivered with relief aid to Palestinian refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon. == THE SUCCESS of the convoy marked a significant victory in ongoing efforts by activists to break Israel's siege, which continues with the blessings of the U.S. and active participation of the Egypt government. A week earlier, Egyptian authorities stopped some 1,400 people from around the world from getting into Gaza--the group had planned to participate in a planned Gaza Freedom March in Gaza City on December 31. Egyptian police blockaded participants in their hotels, canceled buses that were chartered to take people from Cairo to El Arish, and stopped those who found other transport at military checkpoints on the road to the Sinai Peninsula. The Viva Palestina convoy drove all the way from London, through Europe, Turkey, Syria and Jordan, before Egypt threw up a series of bureaucratic hurdles to thwart its progress. First, Egyptian officials insisted that the convoy couldn't enter Egypt from the Aqaba, Jordan, border crossing, instead requiring it to travel to the Mediterranean port of El Arish, Egypt. The entire convoy backtracked to Syria, and chartered a car ferry and airline flights to bring the vehicles, aid and people to El Arish. Then the standoff and police violence began. But finally getting to cross into Gaza--with the vehicles and humanitarian aid--made the entire effort worthwhile. According to Ovenden: It was an amazing experience. Virtually the entire length of the road from Rafah to Khan Younis to Gaza City was lined with people. Many had been waiting 10 hours to see us, and we were delayed because it took time for us to get our prisoners released, but I'm pleased to say we didn't leave a single person behind--either on our way into Egypt or after the arrests. When they forced us back to Syria, I think they thought that we wouldn't have the nerve to get it together and get back to El Arish. But within 15 hours, we organized to get the necessary transport. In just 72 hours, we have raised nearly enough money to cover the extra cost, which amounts to about $300,000. But we still want to get more aid in, and I anticipate that we'll now raise even more for future aid efforts. We had aimed at highlighting Israel's siege of Gaza, but due to the Egyptian posture from beginning to end, they themselves highlighted the Egyptian role in the siege. They've isolated themselves within the Muslim world. And after 10 Turkish MPs faced Egyptian riot police in El Arish, it's now a major issue in Turkey also. It was really a major success all around. George Galloway appeared on Al Jazeera's most watched news program and ripped into the Egyptian regime for 60 minutes, we were on the flagship BBC radio show today, and we've received about 1,800 e-mails in the last 12 hours. And because Egypt viciously attacked the Gaza Freedom Marchers, that attracted attention which flowed to us later. This has internationalized the whole issue, and we are looking to launch Viva Palestina efforts in even more countries. Already, we've had an encouraging meeting of 200 in South Africa interested in the effort. About a year ago, just days after Israel launched its brutal assault on Gaza, we launched Viva Palestina with a strategic outlook that we could crack open the siege by fusing aid, a savvy understanding of the political context and campaigning. We think this effort is working and can contribute to the growing international movement in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Peter Myers, 381 Goodwood Rd, Childers Qld 4660, Australia ph +61 7 41262296 [in Australia: 07 41262296] http://mailstar.net/index.html I use the old Mac OS; being incompatible, it cannot run Windows viruses or transmit them to you. Never respond to emails offering pornography or sex; never click on links they provide. Intelligence agencies may be using them to lure and trap dissidents (e.g. on charges of "sex with a minor" or "being in possession of child pornography"). Mordecai Vanunu was lured by a "honey trap", after which he was jailed solitary for 18 years; and he never even got the honey. Don't try to fight the government with guns - that just gives them an excuse for getting rid of you. Your most potent weapon is information - that's what Big Brother is really scared of. 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