DTN News - PERVEZ MUSHARRAF - PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Court Indicts Former President Pervez Musharraf For Treason

DTN News - PERVEZ MUSHARRAF - PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Court Indicts Former President Pervez Musharraf For Treason
>>Pervez Musharraf 'knew' where Osama bin Laden was hiding, new book says
>>What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden - By  Carlotta Gall New York Times

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Reuters, Times of India TOI
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2014: Pakistan's former president, Pervez Musharraf, on Monday pleaded not guilty to five counts of treason, in the latest chapter of a long-running drama between the country's increasingly assertive judiciary and its former military ruler.

Musharraf faces the death penalty if convicted of the charges over his suspension of the constitution and imposition of emergency rule in 2007, when he was trying to extend his rule as president.

Judge Faisal Arab, who heads the special panel of three judges trying the case, rejected a defence plea for additional time.

Musharraf stood ramrod straight and replied "Not guilty" to each charge.

"I would like to ask where is the justice for me in the Islamic republic of Pakistan ... I have only given to this country and not taken anything," Musharraf said.

"I prefer death to surrender."

The case is being closely watched for any impact on the relationship between Pakistan's three power centres — the historically powerful military, an increasingly independent judiciary and the civilian government, led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Some observers are concerned that the trial could anger the army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its history since independence in 1947.

Musharraf has told reporters the whole army supported him, though the military leadership has given no indication that it might intervene in the trial.

Musharraf's lawyer later asked the court for permission for his client to visit his sick mother in Dubai. The former military ruler is currently under house arrest. The court promised to rule on the request during the day's proceedings.

Musharraf's trial began last November, but faced repeated delays. First he refused to appear. Then a series of explosive devices was found planted along his route.

On January 2, he was rushed to hospital when he suffered chest pains on the way to court.

Musharraf's lawyers have challenged the court's jurisdiction, saying it was inherently biased because the judiciary had helped lead popular protests that led to his resignation in 2008.

They argue that Musharraf cannot receive a fair trial under the government of Sharif, who won landslide elections a year ago. Musharraf deposed Sharif in a coup in 1999.

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DTN News - BOEING NEWS / AIRLINES NEWS: Boeing, Emirates Announce Historic Order For 50 777-300ERs

DTN News - BOEING NEWS / AIRLINES NEWS: Boeing, Emirates Announce Historic Order For 50 777-300ERs

-- Emirates order is the single largest airplane order in Boeing history

-- Deal breaks the record for most 777s ordered in a single year

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, November 13, 2011: Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Dubai-based Emirates Airline today announced an order for 50 Boeing 777-300ERs (Extended Range) plus options for an additional 20 of the popular twin-aisle commercial jetliner.

The order, with a value of $18 billion, makes this the single largest commercial airplane order in Boeing's history by dollar value. It also makes 2011 the best-selling year for the 777 program, surpassing the previous record of 154 orders set in 2005. With the Emirates order, the 2011 net order book for the 777 currently stands at 182. The options for 20 additional airplanes is valued at $8 billion.

"The 777's reliability, performance and operating economics have firmly established it as the backbone of our fleet," said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline & Group. "We have an ambitious and strategic plan to continue growing our international network and especially increasing our long-haul, non-stop routes. This order supports our fleet expansion and reiterates our commitment to operating a modern fleet for the benefit of our passengers and to ensure operational efficiency as well."

Emirates is the world's largest 777 operator with a fleet of 94 777s through direct purchase and lease, plus additional unfilled orders on backlog for 41 777-300ERs previously on order. It is also the only airline in the world to operate every model in the Boeing 777 family, including the 777 Freighter.

Emirates took delivery of its first Boeing 777 – a 777-200 in 1996, and since then, the airline has deployed the 777 on short, medium and long-haul routes.

"This is an extremely proud moment for us as it not only underscores Emirates' ongoing confidence in the 777 but also makes this the single largest order by dollar value in Boeing's history," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "As the largest operator of the 777 in the world, Emirates has played an important role in development of the airplane and its input over the years has been invaluable in the development of the 777 program."

The Boeing 777 is the world's most successful twin-engine, long-haul airplane. The 777-300ER extends the 777 family's span of capabilities, bringing twin-engine efficiency and reliability to the long-range market. The airplane carries 365 passengers up to 7,930 nautical miles (14,685 km).

Boeing incorporated several performance enhancements for the 777-300ER, extending its range and payload capabilities. Excellent performance during flight testing, combined with engine efficiency improvements and design changes that reduce drag and airplane weight, contributed to the increased capability.

Contact: Saffana Michael Boeing Commercial Airplanes +9 7150-4590651 Saffana.michael2@boeing.com

Photo and caption will be available here: http://boeing.mediaroom.com

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing

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DTN News: Dubai Leasing Firm Slashes Airbus Order By $3 Billion

DTN News: Dubai Leasing Firm Slashes Airbus Order By $3 Billion

* Lessor cuts Airbus order volume by 25 pct, data shows * Move follows apparent cancellation of 25 Boeing planes * Boeing leads 2010 order race, Airbus ahead in production

Source: DTN News / Reuters By Tim Hepher

(NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - August 7, 2010: Europe's Airbus said on Friday it had more than doubled its tally of 2010 orders due to a bumper Farnborough Airshow, however the pick-up was marred by $3 billion in cancelled orders from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE). The Dubai-based lessor slashed an order for 100 Airbus passenger jets by 25 percent in volume terms, shedding 18 orders for narrow-body A320 planes and seven orders for A350-900 mid-sized jets, July figures released by the European planemaker showed. The move brings to more than $8 billion the catalogue value of DAE cancellations, totalling 50 aircraft, revealed in Airbus and Boeing (BA.N) data published in the past 24 hours. "I have no comment on that," Mohammed Al Zarooni, recently appointed chairman of state-owned DAE, said when contacted by telephone. Airbus and Boeing declined to comment on the cancellations. Leasing companies were hard hit during the financial crisis though some returned with bulk orders for narrow-body planes at last months' Farnborough trade show, which delivered unexpectedly robust evidence of an economic turnaround. Excluding the effect of cancellations, Airbus said its cumulative 2010 orders jumped to 286 planes by the end of July from 131 planes in the first half of the year. Deliveries reached 298 aircraft. The EADS (EAD.PA) unit targets over 400 orders and a record 500 deliveries this year. There have been several specialist industry reports that part of DAE's order portfolio would be transferred to Dubai's Emirates airline, which ordered 30 more 777s at Farnborough. Al Zarooni's predecessor as DAE chairman was Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of The Emirates Group. On Thursday, Boeing data revealed cancellations for 25 jets worth over a total of $5 billion at catalogue prices. Comparisons with previously published data indicated the cuts came from DAE. DAE had ordered the 15 787-8 Dreamliners and 10 777-300ER aircraft in 2007, at the peak of a global order boom. Boeing's latest backlog did not include any such wide-body passenger jets for the leasing and repair firm. It did, however, have 91 unfilled DAE orders for narrow-body jets and freighters. DAE also still has 52 Airbus A320 planes and 23 A350-900s, designed to compete with the Boeing Dreamliner, on order with a total list value of $10 billion at current prices. The Director General of Dubai's Department of Finance, Abdelrahman al Saleh, said recently DAE was in negotiations with Boeing and Airbus on its total of some 220 plane orders. Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy said at Farnborough that it was "no secret" that DAE was facing disruption over its orders. After adjusting for total cancellations in the past month, Airbus reported a net total of 245 new orders in the first seven months of the year, up from 117 by the end of June. The data leaves Boeing ahead of its rival in the race for 2010 orders as the industry exits recession, though it still ranks in second place behind Airbus in terms of production. Boeing said it had received total orders for 319 planes between January and July, and a net total of 255 planes after adjusting for cancellations. The net orders include 229 narrow-body Boeing 737 short-haul and medium-haul planes.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Erika Solomon; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter, Sharon Lindores)

DTN News: Emirates To Place $5 Billion Boeing Order

DTN News: Emirates To Place $5 Billion Boeing Order

Source: DTN News / Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) FARNBOROUGH, England - July 18, 2010: Emirates airline is set to place a $5 billion order for 20 Boeing (BA.N) 777 wide-body jets, aviation sources said on Saturday. The order could be a key feature of the opening day of the July 19-25 Farnborough air show on Monday, when the Dubai-based airline is expecteded to hold a news conference. Boeing declined to comment. An order for 20 of the latest model of 777s, which seats 365 passengers, would be worth $5.4 billion at list prices. Emirates, the largest airline in the Arab world, placed an order for 32 Airbus (EAD.PA) A380s at the Berlin air show last month and said it was likely to order more aircraft soon. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Andrea Shalal-Esa)

((+331 4949 5452 paris.equities@reuters.com))

DTN News: Using Intelligence From The al-Mabhouh Hit

DTN News: Using Intelligence From The al-Mabhouh Hit Source: By Fred Burton and Ben West STRATFOR (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 4, 2010: The assassination of senior Hamas militant leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on Jan. 19 is still generating a tremendous amount of discussion and speculation some six weeks after the fact. Dubai’s police force has been steadily releasing new information almost on a daily basis, which has been driving the news cycle and keeping the story in the media spotlight. The most astounding release so far has been nearly 30 minutes of surveillance camera footage that depicts portions of a period spanning the arrival of the assassination team in Dubai, surveillance of al-Mabhouh, and the killing and the exfiltration of the team some 22 hours later. By last count, Dubai police claim to have identified some 30 people suspected of involvement in the assassination; approximately 17 have been convincingly tied to the operation through video footage either as surveillants, managers or assassins, with the rest having only tenuous connections based on information released by the Dubai police. In any case, the operation certainly was elaborate and required the resources and planning of a highly organized agency, one most likely working for a nation-state. Pre-Operation While the 22-hour period depicted in the video showcased the tactical capabilities of the various teams, it hardly tells the whole story. In order to pinpoint the location of al-Mabhouh on the day of his killing, the organization responsible for this operation would have had to have tracked al-Mabhouh for months, if not years. This can be done in three ways: technical surveillance, utilization of human sources and physical surveillance. Technical surveillance of al-Mabhouh would include monitoring his e-mail, telephone calls and other forms of electronic communications such as online credit-card transactions and travel reservations. This could reveal his physical location and future plans, which would allow the assassination team to anticipate his location and prepare well ahead of time. With such a large team involved in the assassination, careful coordination and planned movements would have been required to ensure that all members were in place without attracting attention. But technical surveillance has limitations. An experienced operative like al-Mabhouh (who had been the target of two previous assassination attempts in as many years) would most likely have taken precautions that would have limited his electronic visibility. The operational team likely used human sources with close ties to al-Mabhouh who could corroborate the information and possibly influence the target’s movements, putting him in place for the operation. Human sources could have included al-Mabhouh’s colleagues within Hamas or a member of a rival group such as Fatah. (Three Palestinians suspected of being members of Fatah were arrested by Dubai authorities in connection with the assassination, indicating that the group may have provided human intelligence to the organization responsible for al-Mabhouh’s assassination.) Other people could have been recruited using a number of incentives (including cash) without their knowing the consequences of their assistance. Both the technical and human intelligence operations would have been run by intelligence officers operating abroad and at locations separate from the operational team. According to Dubai police, physical surveillance was conducted by members of the operational team during al-Mabhouh’s previous trips to the United Arab Emirates. Physical surveillance is a critical part of any effective assault (whether it’s a clandestine intelligence operation or a car-jacking) because it gives the operatives an opportunity to become familiar with their surroundings and recognize their target in his or her “natural” environment. Once all this homework was done to establish al-Mabhouh’s normal routines and determine his approximate location and duration of his stay in Dubai, the intelligence-collection process moved into the deployment phase and an operational team was sent into action. The Operation Prior to Mabhouh’s arrival, surveillance teams set up in the airport and at different hotels to make sure they could obtain a visual confirmation of their target. Based on their intelligence of his prior trips to Dubai, planners placed teams in two hotels to wait for al-Mabhouh approximately an hour before his arrival. They also had a surveillance team waiting for him at the airport to follow him as soon as he entered the country and report his movements to the rest of the team. While it wasn’t captured on video, we suspect that a mobile surveillance group tracked al-Mabhouh from the airport by car. To help ensure a successful outcome, the operational team used overwhelming force to prevent the target from ever seeing the same face twice. When it was established that al-Mabhouh was staying at the Al Bustan Rotana, the team responded by abandoning their other posts and directing their focus to that hotel. Once al-Mabhouh was identified, the team locked on to him at the hotel and started initiating further steps in the operation. The first surveillance team watched al-Mabhouh register at the front desk and then followed him to his room, noting the target’s specific room number. This was relayed to other members of the team, who then placed a reservation for the room across the hall from al-Mabhouh, which gave them direct access to their target. The selection of the room is very interesting for two reasons. First, it was directly across the hall from al-Mabhouh’s room, giving the team a perfect spot from which to monitor his movements. Second, the room was just behind the video camera for that floor and the camera was trained on the emergency stairwell exit, which allowed the assassination team to carry out the attack on his room without being filmed. Meanwhile, down in the hotel lobby, surveillance teams were rotating to monitor the target’s movements in and out of the hotel. At one point, a surveillant is seen following al-Mabhouh out to the street to relay by cell phone the type of vehicle he had entered. These surveillants, operating in teams of two, used disguises such as hats, sunglasses, beards and work-out gear to establish a cover for action and better conceal their identities. While many members of the operational team were identified on closed-circuit television (CCTV), hats and sunglasses helped distort their images and reduce the already low risk of being recognized by the target or any protective team during the operation. Another necessity in any operation like this is communications. Surveillance video of the team involved in this operation shows them using cell phones to send text messages and talk to other members of the team. According to reports from Dubai police, the cell phones used in the operation were dialed to an Austrian number, likely the operations and support center for the team on the ground and any others involved in the operation. This might have been an open conference line into which all members of the operational team could dial to monitor the movement of their target. It is unlikely that the center was actually in Austria; it probably used a proxy phone line to mask its true physical location. Assassination and Exfiltration At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 19, after al-Mabhouh returned to his hotel room from a meeting, the assassination team moved in. It was important to carry out the killing at a time and in a manner that would give the team the maximum window of opportunity. They suspected that al-Mabhouh was in for the night, which meant that nobody would miss him until early the following afternoon, giving the team ample time to flee the country. The team carried out the assassination smoothly, with video surveillance showing only two operatives casually talking outside the elevator (a cover for monitoring the hall for possible distractions) — in other words, nothing out of the ordinary. The assassination team members also exhibited no unusual behavior when they departed the scene. Demeanor is extremely important, and the ability of the team to act calmly and naturally and not catch the attention of security guards monitoring CCTV ensured that the act remained a secret until hotel cleaning staff found the body more than 17 hours after the entire team had departed Dubai. The assassination team also killed al-Mabhouh in a way that apparently confounded medical examiners trying to determine the cause of death, delaying the announcement of a criminal case for nine days. This delay gave the operational team ample time to cover its tracks, possibly by using third- and fourth-country border crossings, additional false identities and safe-houses, making it much harder for Dubai authorities to track team members to their ultimate destinations. This confusion appears to have been created by the use of a muscle relaxant called succinylcholine (also known as Suxamethonium), which, if used in large enough quantities, can cause the heart to stop, making it appear that the victim died of cardiac arrest. The drug also has a very short half-life, meaning that traces would degenerate and virtually disappear shortly after injection, making it ideal for covert operations such as this one. The team was not able to pull off the operation with complete anonymity — it is virtually impossible to operate in a modern environment without leaving some kind of electronic trace. The Dubai police were able to use video surveillance from the airport, hotels and a nearby shopping center to trace back the movements of the operatives and establish their identities according to the passports that they used. These later proved to be fraudulent passports from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and France — but they were extremely well-made fraudulent passports that were discovered later, only after video surveillance prompted closer scrutiny; customs officials were unable to detect this when the operatives were arriving or departing. Moreover, the credit cards used by several members of the operation team were linked to a company called Payoneer. The company’s CEO is a former member of Israel Defense Forces special operations, and Payoneer has financial backing from a company based in Israel. Dubai police have announced that they retrieved DNA evidence from at least one of the members on the assassination team and fingerprints from several others, giving authorities pieces of evidence that are unalterable, unlike a passport. However, DNA evidence is only helpful when it can be compared against an exemplar. If Dubai police are unable to find a match to the DNA sample or a fingerprint, then these clues will offer little immediate help. The passports also provide little immediate help in terms of tracking down the suspects. The discovery that fraudulent British, Irish, German and French passports were used has created a diplomatic problem for Israel (Mossad is understandably at the top of the list of suspects), which raises the profile of the operation considerably. This is certainly not what a clandestine operation is supposed to do. Although the operatives will probably never be found and handed over to UAE authorities, the fact that so many details of the assassination have been made public jeopardizes the anonymity that is supposed to surround this kind of operation. Potential Consequences Al-Mabhouh was hardly a likable character. As a senior Hamas military commander, arms smuggler and liaison to Iran, he was already on the terrorist watch lists in the countries that have complained about the use of fraudulent passports. Public indignation is a necessary and expected reaction from these countries to save diplomatic face, but when it comes down to it, there would be few incentives to seriously punish Israel, if it indeed sponsored the hit. The police of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, rightfully frustrated that they are tasked with solving an unsolvable case, will still probably not miss al-Mabhouh. Their efforts to stir up outrage over the assassination are likely fueled by their desire to save face in the Arab world, where the Palestinian cause is of high rhetorical importance but little strategic importance. The fact is that the high level of complexity involved in this assassination, along with the smoothness with which it was carried out, is evidence that the operation was undertaken by an elite covert force, the likes of which could only be sponsored by a nation-state. The ability to conduct preliminary intelligence collection, to muster a large and coordinated team of skilled operatives, to fabricate passports to an exacting degree, to successfully exfiltrate all members of the team — all of this requires a significant and well-funded effort that, we believe, exceeds the current capabilities of any non-state terrorist group. It is worth noting here that the most impressive aspect of the operation was the team’s tradecraft and demeanor. All the members of this team were professionals. Indeed, with so much time having already elapsed, and if the operation was sponsored by a nation-state, it is highly improbable that any of the operatives involved will ever be caught. However, countries around the world are offering their assistance in the case, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. Few officials from these countries actually believe any of the operatives will be apprehended, but that is not the real reason to participate in the investigation. What officials are really looking for are the granular details of how this group of assassins and surveillants operated. These details are extremely valuable in ongoing counterintelligence efforts by countries to thwart foreign intelligence agencies operating on their home turf. The information can provide clues to past and future cases, and it can be used to build databases on covert operatives, so that if any of these people show up unexpectedly at an airport, hotel or embassy in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia or elsewhere, the alarms can be sounded more quickly. This report may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution to http://www.stratfor.com/ *This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com Disclaimer statement Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed herein are those of the author of the page and do not necessarily represent the corporate views of DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

DTN News: Israel TODAY February 23, 2010 ~ Israel Relies On A Deadly Specialty

DTN News: Israel TODAY February 23, 2010 ~ Israel Relies On A Deadly Specialty *Source: DTN News / By Edmund Sanders ~ LATimes (NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - February 23, 2010: Reporting from Jerusalem - When Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman faced questions Monday from European diplomats over Israel's suspected role in the Dubai assassination of a Hamas militant, he responded with familiar indignation: Why is Israel always the first to be blamed, he asked. Perhaps no other country's use of assassinations has been more scrutinized, condemned and celebrated than that of Israel. The policy is not likely to change, analysts and diplomats say, because such killings, from Israel's point of view, have proved effective in fighting a nonconventional enemy. And despite legal questions and international backlash, Israel has usually emerged unscathed. Confronting a hostile region, Israel sees targeted killings as an essential tool in decapitating militant groups or putting them on the defensive, experts say. "They seem to be extremely focused on this kind of tactic," said Aaron David Miller, former U.S. negotiator in the Middle East and now scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. "This is the price of living in the neighborhood," he added. "It's a symptom of the ongoing confrontation and their perceptions about the long war. Both sides perceive that acting, even with the negative consequences to image and public diplomacy, is still effective and it's going to continue." Israel is certainly not the only nation to engage in targeted killings. Despite presidential orders to restrict political assassinations, the U.S. has killed terrorism suspects in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia, usually with airstrikes. European spy agencies have also been accused of assassinations. In 2001, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine killed Israel's tourism minister at a Jerusalem hotel. Two months earlier, Israel had assassinated the group's leader. Israel has been relatively open and public in defending its use of targeted killings. In 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled the practice justified in some instances under international law. In addition, countless books and movies have mythologized the Israeli spy agency Mossad's knack for revenge. But when such activities occur on foreign soil, and evidence emerges implicating Israeli agents, the nation has found itself under fire.After the exposure of a 1997 attempt to poison Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Jordan, Israel was not only pressured by the Jordanian king to deliver an antidote, it also agreed to release another imprisoned Hamas leader as part of the apology. But Israel had the last word, one might say. The released man, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike seven years later. In the Dubai killing, Israel has refused to confirm or deny its role, though Dubai authorities say they've collected evidence implicating the Mossad. Israel resorts to assassination, analysts say, because its superiority in military might only goes so far in defeating underground cells of militants. Such limits were apparent in the perceived failure of the 2006 war with Lebanon and the mixed results of the Israeli military's offensive in the Gaza Strip a year ago. "Targeted killings is a tool that is sometimes necessary," said Yoram Schweitzer, senior fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. "It's a very delicate instrument, but as long as it is not used that often, it works." He said the Mossad's reported 1978 assassination of Palestinian militant Wadie Haddad, who was said to have been poisoned by a box of tainted chocolates, led to the collapse of Haddad's terrorist cell.Critics, however, question the legality of Israel's use of targeted killings and say the violence only leads to retaliation. Though international attention usually focuses on attacks taking place on foreign soil, Israel's military has killed several hundred suspected militants in Gaza since 2000, according to the Jerusalem-basedhuman rights group B'Tselem. The group says the killings are at best a moral and legal gray area and at worst extrajudicial executions. "The biggest problem is it's completely nontransparent," said B'Tselem Executive Director Jessica Montell. "They are killing people and saying [the person] was a senior operative. But we don't know, because nobody has access to that information." Israeli commentator Guy Bechor says the hoopla over Israel's role in the Dubai assassination has actually helped Israel by striking fear in enemies about a "crazy" aggressive nation that should not be messed with. Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud Mabhouh was killed in his Dubai hotel room in January by assassins whose pre- slaying moves were captured on a security video. Eleven people using fake European passports allegedly entered Dubai to carry out the killing of Mabhouh, who has been accused of smuggling arms from Iran and of involvement in the capture and killing of two Israeli soldiers in the 1980s. Many here expect that despite the diplomatic protests from Britain, Ireland, France and Germany, whose passports were forged for use by the assailants, international outrage will fade -- though the mesmerizing security camera video of the operation lives on. "After 9/11, people understand that democracy sometimes has to be not as clean as we would like it to be," said former Mossad agent Gad Shimron. Behind the scenes, Israel's intelligence agency works closely with Western nations against joint threats, Shimron said. So though foreign governments might lodge public complaints, he said, "when the door closes, they'll wink." edmund.sanders@latimes.com.

DTN News: The Utility Of Assassination

DTN News: The Utility Of Assassination *Source: By George Friedman STRATFOR (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 23, 2010: The apparent Israeli assassination of a Hamas operative in the United Arab Emirates turned into a bizarre event replete with numerous fraudulent passports, alleged Israeli operatives caught on videotape and international outrage (much of it feigned), more over the use of fraudulent passports than over the operative’s death. If we are to believe the media, it took nearly 20 people and an international incident to kill him. STRATFOR has written on the details of the killing as we have learned of them, but we see this as an occasion to address a broader question: the role of assassination in international politics. Defining Assassination We should begin by defining what we mean by assassination. It is the killing of a particular individual for political purposes. It differs from the killing of a spouse’s lover because it is political. It differs from the killing of a soldier on the battlefield in that the soldier is anonymous and is not killed because of who he is but because of the army he is serving in. The question of assassination, in the current jargon “targeted killing,” raises the issue of its purpose. Apart from malice and revenge, as in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the purpose of assassination is to achieve a particular political end by weakening an enemy in some way. Thus, the killing of Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto by the Americans in World War II was a targeted killing, an assassination. His movements were known, and the Americans had the opportunity to kill him. Killing an incompetent commander would be counterproductive, but Yamamoto was a superb strategist, without peer in the Japanese navy. Killing him would weaken Japan’s war effort, or at least have a reasonable chance of doing so. With all the others dying around him in the midst of war, the moral choice did not seem complex then, nor does it seem complex now. Such occasions rarely occur on the battlefield. There are few commanders who could not readily be replaced, and perhaps even replaced by someone more able. In any event, it is difficult to locate enemy commanders, meaning the opportunity to kill them rarely arises. And as commanders ask their troops to risk their lives, they have no moral claim to immunity from danger. Now, take another case. Assume that the leader of a country were singular and irreplaceable, something very few are. But think of Fidel Castro, whose central role in the Cuban government was undeniable. Assume that he is the enemy of another country like the United States. It is an unofficial hostility — no war has been declared — but a very real one nonetheless. Is it illegitimate to try to kill such a leader in a bid to destroy his regime? Let’s move that question to Adolph Hitler, the gold standard of evil. Would it be inappropriate to have sought to kill him in 1938 based on the type of regime he had created and what he said that he would do with it? If the position is that killing Hitler would have been immoral, then we have a serious question about the moral standards being used. The more complex case is Castro. He is certainly no Hitler, but neither is he the romantic democratic revolutionary some have painted him as being. But if it is legitimate to kill Castro, then where is the line drawn? Who is it not legitimate to kill? As with Yamamoto, the number of instances in which killing a political leader would make a difference in policy or in the regime’s strength is extremely limited. In most cases, the argument against assassination is not moral but practical: It would make no difference if the target in question lives or dies. But where it would make a difference, the moral argument becomes difficult. If we establish that Hitler was a legitimate target, than we have established that there is not an absolute ban on political assassination. The question is what the threshold must be. All of this is a preface to the killing in the United Arab Emirates, because that represents a third case. Since the rise of the modern intelligence apparatus, covert arms have frequently been attached to them. The nation-states of the 20th century all had intelligence organizations. These organizations carried out a range of clandestine operations beyond collecting intelligence, from supplying weapons to friendly political groups in foreign countries to overthrowing regimes to underwriting terrorist operations. During the latter half of the century, nonstate-based covert organizations were developed. As European empires collapsed, political movements wishing to take control created covert warfare apparatuses to force the Europeans out or defeat political competitors. Israel’s state-based intelligence system emerged from one created before the Jewish state’s independence. The various Palestinian factions created their own. Beyond this, of course, groups like al Qaeda created their own covert capabilities, against which the United States has arrayed its own massive covert capability. Assassinations Today The contemporary reality is not a battlefield on which a Yamamoto might be singled out or a charismatic political leader whose death might destroy his regime. Rather, a great deal of contemporary international politics and warfare is built around these covert capabilities. In the case of Hamas, the mission of these covert operations is to secure the resources necessary for Hamas to engage Israeli forces on terms favorable to them, from terror to rocket attacks. For Israel, covert operations exist to shut off resources to Hamas (and other groups), leaving them unable to engage or resist Israel. Expressed this way, covert warfare makes sense, particularly for the Israelis when they engage the clandestine efforts of Hamas. Hamas is moving covertly to secure resources. Its game is to evade the Israelis. The Israeli goal is to identify and eliminate the covert capability. Hamas is the hunted, Israel the hunter here. Apparently the hunter and hunted met in the United Arab Emirates, and the hunted was killed. But there are complexities here. First, in warfare, the goal is to render the enemy incapable of resisting. Killing just any group of enemy soldiers is not the point. Indeed, diverting resources to engage the enemy on the margins, leaving the center of gravity of the enemy force untouched, harms far more than it helps. Covert warfare is different from conventional warfare, but the essential question stands: Is the target you are destroying essential to the enemy’s ability to fight? And even more important, as the end of all war is political, does defeating this enemy bring you closer to your political goals? Covert organizations, like armies, are designed to survive attrition. It is expected that operatives will be detected and killed; the system is designed to survive that. The goal of covert warfare is either to penetrate the enemy so deeply, or destroy one or more people so essential to the operation of the group, that the covert organization stops functioning. All covert organizations are designed to stop this from happening. They achieve this through redundancy and regeneration. After the massacre at the Munich Olympics in 1972, the Israelis mounted an intense covert operation to identify, penetrate and destroy the movement — called Black September — that mounted the attack. Black September was not simply a separate movement but a front for various Palestinian factions. Killing those involved with Munich would not paralyze Black September, and destroying Black September did not destroy the Palestinian movement. That movement had redundancy — the ability to shift new capable people into the roles of those killed — and therefore could regenerate, training and deploying fresh operatives. The mission was successfully carried out, but the mission was poorly designed. Like a general using overwhelming force to destroy a marginal element of the enemy army, the Israelis focused their covert capability to destroy elements whose destruction would not give the Israelis what they wanted — the destruction of the various Palestinian covert capabilities. It might have been politically necessary for the Israeli public, it might have been emotionally satisfying, but the Israeli’s enemies weren’t broken. Consider that Entebbe occurred in 1976. If Israel’s goal in targeting Black September was the suppression of terrorism by Palestinian groups, the assault on one group did not end the threat from other groups. Therefore, the political ends the Israelis sought were not achieved. The Palestinians did not become weaker. The year 1972 was not the high point of the Palestinian movement politically. It became stronger over time, gaining substantial international legitimacy. If the mission was to break the Palestinian covert apparatus to weaken the Palestinian capability and weaken its political power, the covert war of eliminating specific individuals identified as enemy operatives failed. The operatives very often were killed, but the operation did not yield the desired outcome. And here lies the real dilemma of assassination. It is extraordinarily rare to identify a person whose death would materially weaken a substantial political movement in some definitive sense — i.e., where if the person died, then the movement would be finished. This is particularly true for nationalist movements that can draw on a very large pool of people and talent. It is equally hard to reduce a movement quickly enough to destroy the organization’s redundancy and regenerative capability. Doing so requires extraordinary intelligence penetration as well as a massive covert effort, so such an effort quickly reveals the penetration and identifies your own operatives. A single swift, global blow is what is dreamt of. Covert war actually works as a battle of attrition, involving the slow accumulation of intelligence, the organization of the strike, the assassination. At that point, one man is dead, a man whose replacement is undoubtedly already trained. Others are killed, but the critical mass is never reached, and there is no one target who if killed would cause everything to change. In war there is a terrible tension between the emotions of the public and the cold logic that must drive the general. In covert warfare, there is tremendous emotional satisfaction to the country when it is revealed that someone it regards as not only an enemy, but someone responsible for the deaths of their countryman, has been killed. But the generals or directors of intelligence can’t afford this satisfaction. They have limited resources, which must be devoted to achieving their country’s political goals and assuring its safety. Those resources have to be used effectively. There are few Hitlers whose death is morally demanded and might have a practical effect. Most such killings are both morally and practically ambiguous. In covert warfare, even if you concede every moral point about the wickedness of your enemy, you must raise the question as to whether all of your efforts are having any real effect on the enemy in the long run. If they can simply replace the man you killed, while training ten more operatives in the meantime, you have achieved little. If the enemy keeps becoming politically more successful, then the strategy must be re-examined. We are not writing this as pacifists; we do not believe the killing of enemies is to be avoided. And we certainly do not believe that the morally incoherent strictures of what is called international law should guide any country in protecting itself. What we are addressing here is the effectiveness of assassination in waging covert warfare. Too frequently, it does not, in our mind, represent a successful solution to the military and political threat posed by covert organizations. It might bring an enemy to justice, and it might well disrupt an organization for a while or even render a specific organization untenable. But in the covert wars of the 20th century, the occasions when covert operations — including assassinations — achieved the political ends being pursued were rare. That does not mean they never did. It does mean that the utility of assassination as a main part of covert warfare needs to be considered carefully. Assassination is not without cost, and in war, all actions must be evaluated rigorously in terms of cost versus benefit. This report may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution to http://www.stratfor.com/ Disclaimer statement Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions expressed herein are those of the author of the page and do not necessarily represent the corporate views of DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News.

DTN News: Dubai Killers Used Diplomatic Passports Says Police / Israel PM 's Signed Off' On Dubai Hit

DTN News: Dubai Killers Used Diplomatic Passports Says Police / Israel PM 's Signed Off' On Dubai Hit

* Al Jazeera reports ~ Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, is alleged to have given the green light for last month's assassination of a senior Hamas figure, according to a British newspaper. *Source: DTN News / By W.G. Dunlop (AFP) ~ Some information for this report was provided by other media (NSI News Source Info) - February 21, 2010: The assassins of a senior Hamas militant in Dubai made use of diplomatic passports, the Gulf emirate's police chief said on Sunday, as he warned of a mole within the ranks of the Palestinian group. Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, meanwhile, said the killing was carried out by Israel's spy agency Mossad with the green light and blessing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "There is information that Dubai police will not make public for the moment, especially regarding diplomatic passports" used by some of Mahmud al-Mabhuh's killers to enter Dubai, police chief Dahi Khalfan said in Al-Bayan newspaper. Mabhuh, a founder of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai on January 20. Last week, Khalfan released the names and photos of 11 murder suspects with European passports -- six from Britain, three from Ireland, one from Germany and one from France. The use of European passports has sparked a diplomatic furor in which Israeli envoys in the four countries have been summoned for talks. But on Saturday, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon insisted there would be no diplomatic crisis with Europe over the use of foreign passports in the Mabhuh murder "as Israel had nothing to do with what happened." Khalfan, however, has said he is "99, if not 100 percent" sure that Mossad was behind the assassination, and added on Saturday that Dubai had evidence, including wiretaps, of the agency's role. The Sunday Times said the killing was personally approved by Netanyahu, citing sources with knowledge of Mossad. The premier met members of the hit squad at Mossad headquarters shortly before they travelled to Dubai, according to the Sunday Times, and authorised the mission, which was not seen as complicated or risky. "Typically on such occasions, the prime minister intones: 'The people of Israel trust you. Good luck,'" the paper added. Khalfan said that Mabhuh's killing was "no longer a local issue, but a security issue for European countries," quoted on Sunday in another Emirati daily, the Abu Dhabi-owned Al-Ittihad. Al-Ittihad said Khalfan has called for Hamas to conduct an internal investigation "about the person who leaked information on Mabhuh's movements" and arrival in Dubai to his killers. The source of the leak was the "real killer," Khalfan was quoted as saying. He said last week in a Dubai TV interview that there were others implicated in the killing whose names have not yet been made public. And two Palestinians have been arrested in Jordan and extradited to Dubai, where they are being held in connection with Mabhuh's death, according to Khalfan. A Palestinian Authority security official in the West Bank identified the two as Anwar Shaheiber and Ahmed Hassanein, members of the PA security forces which Hamas ousted from Gaza in deadly clashes in 2007. A senior Hamas member, Nehru Massud, was also suspected of involvement in the killing, the official said. Massud, however, has denied any involvement in the murder, while Hamas has denied reports that he has been detained in Syria in connection with the killing. Hamas has blamed the killing entirely on Israel and vowed revenge.

DTN News: British Threat To Israel Over Dubai Hamas Assassination

DTN News: British Threat To Israel Over Dubai Hamas Assassination *Source: DTN News / Daily Telegraph By Gordon Rayner, Con Coughlin and Duncan Gardham (NSI News Source Info) - February 18, 2010: Britain will consider severing its intelligence-sharing agreement with Israel if Mossad agents are proved to have stolen the identities of British passport holders, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. The father of senior Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh with a photo of his son

Ministers are understood to be furious that an alleged hit squad which murdered a Hamas leader in Dubai last month cloned the passports of six unsuspecting Britons, who are now living in fear of reprisals. Israel, which has not denied involvement in the murder, had previously promised that Mossad, its secret intelligence service, would never use British passports to help its agents carry out covert operations. Israel's ambassador to the UK was summoned to the Foreign Office to give his explanation as the diplomatic row intensified. Ron Prosor will meet Sir Peter Ricketts, the permanent under secretary at the Foreign Office, on Thursday where the ambassador is expected to be asked whether Israel played any part in assassination. Gordon Brown, making his first public comments about the incident, promised a “full investigation” into the passport forgery. Mossad has been accused by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, of being behind the murder of its military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai on Jan 20. All of the British passport holders whose identities were stolen live in Israel, meaning Mossad would have had ready access to copies of their travel documents. A senior Foreign Office source told The Daily Telegraph: “If the Israelis were responsible for the assassination in Dubai, they are seriously jeopardising the important intelligence-sharing arrangement that currently exists between Britain and Israel. “If it transpires that Israel has been using British passports to assassinate its opponents, the British government will need to give serious consideration to any future cooperation. “Britain has cut ties with Mossad in the past, and will do so again if the Israelis are found to be acting against British interests.” Britain’s relationship with the Israeli security service reached an all-time low in 1986, when the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher closed down Mossad’s UK operation in response to a series of incidents including the discovery of a bag of forged British passports which had been lost by a Mossad agent. Hamas militant, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh (ringed), is shown arriving at his hotel in this CCTV handout from Dubai police February 15, 2010. Israel's foreign minister said on Wednesday the use of the identities of foreign-born Israelis by a hit squad suspected of killing Hamas militant, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai did not prove the Mossad spy agency assassinated him. Men with the same names as seven of the 11 suspects whose European passport photos were distributed by Dubai live in Israel, and those reached by reporters insisted their identities had been stolen and noted the pictures were not a match. Handout dated February 15, 2010. Mossad was only allowed to re-establish its presence in the UK after it promised not to abuse British passports in the future. Its intelligence-sharing relationship with the security services over such sensitive issues as Iran is now more important than ever, but the Foreign Office source said: “In the past Israel has had a reputation for making life difficult for its friends. It is sincerely to be hoped that this is not the case in this instance.” Several of the six Britons whose identities were stolen have spoken of their shock at being accused of murder, and of their fears that they could be in danger if Mossad did carry out the assassination. Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, said: “If the Israeli government was party to behaviour of this kind it would be a serious violation of trust between nations. If legitimate British passport holders were put at risk it would be a disgrace. “Given the current speculation, the Israeli government has some explaining to do and the ambassador should be summoned to the Foreign Office to do so in double-quick time.” The Labour MP Mike Gapes, who is chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, said the cloning of passports raised a “big concern” and agreed that the ambassador should be asked for an explanation, while Hugo Swire MP, chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council, said: “This is not something that can just be swept under the carpet …you cannot conduct foreign policy at this extremely sensitive time by this sort of illegal behaviour.” William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, wrote to David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, urging him to “establish the facts as rapidly as possible” to “prevent further such abuses from happening”. Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said there was “no reason to think it was Mossad” which carried out the alleged hit, but refused to issue a denial. He said Israel had a “policy of ambiguity” on intelligence matters, and “never confirms and never denies” involvement in operations. He added: “I think Britain recognises that Israel is a responsible country and that our security activity is conducted according to very clear, cautious and responsible rules of the game. Therefore we have no cause for concern.” The Serious and Organised Crime Agency, which has a unit based at the British Embassy in Dubai, has begun its own investigation into the identity thefts, and the Prime Minister stressed the importance of protecting the status of the British passport. “We have got to carry out a full investigation into this,” said Mr Brown. “The British passport is an important document that has got to be held with care. A British passport is an important part of being British. “The evidence has got to be assembled about what has actually happened and how it happened and why it happened and it is necessary for us to accumulate that evidence before we can make statements.”

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DTN News: Dubai TODAY February 10, 2010 ~ World's Tallest Tower The Burj Khalifa In UAE Closes

DTN News: Dubai TODAY February 10, 2010 ~ World's Tallest Tower The Burj Khalifa In UAE Closes *Source: DTN News (compiled) By Roger Smith (NSI News Source Info) DUBAI - February 10, 2010: The world's tallest skyscraper in Dubai has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, the tower's owner said. The Burj Khalifa was closed due to "unexpected high traffic," and "technical issues with the power supply", Emaar Properties said on Monday. The indefinite closure of the $1.5bn skyscraper on Sunday comes as Dubai struggles to revive its international image as a cutting-edge Arab metropolis amid nagging questions about its financial health. The Gulf emirate had hoped the 828m high Burj Khalifa would be a major stimulant to boost its tourism economy. In recent weeks, thousands of tourists have lined up to buy tickets for viewing times often days in advance that cost more than $27 each - or $110 for a queue-jump pass. But the closure will now prevent those tourists gaining entry to the observation deck and casts doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks. Ticket sales Agents were accepting bookings for next week, though there has been no confirmation the tower will reopen then. Tourists affected by the closure are being offered the chance to rebook or receive refunds. The shutdown comes at a sensitive time for Dubai, facing a slump in tourism - which accounts for nearly a fifth of the local economy - while fending off negative publicity caused by more than $80 billion in debt it is struggling to repay. "It was the one thing I really wanted to see," one Slovenian tourist said. "The tower was projected as a metaphor for Dubai. So the metaphor should work. There are no excuses." Dubai officially opened the skyscraper on January 4 in a blaze of fireworks televised around the world. The building had been known as the Burj Dubai during its construction, but the name was suddenly changed on opening night to honour the ruler of neighboring Abu Dhabi. Work is still ongoing on many of the building's floors, including those that will house the first hotel designed by Giorgio Armani that is due to open in March. The first of around 12,000 residential tenants and office workers are supposed to move in this month. The observation deck, which is mostly enclosed but includes an outdoor terrace bordered by guard rails, is about two-thirds of the way up on the 124th floor.

DTN News: Financial News TODAY January 06, 2010 ~ Dubai's Mark Of Dependence

DTN News: Financial News TODAY January 06, 2010 ~ Dubai's Mark Of Dependence *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media By Andrew Critchlow (NSI News Source Info) DUBAI, UAE - January 06, 2010: Just five days before the opening of the world's tallest skyscraper in Dubai, organizers were informed of the shock decision to rename the building after the ruler of Abu Dhabi. For five years, as the project climbed toward its ultimate height of 2,732 feet, it was known as the Burj Dubai. A handout from Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum's media office shows Sheikh Mohammad, the ruler of Dubai, inaugurating the Burj Dubai tower, the tallest skyscraper in the world, during its opening ceremony in Dubai January 4, 2010. Dubai opened the world's tallest structure on Monday, and a statement said it was 828 metres (2,717 ft) high. Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed renamed the tower Burj Khalifa after the president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of the neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi.

But Dubai's ruler, who took a personal interest in what was to be the ultimate symbol of the city-state's independence, has made the very public sacrifice of naming the tower after his cousin, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Fireworks explode around Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower, during the opening ceremony in Dubai January 4, 2010. Dubai opened the world's tallest structure on Monday, and a statement said it was 828 metres (2,717 ft) high. Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum renamed the tower Burj Khalifa after the president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of the neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi. The newly named Burj Khalifa is now a symbol of Dubai's loss of independence. But by swallowing his pride, Dubai's Sheik Mohammed may have guaranteed his emirate's economic future, and given anxious investors owed more than $80 billion by the city-state reason to breathe easier. Dubai came close to default last month until Abu Dhabi stepped in with a $10 billion bailout. Bankers are being asked to agree to a standstill on $22 billion of debt owed by government-owned conglomerate Dubai World. Now, Dubai seems to have acknowledged reality: The United Arab Emirates is one country, dependent on Abu Dhabi and its vast oil wealth. Investors must hope that Sheik Khalifa, in allowing his name to be attached to the new tower, also has acknowledged Abu Dhabi's new reality, and that his support for his troubled neighbor is now nailed down.