DAILY ALERT

In-Depth Issues:

Arab Knesset Member Suspected of Aiding Enemy During Lebanon War - Efrat Weiss (Ynet News)
    Former Knesset Member Azmi Bishara, who left Israel three weeks ago and resigned from the Knesset, is suspected of collaborating with the enemy during the Second Lebanon War.
    Bishara is suspected of passing information to a foreign agent, in return for which he is believed to have received large sums of money.

Arab Meeting on Israel Boycott "Absurd" (UPI)
    A four-day meeting opened in Damascus on Monday on the Arab boycott of Israel, but the effectiveness of the boycott dwindles by the year.
    While the Central Arab Boycott Office was established by the Arab League in 1951, sources close to the meeting are describing the conference's agenda as "ridiculous."
    "The participating Arab countries in the conference are like someone drowning and trying to prove he is still alive, especially after previous meetings have failed in imposing a ban on multinational firms" dealing with Israel, one source said.
    14 Arab countries were taking part in the current meeting, with Egypt and Jordan absent.

Saudi Royals Mask a Jihad Agenda - Youssef Ibrahim (New York Sun)
    Keeping Saudi Arabia's royal family safe from radical Islamists is the West's strategic concern and delusion.
    The only intelligent question for America about Saudi Arabia is: Should we deal with the royals of the house of Saud or go directly to their bearded, Kalashnikov-toting Osama bin Laden-loving followers?
    For half a century, the West has preferred to believe that its choice in Saudi Arabia is the moderate, friendly Saudi royal family or the wild-eyed, sandal-clad zombies of jihad, disregarding the seamless relationship between the two.

Most Muslims Agree with Al-Qaeda Goals (Gulf Daily News-Bahrain)
    Most Muslims want U.S. military forces out of the Middle East and Islamic countries and many agree with al-Qaeda's goals, suggested a public opinion poll conducted in Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan and Indonesia by the Washington-based WorldPublicOpinion.org.
    91% of Egyptians and 69% of Moroccans said they approved of attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq, while 61% of Indonesians disapproved.
    At least 70% or more in all countries supported the goals of "stand(ing) up to Americans and affirm(ing) the dignity of the Islamic people," and "pressur(ing) the U.S. not to favor Israel."
    See also Survey: Large Majorities Agree with Many Goals of Al-Qaeda - Full Report (pdf) (World Public Opinion)
   

News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:

Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

Observations:

Al-Qaeda Strikes Back - Bruce Riedel (Foreign Affairs)

• Al-Qaeda is a more dangerous enemy today than it has ever been before. Al-Qaeda moved swiftly to develop a capability in Iraq, where it had little or no presence before 9/11. On February 11, 2003, bin Laden sent a letter to the Iraqi people, broadcast via the satellite network al Jazeera, warning them to prepare for the "Crusaders' war to occupy one of Islam's former capitals."
• Thousands of Arab volunteers, many of them inspired by bin Laden's words, went to Iraq in the run-up to the U.S. invasion. Some joined the network created by longtime bin Laden associate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had fled Afghanistan and came to Iraq sometime in 2002 to begin preparations against the invasion. (Zarqawi had been a partner in al-Qaeda's millennium plot to blow up the Radisson Hotel and other targets in Amman, Jordan, in December 2000. Later, in Herat, Afghanistan, he ran operations complementary to al-Qaeda's.)
• Al-Qaeda's relocation to Pakistan has also provided new opportunities for the group to expand its reach in the West, especially the UK. In November 2006, Eliza Manningham-Buller, the director general of the British Security Service, known as MI5, said that some 200 networks of Muslims of South Asian descent were being monitored in the UK. At "the extreme end of this spectrum," she said, "are resilient networks directed from al-Qaeda in Pakistan."
• One appealing option for al-Qaeda in the near future may be Lebanon, where extremist Sunni groups have long operated, particularly in Tripoli, which was controlled by a Sunni fundamentalist group during much of the 1980s, before Syria cracked down. If the Lebanese state is further weakened or civil war breaks out, al-Qaeda may seek a foothold there. The UN force stationed in Lebanon is likely to be a target, since the jihadists consider it to be another crusading army in the Muslim world.
• Gaza is another prime candidate: it is already divided between Hamas and Fatah, and there is evidence that a small al-Qaeda apparatus is forming there. Israeli security sources have expressed growing alarm about this new al-Qaeda presence on their doorstep. Al-Qaeda is still too weak to overthrow established governments equipped with effective security services; it needs failed states to thrive.

  The writer, a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, retired last year after 29 years with the Central Intelligence Agency. He served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East Affairs on the National Security Council (1997-2002), and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asian Affairs (1995-97).