Questions:
A) Who is this group in Nigeria which Iran has influence over?
B) Is this group militant in nature?
C) What connection is there between the recent Iranian military shipments that were found in Lagos and supposedly meant for Gambia, and whoever is being supported by Iran in Nigeria?
D) What is Iran getting out of this arrangement?
US embassy cables: Washington requests biometric information for African leaders
Leadership dynamics and decision-making processes of key civilian and military officials; influence of corruption and patronage in decision-making. -- Status of relations among top leaders of African Great Lakes countries, especially Kigali and Kinshasa, and Kampala and Kinshasa. -- Plans and intentions regarding political succession, including post-election transitions; indications of coup plotting. -- Leader influence on popular opinion and popular sentiments. -- Influence on government leadership of religious organizations, interest groups, ethnic groups, and military. -- The role of military, intelligence, and security services in national policy decision-making and their control of government institutions and parastatals. -- Leadership policies and actions that cause or respond to political instability or economic deterioration. -- Leadership financial resources and personal relationships. -- Government and public views about and evidence of impact of corruption and crime on internal stability and development . -- Information on political stability, sources of instability, and nature of challenges to effective governance. -- Government plans and efforts to respond to threats to political stability; strategies for addressing underlying discontent. -- Changes inside key ministries and security forces, including personal dynamics, tribal politics and factions. -- Details on identities, motives, influence, and relations among principal advisors. -- Biographic and biometric data, including health, opinions toward the US, training history, ethnicity (tribal and/or clan), and language skills of key and emerging political, military, intelligence, opposition, ethnic, religious, and business leaders. Data should include email addresses, telephone and fax numbers, fingerprints, facial images, DNA, and iris scans. |
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Plans and intentions regarding political succession, including post-election transitions; indications of coup plotting. -- Leader influence on popular opinion and popular sentiments. -- Influence on government leadership of religious organizations, interest groups, ethnic groups, and military. -- The role of military, intelligence, and security services in national policy decision-making and their control of government institutions and parastatals.
-- Leadership policies and actions that cause or respond to political instability or economic deterioration. -- Leadership financial resources and personal relationships. -- Government and public views about and evidence of impact of corruption and crime on internal stability and development
. -- Information on political stability, sources of instability, and nature of challenges to effective governance. -- Government plans and efforts to respond to threats to political stability; strategies for addressing underlying discontent. -- Changes inside key ministries and security forces, including personal dynamics, tribal politics and factions. -- Details on identities, motives, influence, and relations among principal advisors.
-- Biographic and biometric data, including health, opinions toward the US, training history, ethnicity (tribal and/or clan), and language skills of key and emerging political, military, intelligence, opposition, ethnic, religious, and business leaders. Data should include email addresses, telephone and fax numbers, fingerprints, facial images, DNA, and iris scans...
I don't want to leap to speculation, but I think this is worth thinking about further.
Wikileaks began on Sunday November 28th publishing 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government foreign activities.
The cables, which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret.
The embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months. The subject matter of these cables is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice.
The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them.
This document release reveals the contradictions between the US’s public persona and what it says behind closed doors – and shows that if citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes, they should ask to see what’s going on behind the scenes.
Every American schoolchild is taught that George Washington – the country’s first President – could not tell a lie. If the administrations of his successors lived up to the same principle, today’s document flood would be a mere embarrassment. Instead, the US Government has been warning governments -- even the most corrupt -- around the world about the coming leaks and is bracing itself for the exposures.
The full set consists of 251,287 documents, comprising 261,276,536 words (seven times the size of "The Iraq War Logs", the world's previously largest classified information release).
The cables cover from 28th December 1966 to 28th February 2010 and originate from 274 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions.
and the bilateral relationship generally. According to AbZ, the
123 is a powerful example for the region and provides a transparent
alternative to Iran's nuclear model. The UAE views Iran as a huge
problem that goes far beyond nuclear capabilities. Iranian support
for terrorism is broader than just Hamas and Hizballah. Iran has
influence in Afghanistan, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Eastern
Province of KSA, and Africa (AbZ mentioned Nigeria specifically).
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez have close, cooperative ties. If Iran acquires nuclear
weapons, the expeditionary aspect of its foreign policy will become
ever more challenging for neighboring states.
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