This cable summarizes our assessment of these vulnerabilities and suggests that there may be actions, statements, and signals that the USG can send that will improve the likelihood of such opportunities arising. These proposals will need to be fleshed out and converted into real actions and we need to be ready to move quickly to take advantage of such opportunities. Many of our suggestions underline using Public Diplomacy and more indirect means to send messages that influence the inner circle.Wikileaks:06DAMASCUS5399
Friday, February 10, 2012
Wikileaks 2006: USA plans for Syria
Somalia's al-Shabab join al-Qaeda
Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of Somalia, has released a joint video with al-Qaeda, announcing the two groups have merged. Al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair, said he "pledged obedience" to al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri. The two groups have long worked together and foreigners are known to fight alongside Somali militants.Somalia's al-Shabab join al-Qaeda
Malaysia Detains Saudi Over Twitter Posts on Prophet
Mr. Kashgari’s tweets incited outrage in the conservative Islamic country, where many regarded them as blasphemous, and reportedly prompted the king to call for his arrest. Blasphemy is a crime punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. More than 13,000 people have joined a Facebook page titled “The Saudi People Demand the Execution of Hamza Kashgari.” According to The Daily Beast, a friend of Mr. Kashgari, who asked not to be named, accompanied him to the airport and witnessed his detention. “We were just watching him, waiting for him to pass the immigration checkpoint. Once he submitted his passport, they asked him to step away for a few minutes,” The Daily Beast quoted the friend as saying. “And suddenly these two people without uniforms just arrested him.”Malaysia Detains Saudi Over Twitter Posts on Prophet
Friday, January 27, 2012
Ruling Tunisia by remote control
Tunisia has a new caliph: the emir of Qatar. Although a year has passed since the inspiring Jasmine Revolution, and dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is no longer in power - Tunisia's democracy is still in danger. Now the problem seems to be the emir, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who many perceive as a threat to Tunisia's sovereignty.Ruling Tunisia by remote control
Iraq makes sanctions against Iran ineffective
The US and EU have announced new sanctions in the hope of persuading Iran to abandon its alleged nuclear weapons programme, though how effective these will be is questionable. China, India, Russia, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea have already refused to go along with the new measures. Iran also has the means to evade the sanctions – through its proximity to Iraq. Iran has often been singled out as the main beneficiary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, as well as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability in the post-Saddam era. Iran's uninterrupted support for Shia militia groups in southern Iraq, particularly the Mahdi army, is seen as one indication of its involvement in Iraqi politics and its ability to cause problems for adversaries. And yet Iran's key interest in Iraq is less about realpolitik than about trade. Iran is one of Iraq's most important regional economic partners, with an annual trade volume between the two sides standing at $8bn to $10bn (£5bn to £6.4bn). However, it is Iraq's 910-mile border with Iran, and therefore its geographical suitability as a smuggling hub for sanctioned goods, which is of paramount importance to Iran at present.ss
Syria: Watch the weather forecast
Ankhar Kochneva, writer and sole foreign journalist permanently living in Syria, tells RT what is really up in the country, who funds the opposition, how international media fake images of unrest and why it is so important to watch weather forecasts.Syria: Watch the weather forecast
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