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# Posted 7:29 PM by Patrick Belton

IN THE PAPERS: Al Quds al Arabi interviews Osama's bodyguard for his observations on Al-Qa'eda's strategies. The Christian Science Monitor collects pieces on the war of ideas within Islam. Iran is reportedly transferring surface-to-surface-missiles to Hezbollah, consisting of 220 missiles with a 250- to 350-kilometer range. Iraq has selected an interim legislative assembly, although the process was somewhat tarnished when a slate of independent candidates withdrew from the balloting. The US government is prosecuting a Somali refugee named Omar Abdi Mohamed for serving as a conduit of money to terrorists while serving on the payroll of the Saudi government. Senator John Warner of Virginia has suggested changing the course of intelligence reform to give the increased powers of the proposed National Intelligence Director to the existing Director of Central Intelligence. The government of Colombia is engaging in a massive push against Marxist rebels (Uribe is contemplating a prisoner swamp - thanks to our friend Randy Paul for pointing this out by e-mail). Asa Hutchinson has told senators that more agents were being added to the Federal Air Marshal Service program. An Israeli general gives an interesting overview of the dynamics of smuggling between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Kazakhstan's Nazarbaev has released leading opposition figure Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, but prohibited him from taking part in politics. Meanwhile, the head of the Joint Chiefs has toured Central Asia, dispensing $21 million of military aid to Uzbekistan after Karimov has begun to tilt toward Russia (this in the wake of a decision by the State Department to refuse to certify Uzbekistan as conforming to internationally accepted human rights norms, costing it $18 million in aid).

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