WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- Turkish authorities announced they have smashed an al-Qaida cell and arrested its members.
The initial intelligence allowing Turkish security to move against the terrorists was provided by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency two weeks ago.
AKI news agency reported on May 10 that Iranian Abdolhalim Sad was among those arrested.
Turkish intelligence believes that Sad is al-Qaida's new leader in Turkey.
Arrested along with Sad were Turkish citizens Mehmet Yilmaz, Mehmet Belut and Murat Estenleg. In an explosive assertion the Turkish media is reporting that the quartet attended an al-Qaida training camp in Iran close to the border with Iraqi Kurdistan.
Turkish intelligence services say that the men were preparing to attack the Incirlik military base.
Incirlik hosts the U.S. Air Force's 39th Air Base Wing, a contingent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Southern Command. Approximately 4,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at Incirlik, along with hundreds of Turkish and British personnel.
The U.S. aerial squadron at Incirlik is comprised of nearly 40 fighters and reconnaissance aircraft. The base's major runway is 1.9-miles long, with an alternate 1.7-mile-long runway, beside which are 57 hardened aircraft shelters.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is currently visiting Indonesia amid a rapturous welcome.
Ahmadinejad is facing increasing international isolation and possible United Nations Security Council sanctions over his obdurate declaration that Iran will not stop enriching uranium. Ahmadinejad maintains that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and that all countries have the right to develop civilian nuclear technology.
The Australian reported on May 12 that Ahmadinejad received an effusive welcome from students and academics at the University of Indonesia and the State Islamic University in the capital Jakarta.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who recently toured the Middle East, invited Ahmadinejad.
Seeking to ameliorate the crisis on Wednesday Yudhoyono proposed a new setting to investigate Iran's nuclear programs, broadly modeled on the six-party discussions attempting to resolve North Korea's nuclear policies.
On Friday Ahmadinejad arrived in Bali for meetings with the leaders of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Counties, or D-8, whose fifth summit opens on Saturday. The D-8 is composed of Iran, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Egypt.
The first D-8 summit was in Istanbul in 1994 and the most recent in Tehran in 2003.
Iran will cede its presidency of the D-8 on Saturday to Indonesia.
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent parliament legislation proposing severe penalties for citizens watching Kurdish satellite broadcasts.
Under current legislation Iranians illicitly viewing banned satellite broadcasts can be fined $55.
KurdishMedia.com reported on May 12 that the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP-I) and the Kurdish Communist Party Komala sent their satellite broadcasts via Sweden's Rojhelat TV and Tiskh TV. The programs are broadcast in both Farsi and Kurdish and cover politics in Kurdish regions and Iran.
With diplomatic pressure, Iran has blunted broadcasts by Tiskh TV, which began broadcasts in late February. KDP-I's General Secretary Mustafa Hicri envisages Tiskh TV becoming "the voice of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party's military wing."
The new legislation would impose a $600 fine on those convicted as well as a jail term of three to six months. According to Iranian officials Ahmadinejad's administration hopes to pass the legislation as soon as possible.
Iranian officials have begun collecting satellite antennas in many Iranian cities including Mahabad, a traditional center of Kurdish nationalism.
Australia's Office of National Assessments chief Peter Varghese said that the global terrorist threat is growing and could last a generation.
The Australian reported on May 12 that in a speech to a "Security in Government" conference in the capital Canberra, Varghese identified the civilized world's greatest threat as a "large, diverse and fluid network" of Muslim extremist groups and individuals inspired by al-Qaida rather than explicitly directed by it. Varghese observed, "This threat will likely be with us for at least a decade and possibly a generation."
As for immediate threats to Australia, Varghese said that terrorism in Southeast Asia was a particular concern, with Jemaah Islamiyah still interested in and capable of attacking Australia and the West despite becoming more decentralized in its structure and operational planning.
Varghese told his audience, "This situation will not change soon, despite the general abhorrence of the overwhelming majority of Indonesians towards Jemaah Islamiyah's methods and goals."
Vargese remarked that the "war on terror" was an inappropriate moniker because it implied that a decisive moment would occur "when we know whether we face victory or defeat. The reality is that this will be a long and incremental struggle waged on many fronts."
