Republican Guard troops have been deployed around Baghdad. An officer from Saddam Husseinâs Special Security has been assigned to liaise between each unit of the force and the general command headed by the President and his younger son Qusai. The Republican Guards have four heavy and light armoured divisions of about 40,000 troops, led mainly by members of Saddam's al-Tikriti clan and elements known for their unwavering loyalty. Intensive training under Russian and Iraqi experts was under way at Khan Bani Saad, where some Republican Guard formations are deployed.
But it is not clear whether the guards will put up a fight for Saddam if the United States makes clear its intention to remove his regime. The force consists mainly of conscripts who will probably not be willing to fight since most of the privileges the guards have go to commanding officers, mostly Saddam's relatives. Oooh! Excellent idea! Put all your reliable troops in a big ring around Bagdad and double-dare anybody to come in. I can see a "war" in which the rest of the country is taken over in jig time and Bagdad is simply quarantined, eventually starving to death while Mary Robinson wrings her hands. Even Sammy's gotta be smarter than that.
As is obvious from any map showing where the oil is Iraq, Baghdad is not what you want to hold if you want to control the only important thing the Iraqi regime possesses today. Take Irbid, Mosul, and Basra and the rest of the country withers on the vine. Posted by Tom Roberts 3/17/2002 4:03:08 PM
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The 25 North Koreans who made a dramatic bid for asylum at Beijing's Spanish Embassy on Thursday are now in the Philippines awaiting a flight to South Korea. A Philippine official said the group would leave for South Korea on Monday after spending the weekend at a safe house. The group had forced their way into the embassy and threatened to commit suicide if China tried to send them back home. Philippine National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the asylum-seekers would stay 72 hours in transit in the country. He said that the 13 men and 12 women, who are aged from about 14 to 52, were "a little stressed out". You can bet they are. And Custer had "a few Indians."
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Riot police swinging clubs and firing rubber bullets subdued a group of violent protesters following a peaceful rally by tens of thousands of demonstrators hours after European leaders wrapped up a summit on economic reforms. Witnesses said some 200 protesters began smashing windows and throwing gasoline bombs and rocks at riot police near a statue of Christopher Columbus on a pedestrian promenade where the anti-globalization rally had ended 30 minutes earlier. Police said that seven officers were injured and that they had arrested 38 people by 10 p.m. Reporters saw more arrests being made 1 1/2 hours later.
City officials estimated 250,000 people participated in the march, while organizers said there were twice that many - far more than the 10,000 to 50,000 they said they had been hoping for. Protesters belonged to diverse organizations, some created at the spur of the moment, but they aimed their wrath at globalization and the European Union's plans to liberalize energy and financial markets.
Things are pretty much back to normal among the anarchokiddie set. Spring's almost here, so the weather's nice for rioting. The Spanish coppers weren't messing around, though. The picture accompanying the original article shows a fellow who's gonna need some serious dental work once he heals up.
Nah, he'll front the punk rock band The Militant Pacifists. He's got the makeup just about down; all he needs is the nose ring. Posted by Mark Byron [markbyron.blogspot.com] 3/17/2002 10:15:11 PM
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An armed Hindu mob attacked a group of Muslims returning from a shelter under police escort in Baroda on Sunday, killing two and wounding 15, police said. Nearly 200 Hindus armed with iron rods and tridents - a traditional Hindu symbol - attacked 20 Muslims returning to their homes after seeking shelter in a government-run camp following religious rioting Friday. Nearly half a dozen policemen were accompanying the Muslims when the attack occurred. At least two people were killed in Ahmadabad, Gujarat's largest city, and one in Baroda during Hindu-Muslim rioting Friday night. This whole thing stinks of an unholy alliance between VHP and... who? There's just that stench of Evil about it.
They're all children of the RSS: Hindu fascists. Same as Gandhi's assassin, same as the present government, overall. Posted by Gary Farber [www.amygdalagf.blogspot.com] 3/17/2002 2:01:48 PM
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Police said they had arrested the prime suspect in the train attack. Hazi Bilal, a local Muslim leader in Godhra, was arrested on Saturday night and charged with instigating a group to set fire to the train Feb. 27, killing at least 60 people, said Bipul Vijoy, deputy inspector general of police. Here's hoping they hit him very many times and gets lots of information, starting with who his controllers are.
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Longtime President Robert Mugabe was sworn in for another six-year term Sunday after being declared the winner of widely disputed elections. In the gardens of the colonial-style State House mansion, Mugabe, 78, swore to "bear true allegiance to Zimbabwe and uphold the laws of Zimbabwe." We're sure he'll consider his exemplary record in this regard.
Mugabe then railed against colonialism and imperialism, and urged other African leaders to support him against hostile Western nations. Uh... Careful there, Bob. This isn't a good time to go declaring jihad. Stick with oppressing your own people and stay out of other people's affairs.
"Mugabe, 78, swore to 'bear true allegiance to Zimbabwe and uphold the laws of Zimbabwe, which he keeps in a scribbled list hidden under his mattress, and changes each night as he wishes.'"
Gary's almost there. The Bobster plays Zimbabwe's version of Calvinball, where the rules change in the middle of the game. However, he likes to hang out in the Pernicious Poem Zone. Posted by Mark Byron [markbyron.blogspot.com] 3/17/2002 10:20:22 PM
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A suicide attack in Jerusalem and a deadly shooting north of Tel Aviv on Sunday undermined the optimism surrounding U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni's third peace mission to the region.
Israel reacted angrily to the shooting attack in Kfar Saba, in which a gunman killed one person and wounded six more, one critically. Zinni was in a meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav when word of the attack reached him. A short time later, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a bus in Jerusalem, but no one was seriously injured except for the boomer, which was no great loss. Wonder if his Mom was standing across the street with a vid camera?.
"Israel has offered a cease-fire, pulled back most of its forces in good faith, and this seems to be the answer Israel is receiving," said Dore Gold, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Hey! Careful with that feather! You almost knocked me over! Now, who would have ever in his wildest dreams thought that the lemmings Palestinians would initiate a coordinated campaign of violence to greet Sysiphus Zinni, timing it so that the shootings took place even while he was meeting with Katsav himself?
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Two attackers hurled grenades into a Protestant church filled with worshipers Sunday, killing five people - including two Americans - and wounding about 45, most of them foreigners. It was the second attack against Christians in Pakistan since the Sept. 11 attacks. It won't be the last attack. The religious parties behind this sort of violence will push for more of them if they see them weakening Musharraf. Or maybe just because they like seeing infidels resolved into their component parts.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad identified the dead Americans as Barbara Green and her daughter Kristen Wormsley, a senior at the American School in Islamabad. Green and her husband, Milton Green, worked at the embassy - she in administration and he in the computer division. The others killed included one Afghan, one Pakistani and one of unknown nationality. Ten Americans were among the 45 injured, along with 12 Pakistanis, five Iranians, one Iraqi, one Ethiopian and one German, police said. The government said the injured also included Afghans, Swiss, Britons, Australians and Canadians. Most, if not all, will represent a typical terrorist target, i.e., civilians with a high proportion of women and kiddies.
Witnesses said the attackers entered the back of the church during the sermon and began hurling grenades at the congregation of about 70. Three of the grenades exploded and the attackers eluded security guards at the scene. Wonder how hard the security guards were chasing them? Wonder what their bank accounts look like? Probably be a good thing to check, just to make sure.
Although no group claimed responsibility, suspicion fell on Islamic militants angered by Musharraf's crackdown on Islamic extremism begun in January. "It's a highly deplorable attempt to spoil our relations with foreign countries. Choosing this place is meant to embarrass the government," Pakistani Law Minister Khalid Ranjha said. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi specializes in such things. That'd be a good place to start. The coppers have also been hitting hard at Jhangvi in the past few days, and they'll want to show they're still around, heroic and xenophobic as ever.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the attack a "serious outrage, particularly because it took place within what we thought was the well-protected diplomatic enclave." Takes a real horror to get Jack's back up. He'll probably be indignant for two, three days. Since it was in a diplomatic enclave, check those guards' bank accounts a third time.
Despite the increase in sectarian violence, Pakistani Law Minister Khalid Ranjha said officials believed the church was well-protected. Such attacks in the Pakistani capital, where security is higher than elsewhere in the country, are relatively infrequent. "The attack shows that those who carried it out were committed people," Ranjha said. Well, of course they're "committed." This is what they do for a living. When they're not blowing away church-goers they're living on a dole from the religious parties studying in madrassahs, and to eke that out a little they're robbing banks or otherwise causing trouble.
In January, Musharraf banned five Islamic extremist groups and announced measures extending control over religious schools considered a breeding ground for terrorism. More than 2,000 people were arrested, but many were released. Almost half of them have been released as of yesterday. Betcha half my grocery money at least one and probably more of those released were involved in the planning and/or execution of this atrocity.
I wonder if the Brownshirts will try for a Krystallnacht before they seize power? Interesting question is the relative loyalty of the Pakistani Army to the Musharraf government, compared to the inertia of the Wehrmacht in the Weimar Republic in controlling political violence. The whole scenario gives new meaning to the concept of Islamofascism. Posted by Tom Roberts 3/17/2002 3:54:30 PM
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Al-Qaida has sharply stepped up its financial activity in recent weeks, suggesting leaders are reasserting control and may be seeking to finance more attacks against American interests, a U.S. official says. The increased flow of money corresponds with a recent increase in communications between surviving al-Qaida members. The communications, detected by U.S. intelligence, have occurred between small groups of al-Qaida and some Taliban allies. Much of the activity is centered in northwestern Pakistan - near the Afghan border - although some money and communications are going elsewhere. The activity suggests some known al-Qaida leaders are re-establishing control over surviving elements of the terrorist network. U.S. intelligence has detected a significant boost in money transfers within al-Qaida to people who could use it to prepare attacks on American interests. It's expected that they'll try real hard to reconstitute, and the money flow should lead the intel guys to the details of the surviving network, assuming the hemorrhoids giving out information like this can control their impulse to compromise sources and methods. The "al-Qaeda" leadership is firmly tied to Fazlur Rehman's Jamaat-e-Ulema-Islami. Being clerics, they have their hands on Binny's money, whether he's alive or dead, and apparently on his address book, too. So my guess would be they're the new "high command."
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A man who threw a grenade onto the grounds of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa is likely to be charged with terrorism, endangering people's lives and illegal possession of explosivesy. Samir Yahya Awadh, 25, was not wounded when police opened fire after Friday night's attack on the embassy. Police said Awadh acted alone. He is not a member of any political or religious faction. His family has been quoted as saying he is psychologically disturbed. "He ain't a terrorist. He's just stupid."
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Five persons belonging to defunct Sipah-e-Sihaba were gunned down by unknown horsemen in the suburb of Jhang on Saturday night. The thugs were snuffed by four men galloping on horses. One of the deceased, Anwar Sajjad, was involved in the murder of Sajjada Nasheen of Merrik Sial shrine, Pir Sabir Sultan. Local cops reached the spot and cordoned off the whole area. It is for the first time that the attackers have used horses in any terrorist attack. A little internecine thug warfare? Sounds like they had a good time at it, though. Riding horses is good, healthy exercise.
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Hizbollah Secretary General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah has denied Israeli allegations that Hizbollah carried out the attack which killed six Israelis in the western Galilee kibbutz of Shlomi on Tuesday. Security sources in Israel said they were "almost certain" that Hizbollah or gunmen trained by the group were behind the attack. They claimed the attackers came from Lebanon. Sources claimed Hizbollah may have infiltrated Israelâs marine border. Lebanese officials had rejected Israeli charges, and said UN peacekeepers on the ground could testify that no breaches of the border occurred. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Two snuffies were iced in Doda district and one each in Rajouri and Poonch districts. The deaders have been identified as one each from Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al-Badr and Harkat-Ul-Jehadi-Islami.
Police said a gunny was waxed in a gunbattle with security forces in Tangmarg. He is survived by an AK-47, three magazines, two grenades and some ammunition.
Unidentified gunnies ventilated Sameer Ahmad Bangroo in downtown Srinagar. He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
In an encounter with security forces at Dishnan Uggad, one gunny was reported to have been dusted. However he managed his escape along with an associate.
BSF personnel arrested a company commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, who carried a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head, near a hospital. An AK, five magazines, 135 rounds and two hand grenades were seized from him.
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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.
