Yes, It's Global

The other day Tony Blair stated:

[I]t is almost incredible to me that so much of Western opinion appears to buy the idea that the emergence of this global terrorism is somehow our fault. For a start, it is indeed global. No-one who ever half bothers to look at the spread and range of activity related to this terrorism can fail to see its presence in virtually every major nation in the world.

Here's a sample of what Blair is talking about from just the last few days: From AFP:

Seven dead in Philippine offensive against Muslim extremists ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - Seven members of the Abu Sayyaf were killed in the fourth day of a major Philippine offensive against Al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militants, including two suspected Bali bombers, military statements said. The Philippine military launched a major land, air and sea operation on known Abu Sayyaf positions on the southern island of Jolo on Tuesday in a bid to destroy the group.

From the BBC:

Teacher shot in southern Thailand A teacher has been shot and killed in front of a classroom of children in southern Thailand, according to police. Gunmen disguised themselves as students to shoot the Buddhist teacher at the primary school in Narathiwat district. The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents in the Thai south, where more than 1,300 people have been killed since January 2004. Officials blames Muslim insurgents for much of the unrest, although criminal motives are also thought to be at work. The southern provinces are predominantly Muslim, with a separate language and culture to much of the rest of Thailand. Police blamed militants for the killing of Prasarn Martchu, 46. "He has taught at this school for 20 years and has no fight with anyone," police Colonel Bunleu Chawet said. "This is the work of insurgents." …At least 30 teachers have been killed since the beginning of the insurgency. Militants target schools and teachers because they see them as symbols of the Buddhist Thai authorities. In many areas of the south, the government now provides teachers with armed escorts to and from their classes to prevent them from being harmed. In June, five security officers escorting teachers to school were killed by a roadside bomb in neighbouring Yala province.

From Reuters:

Schools in Afghanistan under growing attack: UNICEF Schools are increasingly being attacked across Afghanistan and an estimated 100,000 children in the south are shut out of the classroom due to closures, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday. There were nearly 100 attacks on Afghan schools in the first half of the year, a sixfold rise from the same period in 2005, according to the agency which blamed "unknown insurgents." The attacks, which included 11 explosions and 50 school burnings, have led to the deaths of six children, it said in a statement…. Millions of Afghan children returned to school since the Taliban overthrow, including 1.5 million girls who had been discriminated against under their strict rule, UNICEF said. "Today schools are closing, students are staying home and the hard-won progress is at risk. In four southern provinces it is estimated that more than 100,000 children are shut out of school because of school closures," it said.

From AFP:

Indonesia studies suicide bomber claim JAKARTA - Indonesian police said they would look into a radical group's claim that hundreds of Southeast Asian suicide bombers had been sent to attack Jewish interests in countries that support Israel. The claim was made by Suaib Didu, the head of the hardline Asian Muslim Youth Movement (AMYM), The Australian newspaper reported.

From The Sunday Times:

Bali terror chief's new mission THE venerable preacher named as a terrorist leader by the United States had a twinkle in his eye as he talked of his new mission to convert Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim nation, into what he calls an "Allahcracy". Abu Bakar Bashir is a free man after serving just over two years in jail for participating in the conspiracy to bomb two nightclubs in Bali in 2002. The suicide attacks killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians and 26 British citizens.

From the Washington Post:

Israel Suffers Highest Toll Yet AVIVIM, Israel, Aug. 3 -- A new wave of Hezbollah rockets killed eight Israeli civilians Thursday, and four soldiers died in ground combat in southern Lebanon, Israel's highest daily death toll in the three-week-old war. Israeli jets blasted targets in Beirut for the first time in almost a week.

From Reuters:

More Somali officials quit as talks planned Four more top officials deserted Somalia's interim administration on Thursday, as a government delegation made plans to travel to Khartoum for talks with their Islamist rivals who control a large part of the country. The latest resignations bring to 38 the number of senior officials who have quit Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's government in the past week, a development that may allow the Islamists to take ministerial posts. Although the Islamists, who control Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia, have not shown an interest in a power-sharing deal, they have welcomed the departures and urged lawmakers to join them…. Hardline Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has said his group will not negotiate unless the government's strongest regional ally, Ethiopia, withdraws its troops from Somali soil. With Ethiopia deploying soldiers across the border, according to witnesses, and Eritrea said to be arming the Islamists, diplomats fear the standoff between the two sides may trigger a regional conflict.

From The Sunday Times:

Hezbollah: we've planned this for 6 years Until now Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, has refused to reveal much about its response to Israel's assault. Hezbollah's stockpiling of arms and preparation of numerous bunkers and tunnels over the past six years have been key to its resistance. "If it was not for these preparations Lebanon would have been defeated within hours," [Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's second in command] said. Hezbollah is believed to be in possession of four types of advanced missile: Fajr missiles with a range of 100 kilometres; Iran 130 missiles with a range of 110km; and Shahin missiles and 355mm rockets with ranges of 150km. He said that Hezbollah will use its weapons to strike deep into Israel should the attacks in Lebanon continue.