National Security Law Brief

On Ashura, one of the most sacred religious holidays in Iran, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the Iranian regime. Even with the risk of death, torture, rape, and beatings, people poured into the streets to protest the Iranian government.

In yet another wave of violent suppression from the government, at least 4 people have been killed so far, including the nephew of opposition presidential candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi. The people fought back and defended themselves against the police, clashing at some points and capturing  cars which they set on fire.

Ashura Protest

On Saturday, while former President Khatemi was giving a speech in support of the opposition, Basiji stormed the hall.

Even though foreign reporters have been denied access to Iran, in an effort by the Iranian regime to keep the news of the protests to a minimum, Al Jazeera has reported on the protest with their own inside sources.

The White House thus far has kept relatively mum on the protests in Iran. Some advisors maintain that keeping a distance from the human rights abuses in Iran is prudent in order to further negotiate, futilely, on the nuclear issue. The unrelenting opposition of the Iranian people to their government and desire for freedom and democracy has sent a clear message in Iran and abroad that these protests and sustained opposition were not an anomaly of this summer and will continue no matter what the costs until real change happens. The prudent, wise, and measures approach by the United States would be to support the people of Iran rather than continue to legitimize and support the Iranian regime by continuing to negotiate with them.

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Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General, was in Moscow this week asking Russia to contribute military supplies and support for the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Rasmussen stressed the fact that NATO and Russia both face a security threat from Afghanistan.

However, Rasmussen spent much of his time in Moscow trying to assuage the tension that has marked NATO/Russian relations since the end of the Cold War, in light of NATO expansion into former Soviet–controlled territory, and talks between the alliance, Georgia and Ukraine.

Also, this week marks the 30th Anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Read more at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

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The Taliban released a video showing captured soldier Bowe Bergdahl, with the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Ft. Wainwright, Alaska. Bergdahl was captured five months ago in Paktika, eastern Afghanistan. The video features a Taliban spokesman demanding release of prisoners captured by US forces. It is not known if Bergdahl is being held in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

Read more at Al Jazeera

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Six Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainees are to be repatriated. The decision to send the Yemeni detainees back to their home country is significant. For months the US has been in talks with the government of Yemen. Yemeni prisoners make up forty-seven percent of the 210 detainees at Guantanamo. An attorney for fourteen of the Yemeni detainees said that the population of Yemeni prisoners hinders the Obama administration’s plan to close the facility. Yemen is one of the poorer countries in the world, an al-Qaeda stronghold. For this reason, critics of the release are saying that the detainees will be released back to the nest of the enemy. For more, see The Washington Post.

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The U.S. State Department recently released a statement addressing U.S. foreign policy towards African security.  The statement specifically rebutted a claim by Somali pirates that illegal fishing in Somali waters is the cause of their actions.  The statement highlighted the causes and costs of piracy and emphasized that the U.S. and international community stands with Somalia in combating illegal fishing as well as other issues plaguing the war–torn nation. The statement concluded with the U.S. approach for dealing with piracy which include economic development, applying pressure on local governments to eliminate pirate havens, and environmental and ocean conservation.  The ultimate goal is to establish the rule of law in Somalia so that pirates can be brought to justice.

For more information see:  Setting the Record Straight: No Justification for Piracy off the Coast of Somalia

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The U.S. charged three Malians with working with Al Qaeda to transport cocaine across Africa.  Federal prosecutors are employing a law passed in 2006 that allows federal drug agents to pursue narcotic crimes anywhere in the world so long as the drugs are linked to terrorist organizations.  This is the first time that this law will be used against Al-Qaeda.  U.S. officials believe that these charges will reveal an expansive network of Al-Qaeda tied drug trafficking.  In this case, prosecutors are focusing on a criminal organization that operates throughout West Africa and is believed to work in concert with Al-Qaeda to traffic drugs in North Africa and Europe.

For more information see:  U.S. Charges 3 Malians in Drug Plot

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On Sunday was the death of one of the most prominent opposition clerics in Iran, Ali Reza Montazeri. His death left the government in Iran in a difficult situation as he was one of the leaders of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and till recently one of the most vocal opponents of the Iranian regime’s crackdown. Montazeri broke ties with the Iranian regime in the 1980′s citing their betrayal of the ideals set forth by the clerics who took absolute power and was put under house arrest until 2003.  During his funeral proceedings, thousands of protesters took the streets today turning his funeral  into yet another opposition protest. The protesters, who included Moussavi and Karroubi, continued to show support for the Green Movement. Many of the slogans chanted included “Death to Dictator.” Government officials clashed with protesters yet again and the regime cut out phone service in various areas. Disruption of phone and Internet services is one of their frequent tactics used to disrupt the organization of protests. Protests are expected to take place again in Iran in one week as it is customary to mourn the death of a person again 7 days after their death.

With this internal pressure and external pressure on the Iranian regime, the regime appears desperate to hold on to power with the use of any force it can employ. The nuclear issue has been of great concern on a worldwide scale and Iran’s development of long range weapons has also raised concerns. The Iranian regime has also announced that the three American hikers who wandered into Iranian territory while hiking will now be put on trial. This posturing by the Iranian regime has been used as a tactic to quiet protests inside while buying time outside on the nuclear issue. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently stated that in regards to the nuclear issue ”I don’t think anyone can doubt that our outreach has produced very little in terms of any kind of a positive response from the Iranians.” Though some continue to say that this failed path is the one to continue to follow, it has become apparent that allowing the Iranian regime to stall on the nuclear issue while violating human rights at home has provided for an unpopular, ineffective, and illogical approach to U.S.-Iran relations.

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US District Court orders $2 billion in Alleged Iranian Assets Frozen

The WSJ is reporting that approximately 18 months ago the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered more than $2 billion allegedly held on behalf of Iran frozen. The court order is still under seal and would represent the greatest seizure of Iranian assets since the 1979 revolution.

The funds were being held in a Citigroup, Inc. account owned by Luxembourg’s Clearstream Banking S.A. (a subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Börse AG) and have become part of a legal struggle between Clearstream and the American families of the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks attack in Lebanon.

In September of 2007, litigator Steven Perles won a $2.6 billion civil suit judgment for families of the Beirut attacks and, with information provided by the U.S. Treasury Department linking the Clearstream funds to Iran, the families are arguing that the funds are legally owed to them.

Read more here, WSJ.

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Iran foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, on Saturday stated that Iran would be willing exchange 882 pounds of uranium in exchange for the equivalent of enriched fuel. Mottaki stated that the rest of Iran’s uranium can be exchanged in the course of a few years. The statements come as a meeting of the US and its allies is scheduled to discuss further Iranian sanctions and is likely meant to divide the parties. The amount of uranium suggested to be initially exchanged by Iran is one-third the amount proposed to be exchanged from a United Nations proposal in October.  “The terms of that agreement,” a senior Obama official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “call for Iran to send 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Russia in one batch, where it would be further enriched and then sent to France for fabrication into fuel assemblies. We remain committed to these terms.”

Read more at the NY Times.

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently posted a 93-page document revealing several of their security procedures at US airports as part of a contract solicitation. However, several hackers were able to easily undo the electronic redaction and access information not intended for public viewing. The document has classified and sensitive information, such as indications that people with wheel chairs, medical dressings, prosthetic devices, and scooters are exempt from screening. It also revealed that citizens of countries such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Somalia, among others, need extra screening.

In an attempt to quell fears, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the information was outdated and, “[t]he security of the traveling public has never been put at risk.” Several responsible TSA officials have been placed on administrative leave as a result of the posting.

Read more at the Washington Post, the BBC, or the down falls of electronic redaction at Computerworld.

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