GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: China clamps down further on Internet to prevent unrest

 

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Homeland Security NewsWire

31March2011 10:02pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The Chinese government has eyed the protests sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa with growing unease; to quash the prospect of wide spread protests at home, the government has increasingly clamped down on the Internet and other forms of communication; access to Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have been blocked while government agents are more carefully monitoring cellphone calls, electronic messages, and emails; residents say they have never seen such high levels of censorship before. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Syria's Assad considers ending emergency rule amid violence

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Jerusalem Post

24March2011 3:30pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made an unprecedented pledge of greater freedom and more prosperity to Syrians on Thursday as anger mounted following a crackdown on protesters that reportedly left at least 100 dead.

As an aide to Assad in Damascus read out a list of decrees, which included a possible end to 48 years of emergency rule, a human rights group said a leading pro-democracy activist, Mazen Darwish, had been arrested.

n the southern city of Deraa, human rights activists and witnesses said at least 100 people had been killed there on Thursday when security forces opened fire on demonstrators inspired by uprisings across the Arab world that have shaken authoritarian leaders.

Announcing the sort of concessions that would have seemed almost unimaginable three months ago in Syria, Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told a news conference the president had not himself ordered his forces to fire on protesters: (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Egyptian protesters breach ‘torture center,’ seize files

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: The Washington Post/Spy Talk

07March2011 6:00amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Egyptian protesters breached a secret police compound in eastern Cairo on Saturday and carted boxes of files, according to rights activists and Egyptian media reports.

“Protesters entered the State Security Investigations (SSI) compound in Nasr City, a place they call the ‘torture center’ of Egypt, just before 7 p.m.,” Priyanka Motaparthy, a research fellow with U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, reported from the scene.

“They dragged out as many documents and materials as they could, to protect them from being destroyed,” Motaparthy added.

Army officers did nothing to stop them, she said.

“Protesters began gathering in front of the Nasr City compound around 4 p.m. and by 5:30, we observed a crowd of at least 250” persons gathered outside. “Just before 7, we found a side entrance, where army officers stood by as people entered.”

The invaders amassed “several large trash bags full of shredded paper, file folders still intact, computer hard drives, and a green metal safe,” Motaparthy reported.

Some protesters “wandered through the halls of the building, shouting ‘Where are the prisoners?’” she continued. “They were searching for the secret detention cells where political prisoners were held and often tortured. “ (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: King to Press On With Hearings on Radical Islam Despite Protests in New York

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Fox News

07March2011 4:00amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: WASHINGTON — Radical Islam poses a threat to the United States as a whole, but is particularly dangerous to American Muslims who are targeted by terror groups, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday in defending upcoming hearings on radical Islam.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is facing a backlash, including a Sunday protest in New York, over his decision to hold Thursday's hearing — the first in a series — on the threat of Islamic radicalization. King said he's surprised the American-Muslim community is not embracing his hearings because they are the ones most victimized when radical elements infiltrate their communities.

"I've said time and again the overwhelming [majority] of Muslims are good Americans, but the threat is coming from their community and we have to find out why, how it is being done and how to stop it," he told Fox News. "We have an absolute obligation to investigate that." (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Al Qaeda tape encourages Muslims to replace fallen leaders with Sharia Law

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: ABC News

02March2011 8:12amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  A new audio message released by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee calls for the uprisings in the Middle East to continue until Islamic states are established.

The 10-minute audio message, newly released on the web but recorded after the Tunisian government fell in January, is the first major communiqué from al Qaeda recorded after the tumult in the Middle East began, and has been seen by some analysts as the terror group's attempt to stay relevant.

The message, purportedly from Saudi national Ibrahim Sulayman al Robaysh, an al Qaeda operative released from Guantanamo in 2006, warns Tunisians that the removal of long-time president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was laudable, but likely to result in another "tyrant" taking his place if Tunisians don't create a state based on Islamic law, or sharia.

"I am happy, like the others, that this tyrant has fallen," al Robaysh said. "But I don't think that these events will be beneficial to the plight of Muslims. For it could be that they have replaced a horrible situation with a not so bad one. Or replaced one tyrant with another." (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Libya's poison gas unaffected by turmoil, official says

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: The Washington Post

28February2011 7:07pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: A senior administration official said Monday that the White House had no reason to believe the current turmoil in Libya has made its chemical weapons stockpiles more vulnerable to theft.

Experts believe that Libya destroyed about 3,300 bombshells designed to carry mustard and sarin gas chemicals years ago, as part of its deal to end decades of economic and diplomatic isolation with the West.

But some 10 metric tons of mustard sulfate and sarin gas precursor remain stockpiled in barrels at three locations in the Libyan desert south of Tripoli, where Moammar Gaddafi has holed up in a last-ditch fight to keep from being overthrown.

Many experts worry that the barrels are ripe for picking by terrorists linked to al-Qaeda. Rumors abound, says an intelligence source with deep experience in the region, that British SAS commandos are preparing to secure the materials. Over the weekend SAS and Special Boat Service commandos rescued about 150 civilians.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, the administration official suggested the Libyans have moved to bolster the security of the material since protests erupted earlier this month, but he refused to specify what those steps were or how the administration had communicated with the Libyans. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Heavy Police Presence Thwarts Call for Anti-Government Protests in China

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Global Security

28February2011 6:58pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: China put on a display of force Sunday following an on-line call for anti-government protests across the nation. Several foreign journalists were physically assaulted and detained, including two VOA reporters. Security officials are determined to put down any signs of the kind of unrest that has shaken the Middle East.

Chinese security forces were deployed following the second on-line call in a week urging peaceful protests against Communist Party rule.

Hundreds of uniformed and plain-clothed police officers patrolled expected protest sites in China's two main cities, Beijing and Shanghai.

Police removed five men gathering at a planned protest site in Shanghai.

In Beijing's main shopping and tourist district, close to Tiananmen Square, several foreign journalists were physically assaulted and detained. Many were ordered to destroy film footage and photographs. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Qaddafi blames protests on drug-laced milk

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Arab News

24February2011 5:00pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: BENGHAZI, Libya: Forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi launched a fierce counter-attack on Thursday, fighting gun battles with rebels who have threatened the Libyan leader by seizing important towns close to the capital.

The opposition were already in control of major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Qaddafi’s power base.

Gun battles in Zawiyah, an oil terminal 0 km (30 miles) from the capital, left 10 people dead, a Libyan newspaper said.

France’s top human rights official said up to 2,000 people might have died so far in the uprising.

In a rambling appeal for calm, Qaddafi blamed the revolt on Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, and said the protesters were fueled by milk and Nescafe spiked with hallucinogenic drugs,

Qaddafi, who just two days ago vowed in a televised address to crush the revolt and fight to the last, showed none of the fist-thumping rage of that speech.

This time, he spoke to state television by telephone without appearing in person, and his tone seemed more conciliatory.

“Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe,” Qaddafi said. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: King's Hearings on Radical Islam Draw Rival Protest Groups

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: WNYC

23February2011 2:50amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: About 130 protestors demonstrated in front of Rep. Peter King's office in Massapequa Park on Tuesday, some in support and others against the Long Island politician's proposed Congressional hearings meant to examine the threat of radical Islam in the U.S.

King, who is Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, was recently asked to focus his inquiry on "examine extreme environmentalists and neo-Nazis," but King declined, saying, "the Committee will continue to examine the threat of Islamic radicalization, and I will not allow political correctness to obscure a real and dangerous threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the United States."

"Mr. King's hearings are discriminatory and self-defeating," said one demonstrator, Dr. Shaik Ubaid, of the Muslim Peace Coalition USA. "If Rep. Peter King is sincere about the home-grown terrorist threat, as we all are, including American Muslims, for they have the most to lose, then he must invite the director of the FBI and other top law enforcement agencies. He has not done so."

Ubaid added: "[King] must hold hearings on all terrorist groups including the ones who pose the biggest threat such as the armed militias who, according to news reports, are arming for a war and threatening even the President of the United States. He has not done so."

Some supporters of King argued that if most Muslims are not extremists, they shouldn't be afraid of what the hearings will bring out. Others suggested some important revelations could emerge.

"I’d like to see a solid hearing, where they look throughout the allegations in the American community that there’s a lot of radical Islamists who are ready to take action against this country, whether they be natural born citizens, whether they come from other countries," said Jim Duffy, a member of the Conservative Party of Suffolk County. (read full report)

Additional reading: Peter King's "Radicalization" Hearings – Another Barrel of Monkeys?

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: "60 Minutes" Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted by Mob in Cairo Protests

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: New York Post

16February2011 1:38pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan was repeatedly sexually assaulted by thugs yelling, "Jew! Jew!" as she covered the chaotic fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo's main square Friday, CBS and sources said yesterday.

The TV crew with Logan, who is also the network's chief foreign correspondent, had its cameras rolling moments before she was dragged off — and caught her on tape looking tense and trying to head away from a crowd of men behind her in Tahrir Square.

"Logan was covering the jubilation . . . when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration," CBS said in a statement. "It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into a frenzy.

"In the crush of the mob, [Logan] was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.

"She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning," the network added. "She is currently in the hospital recovering." (read full report)

ALSO:

Battle-tough beauty no ‘wimpy girly girl’

When war reporter Lara Logan's co-workers learned that she had to be hospitalized after being attacked in Egypt, they knew it was serious.

Logan, CBS's chief foreign correspondent, is known as much for her toughness as for her good looks, so it was clear things were bad.

"She's not a wimpy, girly girl — she had a pocket for lipstick sewn into her flak jacket as a joke," one source told The Post yesterday.

Riots, bloodshed and even physical attacks have been part of Logan's job for years, and colleagues said she relishes her role as being a seasoned reporter in the world's worst war-torn areas.

When the 39-year-old South African native was embedded with a US Army unit on the Afghan border shortly after 9/11, the armored Humvee she was traveling in was attacked by an anti-tank missile.

The inside of Logan's mouth was torn up and her face left swollen and bruised.

But when the Army tried to ship her home, she balked.

"I was just enraged," she told The Washington Post in a 2008 interview. "I'd already been blown up. I said, 'I'll just put an ice pack on.' There was no way I was going to leave, no way in hell."

Logan wound up never even telling her mother, who was dying, that she had been hurt.

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Saudis ready to aid Bahraini ruler. First riots in Libya after Yemen, Jordan

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

16February2011 7:52amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Despite security police efforts to dislodge them, anti-government protesters continued to occupy the main square of Manama, Bahrain Tuesday night, Feb. 15, even after its ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa made a rare television appearance to regret the two deaths and promised a full investigation.

Wednesday, first protests were reported in Libya, starting in Benghazi, where eyewitnesses report
police responded to stone-throwers with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets.

In Yemen, security forces stayed on alert after five days of disturbances by protesters demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's removal from power although he promised not to run again when his term ends in 2013. Wednesday saw, security forces in Jordan and the army in Syria on high alert.

Saudi Arabia is especially alarmed by the swelling protest in its small but strategic neighbor, Bahrain, site of US Fifth Fleet headquarters for the Gulf region. For the first time, Sunni Muslims joined the majority Shiite protest against the rule of the Al Khalifas who have been in power since 1971.

DEBKAfile discloses that shortly before dawn Wednesday, Feb. 16, the Bahraini king secretly asked the Saudis for riot dispersal gear for his security forces to break up the protests. He also asked Saudi Arabia to place its security forces on the ready in case they got out of hand. (read full report)

 

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: IRAN IN THE NEWS

Police disperse Iranian protesters with tear gas

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: The Independent

14February2011 1:43pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: (AP) – Clashes between Iranian police and tens of thousands of protesters wracked central Tehran today with security forces beating and firing tear gas at opposition supporters looking to evoke Egypt's recent popular uprising.

The opposition called for a demonstration today in solidarity with Egypt's popular revolt that a few days earlier forced the president there to resign after nearly 30 years in office. The rally is the first major show of strength for Iran's cowed opposition in more than a year. (read full report)

 

Iran court to target 'media crimes,' spurring fears of fresh crackdown

SOURCE: CNN

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Iranian officials said Sunday that the Middle Eastern nation will create a court focusing on "media crimes," according to state-run media reports, a move that has fueled fears Tehran is further intensifying its crackdown on journalists.

Abbas Zagholi, the head of Iran's Government Employees Court, said the new judicial branch "was necessitated by the special media crimes," according to a report in Khabar, a conservative publication run by backers of parliamentary Speaker and Tehran Mayor Ali Larijani.

"For certain reasons, such as great developments in mass media, the Tehran prosecutor felt the need to create a more independent court to deal with media affairs," Zagholi said.

Omid Memarian, a native Iranian and U.S.-based freelance journalist who said he talks regularly with journalists in Iran, said the new apparatus could spell greater attention, and prosecution, of those who don't mimic Tehranian government positions. (read full report)

 

Iran: West Is Conspiring in Demonstrations

SOURCE: Newsmax

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:

TEHRAN — Western spies are conspiring to ignite an uprising in Iran by recruiting a candidate willing to set himself on fire in an anti-regime protest, the Islamic republic's volunteer militia warned on Sunday.

Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naghdi's accusation came as Washington and Tehran engage in a war of words over Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's ouster under the weight of a popular uprising.

"Western intelligence agencies are searching for a mentally challenged person who can set himself on fire in Tehran to trigger developments like those in Egypt and Tunisia," Naghdi said, quoted by Fars news agency.

"They (the West) are very retarded and think by imitating such actions they can emerge victorious," said the powerful Islamist volunteer militia's commander. (read full report)

 

'This may be the first spark of revolution in Iran’

SOURCE: JPOST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The protesters of Egypt, who brought down Hosni Mubarak over the weekend after 18 days of sustained demonstrations, have given the Iranian public a clear lesson, according to Menashe Amir, the veteran Israeli expert on Iranian affairs: When you take the streets, don’t go home again.

Amid minor, but spreading clashes in Iran on Monday afternoon, with news agencies reporting Iranian forces using sticks and tear gas as several thousand people headed into major squares, the question of the hour is whether Iranians have learned from the Egyptian precedent and are willing to try and replicate it. Monday’s protests were initiated by Iranian opposition figures in ostensible solidarity with the popular protests in Egypt and elsewhere, but were plainly intended, after months of relative quiet, to revive the anti-regime demonstrations of 2009, and the Iranian authorities did their best in recent days to discourage them. (read full report)

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Algeria promises more freedoms to avert protests

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Reuters

03February2011 2:49pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Algeria promised to end a 19-year-old state of emergency and provide more political freedoms on Thursday, concessions designed to keep out a wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

The announcement by the energy exporting nation followed pressure from government opponents, some inspired by unrest in Egypt and Tunisia, who demanded the emergency powers be scrapped and are planning a protest in the capital on February 12.

The government had argued it needed the extra powers under the state of emergency to fight Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda but the insurgency has abated, sparking public debate about whether those powers are still justified.

The lifting of the state of emergency will happen "in the very near future," Algeria's official APS news agency quoted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as telling a meeting of senior ministers.

"This is clearly a response to the events in Tunisia and Egypt and an attempt by the Algerian authorities to get ahead of the curve and head off popular protests," said Benjamin Stora, a leading French historian on Algeria.

"They would not have dreamed of lifting the state of emergency otherwise." (read full report)

 

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's advertisers or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Separate whirlwinds demolish two Middle East figures in one day

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

02February2011 12:49pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Close observation of the circumstances surrounding the seven-day popular uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year old presidency cannot avoid noticing the skillful choreography which brought it up to a well-judged climax Tuesday night, Feb. 2. In fact, the hands of the United States, Britain and the Egyptian army heads were plain to see at every stage. Their agents pushed the levers for speeding up the street action when it flagged and hit the brakes before it went too far.

Interestingly, the outburst of fury appeared to be leaderless and totally spontaneous, an apparent liability in a popular revolution. In fact it was an asset. Mubarak's dread security forces were bereft of the power to break up the protest movement by the usual means of grabbing the ringleader, figure or group at its head. They were also denied an object of penetration for finding out what the street had in store and when – and getting their blows in first.

Without these levers of control, Mubarak's week-long struggle to keep his head above water was doomed from the start. (read full report)

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: "Free Egypt" regimes planned alongside March of Millions

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

01February2011 2:56pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Certain opposition groups, backed by retired army and security forces officers are planning to take over a key delta city, proclaim it liberated territory and establish there a "Free Egypt" government, DEBKAfile's Middle East sources report Tuesday, Feb. 1. The masses flooding central Cairo for the March of Millions are marching on the presidential palace in their biggest protest demonstration in eight days. President Hosni Mubarak is working there at present.

Opposition leaders have come to the same conclusion as most Western and Middle East observers that Mubarak; whose effigy hangs high from a noose over Tahrir Square, has no intention of leaving in the foreseeable future and all his maneuvers are a play for time.  (read full report)

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Opposition leader ElBaradei calls for Mubarak to leave

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: CNN

30January2011 11:27amEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei on Sunday called for embattled President Hosni Mubarak to "leave today and save the country."

"This is a country that is falling apart," ElBaradei told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

Egypt is entering a period of transition, and a government of national unity is needed to fill the void and hold "fair and free" elections, ElBaradei said.

Mubarak continues to cling to power, though he sacked his government and appointed a new vice president and prime minister.

"I think this is a hopeless, desperate attempt by Mubarak to stay in power," ElBaradei said. "I think it is loud and clear from everybody in Egypt that Mubarak has to leave today, and it is non-negotiable for every Egyptian. (read full report)

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Tanks, Fighter Jets Enter Cairo

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Israel National News

30January2011 11:07amEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Egypt sent its tanks into Cairo over the weekend and its fighter planes soared through the skies overhead in an effort to persuade protesters to return home.

Military helicopters hovered over the crowds and trucks of soldiers appeared in the central square of the capital where protesters continued to call for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

State media reported that Mubarak held talks with top military commanders earlier in the day, as troops attempted to enforce a 4:00 p.m. curfew in a city of some 18 million people.

Hundreds of Muslim terrorists and thousands of other inmates were freed by armed gangs from jails across the capital just before dawn on Sunday. The former prisoners rushed into the city with guns, sticks and clubs, indiscriminately smashing cars and robbing people. (read full report)

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Hamas gunmen from Gaza battle Egyptian forces in Sinai

Muslim Brotherhood more active than it appears

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

30January2011 10:50amEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  Gunmen of Hamas's armed wing, Ezz e-Din al Qassam, crossed from Gaza into northern Sinai Sunday, Jan. 30 to attack Egyptian forces and push them back. They acted on orders from Hamas' parent organization, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, confirmed by its bosses in Damascus, to open a second, Palestinian front against the Mubarak regime. The Muslim Brotherhood is therefore more active in the uprising than it would appear.

DEBKAfile's military sources report that Hamas gunmen went straight into battle with Egyptian Interior Ministry special forces (CFF) in the southern Egyptian-controlled section of the border town of Rafah and the Sinai port of El Arish. Saturday, Bedouin tribesmen and local Palestinians used the mayhem in Cairo to clash with Egyptian forces at both northern Sinai key points and ransack their gun stores. (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Egyptian authorities order closure of Al-Jazeera offices

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: JPOST

30January2011 10:40amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  Egyptian authorities ordered Al-Jazeera's offices in Cairo shut down on Sunday morning following the network's non-stop coverage of the country's massive protests against the government. The move triggered a sharp response from the Al-Jazeera which released a statement accusing the Egyptian authorities of censorship.

"Al-Jazeera sees this as an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists,” read the statement, adding that the closure was aimed at "silencing the voices of the Egyptian people." (read full report)

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING (UPDATED): Egypt's President Names Deputy for 1st Time

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Newsmax / Bloomberg

29January2011 3:52pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak named a vice president Saturday for the first time since coming to power nearly 30 years ago. It was a clear step toward setting up a successor in the midst of the biggest challenge ever to his rule from tens of thousands of anti-government protesters.

Mubarak named his intelligence chief of nearly two decades and close confidant Omar Suleiman, state television reported.

The president had been seen as grooming his son Gamal to succeed him, possibly even as soon as in presidential elections planned for later this year. However, there was significant public opposition to the hereditary succession.

The appointment of Suleiman, 74, answers one of the most intriguing and enduring political questions in Egypt: Who will succeed 82-year-old Mubarak? (read Newsmax report)

According to Bloomberg:

“The president appears to be trying to position the country in a way that if he leaves, the country is in the hands of the military and intelligence,” said Emad Gad, an analyst at the Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, a Cairo-based research firm. “He has to leave or the protests won’t stop. But the army will not remove the president.”

Mubarak also named Aviation Minister and former air force commander Ahmed Shafik as prime minister to replace Ahmed Nazif, who resigned today at the 82-year-old president’s request.

Mubarak’s two appointments may not be enough to placate protesters as they put former military officers in charge of the top three jobs in the country. The president was a commander of the air force. Seventy-three people were killed and 1,000 wounded across the country in the past two days, Al Arabiya television reported, citing medical sources.

“The Egyptian government can’t reshuffle the deck and then stand pat,” State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said in a message on Twitter. “President Mubarak’s words pledging reform must be followed by action.” (read Bloomberg report)