CARLISLE, Pa // The US president George W Bush said yesterday he was leaving to his successor a stronger anti-terrorism partnership with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia forged in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
For Mr Bush, who leaves office on Jan 20, the 2001 attacks were a defining moment of his presidency. In a speech at the US Army War College, he praised the coalition of countries that sided with Washington to fight terrorism.
"We will leave behind a strong coalition of more than 90 nations composing almost half the world who are committed to combating terror and sharing intelligence and keeping our citizens safe," Mr Bush told War College students, who are studying military and intelligence methodology.
"This coalition includes Pakistan. A country that was a supporter of the Taliban before Sept 11 today is a strong partner of the United States," Mr Bush said.
While the Bush administration formed a close relationship with former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, relations between with the new government in Islamabad are still developing. Strains emerged over Pakistan's anger at US air strikes on its territory near the Afghanistan border, which serves as a base for Taliban and al Qa'eda-linked fighters.
The US has also pressed Pakistan to assist its nuclear rival India after attacks in Mumbai in which some of the attackers were suspected of ties to groups in Pakistan.
The US-Saudi relationship is another delicate one President-elect Barack Obama will inherit next month.
US ties with Saudi Arabia deteriorated in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which leaders of the two countries have tried to mend.
Despite improved security co-operation, Mr Bush's pleas for Opec relief from soaring oil went largely ignored when prices were hitting new highs. Now with oil prices declining, Opec yesterday decided to cut oil production, which was criticised by the White House.
Mr Bush praised Saudi relations, saying: "A nation that produced 15 of the 9/11 hijackers now serves as a staunch ally in the war on terror."
Mr Bush said improved intelligence had choked off terrorist financing and derailed plots. He also touted better CIA on-the-ground intelligence and a programme to interrogate key terrorism leaders.
"Like the struggle against communism during the Cold War, the struggle against terror will be a generational conflict, one that will continue long beyond my presidency," Mr Bush said.
"As my administration leaves office next month, we will leave behind the institutions and tools our country needs to prevail in the long struggle ahead," he said.
* Reuters
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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One star
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
