• PRINCE HARRY PISSES OFF THE ENTIRE WORLD – The Royal ignited a firestorm after quotes from his recently released memoir, “Spare,” was criticized by the Taliban and by many of his former comrades in arms. In what appears to be an honest accounting of his combat tour in Afghanistan, he writes about ‘eliminating Baddies’ with a lack of remorse that appears to have infuriated a number of his acquaintances while simultaneously extending an invitation to the Taliban leadership to call for a war crimes investigation. Some comrades who served with the Prince have also criticized the recounting and say it puts him, his family, and those he fought alongside at risk of retaliation.


• SUPREME LEADER SNUBS INTERNATIONAL MUSLIM SCHOLAR GROUP – In another sign that all is not well between Kandahar and Kabul, a delegation of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) was snubbed by the Supreme Leader, and their request for an audience was denied. The delegation had arrived in Afghanistan on a fact-finding trip to ascertain whether their organization could help the fledgling government by funding several priority areas of need. The delegation was received by the Minister of the Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is rapidly assuming the mantle of a ‘moderate’ in the Taliban. A source within the Ministry of the Interior says there is already a palpable sense of division between the old-guard Taliban and the younger generation embodied by both the Minister of Defense and the Interior.


• LANDSLIDE IN BADAKHSHAN TRAPS SEVERAL MINERS – A landslide occurred at a gold mine in the Yawan District on Thursday night and at least 10 miners were reportedly trapped. It is believed the slide occurred after a moderately powerful earthquake struck the region. Rescue teams have been sent to the site and are working to free the trapped miners. The region suffers many of these catastrophes each year as artisanal mining is one of the few economic opportunities available to residents of the Province.


• UPTICK IN ANTI-CHINA SENTIMENT ON JIHADIST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS – After the December 12th attack on a hotel used primarily by Chinese nationals in Kabul. ISIS-K published a detailed editorial about the attack in its official al-Naba newsletter (15 December). The al-Naba article has since been translated into multiple languages and shared extensively among affiliate groups. Pakistan recently had to intervene and disperse an anti-China protest at the Gwadar Port. With the announcement of the recent long-term oil deal between the Taliban and China, ISIS-K will likely target more Chinese activities in Afghanistan.

( #Qatar’s / #Turkey’s ) libyan #Muslim_brotherhood leader #Ali_AlSalabi.
A photograph they don’t want you to see.
Note Ali is currently based in Qatar and a frequent traveler to Turkey #alqaeda #Isis #terrorist #GNA pic.twitter.com/y8Mu6uYDMF

— M(LNA) (@MLNA2021) March 13, 2021

The Qatari-funded International Union of Muslim Scholars describes US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan as an attempt at an “eradication war” and calls on the Muslim world to “use all means” to fight it.https://t.co/NfK6RVIqo0

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) February 6, 2020

The first conference of the Arab-International Forum for Support of the Resistance was held January 15-17, 2010 in Beirut. Over 3,000 individuals from the Arab, Islamic, and Western world were in attendance; figuring prominently among them were leaders of the Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqi resistance movements, and representatives from Iran and Syria.

The guest list included: Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas Political Bureau head Khaled Mash'al, and Iraqi Scholars Association chairman Sheikh Harith Al-Dhari, who represented the Iraqi resistance. There were also senior officials from Islamic and Arab countries, including Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajeddini, who read a letter from Ahmadinejad; a Syrian Ba'th Party official representing Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad; and numerous Lebanese officials, including a representative of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, a representative of Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'd Al-Hariri, and former Lebanese prime minister Salim Al-Hoss. Also among the participants was International Union of Muslim Scholars head Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, as well as officials and intellectuals from various Western countries. The latter included British MP George Galloway, as well as former U.S. attorney-general Ramsey Clark and American attorney Stanley Cohen, who for years have been active in providing legal defense for accused terrorists.

During the conference, in what was in effect a show of strength by the elements of the pro-Iran camp, participants underlined the right to armed resistance against the Israeli and American occupations, and also the importance of the resistance in thwarting the West's policy vis-à-vis the Middle East and creating a just world order. The official website of the conference explained that the idea to convene it was born of the increase in pressure and in attempts to eliminate the option of resistance to occupation after the resistance "proved its great effectiveness in thwarting the hostile plans in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, and Afghanistan."[1] The conference's concluding statement called for coordination among all the resistance movements, and declared the resistance in Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq to be a model for ways of "countering the terrorism being implemented by Israel and the U.S."

Iran's and Syria's representatives stood out at the conference; these two countries' support for the resistance was esteemed by the participants. In contrast, moderate countries, particularly Egypt, were the target of attacks. The concluding statement called for these countries to adopt resistance, sever relations with Israel, act to remove this country from the U.N. and from other international organizations, and to prosecute Israeli and American "war criminals."

This conference was held a year after the shift in the balance of power in the Middle East that led to the crumbling of the moderate Arab camp which had been a counterbalance to the pro-Iran camp in the Arab world and had vehemently opposed the resistance organizations. The crucial factor in the weakening of the moderate camp was Saudi King Abdallah's reconciliation with Syria. Saudi Arabia, which reached an agreement with Syria on the establishment of a unity government in Lebanon despite the electoral victory of the March 14 Forces -- a Saudi ally -- paved the way for Syria to return to Lebanon with no guarantee of Hizbullah's changing its policy, and without Syria having to provide anything tangible in exchange.