BAGRAM, Afghanistan No more than 200 yards from the main gate of the sprawling U.S. base here, stolen computer drives containing classified military assessments of enemy targets, names of corrupt Afghan officials and descriptions of American defenses are on sale in the local bazaar.
Shop owners at the bazaar say Afghan cleaners, garbage collectors and other workers from the base arrive each day offering purloined goods, including knives, watches, refrigerators, packets of Viagra and flash memory drives taken from military laptops. The drives, smaller than a pack of chewing gum, are sold as used equipment.
The thefts of computer drives have the potential to expose military secrets as well as Social Security numbers and other identifying information of military personnel.
A reporter recently obtained several drives at the bazaar that contained documents marked "Secret." The contents included documents that were potentially embarrassing to Pakistan, a U.S. ally, presentations that named suspected militants targeted for "kill or capture" and discussions of U.S. efforts to "remove" or "marginalize" Afghan government officials whom the military considered "problem makers."
The drives also included deployment rosters and other documents that identified nearly 700 U.S. service members and their Social Security numbers, information that identity thieves could use to open credit card accounts in soldiers' names.
After choosing the name of an army captain at random, a reporter using the Internet was able to obtain detailed information on the woman, including her home address in Maryland and the license plate numbers of her 2003 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicle and 1998 Harley Davidson XL883 Hugger motorcycle.
Troops serving overseas would be particularly vulnerable to attempts at identity theft because keeping track of their bank and credit records is difficult, said Jay Foley, co-executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.
"It's absolutely absurd that this is happening in any way, shape or form," Foley said. "There's absolutely no reason for anyone in the military to have that kind of information on a flash drive and then have it out of their possession."
A flash drive also contained a classified briefing about the capabilities and limitations of a "man portable counter-mortar radar" used to find the source of guerrilla mortar rounds. A map pinpoints the U.S. camps and bases in Iraq where the sophisticated radar was deployed in March 2004.
Lt. Mike Cody, a spokesman for the U.S. forces here, declined to comment on the computer drives or their content.
"We do not discuss issues that involve or could affect operational security," he said.
Workers are supposed to be frisked as they leave the base, but they have various ways of deceiving guards, such as hiding computer drives behind photo IDs that they wear in holders around their necks, shop owners said. Others claim that U.S. soldiers illegally sell military property and help move it off the base, saying they need the money to pay bills back home.
Bagram base, the U.S. military's largest in Afghanistan and a hub for classified military activity, has suffered security lapses before, including an escape from a detention center where hundreds of Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects have been held and interrogated.
Last July, four Al Qaeda members, including the group's commander in Southeast Asia, Omar Faruq, escaped from Bagram by picking the lock on their cell. They then walked off the base, ditched their prison uniforms and fled through a muddy vineyard.
The men later boasted of their escape on a video and have not been captured. The military said it had tightened security at Bagram after the breakout.
One of the computer drives stolen from Bagram contained a series of slides prepared for a January 2005 briefing of American military officials that identified several Afghan governors and police chiefs as "problem makers" involved in kidnappings, the opium trade and attacks on allied troops with improvised bombs.
The chart showed the U.S. military's preferred methods of dealing with the men: "remove from office; if unable marginalize."
A chart dated Jan. 2, 2005, listed five Afghans as "Tier One Warlords." It identified Afghanistan's former defense minister Mohammed Qassim Fahim, current military chief of staff Abdul Rashid Dostum and counter-narcotics chief Gen. Mohammed Daoud as being involved in the narcotics trade. All three have denied committing crimes.
Another slide presentation identified 12 governors, police chiefs and lower-ranking officials that the U.S. military wanted removed from office. The men were involved in activities including drug trafficking, recruiting of Taliban fighters and active support for Taliban commanders, according to the presentation, which also named the military's preferred replacements.
The briefing said that efforts against Afghan officials were coordinated with U.S. special operations teams and must be approved by top commanders as well as military lawyers who apply unspecified criteria set by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
The military also weighs any ties that any official has to President Hamid Karzai and members of his Cabinet or warlords, as well as the risk of destabilization when deciding which officials should be removed, the presentation said.
One of the men on the military's removal list, Sher Mohammed Akhundzada, was replaced in December as governor of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. After removing him from the governor's office, Karzai appointed Akhundzada to Afghanistan's Senate. The U.S. military believed the governor, who was caught with almost 20,000 pounds of opium in his office last summer, to be a heroin trafficker.
The provincial police chief in Helmand, Abdul Rahman Jan, whom U.S. forces suspect of providing security for narcotics shipments, kept his job.
Though U.S. officials continue to praise Pakistan as a loyal ally in the war on terrorism, several documents on the flash drives show the military has struggled to break militant command and supply lines traced to Pakistan. Some of the documents also accused Pakistan's security forces of helping militants launch cross-border attacks on U.S. and allied forces.
Militant attacks on U.S. and allied forces have escalated sharply over the last half year, and once-rare suicide bombings are now frequent, especially in southern Afghan provinces close to infiltration routes from Pakistan.
A document dated Oct. 11, 2004, said at least two of the Taliban's top five leaders were believed to be in Pakistan. That country's government and military repeatedly have denied that leaders of militants fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan operate from bases in Pakistan.
The Taliban leaders in Pakistan were identified as Mullah Akhtar Osmani, described as a "major Taliban facilitator for southern Afghanistan" and a "rear commander from Quetta" in southwest Pakistan, and Mullah Obaidullah, said to be "responsible for planning operations in Kandahar."
At the time, fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, his second-in-command Mullah Berader, and three other top Taliban commanders were all suspected of being in southern or central Afghanistan, according to the military briefing.
Another document said the Taliban and an allied militant group were working with Arab Al Qaeda members in Pakistan to plan and launch attacks in Afghanistan. A map presented at a "targeting meeting" for U.S. military commanders here on Jan. 27, 2005, identified the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta as planning and staging areas for terrorists heading to Afghanistan.
One of the terrorism groups is identified by the single name "Zawahiri," apparently a reference to Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy and chief strategist in Al Qaeda. The document said his attacks had been launched from a region south of Miram Shah, administrative capital of Pakistan's unruly North Waziristan tribal region.
In January, a CIA missile strike targeted Zawahiri in a village more than 100 miles to the northeast, but he was not among the 18 killed, who included women and children.
Other documents on the computer drives listed senior Taliban commanders and "facilitators" living in Pakistan. The Pakistani government strenuously denies allegations by the Afghan government that it is harboring Taliban and other guerrilla fighters.
An August 2004 computer slide presentation marked "Secret" outlined "obstacles to success" along the border and accused Pakistan of making "false and inaccurate reports of border incidents." It also complained of political and military inertia in Pakistan.
Half a year later, other documents indicated that little progress had been made. A classified document from early 2005 listing "Target Objectives" said U.S. forces must "interdict the supply of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) from Pakistan" and "interdict infiltration routes from Pakistan."
A special operations task force map highlighting militants' infiltration routes from Pakistan in early 2005 included this comment from a U.S. military commander: "Pakistani border forces [should] cease assisting cross border insurgent activities."
Posted by: john ||
04/10/2006 15:04 ||
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#1
Too bad we can't salt the bazzars and souks. That would be unseemly.
#4
Interesting speculation. Some of that, including the bit about Pakistan, may be aimed at Musharraf. But the names and home addresses aren't something CENTCOM wants out there.
Three bombings including a suicide blast killed a soldier and wounded 16 other Afghans Sunday, officials said, in the latest in a spate of attacks linked to Taliban insurgents. The suicide attacker struck an Afghan army checkpoint in the eastern province of Paktika near the border with Pakistan, provincial government spokesman Salam Mangal said. Six soldiers were wounded with one later dying in hospital. Two of the injured were in a serious condition, provincial governor Akram Khealwak said. It was the first suicide attack in the province, he said. The bomber blew up a taxi in front of the checkpoint in Barmal district on a main route to Pakistan, Mangal said. The wounded soldiers were taken to a nearby base of foreign coalition soldiers for treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Ever since the Christian convet got free, these Talibani and Talibani butt kissers can't stand it. I think it has been more violent there in the past couple of weeks. Anyone agree/disagree?
The United States is backing a new coalition of Somali militants fighting Islamic extremists for control of the lawless nations capital, a U.S. official said, as both sides prepared for a battle that could explode in widespread violence.
Residents say both sides have recently received an infusion of cash and weapons as they face off for control of the country, which has had no central government since warlords divided it into clan-based fiefdoms in 1991.
While there have been numerous reports of al-Qaida bombers hiding in the Horn of Africa nation, only recently have they been reportedly involved in fighting alongside Somali extremists.
A U.S. official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said prominent al-Qaida leaders with large cash bounties on their heads are under the protection of the extremist leaders in Mogadishu. He did not name them, but eight men wanted in the embassy bombings are on the FBI most wanted list.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi told AP that the alliance of clan leaders fighting the Islamic group was not acting on his authority, though he said his government was cooperating with the United States.
The U.S. has long worried about al-Qaida and other terrorist groups finding a haven in Somalia. For years, though, clan rivalries may have kept outsiders from gaining a foothold. The Islamic extremists appear to be capitalizing on the Somali peoples frustration with disorder and instability.
"Islam is itself a policy which God created for the people to rule each other," Aweys told the AP. "We will have to liberate our people from these warlords who have been shedding our peoples blood for the past 15 years."
Aweys does not deny past contacts with Osama bin Laden , but says he has no links now with bin Laden or al-Qaida.
Last month, the Islamic unions forces beat back militiamen loyal to warlords who have held power for most of the last 15 years and have joined the new government. The Islamic unions forces captured a small airport and a strategic road to the vital El-Maan port, through which almost all trade with Mogadishu passes.
Since then, hundreds of heavily armed Islamic fighters have been building defensive positions in Mogadishu, residents said. They have threatened to kill anyone who cooperates with non-Muslims and several high-profile intellectuals have been slain for their contacts with Westerners, so witnesses agreed to speak with the AP only on condition they were not named.
Aweys, who went into hiding following the Sept. 11 attacks and only re-emerged in August 2005, has condemned the new United Nations -backed transitional government. The top Cabinet members are a whos who of former warlords, but the transitional government has taken control only of a small portion of the nation of 7 million.
In an apparent response to the Islamic extremist challenge, several key warlords in the new government have formed the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism.
Hussein Gutaleh Ragheh, the alliances spokesman, said the groups goal is to capture known al-Qaida members who have come to Somalia from Sudan, Yemen and other countries.
"Were not fighting against any tribe or clan, were hunting down a few terrorists who are hiding among our people," he said.
"We know that these terrorists are using some Somalis after brainwashing them ... to kill the innocent, the intellectuals and the former military officials of the country under the pretext that they work for foreigners," he added.
In a few months, the alliance has gone from a disparate group of clan-based warriors to one of the most powerful militias in Somalia. Residents of alliance-held areas report trucks full of new weapons arriving from neighboring Ethiopia for the anti-extremist alliance. The source of the weapons was not clear.
Ali Garaare, an alliance commander, said hundreds of new fighters have joined the force.
"Our leaders used to pay us $60 dollars (a month), but after the formation of the new anti-terrorism alliance they increased our salary to $160," Garaare said.
Most Somalis live on less than $1 a day and the country has few natural resources, making it one of the poorest countries on earth.
Somalis with connections to the alliance have said that U.S. officials have frequently visited Mohamed Dhere, a governor in the new administration, and other alliance leaders.
Aweys said he believes they are CIA agents who have financed the alliances sudden increase in cash, a rumor widely accepted among Somalis.
The CIA declined to comment on any matter concerning Somalia.
There have also been rumors of U.S. troops from neighboring Djibouti operating in Somalia. The U.S. official said the reports of military personnel in Somalia are untrue, but would not go any further.
The official did say that U.S. officials have met with many community leaders and provided them with information about al-Qaida suspects living in Somalia and have asked them to expel such people from the country.
Dhere, who along with other alliance leaders declined to speak to the AP, told his troops on Monday to prepare for battle.
"You must prepare yourselves for a real war against terrorism," local journalists quoted him as saying in the central town of Jowhar.
"When you cut a camels neck, you know it struggles for its life as it kicks everywhere, and thats what these terrorists are doing ... get ready for your last blow against terrorism, we will have to eradicate them from our Somali soil."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:41 ||
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#1
Somalia is place of power stragle and gready,I belive every one specially the war-lords in mogadishu would go high and low to get grip of power and personal regognision.they change their stories so often so quick and they lie every single time, for example,ask one war lord 'if there is a weapons of mass distractions in Somalia? the answer is so easy regardless the consiquency He will simply point his finger on samewhere, to the same, those who are saying they are fighting with Al-qaida in mogadishu today are punch of liers who are expecting some cash from the rich guys whether He is from the USA USSR or from SS of hitler the Nazis, Let alone al-qaida or al-bachini the game of money search is on top agenda of any group of war-lords in somalia.
I would there fore advice any one not to be fooled by those gangs who has been killing and shelling somali civilians in their thousands for more then 15 years.
we the Somalians will held responsible for any one who rewards those war-lord for their evil act and doings.
#2
Piss on the MSM. Most of Somalia is peaceful. The MSM focuses on the battle for UN dispensed goodies in the south around Mog. Most 'Somalias' have got them out of the United Nations imposed and created debacle called Somalia. Google Puntland and Somaliland.
#3
I don't think anybody's fooled by the warlords and their gangs. Any alliance with or support to any side in Somalia would be a purely tactical measure.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 10:36 Comments ||
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#4
somalia is one of the east african islamic country and westrn countries do not want see there is a government, that is why they are giving cash money and weapons to the warlords who wants to distroy our country.we all know there no al-qaida in somali but american fooling all the world.
#6
It is unfortunate that U.S is backing Some Somali warlords to shed innocent blood in one of the poorist country in the world for the cause of what they called "the war on terror". But what is more humilating is that some American government officails are meeting with Somali clans, while there is a newly formed government in the country , to help them capture men who are among Somalis are the "liberators", the Islamic courts leaders. It is not only humilatinting, but it is irresponsible to think that way. This act is unfortunately underminding the little hope that many Somelis dream off; they will come to us one day to rescue us from the murdering warlords but not to revenge from what happend in 1991; the Mission for Restoring Hope in Somali.
#7
we all know there no al-qaida in somali but american fooling all the world
Yeah its all a smokescreen. The US desires to keep Somalia a failed state so they can complete their imperialistic hegemony and take control of their drought stricken agricultural and livestock goldmine.
#10
It is unfortunate that the U.S is backing Some Somali warlords to shed innocent blood in one of the poorist country in the world for the cause of what it called "the war on terror". Remember, the fun you are giving out to these guys with the fake organization; "counter terrorism" is going to be used against innocent civilians. What you have granted them is painful enough to see six month olders blown by the unaimed explodig bullets. But what is more aganizing is that some American government officails are meeting with Somali subclans elders and related politicans to that clan while there is a newly formed government in the country , to help them capture men who are among Somalis are the "liberators", the Islamic courts leaders. It is not only humilatinting, but it is irresponsible for the U.S government to think that way. This act is definately underminding the little hope that many Somalis have dreamed off; "they will come to us one day to rescue us from the murdering warlords" but not to revenge from what happend in 1991; the so called Mission for Restoring Hope in Somali. If you(the U.S) are not liberating us from these guys, let's the Islamic Courts worriors alone teach them a lesson. Look! they have already stared the first two classes, and the warlords are good learners!
#11
US must not help the people who kill,rape and terrorise the innocent people who are stuck in Mugadishu and can not defend themselves. Instead It should work with the current government and most Somalia who are willing to end this senseless bloodshed.U.S government must not provide financial assisstance these warlords who clearly committed crime against Humanity,in its place US should help bring these warlords to justice and answer the crime they committed last 15 years.
#12
we've washed our hands of Somalians and their lovely capitol. Black Hawk Down and all that. The only thing we should be doing is making sure it doesn't poison teh rest of the region by becoming even more of a haven for AQ and pirates. Let them rot for all their ingratitude
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2006 12:41 Comments ||
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#13
Suggesting that there are Al-Qaida in Somalia is Ridiculous, because majority of Al-Qaida Gangs are from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Two Nation that are investing Millions to destroy Somalia.
Tens of Thousands of Somalis were tortured every year in that two Al-Qaida nations, innocent somali women seeking Refuge in those two Al-Qaida Nation were rapedthen killed by mostly Yemeni Authorities.
Any Somalian who for any reason sympathizes Al-Qaida seem to be mentally un fit .
America Should wake up and focus the Activities of newly formed Sana Alliance whose whole purpose is to misled the World about links between Yemeni Government and Al-Qaida.
Sana Alliance Consist of Nations that has no regard to human life nations such as Yemen, Sudan,Ethiopia and Murder Somali warlord Turned President of Somalia Abdullah Yusuf.
Al-qaida has settled down in Ethiopia for the Sole reason Yemeni Nationals control the wealth of devastated nation of Ethiopia, and their warlord Prime minster needs cash to Suppress the democratic voices against his ill fated Regime.
America should open their eyes before it is too late
#14
The U.S., under UN auspices, came to Somalia in response to the suffering of the Somali people. We got dead Rangers out of it, and the Somalis got to dance in the streets rejoicing. So Somalia's not going to get a lot of sympathy from the U.S. today, no matter how many pictures of starving children are published. Been there, done that.
If you're incapable of establishing a government in Mogadishu, that's a Somali problem. Somehow Somaliland and Puntland manage a modicum of stability, but it seems to be beyond the grasp of the inhabitants of the capital. That's too bad for them, but it's not our fault.
If you can't run your country, maybe you should think hard about asking somebody else to take over. I'd advise against the Belgians or the Italians, but the Brits might be talked into running things if you ask nicely.
You can sneer all you want at the "war on terror," but it seems to me that in Mogadishu terror's won. You surrendered. We'll keep fighting.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 12:51 Comments ||
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#15
Oh yes, a sleeping, snoring America. Why do they all hate us so. All we want is a little rest.
#16
Has the world knows that America Created Al-Qaida and keeps functioning to date.
Americans Suggested that AlQaida was involved in 1991 fight between Elite American Troops of U.S. Rangers and Militias Loyal to Late General Aidid may God Bless his Soul.
Somalis Categorically Deny that there was any AlQaida involvement of that horrible war in which more than 15.000 Innocent Somali Civilians Lost Their Lives and caused the nation to Loose the hope, thus making the so called "Operation Restore Hope" into Operation Of no hope.
America Handed a well written Resume and curriculum vitae to Alqaida and in particular to Usama Bin Laden when they gave them credit of fighting alongside with aAidid Militias back in 1991.
it is no Secret Somali Militias are better fighters than Al-Qaida or any stinky scary Arabs across the universe.
Furthermore American Foreign diplomats and Military Generals based in Neighbouring Djibouti are on the process of creating another fictional AlQaida Figure a crazy murderer and Rapist individual residing Mogadishu with Backing of his Looting sub-clan Of Eyr - Habargidir the So Called Hassan Dahir Aweys a Psycho who loves to be in the Spot light who along side with his sub clan Eyrlooting the Wealth of Somalia and raping yaung girls.
America is giving this Psycopath what he hoped to have a free media coverage in which otherwise would have been impossible, The only support he enjoys is that of his sub clan even the Rest of Habar gidir Clan portay him as psycho who has no formal education and lags the characteristic symbol of True Muslim Somali Sheikh.
Somalis in General Oppose any cat of killing Innocent Life not to mention a suicide mission, which is the main principle of AlQaida.
Our Religion prohibited any Act of suicide killings.
#18
The United States is preparing to wage a NUCLEAR WAR on IRAN as of today (April 19th 2006) according to CNN. What do we expect from the US in other HAOT SPOTS of the world to do? BACK Child mpllesters and mureders on the pretext of WAR ON TERROR!!!!!! As an Ameircan Citizzen of Somali origin I am appaled and dismayyed on the current policies towards Somalia by the Budh Administration.
Posted by: Ali ||
04/10/2006 14:00 Comments ||
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#19
Our Religion prohibited any Act of suicide killings.
Yes sir no doubt about it. Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya is just another peace loving benevolence organization
#21
A U.S. official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said prominent al-Qaida leaders with large cash bounties on their heads are under the protection of the extremist leaders in Mogadishu. He did not name them, but eight men wanted in the embassy bombings are on the FBI most wanted list.
Not a wise thing to do, aligning yourselves with people who bomb US embassies. Not at this point in history.
#22
"The United States is preparing to wage a NUCLEAR WAR on IRAN as of today (April 19th 2006) according to CNN."
Well, you can be comforted by the fact that the United States would not waste a nuclear weapon on Somalia. In fact, Somalia is not worth the life of one soldier - from anywhere.
#23
I wonder how jourlists like Daynile wrote this article, I thought the editors of this newspaper were well intelligent enought. But that needs to think again for many peaple.
I hope that our people, Somalian, would think enough before they write or say something on media.
thanks
#24
America or shall i say Bush are providing alot of money for anti terrorist projects ever gready person is profiting from it, it become very good busniss and american administration will believe if you bring alein and told them he is al-ch top terrorist from midle east probably they will say they have his file and they were fallowing him so its not supprise the somali warlds are claiming that there are terrorist in somali infact the only people who is been terrorising the nation for 15yrs are the warlords we are the most unforginate people in the world our goverment is made of full of terrorist and yet they calling the the rest of the somalis terrorist and usa is funding them this is new blind world order either you agree or your a terrosist which means you will be killed and your killer will be rewarded
#25
Somalia, as you may know is muslim country and there is no centeral system since 1991 because of the power imbalance of the wold, it is real that Somalia lost its government without foriegn forces attacked it, but know Somalis suffer becaus outsiders donot want to see them standig allone, US can deny any direct misslead of Somalis but US officials cross thier hands over Ethiopia to take thier revenge from poor Somalis who tought them uneasy lessons killing 18 soldiers from them in 1994 , so far, they want to take care about thier recent bussiness cose they think that some Al-qaeda leaders stay in somalia ( let us see the winner ).
The problems will be neighbouring for somalis because it is the stupid warlords who unkindly fulfill the US/Ethiopian constant killing of somali civilians in Mogadishu.
Whatever the case in somalia may be, the end product will be a central goverment that keeps the situation normal ( the dream of Somali civil people ) and it w'll come soon insha Allah... let America try to kick it from them... it w'll be its collapse.
The BBC says that the Sanaa alliance is a regional alliance that will attempt to combat terrorism in the Horn of Africa. Now, here. Their opinion is that assertions about the Coalition existing to fight terrorism are absurd because the three nations (Yemen, Etheopia, and Sudan) that comprise it maintain strong ties, one way on another, with terrorism, either through state terrorism or by providing all sorts of support to the elements that have strong connections with Al-Qaida organization led by Osama Bin Ladin.
Sounds true. Sounds screwed up beyond belief. Sounds, in short, like Africa. Unfortunately for the truly innocent in places like your home nation, The United States government has grown extremely wary of (and hostile to) ungovernable nations like Somalia and Afghanistan, which have a nasty tendency to produce and export terrorists, pirates, and genocidal maniacs of all kinds. Did I mention the word export? Thats why other nations get interested in places like Somalia, not (sadly) because terrible things happen there.
Now, dont get me wrong: the Sanaa Alliance sounds like a hypocritical excuse for its member states to pursue their dubious agendas under the guise of combating terrorism. But who, exactly, is our military is our military supposed to work with if not these clowns? If they are at least SAYING the right words. Maybe - just maybe - with a lot of prodding from the US, Britain, and France, they will start DOING the right thing as well. I understand that, given the nature and history of Africa, this is extremely unlikely, but its probably the best chance The Horn has.
What do you want out of us, anyhow? We can extend our influence to many places, but we cant police the entire world, you know.
#28
Hassan: Thats a little incoherent but sounds accurate, if somewhat biased.
Kasim: Very few Americans dream of revenge against Somalia. Very few of us want to have anything to do with Somalia at all. No offense but, really, who does?
#29
The world is witnessing a history in Making whether you believe it or Not.
No doubt the Collapse of American Imperial Power is near, and will Follow the Same bath other Evil Empires such as the soviet and the Nazis.
It does not take to be genius to see the similarities between the three for Sure America will follow similar bath taken by both Soviet and nazi led Germans, and for sure Bush is making it happen faster than anticipated.
Only God knows about The things that are going to happen in the future humans can Only Predict, and hope my predictions will become reality sooner than later.
Posted by: Simon ||
04/10/2006 19:17 Comments ||
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#30
Kasim, for my part I would love to see Somalia be an independent, successful country with a functioning government. Both for the sake of the Somalis and because such a government could then be held accountable for choices about whom to shelter.
It's not Somali strength that concerns me, it's their current weakness that is fostering instability, pirate attacks on ships etc.
#34
First off, the article says it is the Ethiopians that are arming and supplying the one Somali faction. Ethiopia has literal shiploads of old Soviet weapons just laying around in old military bases, from their years of civil war. Ethiopia also has a major border with Somalia and naked self-interest involved in preventing some Islamist/Maahdist movement from springing up in Somalia. Also for funding, 10 thousand troops at $200 American a month comes to 2 million dollars a month, or $24 million a year. Ethiopia may not have much money but that is a wise investment for them.
And since we are cooperating with the Ethiopians against terrorism, the money could easily be theirs that was freed up by American counter-terrorism funding.
#35
America is doomed and have no sympathy from the rest of the world, a nation that rely on fiction rather than Facts , a nation that briests Molest Young Boys rather than Protecting, a nation that is worth less and bankrupt due to the arrogance of their Rulers. a nation that is believed to be Democratic but suppress the Peace Loving People anad all intellectuals, a nation that love to be called Intelligence but became idiotic in nature.
Ever watched a movie Dumb and Dumber with James Carey and Jeff Daniels (Both Canadian Actors), the movie was hit funny and Actors wer hillaious.
My Point is the movie makes a lot of money in the Box office and helped the two canadian Actors gain more movie deal because of their Talent.
Before the Movie Producers introduce this Movie to these two Poor canadian Actors they asked couple of dozen American born Actors for the roles,Yet they came up empty handed because no American wanted to portray themselves as dumb or dumber because America believes they are intellectually superior than the rest of the world, not realizing that it is better for the rest of the world to notice the American IQ rather than Americans spending millions of dollars to convince the rest of the world they are intellectuals.
Wanna Know some thing America ! You are Idiots and dump that is why Americans are talking lately about controversial issue of intelligence Design.
Humans for sure can neither develop inteligence nor they can design or Alter, only God Can do All those things, humans can nourture childs brain while they are growing , but America Choose wrong way and instead molest babies rather than nourturing, This is why Americans sided with Somali Warlord in the conflict between them and Islamic Courts .
Americans Sees similarities between Mogadishu warlords and Americans which is kill babies rather nourturing.
Mogadishu Warlords kill more babies than any other group in this world including Al-qaida, the only group I might say killed more kid than Mogadishu warlord are American soldierd in Iraq and Afghanistan, surprised, I bet not.....
#36
Do not bleave the the what the Somali worlods want to gain through the international war of terrorism. they want to get a finnancial support from United States and after 16years of civilwar Somali worlods still want to create instability in Somali Capital to fool the world that they er feitghing with Al-Qaida, but the riallity is that Somali Worlords er more worse then Al-Qaida and they er more brutal.
#37
Secret master aked what do you want from us, meaning what Somali's want from US, response is nothing, we warry much about Aids Invested American Soldiers that are spreading the disease in the Corners of the World .
Somalia refused to become like Phillipines where American Soldiers Enjoy Molesting 7 years Old babies, and leave with them the agony of living with Aids for the rest of their lives.
Somalia Choose to Live dignity rather than living with thw agony of seeing American Soldier molesting their precious children.
Now it is time for Somalis to Protect their innocent children From Americans and Mogadishu warlords.
Posted by: Aj JAma ||
04/10/2006 20:56 Comments ||
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#38
very nice - same IP? Same low intellect and idiocy. You're entitled to live in that sh*thole, I wouldn't want you to ever leave.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2006 21:08 Comments ||
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#39
Blame America/Europe/Jews all you want. But it was good Allah fearing Somalis who are killing little Somali babies and raping Somali women and boys. It was mohammed's finest Somali home grown that starved to death hundreds of thousands of Somalis. It is those raised in the islamic sewers of Somalia that can't neither have morals or organizational ability to provide safety, food, shelter, water. Yes my fat Somali refugee, more islam is the answer. Cut off more hands and the food will rain from the heavens like mannna. Bump your head 5 times a day and angels will descend to smite the infidels, the source of all evil. Islam is the answer to backed up sewers. If only Somalis spent more time in the masjid and less time in the fields, working, fixing things, enforcing law, studying.
The best thing America can do is seal the coast from all western aid and watch in fascination as a whole nation recreates the screenplay of Mad Max. We can even show UAV video on Imax, then cheer when Ethiopia takes over and converts what's left of a stupid people duped by a murderous 1400 year old cult.
Personally, Yow et al., I await the day Americans finally have enough, round up and hang the mohammed worshipping butt pirates like you.
Posted by: ed ||
04/10/2006 21:17 Comments ||
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#40
you forgot the green drool.....nice
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2006 21:22 Comments ||
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#41
That was masterful, ed. Bravo!
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/10/2006 21:25 Comments ||
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#42
to Shieldwolf , you seem to be lagging the intelligence to understand what Ethiopians are and their way of living, i would suggest you to go to libraries and search the true meaning of word Abyss (Abyssinia).
I was not surprised Americans relying on ethiopians for their ill fated mission of destroying Somalia .
It takes to make a visit to Addisababa to find out who ethiopians Are, there is A somali proverb saying :
" Those who help themselves can help the others"
Since Ever humans remember Ethiopians were panhandlers to whom ever have some pennies in their Pockets.
History showed Ethiopians regardless who sided with them can not with stand with Somali fightersbecause of these reasons:
Etiopians do not function in the night time including fighting, a very simple example is that Ethiopians do not use washrooms inthe night time , they rather Boo and Bee inside their bedroom for the fearof an unseen Creatures(Jinn) they claim to use the facilities in the night time.
1977 war between Somalia and Ethiopia Somali Military succeeded to Capture All of the Somali Land handed over to Ethiopia by U.K.in less than 6 months, untill Warsaw Pact sided with Ethiopia because they did not want see the end of filthy living Ethiopians, while America who supposedly helping Somalidue to the Cold war between then Soviet Union and USAkeep silent and enjoyed to see the wounds inflicted to Somalians by the Russians and Cubans, thus indicating Americans Care no friends but religion as your articlr indicated .
As a strong muslim believer i will die defending my religion .
No secret Americans are fighting against Islamic religion, terrorism has become synanamous and excuse .
If america want to Help Ethiopia there are easy venues to do so:
First and for most help ethiopians to learn a good Hygiene, you will suffocaye surely standing out side of the balcony of your hotal room.
Teach them to brush their Teethand take a shower for at least once a day.
Teach them not to sell prostitutes in the hotels and ask them to fight Aids rather than spreading into the society and beg the world for Assitance.
Ethiopia is the only nation in the Universe that had a fertile land Yet their Poeople starved on Purpose by their Government to secure donations from weary donor countries.
All the stuff I mentioned above is fact that I experienced on my last visit to Ethiopian Capital Addisababa.
It is time for the world to tell Ethiopia Enough is Enough no more hand outs become a self relying Society snd dig the farm land for the crop to feed your own children rather than starving them,
Posted by: Ina Aw baahalow ||
04/10/2006 21:35 Comments ||
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#43
mods,
were these *visitors* all screened? did they pass all the RB hygine/med tests?
#44
Ah, yes. Famine, clan warfare, and Sunni-flavored Islam. Clearly the Americans' fault. I'm sure that Somalia was a paradise before the United States came to exist in 1776. A thousand years of paradise until we wrecked it. Not a care in the world other than risk of capture by Arabian slavers.
Seriously, Ina Aw baahalow et al, the difference between your ancestors and my ancestors is that mine abandoned what didn't work for them and moved on to build better lives based on better principles. Hanging out in a desert and being submissive to a 7th-century religous death cult was just not their style.
It doesn't seem to be working for you either, does it?
#45
Before the Movie Producers introduce this Movie to these two Poor canadian Actors they asked couple of dozen American born Actors for the roles,Yet they came up empty handed because no American wanted to portray themselves as dumb or dumber because America believes they are intellectually superior than the rest of the world,
Have you taken a good, hard look at any of our actors lately? It strains the imagination to believe that any of them would hesitate for a moment to portray themselves as dumb or dumber because America believes they are intellectually superior than the rest of the world. Honestly, I doubt that more than 1% of our population has ever considered themselves intellectually superior to, say, the Japanese. Youve got us all wrong.
You are Idiots and dump that is why Americans are talking lately about controversial issue of intelligence Design.Humans for sure can neither develop inteligence nor they can design or Alter, only God Can do All those things, humans can nourture childs brain while they are growing , but America Choose wrong way and instead molest babies rather than nourturing
Uh, was I just trying to reason with you? Man, youre right: I am stupid! Hay, moderators, its sink trap time. Make the trolls go back under the bridge until they stop posting things like -
Somalia refused to become like Phillipines where American Soldiers Enjoy Molesting 7 years Old babies, and leave with them the agony of living with Aids for the rest of their lives.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2006 22:32 Comments ||
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#48
Ah, another delusional Somali crowing about another "Mother of All Battles" victory. "Liberated" a weakened post-Selasie Ethiopian territory in the same way the Japanese "liberated" the Pilipines. At least the Japanese held out for 4 years. The cowardly Somalis dropped their weapons and ran back to buggering little boys in Mogadishu in less than one year. The biggest damage Somalis did to Ethiopians was to get the Ethiopia to adopt Communism in response.
Somalia was a backward province of Ethiopia and will be once again. This time there will no Italians to take the beachfront property away from the Ethiopians. Dont forget, baahalow. Ethiopian Mass is on Sundays. Be there, or be an infidel.
Posted by: ed ||
04/10/2006 22:49 Comments ||
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#49
Im proud to say Somalia belongs to Somalis and the truth is Somalis always survive and one day goodness will prevails over evil. No matter White House supports the warlords in Mogadishu or not.
American government want Somalia to be unstable country and to keep our people dump. Western countries always are the enemy of Islam and also American interest in Somalia is not Al-Qaida. Somalia has natural resources and the second largest uranium holder after Australia as well as Oil and etc. American using and supporting other governments that share borders with us to make Somalia not to be a peaceful place just like Lebanons support from Syria.
In history Somalis are warriors not matter who they fighting against and in 1977 Somalia occupied Ethiopia and seized most of the country 7 million Vs 67 million its obvious we can do it again until last Somali man standing we are natural born killers without the help from any country. Ethiopia got help from Russia, Cuba and other communist countries otherwise Ethiopia would be part of Somalia and dont forget Black Hawk Down as well. No matter how advance technology American troops had. You need to have a Heart to fight. My question is why American supporting warlords why they dont go to Somalia?
This comment goes to every Black Man specially African Man Niggaz with knowledge is more dangerous than than niggaz with guns instead of helping their community and giving something back to the community they abandoning their community Where is the Doctors, Teachers, Scientist, Pilots and Rich Africans they investing or working outside Africa and not looking back where they came from and also its clear that our educated and our leaders using the wealth of the African continent with their personal use and becoming dictators.
Algerian troops killed at least 10 suspected Islamist militants in a raid on a gang accused of shooting dead 13 customs officials, newspapers reported on Sunday. The soldiers, backed by air power, also seized 60 AK-47 rifles, 10 rocket launchers and a significant quantity of ammunition in the attack on Saturday in the north African country's southern desert, they reported.
A good part of the increased effectiveness of Algeria's troops against the GSPC comes from us. Only a couple years ago the Algerians were chasing these guys using shoe leather express.
The Islamist fighters, who have links with smuggling networks across Africa's Sahel region, ambushed a party of customs officials on Friday, shooting dead 13 and wounding 10 others 200 km from the country's biggest oil producing town of Hassi Messaoud. Saturday's raid took place in the same area, in the province of Ghardaia some 700 km southeast of the capital Algiers. One customs agent was reported missing following Friday's ambush, suspected to have been carried out by members of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).
The army offensive is still going on in the region, where security forces have intercepted convoys carrying weapons from neighbouring Mali and Niger, El Watan newspaper, usually well-informed on security matters, reported security sources as saying. Some 18 fighters of the GSPC are surrounded by the government forces, Liberte daily said. Friday's ambush was the worst attack since the government last month started implementing an amnesty aimed at bringing peace following years of violence that cost the lives of 200,000 people. The peace move gives rebels still fighting six months to surrender provided they were not involved in massacres, rapes and bombings of public places. Some 800 rebels are still active, the authorities said. But several militants have surrendered in the past days, according to media reports.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:49 ||
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#1
"... fighters of the GSPC are surrounded... "
It will be interesting to see if the Algerian definition of "surrounded" is similar to the Saudi Arabian definition (either 'dead' or 'oops, they slipped away'.)
#2
Generally, in Algeria, being "surrounded" means Abdullah has not arrived yet with his toolkit, to begin the interrogations. It is not a bad idea to be killed in combat, rather than be taken alive for interrogation in Algeria -- at least according to all of the available accounts of such.
After months of relative quiet, Islamic insurgents have struck Algeria.
At least 13 people were killed when suspected Al Qaida-aligned fighters ambushed a government convoy in a desert region of Algeria. The April 7 attack in Ghardaia, 700 kilometers south of Algiers, targeted customs agents on their way to a seminar in Ouargla.
Algerian security sources blamed the Al Qaida-aligned Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call. The sources said the Salafists have been operating in Ghardaia in southern Algeria.
Algerian media reports said the attackers ambushed the convoy in two four-wheel-drive vehicles. Shouting "God is great," the insurgents opened fire with automatic weapons, killed the customs agents and burned the government cars. The insurgents also seized weapons from the convoy.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:44 ||
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BRITAIN has tried to silence renewed sabre-rattling from within the US administration for military action against Iran, saying the idea that the White House wants a nuclear strike is "completely nuts".
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw insisted that Britain would not support pre-emptive military action against Tehran, adding: "I'm as certain as I can be sitting here that neither would the United States."
Many analysts in the West suspect Tehran is attempting to build its own nuclear weapons. Over the weekend, Iran allowed UN inspectors to examine some of the atomic plants which, it maintains, are designed solely for production of electricity.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Straw said: "There is no smoking gun, there is no casus belli. We can't be certain about Iran's intentions and that is, therefore, not a basis on which anybody would gain authority to go for military action."
The idea that the White House wanted a nuclear strike was "completely nuts", he said.
Mr Straw was responding to an article by award-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, published in The New Yorker. It has been seized on as evidence that any hope of a diplomatic solution to the standoff is being swept aside by White House hawks.
Hersh says US President George W.Bush now believes his historic purpose is to stop Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom he is said to regard asa "new Hitler", acquiring nuclear weapons.
The article suggests that Pentagon plans presented to the White House include the use of a "bunker-buster" tactical nuclear weapon against underground sites in Iran because of concerns that conventional strikes would not be "decisive".
The Pentagon attempted to dismiss the report as being filled with "fantastical, wrong and unsubstantiated allegations".
Hersh pointed out that the Pentagon had used similar language initially to describe his revelations about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
His article says US troops have been ordered to infiltrate Iran to collect target data and to cultivate relationships with indigenous groups that oppose the Ahmadinejad Government.
It also claims that US carrier attack jets have been flying simulated bombing runs within range of Iranian coastal radar.
Pentagon officials denied this. They said war planners had routinely updated contingencies on Iran but this did not reflect any orders to prepare for a military confrontation.
The US is thought to have taken limited steps that go beyond contingency planning, such as flying drones over Iran.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed the US media reports as "psychological warfare" that stemmed "from America's anger and helplessness".
Last month, the UN Security Council gave Iran 30 days to halt its nuclear research, or risk action such as sanctions.
Joseph Cirincione, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: "I previously dismissed talk about US military strikes as left-wing conspiracy theory ... but in just the past few weeks I've been convinced that at least some in the administration have already made up their minds that they would like to launch a military strike against Iran."
Mr Straw acknowledged that the US administration uses "slightly different language" on the issue.
"President Bush says (military action) is not on the agenda, but they don't rule out any option in theory. I believe it is not on the agenda and they are very committed indeed to resolving this issue by negotiation."
Mr Straw said he was encouraged that Russia and China had joined the US and European Union powers to apply diplomatic pressure to Tehran.
Kori Schake, a former staffer on Mr Bush's National Security Council, told The Washington Post talk of a military strike was a "diplomatic gambit to keep pressure on others".
#5
Gasp, shock, horror, are the Brits trying to say that PRAVDA is wrong about Dubya's and America's insidious, malicious plan to nuke Iran wid bunker-busters, besides of course taking over the world by various false pretenses??? Iff PRAVDA is wrong, do Americans dare to dream that Pravda's claim of America's imminent collapse is also, gasp, wrong!?
One might contrast this with the UK, which apparently has 400-600 known al-Qaeda members operating within its borders and doesn't appear to be making any serious efforts to remove them.
THE Howard Government will launch an investigation into why an alleged senior al-Qaeda bagman was allowed into Australia a decade ago and whether he lied to immigration authorities about his past.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation will also examine information revealed in The Weekend Australian on Saturday about Ahmad al-Hamwi and allegations that he had supplied funds for terrorists across South-East Asia.
An Immigration Department spokeswoman said the case files of Mr Hamwi, who was found living in the southwestern Sydney suburb of Riverwood last week, would be reopened and examined to determine if he had committed citizenship fraud.
Mr Hamwi, also known by his alias Abu Omar, told the Refugee Review Tribunal in 1996 he had no involvement in terrorism and failed to mention a residency in Turkey. Philippines National Police intelligence reports allege that he had been banned from Turkey for his suspected involvement in a 1986 bombing.
The Weekend Australian revealed on Saturday that Mr Hamwi was the director of an Islamic charity that US and Philippines counter-terrorist officials say was a conduit for funding an al-Qaeda cell in Manila planning a major terrorist attack on US airliners and an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1995.
Philippines National Police intelligence reports also say the charity funded the Philippines terrorist group Abu Sayef and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The spokeswoman said if there was enough evidence to show Mr Hamwi had committed immigration fraud his citizenship or residency in Australia could be revoked.
"We would have to establish there was a case to answer, then it would be referred to the Australian Federal Police," she said.
A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the information contained in the story would be of interest to security agencies. "Anything that goes to national security is not something that the Attorney would comment on, his view would be that if there are people of a security concern, our agencies would obviously be concerned and investigating that," Mr Ruddock's spokeswoman said.
"At this stage they're reports, that information is now obviously in the public domain and clearly available to security agencies."
A spokesman for Opposition national security spokesman Arch Bevis said the federal Government had to explain why a person with close ties to Osama bin Laden had been given refuge in Australia.
"The Government's handling of immigration and asylum matters has seen some Australians deported whilst people close to terrorists remain at large here in Australia," he said.
The Weekend Australian put detailed questions to Mr Hamwi but he repeatedly refused to respond.
Mr Hamwi admitted to the Refugee Review Tribunal that he was the director of the International Research and Information Centre (IRIC) in Manila from 1993 to 1995.
According to terrorism researcher Zachary Abuza and Philippines National Police counter-terrorist investigator Rodolfo Mendoza, he was part of a three-man team at the charity, which was the chief conduit of funds to 1993 World Trade Centre bomber Ramzi Yousef. Yousef was planning to blow up 11 US airliners over the Pacific in 1995 when an accidental explosion in his apartment alerted Philippines police to the plot, known as Operation Bojinka, and the related plot to assassinate John Paul II.
Mr Hamwi became involved in the charity through his brother-in-law and former flatmate, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa - who is Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law - and was sent to the Philippines by the world's most wanted man to establish a Southeast Asian arm to his worldwide terrorist network.
The pair lived together for years and married Filipina sisters, Nora and Alice.
For Khalifa, this was one of two wives - his other wife is Osama bin Laden's older sister.
One of the other men involved with the IRIC was Wali Khan Amin Shah, a close associate of bin Laden who became a key planner in the Bojinka plot. Wali Khan was arrested in February 1995. He was later convicted along with Yousef. He has since co-operated with US authorities.
Mr Mendoza's investigation fingered Mr Hamwi for providing funding to Yousef for his terrorist activities through an intermediary, Carol Santiago (who revealed his name during interrogation), and her boyfriend, Wali Khan.
Mr Hamwi was questioned but never arrested for his role in the plot. Philippines officials were ill-prepared to round up all the suspects, who soon fled the country. Mr Hamwi fled to Australia just months after the discovery of the plot.
Former ASIS spy Warren Reed said allowing Mr Hamwi into the country was a "potentially dangerous situation".
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:32 ||
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The judge investigating the Madrid train bombings will conclude 191 people were killed by a local Islamic cell inspired by al-Qaeda, it was reported.
The Spanish daily El Pais reported high court judge Juan del Olmo's indictment will say the Islamic terrorists were inspired by a radical website called Global Islamic Media (GIM).
The 1,000-page indictment, due to be published on Tuesday, will reject any involvement of the Basque terrorist organisation ETA, claims the paper.
The terrorists behind the attacks were inspired by the messages on the GIM website which specifically advocated attacks on Spain before the general election of 14 March 2004.
The newspaper reports two of the ringleaders who led the attack, Jamal Ahimidan, called El Chino, and Serhane Abdelmajid Fakhet, known as El Tunecino, consulted the website between September and December 2003. The website included a document recommending attacks on Spain before the elections.
It said: "It is necessary to make the most use of the upcoming elections. We think the Spanish government will not be able to tolerate more than two attacks, three at the most, after which it will have to pull its troops out of Iraq."
Three days after the train bombings which also injured more than 1,500 people, Spaniards voted in the Socialist government which promptly withdrew troops from Iraq.
About 30 people are expected to be formally charged in relation to the attacks. A trial, expected to last up to 10 months, will take place later this year or next.
After more than two years of delays and rampant speculation about his findings, a Spanish judge is expected to issue indictments early this week in connection with the March 11, 2004, train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people and wounded at least 1,000.
The bombings, the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of Western Europe since the downing of a Pan American Airlines flight over Scotland in 1988, have led to the arrests of about 120 people and the provisional jailing of 24.
It is not clear how many will be indicted. Local news reports estimate that the number of indictments will be between 30 and 40.
The judge handling the case, Juan del Olmo, has shunned publicity throughout the investigation, hardly speaking with the press and keeping much of his work from public view.
Still, the broad outlines of his conclusions are evident in several of his provisional court filings, which attribute the attacks to Islamic radicals, most of them Moroccans and many with ties to Al Qaeda.
According to the filings, the group appears to have come together in Spain, initially under the guidance of a Syrian named Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, also known as Abu Dahdah, who was convicted by a Spanish court in September of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and of leading a cell of Al Qaeda in Spain.
After Yarkas was arrested in 2001, leadership of the group eventually passed to a younger radical, a former Tunisian graduate student in economics named Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, who in early 2003 began calling for an attack on Spain in part because of its support of American policies toward Iraq, the documents say.
Fakhet and his co-leader, Jamal Ahmidan, the man who investigators have called the operational head of the cell, blew themselves up along with five other members of the group when their apartment near Madrid was surrounded by the Spanish police about three weeks after the train bombings.
Investigators working with del Olmo say that practically all of the principal members of the group are now dead or in custody, and that they have unraveled most of what the group did in the days leading up to the attacks, largely through information gathered from phone records.
What they have not established, at least not publicly, is the existence of a link between the group and the top leadership of Al Qaeda.
Many investigators say that the typically horizontal structure of Islamic terrorist networks suggests that the group probably conceived and carried out the train bombings without any order or message from Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenants.
Del Olmo has been publicly criticized by senior judges for the slow pace of his investigation, leading him to set his own deadline of April 10 for issuing the indictments. A court official said that the judge was likely to miss the deadline by a day, suggesting he would publish his findings on Tuesday rather than Monday.
The trial is expected to begin in late summer or in early autumn.
One person has been convicted so far, a minor identified by the initials G.M.V. who pleaded guilty in November 2004 to having helped provide the explosives used in the attacks.
Del Olmo's investigation has been the subject of intense partisan maneuverings almost from the outset.
Members of the center-right Popular Party, which was in power at the time of the attacks, continue to suggest that ETA, the militant Basque separatist group, was involved - a claim they made in the days immediately after the attacks.
The governing Socialists call this reckless disregard for the facts, contending that the Popular Party is trying to fend off criticism that the attacks were a response from Muslim radicals to Spanish support for the American invasion of Iraq.
While being careful not to directly blame the previous government for the attacks, saying that only terrorists are responsible for terrorism, the Socialists have argued that the policy of supporting the invasion of Iraq put Spain at greater risk of attack from Islamic militants.
The police investigators have said repeatedly that there is no evidence indicating that ETA participated in the train bombings.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:37 ||
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"Local news reports estimate that the number of indictments will be between 30 and 40."
Citations and stern letters of reprimand all around. Pay your paltry fine to the clerk as you leave.
A Swiss judge has issued an arrest warrant for the former head of Iran's secret police for his role in the killing of a leading Iranian dissident 16 years ago. Ali Fallahian is charged with masterminding the assassination of Kazem Rajavi, a renowned human rights advocate, near Geneva in April 1990. According to a report in Lausanne-based newspaper Le Matin Dimanche, the international arrest warrant was issued by Swiss investigating magistrate Jacques Antenen on March 20. It called on law enforcement agencies to arrest Fallahian who for years headed Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and is currently a security advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and transfer him to the Canton Vaud Prison in Lausanne.
The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed on Sunday that the warrant had been issued. "The Iranian authorities have yet to react to [it]," said spokesman Lars Knuchel, adding that the shooting had been a source of discussion between Bern and the Iranian capital Tehran since 1990. Kazem Rajavi, then the representative of the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Switzerland, was gunned down in broad daylight by several MOIS agents on April 24, 1990 as he was driving to his home in Coppet, a village near Geneva.
Two of the hitmen were later discovered in France and arrested by French police. But despite a warrant for their arrest by the Swiss authorities, the French government put them on a direct flight to Tehran "for reasons of the state". This drew international condemnation, including from the United States.
The NCRI charged that Ayatollah Khamenei and former President Rafsanjani were also "directly involved" in ordering the assassination and should be issued international arrest warrants as well. "Thirteen persons were involved in planning and carrying out the murder," Antenen said. "All of them had service passports, marked 'on assignment'. A number of those documents had been issued on the same day in Tehran." The Iranian authorities have always denied any involvement in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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Iranian Fatwa no different than a Mafia contract.
#2
I believe I read a similar article about Amadinajad about the time he was taking office. It was nearly the same as this , only it was Austria that wanted to have a few words with him about killing a dissident.
President General Pervez Musharraf Monday said Pakistan will serve as a fountainhead of Islamic Renaissance and urged leaders of all Muslim countries to strive for socio-economic uplift of their people and also encourage understanding true essence of Islam.
Since the Pakiwakis have been at the forefront of the Islamic world for so long ...
Addressing a seminar on Islam and the Modern World, organized jointly by the Institute of Strategic Studies and English Speaking Union of Pakistan, the President also renewed his call for mandatory contribution by each Islamic country to enable the OIC to deliver in terms of their scientific and technological development.
Becuase there's a wealth of Islamic scientific and technological know-how just waiting for funding ...
The President also underscored that Islam is in consonance with modernization as the religion stands for improving the "inner character and living conditions" of the people. "Islam is not in conflict with modernization -- it is for all times -it is progressive and dynamic -- it is in consonance with modenization as it aims at development of people -- teachings of Islam are in line with democracy, progress and rights of minorities."
Just like it was a thousand years ago.
He said that Islamic countries can grow a global economic power by boosting mutual trade and utilizing 70 percent of their oil resources.
Instead of using the money to buy Bentleys.
Identifying some of the key problems confronting the Muslim world, the President stressed that the way forward called for demonstration of "will and resolve" by all OIC countries vis a vis socio-economic emancipation of their people and reorganization of the Organization of Islamic Conference. "Let's pull our people out of the downtrodden socio-economic state through good governance - let's set personal example - let's understand Islam in its true essence within ourselves and project it internationally to correct misperceptions about our religion.
This is heresy in so many ways, Perv ...
President Musharraf also underlined the importance of resolution of political disputes affecting the Muslim countries. In this context, he referred to his vision of enlightened moderation and said it calls upon the Muslims to reject extremism in favour of their socio- economic development and asks the West to facilitate the resolution of longstanding political disputes that confront Muslims.
By resolving them in favor of Muslims, of course. How's that Kashmir thing working out?
He referred to Pakistan's call for mandatory annual contribution of .01 per cent of GDP by each of the 57 Muslim countries and said it would raise US dollars 1200 million for restructuring and reorganizing the OIC into a vibrant and dynamic body. "Even if all member countries contribute half of that percentage, the OIC will have at least US dollars 100 million to bring the less developed countries out of socio-economic backwaters."
And $100 mil will do so much good in North Wazoo ...
Posted by: john ||
04/10/2006 14:56 ||
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MIRANSHAH: Suspected militants fired rockets at a military post in Datta Khel, a village in the North Waziristan, said an official on Sunday. No one was reported hurt and the nine rockets fired in the attack landed in a field near the post, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of his job.
Also, security forces opened fire at a pickup truck after its driver ignored orders to stop and sped through a roadblock near Datta Khel, he added. The vehicle was later found abandoned and its driver's seat was splattered with blood, indicating the man was injured in the shooting. No weapons were found and it was not known whether the man was a militant or a civilian.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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...driver's seat was splattered with blood, indicating the man was injured in the shooting.
Pakistan has branded an underground militant group operating in the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan a "terrorist" organisation, officials said yesterday. "The federal government has declared Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) as terrorist organisation over its involvement in sabotage and subversive activities," provincial police chief, Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqub, told AFP. He said Baluchistan police had arrested an unspecified number of militants who confessed they had been receiving money and weapons from the group for attacks on government installations. "BLA itself had been claiming responsibility after almost every incident," Yaqub said.
He said now the group was officially a terrorist organisation, its name could not appear in the Pakistani media. The police chief said the group was allegedly led by a provincial deputy, Balach Marri, who was facing several criminal charges including landmine blasts and bomb explosions. "He will now lose his seat in the provincial assembly," he said.
The BLA leader's brother Gazin Marri, who served as provincial home minister from 1993-96, was arrested in Dubai late last month on charges of money laundering, he said. "This confirms our belief that the group had been receiving funds from abroad," Yaqub said without giving details.
Along with some nationalist tribes the BLA has been waging a sporadic revolt in recent years in sparsely populated Baluchistan to win more political rights and a greater share of profits from the region's rich natural resources. The government launched a fresh crackdown in Baluchistan after militants fired rockets in the town of Kohlu during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf last December.
Firing up Perv was a move of singular brilliance, since I don't think they came within a mile of him. Whether they're a terrorist organization or not is another matter. As I've pointed out on a few occasions, there are differences between terrorists and guerrilla organizations, and the BLA fits the latter to a tee. They don't as a matter of policy make war on civilians, keeping for the most part to attacks on military targets and infrastructure. There's a qualitative difference, even given that they're Bugtis and Marris and suchlike primitives, between them and the genuine terrorists infesting North and South Wazoo. They're not the ones lopping off heads and organizing roving bands of fascisti and hanging people. Akbar Bugti's probably got a black belt in evil, but I wouldn't call him a terrorist. A perfidious bastard, yes; a tyrant, yes; a terrorist, no.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Didn't go through it with a fine tooth comb, but I see some good and bad trends alike. The graphical outputs make it all a lot easier to see. Thanks lotp that's a good one.
#2
Nice of the very liberal Brookings Institute to put this together. A very cursory glance is enough to see that they are taking values at the extreme range of available estimates.
One example - oil production under Saddam is estimated generally between 1.8m bbl/day and 2.5m. CIA put the number at around 2.1m. Brookings of course went with the highest available number, 2.5m, because it casts the US in the least favorable light.
The U.S. military has determined that Al Qaida was losing the loyalty of its senior operatives in Iraq.
Officials said the U.S.-led coalition has received significant cooperation from captured aides of Al Qaida network chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi. They said information provided by these insurgents has led to the discovery of other Al Qaida commanders as well as weapons caches.
"What we're finding is there's a lack of a specific quality inside the Zarqawi network, and that quality is loyalty," U.S. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said.
Over the weekend, about 85 people were killed and 140 were injured in a series of bombings that targeted Shi'ites in Baghdad. Officials said the attackers were disguised as women and struck a Shi'ite mosque.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:43 ||
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It should perhaps be noted that the writer is the author of a book called "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq." How the hell do you "villainize" a man who decapitates people in his spare time? The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The documents state that the U.S. campaign aims to turn Iraqis against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, by playing on their perceived dislike of foreigners. U.S. authorities claim some success with that effort, noting that some tribal Iraqi insurgents have attacked Zarqawi loyalists.
For the past two years, U.S. military leaders have been using Iraqi media and other outlets in Baghdad to publicize Zarqawi's role in the insurgency. The documents explicitly list the "U.S. Home Audience" as one of the targets of a broader propaganda campaign.
Some senior intelligence officers believe Zarqawi's role may have been overemphasized by the propaganda campaign, which has included leaflets, radio and television broadcasts, Internet postings and at least one leak to an American journalist. Although Zarqawi and other foreign insurgents in Iraq have conducted deadly bombing attacks, they remain "a very small part of the actual numbers," Col. Derek Harvey, who served as a military intelligence officer in Iraq and then was one of the top officers handling Iraq intelligence issues on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an Army meeting at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., last summer.
In a transcript of the meeting, Harvey said, "Our own focus on Zarqawi has enlarged his caricature, if you will -- made him more important than he really is, in some ways."
"The long-term threat is not Zarqawi or religious extremists, but these former regime types and their friends," said Harvey, who did not return phone calls seeking comment on his remarks.
There has been a running argument among specialists in Iraq about how much significance to assign to Zarqawi, who spent seven years in prison in Jordan for attempting to overthrow the government there. After his release he spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan before moving his base of operations to Iraq. He has been sentenced to death in absentia for planning the 2002 assassination of U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley in Jordan. U.S. authorities have said he is responsible for dozens of deaths in Iraq and have placed a $25 million bounty on his head.
Recently there have been unconfirmed reports of a possible rift between Zarqawi and the parent al-Qaeda organization that may have resulted in his being demoted or cut loose. Last week, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that it was unclear what was happening between Zarqawi and al-Qaeda. "It may be that he's not being fired at all, but that he is being focused on the military side of the al-Qaeda effort and he's being asked to leave more of a political side possibly to others, because of some disagreements within al-Qaeda," he said.
The military's propaganda program largely has been aimed at Iraqis, but seems to have spilled over into the U.S. media. One briefing slide about U.S. "strategic communications" in Iraq, prepared for Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, describes the "home audience" as one of six major targets of the American side of the war.
That slide, created by Casey's subordinates, does not specifically state that U.S. citizens were being targeted by the effort, but other sections of the briefings indicate that there were direct military efforts to use the U.S. media to affect views of the war. One slide in the same briefing, for example, noted that a "selective leak" about Zarqawi was made to Dexter Filkins, a New York Times reporter based in Baghdad. Filkins's resulting article, about a letter supposedly written by Zarqawi and boasting of suicide attacks in Iraq, ran on the Times front page on Feb. 9, 2004.
Leaks to reporters from U.S. officials in Iraq are common, but official evidence of a propaganda operation using an American reporter is rare.
Filkins, reached by e-mail, said that he was not told at the time that there was a psychological operations campaign aimed at Zarqawi, but said he assumed that the military was releasing the letter "because it had decided it was in its best interest to have it publicized." No special conditions were placed upon him in being briefed on its contents, he said. He said he was skeptical about the document's authenticity then, and remains so now, and so at the time tried to confirm its authenticity with officials outside the U.S. military.
"There was no attempt to manipulate the press," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. military's chief spokesman when the propaganda campaign began in 2004, said in an interview Friday. "We trusted Dexter to write an accurate story, and we gave him a good scoop."
Another briefing slide states that after U.S. commanders ordered that the atrocities of Saddam Hussein's government be publicized, U.S. psychological operations soldiers produced a video disc that not only was widely disseminated inside Iraq, but also was "seen on Fox News."
U.S. military policy is not to aim psychological operations at Americans, said Army Col. James A. Treadwell, who commanded the U.S. military psyops unit in Iraq in 2003. "It is ingrained in U.S.: You don't psyop Americans. We just don't do it," said Treadwell. He said he left Iraq before the Zarqawi program began but was later told about it.
"When we provided stuff, it was all in Arabic," and aimed at the Iraqi and Arab media, said another military officer familiar with the program, who spoke on background because he is not supposed to speak to reporters.
But this officer said that the Zarqawi campaign "probably raised his profile in the American press's view."
With satellite television, e-mail and the Internet, it is impossible to prevent some carryover from propaganda campaigns overseas into the U.S. media, said Treadwell, who is now director of a new project at the U.S. Special Operations Command that focuses on "trans-regional" media issues. Such carryover is "not blowback, it's bleed-over," he said. "There's always going to be a certain amount of bleed-over with the global information environment."
The Zarqawi program was not related to another effort, led by the Lincoln Group, a U.S. consulting firm, to place pro-U.S. articles in Iraq newspapers, according to the officer familiar with the program who spoke on background.
It is difficult to determine how much has been spent on the Zarqawi campaign, which began two years ago and is believed to be ongoing. U.S. propaganda efforts in Iraq in 2004 cost $24 million, but that included extensive building of offices and residences for troops involved, as well as radio broadcasts and distribution of thousands of leaflets with Zarqawi's face on them, said the officer speaking on background.
The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government) and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work.
One internal briefing, produced by the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq, said that Kimmitt had concluded that, "The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date.
Kimmitt is now the senior planner on the staff of the Central Command that directs operations in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. In 2003 and 2004, he coordinated public affairs, information operations and psychological operations in Iraq -- though he said in an interview the internal briefing must be mistaken because he did not actually run the psychological operations and could not speak for them.
Kimmitt said, "There was clearly an information campaign to raise the public awareness of who Zarqawi was, primarily for the Iraqi audience but also with the international audience."
A goal of the campaign was to drive a wedge into the insurgency by emphasizing Zarqawi's terrorist acts and foreign origin, said officers familiar with the program. "Through aggressive Strategic Communications, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi now represents: Terrorism in Iraq/Foreign Fighters in Iraq/Suffering of Iraqi People (Infrastructure Attacks)/Denial of Iraqi Aspirations," the same briefing asserts.
Officials said one indication that the campaign worked is that over the past several months, there have been reports that Iraqi tribal insurgents have attacked Zarqawi loyalists, especially in the culturally conservative province of Anbar. "What we're finding is indeed the people of al-Anbar -- Fallujah and Ramadi, specifically -- have decided to turn against terrorists and foreign fighters," Maj. Gen Rick Lynch, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said in February.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/10/2006 02:27 ||
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#1
Dan asked: "How the hell do you "villainize" a man who decapitates people in his spare time?"
Well, it's right in the source documents: "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated.
While al Qaeda's been a useful source of meat, the main force beind the Iraqi insurgency has been... Iraqis. Specifically, local baathists.
#2
My god. I'm stunned by this! I guess he's just misunderstood eh - a misguided criminal. Sheesh i've heard it all now. Next up 'How Hitler was Unfairly Treated'.
#4
How the hell do you "villainize" a man who decapitates people in his spare time?
Good question. But here's another one: how the hell are we supposed to win this war-- or any war, for that matter-- with the media churning out an endless torrent of anti-American propaganda?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/10/2006 5:52 Comments ||
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#5
And here I thought Zarqawi villainized Zarqawi ...
#7
Rofl, yeah what a great man he came to fight for the Iraqis and hes done nothing but blow them up, yay, what a fckin hero! All whilst ignoring the fact he isn't even an Iraqi! whos interfering now eh troll?
#9
Besides when this whole middle eastern conflict goes thermonuclear the likes of Zarq will cease to be of any concern to anyone. Rofl. Much bigger fish to fry next door and all this talk of Zarq and his fellow clowns will cease to be relevent.
#10
other sections of the briefings indicate that there were direct military efforts to use the U.S. media to affect views of the war. One slide in the same briefing, for example, noted that a "selective leak" about Zarqawi was made to Dexter Filkins, a New York Times reporter based in Baghdad. Filkins's resulting article, about a letter supposedly written by Zarqawi and boasting of suicide attacks in Iraq, ran on the Times front page on Feb. 9, 2004.
Leaks to reporters from U.S. officials in Iraq are common, but official evidence of a propaganda operation using an American reporter is rare
It's a good thing those noble reporters are far too smart to ever act as the American military's propaganda tools...
#11
How much more pathetic can you get, seeking internal scapegoats even at a stage when the external enemies are as plain to see as your country's impotency and/or unwillingness to fight them?
I'll resist the temptation to go on a major rant at this comment and restrict myself to noting that whenever the Left doesn't want to address an issue, it (specifically you) change the subject and throw out a statement so vague and filled with non-specific innuedos that no one can criticise it.
So, Aris, what exactly are the threats and what do you propose be done about it?
Otherwise, (since .com is not around) it's just your personal wankfest.
#13
Zarqawi SHOULD be focused on, because his work with Ansar al-Islam, sponsored by Saddam, was a serious threat to the West before we ever went into Iraq.
Google "ricin" and "apartment" .... reports were that the specific formula of ricin found in both Paris and London was characteristic of that produced by Saddam's mukhabarat -- and the cookbooks for it were found when US special ops guys and the peshmerga overran the Ansar camps early in the war.
That's one small detail among many that make the case that the tie between Saddam's regime, al Qaeda and planned terror actions is stronger than some would like to admit.
#14
There has been a running argument among specialists in Iraq about how much significance to assign to Zarqawi, who spent seven years in prison in Jordan for attempting to overthrow the government there. After his release he spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan before moving his base of operations to Iraq.
Hmmm. The timeline here seems to be lacking something here. WHICH years did he spend in jug in Jordan, HOW MUCH time did he spend in Pakland/Afghanland, WHEN did he travel to Iraq and WHY?
Oh, I'm sorry, this story is about the military manipulating the gullible if well-meaning press corps.
Presenter: Another man who had his head decapitated was Stig O' Tracy.
Interviewer: I've been told Abu Musab al-Zarqawi decapitated you.
Stig: No. Never. He was a smashing bloke. He used to buy his mother flowers and that. He was like a brother to me.
Interviewer: But the police have film of Zarqawi cutting off your head.
Stig: (pause) Oh yeah, he did that.
Interviewer: Why?
Stig: Well he had to, didn't he? I mean there was nothing else he could do, be fair. I had transgressed the unwritten sura.
Interviewer: What had you done?
Stig: Er... well he didn't tell me that, but he gave me his word that it was the case, and that's good enough for me with old Zarqi. I mean, he didn't want to cut my head off. I had to insist. He wanted to let me off. He'd do anything for you, Zarqawi would.
Interviewer: And you don't bear him a grudge?
Stig: A grudge! Old Zarqi? He's a real darling.
"The long-term threat is not Zarqawi or religious extremists, but these former regime types and their friends," said Harvey, who did not return phone calls seeking comment on his remarks.
Ummmm ... No. Religious extremists constitute the major threat in both Iraq (Zarq isn't fomenting that civil war all by his little ol' self) and the Global War on Terrorism. Yet another terminal case of rectal-cranial insertion.
#18
Thanks to Zenster -- I just saw that Monty Python skit the other evening! And truth be told, that skit, and many others, are right on target and are as true today as they were 30 years ago. MP understood media and manipulation as well as anyone.
#19
I found a trace of unintended (I'm sure) humor in Ricks' article. This foolish author believes there needs to be a concerted effort to "turn Iraqis against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."
Even a novice knows that Zarqawi is viewed as an evil cockroach by Iraqis.
It seems the only one who needs to be convinced of Zarqawi's evil is the author.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/10/2006 11:11 Comments ||
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#20
And yo! moderators, why am I unbanned again? I won't get any *less* obnoxious, I promise you that.
Makes one wonder why he keeps checking to see if he can slip through. What emptiness.
#21
We are not "seeking internal scapegoats", Aris. We are seeking to not be undermined by our own people and to not to be undermined by "news" media that are far less than objective than they should be. Much of the media seems to have lost the distinction between "reporting" and "editorializing", perhaps because editors are more interested in wielding political influence than in doing the "Journalism 101" part of their jobs. If journalism was a licensed profession that was regulated the way law and medicine and engineering and even hair styling are regulated, then many of these editors would lose their licenses.
#22
Finally, *finally* demand that Sadr is declared a terrorist outlaw on par with Zarqawi or stop supporting with your troops a villainous Shiite leadership that keeps such a murderer in its pocket as a useful reserve. They must either abandon him or you must abandon *them* to their fate. Have them choose.
Hard to argue with that part, Aris. Many around here have been saying the same thing for quite some time, myself included.
#25
Fred's the only one with keys to the troll cabinet. Us mods can toss trolls in but can't fish 'em out. Any un-bannings are strictly at the site owner's discretion.
#28
Villainizing a Villain is Villain². This is getting too convoluted for me. Zark, as well as Tater need to go, and the rest is mega minutae.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/10/2006 16:40 Comments ||
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#29
I'm sure it's the media's fault that the whole of Iraq is infiltrated by Iran's agents. Sadr, SCIRI,
Iraq's Ministry of the Interior, the Iranian stooges' vile actions are all the fault of CNN, BBC and Time magazine.
How much more pathetic can you get, seeking internal scapegoats even at a stage when the external enemies are as plain to see as your country's impotency and/or unwillingness to fight them?
IRAQI pilots who flew in Saddam Husseins air force are being targeted by armed militias in an apparent witch-hunt against veterans who fought in the war against Iran two decades ago. According to official military statistics, 182 former pilots and 416 senior military officers had been killed by the beginning of January 2006 as part of the campaign. At least 836 pilots and high-ranking military officials have fled to neighbouring Arab states. Many of the assassinations have been blamed on militias from the Shiite Badr Brigade who were trained and financed by Iran and who now form the backbone of Iraqs police and special forces.
A delegation of more than 1,000 members of the former military elite mainly from the Sunni minority appealed recently to President Jalal Talabani to intervene to end the attacks. The officers and their families have accused Iran of inciting Iraqs Shiite militias to carry out acts of vengeance. The organised nature of the attacks has reinforced their claims that elements within the Iranian-backed government are behind the attacks. Anyone who participated in the former war against Iraq is now a target, not knowing when the death sentence will be carried out against him, said the brother of Imad Mohammed Marhoon, a pilot assassinated last December. We cannot escape and we are unable to defend ourselves. We are the walking dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran inciting violence and death?
Say it ain't so!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/10/2006 0:17 Comments ||
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#2
The Baathist ex-military officers have been funding and organizing the insurgency and the terror campaign against the Shiites. Cough up the arms and explosives caches, the couriers, the account numbers, the recruiters, the contacts in Syria and KSA, the trainers, the infiltrators, the safe houses, and the propaganda teams, and I'm sure that some sort of protection can be arranged.
#4
Whoa, easy WXJAMES!
We have to debate it in the UN for at least another 300 months before we can write them a letter telling them that we don't like what they are doing. Then, come the security council circle jerks and so on. Maybe some day we can bomb them, but that will be a long way down the road. Just look at the Sudan dossier.
#6
Come to think of it, it would be a fine idea for the US to take a bunch of the aircraft from the "Mothball Air Force" in Tucson, which could be fairly cheaply reconditioned in about the same time Iraqi pilots could be trained.
Imagine the Iranians surprise if they woke up one morning and Iraq had a fully operational 300 plane air force? Granted, heavy on transport and reconnaisance aircraft. But in that their older fighter aircraft still sport the latest air-to-air missiles...
Two German hostages held in Iraq have appeared in a video on the Internet pleading for their lives while their kidnappers vow to punish them unless their demands are met. The kidnappers, a group called Ansar al-Tawheed wal Sunna (Followers of Unity and Prophetic Tradition), are demanding the release of all Iraqis held in US-run prisons. The group has also told Germany to stop giving help to the US and Iraqi authorities.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her Government is scrutinising the video of engineers Thomas Nitzschke, 28, and Rene Braeunlich, 32, which was posted on an Islamic Internet site on Sunday. "We will do everything in our power to save the hostages and to bring them back to Germany," she said.
In the 24-second video, dated March 28, Mr Nitzschke pleads with the German Government to save him and Mr Braeunlich. "We have been held captive here for more than 60 days. We are close to breaking point. Please help us. Please help us," he said.
The video shows the two hostages looking haggard and wearing beards. In an accompanying statement the kidnappers threatened: "Know that if our two demands - the release of all Iraqi men and women held in occupation prisons and a halt to all aid to Americans and their agents, including Shiites - are not met, punishment will be meted out quickly. Those of you who help the occupiers, the infidels and the Shiites, know that you and your citizens will not escape the jihadists (holy warriors)."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
In the end of all Jihadis have a special place in the firey regions.
Besides with a female chancellor of Germany, the jihadis are in a bad spot cause if the hostages do get free, the warped jihadi bastards will have lost face to a woman...
American soldiers in Iraq killed eight suspected anti-US fighters during a raid north of Baghdad on Sunday, the US military said. Clashes erupted when US soldiers surrounded a suspected safehouse and nearby tent on the northern outskirts of Baghdad. Five suspected fighters inside the tent were killed. As firing on the soldiers continued, they called for air support, and three assailants were killed in the ensuing air strike, a military statement said. After the fighting, the US forces discovered bombs and weapons inside the house and detained two suspects. A woman inside the house was wounded when the soldiers entered, but was taken to a hospital and is listed in stable condition, the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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There is a sick side of me who loves that name. But since i have seen Dresden, I do not blame the Allies but the the Soviets for screwing up that city.
#1
Yawn. The Israelis have already been kicking your grotty Palestinian @sses from here to Tuesday since, like, forevah. So, who needs a declaration of war?
#2
It is amazing how an entire people has intentionally deluded themselves so badly. I can't think of any group in history which has survived this way.
#5
YJCMTSU all right. Un-freekin believable! Dhimmi or die is their slogan. Shows you what throwing a sh*tload of money at a bunch of psychopaths will do.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/10/2006 20:47 Comments ||
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Wonder is Hamas is going to try to threaten the EU with suicide bombers in Europe if they don't pay the Danegeld? They know better than to threaten the US as long as GW is president.
Gaza ceasefire shot down within hours
Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem
April 11, 2006
ISLAMIC Jihad, the most aggressive of the Palestinian militias, crapped in their shorts blinked briefly yesterday under Israeli pressure when its armed wing in the Gaza Strip said it would stop firing rockets into Israel for a week.
A statement issued by the group said the halt in rocket attacks was intended to ease the suffering of the Palestinian population and to test Israel's claim that its shelling of the strip was only in retaliation for the firing of rockets from Gaza.
"We want to show the world that we are only defending ourselves and that we don't love bloodshed," the statement said.
But it was overridden within hours by the organisation's political wing.
"Islamic Jihad is going to escalate its attacks on the Zionist entity by all possible means," said Khader Habib, a senior official. "We are going to teach the Government of Tel Aviv a lesson that they are not going to forget."
The unusual hint of moderation by the military wing, which last year rejected a temporary ceasefire agreed to by all other militant groups, came after Israel fired more than 1000 shells into the strip during the past week from artillery and gunboats off the Gaza shore. God bless the 155mm.
In addition, aircraft killed 15 people over the weekend in strikes on rocket launch sites, training camps and vehicles carrying wanted men.
Israel says almost all the dead were militants, but the victims included the five-year-old son of a senior figure involved in rocket production, who was also killed. Since Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip seven months ago, hundreds of Palestinian-made Kassam rockets have been fired from there at Israeli targets.
The situation presents the new Hamas Government with a major dilemma. According to Israeli analysts, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups that fire rockets would be likely to stop because of public pressure - but only if they are asked to by Hamas, thus enabling them to save face.
But Hamas, which had been the leading militant group until its accession to power, would find it difficult to publicly renounce its major credo - the right of resistance.
#1
a 5 yr old held close by his disgusting f*&k of a father. Sorry kid, but it was too bad Dad didn't keep you away from the family bidness. Perhaps he was already training you to take over when he passed?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2006 21:05 Comments ||
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Norway has frozen aid to the Palestinian Authority, officials said on Sunday, joining a growing list of countries halting assistance to pressure the new Hamas government to restart negotiations with Israel. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said that Norway wanted to help bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table "so that we can achieve our goal and the international community's goal -- namely two states that can live side by side in peace."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
I think to a degree what is happening is it is dawning on the Europeans that the Paleos are a hopeless cause who will consume ever increasing wads of cash forever. Hamas election gives them a pretext to step back and save their money.
The Israeli government says it has severed all ties with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, declaring it a "hostile entity". However, the government will maintain contacts with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, although it has ruled out full peace talks with the leader of the Fatah faction. The decision was announced following a security cabinet meeting on Sunday. In a statement issued after the meeting Ehud Olmert, the acting Israeli prime minister, also said that his government would shun foreign diplomats who meet members of the Hamas administration.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Fred : Alfalfa? I though you'd put the zero surprise meter here. Israel had no quarter with Ham-Ass, and never will.
#5
If I was the Israeli govt, I would first shut off the electric power, since there seems to be no Paleostinian Authority. I would hint at, since there is no longer a Paleostinian Authority, the Israeli govt is not bound by Oslo. However, for humanitarian purposes, the Israeli govt is continuing to provide potable water for _______ days. If a suitable settlement is not agreed upon after this time elapses, where Isreal's security and right to exist are affirmed, then the water goes off. Period. Pound sand and sewage. Action and consequences. Messkit: Meet sh*t.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/10/2006 21:36 Comments ||
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More than 90 percent of the suicide attacks in Iraq are carried out by terrorists and foreign fighters recruited, trained and equipped by al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday.
Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq "are real threats to the citizens, security and stability of Iraq and we continue to conduct aggressive operations to eliminate the threat they pose not only to Iraq, but also to the rest of the region," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said in a statement.
The Washington Post reported Monday that U.S. military was conducting a propaganda campaign to "magnify the role" of al-Zarqawi to turn Iraqis against him and to link the war in Iraq to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
According to the newspaper, some U.S. military intelligence officials believe the campaign has overstated al-Zarqawi's importance within the Iraqi insurgency
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/10/2006 21:17 ||
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Tehran, Iran, Apr. 09 A senior Iranian cleric was shot and seriously wounded and two army officers were killed by gunmen in the restive province of Sistan-va-Baluchistan, south-east Iran, a semi-official daily reported on Sunday.
Hojjatoleslam Youssif Mohammadi-Soleimani, the representative of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Centre for Higher Education in Iranshahr, was gunned down Friday evening by an individual on a motorbike, the hard-line daily Jomhouri Islami wrote. Mohammadi-Soleimani was shot five times, the report said, adding that he was seriously wounded.
Pray for sepsis.
On Saturday, six armed individuals kidnapped a local oil official, identified as Eshaq Nezamdoust, outside his home.
The report added that in two separate incidents, two army officers identified as Mostafa Ahmadi and Behzad Gholi-Pour were killed by insurgents. Considering the fact that Sistan-va-Baluchistan Province has land and sea borders stretching thousands of kilometres with Pakistan and Afghanistan where American and British military forces are based, in order to create lasting security and relieve the people here of fear, officials must act quickly to reduce damages as a result of insecurity, the daily added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2006 00:22 ||
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#1
Shot the cleric right in the ol' south-east region, eh? Sounds painful.
#2
was gunned down Friday evening by an individual on a motorbike,
Probably a Grobdeutschland courier with Schmizer and a little too much time on his hands. Used to see them practicing near Tolz all the time. Bursts of 3-5, low, leg shots were the norm, barrel under the handle bars for increased control.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Three bombings including a suicide blast killed a soldier and wounded 16 other Afghans Sunday, officials said, in the latest in a spate of attacks linked to Taliban insurgents. The suicide attacker struck an Afghan army checkpoint in the eastern province of Paktika near the border with Pakistan, provincial government spokesman Salam Mangal said. Six soldiers were wounded with one later dying in hospital. Two of the injured were in a serious condition, provincial governor Akram Khealwak said. It was the first suicide attack in the province, he said. The bomber blew up a taxi in front of the checkpoint in Barmal district on a main route to Pakistan, Mangal said. The wounded soldiers were taken to a nearby base of foreign coalition soldiers for treatment.
Algerian troops killed at least 10 suspected Islamist militants in a raid on a gang accused of shooting dead 13 customs officials, newspapers reported on Sunday. The soldiers, backed by air power, also seized 60 AK-47 rifles, 10 rocket launchers and a significant quantity of ammunition in the attack on Saturday in the north African country's southern desert, they reported.
A Swiss judge has issued an arrest warrant for the former head of Iran's secret police for his role in the killing of a leading Iranian dissident 16 years ago. Ali Fallahian is charged with masterminding the assassination of Kazem Rajavi, a renowned human rights advocate, near Geneva in April 1990. According to a report in Lausanne-based newspaper Le Matin Dimanche, the international arrest warrant was issued by Swiss investigating magistrate Jacques Antenen on March 20. It called on law enforcement agencies to arrest Fallahian who for years headed Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and is currently a security advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and transfer him to the Canton Vaud Prison in Lausanne.
President General Pervez Musharraf Monday said Pakistan will serve as a fountainhead of Islamic Renaissance and urged leaders of all Muslim countries to strive for socio-economic uplift of their people and also encourage understanding true essence of Islam.
MIRANSHAH: Suspected militants fired rockets at a military post in Datta Khel, a village in the North Waziristan, said an official on Sunday. No one was reported hurt and the nine rockets fired in the attack landed in a field near the post, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of his job. 
Pakistan has branded an underground militant group operating in the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan a "terrorist" organisation, officials said yesterday. "The federal government has declared 
The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Some senior intelligence officers believe Zarqawi's role may have been overemphasized by the propaganda campaign, which has included leaflets, radio and television broadcasts, Internet postings and at least one leak to an American journalist. Although Zarqawi and other foreign insurgents in Iraq have conducted deadly bombing attacks, they remain "a very small part of the actual numbers," Col. Derek Harvey, who served as a military intelligence officer in Iraq and then was one of the top officers handling Iraq intelligence issues on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an Army meeting at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., last summer.
IRAQI pilots who flew in Saddam Husseins air force are being targeted by armed militias in an apparent witch-hunt against veterans who fought in the war against Iran two decades ago. According to official military statistics, 182 former pilots and 416 senior military officers had been killed by the beginning of January 2006 as part of the campaign. At least 836 pilots and high-ranking military officials have fled to neighbouring Arab states. Many of the assassinations have been blamed on militias from the Shiite Badr Brigade who were trained and financed by Iran and who now form the backbone of Iraqs police and special forces. 
Two German hostages held in Iraq have appeared in a video on the Internet pleading for their lives while their kidnappers vow to punish them unless their demands are met. The kidnappers, a group called 
American soldiers in Iraq killed eight suspected anti-US fighters during a raid north of Baghdad on Sunday, the US military said. Clashes erupted when US soldiers surrounded a suspected safehouse and nearby tent on the northern outskirts of Baghdad. Five suspected fighters inside the tent were killed. As firing on the soldiers continued, they called for air support, and three assailants were killed in the ensuing air strike, a military statement said. After the fighting, the US forces discovered bombs and weapons inside the house and detained two suspects. A woman inside the house was wounded when the soldiers entered, but was taken to a hospital and is listed in stable condition, the statement said.
Norway has frozen aid to the Palestinian Authority, officials said on Sunday, joining a growing list of countries halting assistance to pressure the new Hamas government to restart negotiations with Israel. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said that Norway wanted to help bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table "so that we can achieve our goal and the international community's goal -- namely two states that can live side by side in peace."
The Israeli government says it has severed all ties with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, declaring it a "hostile entity". However, the government will maintain contacts with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, although it has ruled out full peace talks with the leader of the Fatah faction. The decision was announced following a security cabinet meeting on Sunday. In a statement issued after the meeting Ehud Olmert, the acting Israeli prime minister, also said that his government would shun foreign diplomats who meet members of the Hamas administration.
