The Muslim World

1.Gulf Arab states expressed deep concern on Sunday over what they called Iranian nterference in their internal affairs, in a statement issued after a foreign affairs meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The statement rejected Iran's "continuing interference" in the internal affairs of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, after Shi'ite Iran criticised Saudi Arabia for sending troops to Bahrain which faces protests by majority Shi'ites against the island state's Sunni ruling family. (Reuters) 

COMMENT: Six of one and half a dozen of the other. Sunni vs Shia  

2.An Egyptian military tribunal has convicted a blogger of insulting the army after he publicized reports of abuses by the military, and sentenced him to three years in prison, human rights groups said Monday. The military court issued the sentence against Maikel Nabil Sanad, 26, Sunday without the presence of his lawyers, according to a statement by seven Cairo-based rights groups. (AP)

COMMENT: Same old....Egypt Military vs Activist

3.From the WSJ-Pakistan has privately demanded the Central Intelligence Agency suspend drone strikes against militants on its territory, one of the U.S.'s most effective weapons against al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, officials said. Pakistan has also asked the U.S. to reduce the number of U.S. intelligence and Special Operations personnel in the country, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials. Officials in both countries saying intelligence ties are at their lowest point since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks spurred the alliance.

COMMENT: Islam vs America

4.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended a Cabinet meeting Sunday after more than a week's absence that raised tension with the country's supreme leader, state TV reported. Ahmadinejad's decision to back down and attend is likely an attempt to avoid backlash from Khamenei, who has been a strong supporter of the president. The recent confrontation between Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei involved the president's dismissal last month of the country's most powerful intelligence chief, Heidar Moslehi. Khamenei quickly reinstated Moslehi in a slap to Ahmadinejad. In apparent protest, the president skipped two Cabinet meetings this past week. (AP)

COMMENT: Looks like all is not quiet on the eastern front...

5.Iran has been hit by a second computer virus, a senior military official said Monday, suggesting it was part of a concerted campaign to undermine the country's disputed nuclear program. Gholam Reza Jalali, the head of an Iranian military unit in charge of combatting sabotage, said that experts discovered the "espionage virus," which he called "Stars." "Stars" is the second serious computer worm to hit Iran in the past eight months. Late last year, a powerful virus known as Stuxnet targeted the country's nuclear facilities and other industrial sites.

COMMENT: Definitely not quiet.

Turkish officials visited Damascus last week while the Turkish National Security Council met at for a
“refugee summit” and urged “friendly Syria” to halt the violence and ensure freedom for Syrians. Assad’s tanks and soldiers turned a deaf ear and murdered more than 65 Syrian protesters the following day.“Yet, despite strong economic ties, Erdogan does not appear to have the ear of either Assad or [Libyan dictator Muammar] Qaddafi," correspondent Pelin Turgut wrote. Turkey has dropped close ties with Israel for the sake of befriending the Iranian-Syrian-Hizbullah terror axis, and now it is finding itself increasingly on the wrong side of the diplomatic fence.

COMMENT:Turkey has (had?) major financial investments in Syria and Turkey. Now they face a potentially destabilising refugee problem out of Syria. Maybe they should apologise for trying to con the world into believing that Israel is the culprit....

6.This piece would not be complete without a comment on Osama. President Obama has silenced many critics with his decisive handling of this affair. In the eyes of many Americans (and others) he has lost his wimp image. Politically he should try and build on this temporary unity in the US to build non-partizan co-operation. Physcologically, the death of Ben Laden sends a strong message to other would-be terrorists. In reality, Ben Laden was was almost non-existent as a physical threat for many years and was more of a figurehead PR type. The snake is alive and well in the form of AQAP (Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula), and we will be hearing a lot more about this hard core organization in the not too distant future.

There is a profound difference between information and meaning - Warren Bennis