In The News

Text: Alleged Bin Laden Tape

November 12, 2002
In an audio message purported to be of Osama bin Laden, the speaker promises to continue sending the sons of the Muslim nation to carry on jihad. Their goals: to rectify inequality and defeat injustice. The speaker lets it be known that as long as the sons have eyes that see and a heart that beats, jihad will continue. Most of the G8 nations share in the crimes that the speaker wishes to be...

U.S. Raids Foil Plots to Send Arms to Al Qaeda and Others

Eric Lichtblau November 7, 2002
The DEA and the FBI now, more than ever, share a common enemy: terrorism. Federal agents recently thwarted two deals that included the exchange of drugs for weapons believed to be destined for Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. In the first deal, two Pakistanis and an American were in the process of exchanging heroin and hashish for four Stinger antiaircraft missiles that were allegedly...

War and Politics: Islamists Gain Votes as U.S. Acts

Neil MacFarquhar November 6, 2002
Democratic elections, like the ones recently held in Bahrain and Turkey reflect a turn away from American influence and towards religious leadership. The public interpretation of the US war against terrorism as a war against Islam and Arab culture has been exploited by religiously-oriented political parties to bring about recent victories in the Middle East. Some observers argue that voters in...

Iran's President Presses for Dialogue in Spain

Camelia Entekhabi-Fard November 5, 2002
Iran's President Khatami recently became the first Iranian leader to visit Spain since the 1979 revolution. The mere fact of his visit was made even more significant by productive dialogue between President Khatami and Spanish leaders on issues of trade, security, Islam, and democracy. Iran is eager to win the respect of European Union countries, especially after President Bush made it...

U.S. Is Reported to Kill Al Qaeda Leader in Yemen

James Risen November 5, 2002
American officials claim that they have killed Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, a senior Al Qaeda member who may have had ties to the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen. The American attack was carried out in the Yemeni desert with an unmanned Predator airplane. The attack was also done without the explicit support of the Yemeni government. U.S. officials seem to want to signal to the...

Unmanned Weapon Makes Its Mark in Yemen

Mark Huband November 5, 2002
From caves in Afghanistan to deserts in Yemen, the US-led War against Terrorism has eliminated yet another al-Qaeda member. In the deserts of Yemen, an American unmanned air vehicle, the Predator, launched a Hellfire missile that killed Ali Qaed Sunian al-Harithi, who was believed to have been involved in the attack on the USS Cole in 2000. The 10,000 to 15,000 ft altitude range at which the...

Arab Perspective: The Chechen Issue That Cries for Solution

Huda Fawzi November 1, 2002
This collection of editorial comments from Arab media argues that although the perpetrators of the Moscow theater hostage crisis identify themselves with Muslim groups, their actions are contrary to Islamic teachings and are utterly unacceptable to humanity. The inability to distinguish individual contention towards a government from one towards a people prevents terrorists from realizing that...