DAILY ALERT

In-Depth Issue:

Anti-U.S. Insurgents Flow into Iraq from Iran, Syria (Middle East Newsline)
    Islamic combatants are entering Iraq from neighboring Iran and Syria for the insurgency war against U.S. troops.
    U.S. officials said the insurgents include hundreds of Saudis and Syrians.
    "The people we're scooping up, in many cases, are not Iraqis," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday. "There's some Syrians in the latest net that was cast. And I'm sure there are people - either they were in there or they're still coming in from neighboring countries. And it is something that's obviously unhelpful."
    Officials said Islamic insurgency groups in the Middle East have determined that the U.S. military presence in Iraq must be fought the way the Soviet Union was fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
    They said recruitment for a Sunni insurgency war against the U.S. has taken place in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

    See also U.S. May Consider Force Against Syria - Shlomo Shamir (Ha'aretz)
    Senior Pentagon officials say it is possible the U.S. could use force against Syria after intelligence reports that recent attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq were carried out by militants based in Syria.
    The reports indicated that hundreds of militants trained in Syria had been deployed inside Iraq to attack U.S. troops.
    Pentagon officials are particularly concerned by intelligence suggesting that some militants were planning suicide bombings against U.S. forces in Iraq.

Saddam Probably Alive in Iraq, U.S. Experts Say - Douglas Jehl and David Johnston (New York Times)
    Intercepted communications between some of Saddam Hussein's supporters have included credible discussions indicating that the former Iraqi president is alive and must be protected, Defense Department officials said.
    Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that "probably the majority opinion is that he is alive."
    The uncertainty about Mr. Hussein has complicated American efforts to stabilize Iraq. Administration officials said conviction that he may be alive appears to be an important factor in the surge of armed opposition against American forces.
    American officials said that the most senior Iraqi officials now in custody were proving to be highly trained in resisting American interrogation techniques, and that they had provided little information of value about Mr. Hussein or Iraq's weapons programs.

Saudis Funding Jihad Against America - Yitzhak Ben-Horin (Maariv-Hebrew, June 13, 2003)
    Rita Katz, 39, the author of Terrorist Hunter, was born in Iraq.
    In 1969, her father was one of 9 Jews hanged in Baghdad's main square by the Baath party leadership.
    An expert on Muslim organizations in the U.S., she attended their meetings with a hidden camera, disguised as an Arab.
    As an outcome of her work as a consultant with a range of federal agencies including Customs, Immigration, the Treasury, and the FBI, in March 2002, law enforcement officials conducted widespread raids on suspected conduits of Saudi funding to terrorist groups.
    "It is important for people in the U.S. to understand what is happening under their very noses. Islamic fundamentalism doesn't exist only in Afghanistan but also in mosques in America."
    "A new generation is being raised in them who are preparing a Jihad against America. A new generation is growing up inside the U.S. that is learning to hate it, to hate Christians and Jews."
    "And Saudi Arabia is the largest educator and financial backer for this terror," Katz says.
    See also Anonymous Author of Terrorist Hunter Revealed (Business Wire)

U.S.: Israel Has Met Loan Guarantee Conditions - Ran Dagoni (Globes)
    Following a meeting in Washington of the U.S. Joint Economic Development Group (JDEG), it was announced Wednesday that Israel had successfully implemented the Ministry of Finance economic plan as promised and was therefore eligible for $9 billion in U.S. commercial loan guarantees.

Israel Bonds Raises $1.25 Billion in 2003 - Zeev Klein (Globes)
    State of Israel Bonds (Israel Bonds) has raised over $900 million with its Independence and Development bond series since the beginning of the year, out of a total of $1.25 billion raised in 2003.
    Bond purchasers included institutions such as the New York-based Guardian Life Insurance company, which bought $20 million worth of bonds, and Aon Risk Services of Chicago, which bought $5 million.
    Bond purchasers also included the states of New Jersey ($20 million), South Carolina ($10 million), and Pennsylvania ($4.5 million), as well as large economic concerns, such as communications giant IDT Corp., which bought $6 million.

London Economist: Israel Will Emerge from Recession in 2004 - Zeev Klein (Globes)
    The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said that Israel would emerge from recession as early as 2004 when growth in Israel's GDP will reach 2.9% after three grueling years of recession.
    In 2003, only 0.8% positive growth is expected, after a 1% decline in GDP growth in both 2001 and 2002.