Al-Jazeera reported July 6 that Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, spiritual mentor of Iraq's al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been arrested in Jordan, after a brief period of being free under close surveillance. He was freed following his acquittal on terrorism charges, and it is uncertain on what charges he is now being held. Ironically, the arrest comes immediately following an interview with al-Jazeera in which the Sheikh criticized his protege's brutal tactics. "I have reservations on expanding jihadi operations or what others call suicide or istishhadiya [martyrdom]," he said. He was apparently referring to suicide attacks on civilians. Al-Zarqawi did not appreciate the criticism, immediately issuing a communique blasting his mentor. "This [criticism] does not harm me as much as it harms this jihad...the blessings of which are apparent to anyone who has eyes," said the statement posted to an Islamist website and signed by Zarqawi. "Do not follow in the devil's footsteps or you shall perish, and beware, our virtuous sheikh, from the cunning of God's enemies and from being lured into dividing the mujahideen." (The Peninsula, Qatar, July 13)

What a strange twist of fate. It seems the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan are apparently using Pakistan, key regional US ally, as a staging ground. This from Pakistan's Daily Times, July 12:

Six more Pakistani fighters arrested in Afghanistan

* Missing US commando found dead in Kunar province
* Four Arab militants escape US detention centre at Bagram

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry on Monday [July 11] said that local forces had arrested six Pakistani fighters and eight Afghan Taliban insurgents with weapons and explosives.

Meanwhile, the London terror, which has shocked the world, is roughly equivalent to your average bad day in Iraq, as TruthOut reminds us.

23 Killed in Bombing at Baghdad Recruiting Center
By John F. Burns
The New York Times

Monday 11 July 2005

Baghdad - A brief lull in the suicide bombings here ended on Sunday when an attacker mingling with a crowd of men outside an Iraqi Army recruiting center detonated an explosive vest, killing at least 23 volunteers and wounding at least 40 others.

This sucks. Are we to assume that the Sharon Mall is named for the incumbent prime minister? Maybe the bombers were seeking some poetic justice. From TruthOut:

Suicide Bomber Kills Self, 2 Others at Israeli Mall
The Associated Press

Tuesday 12 July 2005

Netanya attack thought to be connected to nearby car bombing.

Jerusalem - A suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of teens near a shopping mall in the seaside city of Netanya on Tuesday, killing himself and two others in the second such attack since a truce was declared five months ago.

A friend writes on the Car Free Cities list:

Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety: Evaluating The Risks

In 2002 according to statistics 1,000,000 people were killed by cars:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_accident

Just what we needed to hear. The world stands by as massive ethnic cleansing—perhaps genocide—continue in Darfur. Now we are told of a similar crisis in Mauritania, which hasn't even come to the world's atttention. This from Johannesburg's Business Day, July 12, via AllAfrica.com, July 12:

From today's AP:

Police are investigating whether four attackers died in last week's London subway and bus bombings and have arrested one suspect after a series of raids Tuesday in Leeds, a northern city with a strong Muslim community.

From the London Times, July 7:

West turns blind eye as police put Saddam's torturers back to work

IRAQI security forces, set up by American and British troops, torture detainees by pulling out their fingernails, burning them with hot irons or giving them electric shocks, Iraqi officials say. Cases have also been recorded of bound prisoners being beaten to death by police.

In their haste to put police on the streets to counter the brutal insurgency, Iraqi and US authorities have enlisted men trained under Saddam Hussein’s regime and versed in torture and abuse, the officials told The Times. They said that recruits were also being drawn from the ranks of outlawed Shia militias....