One of Ours

Sudan has ordered the removal of Syrian missiles and weapons of mass destruction out of Sudan.

Arab diplomatic and Sudanese government sources including the Sudanese Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry have confirmed a report earlier this month that Syria has been secretly flying Scud C and Scud D medium-range ballistic missiles and WMD chemical weapons components to warehouses in Khartoum since at least January 2004. The sources said the Syrian shipments to Khartoum were placed on civilian airliners but authorized and directed by the Defense Ministry. It is not yet clear if the weapons were part of Syria's WMD programs or components reportedly smuggled from Iraq to Syria prior to the coalition war.

Intelligence sources reportedly told Middle East Newsline that the Sudanese regime of President Omar Bashir was not informed of the Syrian missile and WMD shipments. They said the Syrian material was sent to Khartoum as part of the increased trade relations between the two countries and processed and stored by Sudanese companies.

Now the regime of Sudanese President Omar Bashir has ordered that Syria remove the weapons.

The sources said the Bashir regime has been alarmed over the prospect that the United States would discover the Syrian arsenal and conclude that Damascus and Khartoum were cooperating in the area of missiles and WMD. They said this would have delayed or dashed U.S. plans to lift sanctions from Sudan.

The Sudan Arab-islamist military dictatorship has previously secretly received large aresenals of chemical and biological weapons from Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the era of UN inspections, when that country was under pressure to disarm. Those weapons were then used in the south of Sudan wiping out entire villages to "mystery" causes.

A U.S. official confirmed the Syrian missile shipments to Sudan.

Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Intelligence Organizations –each collects and processes intelligence relevant to their particular Service needs.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - provides accurate, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics to national policy and decision makers.

Coast Guard Intelligence – deals with information related to US maritime borders and Homeland Security.

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) - provides timely and objective military intelligence to warfighters, policymakers, and force planners.

Department of Energy Office of Intelligence – performs analyses of foreign nuclear weapons, nuclear non-proliferation, and energy security-related intelligence issues in support of US national security policies, programs, and objectives.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate - prevents terrorist attacks within the United States, reduces America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimizes the damage and recovers from attacks that do occur.

Department of State: Bureau of Intelligence and Research – deals with information affecting US foreign policy.

Department of Treasury: Office of Intelligence Support – collects and processes information that may affect US fiscal and monetary policy.

Federal Bureau of Investigation: National Security Division– deals with counterespionage and data about international criminal cases.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) – Analyzes satellite imagery and provides timely, relevant, and accurate 2-D and 3-D mapping and geospatial intelligence in support of national security.

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) - coordinates collection and analysis of information from airplane and satellite reconnaissance by the military services and the CIA.

National Security Agency (NSA) - collects and processes foreign signals intelligence information for our Nation's leaders and warfighters, and protects critical US information security systems from compromise.

He addresses the nature of violent forces in Iraq other than Sadr's militia: "Yes, there is a patriotic element, we fully understand that. But, on the other hand, there are forces carrying out sabotage simply to destabilise the situation and to maintain the privileged position that they had before.

"There are remnants of the old regime. The dictatorship at the time had a sophisticated system of repression. They didn't just vanish," says Ali.

"They carry out operations in return for money paid by leading figures of the old regime, as well as tribal elements. Certain stratas thrived under the sanctions through the smuggling of oil."

Ali has strong words for those on the left here who have hailed the current upsurge in violence as a sign of a "national resistance."

"What is the agenda of these political groups?" he asks. "What alternative are they putting forward for Iraq and the region as a whole apart from violence and destabilisation and turning Iraq into a battlefield to fight their own wars against America?

"Anybody can go to Baghdad and they can detect straight away that the people simply are not part of it. They've had enough wars and killing.

"These people who are advocating support for ‘national resistance’ have to convince us - how will this in any way advance the causes of peace, democracy and social progress?"

...Saudi Arabia has always nurtured religious extremists thru its Wahabbi state religion, its educational system, and its introverted attitude to the outside world. The advent of oil provided the finance for these extremists to practice what they preached.

At first they operated abroad, in Afghanistan, in Chechnya, in the Yemen. And we Saudis regarded them as brave adventurers, the late 20th century equivalent of volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

Then came 9/11. It had become more serious. But Westerners were the target. And, at all levels, we never really condemned it. Indeed, many cheered.

Then they attacked within the Kingdom. But it was housing compounds, for Westerners. And, at all levels, we never really condemned it. And still many cheered.

Then they attacked more housing compounds. This time, Arabs, Muslims, got killed. So we didn't cheer. But they were Egyptians and Lebanese, so we didn't care that much.

Now, all of a sudden, they are attacking Saudis. OK, Saudis from the ruling tribes, part of the security forces. But we all look the same. And suddenly we are the targets. The terrorists are not going to leave us alone, because we're not part of the government apparatus. And now we are faced with the sudden realization that we should have done something about this a long time ago...

"In Iraq our national security interests and our national values converge. Iraq is truly the test of a generation, for America and for our role in the world. Faced with similar challenges, previous generations of Americans have passed such tests with honor. It is now our turn to demonstrate that our power, ennobled by our principles, is the greatest force for good on earth today. Iraq's transformation into a secure democracy and a force for freedom in the greater Middle East is the calling of our age. We can succeed. We must succeed."

- Senator John McCain, getting it right, again.