AP IMPACT: Questions arise over FBI terror profile (AP)

LONDON – The FBI's most-wanted list features a dated black-and-white photograph for the man wanted in connection with the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. Saif al-Adel, reads the glaring red banner, alias Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi.

But intelligence officials and people who say they know al-Adel and Makkawi tell The Associated Press that they are two different men.

In the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, AP reporters around the globe began hunting for fresh details on al-Adel — al-Qaida's so-called third man because of his strategic military experience. Traversing a reporting trail that spanned from Europe to Egypt and from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, a new picture started to emerge about the al-Adel investigation: that the FBI's manhunt dragged in the name of a one-time jihadist turned vocal al-Qaida critic who now can't get his name off the wanted list.

Intelligence officials from five countries and a handful of sources who say they knew the men personally over the years confirmed to the AP that al-Adel and Makkawi were two distinct people. Some of those sources came forward with two photographs that show two different men.

"That is certainly not Makkawi," Montasser el-Zayat, a lawyer who represented Makkawi in Egypt, told the AP after looking at the FBI's photo of al-Adel.

In emails seen by the AP, a man who identifies himself as Makkawi says he has tried several times to clear his name but to no avail.

In response to several questions, the FBI declined specific comment last week on whether it was possible the information it had been using was bad or dated. However, on Wednesday the FBI defended its characterization of al-Adel.

"It is fair to say that a.k.a.'s/alias known to the FBI and used by subjects listed on our Most Wanted site or for that matter for any individual being sought by law enforcement, can also be the names of true individuals," said FBI spokeswoman Kathleen R. Wright.

She said the FBI was confident the man on the poster was al-Adel, but offered no immediate redress for Makkawi over the possible use of his name on the poster.

"The distinction in this case is such that we have a photo and other identifiers that distinguish one individual from another," Wright said in an email.

She said al-Adel, like other suspects on the 'most wanted' list, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury. However, the original documents in al-Adel's case remain sealed, making it all but impossible for the public to see where the FBI obtained its original evidence or the basic details about al-Adel's identity.

The description of al-Adel highlights the questionable intelligence that often goes into profiles of top suspects by the world's intelligence services.

Many of the profiles are based on information obtained from captives under duress or worse. Some bits come from unreliable sources. Other tips are never verified.

On the surface, some may ask why the world should care — one man is a jihadist with a $5 million bounty on his head; the other a former jihadist turned al-Qaida critic. But the case raises a number of important questions about the accuracy of FBI profiles and how stale or misleading intelligence could hamper searches. Even with fairly good leads, it took U.S. authorities more than a decade to find bin Laden.

Al-Adel's profile, for example, was posted in October 2001 when the FBI "Most Wanted Terrorist" list was created — just a month after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Although some of the descriptive details may be old, the FBI says the details are still accurate and relevant.

"We have no information there have been any significant errors regarding the individuals in which we are seeking the public's assistance in locating," the FBI said.

Yet since 9/11, dozens of people have been wrongly mistaken for suspected terrorists because of faulty or spotty intelligence.

A German man snatched by the CIA in Macedonia and tortured at a secret prison in Afghanistan is suing Macedonia for his ordeal after U.S. courts rejected his case on the grounds that it could reveal government secrets. The man says he was kidnapped from Macedonia in 2003, apparently mistaken for a terror suspect.

A Canadian engineer who was also caught up in the U.S. government's secret transfer of terror suspects to ghost sites was deported to Syria when he was mistaken for a terrorist as he changed planes in New York on his way home. The Supreme Court refused to hear his case against top Bush administration officials.

"You are going to have good intelligence and bad intelligence, but the problem is when that bad intelligence is used to charge and detain people or to build cases against others," said Ben Wizner, the American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing Khaled el-Masri, the German who was sent to a secret prison and, according to Wizner, has suffered because of the trauma. "This faulty intelligence and disregard for the legal process has damaged and disrupted the lives of innocent people."

It is unclear exactly how Makkawi's life has been affected. The former Egyptian army officer who worked in a counterterrorism unit has yet to come forward and did not respond to several emails sent by the AP.

Still, in May a man who identified himself as Makkawi sent a handful of emails to journalists and commentators, saying he had been mistaken for al-Adel. In one email to the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, which publishes an English edition in London, he claimed he was a colonel in the Egyptian army, has long been an opponent of al-Qaida and other jihadist groups and has been mistaken for al-Adel ever since settling down in Pakistan.

He says he and his family have been branded enemies of both the United States and al-Qaida — an unenviable position.

In an earlier message to the newspaper in July 2010, the same man criticized al-Qaida and Pakistan: "There is an immoral extortion campaign against the U.S. and its allies and the Islamic movement being led by Pakistan, for its own motives. Pakistan has all of these international terrorists in its hands."

Pakistani authorities have said they have no knowledge of Makkawi's whereabouts.

In a third email sent to a London commentator and seen by the AP, the man said he and his family had survived multiple assassination attempts in Pakistan. He also says he appealed to officials in the Bush administration to clear his name, but without success.

The email is full with basic biographical data — the man says he graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy in 1972, refused to participate in a war against Libya in 1977 and claims he was eventually viewed as a traitor by Egyptian authorities.

It is easy enough to understand how the FBI might have thought Makkawi was simply an alias for al-Adel.

A tip may have come from a detainee at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, who told investigators he met with a "Muhammad Ibrahim Makkawi, aka (al-Adel)," according to secret documents released by WikiLeaks. Others who say they know both men say al-Adel might intentionally be using Makkawi's name as revenge for Makkawi's pointed criticism of al-Qaida and other jihadist groups.

But photographs provided to the AP by people who say they knew both al-Adel and Makkawi show two different men. The FBI's photo of al-Adel shows a slender man with thin hair, full lips and delicate features; a picture of Makkawi — which does not appear on the FBI poster — shows a stout man with a round face, bulbous nose and thick, curly hair.

Noman Benotman, a former jihadist with links to al-Qaida and now an analyst at the London-based Quilliam Foundation, says he has met both al-Adel and Makkawi.

Describing Makkawi as "well-educated, short-fused and unpredictable," Benotman said the last time he saw Makkawi was in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, around 1994.

Benotman said the last time he saw al-Adel was in 2000 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He said he was impressed with his knowledge of military strategy and country profiles.

"The big difference between them is that Makkawi hates al-Qaida, hates these jihadist groups, and in particular hates the Egyptian jihadist groups where Zawahiri came from," said Benotman, referring to the Egyptian eye doctor who has succeeded bin Laden as head of the terror network.

Both al-Adel and Makkawi are Egyptian, reportedly served in the Egyptian army and were accused of links to jihadist groups.

But Makkawi reportedly severed all ties with extremist groups after growing disillusioned with their goals and strategies.

Specializing in counterterrorism operations, Makkawi was one of several army officers accused in 1987 of forming a jihadist group. Although he was released without charge after six months in jail, he was sacked from his army job and struggled to find consistent work afterward. In 1988, he reportedly sued the Egyptian interior ministry and demanded compensation. When the suit failed, he went to see family in Saudi Arabia, then went to Afghanistan, and eventually settled in Pakistan.

Two British officials, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to discuss intelligence matters, confirmed that Makkawi is a different man from al-Adel and said he is not wanted as a terror suspect by the British government. Britain has no such public "most wanted" terrorist list.

"Makkawi is a different man to el-Adel," one of the officials said.

El-Zayat, Makkawi's lawyer in the 1987 case, also told the AP the men were two different people and that al-Adel's real name is Mohammed Salah Zidan.

There is no mention of the name "Mohammed Salah Zidan" on al-Adel's profile.

Yasser el-Siri, founder of the Islamic Marsad Center in London — a research center for Islamic and jihadist affairs — said he met Makkawi in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca between 1989 and 1990.

He also offered some key differences in the men's lives.

Al-Adel was born in the 1960s, is tall, comes from the Nile Delta and married the daughter of a well-known Egyptian journalist-turned-jihadist, Abouel Walid, who was editor-in-chief of The Islamic Emirate magazine, an extremist publication, el-Siri said. The editor was one of an early generation of jihadists who fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Western intelligence officials believe al-Adel is living in Iran but travels frequently to Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was a reservist in the Egyptian army.

Makkawi, who was born in the 1950s, also comes from the Nile Delta but had a Saudi father and Egyptian mother. He graduated from military college in 1972, became a lieutenant and then joined the special forces. He is reportedly short compared al-Adel.

Makkawi joined jihadist groups in Afghanistan but then criticized them for their poor tactics and planning, describing their battles as "the war of the goats."

It is unclear when al-Adel formally joined al-Qaida or an affiliate, but he is thought to be one of the group's most experienced military strategists. Prior to the U.S. Embassy bombings, he allegedly had a hand in operations against U.S. forces who entered Somalia in 1993 in an attempt to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid and some of his top lieutenants. In the end, 18 U.S. troops died in the operation.

On the surface, the truth is still unclear.

The shadowy world of intelligence has long been built on knowns and unknowns, truths and half-truths and spider webs of good, bad and old information that can take years before it is investigated, if at all. New leads often eclipse old information even as that old data lives on.

"Intelligence is a business like anything else," Bob Ayers, a former U.S. intelligence officer, told the AP.

"When the Sept. 11 terror attacks hit, the intelligence community wasn't prepared. It scurried around and it tried to make do. Old leads should and could be followed up if there were enough resources, but it's unlikely you're going to shut your best analysts in a dark room for months just so they can investigate information that is sometimes 10 years old."

Richard Barrett, a U.N. representative responsible for monitoring al-Qaida and the Taliban, also confirmed to the AP that the FBI mistakenly identified al-Adel as Makkawi and — importantly — neglected to say on his profile that al-Adel's real name, according to people in the intelligence community, is thought to be Mohammed Salah Zidan.

"We have no information that Makkawi is one of the aliases that Saif is using, so it's a question-mark why that name is on the FBI list," said another European security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk publicly about the issue.

Officials at Egypt's newly established National Security apparatus, which is now the gatekeeper of all documents and records related to the Islamic jihadists, declined to provide any details or information about al-Adel or Makkawi.

The new body is replacing Egypt's State Security apparatus, which was dissolved after the toppling of Hosni Mubarak.

Social networking sites, meanwhile, were bubbling with people claiming to be the real Saif al-Adel. None has claimed to be the real Makkawi yet.

Although the FBI says it has only listed Makkawi as one of al-Adel's aliases — not necessarily mistaken him for al-Adel — it is not entirely clear how someone gets off the FBI's 'most wanted' list, even if the name is just the alias, not the face, on the poster.

"The individuals listed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist page will remain wanted in connection with their alleged crimes until such time as they have been arrested, charges are dropped or when credible physical evidence is obtained, which proves with 100 percent accuracy, that they are deceased," the FBI said.

___

Contributing to this report were Maggie Michael from Cairo, Kathy Gannon from Islamabad and Karl Ritter from Stockholm.

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Chavez's odd silence raises questions in Venezuela (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is one of the world's most talkative leaders and his prolonged silence and seclusion in Cuba following surgery there two weeks ago is fueling speculation about his health.

Government officials have offered repeated assurances that Chavez is recovering well in Havana, but many Venezuelans are wondering if they are getting the true story.

Venezuelans are accustomed to near daily speeches and television appearances by Chavez that can last several hours, even when he's traveling abroad.

Yet nobody has heard him speak since he talked by telephone with Venezuelan state television on June 12, saying he was quickly recovering from surgery two days earlier for a pelvic abscess. Chavez, who turns 57 next month, said medical tests showed no sign of any "malignant" illness.

The only glimpse of Chavez came when the Cuban government released photos of the Venezuelan leader at the hospital with Fidel Castro and Cuban President Raul Castro on June 17. In one, Chavez has his hand on 80-year-old Raul Castro's shoulder.

Venezuelan officials have limited their comments on Chavez's health to saying that he's recuperating and have provided few details. It is not even clear exactly when he will return to Venezuela.

Before his pelvic surgery, a knee injury forced him to postpone a trip to Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba.

The paucity of information has fed a stream of speculation about the socialist president's condition as well as outlandish gossip on both sides of Venezuela's deep political divide.

Some people suspect Chavez has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as prostate or colon cancer while others claim doctors botched liposuction surgery and he suffered an infection.

Authorities have sought to quash such talk.

"In response to all the rumors, I can testify that the president is recovering in a satisfactory manner," Adan Chavez, one of the leader's brothers who is a state governor, told state television Wednesday. "The president is a strong man."

Adan Chavez added that "it's not clear" when his younger brother would return home, but said the president is expected to leave Cuba within 10 to 12 days.

Those comments did little to calm the consternation of Chavez supporters or appease government critics who accuse officials of trying to dupe Venezuelans.

"I fear his condition could be worse then than they want to tell us, but I trust in God the president isn't in danger," said Magalis Gonzalez, a street vendor who was among about 100 Chavez supporters who attended a prayer meeting in downtown Caracas on Thursday to wish the president a speedy recovery.

The president's opponents have criticized government officials for providing few details on Chavez's health and raised concerns he may not be fit to continue his duties as president. The latter idea was rejected by Vice President Elias Jaua, who said Chavez is attending to his day-to-day government duties while recuperating.

In an editorial published Thursday, the opposition-siding newspaper El Nacional complained that "incompetent Cabinet ministers are turning this into a complete mystery or a state secret that creates uncertainty and anxiety within the population."

"Nobody understands why the state of the president's health is being hidden," it said.

Officials say Chavez underwent surgery June 10 for a pelvic abscess, which is an accumulation of pus that can have various causes, including infection or surgical complications. Neither Chavez nor doctors treating him have disclosed what caused the abscess.

Dr. Demetrios Braddock, an associate professor of pathology at Yale University's School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, said surgery for a pelvic abscess is not usually difficult, although complications can arise if doctors discover a digestive disease such as diverticulitis.

Diverticulitis, which is most commonly found in the large intestine, involves the formation of pouches on the outside of the colon. Braddock said the disease can be potentially life-threatening if a perforation of the colonic wall occurs, allowing feces to pass into the pelvic cavity and causing infections.

"Any number of things could be happening," Braddock said in a telephone interview. "It's impossible to know for sure without being familiar with this particular case."

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Northern Ireland violence raises questions about paramilitary group (The Christian Science Monitor)

Dublin, Ireland – Homes and a Roman Catholic church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, came under attack last night in the city's worst night of sustained violence in recent years. And as riots erupted in a divided Catholic and Protestant area, many are asking why the Ulster Volunteer Force (UFV), the pro-British paramilitary organization being held responsible for the violence, has refused to go away despite having supposedly destroyed its weapons.

In a sign of the progress in combating sectarian divides, politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned the attacks, saying paramilitaries have no role in today's Northern Ireland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland appealed to "anyone with any influence" work with them to stop future outbreaks of sectarian violence. Still, questions are being raised about the possible power struggles in the group that could disrupt the peace in the broader community.

The Short Strand, a small Catholic and republican enclave on the edge of predominantly Protestant and pro-British east Belfast, has long suffered from so-called “interface violence,” going back to the effective beginning of the Northern Ireland conflict in 1969.

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Willie Ward, who works at St. Matthew's, the local Catholic church in the area, witnessed the attacks.

“It was purely a sectarian attack on the Catholic community, and people came out to defend their homes,” he says. “Two to three hundred loyalists were attempting to climbs the walls of the church and local homes and attacking them with petrol bombs, stones, bricks and paint bombs."

Mr. Ward says locals – including some Protestant neighbors – are shaken: “The people here are afraid, we've had to move pensioners out of their houses. [The paramilitary members] also attacked a bus going through the area, one that included Protestants."

Chris Lyttle, a local lawmaker with the Alliance Party, which says it has no position on Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom or a United Ireland, said that "the orchestrated violence in East Belfast is utterly destructive, unjustifiable, and unrepresentative of the new Northern Ireland. Those engaging in this rioting have nothing to offer the local community and we need political representatives from all backgrounds to take a firm and united stance against it.”

Sammy Douglas, a lawmaker with the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, the largest group in the powersharing government, says he was "sad and dejected" after witnessing some of the "the worst [rioting] it's been since 1969."

Why is the paramilitary still around?Many are asking, however, why the paramilitary UVF is still in existence.

"For some weeks, there has been sporadic instances of antisocial stone-throwing across the interface in this area," said Belfast's Mayor Niall O Donnghaile, who is a member of the republican party Sinn Fein and a resident of the area. "Local community representatives and politicians have been trying to deal with it with some success. It is important that this good work continues.

"However, what happened last night was not antisocial behavior or a sectarian riot," he stated. "What happened was a well planned and orchestrated attack on the Catholic community in the Short Strand by the UVF."

He says that the UVF's activities in East Belfast have been a cause for concern for some time. "There has been a marked increase in UVF flag-flying, the painting of new paramilitary murals, and significant agitation around Loyal Order parades," Mr. O Donnghaile says.

The UVF, founded in 1966 – three years before the Northern Irish conflict started in earnest – was one of the two pro-British paramilitary organizations involved in the conflict. A total of 481 killings have been attributed to the group. A leading member, Bobby Moffet, was shot dead by members of his own organization in 2009. Earlier in 2009, the group declared it has decommissioned its weapons.

The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, led by retired Canadian General John de Chastelain, oversaw the decommissioning process. Despite this, fears have arisen that a new generation is attempting to seize power within the organization – and is willing to return to sectarian violence in order to achieve it.

Brian Walker, a professor of Irish studies at Queen’s University Belfast, cautions against seeing the violence as part of a campaign to reignite the conflict.

“It appears to have been a manifestation of loyalist disaffection. The loyalist side is less well disciplined than the republican side. It’s hard to see it as a campaign, though the numbers involved [last night] are worrying,” he said.

A community activist working in Protestant east Belfast, who did not wish to be identified, told the Monitor the attacks were a result of a power struggle within loyalist paramilitarism.

“You have to look at what’s happening within the UVF: the loss of leadership and loss of control," he says. "The east Belfast [brigade of the] UVF is flexing its muscles."

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Stuck fliers' prank video prompts airport security questions

The video includes a scene in which two men have fun at an empty American Airlines gate at Dallas-Forth Worth International.Clip posted online shows two men stuck at Dallas-Fort Worth InternationalThey race through empty terminal corridors, pound on computer at gateThey also enter a closed restaurant, and one of the men appears to pour himself a beerAirport: Security was watching but did not feel the need to stop the men

(CNN) -- A viral video showing two men horsing around in an empty airport is getting a lot of laughs and attention online but also raising questions about security at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The clip, called "STUCK," was posted this week on Vimeo.com by a user identifying himself as Joe Ayala.

"While on our way home from Formula Drift Palm Beach, Larry Chen and I found ourselves stranded over night in the Dallas airport as our flights home were canceled. The following is a brief summary of the events that took place that night," the user writes.

The video shows the men racing through airport's empty terminal corridors in airport wheelchairs while a janitor who is vacuuming gives them a puzzled look.

They also try out the public address system at American Airlines Gate A14 and pound the keyboard of one of its computers. One of the men even does a handstand in the background.

They throw soap at each other in a bathroom and spin on the moving handrails of escalators.

But in one of the video's most talked-about scenes, they enter a closed restaurant, and one of the men appears to pour himself a glassful of beer on tap, which he drinks in one gulp.

Ayala and Chen are automotive photographers who had $30,000 worth of camera equipment with them when they were stuck so they decided to make the most of it, according to Jalopnik.com, a website that covers the automotive industry and interviewed the men.

"It was definitely the most fun I've had in an airport," Chen told the site.

"I wasn't actually going out to steal beer," he said in reference to the restaurant scene. "I washed the cup and put it back in the fridge. I wanted to leave no trace. I didn't want to cause any trouble. Next time we go to that airport I'll get a beer and leave a $20 tip."

The incident took place on June 5 and involved those two men only, said David Magana, manager of public affairs at Dallas-Fort Worth International.

Although it may appear they didn't have any security around them, they were being watched, Magana said.

"It's important to note that security agents observed the two filmmakers at several points during the making of the video. Because the filmmakers were presenting no threat to themselves, to others or to flight safety, and were causing no damage, there was no imperative to curtail their activities," Magana said in a statement.

"DFW Airport, together with its security partners, maintains a high level of security at all times, and at no time did the filmmakers' activities present any level of danger or threat to flight safety. And by the way, they also picked up after themselves, including the restroom."

The video did point out the need to better secure the restaurant seen in the clip, and that issue is being addressed immediately, the airport said.

The two men do not face any legal trouble, Magana added.

Still, a member of airport's board of directors expressed unease about the prank to CNN affiliate KTVT-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth.

"It's not funny. It's not going to happen again as far as I'm concerned. It should not have happened because it gives the perception the airport is sitting out there unguarded and that's why I was concerned, and am still concerned," Betty Culbreath told the station.

CNN

Gates questions NATO resolve as Misrata pounded (Reuters)

MISRATA (Reuters) – The United States accused some NATO allies on Friday of failing to pull their weight in the campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's forces, as the Libyan leader kept up shelling of the rebel-held town of Misrata.

"The mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly-armed regime in a sparsely-populated country -- yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions, requiring the U.S., once more, to make up the difference," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a valedictory speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Gates said the alliance, prosecuting an air campaign against Libyan forces, risked "collective military irrelevance" unless European partners deepened their commitment and spending.

"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling (U.S.) appetite and patience ... to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense," Gates said.

World powers gave mixed signals on how the deadlocked civil war might play out, with Russia trying to mediate reconciliation after Western and Arab nations pledged more than $1.1 billion for the rebels and asked them to plan for post-Gaddafi rule.

When asked about fatigue among NATO partners, Dirk Brengelmann, the organization's assistant secretary general for political affairs, told Reuters in Rabat that despite difficult discussions in recent days, the alliance was still "sober and committed" to Libya.

Gates's exasperation has been echoed by rebels, who control the east of the country and some other areas but do not appear to pose an imminent threat to Gaddafi's rule.

Though NATO warplanes have stepped up their attacks on the capital Tripoli, rebels said the Libyan ruler was pressing offensive operations in several areas, apparently unhindered by the foreign military intervention.

In Misrata, doctors said at least 17 people were killed and 80 wounded in government shelling deep in the besieged port city. Al-Jazeera reported the death toll at 30.

Clashes also broke out in the town of Zlitan, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Misrata.

"Large numbers of troops are surrounding Zlitan from all directions and are threatening its residents with having their women raped by mercenaries if they do not surrender," Ahmed Bani, military spokesman, told Reuters by phone from Benghazi.

He added that 22 rebels had been killed on Thursday after fighting. Zlitan could act as a stepping stone to allow the anti-Gaddafi uprising to spread from Misrata, the biggest rebel outpost in western Libya, to Gaddafi's stronghold in Tripoli.

Accounts from Zlitan could not be independently verified because reporters have not been given access.

Juma Ibrahim, a rebel spokesman in the western mountain town of Zintan, said Gaddafi's forces had also resumed shelling in the region on Friday and criticized NATO for not doing more.

"We are unaware of any air strikes in the Western Mountains in the last four days," he said. "We don't know why they are ignoring our alerts. We told them of clear military targets that post a clear threat to civilians and they still haven't acted."

NO CLEAR WAY FORWARD

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appearing at the Abu Dhabi meeting of the Libya contact group, said talks were under way with people close to Gaddafi who had raised the "potential" for a transition of power but added: "There is not any clear way forward yet."

Under pressure to come up with plans for a transitional government while still in disarray, the rebels have said the onus is on foreign powers to hasten assistance.

"Our people are dying," rebel Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni said. "So my message to our friends is that I hope they walk the walk."

Rebels hosted the first foreign leader in their Benghazi stronghold on Thursday, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.

Wade said of Gaddafi, his former African Union ally:

"It is in your own interest ... that you leave power in Libya and never dream of coming back."

World consensus on the need to see the long-time leader gone has been amplified by accounts of his regime's depredations.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week cited evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents, and issuing Viagra-like drugs to troops to encourage such assaults.

Gaddafi describes the rebels as al Qaeda terrorists and says foreign intervention is a front for a grab at the country's oil.

Another visitor to Benghazi was Mikhail Margelov, Russia's Africa envoy, who on Friday said he would travel to Tripoli as soon as NATO provided a corridor through its Libyan no-fly zone.

Russia has voiced misgivings over the foreign intervention and has extensive commercial interests in Libya. It wants to mediate reconciliation between Tripoli and the rebels.

But Margelov said Gaddafi had "lost the moral right to play a role in Libya's political life in the future by bombing his own people."

A memo leaked to the Financial Times suggested U.S. operations in Libya had cost $664 million by mid-May, putting it on course to exceed the original $750 million projection.

Gates's remarks followed two days of NATO meetings at which he said too few nations were bearing the burden in Libya, and singled out five that he urged to do more.

Officials said he asked Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands to fly strike missions in addition to the air operations they currently undertake. He urged Germany and Poland, which are not contributing, to find ways to help, the officials said.

On Friday, Norway said it was cutting the number of its F-16 fighter jets involved in the NATO operation over Libya to four from six, and would end its military contribution from August 1.

(Additional reporting by Peter Graff in Tripoli, Ahmed Tolba and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Sherine El Madany in Benghazi; Joseph Nasr and Zakia Abdennebi in Rabat, David Alexander in Brussels and Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Writing by Tim Cocks and John Irish; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Egypt army questions journalists, blogger (AFP)

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – Two Egyptian journalists and a blogger were questioned for three hours on Tuesday by military officials over criticism of the army on a live talk show, they said.

Reem Maged and Nabil Sharafeddine, the two reporters, and prominent blogger and activist Hossam al-Hamalawy were questioned by Adel Morsi, who heads the military justice authority.

Maged told reporters that the questioning did not take place in the framework of an investigation but that the army had sought to "clarify" certain statements on her talk show "Baladna mil Masry."

"They told us we were there to offer clarifications," Hamalawy told AFP by telephone, adding that media pressure and online solidarity calls had contributed in matters not going further.

Shortly after news of their summons hit the Internet on Monday, a Facebook page was created calling for a protest outside the military prosecutor's office during their questioning.

On Tuesday, around 100 people had gathered outside the offices chanting for freedom of expression and against military trials for civilians.

"They asked us to provide all information in our possession on violations committed by the military police," Hamalawy said.

During Maged's programme on the OnTV satellite channel on Thursday, Hamalawy accused military police of rights abuses, saying he had proof of violations committed by named officials.

Sharafeddine was questioned over statements he made on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on the same channel on Friday.

During the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, the army was at first idolised as hero of the revolution for not firing on protesters but has since come under criticism for its handling of the transitional phase and for alleged rights violations.

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Child soldiers add questions for Pakistan (OneWorld.net)

May 17 (OneWorld.net) - A new focus on Pakistan in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on Children and Armed Conflict may complicate the task of rebuilding relations with the US in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Submitted to the Security Council as part of the UN's responsibility for promoting and protecting the rights of children, Ban Ki-moon's 55-page report paints a grim picture of the entrapment of both boys and girls in the world’s most degrading conflicts.

From the section headed "Developments in Pakistan", it is clear that children have become active agents within the flow of warmongering personnel and equipment across the notoriously porous border with Afghanistan. Their assignments range from passive couriers to tragically unwitting suicide bombers in both countries.

The report refers to the escalation of terrorist and sectarian violence across Pakistan by groups linked to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, such as Tehrik-i-Taliban and Lashkar i Jhangvi. "Children have been used by these armed groups to carry out suicide attacks," the UN says.

The most damning evidence is cited by the UN child rights monitoring team in Afghanistan which claims to possess "documented and verified cases of Afghan children recruited and trained in Pakistan by armed groups, including the Taliban."

Such exploitation of children from both countries inside Pakistan will come as a disappointment to UN agencies after earlier reassurances given by Pakistan authorities.

In his corresponding report published a year ago, the Secretary-General referred to Pakistan's formal submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. This promised "strict measures to stop recruitment of children by non-State actors, in addition to initiating reforms to streamline and regulate the madrasahs that were the major source."

Nevertheless, advisers to Ban Ki-moon have stopped short of recommending that militant groups active in Pakistan should be included in the report's "list of parties" that recruit or use children in armed conflict.

This annexed list is significant in that it may provoke the UN Security Council into demanding government action plans to enforce protection of children.

In some circumstances the list can also trigger a response under the US Child Soldier Prevention Act. Signed into law in 2008, this law blocks US military aid to countries which support paramilitary or militia groups recruiting under-age personnel. The armed forces in Pakistan are very substantially dependent on US aid.

The question of whether or not the Pakistan government and its institutions "support" terrorist groups lies at the heart of recriminations following the death of bin Laden on Pakistan territory at the hands of special US forces.

There is an unexpected twist in the UN report on Children and Armed Conflict which may add fuel to this bonfire of ambiguities.

The report addresses circumstances in which children are the victims of violence, as well as perpetrators. The Secretary-General has highlighted his concerns about attacks on schools and hospitals by anarchic militant groups. In conflict zones, schools may find themselves in the firing line from various quarters, from religious zealots to recruiting sergeants.

Amongst 15 countries identified by Ban Ki-moon as suffering such attacks, Pakistan stands out. Groups opposed to secular education and girls' education have destroyed no fewer than 273 schools in Malakand, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Secretary-General has chosen this issue for the headline recommendation of his report. He requests that "the Security Council add parties to conflict that are attacking schools and hospitals to the annex of the report."

It seems very likely therefore that militant groups in Pakistan will be added to what is described in the UN press release as the "List of Shame".

Whether exposure in a child rights context will trigger consequences for US-Pakistan relations is very uncertain. Indeed Ban Ki-moon has stamped his impartiality on the report by including reference to controversial US drone attacks on targets inside Pakistan.

"No data is available on the number of children killed or injured in those attacks," the report says. "The United Nations does not have access to these sites to undertake any independent verification."

* More Information:

Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

OneWorld Child Labour Guide

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Senator Kerry has tough questions for angry Pakistan (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – U.S. Senator John Kerry will push Pakistani leaders on Monday to explain how Osama bin Laden was able to hide in their country for years, without further inflaming Pakistani anger over the U.S. raid that killed the al Qaeda chief.

Compounding Pakistan's reputation as an unstable Muslim country infested with militants, gunmen on motorcycles shot dead a Saudi diplomat in the city of Karachi as he was driving to work.

Al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban militants, who have vowed to strike back for the killing of Saudi-born bin Laden, claimed responsibility.

U.S. special forces flew in from Afghanistan on a secret operation to find and kill bin Laden on May 2, nearly 10 years after he orchestrated the September 11 attacks on the United States.

His discovery holed up in the comfortable garrison town of Abbottabad, only 50 km (30 miles) from the Pakistani capital, has revived suspicion that U.S. ally Pakistan knew where he was and has been playing a double game.

Pakistan has rejected that as absurd. It welcomed bin Laden's killing as a big step in the fight against militancy but objected about being left in the dark over the raid to get him.

Parliament condemned the raid on Saturday as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and called for a review of ties.

It also said the government should consider cutting U.S. supply lines through Pakistan for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the event of another "unilateral" assault.

Kerry arrived in Pakistan on Sunday from Afghanistan where he told reporters the United States wanted Pakistan to be a real ally in the fight against militancy.

Kerry, a Democrat close to the Obama administration and who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met powerful army chief General Ashfaq Kayani at army headquarters late on Sunday and was due to meet other leaders on Monday.

While Kerry has tough questions for Pakistan, its military can be expected to convey its anger over the U.S. assault on bin Laden, which military officials say has caused a breakdown in trust and cast a shadow over security cooperation.

"Kayani ... apprised the visiting dignitary about intense feelings of rank and file of the Pakistan army on the Abbottabad incident," the military said in a statement on Monday, referring to the operation to get bin Laden.

It did not elaborate but said Kerry would hold detailed discussions on relations with government leaders on Monday.

"DISENCHANTED AND DISMAYED"

The Nation newspaper, which generally reflects the thinking of the military establishment, said Kerry's mission was to pressure Pakistan into accepting all U.S. demands, even at the cost of Pakistan's national interests.

"The U.S. may have serious questions post-Osama episode, but Pakistan stands totally disenchanted and dismayed," the paper said in an editorial.

The government should stick to the positions spelled out by parliament on the weekend, it said.

"There should be no compromise on sovereignty and national interests at any costs."

The U.S. administration has not accused Pakistan of complicity in hiding bin Laden but has said he must have had some sort of support network, which it wants to uncover.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Sunday to President Asif Ali Zardari by telephone about the situation since bin Laden's death, Zardari's office said, adding Zardari told Clinton about parliament's concerns.

"Both agreed to resolve the issues amicably and move forward," the president's office said.

Police in the southern commercial hub of Karachi said gunmen on motorcycles killed the Saudi diplomat. The attack came days after assailants threw two hand grenades at the Saudi consulate in Pakistan's commercial hub. No one was hurt in that attack.

Al Qaeda is violently opposed to the Saudi government, which is a close ally of Pakistan, and has vowed revenge for the killing of its leader. Their allies, the Pakistani Taliban, said they killed the diplomat.

"We take responsibility," a Taliban spokesman said by telephone from an undisclosed location, referring to the killing of the diplomat earlier in the day.

"Until America stops chasing al Qaeda and stops drone strikes we will keep carrying out such attacks," he said, referring to U.S. attacks with pilotless aircraft on militants in northwest Pakistan.

(Additional reporting by Faisal Aziz, Kamran Haider; editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Kerry to ask Pakistan tough questions at critical time (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – U.S. Senator John Kerry will press Pakistani leaders for answers on Osama bin Laden in talks on Monday but he will be keen to ensure Pakistani anger over the raid does not subvert vital security cooperation.

U.S. special forces found and killed the al Qaeda leader in the garrison town of Abbottabad, 50 km (30 miles) north of Islamabad on May 2.

His discovery living comfortably in a high-walled compound virtually under the noses of military authorities has revived suspicion that Pakistani security agencies knew where he was.

Pakistan welcomed bin Laden's killing as a big step against militancy.

But the secret U.S. raid to get him has been condemned as a violation of sovereignty which embarrassed and outraged the military. Military officials say it has caused a breakdown in trust which has cast a shadow over security cooperation.

Pakistan might be a tricky ally but it is vital to U.S. efforts to combat Islamist militants and to efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, where U.S. forces depend on Pakistani supply lines for water, food, fuel and other essentials.

In a sign of Pakistani anger, the chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, on Friday canceled a five-day visit to the United States that had been set to begin on May 22.

But officials in Pakistan's civilian government said security cooperation with the United States would go on.

"There is difference of opinion but we'll continue our cooperation with the world as well as the United States," said one senior government official who declined to be identified.

Kerry told reporters in Afghanistan on Sunday he would hold a series of "important discussions" in Islamabad on Monday.

"CRITICAL MOMENT"

Kerry has long been seen as a friend of Pakistan but told reporters in Kabul on Sunday the relationship between Washington and Islamabad had reached "a critical moment."

"It is fair to say that some of my colleagues in the House and Senate have deep reservations as to whether or not Pakistan is committed to the same goals or prepared to be a full partner in pursuing those goals," Kerry told reporters.

The U.S. administration has not accused Pakistan of complicity in hiding bin Laden but has said he must have had some sort of support network, which it wants to uncover.

U.S. legislators have questioned whether Pakistan is serious about fighting militants and some have called for a suspension of U.S. aid.

Kerry said if there is no "improvement in the current situation" it will become increasingly difficult to convince people at home of the need to give aid to Pakistan.

Pakistan's parliament condemned on Saturday the U.S. raid to find and kill bin Laden, and called for a review of U.S. ties, warning that Pakistan could cut U.S. supply lines to its forces in Afghanistan if there were more such attacks.

ARRESTS

The United States is likely to seek Pakistani help in an investigation into an imam of a Florida mosque and his two sons, arrested in the United States on Saturday on charges of financing the Pakistani Taliban.

Three others charged were living in Pakistan, U.S. officials said. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said had yet to get a request for help but was ready to assist.

"As far as countering terrorism is concerned, there has been constant cooperation with the United States and there is no suspension of it," said ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua.

Kerry, speaking two days after two suicide bombers killed 80 people at a Pakistani paramilitary academy, said Pakistan was also a victim of "terrorism" and that the death of bin Laden provided a critical chance to move forward.

"This is not a moment for anything but very sober serious discussion with an understanding that there is a lot at stake. There is no other way to put it. I think they understand that, we understand that," he said.

Pakistan has rejected as absurd suggestions the killing showed incompetence or complicity in hiding the al Qaeda leader.

Kerry, a Democrat close to the Obama administration and who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said earlier it was "extraordinarily hard to believe" bin Laden could have been in Pakistan for so long without any knowledge.

Asked if the United States would conduct a similar raid inside Pakistan to kill Mullah Omar, the reclusive leader of the Afghan Taliban, Kerry said Washington would consider all options.

Pakistan has a long record of using Islamist militants as proxies, especially to counter the influence of nuclear-armed rival, India.

(Additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Kabul; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Paul Tait)

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Bin Laden death prompts questions about legality

GENEVA (AP) — The legality of U.S. forces shooting an unarmed Osama bin Laden hinges on a highly contentious and long-debated question: Is anti-terrorism part of a military campaign or a law-enforcement effort?

German newspapers show pictures Wednesday relating to Osama bin Laden's death. Bin Laden's killing has sparked controversy in Germany whether such an execution-style action was appropriate.

In war, enemy combatants who don't explicitly surrender are considered legitimate targets, international experts said. Bin Laden's killing in a military context would be legal under the scenario officially put out by the White House Wednesday ? that bin Laden was unarmed but tried to resist being taken in.

In contrast, international human rights law dictates that police must use the greatest possible effort to capture suspects alive, barring direct threats to the lives of officers or civilians.

"There is a higher obligation not to use lethal force," said Andrea Prasow, senior counsel in Human Rights Watch's Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program.

The Obama administration strongly emphasized Wednesday that bin Laden's slaying by a Navy SEAL team was part of a legitimate military operation, with Attorney General Eric Holder telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the shooting was justified as an action of "national self-defense" against a lawful military target. The U.S. position appeared to strengthen during the day as U.S. officials told the Associated Press that the SEALs killed bin Laden after they saw him appear to lunge for a weapon.

The officials, who were briefed on the operation, say several weapons were found in the room where the terror chief died, including AK-47s and personal side arms.

International experts said there was widespread disagreement about whether al-Qaeda members such as bin Laden are legitimate military targets.

The U.N.'s independent investigator on extrajudicial killings, Christof Heyns, said this week that there was "considerable dispute in legal circles as to whether we are dealing with an armed conflict in respect of al-Qaeda in Pakistan."

The International Committee of the Red Cross was holding a meeting on the issue Thursday and declined to comment beforehand.

Louise Doswald-Beck, a former legal chief for the Red Cross said, however, that bin Laden was clearly not an enemy combatant.

"He was basically head of a terrorist criminal network, which means that you're not really looking at the law of armed conflict but at lethal action against a dangerous criminal," she said.

There has been virtually no discussion in international legal circles of launching an investigation into bin Laden's death that could result in the prosecution of anyone involved. In many countries, however, the debate about the legitimacy of the killing could influence perceptions about U.S. foreign policy.

Doswald-Beck, who teaches law at Geneva's Graduate Institute, said only an independent investigation of bin Laden's body would be able to prove exactly how he died, and that had been rendered virtually impossible by the destruction of forensic evidence when he was buried at sea.

A U.S. official said the burial decision was made after concluding that it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept bin Laden's remains. There was also concern that a grave site could have become a rallying point for militants.

"I think questions should be asked as to why they dumped him at sea, because that makes it impossible to conduct an independent investigation," Doswald-Beck said.

The call for more information on the raid gained added weight with a statement from the U.N.'s top human rights official.

"This was a complex operation, and it would be helpful if we knew the precise facts surrounding his killing," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. "The United Nations has consistently emphasized that all counterterrorism acts must respect international law."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Questions emerge over burial at sea

Osama bin Laden was buried at sea early Monday morning in conformance with Islamic rites, U.S. officials said.

The move raised questions about the government's motive and how it would prove the body was bin Laden's. "The burial at sea gives the whole story an air of incredulity," said Mahmoud Ayoub, professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary. "That means there are no remains to verify the whole story."

Pentagon and intelligence officials said they've taken several steps to identify bin Laden, including visual and photo identifications and a DNA analysis. The officials, who spoke at a briefing, could not be identified by name under the ground rules set by the Pentagon.

The Obama administration is considering releasing photos of bin Laden's body, Deputy national security adviser John Brennan said at a White House briefing.

After he was shot in the head in a firefight with U.S. Navy SEALs, bin Laden's body was taken to the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier in the North Arabian Sea, where it was washed, placed on a white sheet and put in a weighted bag.

An officer read religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. The body was then placed on a board and eased into the sea, a Pentagon official said.

Bin Laden was buried within 24 hours of his death.

"It was taken care of in the appropriate way," Brennan said. "It was determined that it was in the best interests of all involved that this burial take place, again, according to Islamic requirements, at sea."

Under Islamic rites, a person must be buried as quickly as possible. The most dignified place for burial is in the ground, Ayoub said. Muslims consider remains buried at sea to be lost, not buried, he said.

"Burial at sea is not acceptable," he said.

Before disposing of the body, the government compared bin Laden's DNA to that of several family members. Pentagon officials did not say which family members.

"You're asking the question: Are these two people related to each other, and how?" said Frederick Bieber, a geneticist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

The best source of DNA for comparison would be from bin Laden himself, said Mitchell Holland, director of the forensic science program at Penn State.

Next would be his children. Siblings aren't as useful, because they inherit only half of each parent's DNA and what each inherits could be different.

Holland said government scientists probably looked for rare, short DNA variations in bin Laden's relatives and then checked for those same rare variations in him.

Unrelated people might share common variations by chance, Bieber said, but sharing a lot "favors that you're related."

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Grassley Questions Whether ATF Tried to Thwart Gunrunning Probe

AP

In this June 26, 2010, photo, Sen. Charles Grassley speaks to delegates during the Iowa Republican Party state convention in Des Moines.

A top Senate Republican is trying to find out whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives intentionally blocked its employees from cooperating with his inquiry into a gunrunning sting which authorities suspect may be connected to the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. 

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the bureau Friday complaining about the contents of an ATF email he obtained. The email, he said, contained guidance regarding his investigation telling employees they "are in no way obligated" to respond to Congress' questions and urging employees to refer congressional staffers to a particular office. 

Though it was unclear whether the email was ever sent out, Grassley wrote in the letter to Acting Director Kenneth Melson that the instructions were "of grave concern." He suggested it would be illegal for the main office to prevent other employees from dealing with Congress and expressed concern that ATF was trying to filter information through a liaison. 

"If people have concerns they should be able to express themselves without feeling pressure from their bosses," Grassley said in a statement. 

The Iowa senator has been trying to investigate a controversial program known as Project Gunrunner and its Phoenix offshoot, Operation Fast and Furious. Under the program, agents allowed straw buyers to illegally buy and export guns to track where they surfaced in Mexico. 

Whistleblowers say the guns were allowed to "walk" across the border, and records show more than 1,700 guns ended up being trafficked to Mexico under the program. 

The program has come under increased scrutiny followed the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Authorities are trying to determine whether the gun that was used to kill Terry was originally sold under the auspices of Operation Fast and Furious. 

President Obama already has acknowledged that the plan may have been a "serious mistake." He said neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder authorized it. 

Grassley, trying to dig up more about the sting, complained that he has not gotten a "substantive response" from ATF, or the departments of Justice and State, regarding the policy. He said face-to-face contact with employees at the bureau is critical as his investigation moves forward. 

"Without such direct, unfiltered communications, Congress would still be unaware of, and unable to inquire about, the serious allegations involving the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the sales of weapons to known and suspected gun traffickers," he wrote in the letter to Melson. 

Grassley asked for more information about what guidance was given to ATF personnel on communicating with Congress.

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Congress Questions Handling of Awlaki Case After Fox News Report on Dropped Arrest Warrant

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An investigation by the Fox News Specials Unit revealed that the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks was likely never told by the FBI about an arrest warrant filed and then dropped against American-born radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki

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