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Yasser calls for 'millions of martyrs'
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Where are the opinions?
Emmanuel Goldstein at Airstrip One very reasonably asks ("Where Bias can lead") where the opinions are from us Hard Righters on the "latest vote by the Likud saying 'never' to a Palestinian state."
I thank Mr. Goldstein for giving me the benefit of the doubt, as I hadn't started the day's blogging, and my opinion, such as it is at the moment, is duly recorded below. (Never let it be said that I'm scared of expressing an opinion and looking like an idiot when additional facts come out.) Opinions of other bloggers will probably trickle in over the course of the day, or maybe the next couple days, as we digest the stupidity of the vote.

In regard to his latest post, re opinion on Liberia, I consider Charles Taylor to be a better choice than his old rival, Prince Johnson, but Beelzebub with a Pitchfork to be a better choice than either of them. And I heartily agree that a ten-foot pole isn't long enough.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 12:01 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And as an afterthought, the very next blog I browsed, American Kaiser, also uses the word "stupid" with regard to the vote. Looks like opinion is starting to firm up...
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2002 12:05 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, it's not too bright a move. Bibi is driving this. I still question whether or not a Palestinian state in Gaza, Sumeria and Judea
[ http://www.rsballard.com/weblog/archives/000276.html#000276 ]
can ever be what you call 'viable' but I guess we gotta give 'em the chance huh? I do agree with Goldstein's comment that this decision is a 'slap in the face of America'.
Posted by: bob || 05/13/2002 12:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Damian Penny got his opinion in last night.
Posted by: Fred || 05/13/2002 12:33 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll weigh in with a vote for 'stupid'.

There is a battle going on in the LGF comments on this same story. I declined to post, but it's here for those braver than I:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=3047#comments
Posted by: KathyK || 05/13/2002 15:30 Comments || Top||

#5  I had chimed in last night-http://markbyron.blogspot.com/2002_05_12_markbyron_archive.html#76477356. It's depressing, as there isn't s Palestinan party willing and able to negotiate a full peace with. We're left with the birds of prey, the hawk Sharon and the falcon Bibi. The left is grabbing the barf bag over the idea that Sharon's now the moderate.
Posted by: Mark Byron || 05/13/2002 17:50 Comments || Top||

#6  You know, I USED to think Bibi Netanyahu had better sense than this. Hell, he _does_ have better sense than this. Or is he just so consumed with the possibility of knocking Arik Sharon off his perch and becoming Likud's man in the next election that he's forgotten to see the forest for the trees? This hands the Palestinians their rationale to go on fighting on a silver platter. Bah. If I were Israeli, I might even consider switching back to Labor if Likud is going to be such a bunch of tactically challenged idiots...
Posted by: Joe || 05/13/2002 17:54 Comments || Top||


Now, datsa rant!
With tools no more complicated than a claw hammer, a pry bar, a pair of pliers, and a keyboard, Quana Jones takes apart the arguments of one Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi oil and security analyst, in A Defense of the Saudis: A dissent, which originally wasted some space in NRO. Mr. Jones then jumps up and down in the rubble, makes rude gestures, and blows his nose without using a hankie. I just love civil, well-reasoned discourse.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 02:28 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Lileks versus the APC conspiracy...
You've probably read it already, but if you just came out of intensive care or something, read Lileks' screed on the distasteful Patch Adams, in which he also pokes fun at Michael ("I like to sit on park benches and absorb the wisdom of the common folk") Parenti and Helen ("No nukes for you!") Caldicott.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 03:35 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Interface tweaks...
I've added some convenience buttons to the comments form. Let me know if they misbehave.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 08:47 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
Padsha Khan Zadran loses his radio station...
Afghan troops backed by US soldiers seized control of a local radio station from supporters of a warlord in Khost. The troops transferred the staff and equipment to new premises established near Khost city's airport on Saturday. Control of the radio station had been in the hands of Kamal Khan [aka Mini-Me], a brother of warlord Padsha Khan Zadran [aka Ike Clanton], and had been airing anti-government propaganda.
Bad move Padsha.
The official residence of the local governor was still in the hands of Khan's sympathisers. A spokesman for governor Hakeem Tanewal as saying that Afghan forces plan to take it soon. Paktia's governor Taj Mohammad Wardak last week accepted an offer made by a mediation team sent by ex-king Mohammad Zahir Shah to try to resolve differences with Khan through negotiations. Wardak had earlier issued an ultimatum to Khan to either surrender or face a military operation.
After they get done with the yap-yap they're still gonna have to kill him, 'cause he's a homicidal maniac. Why not just get it over with?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 07:03 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


U.S. Troops Kill Five in Afghanistan
U.S. special operations troops raided a compound suspected of holding Taliban or al-Qaida leaders in southern Afghanistan, killing five men. No Americans were killed or injured in the raid Sunday in the village of Deh Rawod, about 50 miles north of Kandahar. The U.S. troops raided the compound because they suspected top Taliban or al-Qaida leaders could have been staying there. Five men in the compound shot at the U.S. soldiers, who returned fire and killed the men. The troops captured 32 people in the compound. They have been taken to the U.S. base at Bagram, north of Kabul. The U.S. forces also found a sizable cache of weapons and ammunition at the compound, Quigley said.
Still searching for the Bad Boys and finding them a half dozen at a time, with no serious attacks. Plus they're trying to buy their way out of Afghanistan. It's way too early to relax and declare victory, but it's probably okay to be cautiously optimistic.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 08:06 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front
Zubaydah spills 4th of July threat
In a major Washington Times article, Bill Gertz says that information provided by Abu Zubaydah indicates al-Qaeda thugs within the country are planning a July 4th hit on a nuclear power plant, possibly Three Mile Island. Other reports include the Bad Guys planning an attack within the U.S. using a "dirty" bomb. The nuclear plant attack was originally planned for May 1st, but the date slipped for unknown reasons. The "dirty bomb" cell consists of an American and an African national. The reliability of the information is open to question; despite Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's contention that we "control" Zubaydah, it is expected that he will continue to provide as much disinformation as he can.
The more demonstrably spurious information he provides, the more he dilutes the reliability of the solid information he gives. It's kind of like intentionally crying "Wolf!" The "dirty bomb" attacks and the nuclear plant attacks would be of propaganda value to the Bad Guys, but casualties would probably be much lower than those that would result from a bomb in a pizza joint in a good-sized American mall. What's to the Bad Guys' advantage is that the certainty that such things are coming our way have faded with the passage of time since 9-11 and we're reverting to type, bickering among ourselves over nonessentials and focusing attention on Anna Kournikova's bosom or Condit's missing mistress. If the casualties are lower than they were in the 9-11 attack, public reaction won't be as strong, and it will be still less strong in the wake of the attack after that one. Eventually, if they're serious and their base organization's not thoroughly broken, the idea will be to get us used to occasional attacks, which can then be gradually escalated as we start to grow our own "Islamic Liberation Front." We don't need Abu Zubaydah to tell us that. What we need from Abu is who does what within al-Qaeda, where the money comes from, and who the Learned Elders of Islam behind the movement are. Then we need to shut down the money and ruthlessly — preferably painfully — kill all the Elders and all the al-Qaeda controllers we can lay hands on.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:04 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Attacks Blamed on Fugitives
Foreigners in Pakistan are falling victim to bombings and other savage attacks, and the country's Shiite Muslim minority is being terrorized by death squads. Pakistani officials and analysts blame the surge in violence on al-Qaida fugitives from Afghanistan and their radical Pakistani allies. The intention appears to be to sow chaos in hopes of undermining the government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf for supporting the U.S.-led war on terrorists.
You heard read it here first. Not that it called for any great mental horsepower to arrive at the conclusion...
A former Pakistani army general calls the al-Qaida and Pakistani militant coalition an "axis of hate."
To coin a phrase...
"It is their hate for America that bonds them," said retired Maj. Gen. Anwar Sher, who worked with militant Islamic groups that fought Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s. "This hate against America naturally is also directed at Musharraf. He has joined with America, and these religious groups don't like it."
That's the Qazi party line, isn't it?
Security officials said Friday they believe the perpetrators of Wednesday's bus bombing that killed 11 French engineers and three Pakistanis in Karachi might be linked to other violence, including execution-style killings of Shiites, who make up 15 percent of the population. While most of Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims live in harmony with Shiites, radical Sunnis revile Shiites as heretics.
Y'see, they don't wear their turbans right. If the tail of your turban's not long enough, you're on your way to perdition, along with everyone around you, and your cattle and your dog...
"They want their revenge. Their way to get the government to stop giving support to the United States is to terrorize from within," said Jamil Yusuf of the independent Citizens/Police Liaison Committee, a quasi-official watchdog group.
And Revenge, as we all know, is an Islamic virtue...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:04 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Musharraf Creates Terror Task Force
After the worst attack against foreigners in Pakistan's history, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf Saturday established an anti-terrorist task force to root out criminals operating here. More than 400 Islamic militants have been arrested since this week's brutal suicide bombing in Karachi that killed 11 French engineers, two Pakistanis and the suicide bomber, whose identity has not been determined.
Yeah, but we've seen crackdowns like this before. Does he have the strength to make them effective this time? That's the question...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:04 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Gill assures minority community protection
K P S Gill, Security Advisor to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday assured the minority community that they would be provided protection in the wake of the prevailing law and order situation here and elsewhere in the state. Speaking at a meeting with the leaders of minority community from all the districts in the state, Gill said action would be taken on all complaints to check unruly activity by people involved in violence.
He's making the right noises, anyway...
Minority leaders regretted that protection was not available for their community and also the partisan role of the police in this regard.
Which sounds like a legitimate gripe...
The meeting was the first the minority leaders had with a top government official and convened at the behest of the National Minorities Commission. It was presided over by the Commission chairman Trilokchand Singh.
This is the first meeting since February 27th? But the head cheeses found the time to get out and march for peas? And to cut themselves in on the relief swag boodle money?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 02:04 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Rejuvenated Gujarat police
The "rejuvenated" police force in Ahmedabad swung into action almost as soon as the new officers [from Punjab] took charge. More than 60 persons were picked up from the rioting spot in Dani Limda on Saturday. Of these, 35 were officially arrested for rioting. Determined to prove a point and score over their predecessors, new strategies of policing were worked out and put to use overnight. Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (prohibitory orders against unlawful assembly) was always there but "it has been put to effective use", was the tongue-in-cheek remark of the newly-appointed officers.
Oooh. Lending a new dimension to the term "You're busted" are they?
A policy of rapprochement was implemented towards the minority community with police commissioner KR Kaushik making the first move at Juhapura to meet Muslim leaders on Sunday. "There have been several such peace meetings in the past,too, let’s see what happens," said inspector-general of police PP Pande, who is in charge of the Vejalpur area. Sources said despite the efforts, these meetings had always ended up in a lot of noise. Kaushik visited the Shah-e-Alam relief camp and talked to the refugees on Saturday. "They (police officers) asked the inmates about the accused and their crimes, assuring them that they would be caught if identified," said Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, a volunteer at the camp. Most of the victims of the Naroda massacre are housed in this camp.
The new coppers were, I believe, imported from Punjab, which gave them no axes to grind with the added advantage of being used to working with Gill.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 02:38 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


'No one can force us to remove Modi'
In an angry outburst, BJP national president Jana Krishnamurthy on Sunday said that neither the media nor the political parties could force the party to remove Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. Asked whether there were any compulsions preventing the BJP from replacing Modi despite the criticism that the Prime Minister and the image of the country was taking, Krishnamurthy, who is here to attend a two-day meeting of the state BJP executive, said that in a democracy, an elected chief minister could be removed only if he is defeated on the floor of the House or he loses the mandate of the masses at the hustings.
No one can force them to be remotely honest, or to have any concern for the inhabitants of the area. No one can force them to be fair, aboveboard, or even nice. But they can make them wish they had.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 02:41 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Qazi sez country's future not safe
Jamaat-i-Islami chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, has said that the future of the country is not safe in the hands of Gen Pervez Musharraf, and now it is the collective responsibility of the nation to save the country from anarchy. He warned that if general elections were rigged, there would be a mass movement and like Bhutto, Gen Pervez Musharraf would not be able to remain in power.
They're "rigged" because he's not going to get more than 10 percent of the vote. Qazi sounds like he wants a coup by somebody more to his liking...
Addressing gatherings of party workers on Sunday in JI's District Central, West and East, Qazi sahib pointed out that military dictators had neither delivered to the country before nor one could they expect any betterment in the future.
Nope. Rulers need to be pious men holy men, with turbans.
The JI chief announced that his party would participate in the elections under the banner of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and its manifesto, and would implement the recommendation of the Islamic Ideological Council.
"Get those women under burkas. Chop those heads off. We gotta get this khalifate goin'..."
Referring to the recent suicide bombing incident, he said that America was making excuses by linking Karachi's terrorism with Al-Qaeda and the presence of Osama Bin Laden in tribal areas. It was zeroing in on Pakistan through Pervez Musharraf and others by throwing oppressed Muslims before the western wolves.
Better to leave them in the care of Muslim wolves pious holy men with turbans. Is it just my imagination, or are Qazi and Fazl edging closer and closer to open calls for insurrection?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 07:18 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


International
Jacques sez no sactuary for terrorists. Nope.
President Jacques Chirac declared there "can be no sanctuary for terrorists," as he paid tribute to 11 French naval workers killed in a suicide blast in Pakistan.
That's right. Except for Luxembourg. They can take one. And Canada'd like one. And Portugal's willing...
"This crime is monstrous, those responsible will be punished, there can be no sanctuary for terrorrists, we have started this fight and we will pursue it, without respite, in France and abroad," the president told some 10,000 mourners at a ceremony in the northern port town. "My determination, like that of the government, is total, we will not give in to either threats or blackmail."
Yeah? Let's see? Twenty says he contradicts himself within ten days.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:51 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Of course, President Bush said pretty much the same thing, but now he's making kissy-face with the Saudis. Wonder if Chirac's got a ranch someplace in France?
Posted by: BarCodeKing || 05/13/2002 12:52 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Yasser calls for 'millions of martyrs'
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told his supporters on Monday in Nablus that "millions of martyrs" were preparing to descend on Jerusalem. "We are going to Jerusalem with millions of martyrs," Arafat, speaking in Arabic, told the gathered through a loud-speaker before departing for his Ramallah offices. The comment brought a cheer from the hundreds-strong crowd in Nablus, Arafat's third and final stop on his first tour of the West Bank since Israel lifted its siege of his Ramallah office complex on May 1.
Can't make up his mind, can he? Just this morning I was watching on FoxNews how he's fully backing the USA in the War on Terror. Actually, I think he just says whatever pops into his head at the moment, and the process is becoming less and less coherent.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 11:32 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Middle East
Yasser tours West Bank
Palestinian leader-for-life Yasser Arafat arrived in Bethlehem on Monday as he made his first trip in six months outside his Ramallah office since Israel lifted its siege of him two weeks ago. Arafat, who flew from the West Bank town of Ramallah via a Jordanian helicopter, was greeted by local Palestinian officials, hundreds of Palestinian residents and drum bands. Arafat was warmly received by residents and officials. He kissed local officials, Muslim clerics and Christian priests on the cheek in a receiving line at the helicopter landing pad in Bethlehem.
After being slapped around so hard, it's time to press some flesh and mend some fences before the purges begin.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:03 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Likud rejects a Palestinian state
Israel's hard-line Likud Party defied its leader, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, last night and resolved that it would never accept a Palestinian state. The Likud Party Central Committee signaled it had given up any hope of a negotiated peace by rebuffing Mr. Sharon's plea to delay the vote. The committee said that any agreement to accept a Palestinian state "is dangerous to the state of Israel and will only intensify the pressures on us." Its resolution categorically rejected the creation of a Palestinian state "west of the Jordan river." The language, a forceful renewal of a long-standing plank in the party platform, was sponsored by members loyal to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is likely to challenge Mr. Sharon in the next party election.
That puts a bucket on Sharon's foot, and on Powell's and Bush's. Haven't those guys ever heard of uttering platitudes and using a "sweet by and by" as the timeline? Even the Saudi Entity, Egypt and Syria have this down by now...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 11:41 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Exiled Palestinian thugs ran two-year reign of terror
Residents of Bethlehem are expressing relief at the exile to Cyprus of 13 hard-core Palestinian tough guys, who they said had imposed a two-year reign of terror that included rape, extortion and executions. Palestinians who live near the church described the group as a criminal gang that preyed especially on Palestinian Christians, demanding "protection money" from the main businesses, which make and sell religious artifacts.
Terrorism and criminal activity go hand in hand. It's not only political power that grows out of the barrel of a gun, but power of any sort. As long as you're armed and without a conscience you can do anything, above any law.
According to residents, one of the group's top leaders, Jihad Ja'ara, 29, traveled around town with an M-16 rifle, terrorizing the community. Residents also said that Ja'ara and another top leader, Ibrahim Abayat, took nine Muslims whom they suspected of collaborating with Israel into an apartment near Manger Square and fatally shot them. The executions took place shortly before the April 2 gunbattle between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters that sent more than 200 Palestinians fleeing into the church, where they remained for 39 days. Abayat, in a phone interview from inside the church while the siege was under way, said he was personally responsible for the killings. He said there was no need for a trial because "it was a well-known fact that these people were linked to Israel."
Therefore no trial is needed. If you're armed and they're not, your power is absolute, isn't it? See the above. But Yasser assures us they're not terrorists. Al-Aqsa's just a jobs program...
Abayat and Mr. Ja'ara are now at a seaside hotel in Cyprus, waiting to be moved to an as-yet-unnamed European country, where many expect them to be set free. The gang has said it is part of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
Charles at LGF points out that the Euros are having second thoughts about taking them in. A little late for that now, isn't it?
The gang apparently used its ready access to guns and close ties with Mr. Arafat's Palestinian security forces to extort money, run guns, smuggle drugs and even demand that young women separate from their husbands. After one woman was reportedly raped by a gang member, the perpetrator was put in jail, but only briefly. His comrades reportedly forced the jailers to let him go.
That's because they're above the law. You can't jug someone who's above the law.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:04 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arab world’s 'Big Three' reject violence
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz left Sharm el-Sheikh Sunday after a mini-summit in which he joined Egypt’s and Syria’s leaders in rejecting "all forms of violence" in a bid to revive hopes of peace in the region.
Ummm... This usually means rejection of all forms of Israeli violence...
Abdullah joined presidents Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Bashar Assad of Syria at the Red Sea resort on Saturday for a three-hour summit which discussed how to defuse the Middle East crisis. The three Arab political heavyweights said they were committed to seeking peace with Israel in exchange for occupied Arab land, a sentiment welcomed by the Israeli government as a positive sign.
Except by Likud. Something about "the voice of experience." I dunno what they might mean by that...
Saturday’s meeting marked the first time the three leaders had met since an Arab summit endorsed the Saudi-sponsored land-for-peace plan in March, as well as the first head-to-head meeting between Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and the other Arab leaders since he discussed ways to revive the peace process with US President George W. Bush last month. A final statement issued after the mini-summit called for the Beirut initiative to be followed by Arabs as a way toward peace; it also denounced Israeli military attacks on Palestinians and urged international pressure to to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
"Look, as long as we sound reasonable, the Euros are gonna be on our side."
The three leaders "reiterated the Arab desire for peace and their rejection of violence in all its forms, while saluting the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and praising their courageous uprising," said the statement read by Egyptian Information Minister Safwat al-Sherif.
"We don't believe in violence, but we think it's really neat that they blow up like that."
Syria came on board despite its strong support for the Palestinian resistance and defense of suicide attacks against Israelis, but Arab diplomats said the about-face was not a surprise. "Syria wants to humor the United States and has always avoided a confrontation with Washington," said an Arab diplomat who asked not to be identified. Syria "is also among the Arab countries which has cooperated fully with the Americans in the 'war against terrorism' since 
 Sept. 11."
Yup. Been at the forefront, they have. Why once... uh... never mind. As long as we're "humored," what the hell?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 11:13 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Yasser's hard boys shoot it out...
Arafat's trip to Jenin was also marred by a gunfight between two members of his Fatah movement. After an argument, one shot the other in the leg, sending the surrounding crowd fleeing in panic.
Musta thought he was one o' them danged Jews...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 11:23 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I saw that the Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camps were chanting about "On to Jerusalem! Martyrs in the millions!" and yet some of their would-be martyr buddies nearby get all panicky when a little gunfire goes off. What a bunch of wannabes!
Posted by: BarCodeKing || 05/14/2002 11:07 Comments || Top||


Yasser avoids Jenin...
Arafat's visit to the town of Jenin was also to include a tour of the devastated Jenin refugee camp. Some 3,000 camp residents turned out to see Arafat, but aides said privately that Arafat could face heckling in the camp and canceled the visit, a decision that disappointed many and angered some in the crowd.
Nope, don't want any bad press. Maybe the Times and the Guardian won't pick it up...
"He must visit the camp," Ahmad Nawasrah, an unemployed construction worker, said of Arafat. "We've lost our houses, we've lost our sons and we have gotten nothing. We hoped that he would have come and we could have shown him our problems."
Yasss... If the Tsar only knew, he'd make things better.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 11:29 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Saudis putting on pressure to stop suicide attacks
The Arab-language daily Al-Quds al-Arabi has reported over the past few days that Saudi Arabia intends to summon senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists to Riyadh, as part of its efforts to calm the Israeli-Palestinian theater. According to a senior Israeli diplomatic source, Saudi Arabia has begun to act on its promise to reign in Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Whoa! This is new...!
Information in Israel's possession suggests that Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisel, applied massive pressure on Palestinian Authority minister, Nabil Sha'ath, during Friday's meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, in order to bring about an end to the suicide attacks that Saudi Arabia believes pose a threat to the fragile quiet of the past few days.
Okay. I give up. Where's the hook?
One of the participants in the meeting at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh was the head of the Palestinian preventative security apparatus in the West Bank, Mohammed Dahlan. It is believed Saudi officials also entreated Dahlan to do his best to prevent terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets.
Pretty interesting. Dahlan's already on the hit list and could end up getting purged and decomposing. But if his faction gets enough support from the Soddi money guys, he could end up retiring Yasser to an old folks' home and sitting in the Seat of All Power. It looks like that process might be underway.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 03:00 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Hamas, PFLP, vow to continue
Salah Shahade, the founder of Hamas's military wing, said on Monday the organization would continue carrying out suicide bombings, until Israel is driven out of all Palestinian territories. In a statement given in Damascus Monday, officials of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said their organization would also continue armed resistance to Israel. PFLP officials said until a Palestinian state is declared, it is the organization's right to forcibly fight Israeli occupation and aggression.
Well, that certainly did a lot of good, didn't it?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 03:55 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Sharon sticks his thumb in Likud central committee eye
Supporters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared victory in last night's Likud central committee meeting. "I respect the central committee, but the responsibility for making decisions in this government is on me," Sharon told the Likud faction in the Knesset today. "Before the election, I promised to bring peace and security and I intend to accomplish that. I will be directed by this goal in the future as I am in the present and as I was in the past."
That took guts. You've got to give him that.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 04:00 pm || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks
Nepal rebels set fire to Sanskrit university
Some 500 Maoist rebels stormed a Sanskrit university in west Nepal, set the building on fire and destroyed office records, an official said on Monday. District officer Mathur Prasad Yadav told Reuters that the guerrillas snapped telephone lines and overpowered the night guard of the Mahendra Sanskrit University in Dang in west Nepal late on Saturday before setting the building ablaze. "No one was injured in the incident," Yadav said, adding that several office rooms had been destroyed. The rebels, who are fighting to topple the constitutional monarchy in Nepal, oppose the teaching in schools of Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language.
Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, the earliest Indian literature. It's also the religious language of a couple major schools of Buddhism. ("We don't need no ed-ju-caytion...") I still keep wondering where they come up with all those people for these attacks, though.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:20 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Hizbul gunnies shoot each other up...
Five persons, including a self-style battalion commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and an SPO, were killed and a Hizb terrorist was injured in an inter-group clash. The clash took place at Kaisergam village near Kakapora in south Kashmir on Sunday night which left one terrorist, Imtiyaz Ahmad Sheikh, wounded. Sheikh has been hospitalised. The group clash assumes significance as three top commanders of the terrorist outfit, including former operational chief Abdul Majid Dar, had been expelled by its PoK-based central command council on May 4.
And this little episode will answer something I've often wondered about: Do Indian generals high-five?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 10:28 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Hizbullah rejects alleged link with US narcotics ring
Hizbullah on Sunday denied American allegations that it was receiving “millions” in proceeds from a narcotics ring based in the United States. On Friday, the US Drug Enforcement Administration said that a nationwide drug ring may have funnelled millions of dollars in profits to groups in the Middle East which Washington has labelled as “terrorist.” DEA spokesperson Asa Hutchinson said there was “increasing evidence” that Hizbullah was one of the groups believed to be receiving money from the ring.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt || 05/13/2002 11:18 am || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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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.
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In no particular order...
Steve White
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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2002-05-13
  Yasser calls for 'millions of martyrs'
Sun 2002-05-12
  Yasser prepared to accept Jewish state. Really.
Sat 2002-05-11
  Frenchies say Karachi bombing was directed at them
Fri 2002-05-10
  Siege of Bethlehem church ends after 38 days
Thu 2002-05-09
  CIA tries to bump off Hekmatyar
Wed 2002-05-08
  Karachi bus bomb kills 11 Frenchies, three Paks
Tue 2002-05-07
  Boomer hits Tel Aviv pool hall...
Mon 2002-05-06
  Fortuyn assassinated in Netherlands
Sun 2002-05-05
  IDF blockades Tulkarm camp...
Sat 2002-05-04
  Chechen kebab artist frees hostages, surrenders
Fri 2002-05-03
  Powell announces international conference on Palestine
Thu 2002-05-02
  Twenty wounded in Karachi booms
Wed 2002-05-01
  Perv's in like Flynn for five more years
Tue 2002-04-30
  Head of Islamocharity arrested
Mon 2002-04-29
  Khattab decomposing

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