09.16.11
Posted in Europe, Free/Libre Software at 12:23 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Like a rigged auction
Summary: European watchdog on unfair procurement that excludes everything but Microsoft; more pressure on the UK government to pay attention to FOSS
DESPITE pressure from US politicians (see Cablegate cables like this one), the European Commission gave Microsoft something that it deserved for breaking laws. The Commission hardly punished Microsoft, but at least it tried; Microsoft fought back with lobbyists, smear campaigns, and other dubious moves, including PR/spin. But at the same time the Commission had problems of its own. It took had become a prisoner of Microsoft. We wrote about this in previous years, so we see no need to cover this again
The investigative journalist Mark Ballard has done a good job researching for his article “European Commission buys Microsoft for 20 years without competition”. To quote some key parts of the report:
The European Commission has been buying Microsoft software since 1993 without an open and public competition to assess alternative products, according to documents released to Computer Weekly.
As a result of striking its sixth successive uncontested deal with Microsoft in May this year, the Commission has ensured Microsoft will have dominated the desktop computing environment of European institutions for 20 years without allowing a single rival to compete for the business.
Documents released to Computer Weekly will raise questions about a procurement regime that allows a sole supplier to reign unchallenged for so long using legal exceptions meant only for extraordinary circumstances.
They will also raise questions about the validity of the official justifications the Commission used to secure its purchasing arrangements with Microsoft, called “negotiated procedures”, the last of which concerned approximately €50m of software licences for 36,000 PCs and their supporting infrastructure across 42 European institutions, including the European Parliament and Court of Justice.
Karsten Gerloff, president of lobby group Free Software Foundation Europe, said the ongoing Microsoft arrangement was a “disgrace” for the European Commission (EC).
[...]
Graham Taylor, chief executive of Open Forum Europe, a lobby group backed by Google, IBM, Oracle and Red Hat, said they treated the negotiated procedure with “extreme caution” and failed to understand why the Commission had used it to prevent competition in desktop software.
Hopefully articles like these will pressure for change.
Only recently we saw some reports on growing pressure for the UK government to actually fulfil its Open Source software promises. Here is another new article which addresses this same topic almost 2 weeks after it all began in the British press:
Following a number of freedom of information requests, it was recently revealed that government departments were ignoring open source in the face of proprietary software, despite promises by Cabinet Officer Francis Maude.
Maude had declared there would be a “level playing field” for open source as a way to slash public spending. Yet it is evident that significant sums are still finding their way into the pockets of big firms.
TechEye contacted Tom Watson who was keen to express his support for open source in government IT, and showing support on a parliamentary level to further its use. While there is clearly support for open source, why has it been so difficult to actually bring about the necessary changes?
Gerry Gavigan at the Open Source Consortium believes that the government has failed to put guidance in place which would ensure an environment where open source can thrive.
He told TechEye that the problem with open source is from a lack of force from the Cabinet Office in putting open standards and interoperability in place.
“When you look across government it is hard to see any strategic decisions being made,” he told us.
“The government needs to make an overriding decision on the implementation of open standards before open source software can gain a foothold. Without this using open source software can actually cost more.”
Good luck to Gerry Gavigan and others who do good work to make the UK more Free software tolerant. As it stands at the moment, the UK remains one of the most Free/open source software-hostile counties in Europe, based on some older ladders. █
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Posted in GNU/Linux, Red Hat, SLES/SLED at 11:58 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The role of SUSE, its “community”, and a new case study of SLES “Linux tax” at SAP
“MICROSOFT Linux” (also known as SUSE, which is partly funded by Microsoft by the way) is one of the biggest problems GNU/Linux has got on the server side at the moment. It’s mostly about SLES, as SLED is hardly relevant anymore. Microsoft basically takes part of the revenue made by putting SLES in the datacentre, which is exactly why Microsoft backs SUSE financially. It’s about combating distributions that do not pay Microsoft a penny, notably Red Hat/CentOS and Debian GNU/Linux.
SUSE organises an event for employees and volunteers, hoping to attract the latter using the “OpenSUSE” alter ego. To quote the latter article: “At the openSUSE Conference, we talked to the makers of openSUSE about the new developments for SUSE and for the community distribution.”
“Community” is code word for unpaid staff in this case. Microsoft is among those who profit from the work of this “community”.
The more major news this week is the announcement from SAP that it will carry on paying Microsoft a tax for using GNU/Linux. There is even a press release about it and this spin says:
“Our partnerships with SAP and IBM have enabled thousands of customers to gain from the exciting benefits SUSE Linux has to offer, including decreased operating costs and improved performance,” said Michael Miller, vice president of global marketing and alliances…
Shame on IBM for still allowing Microsoft to make money from GNU/Linux. Then again, IBM is not against software patents and it helped SUSE be acquired by Novell almost a decade ago. This whole thing is worth mentioning especially because only days earlier it was stressed that SAP supports Red Hat. When will SAP actually make Red Hat its platform of choice and stop choosing to pay Microsoft for something which is free? Some Microsoft allies like SAP actually want to do this. That’s where SUSE comes in. █
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Posted in Europe, Finance, Microsoft at 7:21 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: A look at the confidential cable about “IRISH FOCUS ON U.S. FIRMS”
OVER THE years we have written a great deal about Microsoft’s tax dodge in the US and EU. We showed that Microsoft had cronies (former executives) in government to allow it to do this and we also mentioned Charlie McCreevy on occasions.
The following cable mentions Microsoft almost exclusively in relation to tax dodging in Ireland. “On this issue,” says the cable, “Irish coverage followed reports concerning, on one hand, renewed pressure for EU tax harmonization and, on the other, the use of Irish corporate tax benefits by U.S. firms. Regarding the latter, the Wall Street Journal reported in November that Microsoft had placed intellectual property with Irish units to save USD 500 million in U.S. taxes, and a subsequent New York Times editorial described Ireland as a tax haven that facilitated the outflow of U.S. jobs and investment. The Irish media later reported that the IRS was pursuing USD 500 million in back taxes from the U.S. software group Synopsis over its Irish subsidiaries’ transactions. Irish reporting highlighted domestic concerns that U.S. firms were exploiting Ireland’s 12.5 percent corporate tax rate with questionable transfer-pricing methods. (As a theoretical example, U.S. firms could sell assets to Irish subsidiaries at low prices in order to minimize their profitability, and thus tax liability, in the United States; the Irish subsidiary could then resell the assets and be taxed at the lower Irish rate, while its profits would form part of the earnings that would grade the U.S. firm’s overall performance.)”
We all know what happened to the Irish economy not so long ago. This whole gig paid off for corporations from abroad, but it didn’t work so well for Irish people, did it?
McCreevy is mentioned in this confidential Cablegate cable where it says: “Ireland would continue to resist any move within the EU to harmonize tax rates that might push Ireland’s corporate tax higher, said Connolly. He explained that Ireland’s opposition to harmonization had a powerful spokesperson in EU Commissioner for the Internal Market (and former Irish Finance Minister) Charlie McCreevy, as well as a like-minded ally in the UK.”
Here is the full cable:
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Posted in Asia, Cablegate, IBM, Patents at 7:05 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: IBM is proving yet again that it is working to spread software patents even outside the United States, painting itself part of the problem
IN A CABLE from Beijing we find more evidence of IBM’s lobbying for software patents, which is not surprising. But in this case, IBM joins the Japanese push to put software patents even in China. IBM is a proprietary software giant and increasingly a private bank (loans) that also sells services and patents (e.g. to Google). Here is the Cablegate cable in full:
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Posted in Google at 6:51 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: What diplomatic cables tell us about Google Earth
Google Earth is a piece of proprietary software, long ago acquired by Google and still boasting Qt. But it has proven quite valuable for particular tasks and according to the following Cablegate cable, even politicians or government employees make use of Google Earth in order to spy on us, the people.
We add emphasis to the following cable:
UNCLAS GABORONE 000570
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y -- CAPTION ADDED
DEPT FOR CA/FPP
DEPT PASS TO KCC WILLIAMSBURG KY
DHS FOR CIS/FDNS
JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD [Fraud Prevention Programs], CVIS [Visas],
CPAS [Passport and Citizenship],
CMGT [Consular Administration and Management],
ASEC [Security], BC [Botswana]
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY: BOTSWANA JULY 2009
REF: 09 GABORONE 110
NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION
(A) COUNTRY CONDITIONS
(U) Botswana is a politically stable, middle-income country with a
small population of about 1.8 million. While unemployment remains
high at 17.6% and Botswana continues to combat an HIV/AIDS
prevalence of 25%, the government has been lauded by the
international community for the progressive social programs it has
implemented. Batswana [plural for citizens of Botswana] enjoy an
advanced medical aid program, a free education through post-graduate
university, and enterprise facilitation programs. Anti-retroviral
drugs (ARVs) are generally available to most of the population in
need. While employment opportunities for young adults are often
elusive, the social benefits one receives here are good reason to
stay.
(U) The government of Botswana continues to be the largest employer,
and government jobs are considered stable and desirable. Many
people also find jobs in the large NGO sector. The government is
also sponsoring modest initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and
some privatization of selected industries, but these have not proven
successful yet. Recently, traditionally strong sectors of the
economy, especially the mining industry, have felt the effects of
the worldwide economic slowdown; several mines have closed or scaled
back production.
(U) Botswana's greatest problem with illegal immigration stems from
its neighbor, Zimbabwe, from where illegal and legal immigrants are
arriving in great number, especially after the disputed Zimbabwe
elections of Spring 2008. otswana's vast, porous border and
stability are ttractive for those fleeing political oppression,
unemployment, hypr-inflationary markets, hunger,and disease. This
has had still had little bearig to date on visa or ACS operations
in Gaboroe, as post has not noticed any surge in applications from
Zimbabweans or residents of Zimbabwe. The government of Botswana
has been generally welcoming to legitimate refugee and asylees from
Zimbabwe. However, this remains a potential problem as Zimbabweans
attempt to establish residency and find employment in Botswana or
look to move from Botswana to brighter horizons elsewhere.
(U) There is also a sizeable amount of legal migration and temporary
settlement in Botswana. The government of Botswana recruits people
with specialized skills, such as medical expertise or teaching
experience, to work in Botswana. Many of these people stay in
Botswana for many years and can gain permanent residency or
citizenship. Visa applications reflect this, with nearly half of
all applicants coming from third countries.
(U) It will become more difficult for Botswana Immigration or Home
Affairs officials to detect a mala fide applicant for a genuine
passport or a holder of a forged or fraudulent passport as the
population of Botswana becomes more multicultural and citizenship is
extended to those whose ancestry is not of any indigenous tribe.
Similar to the U.S., individuals can acquire citizenship in Botswana
through jus sanguinis or naturalization, and the large expatriate
community has taken advantage of this.
(U) While there has been little reason to suspect that official
documents (i.e. passports, residence permits) produced by Botswana
authorities and seen in conjunction with visa interviews are mala
fide, the quality and technology of such documents are poor,
antiquated, and inconsistent. Fraudulent versions of the low-tech
Botswana passport have been intercepted in several countries,
including the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Cameroon. In the
past, rumors have indicated that fraudulent Botswana passports could
be obtained in Nigeria.
(U) In late December 2008, a newspaper article revealed police
arrests and investigations into the selling or renting of Botswana
and South African passports to allow for easier travel throughout
the region. The article reported that several of the recovered
passports had forged bio data and photo pages. In February 2009,
another newspaper article raised concerns over the integrity of
Botswana's record keeping and accounting for passport applications
and books, primarily for lost, stolen, or damaged passport books.
(U) In a February 2009 change to United Kingdom's visa regulations,
citizens of South Africas and several other southern African
countries, excepting Botswana, now require visas in advance of
visits to the United Kingdom. However, nationals of Botswana still
do NOT require visas to enter the UK or Canada as tourists, thus
making the country's travel document a potentially attractive target
for criminals. The UK continues to closely examine document
security and the quality of the passport issued by Botswana and
expects Botswana to implement plans to introduce a new, secure
passport in 2010.
(U) In November 2008, the government of Botswana announced the award
of a tender to German company Giesecke and Devrient produce a new
e-passport for Botswana. In preparation for the new passport, the
government has centralized all processing of passport applications
in Gaborone. Full details on the price and application procedures
for the new passports are not yet available. However, production of
the new passport is not anticipated to begin until 2010.
(B) NIV FRAUD
(U) Post has received several turnaround reports from DHS concerning
citizens of Botswana. However, few clear trends emerged. The
applicants concealed key elements of their personal details, such as
parents living in the United States, job interviews, or plans to
attend school. DHS found evidence of their plans in their luggage,
often in the form of emails, application forms, or resumes.
(U) Post previously reported on a possible trend involving young,
professional women transiting the United States with the intention
of remaining in Canada (see reftel). Since several similar cases
were refused under section 214(b) in 2009, post has not seen such
applications repeated.
(U) Although post processes relatively few H1B applications, a spate
of recent applications have required additional review. Internet
(including GoogleEarth) and Lexis Nexis searches have indicated that
employers' office spaces were private residences. The number of
employees listed on the potential employers' quarterly tax reports
did not appear to match the total number claimed in petition
materials and in one case, indicated that the employer was H1b
dependent. The applicants were to be consultants and in one case,
the applicant was to be located at a client's office for 90 percent
of his time. Searches showed the office space to be a private
residence and revealed that the client's business was registered in
the name of one of the petitioning companies employees and her
husband. In these cases, the applicants were Indian passport
holders and worked in accounting or IT in Botswana.
(C) IV FRAUD
(U) Post does not process IV cases, but responds to requests for
investigations from other posts or agencies. At the request of the
Fraud Prevention Unit at another U.S. mission, post confirmed as
fraudulent a Botswana passport presented in conjunction with an
immigrant visa case.
(D) DV FRAUD
(U) Several members of the public contacted post to confirm they had
won the Diversity Visa lottery. Some of these people had applied
for the DV program, but others received unsolicited emails informing
them of their luck. These notifications were easily confirmed as
fraudulent because they had arrived via email from addresses that
did not end in .gov. Moreover, they asked for additional personal
information from the applicants and often requested payment to
continue processing the applications. In response, post added the
Department's warning about DV fraud schemes to the Embassy's
website, and put the information into a press release.
(E) ACS AND U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD
(U) Post has not encountered any apparent ACS or U.S. passport fraud
in recent memory. Demand for ACS and passport services is
relatively low. Providing additional passport pages is the most
frequently performed service.
(F) ADOPTION FRAUD
(U) Post does not process adoption visas.
(G) USE OF DNA TESTING
(U) Post has not resorted to DNA testing since at least 2006.
(H) ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD
(U) Post has not processed any V-92 or V-93 cases and has
encountered very few cases of lost Green cards or other cases
requiring transportation letters.
(SBU) However, post has processed several cases of Cuban applicants
requesting parole into the United States under the Cuban medical
personnel parole program administered by DHS. Most applicants are
currently working in a medical field for the government of Botswana,
so little fraud is indicated. However, most of their credentials
are from Cuban universities and professional societies and would be
difficult to verify.
(I) ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORIST TRAVEL
(SBU) In the past, post received information about a possible
document fraud scheme operating in Botswana. Some of this
information was conveyed to Diplomatic Security via the Embassy of
Botswana in Washington, D.C. A local informant served as another
source (See Reftel).
(SBU) The Botswana police did question the Zimbabwean head of a
consulting service for possibly providing false or altered Botswana
residence documents. He has since been released on bail and the
investigation continues. Post continues to make inquiries about the
status of this investigation, but the RSO has not yet received any
additional information from the police.
(U) In an apparently international fraud scheme, two contacts
reported paying money to find employment in the United States, with
the expectation that they would receive working visas. The
informants paid recruiters for several services, including visa
applications, and both expressed surprise that no visa had been
pre-approved for them. They had transferred all fees, some more
than USD 1,000, to accounts in either Europe or South Africa.
(J) DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS
(U) See part I.
(K) HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY
Passport Description:
(U) The passport of the Republic of Botswana is a relatively
low-tech book. The navy cover shows the coat of arms of Botswana
(two zebras and a shield above the word "pula"). The book number is
punched through the front cover and all 64 pages, but it does not
appear on the back cover. Biographic data, including the applicants
name, identity card number, profession, place and date of birth, and
height, are handwritten on the first and second pages.
(U) The photograph is pasted and laminated onto the third page,
under a laminate bearing the coat of arms of Botswana. The bearer's
signature appears below the photograph, often on a small white paper
affixed beneath the laminate. An impressed seal covers the name and
the bottom portion of the photograph. The laminate can become
easly damaged if exposed to water.
(U) Handwritten etails on the validity of the passport and the
barer's previous pssport appear on pages four and ive. [Note:
Botswana authorities usually collec previous passports when issuing
a new passpot, even if the previous passport still contains valid
visas. End note.] The primary fraud prevention device on the
passport pages is a detailed ultraviolet marking. The front cover
tends to split and peel, as does the spine of the passport.
(U) As mentioned in Part A, Botswana announced in November 2008 the
awarding of a tender to German company Giesecke and Devrient to
produce a new e-passport for Botswana. In preparation for the new
passport, the government has centralized all processing of passport
applications in Gaborone. Full details on the price and application
procedures for the new passports are not yet available. However,
production of the new passport is not anticipated to begin until
2010.
Identity Documents:
(U) All Batswana (citizens of Botswana) carry a national identity
card, referred to as the "omang." This is a credit-card sized
document, which records the bearer's name, date and place of birth,
digitized signature, and a digitized photograph contained with an
oval beneath the coat of arms of Botswana. The omang does utilize
ultraviolet fraud prevention features.
Residence Permits:
(U) Botswana provides all foreigners living legally in Botswana with
residence or exemption certificates, and work permits, as
appropriate. These are printed on full-sized sheets of very thin
paper, although they might be handwritten. These residence and
exemption certificates usually contain a photograph of the bearer,
which is pasted onto the form and is not laminated or secured by any
other means. The validity varies, but the certificates can be
extended and extensions are recorded by a stamp on the back of the
certificate. Some bearers will carry the same certificate for up to
20 years. These certificates must be displayed upon entering and
exiting Botswana and many certificates can show severe signs of wear
and tear.
Civil Documents:
(U) Reports of birth and death and other civil documents are
generally printed onto half- or three-quarter-sized sheets of heavy
paper. There are few security features, but there can be a wait of
several days for the Registrar to issue the document.
(U) For reports of birth and death, the hospital or morgue often
issues an initial certificate of birth or death that is later used
as the basis for the full report. The initial report might be more
cursory in nature than the final document. For example, the initial
report of birth might not contain the father's name, although the
family might request that this information appear on the final,
formalized report of birth. Additionally, the father's name can be
added to the formal report of birth many years later.
Difficulties in Confirming Documents:
(U) Botswana maintains few electronic records of issuance for any of
the documents discussed above. The applications for most of these
items have generally been held at the district level, and confirming
issuance of any documents can be a time-consuming process.
(L) COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES
(SBU) Cooperation with host government authorities is generally
good. Local police were willing to assist in an investigation into
an alleged supplier of fraudulent documents and participated
discreetly in interviews with possible sources of information.
Additionally, the government of Botswana has in the past conveyed
valuable fraud prevention information brought to the attention of
their embassy in Washington.
(U) However, record keeping in Botswana is often not computerized,
which can make it difficult to search and confirm certain data
quickly, such as entry/exit records, passport applications, or
residence or work permits. In response to a request, the Department
of Immigration did confirm a passport presented as part of an
immigrant visa application at another post as fraudulent.
(U) Post has met with Immigration Department officials to express
willingness to review suspect U.S. passport and provide more
information on U.S. visas and travel documents. The Immigration
Department, including airport passport inspectors, has contacted
post directly with questions. Post has been able to confirm the
legitimacy of the documents in question.
(M) AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN
(U) Given the high number of third country nationals living in
Botswana, post has generally received nearly 50 percent of all visa
applications from non-Botswana passport holders. South Asian
applicants (those from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) comprise the
largest portion of third country applications. Many of these
applicants are young men claiming to be directors in family
companies traveling alone for either vacation in New York or to
attend a trade show with an open registration policy. Others appear
to be established business owners traveling to visit family or to
explore business possibilities.
(U) In 2008 and early 2009, several sources in the local south Asian
community contacted post to provide information on potentially mala
fide visa applicants. Most sources indicated that they hope to
protect the reputation of their communities, especially in the visa
process. They indicated that applicants with existing visas and
previously lawful travel to the United States might plan to stay
illegally on future trips.
(U) Investigations into these claims have produced mixed results.
While certain applicants demonstrated their successful business
interests in Botswana and previous lawful travel to and from the
United States, informal return checks and site visits on other cases
raised some concerns. Attempts to confirm returns of several
previously issued south Asian applicants indicated that they had not
returned to Botswana as originally stated. Site visits and phone
calls to the supposed businesses of several temporarily refused
cases revealed that the employment had been terminated, the business
relocated, or failed to locate the claimed business.
(U) Post will continue to monitor all third country applications
closely and hopes to conduct a full validity study in 2009.
(N) STAFFING AND TRAINING.
(U) In September 2008, the section's one full-time FSN and one
part-time EFM had some refresher fraud prevention training with the
FPU and DHS offices in Johannesburg. Post's sole consular officer
received some additional fraud prevention training at a regional
consular conference in May 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
NOLAN
Suffice to say, the US government does not like it when its detractors use Google Earth. Then it becomes this “evil terrorist” tool. According to ¶2 of the following cable, “In a 50-minute courtesy call on January 8, Tunisian Minister of State, Special Advisor to the President, and Official Spokesperson of the Presidency Abdelaziz Ben Dhia told the Ambassador with “quasi certitude” that the GOT had wrapped up its security operations against the Salafist group with its December 23 and January 3 operations (reftels). The group had intended to target the US and British Embassies, according to the GOT’s investigation of the matter and interrogation of the suspects. In the several houses used by the group, Tunisian security services found highly detailed maps of the US and British Embassies, including some that had been downloaded from googleearth.com, as well as lists with the names of “some officials” of those Embassies. Asked if the GOT security services had also found indications that the group had been planning to target some of the residences of employees of the US, UK, or French Embassies (as had been indicated by Foreign Minister Abdallah, ref A), Ben Dhia responded negatively. He also said that
See those other cables about Tunisia and the US stance based on the following cable:
S E C R E T TUNIS 000053
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
FOR NEA/FO - GRAY; NEA/MAG - HOPKINS AND HARRIS
NSC FOR ABRAMS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2017
TAGS: PREL [External Political Relations],
PTER [Terrorists and Terrorism], TS [Tunisia]
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR SAYS SALAFIST THREAT IN
TUNISIA HAS BEEN NEUTRALIZED
REF: A. TUNIS 44
B. TUNIS 31
C. TUNIS 30
D. TUNIS 16
E. 05 TUNIS 2980
F. 05 TUNIS 2973
Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
¶1. (S) Summary: Minister of State and Special Presidential
Advisor Ben Dhia today told the Ambassador with "quasi
certitude" that the Tunisian security services had finished
their operations against the armed Salafist group (reftels),
which had been planning to target the US and British
embassies. He said that GOT security services had found
detailed plans of the embassies, as well as the names of
"some" US and UK embassy officials, in the houses used by the
armed men. Security services also found between 50-60 kg of
locally produced explosives. Twelve of the suspects had been
killed and 15 arrested; among the Tunisian security services,
two had died and three were injured. End Summary.
-----------------------------
Threat Neutralized;
US, UK Embassies Were Targets
-----------------------------
¶2. (S) In a 50-minute courtesy call on January 8, Tunisian
Minister of State, Special Advisor to the President, and
Official Spokesperson of the Presidency Abdelaziz Ben Dhia
told the Ambassador with "quasi certitude" that the GOT had
wrapped up its security operations against the Salafist group
with its December 23 and January 3 operations (reftels). The
group had intended to target the US and British Embassies,
according to the GOT's investigation of the matter and
interrogation of the suspects. In the several houses used by
the group, Tunisian security services found highly detailed
maps of the US and British Embassies, including some that had
been downloaded from googleearth.com, as well as lists with
the names of "some officials" of those Embassies. Asked if
the GOT security services had also found indications that the
group had been planning to target some of the residences of
employees of the US, UK, or French Embassies (as had been
indicated by Foreign Minister Abdallah, ref A), Ben Dhia
responded negatively. He also said that the group had not
intended to target Tunisian interests.
¶3. (S) GOT security services found between 50-60 kilograms of
explosives in the group's residences. Ben Dhia described the
explosives as locally produced, "artisanal" in nature. Ben
Dhia explained that the Tunisian security services had been
monitoring the group since an initial group of six armed men
had crossed the Algerian border. The security services kept
these six suspects under surveillance as they were gradually
joined by 21 others in the Grombalia area. On December 23,
concluding that the group was beginning preparations for
attacks planned to coincide with the end of the year, the GOT
decided to act proactively to take the group down. Noting
that local newspapers had published photographs of one of the
residences used by the group, Ben Dhia explained that some of
the suspects in the house during the December 23 shoot-out
had managed to flee via an open window.
----------
Casualties
----------
¶4. (S) In the aftermath of the GOT security operations, 12 of
the suspects had been killed and 15 arrested, accounting for
all 27 suspects, according to Ben Dhia. As for GOT
casualties, Ben Dhia said there had been two killed and three
wounded. Asked whether the GOT had been able to account for
the support network that would have been required to sustain
the group, Ben Dhia responded that the security services had
investigated this matter, and that they consider the
operation "terminated for the instant."
-------------------
Information-Sharing
-------------------
¶5. (S) Ben Dhia credited the GOT's intelligence liaison
relationships with friendly countries, notably Algeria and
Libya, with producing the actionable intelligence to
neutralize this threat. Thanking Ben Dhia for sharing this
information, the Ambassador also reiterated that the USG
stands reay to help the GOT in the fight against terrorism,emphasizing that "We are all in this fight togethe."
Ambassador also encouraged Ben Dhia to share his information
directly with the British and Frnch ambassadors, and other
key members of the dilomatic corps, a suggestion Ben Dhia
took on boar.
-------
Comment
-------
¶6. (C) In addiion to immediately sharing the above
informationwith his British counterpart, Ambassador will
folow up on this information in a January 9 meeting ith
Minister of Interior and Local Development Raik Belhaj
Kacem.
¶7. (S) While we welcome the pparent effectiveness of the
Tunisian security srvices, and the willingness of two senior
officils to share some information with us, we are troubed
by several issues. First and foremost is the ailure of the
GOT to share information sooner, ad in more detail. Second,
we are struck by the ontradictions in some of the
information we are eceiving. Tuesday's meeting with the
Minister o the Interior may (and we underscore may) produce
more concrete and detailed information. Until we et better
information, we have only bits and piees of what
increasingly appears to be a complex nd dangerou puzzle.
---------
Bio Notes
--------
¶8. (C) Ben Dhia was confident, friendly, nd gracious during
the meeting, and he appeared o be in good health. Twice
invoking President Bn Ali's name, Ben Dhia underscored that
he well nderstands Ben Ali's intentions, specifically noting
that Ben Ali wants tosolidify relations with the United
States. Ben hia also indicated that he comes from a family
o imams; as such, he said, he takes particular umbrae at
the "deviation" of Islam represented by Islmic extremists.
Repeatedly bemoaning how easy itis for Islamic extremists to
manipulate the ignoant, he ventured that were Mohammed to
return toearth today, he would not recognize the Islam that
many practice. Ben Dhia remembered fondly his fist official
trip to the United States, which he ndertook as Minister of
Higher Education at a tie when the USG and Tunisia were
launching an eduational exchange program. He also noted
that hisson travels to the United States "almost monthly."
GODEC
There are many typos in this cable, almost as though it was OCR’d. █
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