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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wikileaks: Kerala, TN are training hubs for Lashkar!Our friends in abroad so accuse United States of America using Wikileaks for Strategic Leakge. Just after the Babri Mosque demolition followed by Banaras Blast, the latest leakage about Lashkar Hub


2G scam: CBI recovers incriminating documents


Wikileaks:
Kerala, TN are training hubs for Lashkar!Our friends in abroad so
accuse United States of America using Wikileaks for Strategic Leakge.
Just after the Babri Mosque demolition followed by Banaras Blast, the
latest leakage about Lashkar Hub in South Asia is bound to deterioarte
internal communal harmony and it would intensify Brahaminical Hatred
campaign against Black Untouchable aboriginal indigenous Muslim
communities in India to make Indian stance as a partner in the America`s
War against Terror stronger!Wikileaks chose the land of anti Brahamin
Anti Aryan Dravid Negroid Humansape to brand as hub of Lashkar which is
already branded as Terrorist with Central India, Himalayan region
including entire North East and Kashmir!

Chidambaram says two-pronged strategy will continue to solve Naxalite problem


Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 572

Palash Biswas

http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/

http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/


Wikileaks:
Kerala, TN are training hubs for Lashkar!Our friends in abroad so
accuse United States of america using Wikileaks for Strategic Leakge.
Just after the Babri Mosque demolition followed by Banaras Blast, the
latest leakage about Lashkar Hub in South Asia is bound to deterioarte
interanl communal harmony and it would intensify Brahaminical Hatred
campaign against Black Untouchable aboriginal indigenous Muslim
communities in India to make Indian stance as a partner in the America`s
War against Terror stronger!Wikileaks chose the land of anti Brahamin
Anti Aryan Dravid Negroid humansape to brand as hub of Lashkar which is
already branded as Terrorist with Central India, himalayan region
including entire North East and Kashmir!


The
CBI today said it had seized "incriminating" documents during searches
at 14 places, including former Telecom Minister A Raja's residence, in
connection with its probe into the 2G spectrum scam.

According
to CBI, the searches were conducted at the premises of Mr Raja, his
former personal secretary R K Chandolia, the then Secretary of
Department of Telecommunication Siddhartha Behuria and the then Member,
Telecom Commission, Department of Telecommunication K Sridhar.


The
premises of the then Deputy Director General, Access Service Wing,
Department of Telecommunication A K Srivastava and Managing Director of
Chennai-based export firm (Greenhouse Exports) Sadiqui Batcha were also
searched in the ongoing investigation into irregularities in the
allotment of Unified Access Service (UAS) Licence, a CBI official said.


"Searches
conducted so far at around 14 places have yielded recovery of
incriminating documents," Deputy Inspector General and spokesperson of
CBI Vineeta Thakur said, adding that "searches are still going on".


The
CBI had earlier registered a case on October 21, 2009 against unknown
officials of Department of Telecommunication and unknown private persons
or companies and others under Section of IPC and Prevention of
Corruption Act.


"It
has been alleged that there had been serious irregularities in the
award of Unified Access Services Licences to private companies.


"As
per information received, there was criminal conspiracy between certain
officials of DoT and private persons or companies and others in order
to award licences to these companies by putting a cap on the number of
applicants against recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India and by awarding licences to private companies on
first-come-first-serve basis on the rates of 2001 without any
competitive bidding," Ms. Thakur said.

7 DEC, 2010, 11.31AM IST, RAJAT PANDIT,TNN

Indo-French upgrade deal for Mirage-2000 fighters, project cost 15k cr

India
will ink the upgrade deal for Mirage-2000 fighters with France in the
not too distant future but questions continue to be raised about the
"exorbitant" cost of upgrading the 52 French-origin jets in IAF's combat
fleet.


While
the exact contours of the Mirage mid-life upgrade deal will be decided
only after the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security ,
sources said the overall project cost was likely to ultimately touch
almost Rs 15,000 crore.


This
will include the Rs 3,000 crore or so share of Hindustan Aeronautics
Ltd (HAL), which will upgrade bulk of the fighters under transfer of
technology from French companies after the first four to six are "souped
up" in France.


A
joint statement issued after talks between PM Manmohan Singh and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday said "discussions" on the Mirage
upgrade "are expected to be finalized soon" .


India
and France are also working towards "launching" the co-production of
shortrange surface-to-air missile system called 'Maitri' but all eyes
are fixed on the Mirage upgrade. It has been stuck in hard-nosed
negotiations for the last few years because the package offered by
French companies Dassault Aviation (aircraft manufacturer), Thales
(weapons systems integrator ) and MBDA (missile supplier) was around 30%
higher than what India was ready to pay initially.


"But
the project cost has not exceeded our planned estimates . The
Mirage-2000 has had a very good track record in IAF. After the upgrade,
we will get a very capable, stateof-the-art fighter, which will serve
for another 15-20 years," said a senior officer.


The
fact, however, remains that if the Rs 15,000 crore figure is taken as
the entire project cost, then the upgraded Mirage-2000 s will come for
Rs 288 crore each, which is enough to buy spanking new fighters.
Moreover, the ongoing upgrade of IAF's 63 MiG-29 s, under a deal inked
with Russia in March 2008, came for just $964 million.


MoD
and IAF, however, say the Mirage upgrade's scope is much bigger and
sophisticated than the MiG-29 one. Under it, the multi-role fighters
will get new avionics, radars, mission computers, glass cockpits,
helmet-mounted displays , electronic warfare suites, jam-proof
communication with data links, weapon delivery and precision-targeting
systems, including the all-weather , fire-and-forget MICA (interception
and aerial combat missiles) systems.


Having
first inducted 40 Mirages in the mid-1980 s, India procured over 20
more in later years. With a depleting number of fighter squadrons (each
has 16 to 18 jets), down to just 32 from a 'sanctioned strength' of
39.5, IAF is going for a mix of upgrades and new inductions like
Sukhoi-30 MKIs to maintain its combat readiness.


LeT's annual operations budget is $ 5.2 million
WASHINGTON:
Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan based terror outfit blamed for Mumbai
massacre raises an annual operation budget of a whopping $ 5.2 million
(23 cr) according to US intelligence estimates, with most of it coming
from private fund raised by its parent oragnisation JuD's charitable
networks.


Funds
are raised through a variety of sources mainly from private donations,
NGOs, madrassas and business spread throughout South Asia, the Middle
East and Europe, a non-paper prepared by the American intelligence says.


The
information in the non-paper was shared with the Pakistan Government in
August 2009 at the direction of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ,
leaked US diplomatic cables have revealed.


The
new reports of funding of terror outfits like LeT come as WikiLeaks
quoting diplomatic documents said Saudi Arabia was the key source for
funding of radical Islamist groups including LeT, Al Qaeda, Taliban and
Hamas.


Other
Gulf States like Qatar, Kuwait and UAE were reported to be lax in
pursuing wealthy Sheiks who contributed money to these groups.


The
findings are contained in a series of American diplomatic documents
spanning a period of several years, which depict the tough task
Washington faces to shut down the tap of terror funding, much of which
comes from wealthy donors.


Contrary
to denials, the document said that Hafiz Saeed continues to lead both
the LeT and its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa and that some of the
funds collected in the name of charitable activities have been used for
planning terror attacks.


The
leaks said that US intelligence assesses that Saeed and operations
chief of LeT Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi continued to run the organisation
despite being detained for their role in the Mumbai attacks.


The
non-paper was used by Clinton to convey to Pakistan her decision to
oppose de-listing of JuD and its leader from the UN sanctions' list.


"We
also judge that they have planned, directed, and executed LeT attacks
throughout South Asia and likely have used some funds collected in the
name of JuD's charitable activities to support multiple LeT terrorist
operations, including the November Mumbai attacks," it said.

News
8 Dec 2010, 20:25
RBI to revisit GDP projection in Jan policy - Subbarao
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief said on Thursday the bank would revisit GDP numbers at its quarterly policy in January.
8 Dec 2010, 20:24
Dhoni signs Rs 29-crore endorsement deal with Maxx Mobile
Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni has signed a Rs 29 cr endorsement deal with Maxx Mobile for a period of seven years.
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IPOs set for record 300 billion dollars this year: StudyPARIS:
Dynamic business activity in Asia should push the global value of stock
market flotations to more than 300 billion dollars (227 billion euros)
this year, exceeding the record in 2007, a study showed on Wednesday.


In the first 11 months of the year the amount of money raised by 1,199 initial public offerings (IPOs) was 255 billion dollars.

The
total for the year is on track to exceed the record value of 295
billion dollars raised in 2007, the study by consultants Ernst &
Young estimated.


The analysis focused on three huge flotations this year that accounted for one quarter of all the money raised.

These
were the flotation of Agricultural Bank of China, the Asian branch of
US insurer AIG , AIA and the rebirth of General Motors in the United
States.


A further 82 flotations were due to occur in December, raising a total of at least 16.9 billion dollars.

Nearly two thirds of the total amount raised was attracted by flotations in Asia.

From
January to the end of November, flotations on Asian markets had raised
the unprecedented total of 164 billion dollars, compared with a previous
record in the region of 98 billion dollars in 2006.


The
study said that investors globally had used low interest rates on
developed markets and readily available cash to benefit from growth in
Asia and on other emerging markets.

Buddhadeb rules out FDI in agri-retail business in WB

KOLKATA:
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today ruled out
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the agri-retail sector in the state
and said his government would strengthen marketing infrastructure for
the benefit of farmers.


"We
don't want FDI in agri-retail business in the state at this moment. We
will strengthen infrastructure for agriculture marketing in the interest
of farmers," Bhattacharjee told reporters at the state secretariat.


He
said there was no cold storage facility for farmers, particularly for
those growing flowers, fruits and vegetables in major production centres
in the rural belt near markets.


The
absence of minimum support price for fruits, flowers and vegetables
often forced farmers to make distress sale of their products
particularly during the peak season, incurring huge losses, he said.


Laying
the foundation stone of 30 modern multi-purpose cold storages and cold
chains in 16 districts through video conference, Bhattacharjee said 30
multi-purpose cold storages would come up at a cost of Rs 55.33 crore,
85 per cent of which would be taken as loan from NABARD and the rest
would be borne by the state government and its agencies.


He
said West Bengal State Marketing Board has prepared an integrated cold
chain network of 31 multipurpose cold storages in major agriculture
producing areas to be run on no-profit-no-loss basis.


All
the 31 multi-purpose units would be linked by 13 refrigerated vans for
transport of agricultural produce of farmers, he said.


Varanasi terror e-mails tracked to Navi Mumbai

MUMBAI:
Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal Wednesday said that the
e-mails claiming responsibility for the Varanasi blast of Tuesday
evening were tracked to Navi Mumbai.


"The
e-mails have been sent after hacking an unsecured WiFi (wireless
internet) connection of Vashi township in Navi Mumbai, not from Mumbai's
western suburb Malad," Dayal told reporters.


Banned
terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen in its e-mails sent to media houses
claimed the responsibility for the Tuesday evening bomb blast in
Varanasi, which killed a two-year-old girl and injured over 20 other
people.


Mumbai Police earlier detained two people, but they were released after questioning.


Maharashtra
Home Minister R.R. Patil said: "Primary investigations show that the
e-mails have been sent from areas around Mumbai. I would request WiFi
users to secure their connections so that terrorist outfits cannot break
into them."


A
two-year-old girl was killed and over 20 people, including a few
foreigners, were injured when a bomb exploded on the bank of the Ganga
during Tuesday evening's 'maha aarati' watched by hundreds.


In
an e-mail to media houses soon after the blast, the Indian Mujahideen
said: "Indian Mujahideen attribute(s) this attack to the 6th of December
that will haunt your nation of world's 'greatest demoNcracy' until
Muslims are paid back justly and fairly for the loss of their beloved
Babri Masjid, the precious lives of their near and dear ones, their
pride, dignity and self-respect."




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Won't allow construction of mosque at disputed site: VHP

PTI - Wed, Dec 8 12:15 AM IST
The
VHP said construction of a new mosque will not be allowed at the
disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid land in Ayodhya at any cost even
if a lot of sacrifices need to be made to ensure that.
More »

26/11 terror suspect's trial in Feb

IANS - Tue, Dec 7 9:09 AM IST
Pakistani-Canadian terror suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana, co-accused with LeT operative … More »

Sarkozy pays tribute to 26/11 martyrs

ANI - Tue, Dec 7 2:37 PM IST
French President Nicolas Sarkozy today paid tribute to victims of the 26/11 terror attacks … More »

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    India 'telecoms scam': Ex-minister Raja's homes raided

                    
       

            Continue reading the main story       

    Related stories

           
       
    India's
    top investigation agency has raided houses owned by a former telecoms
    minister allegedly involved in a corruption scandal, reports say.

    India's Central Bureau of Investigation conducted searches on Andimuthu Raja's houses in Delhi and Madras.
    Mr Raja quit last month, denying allegations that he had undersold mobile phone licences.
    Parliament has been deadlocked after the government rejected a joint inquiry into the alleged scam.
    The
    allegations against Mr Raja have been described by some analysts as the
    country's biggest-ever scandal - with critics claiming the alleged
    misappropriation of funds amounts to about $37bn (£23bn).

    The
    BBC's Mark Dummett says that the row over the scandal has become the
    biggest political issue in India, with parliament brought into deadlock
    over the opposition's demands for a cross-party investigation into the
    matter.

    CBI
    spokesperson Vineeta Thakur said that searches were conducted at
    "residential and official premises of Mr Raja and several of his [former
    telecommunications ministry] officials".

    "The
    searches started early in the morning and until now 14 places have been
    searched. Incriminating documents have been found during the searches,
    which are still going on."

    The home of Mr Raja's former personal secretary, RK Chandolia, is believed to be among the premises that were searched.
    Mr
    Raja is accused of issuing 2G licences in 2008 on a "first-come,
    first-served" basis instead of auctioning them, costing the government
    billions of dollars in lost revenue.

    Biggest market    
    Critics
    said the low return was underscored when India's auction in May of 3G
    bandwidth for mobile phone services ended up reaping $15bn, twice the
    sum expected.

    Mr
    Raja presided over the world's fastest growing mobile market; there are
    about half a billion mobile phone subscribers in India.

    His political party, DMK, is one of the largest partners in India's ruling Congress-led coalition.
    Separately,
    the high court in Madras has suspended a senior lawyer from practising
    because of an alleged attempt to influence a judge in a different
    criminal case by using the name of Mr Raja.

    RK Chandramohan, who is also the chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, has been stripped of his post.
    Judge
    R Regupathi wrote to the Madras court's chief justice alleging that Mr
    Chandramohan had pleaded that a father and son should be granted bail as
    they were "family friends of a union minister by the name [of] Raja".

    Mr Raja has denied that he "authorised any person to speak on my behalf to any judge in any case".
    He has complained that he has been "condemned, charge-sheeted, tried and convicted by the media".
    "My stock is so low that anything I say does not redeem my position," he said in a statement.
            
       
            

       

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    More South Asia stories

    RSS                                                                         
    •                          

    •     Deadly blast in Pakistan market    

    •                                                                                         

    • A suicide bomber attacks a market in the troubled north-western region of Pakistan, killing at least 16 people, police say.

    • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11945232
    • Day after Varanasi blast, Centre-UP fight over missed terror signals


    •                    

    Countering
    Home minister P Chidambarm's remarks on an advisory issued to it, Uttar
    Pradesh government today said there was no specific actionable
    intelligence from the Centre about possible terrorist activity in the
    city and that there was no laxity on its part.


    "Holding state responsible is not justified," state cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told reporters here.

    He
    said, "There was no specific actionable intelligence input regarding a
    terrorist act in Varanasi. An alert was received on February 25 this
    year, but that was up to Dusshera festival (in October) only.


    "Expecting
    that input to be specific and actionable even after Dusshera festival
    is not justified..... Stating that the state was alerted in advance is
    far from reality," Singh said.


    He said that two general alerts were also issued regarding anniversaries of 26/11 Mumbai attacks and demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6.

    "Those alerts were general in nature to maintain vigil on these two days," he said.

    The cabinet secretary said that there was no laxity on the part of the local police.

    "As
    a routine exercise, ghats where Ganga 'arti' is held is sanitised at 5
    PM every day and this exercise was carried out yesterday as well. Thus,
    there was no laxity yesterday," he said.


    Accusing
    the Centre of lacking willpower required to tackle terrorism, the
    cabinet secretary said that Chief Minister Mayawati was of the clear
    view that leaving the issued to the state was not justified.


    Asking the Centre to rise above party politics, he said Mayawati has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding adequate security at important religious and tourist places in the state.

    "The
    Chief Minister has requested the Prime Minister to provide 125
    companies (12,500 personnel) of central forces so that a lasting
    arrangement could be made for security," he said.

    Day after Varanasi blast, Centre-UP fight over missed terror signals

    Times of India - ‎1 hour ago‎
    VARANASI/LUCKNOW: The Centre and Uttar Pradesh government today sparred on the Varanasi terror attack with Home Minister P Chidambaram saying there was a specific advisory given on the possibility of a strike in one of the Ganga ghats but its utility ...

    Varanasi bomb: Chidambaram suggests security 'lapses'

    BBC News - ‎1 hour ago‎
    India's home minister has suggested there may have been some security "lapses" before Tuesday's deadly blast in the northern holy city of Varanasi. P Chidambaram said the government had given Uttar Pradesh police a "specific" warning about a possible ...

    India on Alert After Bombing in Holy City

    Voice of America - Anjana Pasricha - ‎2 hours ago‎
    Photo: AP Indian authorities have appealed for calm and sounded a nationwide alert following a bomb attack in the Hindu holy city, Varanasi, which killed a child and injured 37 other people, including foreign tourists. An Indian Islamist group has ...

    Varanasi terror e-mails tracked to Navi Mumbai

    Economic Times - ‎1 hour ago‎
    MUMBAI: Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal Wednesday said that the e-mails claiming responsibility for the Varanasi blast of Tuesday evening were tracked to Navi Mumbai. "The e-mails have been sent after hacking an unsecured WiFi (wireless ...

    Varanasi bomb blast: Indian Mujahideen email

    NDTV.com - ‎3 hours ago‎
    Varanasi: Exactly 31 minutes after the blast at Varanasi killed a baby girl, an email from terror group Indian Mujahideen (IM) was sent to several media organisations, claiming responsibility for the explosion. (Also read: Varanasi blast - Mayawati, ...

    3 detained over Varanasi blast

    Hindustan Times - ‎3 hours ago‎
    The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad on Wednesday detained three people in connection with Tuesday's blast in Varanasi which killed a one-year-old child and injured at least 20 people, a media report said. According to CNN-IBN, the ATS has identified ...

    Varanasi blast: Mayawati, Centre argue over blame

    NDTV.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
    Varanasi: Barely 20 hours after a blast shattered the evening prayers on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, the UP government and the Centre are trading charges over whether the attack could have been prevented. A baby girl was killed and close to 25 ...

    Indian Mujahideen e-mails a routine after blasts

    Daily News & Analysis - ‎2 hours ago‎
    Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI The e-mail purportedly sent by terror outfit Indian Mujahideen claiming responsibility for the Varanasi blast is not the first such electronic mail linking Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to terror attacks. ...

    There was no intelligence input from Centre, says UP govt.

    The Hindu - ‎2 hours ago‎
    PTI PTI Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati visits the site of the explosion at Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of river Ganga, in Varanasi, on Tuesday night. Countering Home Minister P. Chidambarm's remarks on an advisory issued to it, Uttar Pradesh ...

    Varanasi - The day after the blast

    The Hindu - ‎3 hours ago‎
    Even as Home Minister P. Chidambaram arrived in Varanasi to inspect the blast site, the town limped back to normalcy on Wednesday. Even as Home Minister P. Chidambaram arrived in Varanasi to inspect the blast site, the town limped back to normalcy on ...
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    Day after Varanasi blast, Centre-UP fight over missed terror signals
    ‎1 hour ago‎ - Times of India

    After blast, prayers as usual at Ganga in Varanasi
    ‎9 hours ago‎ - Hindustan Times

    City on alert after Varanasi bomb blast
    ‎12 hours ago‎ - Express Buzz

    Terror strikes Varanasi: 1 dead, 35 hurt in blast at ghat
    ‎19 hours ago‎ - Times of India

    PM asks home ministry for a detailed report on the blast
    ‎Dec 7, 2010‎ - Hindustan Times

    Explosion in Varanasi, at least 20 injured
    ‎Dec 7, 2010‎ - Economic Times

    Varanasi: Bomb blast in temple injures 25
    ‎Dec 7, 2010‎ - Oneindia


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    Varanasi bomb blast: Victims narrate the ordeal
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    Baby Swastika missed her second birthday by 10 days
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    Nation on alert post Varanasi blast
    NewsX  -  Dec 7, 2010 Watch video
    <div class="video-thumb thumbnail"><a class="js-link thumbnail-toggle" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return false;"><img src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/92GUbm5J3wo/default.jpg" alt="" class="thumbnail" width="120" height="90"> <div class="icon play-icon"></div></a></div> <div class="video-details"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92GUbm5J3wo">Nation on alert post Varanasi blast</a> <span class="source">NewsX</span> &nbsp;-&nbsp; Dec 7, 2010 <div class="icon video-icon"></div> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92GUbm5J3wo">Watch video</a></div>





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    Meanwhie,Home
    Minister P. Chidambaram has said that the Centre's two- pronged anti-
    Naxalite strategy will continue and there is no better alternative.


    Speaking
    at a seminar on 'Development problems of regions affected by discontent
    and extremism' in New Delhi on Monday, Chidambaram said: "There needs
    to be a two-pronged approach to solve the issue of Left-wing extremism."


    "The development and police action together is the answer to Left-wing extremism," he added.

    Giving
    an account of the number of schools and roads destroyed by the rebels,
    he said that they don't want the backward regions to be developed.


    "If
    the Naxalites were in fact pro-development then they will not blast
    school buildings, bridges and roads. Please remember vast areas in
    Bastar district had been mined so that nobody can move. Most roads have
    been mined," said Chidambaram.


    He
    further said that in 2010 there were 302 incidents of Maoist violence
    in which they targeted railway tracks and stations, telephone exchange
    and towers, power plants, mining equipments, electricity transmission
    polls, Panchayat and school buildings, forest roads, culverts, bridges,
    and other targets.


    He
    said in states like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and
    Orissa, in 2010 alone, the rebels have destroyed 34 school buildings.


    According to him police action along with developmental work in the Maoist infested areas are the right measure to counter them.

    "In
    order to counter them the only way is police action combined with
    whatever development we can bring to those areas," added Chidambaram.


    He
    also pitched for setting up of a process so that certain amount of
    funds could reach directly to the local body and local authorities to
    carry out development work as asked by locals in Naxal-affected areas.


    He
    said the paramilitary forces were deployed in large number during the
    recent Bihar Assembly elections and hence people came out in large
    number, which was a statement against Naxals.


    Chidambaram said a large number of security personnel are also posted in Jharkhand for panchayat elections.
    Expressindia » Story

    Will DMK sacrifice Raja to save face before TN Assembly polls?

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    Gopu Mohan

    Posted: Dec 08, 2010 at 1511 hrs IST
    Chennai
    From being one of the most influential young leaders of the DMK, ousted
    Telecom Minister A Raja is fast becoming a liability for the party
    ahead of the Assembly elections, with sources indicating there is a move
    to distance the party from him and thus from the scam.

    Though
    the party has supported him to the hilt so far, what has changed the
    mood is the perception that the scam has dented the image of the DMK
    ahead of the elections. This despite the slew of welfare measures that
    the party's government rolled out one after the other in the last four
    and a half years.

    Officially, Raja is the propaganda secretary of the party.
    According
    to a DMK source, it is fast becoming untenable for the party to back
    Raja on the face of Wednesady's raids and other recent developments
    including his name figuring in the case pertaining to an attempt to
    influence a judge of the Madras High Court.

    The move to remove Raja has the backing of a section of the senior leadership and the family, sources added.
    http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Will-DMK-sacrifice-Raja-to-save-face-before-TN-Assembly-polls/721998/

    Sonia Gandhi 'Gangotri' of corruption: Swamy

    Mumbai
    Terming Congress president Sonia Gandhi as "Gangotri" (fountainhead) of
    corruption in the country, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on
    Wednesday said Opposition should not 'play' her game.

    "The
    JPC probe (into alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum) will serve
    to humiliate the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he may resign which
    is what Sonia Gandhi wants," Swamy said.

    "The
    Opposition should take care that they don't play Sonia Gandhi's game,"
    he said after meeting Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray at the latter's
    residence in suburban Bandra here.

    Asked
    if he thought Sonia Gandhi was instigating Opposition to insist on the
    JPC probe, Swamy said "Yes, I think she is instigating the Opposition
    for a confrontation on this (issue) so that the Prime Minister loses."

    On
    whether the Opposition was playing into her hands, Swamy said "I think
    if the PM were forced to resign at this juncture, you are empowering
    Sonia Gandhi... so that she is free to bring in Rahul Gandhi as the
    Prime Minister."

    "I
    have urged Balasaheb (Thackeray) to organise a rally against corruption
    and he has agreed for it. It will be held at the Shivaji Park," Swamy
    said.

    Sonia
    Gandhi was "Gangotri" (fountainhead) of corruption in the country,
    Swamy said. "I requested Balasaheb to lead the country and get rid of
    the rampant corruption," he said.

    Mumbai
    Terming Congress president Sonia Gandhi as "Gangotri" (fountainhead) of
    corruption in the country, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on
    Wednesday said Opposition should not 'play' her game.

    "The
    JPC probe (into alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum) will serve
    to humiliate the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and he may resign which
    is what Sonia Gandhi wants," Swamy said.

    "The
    Opposition should take care that they don't play Sonia Gandhi's game,"
    he said after meeting Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray at the latter's
    residence in suburban Bandra here.

    Asked
    if he thought Sonia Gandhi was instigating Opposition to insist on the
    JPC probe, Swamy said "Yes, I think she is instigating the Opposition
    for a confrontation on this (issue) so that the Prime Minister loses."

    On
    whether the Opposition was playing into her hands, Swamy said "I think
    if the PM were forced to resign at this juncture, you are empowering
    Sonia Gandhi... so that she is free to bring in Rahul Gandhi as the
    Prime Minister."

    "I
    have urged Balasaheb (Thackeray) to organise a rally against corruption
    and he has agreed for it. It will be held at the Shivaji Park," Swamy
    said.

    Sonia
    Gandhi was "Gangotri" (fountainhead) of corruption in the country,
    Swamy said. "I requested Balasaheb to lead the country and get rid of
    the rampant corruption," he said.

    Why don't you go into 2G case from 2001? SC asks govt

    The
    Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to consider setting up a
    special court to deal with the Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2G spectrum scam.

    A
    Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said there was a need for
    a special court in view of the magnitude of the offence as otherwise
    the objective of the prevention of Corruption Act and Foreign Exchange
    Management Act (FEMA) could not be achieved.

    "Unless
    the government is prepared to create a special court, purpose will not
    be served. It is the need of the hour, we must have exclusive courts to
    deal with these offences," the Bench observed.

    Solicitor
    General Gopal Subramanium admitted that the case needs special
    expertise and said he would consult the government and report back to
    the court.

    "We
    have to get a special court if we want objective of the statue to be
    achieved. It cannot be done with existing manpower and infrastructure,"
    the bench said.

    The
    apex court pointed out that though the government was enacting a number
    of laws, it was not creating adequate courts as the result of which the
    existing courts are overburdened and there is no way special cases like
    the present one can be dealt in an expeditious manner.

    "The
    present courts are overburdened. Most important in this case is
    appreciation of evidence from a normal murder case. Here, it is a
    conspiracy. That conspiracy angle has to be investigated. It needs
    expertise. When you enact a law, you should have that in mind," the
    Bench observed.

    "Why
    don't you go into the matter from 2001," the Bench said, noting that
    the prices for allocation of spectrum on first-come-first-served basis
    was fixed at that time.

    The Enforcement Directorate, meanwhile, submitted its report on its probe into the scam to the court in a sealed cover.

    Submitting
    its report to the court, Additional Solicitor General Haren Rawal told
    the Bench that it contains details of the investigation since March 9,
    2010 in the case that was registered under Prevention of Money
    Laundering Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act.

    He said the probe was carried on the basis of the case related to the scam, registered by the CBI on October 21, 2009.

    The report details the investigation carried out till November 29, 2010.

    The
    Bench, meanwhile, ruled out the CBI's suggestion that the court should
    deliver its orders and directions in the 2G spectrum case in a sealed
    cover.

    "Giving orders in sealed cover will not be conducive to the administration of justice," the Bench said.

    "The
    functioning of the court and the hearing of the case or the order of
    the court is not influenced by any criticism. Whether its a munsif court
    or the Supreme Court, it has to act in its wisdom keeping in mind the
    Constitution and the public interest," the bench said, dismissing CBI's
    suggestion.

    The
    Bench said the hearing in the case is being done in open court and
    everything has been reported and added that despite there being some
    distortion at times in the (news) reports, all this will have no effect
    on the court proceedings.

    "Giving
    orders in sealed covers may not be conducive to administration of
    justice. It is not warranted as it will give rise to speculation, rather
    wide speculation...", the court reiterated.

    "Let us go by our own norms," the bench observed.

    At
    this point, senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the CBI, said
    it is for the court to decide whether to deliver its orders in a sealed
    cover or in the open court.



    CBI raid residences of A Raja, 4 Telecom officials

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    Express news service

    Posted: Dec 08, 2010 at 0828 hrs IST
    New Delhi
    CBI on Wednesday carried out raids on the residences of former Telecom
    Minister A Raja in Delhi and Chennai along with the residences of four
    Telecom officials.

    The
    raids are being carried out at the residences of former Telecom
    Secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's personal secretary R K Chandolia,
    Telecom (member) K Sridhar and Deputy Director General (DoT) A K
    Srivastava.

    The
    disgraced former Telecom minister was in the midst of another
    controversy after the Madras High Court yesterday suspended from the Bar
    a top lawyer allegedly involved in an attempt to influence a judge by
    taking the minister's name.

    A
    division Bench of the Madras High Court suspended the Tamil Nadu and
    Pondicherry Bar Council chairman R K Chandramohan who tried to act as
    the conduit between Raja, then the IT and Communications Minister, and
    the judge to ensure that the anticipatory bail petition of a father-son
    duo close to Raja was considered favourably by the court.

    Chandramohan
    was the counsel representing Dr C Krishnamurthy and his son Kiruba
    Sridhar, an MBBS student of the Pondicherry University, who faced
    charges of fudging his marksheets. The Minister, advocate and the doctor
    hail from Perambalur district with several years — and layers — of
    relationship between them.

    Last
    week, the Supreme Court had come down heavily on Raja for "bypassing"
    and even "overruling" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advice to defer
    the allocation of 2G spectrum by a few days.

    The
    apex court also took strong exception to the tone and tenor of Raja's
    letter to the Prime Minister, saying it amounted to showing "disrespect"
    to the highest authority in the country.

    47-year-old
    Raja was forced to resign as Telecom minister on November 14 in the
    wake of the CAG's report that the rates at which 2G spectrum was
    allotted resulted in a loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh
    crore.

    Raja tried to influence judge in education scam: Madras HC

    In
    further embarrassment to former Telecom Minister A Raja, the Madras
    High Court today suspended from the bar a top lawyer who was allegedly
    involved in an attempt to influence a judge by taking the name of the
    minister.

    It is alleged Raja is the minister in question.

    A
    Division Bench, comprising Justice F M Ibrahim Khalifulla and Justice M
    M Sundaresh, said the status of R K Chandramohan, a member and
    subsequently as Chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and
    Pondichery, shall stand suspended forthwith.

    He should not be permitted to function as such pending disciplinary action by the Bar Council of India, the Bench said.

    Disposing
    of a petition by a lawyer, the Bench appended a portion of a letter
    written by a former judge of the court Justice S Reghupati, who had
    reported that Chandramohan had entered his chamber last year and pleaded
    that the case of a father and a son, accused in a marks scandal case in
    Puducherry, for anticipatory bail be considered favourably as they were
    "family friends of a Union Minister by name Raja".

    The lawyer handed over his mobile phone to the judge saying that the "Union minister is on the line to have a talk with me".

    "I
    discouraged such conduct of Mr Chandramohan and told him that the case
    would be disposed of in accordance with law, if listed before me,"
    Justice Reghupati had said in his letter of July 7, 2009 to the then
    Chief Justice of India.

    Justice
    Reghupati, who has since retired, had in his letter, complained about
    the Chandramohan's "outburst and uncontrollable" behaviour.

    The
    judge had in the open court last year alleged that a Union minister,
    through a lawyer, attempted to speak to him on the telephone seeking
    favours in a case being investigated by the CBI posted the matter to
    another judge. But he had not named the minister.

    In
    his letter to the CJI, Justice Reghupati had observed that "a counsel,
    who made an attempt to exert influence on the court by using the name of
    a Cabinet minister, cannot be allowed to succeed in snatching an order
    in his favour by advancing a threat".

    The
    issue became a raging controversy after the then CJI told the media
    that the judge had sent a report to him making it clear that no Union
    minister spoke to him directly.

    Justice
    Reghupati made those remarks addressing Chandramohan, who was appearing
    in connection with an anticipatory bail plea by S Kirub Shridhar, a
    third year student in a private medical college in Puducherry, and his
    doctor-father Krishnamoorthy.

    The
    bail pleas were moved by Chandramohan on behalf of the two who had been
    booked by the CBI for allegedly using the services of a Pondicherry
    University official and a middleman to inflate marks to get a medical
    seat at the time of admission.

    Justice
    Reghupati, in his letter to the CJI, had observed that Chandramohan
    made a plea to him that the court should call for the case diary and
    hear the case with reference to the material collected during the course
    of investigation.

    "I
    have impressed upon the representing counsel by explicating that a like
    direction could be given to the prosecution only in the event of a
    judge satisfying that such course is inevitable and absolutely necessary
    in a given situation and that on mere demands and as a matter of
    routine such exercise cannot be undertaken."

    "At
    that time Mr Chandramohan stood up and made a similar demand and when I
    emphatically declined to accede to his adamant demand, he vociferously
    remarked that the court is always taking sides with the prosecution and
    not accepting the submissions made by the counsel for the accused while
    giving importance to the Prosecutor."

    "On
    such pointless remark, I said the counsel had engaged to argue on his
    behalf has made his submission and he is not supposed to pass such
    slanderous and derogatory remarks," Justice Reghupati had said in his
    letter.

    The
    lawyer, who had filed the petition, moved the court for debarring
    Chandramohan from continuing as Bar Council Chairman for his alleged
    misconduct and order the Bar Council of India to take disciplinary
    action against him.

    The
    Bench also said Justice Reghupathi's letter shall be under the custody
    of the Registrar General in a sealed cover which, however, shall be part
    of the case.



    Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership"

    In
    a national broadcast exclusive interview, we speak with world-renowned
    political dissident and linguist Noam Chomsky about the release of more
    than 250,000 secret U.S. State Department cables by WikiLeaks. In 1971,
    Chomsky helped government whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg release the
    Pentagon Papers, a top-secret internal U.S. account of the Vietnam War.
    Commenting on the revelations that several Arab leaders are urging the
    United States to attack Iran, Chomsky says the latest polls show "Arab
    opinion holds that the major threat in the region is Israel, that's 80
    percent; the second threat is the United States, that's 77 percent. Iran
    is listed as a threat by 10 percent... This may not be reported in the
    newspapers, ... but it's certainly familiar to the Israeli and the U.S.
    governments and to the ambassadors... What that reveals is the profound
    hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership." [includes
    rush transcript]

    Watch Part II of this conversation.

    RECENT SHOWS

            

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    http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-news-section/368-wikileaks/4112-noam-chomsky-wikileaks-cables-reveal-qprofound-hatred-for-democracyq


    Islamic terror groups could have big bases in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Wikileaks cables now reveal.

    A
    2009 cable, signed by secretary of state Hillary Clinton, says the
    Laskhar-e-Taiba had surveyed Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, and was
    in the process of setting up training camps. It also says it planned to
    kill Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. In another revelation,
    Hillary says Saudi donors are supporting Sunni terror groups across the
    world.


    Gunman
    Kasab, arrested in connection with the 2008 Mumbai blasts, had
    confessed on video that the Lashkar recruited him to carry out a suicide
    attack by paying off his father. Kasab later told the court he had made
    that confession under duress.


    The
    police were not completely oblivious to the problem, though. In 2007,
    police were talking about 50 Lashkar militants being active in the
    south, especially Karnataka.


    In
    2008, nine low-intensity blasts rocked Bangalore. A woman was killed.
    In 2010, two bombs went off at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, just
    before an IPL match, injuring six. The Karnataka police arrested Abdul
    Naseer Madani, a radical Islamist from Kerala, on charges of plotting
    the blasts. Andhra Pradesh was not spared either. In 2007, two blasts
    went off at Hyderabad. Two years on, the Andhra Pradesh police arrested
    13 men, and sent out an alert to neighbouring states.


    The
    Intelligence Bureau had said it had picked up some intercepts
    suggesting that cities in the south could be targeted. In September
    2009, Rediff reported:


    "It
    is now confirmed that many southern modules carried out the serial
    blasts in the country. Following the blasts there was a major crackdown
    on the cadres and sleeper cells. Even the interrogation of various
    terrorists revealed that the southern module carried out the blasts.


    The
    most important factor that came out during the interrogation was that
    the entire southern module was directly linked to the Gulf module.
    However,  the recent crackdown has had a disastrous effect on the
    Lashkar's plans. Sources say that the south modules were being majorly
    financed by the Gulf module."


    Like It or Not, WikiLeaks is a Media Entity
    By Mathew Ingram Dec. 4, 2010, 4:00pm PDT
    The
    past week has seen plenty of ink spilled — virtual and otherwise —
    about WikiLeaks and its mercurial front-man, Julian Assange, and the
    pressure they have come under from the U.S. government and companies
    such as


    Amazon
    and PayPal, both of which have blocked WikiLeaks from using their
    services. Why should we care about any of this? Because more than
    anything else, WikiLeaks is a publisher — a new kind of publisher, but a
    publisher nonetheless — and that makes this a freedom of the press
    issue. Like it or not, WikiLeaks is fundamentally a journalistic entity,
    and as such it deserves our protection.


    Not
    everyone agrees with this point of view, of course. Some argue that
    there is nothing journalistic about the organization whatsoever, and
    that it is simply a lawless group of misfits spreading information
    around that it doesn't have the right to distribute, without caring for
    the effects of its actions. That may be true — but it's also true that
    the same description fits more than one allegedly journalistic entity in
    the traditional media sphere, and they are all protected by the First
    Amendment and its principles regarding freedom of the press. So why is
    WikiLeaks not worthy of the same protection?


    Senator
    Joe Lieberman (I-Conn), the chairman of the Homeland Security and
    Governmental Affairs committee, is the one who put pressure on Amazon to
    remove support for WikiLeaks (although the company claims it removed
    the organization's site from its servers because Wikileaks did not own
    the rights to the content, not because of political pressure). Senator
    Lieberman has proposed legislation called the SHIELD law — short for
    Securing Human Intelligence and Enforcing Lawful Dissemination — which
    would make it a crime to publish information that might harm U.S. agents
    or informants, or would otherwise be contrary to the national interest.


    This
    might as well be called the WikiLeaks law, since it is clearly targeted
    at the organization — which did not actually leak the documents
    (something that is already a crime under the Espionage Act) but is
    clearly publishing them. But the heavy hand of this law would not just
    fall on WikiLeaks; it would also potentially cover anyone who has
    published the cables, such as the New York Times. Just as sources used
    to leak secret documents to newspapers, which often published them
    regardless of whether the government disapproved, now those sources can
    go to WikiLeaks and accomplish the same thing.


    So
    what makes WikiLeaks different from the New York Times? There are the
    obvious things, of course — the latter publishes a print newspaper, is a
    member of a variety of self-regulatory bodies involving the media, and
    is a venerable institution with a long history of journalistic
    integrity. WikiLeaks, meanwhile, is a shadowy organization with an
    uncertain history, opaque motivations and publishes only online. That
    said, why are we so eager to protect one and not the other? WikiLeaks'
    stated intention is to bring transparency to the political process and
    expose wrongdoing. Isn't that the same thing the Times does? And yet one
    is being hounded by government agents, forced to remove its documents
    from Amazon's servers and blocked from using PayPal, while the other is
    free to publish whatever it wants. What if the Times were to store some
    of its content on Amazon's EC2 servers or use PayPal for transactions —
    would it be subject to the same treatment? And if not, why is WikiLeaks?


    Some
    would argue that we don't need entities like WikiLeaks, because
    traditional publishers like the New York Times are good enough. And it's
    true that leakers took their information to newspapers before WikiLeaks
    came along — but it's also true that many of them refused to publish
    it. And in some cases, information that should not have been published
    actually took the spotlight away from the truth, as in the case of the
    Times' reporting leading up to the Iraq War. An independent source of
    documents like WikiLeaks (which journalism professor Jay Rosen has
    called the world's "first stateless news organization") would have been a
    very valuable thing to have during that time.


    The
    fact is that freedom of the press, like freedom of speech in general,
    is a crucial part of the fabric of a free society. Every action that
    impinges on those freedoms is a loss for society, and a step down a
    slippery slope — and that applies to everything that falls under the
    term "press," regardless of whether we agree with its methods or its
    leaders. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation has pointed out, online
    speech is only as strong as the weakest intermediary. Any action that
    the government or its representatives take against a publisher like
    WikiLeaks should have to meet a very high bar indeed — and as Dan
    Gillmor argues, everyone working at the New York Times or any other
    media outlet should feel a shiver when they see Joe Lieberman attacking
    WikiLeaks, because it could just as easily be them in the spotlight
    instead of Julian Assange.

    http://gigaom.com/2010/12/04/like-it-or-not-wikileaks-is-a-media-entity/

    Lashkar-e-Taiba's Financial Network Targets India from the Gulf States

                                   
    Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 19
                                   
    July 2, 2009 04:12 PM Age: 1 yrs
                                   
    Category: Terrorism Monitor, Global Terrorism Analysis, Home Page, Terrorism, South Asia
                                   
    By: Animesh Roul
                                   
    Hafeez Muhammad Saeed, Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba
                                   
    An
    impending threat from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
    terrorist group has prompted security establishments to raise an alert
    along India's western sea-coast. According to intelligence sources, the
    LeT's marine wing is planning a Mumbai-type incursion to target vital
    installations in the three coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and
    Goa. The group is also reported to have funneled huge amounts of money
    from its Gulf-based networks to fund jihad activities in India (Times of
    India, June 30).  This is not an isolated intelligence alert. The
    threat emanating from the LeT was partially revealed following the
    recent arrest of Muhammad Omar Madni, a close associate of
    LeT/Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed. The arrest and
    interrogation of Madni revealed several startling details, including new
    routes used by terrorists, the location of bases inside and outside
    India, terrorist finances, and the recruitment strategy of
    Lashkar-e-Taiba.


    Muhammad
    Omar Madni, who also oversees LeT's Nepal operations, was on a mission
    to recruit youths and send them to Pakistan for training. Madni
    travelled widely through Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and the Gulf
    nations, including Saudi Arabia, seeking funding and logistical support.
    His task was to recruit educated and computer-savvy youths from the
    major metropolises of India (Press Trust of India, June 7). Indian
    agencies believe he is not the only LeT recruiter in the sprawling
    hinterland of India (Statesman, [Kolkata], June 5). Madni's brother
    Hafiz Muhammad Zubair, another Lashkar operative who worked closely with
    him, is presently based in Qatar (Telegraph [Kolkata], June 6).


    Besides
    the usual routes of intrusion in Jammu and Kashmir, LeT has managed to
    build alternate routes through the porous borders of Nepal and
    Bangladesh while establishing bases in the Gulf countries. Investigating
    agencies have now confirmed that LeT is working on a new strategy which
    involves using Dubai as the center of planning for future strikes
    against India (India Today, June 22). Past and ongoing terror
    investigations suggest the Gulf countries have been the major hubs for
    LeT terrorists and many terrorist plots against India are now hatched
    outside Pakistan's territory.


    After
    groping in the dark for some time, India's intelligence agencies have
    now confirmed that the Gulf link to terror in India is thriving and
    there are LeT cells operating in the Gulf that have financed and
    facilitated terrorist operations in India.


    Mumbai's
    crime branch probe revealed that the November 2008 Mumbai terror events
    were financed by LeT's Gulf cells and Gulf-based operatives
    masterminded and executed a series of blasts in Indian urban centers (
    Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Delhi and Surat) in 2008. These operations were
    carried out in collusion with militants of the Indian Mujahedeen (IM)
    and the proscribed Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).


    While
    investigating the August 2003 twin blasts in Mumbai (car bombs at the
    Gateway of India and the Zaveri Bazaar), Mumbai Police unearthed a
    strong Dubai link. The plot was hatched by LeT's Dubai operatives, who
    colluded with sleeper cells in Hyderabad, Ernakulum and Chennai. The
    blasts were claimed by an unknown group—the "Gujarat Muslim Revenge
    Force" (GMRF)—one of the many groups set up by SIMI and LeT following
    the 2002 Gujarat communal riots to avenge atrocities perpetrated against
    the Muslim community (Press Trust of India, October 10, 2003). Hanif,
    one of the Lashkar militants arrested in connection with the blasts,
    reportedly told police about the planning, logistics and targets of the
    LeT's GMRF wing. Since 1993, Hanif worked in Dubai as an electrician and
    was sent to Mumbai in September 2002 to organize and execute the
    attacks. Police also interrogated Hanif about his ties to Basheer, a
    fugitive SIMI figure who fled to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
    (UAE) and one Abu Hamza, affiliated to Pakistan's Inter-Services
    Intelligence (ISI) (Frontline [Chennai], September 13-26, 2003).


    Another
    major example of Lashkar's Gulf connections arose in mid-2006,
    following the serial commuter train blasts in Mumbai. Mumbai's
    Anti-Terrorist Squad seized approximately 37,000 Saudi Riyals from the
    residences of the LeT's Mumbai cell chief, Faizal Ataur Rehman Sheikh
    (Indian Express, August 2, 2006). The money reportedly came in two
    installments from Saudi Arabia via the hawala network operated by
    Faizal's London-based brother Rahil Sheikh and another Lashkar operative
    identified as Rizwan Ahmed Davre, an IT professional based in Riyadh.
    [1] Rizwan acted as a conduit between the unidentified Saudi funder,
    Pakistan based LeT commander Azam Cheema and Faizal Sheikh. Cheema
    reportedly designated Davre the 'amir-e-baitulmaal' (chief exchequer)
    for his able handling of monetary transactions (Indian Express, October
    1, 2006)


    Investigations
    by India's intelligence agencies into the 2008 urban terrorist attacks
    uncovered ties to many Gulf hotspots, especially the financial networks
    in Muscat (Oman). At least four LeT operatives handled India operations
    from Gulf cities like Muscat and Sharjah. They are identified as Wali
    (a.k.a Shameem), Muslim Basheer, Sarfaraz Nawaz (a.k.a Hakeem Sarfoor)
    and Abu Haroon. These four are believed to be of Pakistani origin and to
    have been deputed in the Gulf to raise funds and monitor operations
    planned for India. While Wali was involved in fundraising activities and
    responsible for coordinating with SIMI and IM militants in India,
    Muslim Basheer, based in Muscat, was the chief coordinator for the LeT
    in the Gulf. Funds for the terrorist operations were raised by Wali, who
    provided the money for the blasts and who sent youths from the
    southwestern state of Kerala to Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) for
    terrorist training (New Indian Express [Chennai], March 27).
    Investigating agencies identified Abu Haroon, a travel agent in Muscat,
    as the operative who facilitated the movement of money to India from the
    Gulf region through hawala channels. Abu Haroon also coordinated
    between the Lashkar leadership in Pakistan and India (Rediff.com, May
    27). The fourth terrorist, Sarfaraz Nawaz, another LeT man from Muscat
    and  a former SIMI leader who likely fled to Oman following the
    countrywide crackdown on SIMI establishments, was brought from Muscat to
    India in a dramatic secret operation earlier this year by India's
    external intelligence agency, Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). The
    swift operation surprised many Indian officials, especially in the
    absence of any extradition pact between India and Oman (Rediff.com,
    March 04, 2009).


    Three
    other terrorists involved in the July 2008 Bangalore serial blasts and
    other incidents have been identified as Saleem and Jaheed from
    Bangladesh (hawala operators) and Ali Abdul Azeez Hooti of Oman, the
    chief terrorist financier.



    The Gulf's increasing ties to terrorism resurfaced when investigations
    into the November 2008 Mumbai carnage tracked a similar pattern
    involving Gulf-based financiers and Lashkar coordinators. The role of
    Aziz Hooti as one of the financers in this connection is currently under
    probe. Hooti, the Oman based businessman and key Lashkar operative
    there, was in touch with Lashkar terrorist Fahim Ansari just before late
    November's carnage in Mumbai. At present, Fahim Ansari is on trial and
    Aziz Hooti is in the custody of the Oman police for plotting against
    Western establishments in Oman. According to the information shared
    between Oman and Indian police, Aziz Hooti could have had direct ties to
    the Mumbai attackers. It is now believed in investigating circles that
    both Aziz Hooti and Nawaz played vital roles in financing terrorist
    activities in India, especially in providing funds for Indians taking
    jihadi training in the PAK region (The Hindu, May 28; Rediff.com, May
    28).


    Nawaz's
    interrogation has revealed  many facts about Lashkar's plans in
    southern India. According to his statement, he and Ummer Haji, an IM
    cadre and key figure in the terror network in south India, had hatched a
    plan to carry out serial bomb blasts in Chennai and Bangalore (New
    Indian Express, June 29). However, Lashkar's Chennai plot was dropped by
    Wali due to funding issues. Haji is the man who sent Kerala youths to
    Muzaffarabad in Kashmir for training. Aziz Hooti was also involved in
    the Bangalore plan while the terrorist triumvirate (Wali, Nawaz and
    Hooti) met in Sharjah in early 2008. Nawaz's statement also sheds some
    light on Lashkar's operational strategy in southern India. Bangalore
    police revealed that Nawaz was in close touch with Abdul Nazar Madhani,
    leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP - a left wing Kerala
    political party) (New Indian Express [Chennai], March 28)  


    SIMI
    has operational ties with many militant student groups, including the
    Saudi Arabian Jamayyatul Ansar (JA), whose membership is comprised of
    former SIMI activists and expatriate Indian Muslims. It should be
    emphasized that the LeT and its Jamaat ud-Dawah (JuD) subsidiary were
    born out of the Ahl-e-Hadith (AH) movement with roots in the Middle East
    and in the Indian subcontinent. LeT largely draws its ideological
    inspirations from this transnational Islamic puritanical movement that
    openly propagates the doctrine of jihad in India. AH has been
    influential in the subcontinent with active ties to Saudi Wahhabis and
    strong diaspora links. One of the reasons for this could be the AH
    inspired student movements (e.g. the Mujahid Students Movement) active
    in Kerala with branches in Gulf countries, along with Indian Islahi
    centers in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.  [2]


    The
    beginning of this year was marked by Islamabad's crackdown on the LeT
    and other Pakistan based terror groups in which LeT came under severe
    pressure from the Pakistan administration to de-escalate its jihadi
    agenda against India. Despite the crackdown and the detention and
    subsequent release of LeT leaders in Pakistan, the LeT is reportedly
    once again looking to strike India by plotting against its vital
    installations and infrastructure.


    The
    recent spurt of terror activities by the LeT in India has a direct
    connection to contributions from the Gulf-based cells that have planned
    and financed most of the group's operations. The LeT's Gulf based
    networks are becoming the lifeline for LeT/JuD operations in Pakistan
    and India. With this threat in view, India is now seeking a
    comprehensive anti-terrorism treaty with the Gulf nations. For now,
    Madani and Nawaz's confessions have provided investigating agencies an
    outline of the shape of things to come regarding the LeT's plans for
    terrorist operations in India.  


    Notes:

    1.
    Hawala is an informal and alternative remittance system which operates
    outside of 'traditional' banking or financial channels.

       
                                2. Indian Islahi centers are Islamic
    organizations working among Indians (especially Keralites) in the Gulf
    countries to spread of the true message of Islam and guide Muslims away
    from the clutches of superstitious traditions, blind faiths, polytheism,
    etc.  Indian Islahi Centers operate in almost all Gulf countries as a
    subsidiary of the Kerala Nadvathul Mujahedeen. In some Gulf countries
    and the northern states of India, this organization is known as Salafi
    Center. All these associations are working for the propagation of Quran
    and Sunnah among Muslims and non-Muslims.

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    http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=35221
    LASHKAR-E-TOIBA: Its past, present and future
    by  B.Raman

    The
    reported claim of a spokesman of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan that
    two of its suicide cadres were responsible for the murderous attack on
    some Indian Army personnel inside the Red Fort in New Delhi on December
    22,2000, is under verification by the Indian security agencies

    The
    Lashkar and its political wing called the Markaz Dawa Al Irshad have
    for many years been calling for the expansion of the so-called jihad to
    the rest of India from Jammu & Kashmir for creating two independent
    homelands for the Muslims of South and North India. As a first step in
    this jihad, it had in the past called for intensified activities in
    Hyderabad and Junagadh, which it looks upon as Pakistani territory. The
    Red Fort, as the seat of the Muslim rulers of the past, is an important
    symbol in its eyes.

    While
    reporting the Red Fort attack on December 22, 2000, sections of the
    foreign media described the Lashkar as a Kashmiri militant organisation.
    It is not. It is a Pakistani organisation based in Pakistan and
    operating from there. It is a member of Osama bin Laden's International
    Islamic Front For Jihad Against the US and Israel. The wrong perceptions
    abroad about this organisation need to be corrected vigorously.

    The Annexure collates extracts from our past papers on the activities of the Lashkar.


    (25-12-00)
    (The
    writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of
    India, and, presently, Director, Institute for Topical Studies, Chennai.
    E-Mail: corde@vsnl.com )


    ANNEXURE
    EXTRACTS FROM PAPER DATED 26-8-1998, TITLED " MARKAZ DAWA AL IRSHAD: TALIBANISATION OF NUCLEAR PAKISTAN":
    The
    activities of Osama bin Laden and his announcement of an International
    Islamic Front For Jihad against the US and Israel assume ominous
    significance in the context of his past and continuing links with the
    Markaz Dawa Al Irshad (the Centre For Preaching) of Pakistan and the
    Lashkar-e-Toiba (the Army of the Pure), its militant wing. The Markaz
    and the Lashkar have been involved in acts of terrorism, not only in J
    & K, but also in other parts of India.

    The
    Markaz was founded in 1987, at the inspiration of Osama bin Laden, by
    Zafar Iqbal and Hafiz Mohammad Saeed of the University of Engineering
    and Technology of Lahore and Abdullah Azam of the International Islamic
    University, which has been funded by bin Laden. Abdullah Azam was killed
    in an explosion at Peshawar in 1989 and, after his death, Zafar Iqbal
    and Hafiz Mohammad Saeed have been leading the Markaz while continuing
    to teach at the University.

    The
    headquarters of the Markaz, occupying over 190 acres of land, are
    located at Muridke, about 45 kms from Lahore in Pakistani Punjab. Its
    vast campus contains a huge Jamia mosque for the construction of which
    bin Laden had reportedly contributed Rs.10 million, a garments factory,
    an iron foundry, a wood works factory, a swimming pool and three
    residential colonies for the inmates. A big Islamic University is also
    coming up.

    The
    "Herald", the monthly journal of the prestigious "Dawn" group of
    publications of Karachi, reported as follows in January, 1998: "While
    the Dawa is involved in various areas, including religious education and
    social welfare, it is mainly through its militant wing that it is well
    known throughout the country. The Lashkar-e-Toiba provides military
    training to its members and prepares them to wage jihad. Although the
    Lashkar was initially involved in Afghanistan as well, its activities
    are now restricted to Indian Kashmir. Today, it is Pakistan's largest
    so-called jihadi organisation."

    It
    quoted an office-bearer of the Lashkar as stating as follows: " There
    are many other jihadi groups operating inside Kashmir, but their members
    are mainly local men (Kashmiris), assisted by fighters from other
    countries, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Eighty per cent of the
    Mujahideen in other jihadi groups operating in Kashmir come from that
    area, but the case with the Lashkar is exactly the opposite. Eighty per
    cent of its soldiers belong to Pakistan."

    The
    "Herald" added: " The Lashkar prefers not to reveal the exact number of
    men it has currently deployed in Kashmir. The Amir ( Hafiz Mohammad
    Saeed) decides how many Mujahideens should be sent to the (Kashmir)
    Valley. The decision depends on the number of deaths that have taken
    place. It also depends on the requirement and capacity of the
    organisation inside Kashmir to absorb the new fighters. What is known,
    however, is that the Lashkar recruits and trains many more men than it
    actually requires to fight in Kashmir at any given time.

    "
    Compared to other similar organisations, the Lashkar has proved to be a
    resounding success. Since its inception, it has managed to attract
    thousands of committed young men to its fold. The driving force behind
    its massive success in recruitment is deceptively simple. It uses its
    impressive organisational network, which includes schools, social
    service groups and religious publications, to create a passion for
    jihad."

    According
    to the "Herald", the Lashkar organises two kinds of military training –
    a 21-day basic course called "Daura Aam" and a three-months advanced
    course called "Daura Khas". The entire advanced course is geared towards
    guerilla warfare, with training in the use of arms and ammunition,
    ambush and survival techniques. Other Pakistani press reports after the
    arrest of Ramzi Yousef, (involved in the bombing of the New York World
    Trade Centre in February 1993) had also revealed that in the past some
    volunteers were also trained in aircraft-hijacking.

    The
    Markaz and the Lashkar are extremely secretive organisations and take
    great care to conceal the real identities of their office-bearers except
    the Amir and their fighters. For this purpose, they emulate the
    Palestinian organisations in the use of "Kuniat", which are Arabic
    pseudonyms adopted from the "Kuniats" of the Companions of the Prophet
    and later Islamic heroes.

    Whereas
    in the Palestinian organisations, the "Kuniats" die with the holder and
    the same "Kuniat" is not allotted to any other fighter, in the Markaz
    and the Lashkar, the "Kuniat" does not die with the holder. The same
    "Kuniat" is allotted to another fighter. It is not unusual to come
    across two individuals with the same or similar "Kuniats".

    Past
    reports on the activities of the Markaz and the Lashkar had referred to
    two heroes of the organisation who had reportedly played a legendary
    role in assisting the Bosnian Muslims in their fight against the Serbs.
    One of them used to be referred to as Abu Aziz and the other as Abu
    Abdul Aziz.

    Abu
    Abdul Aziz, who is suspected to be none other than Osama Bin Laden, is a
    leading financier of the Markaz and the Lashkar and had contributed
    Rs.10 million for the construction of a mosque and another sum for the
    construction of a special guest house inside the Muridke complex of
    these organisations. This guest house was initially built by bin Laden
    as a house for his stay during his visits to Pakistan, but, after 1992,
    the Pakistani authorities do not allow him to stay in Pakistani
    territory for fear of annoying the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He has,
    therefore, converted it into a guest house for his associates from Saudi
    Arabia and elsewhere visiting Pakistan.

    It
    is reported that this guest house was also used as a hide-out for Ramzi
    Yousef and Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pathan from Balochistan, who was arrested
    and taken to the US last year and subsequently convicted and sentenced
    to death for murdering two CIA officers outside the CIA's headquarters
    in Washington in January, 1993.

    While
    Osama bin Laden no longer attends the annual gatherings of the Markaz
    and the Lashkar at Muridke, he addresses them over the conference phone.
    Till 1995, he used to address the gathering from his hide-out in the
    Sudan and, since 1996, he has been doing so from Afghanistan. Addressing
    the last annual conference at Muridke in November, 1997, over phone
    from Kandahar, bin Laden said: " Those who oppose jihad are not true
    Muslims."

    There
    is some confusion about the real identity of Abu Aziz. He used to
    attend the annual conferences at Muridke till 1993 and was introduced to
    the gatherings as a Saudi Muslim of Indian origin who was co-ordinating
    the flow of assistance to the Bosnian Muslims. He has not been heard of
    since then. It needs to be checked up whether bin Laden's parents or
    other ancestors had, by any chance, migrated to Yemen from India before
    proceeding from there to Saudi Arabia. If this was so, there could be a
    possibility that Abu Abdul Aziz and Abu Aziz are one and the same
    person—Osama bin Laden.

    There
    are some distinguishing characteristics about the operational methods
    of the Lashkar militants. They do not shave or have a hair- cut and
    allow their beard and hair to grow long and are taught to employ
    extremely cruel methods such as beheading and disembowelling their
    victims from the security forces and non-Muslim communities. Like
    fighters of many other jihadi organisations, they generally wear
    shalwars, which do not cover the ankle.

    As
    regards ideology, the Markaz, an Ahle Hadith organisation of Wahabi
    orientation, was initially very close to Saudi Arabia, but seems to have
    developed differences with it because of its proximity to Osama bin
    Laden and of its contention that even Saudi Arabia does not have an
    ideal Islamic society. Its criticism of the stationing of US and other
    Western troops in Saudi Arabia also contributed to this. It describes
    the Hindus and Jews, in that order, as the main enemies of Islam and
    India and Israel as the main enemies of Pakistan. Its Amir is a strong
    opponent of Western-style democracy.

    The
    Amir said in an interview to the "Herald": "Democracy is among the
    menaces we inherited from an alien government. It is part of the system
    we are fighting against. Many of our brothers feel that they can
    establish an Islamic society by working within the system. They are
    mistaken. It is not possible to work within a democracy and establish an
    Islamic system. You just dirty your hands by dealing with it. If God
    gives us a chance, we will try to bring in the pure concept of an
    Islamic Caliphate."

    The
    "News" of Pakistan (November 23,1997) reported as follows on the
    ideology and beliefs of the Markaz Amir as reflected during its annual
    conference of November, 1997: "The Markaz is trying to take advantage of
    the growing public discontent with the political system and widespread
    corruption. Using explicit references to the hardline Taliban in
    Afghanistan, it is making growing references to ending the democratic
    system in Pakistan. Prof.Saeed calls for a jihad to turn Pakistan into a
    pure Islamic state.

    "
    He rejects democracy saying that "the notion of the sovereignty of the
    people is anti-Islamic. Only Allah is sovereign." The whole venue of the
    congregation was full of signboards with the slogan "Jamhooriat ka
    jawab, grenade and blast (the answer to democracy, grenade and blast)".
    Saeed was categorical in saying that his organisation had no immediate
    designs in Pakistan, even though the present system in Pakistan was not
    Islamic.

    "He
    stated: "In fact, there is no Islamic government in the world. Not even
    in Saudi Arabia, where the system is closer to Islamic teaching, but
    still not fully Islamic." He expressed his happiness over the success of
    the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    "He
    said his organisation's main interest in Pakistan was to pick people
    and train them to wage jihad in countries where an unislamic government
    was in power."

    The
    paper quoted him as saying as follows: "God has ordained every Muslim
    to fight until His rule is established. We have no option but to follow
    God's order. We continue to support other Islamic organisations in the
    world. This is a very long battle."

    The
    paper concluded as follows: " The thumping success of the Muridke
    gathering took the government and the intelligence agencies by
    surprise…..Observers say the failure of the political government and
    growing poverty have turned Pakistan into a breeding ground of
    organisations carrying out jihad in various countries. Most intelligence
    officers interviewed by the daily view the unchecked military training
    of youngsters in the name of launching a jihad outside Pakistan as the
    most serious threat to the integrity and security of the country in the
    very near future."

    Even
    though the Pakistani authorities are concerned over the impact of the
    organisation on Pakistani youth which could, in the long run, lead to
    the Talibanisation of Pakistan with a Pakistani version of the Taliban
    possibly getting its finger on the nuclear trigger, they continue to use
    the Markaz and the Harkat-ul-Ansar, categorised as a terrorist
    organisation by the US last year, in their proxy war against India and
    leaders like Mr.Mushahid Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's
    Information Minister, continue to openly flirt with the organisation and
    bless its activities against India.

    When
    the Markaz was started in 1987, it had a two-fold objective: to assist
    the Afghan Mujahideen and to rid Islam in Pakistan of what it projected
    as the corrupting influence of Hinduism. It continues to wage a
    sustained campaign against what it sees as the evil influence of sufism
    and Kashmiriyat. As it looks upon Kashmiriyat as the expression of the
    evil Hindu mind, many of its operations in J & K are directed
    against the Hindus.

    Unlike
    the Kashmiri extremist organisations which describe their aim as the
    right of self-determination for the Kashmiris, the Markaz describes its
    objective as the liberation of the Muslims of J & K from the control
    and influence of the Hindus followed by the liberation of the Muslims
    of the rest of India. It describes Kashmir as the gateway to India and
    calls for the creation of three Pakistans or Muslim homelands—with
    Pakistan and J & K constituting one, the Muslims of North India
    forming the second and the Muslims of South India, the third.

    Addressing
    the Lahore Press Club on February 18,1996,Amir Saeed said: "The jihad
    in Kashmir would soon spread to entire India. Our Mujahideen would
    create three Pakistans in India."

    In
    an interview to the "Takbeer" of Pakistan (October 9,1997), he said: "
    We feel that Kashmir should be liberated at the earliest. Thereafter,
    Indian Muslims should be aroused to rise in revolt against the Indian
    Union so that India gets disintegrated.."

    Amongst
    other leading office-bearers of the Markaz are Yusuf Taibi, who is in
    charge of external relations, and Amir Hamza, Editor of its journal
    called " Majla Al Dawa", which claims to have a circulation of 70,000
    (Rs.12 per copy). The Markaz describes photo cameras, TV sets and movie
    films as unIslamic. It carries out periodic campaigns for the
    destruction in public of cameras and TV sets and appeals to the public
    not to see films.

    The
    Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and the CIA made full use
    of the Markaz against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. After the
    withdrawal of the Soviet troops, the CIA cut off its links with the
    organisation, but the ISI has been continuing to use it to instigate
    acts of terrorism not only in Kashmir, but also in other parts of India.
    The Markaz's objective of radicalising sections of the Muslim community
    in North and South India and setting them up against the Hindus and the
    Union of India suits the operational aims of the ISI.

    At
    the same time, the Pakistani authorities have been concerned over the
    Markaz's links with Osama bin Laden and other anti-monarchy Saudi
    dissidents. Their discomfiture is likely to increase with the
    announcement by bin Laden of the formation of an International Islamic
    Front against the US and Israel.

    The
    threat posed to regional peace and stability by the Markaz and the
    Lashkar needs to be adequately highlighted in international fora.

    EXTRACT FROM PAPER DATED 3-11-98 TITLED " US BOMBING OF TERRORIST CAMPS IN AFGHANISTAN: AN ANALYSIS"
    THE ISLAMIC FRONT FOR JIHAD AGAINST THE US & ISRAEL
    The following groups are believed to have joined his Front:
    (a).
    The Jamatul Jihad of Egypt led by Dr.al-Zawahiri. bin Laden understands
    English, but cannot speak fluently. Dr.al-Zawahiri, who speaks English
    without difficulty, therefore, acts as his spokesman.

    (b).
    Another Egyptian group led by Abu Asim ("kuniyat" or assumed name and
    not real name), a son of Sheikh Omer Abdur Rehman, the blind Egyptian
    cleric, who is undergoing imprisonment in the US for his involvement in
    the bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York in February, 1993. Two
    other sons of the Sheikh are also living in the Kandahar area.

    (C).
    A third Egyptian group led by Shawqi Islam Bolo, brother of Khalid
    Islam Bolo, one of the assassins of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt.

    (d). The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen of Pakistan and its two splinter groups.
    (e). The Markaz Dawa Al Irshad of Pakistan and its militant wing the Lashkar-e- Toiba.
    (f).
    The Sipah-e-Sahaba of Pakistan, an extremist Sunni organisation, which
    has been campaigning for the proclamation of Pakistan as a Sunni State
    and is believed to be responsible for the murder of a number of Shia
    leaders of Pakistan.

    (g).
    The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, the organisation of bin Laden,
    consisting exclusively of Arab volunteers of Afghan war vintage. Most of
    them are Saudis and Yemenis with a small sprinkling of Egyptians,
    Sudanese and Palestinians from Jordan and the Israeli-occupied
    territories.

    (h). Groups from Tadjikistan, Xinjiang and the Philippines, whose identities are not clear.
    BIN LADEN'S INFRASTRUCTURE IN AFGHANISTAN
    What
    is described as bin Laden's terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan
    consists of the training camps of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, which had
    been in existence even before the arrival of Bin Laden in Jalalabad in
    May, 1996, the camps of Gulbuddin Heckmatyar, the Afghan Mujahideen
    leader, which were taken over by the Taliban and handed over to the
    Harkat-ul-Mujahideen or Bin Laden and the camps set up during the 1980s
    by Jalaluddin Haqqani, another Mujahideen leader, who has since joined
    the Taliban. Contrary to the claims of US officials, these were not
    sophisticated training facilities, but improvised structures to put up
    the trainees.

    EXTRACT FROM PAPER DATED 21-7-99, TITLED "ISI'S POST-KARGIL PLANS"

    In
    the proxy war launched by the ISI in the State in 1989, the operating
    principle was "hit and run", the aim being to create demoralisation in
    the Indian security forces and the civilian population by inflicting
    large casualties on them. "Liberation" and occupation of territory was
    not the immediate objective. The ISI had calculated that if it kept the
    Indian security forces bleeding, political and public opinion in India
    would ultimately realise the futility of holding on to the State.

    The
    proxy invasion plan of Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Gen.
    Pervez Musharraf, changed the operating principle to one of "occupy and
    hit", the aim being to set up a bridgehead by occupying the ridges in
    the Kargil sector left unguarded by the Indian army during winter and
    thereafter spread the area under occupation each winter by taking
    advantage of its logistic difficulties. The role of the Pakistan army
    became primary in this operation and that of the ISI and the
    militant-cum-terrorist groups secondary.

    The
    proxy invasion plan having failed partly due to the vigorous operations
    of the Indian army and Air Force and partly due to international
    pressure on Pakistan, Islamabad has now reverted back to the earlier
    operating principle of "hit and run", with the primary role once again
    being assumed by the ISI and its surrogates in the State.

    The
    ISI's proxy war has passed through two stages. During the first stage
    (1989-92), the ISI played a direct role in providing financial, training
    and arms assistance to militant groups in the State. No intermediaries
    were used and assistance was given to any group, which was prepared to
    indulge in violence.

    A
    large number of Kashmiri militant groups received ISI assistance during
    this period--some led by the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) of the
    Jamaat-e-Islami which advocated merger of the State with Pakistan and
    others by the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which wanted
    independence. Within a few months of the start of the proxy war, the
    pro-independence groups set up their ascendancy over the pro-Pakistan
    groups.

    Till
    1992, the US and other Western countries looked upon the extremists as
    "freedom-fighters" and not terrorists. However, the situation changed
    after the extremists' attack on a group of Israeli tourists in Srinagar
    in 1992.

    For
    the first time, there was concern in the West over the terrorist
    methods of these groups and over the role of the ISI in assisting them.
    There was also increasing interest in non-governmental circles in the US
    close to the Clinton Administration in the aims and objectives of the
    pro-independence groups. The feasibility of independence as a solution
    became the subject of study by many of these non-governmental groups.

    Concerned
    over these developments, the ISI introduced two changes in 1993. First,
    it started using intermediaries for keeping the militancy alive instead
    of directly doing so. Second, it cut off assistance to all
    pro-independence groups and made future assistance dependent on the
    recipient group supporting merger with Pakistan.

    The
    first organisation chosen as the intermediary was the Jamaat-e-Islami
    of Pakistan headed by Qazi Hussain Ahmed. Funds and arms and ammunition
    were given to it and it was asked to take over the responsibility for
    running training camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and
    Afghanistan with the help of Afghan veterans and for distributing money
    and weapons to different pro-Pakistan groups. Most of the assistance
    went to the HM.

    In
    1993, the Taliban had not yet appeared on the scene in Afghanistan and
    the Hizb-e-Islami of Gulbuddin Heckmatyar was still the most important
    and favored Pakhtoon Mujahideen group in Afghanistan. The recruits of
    the HM were trained in camps in Afghan territory by instructors of
    Hizb-e-Islami and the Afghan mercenaries who came into Kashmir with the
    HM were followers of Heckmatyar.

    Subsequently,
    the ISI started using the Markaz Dawa Al Irshad and its militant wing
    called the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) too as
    intermediaries for funneling assistance to the extremists in the State.
    These organisations, of Wahabi orientation, are closer to the
    Jamiat-ul-Ulema Islam of Pakistan headed by Maulana Fazlur Rahman and to
    the Taliban.

    The
    ISI saw in the anger in the Indian Muslim community caused by the
    demolition of the Babri Masjid in December, 1992, an opportunity to
    drive a wedge between the Hindus and Muslims in the rest of India,
    thereby adding to the difficulties of the Government of India. It also
    wanted the extremist groups supported by it in Kashmir to attack the
    Hindus of the Jammu Division in order to drive them out.

    Thus,
    from 1993, the ISI's assistance to the extremist groups in the State
    was made conditional on their supporting merger with Pakistan, agreeing
    to attack the Hindus in the Jammu Division and assisting the alienated
    sections of the Muslim youth in the rest of India in developing a
    militant capability by training them in their camps in Kashmiri
    territory.

    The
    Jammat-e-Islami and the HM were reluctant to accept these conditions as
    they did not want to extend their operational aims beyond Kashmir, but
    the Lashkar, the HuA and the Al Badr, which subsequently came into the
    picture, readily accepted them. They thus became the privileged groups
    of the ISI from 1994 onwards and have now been orchestrating most of the
    violence in the State.

    Though the HM, the Lashkar, the HuA and the Al Badr still claim to be working together, important differences divide them:
    *
    The HM is essentially an organisation of indigenous Kashmiris, but the
    other three consist largely of Pakistanis, Afghans and Arab mercenaries.

    *
    The HM describes its aim as the liberation of Kashmir from the control
    of the Government of India and its merger with Pakistan. The other three
    describe their aim as the liberation of Kashmir from the control of the
    Hindus and its merger with Pakistan, to be followed by a similar
    "liberation" of the Muslims in the rest of India. These three
    organisations view Kashmir as the "gateway to India" and call for the
    creation of two more Muslim homelands--one for the Muslims of North
    India and the other for those of South India.

    *
    In pursuance of their aims, the Lashkar and the HuA have been spreading
    their presence to the rest of India and networking with Islamic
    extremist groups in other States.

    *
    The HM is close to Heckmatyar whereas the other three are supporters of
    the Taliban. Angered by the proximity of the HM to Heckmatyar, the
    Taliban has closed down its training camps in Afghanistan and expelled
    its office-bearers from there.

    *
    The Lashkar, the HuA and the Al Badr are strongly against the US,
    Israel and the ruling family of Saudi Arabia and are members of Osama
    bin Laden's International Islamic Front for Jihad against the US and
    Israel, but the HM keeps away from the anti-US and anti-Saudi ruling
    family activities of bin Laden.

    In
    its eagerness to achieve its objectives against India, Pakistan,
    through the ISI, has thus been following contradictory policies. It
    seeks US support for the internationalisation of the Kashmir issue, but
    has been arming groups, which vow to attack American targets, in order
    to use them against India. It describes Saudi Arabia as its closest
    Islamic ally, but has been sheltering groups which are carrying on a
    campaign against the Saudi ruling family and the presence of US troops
    in Saudi Arabia.

    The
    increasing concern in the US intelligence community over the use of
    these anti-US and anti-Israel groups by Pakistan in its attempts to
    destabilise India is an important reason for the sympathetic attitude of
    the US towards India during the conflict in the Kargil sector.

    The
    US declared the HuA as an international terrorist organisation in
    October, 1997, after which it has re-named itself as the
    Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and there have been reports that the US is
    collecting evidence against the Lashkar in order to make a similar
    declaration against it.

    Despite
    this, the ISI, with the approval of the Sharif Government, continues to
    use these organisations to massacre Hindus in the Jammu Division and to
    organise acts of violence in the Valley too. An intensification of such
    terrorist violence not only in Jammu & Kashmir, but also in other
    parts of India is to be expected in the wake of the set-back suffered by
    the Pakistan army in the Kargil area. Another danger is the possibility
    of attacks on American targets in India by these organisations to give
    vent to their anger against the US and to create embarrassment to the
    Government of India in its relations with the US.

    EXTRACT FROM PAPER DATED 19-11-99, TITLED "BADAMIBAGH AND AFTER"

    "The scruff of their (the militants') neck is in our hands; whenever
    you want, we could regulate it." ---Lt.Gen.Mohammed Aziz, Chief of the
    General Staff (CGS) of the Pakistan Army, while reporting over phone to
    Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), then at Beijing
    on May 29 as revealed by the transcript of their conversation released
    by the Govt. of India.

    The
    CGS was referring to the terrorists of the Pakistan-based
    Lashkar-e-Toiba (LT), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and the Al Badr,
    who had been sent in advance by the Pakistan Army to occupy the ridges
    in the Kargil sector before regular Pakistani troops moved in and
    replaced them.

    The
    LT, which has organised a number of suicidal attacks on the Indian
    security forces in Kashmir, including the latest one on the 15 Corps
    Headquarters at Badamibagh on November3/4, the HUM and the Al Badr are
    members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front For Jihad
    Against the US and Israel.

    While
    the HUM, previously known as the Harkat-ul-Ansar, was declared by the
    US on October 1,1997,as an international terrorist organisation under
    the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, the LT and
    the Al Badr have not been so declared till now, presumably because,
    unlike the HUM, these two organisations, despite their anti-American
    rhetoric, have avoided any attacks on American lives or property.

    Since
    October, 1997, the HUM has not been claiming direct responsibility for
    its terrorist acts in Kashmir. Instead, it lets the Hizbul Mujahideen
    (HM), an ostensibly Kashmiri organisation controlled by Pakistan-based
    Salahuddin, claim the responsibility in order to give the impression to
    the outside world that, contrary to the claims of the Govt. of India,
    indigenous Kashmiri organisations have kept up their fight for the right
    of self-determination.

    The
    Al Badr is a splinter group of the HM, which was formed by some
    Pakistani members of the HM, who did not like the latter's continued
    support of Gulbuddin Heckmatyar, the anti-Taliban Afghan Pakhtun leader.

    Unlike
    the indigenous Kashmiri extremist organisations, whose objectives are
    limited to Kashmir, the LT, the HUM and the Al Badr look upon Kashmir as
    the gateway of India and describe their objective as the 'liberation"
    of the Muslims in the rest of India after occupying Kashmir. The LT,
    which is the militant wing of the Markaz Dawa Al Irshad, calls for the
    liberation of Junagadh too and for the creation of two more independent
    homelands for the Muslims of North and South India.

    With
    this objective in view, it has been infiltrating its cadres into other
    parts of India too and its presence has been reported as far down south
    as Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.

    The
    Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been mainly relying on the LT and
    the HUM since the latter part of the first tenure of Mr.Nawaz Sharif as
    the Prime Minister (1990-93) as it found the indigenous Kashmiri
    organisations to be ineffective and unwilling to carry out its orders to
    drive out the Hindus from the Jammu Division and the Buddhists from
    Ladakh in order to reduce the proportion of non-Muslims in the State.

    The
    infiltration of these organisations was intensified during Mrs.Benazir
    Bhutto's second tenure (1993-96) under the directions of Gen. Musharraf,
    the then Director-General of Military Operations, and Lt.Gen. Mohammed
    Aziz, Deputy Director-General of the ISI till February, 1999, when he
    took over as the CGS.. Gen. Musharraf and Lt.Gen. Aziz were the handling
    officers of bin Laden and his group and the plan to use them for
    facilitating the Kargil invasion was largely their idea.

    As
    young officers of the Special Services Group (SSG), raised with the
    assistance of the US Green Berets, they had worked in close co-operation
    with the officers of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against
    the Soviet troops in Afghanistan during the 1980s and in training
    terrorists like bin Laden, Mir Aimal Kansi, who killed two CIA officers
    outside their office in Washington in January, 1993, and Ramzi Yousef,
    who was involved in the bombing of the World Trade Centre at New York in
    February,1993.

    The
    anger of Kansi and Ramzi against the US was due to what they looked
    upon as the CIA's alleged breach of its promise to help them settle down
    in good jobs in the US after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from
    Afghanistan.

    Gen.
    Musharraf, now the Chief Executive of Pakistan, and Lt.Gen. Aziz had
    also commanded SSG troops in the Northern Areas of Pakistan (Gilgit and
    Baltistan) and their efforts to dislodge the Indian troops from the
    Siachen glacier in the 1980s had been repulsed by the Indian army with
    heavy casualties.

    The
    two, therefore, share an obsessive desire to teach the Indian army a
    lesson. This obsession is further strengthened by their ethnic
    background.

    Mohajir
    public servants, who are migrants from India, generally feel a
    compulsive urge to take a virulently anti-India line in order to show
    themselves to be more devoted to the Pakistani cause than their Punjabi
    counterparts. Gen. Musharraf, a Mohajir, is no exception to this rule.

    Lt.Gen.Aziz is stated to be from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) and this motivates his anti-India actions.
    In
    the Pakistan Army, these two have always been strong advocates of the
    need to keep the Indian army bleeding in Kashmir just as the Afghan
    Mujahideen kept the Soviet troops bleeding and to bottle up the Indian
    troops in the Siachen area by capturing the Dras-Kargil road.

    Having
    failed in the Kargil adventure, they are now focussing on their first
    objective of using the LT, the HUM and the Al Badr for keeping the
    Indian security forces bleeding, in the fond hope that this might
    ultimately force India to abandon Kashmir.

    With
    Gen. Musharraf now emerging as the ruler of Pakistan and with
    Lt.Gen.Aziz as his most trusted aide, terrorist actions of these
    organisations are likely to increase further.

    While
    this would call for the further strengthening of defensive protective
    security measures to prevent disasters like the one at Badamibagh and
    offensive patrolling to neutralise the intruders from Pakistan, this
    alone would not be sufficient to deal with the situation.

    The
    Government of India is justified in insisting that there would be no
    resumption of dialogue with Pakistan till it stops its sponsorship of
    terrorism in Indian territory. India should make this sponsorship the
    core issue of Indo-Pakistan relations and rule out any talks on Kashmir
    till certain specific benchmarks with regard to stoppage of terrorism
    are fulfilled by Pakistan.

    India
    should also freeze its efforts for the normalisation of trade relations
    with Pakistan till its sponsorship of terrorism stops. It should
    withdraw its unilateral grant of the most favoured nation status to
    Pakistan, which the latter has not reciprocated, completely ban
    bilateral trade and take effective action to stop all indirect trade,
    either across the border or via Singapore and Dubai.

    Even
    after more than 50 years of independence, Pakistan is still a
    four-commodity and one-port economy. Over 70 per cent of its tax revenue
    and foreign exchange earnings comes from cotton, cotton-based textiles
    and sports and leather goods and Karachi continues to be the only
    reliable port for foreign trade.

    Because
    of the scarcity of foreign exchange since 1990, Pakistani textile and
    sugar mills have been illegally importing from India via Singapore and
    Dubai machinery and spare parts required for keeping their mills going.
    Similarly, machinery and spare ports for the Karachi port also illegally
    go from India.

    By
    effectively stopping this, India could make Pakistan pay an economic
    price for its sponsorship of terrorism in India. This is one of the
    proactive options available to India, which needs to be seriously
    considered. No country in the world can object to this.

    So
    long as Pakistan under Gen. Musharraf follows a policy of making India
    bleed at the hands of terrorists, there is no reason why we should have
    any compunction about not letting it come out of its economic quagmire
    till it abandons its sponsorship of terrorism.

    EXTRACT FROM PAPER DATED 15-2-00 TITLED "NATIONAL SECURITY--POINTS TO PONDER"
    *
    Islamic terrorism. Its threat will continue and even increase due to
    external support from the State of Pakistan as well as from the Islamic
    fundamentalist organisations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.
    The old Communist international has been replaced by an Islamic
    International, consisting of various Islamic fundamentalist
    organisations with roots in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their objective
    vis-à-vis India: To "liberate" the Muslims of not only Kashmir, but also
    the rest of India from "Hindu control". They talk of two more
    independent homelands for the Muslims of the sub-continent--one in North
    India and the other in the South.

    *
    The need for a coherent policy to counter Pakistan's covert war. While
    the present Government talks of a proactive strategy, it doesn't seem to
    be clear in its mind about the components of this strategy. Amongst the
    components should be: a determination not to let Pakistan come out of
    its economic morass till it stops its covert war; a readiness to hurt
    the Pakistani State and society at a place of our choice in terrain
    favourable to us. In Kashmir, the terrain is not favourable to us except
    in the Jammu sector. To really hurt Pakistan, we have to direct our
    proactive strategy at its Punjab and Sindh, and particularly at Karachi.
    While India has a credible nuclear deterrent, it does not have a
    credible covert warfare deterrent, whereas Pakistan has developed its
    covert warfare capability over a period of nearly 20 years, with
    American assistance in the 1980s.

    *
    Pakistan-based Islamic fundamentalist organisations have been
    increasingly turning their attention to South India. After Tamil Nadu
    and Kerala, they are now focussing on Andhra Pradesh. There has never
    been a convincing analysis of why Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
    (ISI) has been flirting with the LTTE, despite the latter's anti-Muslim
    activities in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province. One possibility, not yet
    proved, but suggested by foreign counter-terrorism experts in the past
    is that in return for the ISI's assistance, the LTTE, through its
    supporters in Tamil Nadu, has been training the cadres of the Al Ummah
    and other jihadi organisations of South India and providing them with
    material assistance.

    *
    We need a separate strategy to deal with threats from the foreign-based
    Islamic jihadi organisations. Such a strategy should tackle prevention
    of illegal migrations of Muslims from Bangladesh and Pakistan,
    identification and deportation of past illegal migrants, the flow of
    foreign funds for mosques and madrasas, the scrutiny of the credentials
    of foreign Muslim students who are admitted to educational institutions
    in India etc. In the past, even counter-terrorism experts of Islamic
    countries such as Algeria and Egypt had expressed surprise over the ease
    with which students black-listed in their countries because of their
    association with extremist organisations managed to get admission to
    educational institutions in India.

    NATIONAL SECURITY TOOLS
    *
    Intelligence collection and analysis. Improving, but still weak with
    serious gaps in coverage and monitoring. Anticipation and prevention
    continues to be the weakest link in our national security management.
    While the strengthening of the intelligence collection capability of the
    central organisations such as the IB, the RAW and the various military
    intelligence directorates has been receiving attention, equal attention
    has not been paid to improving the intelligence collection capabilities
    of the States. The Centre has to play a more proactive role in this
    regard.

    *
    Assessment and follow-up action. . Even the best of intelligence would
    be useless if it is not assessed promptly to identify looming threats
    and initiate follow-up action. This has not been given the attention it
    deserves. For this purpose, the National Security Council (NSC) needs a
    full-fledged Secretariat. In all countries with the NSC mechanism, the
    Secretariat is the nerve-centre and permanent watch-dog on all matters
    likely to affect national security. We still seem to have a miniscule
    Secretariat with no teeth.

    *
    Enforcement of physical and infrastructure security. Very weak as seen
    by the ease with which the jihadi suicide squads have been penetrating
    high security areas in Kashmir and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorists
    recently hijacked the Indian Airlines plane.

    *
    Crisis Management. Again unsatisfactory. Past crisis management drills
    dealt only with conventional threats such as hijacking, hostage-taking,
    assassinations etc. We need separate drills supervised and co-ordinated
    by professional experts to deal with crises involving weapons of mass
    destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological) and weapons of mass
    disruption (hacking, injection of computer virus etc).

    EXTRACT FROM PAPER DATED 27-11-00 TITLED "INTERNATIONAL ISLAMISM"
    What do these forces, which are in the forefront of the so-called jehad in Jammu & Kashmir, say? They propagate that:
    *
    Jammu & Kashmir is not their only agenda vis-à-vis India. It is
    only the first item in their agenda. The other items are the
    "liberation" of the Muslims in the rest of India in order to create two
    more "Muslim Homelands" in South Asia--one in North India and the other
    in the South.

    *
    J & K is the gateway to India. Once they control J & K, they
    would use it as a rear base for "liberating" the Muslims in the rest of
    India.

    *
    After J & K, their priorities would be Hyderabad and Junagadh.
    According to them, these two areas rightly belonged to Pakistan and the
    Ummah; and they have a religious duty to "liberate" them and bring them
    into the Ummah. Thereafter, they would turn their attention to the rest
    of India.

        http://www.southasiaanalysis.org//papers2/paper175.htm

    WikiLeaks lists sites U.S. says vital to interestsBy Keith Weir | Reuters – Tue, Dec 7 4:12 AM IST


    Related contentEnlarge Photo

    • WikiLeaks lists sites U.S. says vital to interests

    LONDON
    (Reuters) - WikiLeaks published more details of sites around the globe
    that the United States considers vital to its interests, prompting
    strong criticism that the website is helping militants identify
    sensitive targets for attack.

    The details are part of 250,000 diplomatic cables obtained and being made public by the website.
    The
    list begins with a cobalt mine in Kinshasa, Congo and refers to various
    locations in Europe where drug companies produce insulin, treatment for
    snake bites and foot and mouth vaccines.

    In
    the Middle East, it notes that Qatar will be the largest source of
    imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2012 and also refers to the
    Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia, the largest crude oil process and
    stabilization plant in the world.

    Al
    Qaeda mounted an unsuccessful attack on Abqaiq in 2006, and there were
    warnings that the WikiLeaks cable setting out so many sensitive targets
    could help militants.

    The release of the information drew strong condemnation from the United States and the United Kingdom.
    "Let
    me condemn in the strongest terms the leaks of information" about the
    sites, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters in Washington.
    "The American people themselves have been put at risk by these actions
    that I believe are arrogant, misguided and ultimately do not help in any
    way."

    Holder
    also said the Obama administration was considering using laws in
    addition to the U.S. Espionage Act to possibly prosecute for the release
    of the information.

    The
    State Department called the release "irresponsible" and warned that
    such information about critical infrastructure supporting the U.S.
    economy and other countries could play into the hands of al Qaeda.

    "Information
    is classified for good reason, most especially information involving
    critical infrastructure that supports our economy and those of other
    countries," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in an emailed
    statement.

    "(WikiLeaks
    founder) Julian Assange has released what amounts to a targeting list
    that will be of interest to groups like al Qaeda," Crowley said.

    "REPREHENSIBLE"
    British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the publication of the list "particularly reprehensible."
    "There
    is great concern of course about disclosing a list of targets that
    could be of use to terrorists or saboteurs," he told BBC radio. "I think
    it is absolutely reprehensible the publication is carried out without
    regard to wider concerns of security, the security of millions of
    people."

    John
    J. LeBeau, a former CIA officer who teaches security studies at the
    George C. Marshall Center in Germany, said the list "might put ideas
    into jihadist heads as to what to profitably target."

    "The
    real story here though, I think, is that putting this type of material
    online makes clear that WikiLeaks does not care about the consequences
    of its actions," he told Reuters.

    "If the leaks complicate the security posture of the U.S., or the West in general, WikiLeaks is indifferent."
    Professor
    Richard Aldrich of Warwick University in central England said it had
    the potential to help militants find targets in energy security.

    "We're pointing out to them how they should change our behavior to hurt us more," he told Reuters.
    "This document has been given very wide currency. It's improbable to think that the terrorists are not taking notice."
    The
    cable sets out details of facilities whose loss could impact the public
    health, economic or national security of the United States. It was
    drawn up after the State Department last year asked U.S. missions abroad
    for a list of such sites.

    It
    refers to places where undersea communications cables reach land and
    energy routes including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline which runs
    from Azerbaijan to Turkey.

    PAPERS STAYED AWAY
    "While
    we're not commenting on specific details in the stolen documents, a
    list of critical infrastructure would certainly fall into the category
    of damaging material that provides our adversaries with valuable
    information," U.S. military spokesman Colonel David Lapan said.

    "This is one of many reasons why we believe WikiLeaks' actions are irresponsible and dangerous," Lapan said.
    Two
    news organizations involved in the initial publication of stories based
    on the WikiLeaks cache of State Department documents did not publish
    stories about the cable listing sensitive infrastructure sites overseas.

    Neither
    Britain's The Guardian nor The New York Times mentioned the cable in
    their coverage although it was included in a WikiLeaks document dump to
    them months ago.

    Guardian
    Editor Alan Rusbridger told Reuters his staff made a conscious decision
    not to run a story about the cable or link to it because they were
    uneasy about its content.

    "We're comfortable not to have done this one," he said.
    A
    person familiar with the views of other journalists who had early
    access to the cable said that the view among key reporters was that the
    document contained little information of news value, but at the same
    time had information that could be quite useful to militants.

    Bill
    Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, said that while his
    paper had received the cable some time ago, his reporting staff did not
    "focus on the cable until it popped up in the British press today." He
    said the cable did not "fit neatly into any" of the "thematic boxes"
    that Times journalists had chosen for organizing coverage of the massive
    cache.

    Keller said however that had they paid more attention to it earlier, "I'm sure we would have deemed it unfit to print."
    He
    said the newspaper would have decided the material was not appropriate
    to be written about for two reasons: that "nothing in it was
    particularly new," and because the contents of the cable "could be taken
    as an invitation to terrorists."

    (Additional
    reporting by William Maclean and Adrian Croft in London, Jeremy
    Pelofsky, Andrew Quinn and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by
    Maria Golovnina, and Eric Walsh)

    Australia blames US for leaks, Assange in UK jail

    Reuters - Valentin Flauraud - ‎1 hour ago‎
    A screen shot of a web browser shows the WikiLeaks home page with a portrait of its founder Julian Assange in Lavigny, December 4, 2010. By Rob Taylor and Keith Weir BRISBANE, Australia/LONDON (Reuters) - Australia blamed the United States on Wednesday ...

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    BBC News - ‎1 hour ago‎
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    The Associated Press - ‎1 hour ago‎
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