Kurdish Politician Banned for Terrorist Ties in Turkey

The Turkish High Election Board (YSK) has banned Kurdish parliamentary-elect Hatip Dicle from entering office on account of his past terrorist activities, according to AFP. Under Turkish law, individuals who have been convicted of terrorism-related crimes are barred from becoming members of parliament.

The YSK ruling was based on a speech that Dicle gave in support of a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). For the speech—deemed by authorities to be "propaganda for an armed terrorist organization"—Dicle was sentenced to prison.

The PKK has been in conflict with Turkish security forces for some time and is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States. Around 45,000 people have been killed as a result of PKK terrorist activities in the last two decades.

Kurds have urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to draft a new constitution giving the Kurdish minority increased rights in the country. In the absence of a new constitution, the Kurds have sought to expand their rights by increasing their representation in parliament. Dicle was elected in the national election on June 12^th under the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) by the Kurdish minority in Diyarbakir.

Five other Kurds elected under the BDP ticket are awaiting trial for charges of being tied to the outlawed PKK.

In reaction to the YSK decision, BDP politician Ahmet Turk stated that "[T]his is a decision to drag Turkey into a state of chaos…Turkish intellectuals will not remain [silent] in the face of this unlawfulness, which drags Turkey into an environment of clashes."

On Wednesday, a mine exploded in the eastern Turkish town of Nazimiye, killing two policemen and setting their car ablaze.

"The methods point [to the PKK]...and we have taken counter-measures and launched an operation," stated Turkey's interior minister, Osman Gunes, on Wednesday. "Terrorists should see that they could reach nowhere with such methods."

Such violence between the minority group and the Turkish government and military forces is expected to continue until Kurdish grievances are addressed. The BDP also formally announced on Thursday that it would boycott Turkey's parliament until it returned Dicle's democratically won seat.

"We will not go to parliament until the government and the parliament take a concrete step to remedy this injustice and provide opportunities for a settlement by opening the way for democratic politics," said BDP representative Serafettin Elci.

Replacing Dicle in parliament is Oya Eronat, who represents the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK).

Jihadists Could Capitalize on Afghanistan Troop Drawdown

In his nationally televised address on Afghanistan Wednesday, President Obama proposed withdrawing virtually all 100,000 U.S. troops from the country by 2014. By the end of 2011, Obama would pull out 10,000 of the 100,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan. In 2012, 23,000 more soldiers will be withdrawn, reducing the number to 67,000—the same number present before the troop "surge" deployed there in conjunction with the President's December 2009 West Point speech, which outlined a new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

The president's plan is raising concern and drawing ire from those advocating a more rapid withdrawal—a diverse group ranging from anti-war activists to the Taliban—and from others who say Obama's plan will create dangerous security weaknesses that jihadist groups will exploit after U.S. forces leave.

In the former group is Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who complains that Obama isn't pulling troops out of Afghanistan quickly enough. But  Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,  told the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that the White House decision to remove the 33,000 U.S. "surge" forces from Afghanistan by the end of next summer would "incur more risk" than he had initially been prepared to accept.

Mullen said that "no commander ever wants to sacrifice fighting power in the middle of a war, and no decision to demand that sacrifice is ever without risk." While Mullen refused to detail his confidential advice to the president, a detailed analysis published Thursday in the Long War Journal (LWJ) outlines some of the major dangers that could result from a precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The president's "high-risk plan relies on the nascent Afghan security apparatus to battle the Taliban in areas outside of government control while negotiating a political settlement with the top levels of the Taliban movement," LWJ analysts Bill Roggio and Chris Radin write.

The problem is that while Afghan forces have made significant progress fighting jihadist forces in some regions, the war is stalemated in the northern and eastern sections of the country.

And the southeastern provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Khost remain "battlegrounds" where the  Haqqani Network and other Taliban subgroups attack Afghan and Coalition forces from bases across the border in Pakistan. "This area is of strategic importance because control of this area gives the Taliban an access route from their safe areas in Pakistan to the Afghan capital of Kabul," according to LWJ. "The Haqqani Network is considered one of the most dangerous and effective Taliban groups and has access to vast resources due to its connections with both Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate as well as al Qaeda."

In northern Afghanistan, "the situation is far worse today than it was just several years ago," with the Taliban, in conjunction with the al-Qaida linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, seizing large amounts of territory.

"Part of the Taliban's information campaign has focused on the perceived lack of commitment of U.S. forces," LWJ concludes. "The drawdown of forces will also be seized upon by the Taliban, who will characterize the rapid removal of U.S. forces as a victory."

Iran Acquiring Nuclear Capable Warheads

UPDATE: Department of Justice officials announced Thursday that 12 defendants – 7 individuals and 5 corporate entities – have been charged in Georgia federal court for their roles in an international operation to export military parts for fighter jets and helicopters to Iran.

Two U.S.-based companies and their respective presidents, charged in the original indictment, have already pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export the aircraft parts. Iranian-born U.S. national Hamid Seifi was sentenced Wednesday to 56 months prison, and ordered to pay more than $160,000 in fines and forfeitures. Seifi's Illinois-based company must pay a $400 assessment. Michael Todd, president of the Florida-based The Parts Guys LLC, is expected to be sentenced in August.

Additionally, eight entities and individuals based in France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran are charged in a newly unsealed superceding indictment in the case. All of the foreign defendants, who were charged with violating export and commerce regulations, remain at large. The U.S. announced it will add all of the foreign entities to the Commerce Department's "entity list."

Reza Kahili, a former member of the Revolutionary Guard who later became a spy for the CIA, reported on Fox News that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recently acquired two nuclear capable warheads. The Guard obtained these weapons through a joint project with the Ukraine, Pakistan, and China, he said, highlighting China's growing role in countering U.S. anti-proliferation efforts.

"The Ukrainians provided the design for the warheads," Kahili said. "The Chinese and Pakistanis delivered the technology, machining and tooling. The Iranian Ministry of Defense coordinated the interface with all three."

Iran has also improved its launch capabilities, recently placing a data-gathering satellite into space with its powerful Safir booster rocket. The move will accelerate Iran's program for intercontinental ballistic missiles, bypassing the U.N.'s efforts to control the Islamic Republic and giving it the capability to hit the United States, according to analysis on UPI.

James Phillips, a senior researcher on the Middle East at the Heritage Foundation, noted that all three of these countries have seperately sold sensitive technology to Iran in the past. Reports from last October revealed that the Obama administration had discovered that Chinese firms were helping Iran to improve their missile technology and develop nuclear weapons. Although the Obama administration has asked China to stop this kind of activity, the U.S. has been more forceful with Pakistan, threatening sanctions if the government continues to support Iran's nuclear ambitions.

China was "involved in Iran's missile delivery industry and nuclear bomb project on two fronts: one, acting as a back channel for Iran and North Korea in their collaboration on ballistic and intercontinental missiles and; two, by providing material needed to build those missiles and further the advancement of nuclear weaponization," Kahili said.

According to an agreement between the Revolutionary Guard and the Ministry of Defense, eight more nuclear capable warheads will be delivered to the Revolutionary Guards within the next ten months.

Kahili also reported that foreign imports are adding to Iran's domestic nuclear weapon industry. Based on reports received by the Green Movement of Iran, the range of missiles produced by Iran's Ministry of Defense has increased. It is now said that the missiles can now travel up to 2,000 miles. Phillips also stated "Iran's missile development program appears to be even more aggressive than its nuclear weapons program."

"For years I have worked very hard to bring awareness to Western leaders that the Iranian regime is determined to acquire a nuclear bomb" Kahili said. "This is a messianic regime that truly believes it is their duty to Allah to destroy Israel and America."

Iran's regime has also participated in weapons smuggling of its own, according to a new report submitted to the U.N. Security Council three weeks ago. The report identifies 10 separate incidents in recent years, including weapons transfers to Hamas, training and arming Taliban forces in Afghanistan, and other arms shipments to Syria.

Two Men Charged in Plot to Attack Seattle Military Center

Two prison converts were arrested Wednesday night and charged with planning an attack on a military facility in Seattle. The government alleges that Walli Mujahidh and Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif planned a machine gun assault on a local military recruiting center, which also houses a daycare.

A criminal complaint charges the two with conspiracy to murder officers and employees of the United States, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (grenades), and possession of firearms in furtherance of crimes of violence.

After being approached by the defendants to participate in the plot and supply weapons, an individual identified Latif, a.k.a. Joseph Anthony Davis, and Mujahidh, a.k.a. Frederick Domingue Jr., to law enforcement. Using the informant, the FBI monitored the plotters as they chose targets, authorized the purchase of weapons, and outlined their plans.

The defendants' initial target was the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a facility housing merged Army and Air Force bases. However, they later settled on the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Seattle, which hosts the joint recruiting offices of several branches of the armed forces.

Latif told the confidential source of his admiration for Osama bin Laden and Fort Hood shooter Abdul Nidal Malik, noting that the war on America should be a "physical jihad" and not just a "media jihad." The group planned to carry out the attack with machine guns and grenades, planning to "take out anybody wearing green or a badge."

"These men intended to carry out a deadly attack against our military where they should be most safe, here at home," U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said in a press release.

Both defendants face life in prison if convicted.

Man Arrested in Pentagon Terror Scare Accused of Building a Bomb

The Northern Virginia man arrested last week for causing a terror scare near the Pentagon has been charged with shootings at four military sites and is also suspected of building a bomb, according to court filings.

Marine Reservist Yonathan Melaku videotaped himself firing shots at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, as well as at the Pentagon and two military recruiting centers between mid-October and early November of last year. The incidents occurred late at night or early in the morning, and Melaku is seen shouting "Allahu Akbar" after each shooting.

Evidence also suggests that Melaku was in the process of building a bomb. Melaku was in possession of ammonium nitrate when he was arrested last Friday at Arlington National Cemetery. During a subsequent search of his Alexandria home, federal agents found a typed list of bomb-making materials with the heading "timer."

"The items on this list are consistent with the requirements for a time power unit and firing mechanism of an improvised explosive device (IED). Those items, combined with Ammonium Nitrate, would in fact make up several significant components required for the manufacture of an IED," stated an FBI bomb technician in the case affidavit.

According to the affidavit, agents also discovered several documents about bomb-making and explosives on Melaku's computer.

James McJunkin, FBI Assistant Director in charge of the Washington Field Office, would not say how close Melaku was to manufacturing a functional bomb in a press conference today, but the FBI affidavit alleged that a number of items on the bomb-making list had already been crossed off.

Melaku has not been charged with any terrorism offenses but according to the U.S. Attorney's office, if convicted, Melaku can serve a minimum of 35 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

Taliban Rejects U.S. Drawdown Plan

The Taliban has rejected President Obama's call for a limited withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and has renewed its pledge to defeat foreign forces completely. The President's comments follow reports that the United States is talking with the Taliban, although hard-line elements make successful negotiations unlikely.

"We're starting this drawdown from a position of strength.  Al-Qaida is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11," the President said in a televised speech on June 22^nd. "As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point."

"After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead.  Our mission will change from combat to support.  By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security."

The Taliban promptly rejected the President's calls for phased withdrawal. "The American nation must realize that their politicians and Army Generals are prolonging their game with them which was started a couple of years earlier," the group said in a statement, calling themselves the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. "They are repeatedly giving false hopes to its nation about ending this war and claiming baselessly about victory and in this way want to extend this war as long as possible."

"[The] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan once again wants to make it clear that the solution for the Afghan crisis lies in the full withdrawal of all foreign troops immediately and until this does not happen, our armed struggle will increase from day to day. In Afghanistan, region, American and the rest of the world, hatred will only increase against all invading troops and will end up in the disgraceful defeat of the invading troops, Allah willing."

The President also discussed America's successful campaign against al-Qaida. "Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al-Qaida's leadership," the President stated. "And thanks to our intelligence professionals and Special Forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al-Qaida had ever known."

While bin Laden is not the only leader al-Qaida has ever known, his death was a powerful blow against the central branch of the group based in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After six weeks of debate on jihadi websites, the group's central branch, called Qaidat al-Jihad [leadership of the jihad], announced second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri had been elected the group's supreme leader.

Ohio Woman Sentenced for Hizballah Financing Plot

A Toledo woman was sentenced Wednesday to over three years in prison. Judge James Carr sentenced 38-year-old Amera Akl to 40 months behind bars for her participation in a plot to finance Hizballah.

Amera Akl, and her husband, Hor, were arrested in June 2010 in Toledo, Ohio and charged with providing material support to a designated terrorist group. According to the indictment, the two researched and proposed different methods of transferring funds to Hizballah overseas.

After an informant entered the picture, the Akls packaged $200,000 in cash, which they believed would be shipped to terrorists in Lebanon, for concealment inside of an automobile. Amera paid off a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer so it could be cleared of liens and shipped abroad.

Amera asked the informant if the money transported to Lebanon would go to the army or families of Hizballah. When Hor traveled to Lebanon in March 2010, Amera spoke in coded language with her husband as he explained he was meeting with a Hizballah leader.

Amera also told the undercover source that she wanted to carry a gun, die as a martyr, and dress like Hizballah.

On May 23, 2011, Hor pleaded guilty to five counts including conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, conspiracy to violate money laundering statutes, perjury and bankruptcy fraud. Amera also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

"Money is the lifeblood of terrorist organizations, and stopping the flow is a key component to choking off these organizations," U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach said in a sentencing press release.

Hor is expected to be sentenced later this year.

Hamas-Fatah Talks Break Down

Negotiations to form a unity government between rival Palestinian political parties Hamas and Fatah were postponed on Sunday, as cracks have started to form in the détente between the two groups. Despite initial success, negotiations are stalled due to strong disagreement over who will be prime minister in a unified Palestinian government.

Fatah's candidate for prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is uniformly rejected by Hamas, and his nomination led to the postponement of unification meetings on Tuesday. "Salam Fayyad is a criminal who should be put on trial," said Mahmoud Zahar, a senior leader of Hamas in Gaza. "He has tortured our people in prison. He is not acceptable to anyone in Hamas."

A rift has also developed between Khaled Mishaal, Hamas' political bureau chief, and other senior leaders of the terrorist organization. In a recent interview with Lebanese paper al Akhbar, Mishaal appeared to support Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas in his drive to carry on negotiations with Israel. Other senior leaders called for continued resistance and an end to talks with the Jewish state.

According to MEMRI, Hamas has even talked of unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state. It has said its only bargaining point would be negotiating the departure of the Jews from Israel.

Despite Hamas' opposition, Fayyad is well supported in Palestinian society. "The independent Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research showed broad public support for Fayyad," AFP reports.

Talks between Hamas and Fatah were further pushed back by Mahmoud Abbas's trip to Turkey on Tuesday. Abbas is scheduled to meet with the Turkish president, prime minister, and foreign minister later in the week. Not to be outdone, Hamas' Mishaal arrived unexpectedly on Wednesday in the Turkish city of Istanbul, meeting with Turkey's foreign minister. Turkish officials "would not comment" on whether Mishaal and Abbas would meet, according to Turkish paper Hurriyet Daily.

Reconciliation talks were widely supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, a regional Islamist power. The Muslim Brotherhood's Egyptian leader, Mohamed Badie, gave his congratulations to a Hamas-led delegation last month, where he also "called for continued unity against the 'Zionist' occupation," according to an article on the group's website.

Terror-Tied Convoy Enters the Gaza Strip

Egypt allowed a convoy with members of a U.S. designated terrorist group to enter the Gaza Strip Sunday, Palestinian officials said.

The convoy, dubbed "Miles of Smiles 3," entered the Hamas-controlled Strip through the recently-opened Rafah border crossing, and was comprised of 62 activists—mostly European—carrying ambulances, medicine, and medical equipment.

Activists included leaders of Interpal, a British charity designated by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2003 for supporting Hamas. Interpal is also a member of the Union of Good, an umbrella organization created by Hamas leaders to route money to the group, and also designated by the U.S. in 2008.

The convoy was greeted in Gaza by Ahmad al-Kurd, a high ranking Hamas leader and a designated terrorist. The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report notes that Interpal's Vice Chairman and trustee, Essam Mustafa, met with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh during the trip to Gaza. Mustafa, also the general coordinator of Miles of Smiles 3, told the Hamas PM, "It is our right access to Gaza by sea and by air, and we will do this every way possible." "We are pledged to Gaza and Palestine, and no one will stop us from reaching our country," he added.

On Monday, Haniyeh praised Miles of Smiles for its third trip to the Gaza Strip . "Some people might think that after you have arrived in Gaza, your mission is over. However, we know that you still have a lot of work to finish, and for that we greatly respect you and appreciate your efforts," he said.

Miles of Smiles is headed by the UK-based group, the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza (ICBSG). ICBSG is directed by former Hamas operative Mohammad Sawalha, and the group is part of an upcoming flotilla which seeks to break the naval blockade on the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip.

The International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza has partnered with Viva Palestina, a UK-based group which has delivered millions of dollars to the Hamas regime in Gaza through its land convoys to the region. Interpal has also supported Viva Palestina's convoys to Gaza in the past. Despite Interpal's continued support for Hamas, the United Kingdom's Charity Commission has repeatedly cleared the group for its terrorist ties. The UK Charity Commission also cleared Viva Palestina of its terrorist ties in March, 2010, and the U.S. government has taken no action against the organization.

Kenyans Recruited for Al-Shabaab

Somali al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab is recruiting scores of militants from Kenya, reports Nairobi TV (NTV). The media organization's recent undercover investigation also indicates the terrorist group has infiltrated the Kenyan military.

Al-Shabaab has waged war against Sheikh Sherif Ahmed's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia since 2006, conducting suicide bombings and guerrilla assaults against the government and its foreign allies in Somalia. Recent offensives by the Somali government have carved out a new territory from the terrorist organization's holdings.

"Facing a huge armed onslaught in Somalia, al-Shabaab was aggressively recruiting," the report stated, referencing Kenyan intelligence officials from the National Security Intelligence Services (NSIS). "The criteria had since expanded from young Somalis and Arabs to just about anyone who was committed to the cause—from any background."

The report showed how impoverished, religious youths in the region lack stability in their lives and can become attracted to al-Shabaab's radical brand of Islam.

The undercover investigation also indicated some Kenyan military personnel were supporting al-Shabaab. Corporal Hussein Abdullahi Athan, a member of the Kenyan military, actively recruits for the terrorist group in Isiolo, a city deep within the heart of Kenya, hundreds of miles from the Somali border. Athan also claimed that multiple Kenyan outposts—where Somali TFG forces were supposedly being trained by the Kenyan army—were actually being used to train al-Shabaab fighters.

Additionally, a Kenyan heads an al-Shabaab battalion fighting in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the Nation reported.

The Somali government has readily acknowledged the need to combat this phenomenon. "We are aware of Kenyans who have been recruited by al Shabaab [sic.]," Somalia's Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed stated in an interview with the Nation, "but we will vanquish them."

Likewise, Kenya's government has taken steps to crack down on the terrorists. "Anyone who has gotten himself or herself [involved], no matter where he comes from, will face the law," stated Kenyan Provincial Police Officer Aggrey Adoli in a recent Nairobi Star report. "These individuals must be treated as terror criminals."

Additionally, Adoli made clear that training, recruiting or taking Kenyans to Somalia to join al-Shabaab would result in terrorism charges. He emphasized that Kenyans who fail to report recruiters would also be treated as criminals.

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