24. June 2008 by Dan Verton.

By Olivier Guitta

Embarking upon what was described as his European farewell tour, U.S. President George W. Bush made a point last week of focusing on the Iranian issue with his European allies. Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he was ready to add more sanctions to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear program. At the same time, the Iranian media revealed that in the past few months, Iran, anticipating this move, had withdrawn close to $75 billion of deposits from European banks.  This is just an example of why the international sanctions have been somewhat weak. Indeed, Iran has quickly adapted and found a way around the sanctions.
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2. June 2008 by Dan Verton.

By OLIVIER GUITTA
Published: June 02, 2008

In just three years Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s controversial president, has become a household name. It is worth noting that for a man whose name is mentioned so much, not much is known about him and his past. Indeed, even his official biography lacks a lot of information. But grasping who is Ahmadinejad and where he comes from proves how dangerous this man really is.

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19. May 2008 by Dan Verton.

 By OLIVIER GUITTA 5/19/08

Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida’s No.2, makes a point to regularly mention in his broadcasts the Muslim lands that needs to be “liberated.” The list includes ?the usual suspects? for every respectable jihadist: “Palestine”, Kashmir and Chechnya but interestingly, the list includes two tiny Spanish enclaves located in Morocco: Ceuta and Melilla.

For the time being Zawahiri focus on the enclaves rather than the whole “Al Andalus” (historic Spain). Indeed their importance should not be underestimated.
The two enclaves administered by the Spaniards, (as Hong Kong was by the British) physically inside Morocco, are in fact neither Spanish nor Moroccan. Ceuta and Melilla ? 140 miles apart as the crow flies, or 240 miles by road — on the Moroccan coast hover between Islamic and Christian cultures. The 12 square mile territories however have a vital and strategic importance; they serve as beachheads between Europe and Africa. Ceuta is only 13 miles from the European coast. And Morocco and Spain have been fighting over them for years. Now the Islamists have joined the fray.

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