U.S. INCREASES INTEL, MILITARY COOPERATION WITH TURKEY
he US and Turkey are deepening cooperation amidst a spillover from the Syrian conflict across the borders of its northern neighbor. Despite the current administration’s reluctance to become military involved in Syria, the United States and Turkey have begun more intensive intelligence cooperation, and are discussing contingency plans, including no-fly zones and incursions into Syria to secure Assad’s chemical and biological weapon stockpile. An early windfall from the intelligence-sharing came earlier this month when a tipoff from Washington led Turkey to intercept a plane carrying Russian-made antiaircraft technology to Damascus. (Washington Post, October 19, 2012)
JORDAN FOILS ELABORATE AL-QAEDA TERRORIST ATTACK
Jordan prevented a large-scale terrorist attack this month, arresting 11 al-Qaeda-linked militants in the process. The group, made up of Jordanian nationals, plotted to attack civilian and government buildings, including the U.S. Embassy in Amman. In what the terrorists coined “9/11 the second”, the group planned to bomb shopping centers in the country’s capital with the intention of drawing police and security forces away from the group’s actual targets: U.S. diplomats and Jordanian government officials. Jordan’s intelligence agency tracked the men as they entered Jordan from Syria, carrying explosives and munitions originally intended for the Syrian conflict. The planned attack sought to destabilize Jordan’s pro-Western government exactly seven years after three hotel bombings killed 60 people in Amman. (Al-Arabiya, October 22, 2012; Washington Post, October 21, 2012)
QATAR ASSISTS HAMAS-LED GAZA
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, visited Gaza this month, becoming the first head of state to visit the Palestinian enclave since Hamas took power five years ago. Greeted at the Egyptian border by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, the emir received a hero’s welcome. During his visit, Emir Hamad pledged $400 million in infrastructure projects, including hospitals and schools. He also pressed for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah: “Why are you staying divided? There are no peace negotiations, and there is no clear strategy of resistance and liberation. Why shouldn't brothers sit together and reconcile?" Qatar has taken advantage of the current power vacuum in the Gulf, challenging the more conservative Al Saud family in Saudi Arabia for influence in the region. The emir’s visit is one stop on a tour of the Middle East. (BBC News, October 23, 2012; Associated Press, October 23, 2012)
KURDS PLAYS CHICKEN WITH BAGHDAD OVER OIL
Defying Baghdad, Iraqi Kurdistan has begun selling oil on international markets. Operating its own government and armed forces since 1991, the Kurdish region of northern Iraq receives government funding and transports its oil through Iraqi pipelines. Baghdad has long objected to the Kurds negotiating contracts with oil trading houses, maintaining that only the central government has the authority to buy and sell Iraqi energy. The two trading houses that have now signed contracts with the Iraqi Kurdish government, Trafigura and Vitol already hold contracts with Baghdad for most of Iraq’s refined oil imports. Currently, light oil from the Kurdish regions is being transported to Turkey, where it is actively traded. Baghdad maintains the deals are illegal and is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with ExxonMobil over an independent deal to explore Kurdish oil blocs. “Iraq maintains its right to legally pursue all those who participate in smuggling the property of the Iraqi people locally or internationally,” a government spokesman said. (Reuters, October 23, 2012)
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